Out of the Blue
by Vyntresser
Summary: 4. Although she is Sugar Rush's new princess, Berri Schweetz Kalivar marches to the beat of her own drum. While balancing academy studies and her band's musical tour, she seeks solace in the home of Arcade's most feared bad guy - Turbo. With their unlikely bond, Berri goes above and beyond to bring back what is rightfully Turbo's, no matter what Litwak's Arcade has to say about it.
1. Chapter 1

**IF YOU'RE NEW HERE : WELCOME! Unfortunately, you've reached the 4th book in this saga. Please start at Wrecking Limits, and work your way back to this point! See you in the next year or two! *grits teeth* No sarcasm, there!**

 **In all seriousness, glad to have you aboard :D ENJOY!**

 **A/N :** It's SO GOOD to be back. I'm really excited to dive into the wild blue that is this story. I hope you guys are prepared for the fun things I have planned! I'm going to TRY and stick to my typical upload schedule, of once every other day, but if that changes, I will keep you guys posted. ALSO, I will be drawing a map of Sugar Rush's new castle lot sometime here soon, so you guys know what you're dealing with, here. It's a lot to take in, but I promise I'll try and make it as easy as I can!

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Welcome by Phil Collins**

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 ***Out of the Blue***

 ***Chapter 1***

Sugar Rush's sweet, gentle, morning sunshine glistened down the stretch of glowing white corridor in which King Zed paved. Through the arch of the seemingly never-ending bend of a path, in which lead from the recreational hall, straight to Sugar Rush's palace's kitchen, Zed inhaled a deep breath of the crisp, winter air, glossed his eyes to the digital pad in his hand. Finally, he felt as if the whole entire world had finally gripped together, perfectly at the seams. A flawless ease of new opportunities, a warm embrace of reassurance, Zed cocked an eyebrow and soaked his gentle gaze to the triple striped wedding ring on his finger. With a skip in his step, he pressed down the gorgeous, sunlit corridor with further purpose and felt his heart soar the second he came upon the glass double doors, kissed with the delicate touches of white wood in which Tessa picked herself.

With a ruffle of his electric blue faux-hawk, yet another intake of Sugar Rush's air before he stepped indoors, his pupils soaked into a sag of relaxation as he welcomed himself into the vast, sprawling gape of a kitchen. The heart of the palace, it had to be large enough to easily house all of Sugar Rush's racers, as well as Sugar Rush's royalty and all the family branches it entailed, guests included. With sky lights that littered the white ceilings, warm sunlight made the room practically sing with harmonious peace. Abundant with a dozen or so people, both racers and faux-codes alike, Zed smiled and looked about as he tabbed his digital pad to lock. The kitchen was a large, round room, equipped with enough appliances, counter space, and seating for the lot of everyone. Although said massive kitchen had two equally as massive islands, they quickly filled with bustling bodies, eagerly telling stories and furthermore filling Sugar Rush's cold, winter air with the warmth of unending love and joy. Just as Zed was about to get lost in his thoughts, a gentle voice popped his bubble whilst handing him a steamy cup of coffee.

"Yourrr majesty," Vanellope stated in a teasingly pompous voice as she gingerly handed the cup of coffee off to Zed; he flinched, though relaxed once he realized just what was going on, a lazy smile sprawled his face.

"Just what the doctor ordered," Zed's tired, deep voice grumbled, he gratefully began to sip the coffee without question, and with Vanellope's cue to Zed's presence, everyone warmly trickled in their morning greetings to him.

"How many times didja get up, last night, there, dad?" Vanellope cocked an eyebrow, crossed her arms and tilted her head up in kind, teasing inquiry; Zed went in for a second sip.

"Five," Zed grunted after a hearty gulp, Vanellope bugged her eyes and frowned a little, "Poor thing... Being User-made has it's perks. I never had to experience TEETHING."

"Pretty brutal, I'd imagine," Vanellope shrugged, she looked across the kitchen and noticed Gloyd happily waving around a piece of waffle, on his fork, to get Vanellope's attention. She largely pointed and grunted a noise, "That's mine!"

"I'm making more, chill out," Taffyta sleepily barked, she hung tight to the secondary stove and hearth of the kitchen, across the gap.

"I don't remember Ace having this hard of a time, when he was a baby," Zed rubbed the back of his head, breathed a raspy breath and looked about. He was absolutely certain Ace and Libby likely would still be tucked away in their cozy love nest of a tower, though much to his surprise, he double-took on the back of Ace's head, it looked as if him, Nox and Oliver were deep in conversation.

"Every baby is different," Vanellope shrugged, she breathed a small chuckle and hung with Zed at the gape between both islands, the near-center of the massive kitchen. The room was filled with warm contentment, something the two practically drowned in, as happily as they could, though Vanellope gave Zed an apologetic smile once Zed heaved the tiredest, longest, widest yawn, "You, uh... You gunna squeeze a nap in, today big guy?"

"I can't," Zed huffed through the end of his yawn, and although he had that new, proud dad glow, he had the mark of honor; a solid set of dark bags under his eyes, "Lickity and I are going to Dead Zed, we're meeting up with Finn."

"Ah, yes, honeymoon plans," Vanellope bobbed a nod and giggled, she tucked her long black hair behind her ears and eyed Zed with pure love, "Excited for the few nights away? Berri-less?"

"Sleep," Zed grunted, though he shot Vanellope a sleepy, sarcastic smile, "Yes, I'm excited... I have something fun planned for Tess, and I... But we will certainly miss Berri. No matter how exhausted we are."

"I wanna hear all about your plans, after game day," Vanellope bobbed a nod, as did Zed; he eagerly tucked in for more of his life-giving coffee, though he cocked an eyebrow as Vanellope back-stepped away and pointed to him in curiosity, "Speaking of Tess, where is she?"

"Wonderful question, last I heard, she was going to go back to the tower to feed Berri," Zed hummed, though just as he began to pull out his digital pad, to hopefully source her, Penny gently raised her hand, she sat closest to the two, at one of the kitchen islands.

"She's in the treehouse," Penny chimed, though she quickly returned her attention to the little bundle of joy in her arms; her baby brother, Wren, who silently dozed in her arms, "She messaged Ace about it, earlier. I was eavesdropping."

"Thank you," Zed bobbed a nod, though he caught eyes with Vanellope and blurt a chuckle, "Seems to be the place to be, as of late."

"It's cozy, surrounded by nature, a private, warm, peaceful place to feed," Vanellope shrugged as she continued to head towards the group, which consisted of Gloyd, Candlehead, Snowanna and Jubileena, "If I had a new baby, I'd probably retreat there, as well."

"Her, Emery and I are currently fighting over it," Taffyta blurt with a small laugh as she dragged her gaze to Zed, equally as exhausted new parents. Zed gently moseyed over to her, so to inquire how she was doing, "With Libby and Balba due in two months, certainly five new moms is too much for that poor tree to handle. We might need to program a double, or even triple, tree house, my dude."

"I can do that," Zed nodded, he unlocked his digital pad, tabbed to a few options and quickly took a note of it, "If I haven't made mock-ups by tonight, pester me about it."

"Thanks, Zed," Taffyta smiled, she gently reached away from her cooking to grapple Zed's strong shoulder, and as their skin met, Zed did his best to scoop Taffyta into a loose, loving side hug.

"Us new parents gotta stick together," Zed grumbled in exhaustion, Taffyta groaned, "One diaper at a time."

"At least you have a honeymoon to look forward to," Taffyta blurt a small laugh.

"At least you and Rancis didn't have children on YOUR honeymoon," Zed playfully retaliated, though Taffyta lulled her head back and squeezed her eyes shut.

"But Berri is staying in Sugar Rush while you guys are gone," Taffyta only sarcastically complained, to which Zed nodded in humility and looked down.

"Can't thank Ace and Libby enough, really," Zed shrugged, he curled a curious smile and peered to his eldest child, across the way, "Be good training for them, anyhow. Libby's a third of the way through her pregnancy."

"Poor thing," Taffyta grumbled as she gently flipped two pancakes on the wide griddle she had splayed over the gentle fire, the castle's massive, glorious hearth was a magnificent chunk of white, solid stone that got a good, daily dose of usage. Taffyta heaved a raspy sigh, smiled down to her craft and volleyed her gaze to her first born, Penny, who was contently cooing to Wren, in her arms, "I'm sure it's hard for Ace and Libby to look around and see all these happy babies... I'm positive they're itching to get their hands on their own kin, any day now."

"Probably for the better, to be honest," Zed eased tenderly, he also volleyed his gaze to his own first born. Ace and Oliver quietly chatted, and although Oliver had a touch of maturity added to his eyes, one of acquired wisdom, of life experience, the innocent look of dewiness that slides to kissed wisdom, upon having your first child, Zed clenched his teeth nervously and could still see that doughy, boyish look of wonder in Ace's hazel eyes. Zed knew Ace would be prepared, though he had to worry about his first born, a creature that seemingly still, to this day, had a hard time growing right into his massive paws. Zed smiled, nonetheless, and turned to continue on, with Taffyta, "The guy could use the experience between Berri, Theo and Wren, anyhow..."

"Ace will be fine," Taffyta assured with a small giggle, "You see how Libby is, with all the babies. Surely it'll all rub off, on him, when the time comes. You know how sensitive and gentle he is."

"I can't imagine having twins on my first go around, though," Zed grit his teeth and nervously looked back at Ace, once more, though Taffyta blurt a small laugh and nudged Zed's elbow, to snap him out of it.

"At least he has a wonderful father figure to look up to, don't you think?" Taffyta lovingly teased, she wrinkled her nose and gave him a gentle look of happy annoyance, to which Zed finally dropped his worries, sagged his shoulders and bobbed a humble nod.

"Thank you," Zed huffed with a smile, "I certainly hope he seeks out my advice. I may not have had two babies at once, but... I mean I have had two babies. Certainly that counts."

"Most certainly," Taffyta nodded, she heaved another giggle and continued to prod at the pancakes that sizzled, "Game time is in an hour... You leaving, then?"

"Yeah, I'll head to Dead Zed after Litwak's opens... I have to go find Tess, anyways," Zed sighed, he took another long swig of his coffee and looked about.

"Betcha twenty bucks she fell asleep, again," Taffyta tucked her hair behind her ears and gave Zed a knowing look, though he heaved a hard sigh and shook his head.

"No, cause I'd be out twenty bucks," Zed mumbled, they both laughed as Zed began to gently peel from her, "I can only imagine just how exhausted SHE is."

"If you find her asleep, just leave her be," Taffyta warned as she waggled the spatula about, Zed grit his teeth and shot her a nervous look, "Never wake a sleeping mama-bear!"

"That only pertains to hibernation," Zed blurt a laugh and shook his head, though Taffyta gestured her hand upwards, to the sky lights.

"It's the middle of January!" Taffyta blurt, which cued more of the group's attention in gentle speckles of longing, happy glances.

With a gentle push Zed stepped back out of the West exit of the kitchen. He wrinkled his nose, peered down the long, glowing white corridor and gently dragged his gaze to the small sneak way, to his right. Nestled between the main castle's hub and the heart and stretching corridors of the kitchen was a small, private nook of trees. Zed quietly trekked down the sunlit sneak-way, which opened out to the castle's grounds, alongside a shady nook of a garden. The treehouse was Tessa's idea, she was well aware the castle was quick to introduce new babies to the game, and although she knew it'd be nice to remain in her's and Zed's own tower of comfort, she knew she'd eventually get cabin fever. She wanted a calm, quiet, nature-filled nook where anyone, especially the new mothers on the lot, could retreat for peace and quiet. Zed's racing shoes crunched the cold, grassy earth as he came upon the treehouse, and although the game's skies threatened more snow, any day now, he was thrilled this warm little tree house abode was still getting its use.

Nestled warmly in a large candy cane tree, all crowned with it's peachy white winter leaves, was Tessa's treehouse. A beautiful little home, with only one main room, though it's birch exterior proudly housed a large bay window that overlooked the castle's side lot and the dregs of the flyer's forested territory, alongside the club house. Zed climbed the white, untouched stairs, came upon the door and gingerly laid his hand to the digital hand pad, like a lock and key to the door. Once the key politely chimed, flashed his name and status across the screen and blinked a positive green color, the door quietly unlatched. Zed began to shiver, though the second he slowly pushed in, he was greet with a wall of warmth, and it was clear Tessa was prepared to come here, every single day, to routinely and proverbially hibernate. The view Zed had, upon closing the door behind him, was of untouched, delicate beauty.

Sat by herself, in the center of the room, on a big, fluffy, cozy white bean-bag-like chair was Sugar Rush's Queen, and her brand new princess. Nestled in a cozy, grey, fleece blanket and sunk into the endless void of comfort, Tessa rested with her legs tucked tight to her body, the blanket draped about her lap and middle. Dressed in a lazy black t-shirt, she successfully had tucked the entirety of it over Berri, so to feed her. Tessa's nose and face was gently and loosely tucked into the wide neck hole, of the shirt, so to keep an eye on her newborn, though as Zed neared, it was clear that Tessa's chin was properly slumped into her right collar bone and her eyes were sleepily shut. Zed heaved a silent chuckle, tucked his hands into his pant's front pockets and felt his heart just ache with delight, the adorable sight of Berri's little sock-covered foot peeking from the fleece blanket Tessa had shroud the two in, he slowly pursued the two and felt as if there was absolutely no where else he'd rather be.

Without saying a word, he gently came upon Tessa's fluffy beanbag chair, knelt down and allowed his silver coding to flare upon his palm. With as much tenderness as he could, so not to startle Tessa, or Berri, he warmly slid his live-wired hand to Tessa's left, bare upper arm, and within doing so, said coding flood Tessa's skin, alerting her that Zed was there without being abrupt about it. Tessa raised her eyebrows high in delighted surprise, inhaled a long, raspy deep breath through her nose and desperately tried to pry her eyes open, upon lifting her head. Zed blurt a silent chuckle as Tessa scrunched her face, peered into Zed's eyes for a moment before slumping, once more. Although she returned to her sleeping position, she allowed a small smile to sprawl her face, to signify to Zed that she was just simply dozing.

"You two doing okay?" Zed's soft, deep voice cooed, to which Tessa bobbed a small nod, inhaled another deep breath and stiffened her spine. She gently grappled the neck hole of her shirt and peered down to Berri, snuggled tight against her breast, "Hopefully tonight will be easier, on everyone."

"Now that the sun's up, she's as happy as can be," Tessa's tired voice croaked, she cleared her throat and glossed her eyes out the large bay window they were before, she narrowed her gaze as her pupils tightened with the draw of Sugar Rush's welcoming morning sun, "What's the logic in that... 'Oh, mom and dad are trying to sleep, time to scream.'"

"She definitely has thrown us a curveball," Zed grumbled with a loving smile as Tessa noticed Berri beginning to squirm and show signs of being all finished with feeding, Tessa's educated hands held onto Berri all whilst readjusting her shirt to normality, though as Berri came from the darkness of Tessa's shirt, she grimaced in a tight scrunch of her little face, tucked her larger fists to her chin and murmured in mild discombobulation. Zed felt his heart jump, every single time he laid eyes on his new princess, his blue haired beauty, he crowned the widest, most heartfelt smile, "There she is..."

"We're having a bad hair day, huh," Tessa smiled as she gingerly sat Berri up on her knee and swiped her larger finger across Berri's cute, fluffy, short blue hair, and as Berri's brilliant blue eyes adjusted to the change in lighting, she finally hooked her curious gaze to Zed. In a draw of delight, she beamed a wide, gummy smile upon seeing her father, "Same, girl, I don't know what it is. I haven't brushed my hair in days."

"You guys got the same hairstyle, currently," Zed blurt a laugh as he looked back and forth between both girls; Berri's bright blue hair was in chaotic sprouts all atop her little head, in which Tessa had a similar thing going, as well, "Peas in a pod."

"She's SO close to laughing, I can just feel it," Tessa encouraged as she sat Berri a little bit more comfortably and began to gently pound on her small back, so to burp her, "She was just going nuts over Lickity, earlier."

"Well Lickity IS pretty funny looking, understandable," Zed teased, Tessa furrowed her brow and shot Zed an annoyed smile. Zed got a bit more comfortable next to the two and gingerly soaked his two forefingers into Berri's little belly, he warmly got closer to her face and quietly cooed to her, "Hey, B... My little blueberry."

"I think those eyes are going to remain blue," Tessa encouraged softly as both parents remained tight to their newborn's line of sight, Berri eagerly peered back and forth between the two, a draw of cute inquisition, innocent curiosity, her incredible blue eyes finally hooked tight to Zed's as that cute, gummy smile remained, "Y'got all of dad's genes, there, Bear."

"Ace snuck by with that more subtle brown-blue mix of hair," Zed chuckled, though Tessa huffed a small noise and gave Berri a contemplative smile once she finally uttered a burp.

"Here, you want to hold her? I need to stretch, my leg fell asleep," Tessa grumbled as she gently began to hand Berri over to Zed, and with great enthusiasm, he took his small daughter into his strong, masculine hands.

"Amongst other things," Zed teased, though he sheepishly huffed a near terrified breath of a chuckle once Tessa shot him a look of Queenly, impending doom, crowned with dark bags under her eyes, "KIDDING, kidding... Say, 'we were just kidding, mom'," Zed pitched his voice higher and gingerly waved Berri's little hand and arm around.

Tessa heaved a mildly annoyed sigh, stood, hobbled for a second and gently approached the bay window, which was frosted at the edges. She groaned a noise of content as she largely stretched, arms high and tight in the air. Zed carefully got to his feet and kept Berri upright against the left side of his chest and collar. Berri quietly began to babble in incoherent, gummy nonsense, though her gentle, girly noises had Zed practically beaming. With a great deal of warmth, Zed's hands so carefully held her behind her back, and the back of her head, as he pushed firm smooches into the side of Berri's soft little head. He nuzzled his nose into her cheek and continued to give her warm kisses on her pillowy, soft face, to no end. He finally came up for air, peered to her curious little face and held tight to her innocent, dewy attention. She long blinked her cute blue lashes as her little hands did everything they could to grip onto the collar of Zed's shirt. She squirmed a little, her way of feeling every single new muscle she had, and figuring out just where exactly she was on this earth.

"Oh, I don't know if I can do it," Zed stated through a small, boyish wheeze as he gently stood to his feet, bringing Berri tight to his chest for support.

"Do what?" Tessa hummed through an exhale of relief as she volleyed her exhausted, yet still somehow glowing gaze straight for her husband's.

"Leave this little booger for a few nights," Zed mumbled as he slowly strolled closer to Tessa, and upon being in her vicinity, Zed warmly unhanded Berri, with his right hand, and successfully pulled Tessa into his chest. Tessa willingly slumped her head against Zed's broad chest and closed her eyes, her face nuzzled into Berri's little, properly sized wrecking hand.

"I was just thinking that, earlier," Tessa's voice barely mouthed, she sleepily nuzzled against Zed's chest as his comforting embrace held her tighter. Berri mumbled a few noises and gently began to kick her legs, little motions of stretching and using her muscles, "You leaving soon?"

"Yeah, Lickity and I are gunna head out early, I was supposed to meet Ralph outside of Sugar Rush, before the Arcade opens," Zed stated warmly onto the top of Tessa's head, his cheek slumped to the top of Berri's bright, cerulean blue hair, "Although... I got a text from Turbo, about an hour ago."

"... Everything okay?" Tessa popped her eyes open in a pang of sudden dread, she pulled her head away from the comfort of Zed's chest and anxiously peered up into Zed's eyes.

"I mean, I think so... Haven't heard a peep out of him, since the wedding," Zed shrugged, and as he lofted his gaze out the frosted bay window that they stood before, the cold, morning bliss the palace's lot sat in was pure, winter serenity. Zed shook his head and tried to keep a positive air about himself, "He just said he needed to have a small chat with me, if I could spare. He said it involved the topic of, well... Y'know."

"Lash?" Tessa stabbed in a further spike of already billowing exhaustion and stress, though Zed's masculine hand warmly cupped Tessa's cheek.

"Relax, everything's okay," Zed started, though Tessa interrupted him abruptly.

"I mean, three weeks is a long time to go without any communication with your King and Queen, don't you think?" Tessa rushed in a spike of an impending explosion of frustration and emotion, one that likely included tears and a mixture of chaotic, hormonal buildup.

"Tessyyy," Zed cooed as he narrowed his gaze and peered at his bride down the bridge of his nose in a teasing, inquiring notion of shushing love.

"Wh-what if he wants to unbubble Lash? I-I don't have the energy to even THINK about how that conversation would go," Although Tessa's voice was low and quiet, for Berri's sake, the look of panic in her now specks of pupils was more than obvious.

"Tessa Q. Kalivarrr," Zed chimed, with a little bit more loving force and a snarky smile to boot, though Tessa continued on in a rush of now billowing, jittery terror.

"I-I already suffered whole deletion for this nonsense, I'm not prepared to go through with it again, Zed, I-I can't tell you how many nightmares I've had-"

"Your majesty," Zed's now firm tone glossed over Tessa's being, though it still was entirely coat with love. He grappled Tessa's shoulder, blurt a small chuckle and gently jostled her. He pondered a thought and inquiringly shook his head, a little, "Why don't... Why don't I take Bear with me, you uh... Go ahead and get a nap in, hun, you need to catch up on your sleep."

"... You're taking the baby out of Sugar Rush?" Tessa stabbed through the clench of her teeth in terror, she accidentally glossed over the entirety of the sweet gesture and kindness Zed had just offered her.

"Yeah... And straight into my home game, in which she is properly coded for," Zed shook his head and blurt a chuckle, "I can bring Ace or Libby along with me, if that'll make you feel better."

"B-Bring Koko, Berri is still young enough to confuse the both of us," Tessa grumbled as she rubbed her forehead and tried to push tears away from the forefront of her mind, "I don't even know what universe I'm in, any longer."

"You just need some sleep," Zed instructed with love, he shook his head and kept Tessa close to his vicinity, making sure Tessa was well aware that Berri was equally as safe in his fatherly, tender loving care, "Everything is always heightened when you're sleep deprived... And I'm pretty sure you got less sleep than me, last night. I'll go talk with Turbo, Ace, Koko and I will scout Dead Zed, and possibly see Finn and Tammy. You, go sleep."

"Zed," Tessa began to retort in nervousness.

"I'm surprised I have to tell you twice, Mrs. Kalivar," Zed instructed with a hearty laugh as he gently removed his hand from Tessa's shoulder and pulled out his master communicator, he gently thumbed to a few options and cocked an eyebrow, down to the glowing screen, "I'll fill you in on the details after your beauty rest."

Tessa slumped her shoulders in defeat and felt surprise, as well, that Zed definitely had to tell her twice, to go get some sleep; something she was certain would never happen. She furrowed her eyebrows in a rise of motherly concern as she peered to the back of Berri's little head. She was well aware this wasn't Zed's first rodeo, though the fact that Berri was now being taken out of Sugar Rush, in the brief cross of Game Central Station, as well as a train ride to End Of Line Station, she bit her lip in confliction and held her breath. She finally glossed her exhausted gaze to Zed's and felt her heart jump. His handsome blue eyes held to hers with an equal amount of exhaustion, though somehow the look of sheer, unadulterated, boyish delight, that kiss of promise on the curl of his smile, Tessa was well aware this was the same look he so successfully deployed on her in their younger days; she sagged her shoulders in defeat and allowed him to take her down, once more.

"Please be safe," Tessa finally concluded, to which Zed inhaled a deep breath of success.

"I have a special little Blue, here, to protect me, if anything bad happens," Zed's deep voice teased as he lovingly jostled Berri a little, and with such, he smooched Berri's pillowy cheeks and was successful in getting a few good, excited wails out of her. Zed laughed, alongside her cute noises and nuzzled her little nose with his, "We'll be just fine... You head back to bed. I'll go see what Turbo wants to chat about."


	2. Chapter 2

**Reviews :**

 **NightHex54 :** YAY! I know it's gunna be fun. I think that it's actually kind of hard to write the two in the same room, right now, due to their weird circumstances with 'age difference' but it's fun nonetheless :D YAY I'm glad you're here! Thank you!

 **CHICKENM4N :** I'm so glad! Thank YOU!

 **Burgie :** Oh yay thank you! I am too :D

 **StillAintBovvered :** I'm SO GLAD you're here, and have been here ever since the very beginning! HUGE kudos to you, I wish more readers and reviewers like you spoke out so I could give them a huge virtual hug. Thank you so much!

 **WildVirus :** YAYAYAYAY THANK YOU! I'm glad you're here, as well! Yes, so many babes, my herat is going to explode! OMG I have a text to speech app, the woman's voice I chose, her name is Tessa LOL! I was like okay this seems appropriate. Yeah, the movie was incredible and a bummer, all in one. WEIRD.

 **Snake557 :** Thank you! Aww, yeah I guess I just don't know when to quit. Makes for some cool art tho! I'm pretty stoked :D

 **chuckiboo :** Omg thank you SO much! and YES, their babe is named Theo - him, Berri and Wren have a very tight knit bond, growing up! Much like Tessa, Penny and Oliver :)

 **SamanthaR1987 :** I will be, for sure! See my A/N below for more info! Thanks for being here, good to have you back!

 **Alisi Thorndyke :** I want to say one HUGE thank you for being my VERY FIRST reviewer! One of my rare long time readers, since the Wrecking Limits days. I appreciate you jumping on board, once more, I hope you're well, and I'm really glad you're here! Thank you, friend.

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 **A/N** **:** Whooaaaaa I was NOT expecting nearly THAT much love on my first chapter, WOW I am blown away, and so motivated and encouraged to keep going! Thank you to EVERYONE, from the bottom of my heart.

Now, I know this story has the term 'palace' now thrown around, and the lot of you are probably like, wtf. I JUST got used to the Kalivar castle, and now there's a whole Sugar Rush PALACE and an entire metropolis of Orion City. Wellllll... For an early Christmas present, I got an iPad Pro, with an Apple Pencil and Procreate! So I can do a TON more drawing and doodling on the go. With my new iPad, I have a few solid paintings in mind, and with such, I will be doing a MAP of Tessa's new palace, as well as a map of Orion City, the interior of Turbo's abode, the interior of the palace, and much more.

I'll likely be posting all of the raw doodles to my Instagram - the more polished pieces will make it to my deviantART, so keep an eye out on both of those landing points, cause I upload sporadically! Check it out, guys!

 **Instagram - Vyntastic**

 **DeviantART - Vyntresser**

Another **HUGE THANK YOU!** I am the luckiest girl alive to have the coolest most supportive group of friends, readers and reviewers! You're the best!

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Swimming with Sharks ft. Dave Edwards - Fly By Midnight**

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 ***Chapter 2***

In a tight zip of teleportation, Zed was successful in getting the go-ahead, from Turbo, to teleport straight to his high flying loft in the sky. Sat comfortably perched in the tallest tower, in all of Orion City, Turbo's careful reign over the sprawling metropolis was running as smoothly as everyone had hoped. Sixty four floors up, and not an inch too far from Sugar Rush's fluffy, cotton candy clouds, Zed's coding zipped onto Turbo's teleportation pad, which was stationed comfortably outside of Turbo's front door. Secluded and out of public access to the rest of the sky scraper, the larger, glowing white foyer of Turbo's front door was silent and pristine. Zed inhaled a shaky breath and felt his ears pop, from the altitude. The sudden starkness going directly from Sugar Rush's low lying teleportation hub straight to sixty four stories into Sugar Rush's wild blue was enough to make goosebumps plague Zed's arms. In this realization, he nervously peered down to the small, precious bundle of blue cuteness safely strapped to his chest.

Berri was awake and alert, the side of her head and cheek was comfortably nestled into the broad of Zed's chest, over his heart. Zed had her tight in a black, cloth sling that held snug over the cross of his chest. He hung in silence and kept his diligent eyes tight to his daughter, in fear of the altitude hurting her ears or causing her that small bout of grief, though in the few moments of tender silence, nothing but the cute, quick rasp of her inhales and exhales through her little nose, he sagged his shoulders and lovingly gave the top of her head a few smooches, he tidied her cute little grey hoodie and made sure her fingers and toes were covered and warm. Once he felt his fatherly urges gently begin to subside, he finally broadened his scope to Turbo's massive, glossy white front door. As he stepped off of the teleportation pad, a large six by six foot matte white square, it finally dimmed and powered down.

Zed's boots gently thud on the grey tiles, the low laying ceiling would assume to be intimidating and claustrophobic, though somehow this level of sophistication, the glow of the walls from the futuristic shine of ambience made the place seem wide and oddly comfortable in it's array of modern difference. Zed cleared his throat and softly let his knuckles thud to Turbo's large front door in a few welcoming knocks. He stepped back a little, tucked his hands behind his back and awaited Turbo to answer the door. Once the massive white door bevelled into itself, sagged into a groove and slowly slid open, it revealed Turbo's figure. He gave Zed a kind smile, his glowing, golden eyes were confident and calm, he gently plucked the white earbuds out of his ears and slung a hand towel over his broad, masculine shoulder; it was clear he had just finished a workout.

"Your majesty," Turbo quipped in a dollop of a deep crackle, one of genuine kindness, he gently gave Zed a small nod of a bow, something Zed kindly shook his head at.

"No need for that," Zed assured as Turbo warmly invited him into his home.

Zed gently stepped inside and now felt alien; having been his first time inside Turbo's abode, since they first helped him get settled, Zed swallowed a little and was absolutely floored at the sight before him. He was comforted that Turbo had quickly made himself at home, all settled and relaxed. Turbo's front door gently slid closed, behind Zed, Turbo's inner foyer emulated the welcoming sight on the opposite side. A massive, single room with a low laying ceiling in the foyer eventually spanned to high arches and a massive, swooping floor to ceiling wall of a window, one that bowed alongside the curvature of the sky scraper they were in. The view, from Turbo's perch, was nothing short of breathtaking, an incredible view of the entire scope of Orion City, as well as a perfect view of Sugar Rush's beautiful castle, dead ahead, tight on the mountain side. Just on the other side of the castle, in the distance, was Sugar Rush's entrance, shroud in morning, winter fog.

"I'm absolutely stunned that the Queen let you take little blue, for the day," Turbo huffed in a gentle grunt as he began to gently stroll away, and into his kitchen; he breathed a chuckle of understanding, set his new phone and earbuds on his flawless kitchen island and glossed his eyes to Zed over his shoulder, he dared to glance to the small infant strapped to Zed's chest. It was clear Turbo likely had not had any contact, with anyone, ever since the day Sugar Rush was saved, over a month prior.

"That makes two of us," Zed blurt as he peered down to Berri with a kind sweep of his hand, he shook his head and allowed his warm smile to broaden, "She seems to be in good spirits, for now. After this, I'm headed straight for Dead Zed."

"Hopefully the peace remains," Turbo stated, for Zed's sake, he continued to welcome Zed deeper into his home, said single room was attached by a few steps down, from the kitchen, to the incredible, sunny, glass-walled room, crowned with a comfortable lounging, sitting area and a modern fireplace. Zed long blinked in a rise of delicate confusion, having sworn that the place looked a little different, the last time he saw it. As he looked on, and noticed a gently lit hallway tucked to the right of the sprawling, dimly lit kitchen, Turbo's croak of a voice carried on, "I-I meant that, for your sake. It won't bother me if she has an unfortunate meltdown that no one can help."

"No worries, thanks for letting me bring her. I could've just left her with Tessa, while we chat, but... Tess needs some sleep, she got less than me last night," Zed stated in a rise of gentle sorrow, for his bride, Turbo's agreeing eye contact, and a bob of a nod, left Zed feeling more confident in his decisions.

"I appreciate you coming," Turbo eased a sigh, his wise, glowing eyes glossed his kitchen island as he crossed his arms and leaned his hip against it. He wore a tattered red tank top and black sweats, his dusty grey hair had gotten a little longer, a little more out of control due to the delicate curl it held at the ends. He sagged his shoulders in a rise of continued defeat and finally gave Zed a worried stab of eye contact, "I really, genuinely, don't know who to talk to about what's on my mind... I figured Sugar Rush's King was my best bet. I considered Nox, but... I know this is sensitive information."

"...Lash?" Zed pressed as warmly as he could, though he knew he was lying if he would state that his heart wasn't racing at the speed of light.

Turbo inhaled a long, audible breath through his nose and allowed his contemplative gaze to scan the counter top. He narrowed his eyes, furrowed his brow and looked as if he was thinking long and hard about what he was about to say, though he locked eyes with Zed, once more, and looked as if to temporarily bookmark the subject at hand.

"Let's head to the hub," Turbo gently instructed, his own, mini version of Sugar Rush's code room, his share of the game's coding he had the privilege of looking over; with his word, Zed bobbed a nod and both men gently tensed into action.

Turbo began to lead Zed across the large, open formatted kitchen and to said slither of a hallway, just off the kitchen's right side. Zed felt a peace in Turbo's little abode, a warmth of a hermit crab of a spirit, the delicate touches of a homey, masculine abode that emulated Turbo's personality, something Zed was actually endeared to get to know and understand. As both men eased into the high-ceilinged hallway, they hooked another gentle right and came to a spiral staircase, one that curiously lead both upstairs and downstairs. Zed held his breath and furrowed his brow in cheeky delight; he was well aware Tessa had allowed Turbo how ever much space he had desired, though he was unaware Turbo was able to sneak by with three whole floors, of this sky scraper. Just as Turbo routinely began to step downstairs, and gestured for Zed to follow along, Zed huffed a chuckle, let his boots thud on the matte grey tiling, and as his eyes dragged up the massive span of wall, his pupils tightened with the beaming sunlight that lovingly glinted into the stairwell, a properly placed sky light.

"Where does this stair well lead?" Zed inquired to the upstairs he curiously peered up, Turbo nonchalantly glanced over his shoulder and gave Zed a small, humble smile.

"Just a little sky room, of sorts," Turbo eased, he continued on down the stairs, which cued Zed to slowly peel from his previous intentions of easing upstairs and getting a peak, "Nice place to sit, at night. Although the city's light pollution makes it hard to see the stars, I still get glimpses from time to time."

"Would be a perfect spot for the ladies, no?" Zed encouraged with a boyish laugh, to which Turbo joined, though he shook his head in defeat and continued to lead Zed down the stairs.

"No ladies for me," Turbo pressed, as if he had his mind made up. His bare feet tenderly came to the final landing, and as both men eased into the room, Zed sagged his shoulders in a roll of surprise and let his eyes adjust to the sight before him; Turbo bashfully continued on, "I'm okay keeping this abode a bachelor's pad. I'm not looking for a lady, again."

"Got your hands full with this ol' girl, anyway, yeah?" Zed inquired lovingly as he stepped out into the room and opened his palm for something glowing before him.

A massive sweep of a room, the same size as the room one story up, a gloss of gorgeous white floor, wall and ceiling tiles embodied the entire, empty warehouse like room. Through the massive tiles, the grout lines glowed the confident color of Turbo's electric red coding, and hung in a small, delicate web of a few dozen code boxes, his share of Sugar Rush's code room confidently hung under Turbo's careful rule. Everything in the room was pristine, the same wall of glass was shared with the upstairs, and alongside the same view of Orion City, and Sugar Rush's glorious castle in the distance, Zed felt a further sense of peace envelope him with love. It was in this instance was he relieved he and Tessa had delegated Turbo a share of the code room; Berri's little, babbling noises reminded him just how much he had his hands full, in this season of his life.

"She keeps me busy," Turbo's raspy, masculine voice lovingly grumbled as he came upon the main, red orb in the center of the room. It expanded with his presence, allowing the red honeycombs of Turbo's coding to sprawl his arm. His earnest eyes gazed into the gorgeously glowing orb, though he heaved a hard sigh and shook his head, "... I'm enjoying being alone. Rediscovering my own coding. I've gone thirty years trapped with Libby's coding. It's nice to deconstruct and figure myself out, again."

"I see your point," Zed calmly eased as he bobbed a nod, Berri squirmed a little, her little hands rubbed her face in mild agitation, it was clear she was fighting sleep.

"As nice as it'd be to bring a woman home and really delve back into that... That's so far from where my mind is, right now," Turbo shook his head and gently held eyes with Zed, "I need to be by myself, for awhile. I haven't legitimately been alone, with my own genuine thoughts, for the majority of my life. Nearly all of it... I'm happy to finally be able to hear my own voice, in my head, for once."

"I never thought about it, like that," Zed encouraged gently, to which Turbo inhaled a deep breath, his strong chest expanded as he finally exhaled and sagged his shoulders in relief.

"Maybe one day... But that one day can take it's time," Turbo blurt a chuckle and shook his head, "Besides, I can't go into the city, let alone leave the game, and join the dating scene. I'd be killed on sight."

"I don't know," Zed lulled his head and shrugged, as he temporarily looked off, "Nox and Throttle seem to get on just fine, coming and going. I think you'd be safer than you know."

"I'm not going to chance it," Turbo eased, his mind made up, "I'm happy to be here, for the time being."

"Well... No matter, you're always welcome at the palace," Zed encouraged tenderly, Turbo eased his almost timid and nervous eye contact to Zed's, "We really missed you, during Christmas, especially New Years. Nox and Oliver hosted this big karaoke competition. It was hilarious."

"Yeah, Nox... Definitely sent me one too many drunken videos. I appreciated the invite," Turbo sighed through a small laugh that both men shared, his eyes gently glossed the back of Berri's head as he began to get lost in thought, "I just... Need time. I have so much on my mind, so much to think through and rediscover, about myself, and my place in Arcade. It's a lot to swallow."

"We respect that," Zed nodded and looked off, tight to Sugar Rush's horizon, the gorgeous castle that stood proud on the hilltop, "Just know, you're always welcome. The palace's teleport hub is only one click away, you know that."

"Thank you," Turbo nodded with a weak, almost sorrowful smile, as if Zed's words were definitely digested, though somehow maybe not fully believed.

"You're welcome," Zed chimed gently; he was well aware that Turbo had his own inner demons to battle, and would eventually come around, "So... You wanted to inquire about Lash?"

"It's nothing serious, I just..." Turbo trailed off, and with a gentle gesture of his hand, the small, red orb gently expanded to a few options. Turbo thumbed through the red, holographic display before him and was successful in pulling up the ghost information of the rest of Sugar Rush's coding. Although Turbo had access to the entire code room, two thirds of it was simply ghost coding, information he couldn't alter or have control of, coding of which only Tessa and Zed could gain access to. He softly and hesitantly pulled up the ghost coding of Lash's purgatory-esque code box, sealed away inside a more sturdier looking barrier of information, and with such, Turbo shook his head and continued on in a rasp of a whisper, "I wish... I wish I could talk to him, one last time."

"You... Say that as if we've killed him," Zed tenderly pressed, he knew this sensitive information. Zed shrugged and tried to get to Turbo's level, as patiently as he could, without feeling entire terror and agitation over the subject matter, at hand, "You interested in unbubbling him, or something?"

"I just wish we could get it over with," Turbo staggered, he jostled about the ghost coding and peered to Zed, almost desperately, "I wish he could see what you guys have made of this game, the second chance he was given... We could all get on, together, like old times."

"It's different, now, Turbo," Zed instructed gently, and although Turbo had decades of wisdom and age over Zed, Zed somehow still felt a fatherly tug towards his newfound friend. He stepped closer to Turbo and kept his electric blue eyes tight to Lash's ghost coding, "From the story Tessa told me, Lash was groveling at her feet, begging for mercy. It's clear Tessa kept him alive for the simple, plain fact that she could sense heart in him. She's extremely intuitive, that woman can sniff out bullshit from a million miles away... But, it's just... Too much red tape to inch around, right now."

"That's why I want to unbubble him, just get... I don't know... An HOUR with him," Turbo huffed, his demeanor began to figuratively shrivel, as if he knew arguing with the King was a lost cause, "Just to prove to him that... Things are different now."

"Turbo, some things are better left to heal with time, not to tear at it with urgency that's unneeded," Zed urged gently, both men locked eyes in a fit of this proverbial tug of war, "This wound is so fresh... You just said, yourself, you're relieved to ease into your own thoughts for once, to rediscover yourself and to reconnect with your own roots. It's okay to look out for number one..."

Turbo sagged his shoulders and peered hard into Zed's eyes, and once Turbo finally gave way and soaked his defeated gaze down and across the glossy, white tiles, he flinched and gave Zed his eye contact, once more, the second Zed's loving, firm hand gripped the top of Turbo's shoulder in a show of brotherly, loving care.

"I know you're confused, I can tell you're drowning in guilt," Zed eased warmly, "You can't help anyone until you help yourself. You can't save someone from drowning if you, yourself, are also drowning."

"I betrayed him," Turbo hissed as he narrowed his gaze, which he was desperately trying to avoid oncoming tears, "I just want to apologize... I've lived my entire life being trusted by no one BUT him, and I lost it."

"You may have lost his trust, but... You gained all of OUR trust, in return," Zed volleyed, to which Turbo kept his mouth shut tight, his gaze held desperately to the King's, and with such, Zed smiled and gently jostled Turbo's shoulder, "Tessa gave you a third of the entire code room... In losing Lash's trust, you gained the trust and respect of over two dozen new individuals, not to mention, dude..."

Zed gently gestured his free hand to the incredible scenery out before the two, Orion City sat in pristine condition, under no one but Turbo's care.

"If this whole city found out you were having success in being their caretaker," Zed carried on with a smile, though Turbo rolled his near-teary gaze and looked off.

"They'd run for the hills and light Orion tower on fire," Turbo's dry, sarcastic wittiness retort, though Zed sagged his arm to his side in teasing, defeated agitation and jostled Turbo's shoulder, once more.

"To the list of rediscovering yourself, dude, you need to learn how to not self-deprecate," Zed's stern, fatherly voice coat Turbo's soul, and with such, Turbo remained under Zed's dominant care and stood still and quiet, "You've got to forgive yourself... We all have. The last person to forgive you is Lash, which, believe me... One day, he will."

"I just wish I knew when that day was," Turbo pressed in irritation, "I just want my family whole, for once. Now that I've gained Nox and Throttle back, Lash is gone. I just can't win."

"But, you're not at the end of the race, my friend," Zed cooed gently, both boys locked eyes in tenderness, "You're at a checkpoint. Just take it one lap at a time. For this lap, focus on building yourself up. Maybe the next lap, you can brave the world and find confidence in actually leaving the game, let alone the tower. The very last lap can be your confrontation with Lash, which... Will be held in a million User-bubbled, quarantined, sectioned off area of the middle of nowhere with all four of our Users involved."

"He won't know what hit him," Turbo grumbled with a small chuckle as he looked down, though he finally gave Zed a becoming smile, a gentle smirk of confidence that he was desperately trying to work on, "Thanks, Zed..."

"It will help you, tremendously, to hang out with Nox and Throttle," Zed instructed, "And don't be scared to make other friends. Don't coop yourself up in this tower for the rest of eternity. Cause, trust me, my clan will come banging your door down if you're gone for too long."

"My door is always open," Turbo chuckled as Zed firmly pat Turbo's back, in a form of gentle conclusion.

"Ours, as well," Zed cocked an eyebrow and gave Turbo a knowing smile, "The road goes both ways, my friend."


	3. Chapter 3

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Aww wow, thank you! That's encouraging!

 **CHICKENM4N :** Well, I'm glad it correlated with something you're going through! Hopefully that situation pans out. It's hard doing the right thing sometime, I understand. Thank you!

 **Snake557 :** Thank you! And, I check PM's every day :)

 **Alisi Thorndyke :** You're not wrong! LOL! Zed's definitely in for one wild ride, when it comes to Berri and Turbo. Lots of excitement to come :) Thank you, friend!

* * *

 **A/N :** GUYS I got an iPadPro... I say this because we got it like 2 days ago and I swear to User I have done everything in my power to not let it consume my life but I've been drawing a piece on it, in Procreate, and I'm SUPER excited to finish it. Thus, why I'm late uploading a chapter.

Another reason I'm slow to upload is because when I get sick, Cory then gets sick shortly after... And vice versa. So we've spend the better half of last and this week alternating taking care of one another whilst we're sick. So, I got the flu shot, because it's absolutely required because I work in operating rooms at the hospital... But, EVERY TIME I get the flu shot, I get sick. Which, I understand why, but every time I DON'T get the flu shot, I DON'T get sick. Sucks that now that I absolutely have to get the flu shot, I can schedule when I'm going to be sick. I hate this.

I'm alive, but still. Ew.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Morrison by Frenship**

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 ***Chapter 3***

"Alright, little Blue, this is Game Central Station," Zed stated in a tender coo as he just barely lifted Berri out of the tight, snug chest sling about Zed's broad front. Berri's incredible blue eyes squinted in a scan across the glowing, golden station, easily swallowing every single last one of her glances at this bright, beautiful new world. Koko snorted a small laugh and crossed her arms as her and Ace eased their endeared sights towards Zed and his new infant, "This is where game outlets are plugged in, you can go from game to game, Bear. 'Course, Turbo sort of, well... Made it taboo. But don't worry, he's a good dude."

"You should show her the information stations, dad," Ace's deep voice eased in the roll of wanting to laugh, he softly waved his large, wrecking hand in the direction of the few stands, full of glorious, glowing screens tiered with information. Ace and Koko caught eyes in a string of teasing love as they honed their gazes back to Zed's tender, though exhaustedly happy blue gaze, "She'll be sure to go nuts over the size of those screens."

"Genius," Zed huffed as he quickly began to march off, Berri squealed a noise of entire delight as Zed began to cross the small gap just outside Sugar Rush's marvelous outlet.

"... Tell me, how in Arcade did Queen Bee allow that bad guy out of the game with her new princess?" Ralph's voice trailed in a roll of near-terrified disbelief as he strolled up, both Ace and Koko blurt into hard laughter.

"Blame Tessa's pure exhaustion," Koko giggled, everyone was clad in comfortable hoodies and jeans for the winter, though Ralph was strictly in his game attire; same old ripped up overalls and plaid, orange shirt. Koko inhaled a deep breath, put her hands on her hips, peered to Zed across the way and continued on through the exhale of a delighted sigh, "It's so cute to see Zed dote on a baby."

"It's been interesting to watch," Ace bobbed a nod and crossed his arms, though he happily leaned into Ralph for a welcoming side hug in the process, "I guess Uncle Finn told me that dad did similar stuff with me, when I was a baby. 'Course, now it's different because, well... Berri's a girl."

"Poor dude is gunna have his hands full, that's for sure," Ralph huffed a hard sigh as the group continued to watch Zed, from across the gap; he eagerly spoke in soft words down to his daughter, her incredible blue eyes remained absolutely entranced on the massive displays of information, colors and lights on the screens Zed stood before, and pointed to, "Raising a daughter is, well..."

"Happy you missed out on my upbringing, there, dad?" Koko sneered, though it was strictly playful; Ralph rolled his eyes and pleadingly looked off as Ace blurt out into hard laughter.

"I walked right into that one," Ralph grumbled as he rubbed his chin and begrudgingly held tight eye contact with anywhere that wasn't Koko's, though he finally stopped resisting her burning gaze and apologetically smiled into her eyes, "You know how Tessa is-"

"I'm telling on you," Koko snipped, which had Ace laughing even harder; Ralph grappled his hair and garbled a loud groan to Game Central Station's stretch of an arched ceilings.

"I give up," Ralph groaned with a small, annoyed smile.

"I do too," Lickity barked in hard annoyance as she finally sauntered up; having just caught up with everyone, Ace, Koko and Ralph softly turned to peer to their lucky bat dragon with nervous, inquisitive gazes, the sheer fact that Lickity's voice was entirely nasally and congested. Lickity persisted, her large bat ears sagged and her fluffy, velvety cream mane looked as if she had been neglecting it, due to being sick, "I'm hoping this crap isn't contagious..."

"Poor thing," Koko pressed as the small group sagged to welcome Lickity into their bubble, her study, scary claws clacked on Game Central Station's tiles, "Tessa hasn't checked out your coding, or stats or anything? Surely there's something that can be done to simply reverse a cold."

"Well... Although I'm programmed for Sugar Rush, finding our way around the common cold seems to be pretty difficult, actually," Lickity garbled, her eyes were a little sunken in, and although she didn't look to be in too bad of shape, it was clear she was well on her way if she didn't take it easy, "Marble offered to take Zed into his game, today, but... I think there's something in Sugar Rush's air that's aiding in my allergies."

"All those sugar particles," Ralph stated knowingly with a small bob of a nod, he put his large hands on his hips and everyone softly peered to the cute sight of Zed doting on his newest child, "I had one hell of a go the first winter I spent, in Sugar Rush. I think you'll get used to it, Lickity, I wouldn't worry."

"You could probably have dad just reset your coding in Dead Zed," Ace shrugged as he crossed his arms, everyone peered to the adorable sight across the small gap of the station; a few passing gamers cutely cooed at just how adorable the sight of Zed was, with his new infant, as well; Ace pressed on through a content sigh, "Surely that'll do the trick."

"See, here, Bear," Zed eased, he softly glanced over his shoulder and took note that he had likely wandered too far; the station softly chimed the two minute warning for the open Arcade call. Zed peered his electric blue eyes tight to the massive display before him and Berri, and as he dragged his eyes down to the baby strapped to his chest, he huffed a small chuckle at the sheer sight of entire bewilderment on her adorable expression, "This board updates us on the potential of incoming games, to our station! We used to be able to cast our votes, but, the Wifi's been down for some reason..."

"Dad, grampa wants to hold Berri before he goes to work," Ace called from across the open, golden stretch.

"Coming," Zed called, and as he began to step out to return to his small group of family, his pocket began to buzz and vibrate, alongside a proper, eight-bit tune of Sugar Rush's theme song. Zed fumbled for his phone, eased the shiny device out of his dark, cargo pant's pocket and peered to the screen in delight. He softly slid his thumb on the touch display and waggled the phone before Berri, "Look who it is, lil bluuue. Hey, Tess, what's going on?"

"I just wanted to make sure you made it to Dead Zed safe and sound," Tessa's voice eased from the speaker on the bottom of the device, though she grunted a small noise of mild annoyance once Zed cued a video call without asking; her face came up on the screen, and upon seeing Berri's little face, the focus of the call, she melted out of the bout of annoyance and tucked her hair behind her ears. It was clear she was comfortably tucked inside hers and Zed's love nest of a tower, on palace grounds, "Aww, there's my Berri babe. I'm SO thrilled to see that you're still in Game Central Station, a grey area of loss-of-coding potential, Zedian."

"W-We were just heading out," Zed staggered as he came upon Ace, Ralph, Koko and Lickity's gentle conversing. He waggled his phone about, which had the video chat of Tessa on display, "See? Got the best of the best."

"No one's harming a little blue hair on Berri's head, so long as I'M around," Lickity barked, her nasally voice made it impossible to understand her; everyone blurt into hard laughter.

"We're all shaking," Ace muttered, though he choked a laugh once Lickity's wing popped him in the shoulder. He largely wobbled and did everything he could to catch his footing, with Ralph's teasingly apprehensive help.

"No one's going to harm Berri because you'll chase them off with your runny nose, there, Lucky," Koko crossed her arms and although the banter didn't let up, she smiled her kind eyes into Lickity's.

"The lot of you should probably have a reset in Dead Zed," Tessa grumbled through the device, she sleepily rubbed her eye and heaved a hard, exhausted yawn as she continued, "The sugar particles aren't the only thing bothering our noses, this winter."

"GREAT," Lickity huffed in a hard whisper as she flattened her ears, though she largely wrinkled her nose and almost went cross-eyed in preparation for a sneeze.

"Duck and cover," Ace grunted as he hunched his shoulders and scoot behind Ralph, though before anyone else could react, Lickity largely thrusted her head down and forward and hacked the loudest, gnarliest sneeze her body could muster.

Alongside the noise, her gorgeous, cream, feathery mane stood on end in a puffy fuzz of an unsettled mess, though just as she sagged her wings and gasped for air, cueing everyone to rest easy that said sneeze was a one and done, Berri suddenly began to kick her feet in a fit of raw excitement alongside the cutest burst of solid laughter. Everyone froze in bug-eyed surprise and peered their dewy, excited gazes straight for Berri, and in a heart-melting settle of love, everyone eagerly began to coo words of approval to little Berri. Tessa's eyes popped open in a rile of surprise, a second wind she was praying for.

"Did she just LAUGH?" Tessa loudly urged in a whole rile of lovestruck excitement, to which Zed eagerly nodded and made sure to point his phone's camera to where Tessa could see.

"Sure did sound like it," Ralph stated with pure pride as he put his hands on his hips.

"Thank User I called," Tessa urged in an almost girly tone as she began to encourage her small baby, Berri's blue eyes so happily and eagerly held tight to the device's screen, fixated on her mother's face in unadulterated awe.

"You're welcome," Ace staggered, Koko giggled and nudged his arm a little.

"Am I chopped liver?" Lickity barked, although clearly teasing, she flapped her wings a little and lazily gesture her clawed paw to Ace's figure, "If I'm not mistaken, I ALSO got this little User-nugget's first laugh outta him."

"You ARE pretty funny looking," Zed repeated from his and Tessa's conversation earlier, which had her loudly giggling on the video call.

"The Arcade is now open," An automated voice called over the gorgeous, echoey golden tiles of Game Central Station, and with such, Ralph's spine stiffened.

"Darnit, uh, well..." Ralph staggered in a rush of gentle plea as he began to step away, he gestured to Zed and Berri with a smile of mild desperation, "I call dibs on the baby, after game day, dude."

"She's all yours," Zed assured as the small group waved Ralph off, and after a few minutes, the golden station was silent.

"Alright, an empty station is a dangerous station, guys, dark outlet alleys everywhere," Tessa sleepily instructed, heightened information that pertained to everyone now that her helpless infant was outside of any of her home games.

"C'mon, guys, I'm excited to see just what Finn and the boys did with the blueprints Tessa left for them," Zed urged, and in a rush, the small group began to hustle down the stretch of the station, and straight for the train.

"Take pictures for me!" Tessa's voice gently begged on the video call.

* * *

In Dead Zed's January winter, the cool, minty green of the jungle held shroud in a fog of humidity, as if the jungle floor seemed to eke leftover heat from the summer and fall that had long past. Finn's crew had a new set up; although they had deconstructed the Kalivar castle, Finn and Tammy made sure to keep the castle's blue prints in hopes of revisiting it for the summer. An exciting, jungle getaway of a summer vacation hung on the horizon, in which the crew would all come together for a long, well deserved holiday at any destination, in Dead Zed, of their choice. Such fragile, much needed blueprints of Kalivar's castle remained safely tucked away in the gridlock of the code room's clutches. With the new year and the refresh of the entire group, Finn had brought him and his four younger brothers back to the roots of their past. Although they were separated from Zed, due to him being crowned Sugar Rush's King, they relived the bachelor days of tree house living, with the touches of modern and futuristic architecture.

In a dense thicket of jungle just North of where the Kalivar castle previously lay, Finn had loose, vast, outdoor treehouse-like batches of individual homes that held tightly suspended high above the jungle floors. Gorgeous, white little abodes all connected by sturdy wooden bridges, Finn and Tammy's held tight to the largest of said suspended homes. With Duke, Orph, Jax and Tej each enjoying their own abodes that loosley surrounded Finn's, each home had a wonderful view of Ekreth City off of their jungle cliff side. An incredible perch with a view, Zed and his crew eagerly gawked at the gorgeous, futuristic architecture that seemingly sung with Dead Zed's late morning glint of sunshine; not a cloud in sight. Stood on a massive, suspended outdoor plank, a huge gathering spot that had the delicate design of a lotus on the jungle wood they stood on, everyone stood in the peace of Finn's wonderful little getaway, a mini community of the utmost tranquility.

"I feel like I have to whisper, here," Koko stated in a tone that was barely above a whisper, she scrunched her shoulders and bashfully peered to Tammy; her and Finn were dressed in comfortable, warm clothes, as if they maybe had been previously relaxing for the day.

"It's definitely hard getting out of bed, in the morning," Finn grumbled as he crossed his arms, everyone had a wonderful view of Ekreth through a few dangling vines and jungle leaves, glints of sunshine that speckled the planks of sturdy, art-kissed wood they stood on, "Pretty sure all the boys feel the same."

"I'm so glad I don't have a game day," Tammy huffed with a small laugh, to which Koko bugged her eyes and nodded in entire agreeing, "I'm pretty nervous, though... Academy starts up again, next Monday."

"You're attending this year, right?" Zed encouraged, having remembered that Tammy dropped out upon hearing the false news of Tessa's and Zed's death, all that time ago.

"I am," Tammy encouraged with a smile, Finn proudly stood by her side and held his hand to her back in full show of support. Tammy inhaled a shaky breath and shrugged, "I-I'm sort of nervous though, because, well... Emery's not attending until the Fall."

"Because she just had Theo," Ace finished tenderly with a knowing nod, to which Tammy also nodded as she caught eyes with her second cousin.

"I don't blame her, I just have never attended Academy without Emery... We were there for Tessa's, Oliver's and Penny's first day," Tammy began to rattle off, though she shook her head and shrugged, "I'm... I'm sure I'll run into Otto, or some of my other friends, it'll just be lonely without her."

"...M-Maybe I could attend with you?" Koko started in a rise of confused nervousness; the group began to softly brighten with the idea.

"Yeah, have Koko go with you, this semester!" Zed pressed in further encouragement; Berri squealed a small noise of inquiry and waggled her cute little hands about, "And, come the Fall semester, Emery and Tessa will join again."

"Then, come the NEXT Spring semester," Ace waggled his eyebrows and softly gestured to his baby sister, "You'll have Berri, Wren and Theo to take on THEIR first days."

"...I totally forgot about that," Tammy's eyes lit up, it was clear said information was enough to turn her view around. She slumped her shoulders in relief and gave everyone a kind look of appreciation, though the sass very quickly began to build, "Way to turn it around on me, guys... Not that I don't appreciate it."

"You're the GCA pro, Tams... Gotta show the kiddos the ropes," Zed shrugged, everyone bobbed nods and gave Tammy looks and smiles of continued encouragement.

"That I can do," Tammy cocked an eyebrow and peered her kind, teasing gaze to her younger cousin, Koko, "You're in for a rough ride, my friend."

"... What did I just sign up for," Koko eased in a shaky bout of confusion.

"When we leave, we can stop by Game Central Academy and get you signed up, I'm sure it's not too late," Zed kindly pressed, though before he and Koko could continue on with their conversation, Lickity suddenly let out a loud, strange whooping call of a noise to the jungles beyond, a guttural call unlike any other.

Everyone flinched in a rile of surprise and peered their bewildered gazes straight for their lucky dragon. Without anyone noticing, Lickity had successfully snuck down the planked walk way and nearly all the way to Finn's sunlight doorstep. He large bat ears and eyes were absolutely fixed to the jungles beyond, as if she was entirely engulfed, on a mission no one else knew about, and just as Lickity began to softly sprawl her wings and begin to look like she was due to taking off, Zed barked a noise of confusion and began to urgently shuffle closer to her.

"Hey, hey, Lickity," Zed called as he waved his hands, though with this, Lickity largely flinched, sagged her wings and dart her entire attention to Zed. As if snapped out of a trance, her massive eyes hooked tight to Zed's, her pupils were almost entirely dilated, a scary sight to see from such a formidable, apex predator. Zed scuffed to a nervous halt and held his hands up, "You, uh... You okay, girly?"

"I-I... I'm fine, what were we just talking about?" Lickity furrowed her brow and began to gently pant, as if to come off of an adrenaline rush. Her feathers, along her mane and down her belly, began to show a gentle touch of different hues of ceruleans and turquoises, a strange display for her typically muted tans, creams, chocolates and browns.

"We were discussing Academy when you started calling out to the jungle, like that," Zed began to feel a peak of almost humorous confusion, though Lickity's dilated eyes finally went back to normal, as did the coloring on her chest which gently began to vanish, "You see something?"

"No, I didn't, I... I don't know what came over me," Lickity held her paw to her chest in gentle confusion, though she peered back out to the jungle and flattened her ears, as if she simply fell into a trance she was unaware of.

"Okay, so we're ruling out the fact that it could either be Uncle Rancis, Turbo OR Lash," Koko loudly counted on her fingers, she waggled her hand as everyone, excluding Zed and Lickity, began to laugh, "We JUST got out of a castle, game-wide mess. Can we just, I don't know... Go a YEAR without incident?"

"I don't think we have anything to worry about," Finn stated in a gentle, at-ease, knowing manner, to which Tammy rubbed her forehead with a bashful grimace.

"How can you be so sure?" Ace worried, he began to feel his User coding surge through his veins, as if he, too, was irritated that they potentially couldn't catch a break.

"We've been seeing Lickity's breed around here, a LOT, lately," Finn bobbed a nod and eyed Tammy, as if this was likely becoming a bit of a nuisance.

"Mating season," Tammy quipped, and with Zed and Lickity out of earshot, the group loudly burst into knowing laughter.

"Shouldn't stay in these parts for too much longer," Ace grumbled as he rubbed his face in agitated relief, "Our only ride home will ditch us without thinking twice about it."


	4. Chapter 4

**Reviews :**

 **chuckiboo :** Thank you SO much! No, faux-codes aren't required to attend Academy. It's like college, except it's free. They just have to sign up, and in order to progress to higher, more difficult classes, you just need solid grades. Easy peasy! But no, no one is required. But only faux-codes can attend. So, like Ace, Libby and their children can't attend because, even though Ace and their children are self-programmed, they cant attend cause they're Users. Which is obviously an extremely rare case. Anyone who is a Usermade gamer (Ralph, Vanellope, Zed and all his brothers etc.) CAN'T attend Academy. Only way Zed got away with it, in Defying Code, is because he toyed with his coding. Tammy and Koko attend starting in Winter/Spring (where the story is currently), Tessa goes back to Academy in the Fall (coming up), with Emery. Then, after a year, once Berri, Wren and Theo are 'fully grown' (one year in Arcade is equivalent to about 18-20 human years, 'development-wise') they attend the following Spring. I'm positive none of this makes sense, but I did my best with how exhausted I am xD PM me if I've only confused you farther, otherwise I may make a massive A/N about this topic, just so everyone is on the same page as me! Wonderful question, thank you!

 **Alisi Thorndyke :** Toooooo true xD Thank you!

 **Snake557 :** LOL No, the shot is mandatory, and it's normal to get symptoms after getting a flu shot. I work in healthcare directly, so I have to get it. I think the only way I could get out of it is religious reasons? But it's just too much of a hassle, I just let them have my arm, it's not worth the fuss lol.

 **Burgie :** Aww thank you so much! You learn a LOT about Lickity's breed, in this chapter! :D

 **BanannaSammich :** Definitely will thank me when the 5th story finally comes around ;) Thank you!

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Trajectory Burn by Adam Young**

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 ***Chapter 4***

As the evening came to a close, and Sugar Rush minty winter air frosted every single last palace window, Zed finally melted his way into his and Tessa's love nest, with Ace tight in tow. Although Berri has successfully been napping through all of the castle chatter, as well as being passed around by a few grabby, loving hands, she ended said spin around safe in Ralph's massive, safe embrace. Although it was just the thing to knock her out for the night, Zed grimaced in mild nervousness as his winter boots finally scuffed the gorgeous foyer of his and Tessa's soothingly warm abode; he was well aware Berri was due for a feeding, one of which her urgent screams wouldn't hesitate to demand at the drop of a hat. Cued to his father's lithe footsteps, Ace knew to talk softly, so to keep Berri sleeping for as long as possible.

"This book is huge, dad, you really gunna download the entirety of it to your phone?" Ace questioned in tenderness, he held up the Bible-sized beast of a book Finn had kindly lent to his oldest brother; it was loved all along the spine and back cover.

"No, I'm just borrowing it," Zed's masculine voice eased, he did everything he could to carefully take off his thick shoes, without making much noise. Berri remained tightly strapped to his chest, though he knew removing her from said sling would certainly wake her up. He was thrilled he at least had a starting point to go off of, and as him and Ace removed layers of coats, shoes, socks and scarves, they finally melted into the motherly warmth Tessa had lovingly sapped the place in. He continued on, tones still deep and low, "It's too big to download, anyhow. It'd take me ages."

"Let me know what you discover," Ace pressed as he eyed the book, though just as he was due to inquire more about said book, they hit a wall of the amazing, delicious scent of warm apples and cinnamon. Ace furrowed his eyebrows in a delirious draw of entire delight and eyed his father in a grimace, "Whaaaat is mom cooking?"

"Holy User, I don't know, but let's find out," Zed urged as he, too, beamed a curious smile and pressed deeper into his and Tessa's home, bursting at the seams with warmth and love.

Although they were stationed at the very top of the totem pole, in the hierarchy, Tessa's and Zed's humble little tower sat comfortably perched deep inside the flyer's enclosure; a secure little getaway from the usual, bustling chaos of the palace. Although they were still prominently on castle grounds, their tower just barely hovered over the canopies of the jungle trees, which originated from Dead Zed. Strictly a two-story abode, it towered a solid seven stories over the ground, the only point of exit and entrance being an intelligent, securely monitored teleport pad snug in the small common room, on the ground floor. Shroud in gorgeous jungle flowers and plants, which trailed a cobble path to the break of the dense, jungle enclosure, the King and Queen's little getaway was just what they needed in this time of raising a new baby. The lot of everyone, on castle grounds, knew to give the flyer's enclosure a wide berth, unless called upon.

Down the small stretch of a corridor, from the front foyer and teleport pad, the warm walls finally opened to a gape of the main room. A round, sprawling room with a massive bay window that hugged the curvature of the building, and showed a perfect view of Sugar Rush's main castle building, alongside the glass dome of the code room. A cozy, spacious kitchen hung to the left, alongside a large kitchen island, crowned with beautiful white wood and marble, kissed with pops of color and love, here and there. In said open, massive, breezy room was a proper living area to the right, which tidily left the kitchen's white wood floors and warmly eked into plush carpet amidst soft, light grey couches. Tessa knew she didn't want too big of an abode, though she spoiled her and Zed with a massive flat screen, hugged thin and tight to the wall. The tv was on, though it had dimmed to a screensaver mode, which consisted of a few pictures of exotic, luxurious beaches Sugar Rush boasted.

"So, not only did you get in a nap, you baked a pie and cleaned the entire house," Zed softly stated as him and Ace slowly moseyed towards the kitchen; Tessa was comfortably stationed at the marbled kitchen island, dressed in a massive dark grey slouch of a sweater and black leggings. Her hair was down in wet waves, and as she lazily thumbed through a news article, her hazel eyes peered to the two men that approached in a rise of renewed glow, although with that unending prickle of new-mom exhaustion.

"I also showered, duplicated the tree house for you, and programmed the tv for that one weird Pac Man show you boys love so much," Tessa snipped, she raised her eyebrows and softly sipped her cup of steamy tea, "I even had time for a second nap."

"Dad's turn," Ace chimed with a quiet chuckle, to which Zed huffed an exhausted breath and sagged the thick book to the kitchen island; Tessa cocked an eyebrow and peered hard to the worn and loved book with pure inquisition.

"How was she, today?" Tessa wondered, and although she was curious about the book, she stood up straighter, eased closer to Zed and beamed the widest smile upon seeing Berri's cute little hands and arms stir.

"Good, brace for screaming," Zed scrunched his face and nervously eyed the small baby strapped to his chest, though as Berri woke up a little more, everyone sagged in surprise at the raw fact that loudly crying wasn't the first thing on Berri's agenda, "... Or, never mind."

"Don't speak too soon," Ace grunted with a small laugh as he gingerly knocked on the wooden walls of the kitchen island, underneath the slab of thick marble.

"She'll remember she's hungry, soon," Tessa huffed with a small laugh as she began to peel away from Zed and head to their glorious, stainless steel fridge. She diligently pulled out a reserve of milk, for Berri, and began to prepare to slightly warm it up. She tucked her hair behind her ears and watched as Zed diligently began to unravel Berri from the sling he had been strapped with all day, "So, you boys have any lucky finding a good honeymoon spot, then?"

"Did we," Zed started, though he grunted in a struggle and realized he couldn't simply worm out of the sling while holding Berri. Without thinking twice, he softly turned to Ace and began to ease Berri into his fragile, bumbling gravity, "Here, can you please hold your sister for a second? I just need to get out of the sling."

"O-Oh, I... Well..." Ace grunted in tender, protesting nervousness, and although he began to take Berri's tiny little figure from Zed's masculine hands, his confidence began to shrivel, so visibly that he nearly hunched his shoulders in a slap of impending terror. He choked an inhale and bashfully peered to Zed as he desperately tried to take Berri from him in a forced show of education he had not retained.

"Watch her head," Zed pressed warmly, and although he was wanting to be quick about just handing Berri off, for mere moments, just to get the sling off, he slowed his roll and knew this was a valuable teaching opportunity, "Y'got her?"

"Sorta," Ace stated through a nervous huff of an inhale, and as Zed dilgently positioned Berri into Ace's larger hands and arms, Zed pat Ace's shoulder and began to tidy Berri's little hoodie.

"Perfect, you're doing great," Zed nonchalantly encouraged, he knew not to bring way too much attention to just how nervous Ace was acting, and although Zed was well aware Berri was a ticking time bomb, he was somehow hoping Berri would potentially explode, so to give Ace some experience, "She may wig out once she realizes you are, indeed, not mom."

"Okay, then, hurry, cause I don't want to upset her," Ace rushed nervously, though Zed could see the hidden terror in Ace's eyes as Zed began to loosen himself from the cotton sling. He lifted it over his head and began to take off the thinner grey pull over he had on, though Ace's rigid posture just eked of frozen anxiousness. Just as Zed suspected, Berri scrunched her face in a cute grimace and began to grunt little noises of defiance. Ace raised his eyebrows in sorrow, and although he held Berri in a correct posture of love and care, he still remained frozen solid. The second Berri began to pitch gentle cries, which only would escalate, Ace darted his worried hazel gaze frantically between his mother and father, "A-Alright, uh, mom, she wants you."

"We'll just give her a bottle I prepared," Tessa stated in impending exhaustion, she dribbled a little bit of the warm milk to her wrist, to check the temperature, before she began to step closer to the two boys, "I'll be up at least twice tonight, to feed her. My body needs a break."

"Here, dad," Ace urged, his tone began to escalate to that of more dire concern, and just as Berri's whole little face began to turn red, she pitched a harder scream and began to loudly hungry-cry out to the world, "D-Dad...!"

"Bud, take it easy," Zed huffed a chuckle and warmly gripped Ace's shoulder. Just as Tessa approached, he gently took the bottle from her, unravelled Ace's free arm and handed it to him. Once he guided Ace's hand, as well as the bottle, to Berri, she urgently began to drink, thus quieting all cries and complaints. Zed warmly kept to Ace's shivering gravity, and as Tessa hung back and watched the tender moment, she crossed her arms and warmly smiled as Zed's fatherly voice coat over their first born's trembling aura, "I know it's nerve wracking to hold a screaming baby and not know quite what to do, but we knew ahead of time she'd be hungry, that's all... Y'gotta get used to this, bud, why don't you take some time to dote on your sister, a little. Get acclimated."

"You're as stiff as a board, love, she's not going to bite you," Tessa teased with a small laugh as she sagged her arms to the marble island. She heaved a content sigh and watched the cute sight unfold. Berri's little wrecking hands grappled Ace's much larger thumb as she fed, and although Ace looked visibly shook, a warm smile began to sneakily curl at the edges of his mouth as he noted his success in calming his sister down.

"I don't know about that," Zed grunted, Tessa blurt into a small laugh and gave Zed a bewildered look, "She was gnawing on my finger, earlier, and I felt some pretty sharp chompers, deep in those gums."

"Don't tell me that," Tessa grumble with a small laugh as she buried her face in her hands; although she eyed her first born and took note of his now thawing demeanor, she also was cued to Zed's silent plight; to not draw way too much attention to Ace's cute, fumbling, uneducated self, "So, what's with the book?"

"Well... Something pretty strange happened today," Zed started, he eyed Ace in mild annoyance as he picked up said book and waggled it about, "Why don't you tell mom what Lickity was caught doing."

"Lickity sent out a mating call," Ace stated in a teasing, nearly irritated, though smiling tone of snarkiness. He huffed a small, nervous breath and adjusted the bottle of milk he was successfully feeing his baby sister.

"... I'm sorry, I stroked out," Tessa mumbled as she shot Zed a dumbfounded look, "A MATING CALL?"

"It was the weirdest thing ever," Zed rubbed his face and heaved a yawn of exhaustion as Ace gently carried on.

"Sh-she like made this weird grumbly roar of a call out to the jungle, out of nowhere," Ace urged, he bashfully peered down to Berri and almost froze at the realization that her gorgeous, brilliant blue eyes were absolutely transfixed on Ace.

"Keep the bottle tilted up, hun," Tessa began to warmly instruct with a gesture, to which Zed cued to. He reached out to Ace, lightly corrected the problem and tilted the bottle a little more forward.

"...Why?" Ace wondered in soft innocence, and it was with this small inch out of his hermit shell did Tessa and Zed feel comfortable finally approaching the topic of his uneducated inquiries, like luring a wild animal out of it's den.

"If she inhales air, she'll get trapped gas later, which... Will result in tears," Zed huffed a chuckle and felt relief that Ace's nervous exterior wall was now softening and becoming malleable to accept advice.

"He's talking about me. I'M the one that will be crying," Tessa grunted as she firmly pointed to herself; both men loudly laughed.

"Berri won't know what to do about the discomfort, so she'll just scream and cry about it," Zed chuckled, "Keep it tilted so she only gets milk, and no air. You want to burp her afterwards?" Zed bravely pressed, he made sure to keep his welcoming gaze as soft and approachable as he could.

"I... I can try," Ace eased with a little more confidence, he peered down to Berri and blurt a small chuckle, "I-I am a lot more nervous about this whole new baby thing, than I thought."

"It's always scary to hold a baby, if you don't totally know what to expect," Zed shrugged, he warmly pat Ace's shoulder and shook his head with a knowing, narrow gaze, "Though, trust me, it's an entirely different story when it's your own baby."

"Scarier?" Ace lilted in a shaky pitch of impending question.

"Easier," Tessa cooed with a small laugh, she shook her head and gave Ace a loving smile, "You're going to be just fine, there, DAD."

"You look terrified, son," Zed chuckled, to which Ace finally eased his shoulders and bobbed a nod, and although he was previously rigid in his posture, he began to sag and look a little more comfortable with his fragile baby sister, "You know you're going to be just fine, when the twins come, right?"

"I-I know, I just... I need experience, but I guess I just didn't know how to obtain it. Or ask to obtain it," Ace pressed nervously, Tessa urgently gestured her hands to the cute bundle in Ace's masculine arms.

"By all means, you can practice on your sister to your heart's desire," Tessa softly laughed, Zed beamed a knowing smile and bobbed a nod.

"Y'also got Wren and Theo to throw in the mix," Zed cued, Ace shrugged and bashfully eased a smile.

"You should practice taking care of all THREE of them, at once," Tessa pointed, to which Ace bugged his eyes in terror and urgently shook his head. Tessa shrugged and cutely smiled, "That way, when it comes time to take care of just TWO babies, it'll be cake."

"Mom, dad, I need you to know I'll probably be on your doorstep every single day after Libby gives birth," Ace assured, to which Zed and Tessa were all smiles of knowing understanding.

"No you won't, son, it comes naturally," Zed shrugged and gestured to his two children, "I mean, lookit you, not two minutes ago you looked as if you were holding a fabergé egg over a boiling pit of lava."

"But, on the offchance you DO find yourself on our doorstep," Tessa gently interjected, both men peered their curious eyes to Sugar Rush's Queen, "You know we are always here to help you and Libby. Our door is ALWAYS open."

"Your mother will want to dote on every baby on the lot, so bring 'em our way," Zed grumbled with a chuckle as he continued to rub his eye.

"Seems as if Lickity wants to add to the pile," Ace pressed in teasing concern as he skillfully rounded the conversation back to the topic at hand.

"Yeah, what the heck?" Tessa prod, Zed finally heaved a raspy sigh and held up the book, once more.

"Finnigan loaned me this book on Dead Zed's dragons," Zed eased as he began to thumb through the pages, "Everything we need to know, about Lickity's breed, is in this book. I mean, I'm telling you Tess, if it weren't for me snapping Lickity out of it, she nearly took off and didn't look back, that's how focused she was."

"Weird, I mean... Lickity doesn't ever talk about finding a mate, or anything," Tessa pressed, it was clear she was becoming sorrowful, in an agitated, anxious kind of way.

"Well... I don't think that's something Lickity even has control over," Ace shrugged, to which Zed bobbed a nervous nod, "I mean, it was instinctual. Once dad snapped her out of it, she looked as if she had no clue what had just happened. She was riding on pure, animal instinct. It was odd to see her so disconnected from her typical talking self."

"W-well, what does the book say?" Tessa pressed in a further show of gentle urgency, she scoot closer to Zed, "Can you find her exact breed, in there?"

"Sure can, let's see... She's not a wyvern, she's not a drake..." Zed fingered his lip and scanned the table of contents, and once he thumbed through a few page numbers, he finally cleared his throat and was successful in his findings, "Aha, here it is... Draco Velociraptor Myotis Kamuri."

"Gesunheit," Ace chuffed; Tessa blurt a hard laugh.

"That's the scientific name... 'More commonly known as a Regal Kamuri, these large, mammalian bat dragons are known for their incredible sense of hearing, lithe speed and silent stealth. They have thirteen out-of-game lives. Upon death, each respawn results in a prettier more regal skin and power upgrade of its previous version. Equipped with large, razor sharp velociraptor-like dew claws, Regal's are incredible hunters and fighters. Typically solitary creatures, during mating season, males pack together in groups of two to four to aid in their scout for a female'," Zed intelligently carried on, he raised his eyebrows in delighted surprise and cued to the next passage he read, "'Male Regal's have vivid, varied color markings along different areas of their ventral to attract a mate, whilst females lack said color markings."

"But... Didn't you say Lickity had like these weird speckles of blue all along her chest?" Ace pressed, Tessa furrowed her eyebrows hard in surprise.

"It was so beautiful, it was all down her chest and speckled on her cheeks and jaw," Zed eased in boyish excitement as he gestured to his chest and neck, though he furrowed his eyebrows and continued to read from the book, "I guess... It says here that females will crown the same exact color of a matching male, so to carry on stronger, like-for-like genes."

"Too bad a male didn't respond to her call," Ace eased in a soft tone of disappointment, though Tessa began to look worried.

"Well... Guess we can't take Lickity with us, on our honeymoon, then," Tessa grumbled in dismay, though both men gave her a mild look of bewilderment.

"... Wait, why?" Ace wondered lightly, Zed cocked an eyebrow.

"We're bringing her because Royal, Balba and Marble are going on that getaway to Honeydew Ridge," Zed reminded, "Lickity was coming with us so she wouldn't get lonely, remember?"

"I mean... If we bring her, she could easily just ditch us and never come back," Tessa complained in now rising worry, Ace eased his confused eye contact to his father's, and vice-versa.

"Well, Tess, you want to just stifle her needs and leave her here, all lonely and without any other flyer for the week?" Zed began to get defensive of Lickity, something he was absolutely certain he'd never have to do, against Tessa of all people.

"Well, no, not at all, I just..." Tessa staggered and began to feel strange, a pit in her stomach she was uncertain of how to even digest. She frowned and gave Ace and Zed a raw and honest look into her heart, "Wh-what if... What if she finds a mate and just... Forgets about us? I mean, what if she just takes off and that's that?"

"I don't think that'd happen, mom," Ace's deep voice assured, though Zed shrugged and softly glanced to his first born.

"Well, Tess... Lickity may talk and laugh and tease and play and hang out with us, but... At her very core, she is an animal," Zed tenderly reminded, to which Tessa finally sagged her sorrowful eyes to the kitchen island, "If she finds a mate and flies off into the sunset, and just... Somehow carries on like how she used to, before she got Orion's ability to talk, then... We'll just have to accept it. We can't force Lickity to stuff instincts she feels the need to act on. She's a free being."

"But... Y-You don't really think she'd just forget about us, would she? I mean, she has Royal, her own son... A-and a grandbaby on the way?" Tessa began to show very visible worry in the tears that gathered in her eyes.

"Babe, I highly doubt she'd just take off and forget us, but..." Zed looked off and grimaced an apologetic smile, "If she acts on instinct, whilst we're in Dead Zed, we're going to have to just let nature take it's course. She's not like us human gamers. Underneath all that walk and talk and sass is a very real amount of animal instinct, one that can't really be ignored."

"Especially in the heart of mating season," Ace cocked an eyebrow and gave Zed a small, knowing look of delightful dread, Zed's chest expanded with a deep inhale and a knowing bob of a nod.

"She wasn't acting like this, last winter, because she had just given birth to Royal, thus not expecting a mate," Zed shrugged, "I mean, I don't know, Tess, how would you feel if you were Lickity?"

"Don't turn that around on me," Tessa sorrowfully stabbed with a frown, though Zed put up his hand in gentle defense.

"I'm not turning anything on you, it's an honest question... You'd want to feel free to come and go, as you please, right?" Zed warmly eased, to which Tessa finally heaved a hard sigh and bobbed a nod, "And, so... Maybe she'll be gone for a few days. Would be cool if she came back with another flyer to add to the pack, wouldn't it?"

"Royal would be PISSED," Ace bugged his eyes and shot his dad a teasing look of smiling dread, "Hooo Royal won't like that. Another dominant male in the enclosure? One that is his mother's mate, of all things?"

"The whole palace would catch fire," Zed grit his teeth and glanced to Tessa, who groaned a noise and sagged her face into her hands.

"Exactly why I don't want to take her into Dead Zehhhhd," Tessa grumbled in a long drag of slightly teasing despair.

"We don't really have a choice," Zed sighed in soft conclusion, to which Tessa finally swallowed said large reality pill, "You can try and distract her, for as long as you want, but... Instinct will likely override everything, eventually."

"It'll be okay, mom," Ace shrugged, Tessa bobbed a nod and looked off in anxious concern, "I think Lickity deserves it, after everything she's been through... I can maybe warn Royal, prepare everyone for every aspect of this situation."

"We're gunna need a bigger enclosure," Tessa's raspy voice grumbled in exhausted concern.


	5. Chapter 5

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** AWESOME question! No, the flyers on the lot are not like lions, in where the dominant male coming into a pride will kill a previous male's offspring. They have a very odd hierarchy, the flyers on the palace lot; it gets further explained as this portion of the plot expands! Thank you, friend!

 **chuckiboo :** yes, indeed! Things definitely heat up, no pun intended. Conflict is my middle name LMAO! And yes, Ace DEFINITELY gets some solid experience, with Berri and Wren tight in tow. It'll be a lot of fun haha

 **Burgie :** Yes, too true! I would be worried about Lickity leaving, as well. You'll find out!

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 **A/N :**

Hey guys! Really quickly, I just want to make a blanket statement about the 'aging' process, in arcade self-programmed gamers, just so the context of Wren's, Berri's and Theo's age is clear (which will further include Beaux and Mara once they're born)

So, in the Arcade, my AU idea, since Wrecking Limits, was a baby's expedited aging process that only is halted once a gamer reaches physical maturity. When a baby is born, in the Arcade, one month (more or less) is equivalent to one or more years in the human world. So, Wren was born a month BEFORE Berri and Theo. So while Wren is about two months old right now, in the story, he is the physical, mental and emotional maturity of a human 2-4 year old. Berri and Theo are still only a few weeks old in the Arcade, meaning they have the physical, mental and emotional maturity of a human child that is nearly 1 year old.

While this sort of aging process becomes more rapid over the duration of one year, once Berri is technically 12 months old, she will have reached her full status of physical, mental and emotional maturity of a human. Life experience gives any of these faux-codes more mental and emotional maturity, so when a faux-code turns exactly 1 (12 months) - they really would be a 20-25 year old human.

I REALLY hope that all made sense. If it doesn't make sense, please PM me with any questions you may have!

Thanks guys!

 **OH ALSO**

I have a few sketches of the Sugar Rush palace down, and once I post the lot of it to deviantART, I'll let you guys know! It's a LOT to take in, the palace, cause it's MASSIVE, but I hope my drawings and a proper map of it will help it to make more sense! THANKS GUYS!

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Together We Map The World by John Powell (HTTYD2 Soundtrack)**

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 ***Chapter 5***

"Ohh OH! Uh, y-you're... Trying to reach the highest shelf in the pantry," Orph urgently staggered in a rush of now rising adrenaline amongst the group, his face was turning red with such fervor; Gloyd angrily grit his teeth and began to flap his arms even harder, a very dire game of charades the large group was participating in, the whole group loudly howled with laughter, "You're FLYING!"

"This is painful to watch," Taffyta laughed as she covered her face and sagged into the large, swooping couch she was sunk deep into, amongst a few other relaxing bodies. She warmly tucked Wren into her upper body, though he eagerly sat up a bit and glued his excited attention to Gloyd's vigorous movements.

"Y-You uh, you... Are making a snow angel!" Orph firmly pointed and was now jumping out of his seat in dire urgency, which had Penny nearly crippled with laughter.

Gloyd flagged his hands to his chest and now angrily put his flat palms atop his head, to give an example of large ears.

"Y-You're... RUDOLPH!" Orph's voice crackled in a high pitched squeal, the group was entirely lost in laughter, excluding Gloyd.

"You're TERRIBLE at this game!" Penny wheezed to her fiancé as she wiped tears from her eyes.

After a long, tiring game day, the excitingly busy Saturday to end the week, a large gathering had found themselves in the palace lot's recreational hall. A large, single roomed building with a massive arch of a lovely beamed, cascading ceiling, said recreational hall was about a five minute walk from the main core of the palace. Tucked into the very edge of the flyer's enclosure, it boasted an incredible terrace, lush greenery that was currently shroud in puffy billows of snow, alongside a typically cool and refreshing swimming pool, though covered for the winter. Off to the reaches of the recreational hall's lot sat a sprawling jacuzzi, which could easily be seen from the span of the building's endless walled window, billowing out a lovely splay of steam to Sugar Rush's cold, shivering evening night.

Zed, Rancis, Ralph, Taffyta, Candlehead, Gloyd, Swizzle, Orph, Penny, Emery and Nox all excitedly hung in the living quarters of the hall. They partook in drinks and party games, every Saturday night's typical routine, and with the other Sugar Rush racers coming and going as they pleased, the recreational hall's luxurious, warm and inviting aura seemed to be the place to be on a loud and excitable Saturday night. In the span of the massive room, although everything was connected, the stretch from the hall's incredible kitchen from the living quarters was far enough away to be out of earshot of normal conversing. Sat in a cozy bubble of gentle, soft conversation sat Tessa and Oliver, each holding the other's baby, alongside Koko's gentle presence. The hall was warmly lit, decorated appropriately for winter, and although Christmas had past, Tessa continued to refuse to take down the incredibly gorgeous, tall Christmas tree that hung in the gape of the bay window, at least until it stopped snowing.

Dressed down for the night, cozy and warm in the depths of Sugar Rush's winter, Tessa sat hunched over the hall's glossy white counters, though tucked safe in her larger hands and rested on her lower arms, atop said counter, was her adorable little nephew, Theo. At about two weeks older than Berri, he was a lot bigger, loosely due to the fact he was blessed with the entirety of Ralph's and Olivers big boned genes. Much like Oliver, Theo was given a proper set of wrecking hands, something everyone was certain would not skip a generation, and although he was a proper born wrecker, Emery's colorful Dead Zed genes soaked right into the top of his head, much like Berri. Although Theo's hair was not nearly as vivid or bright as Emery's emerald colored hair, Theo's dark hair was a more muted version of it, as opposed to the incredible gaze of his piercing, emerald green eyes, he peered up to his aunt with an adorable, bewildered expression of looking and learning, he cooed sharp baby noises of inquiry as Tessa easily got away with quietly and obnoxiously baby-talking him into oblivion.

"You are positively the cutest," Tessa eased quietly, she wrinkled her nose and pushed firm kisses into her nephew's little belly, and much to her delight, it rumbled a cute giggle from Theo's figure. Tessa beamed and gently jostled him, and in a small dive for more kisses to his cheeks and face, the cuteness continued.

"He knows it, too," Oliver grumbled with a wide, closed-mouth grin. Him and Tessa stood adjacent to each other at the kitchen island, in the same exact posture, with each others' baby. Although he, too, had been doting on Berri, whom of which he cradled safely in his own much larger hands, he peered to Tessa in delightful inquiry and felt whole at the cute sight, "He threw a fit the other day... Totally got out of it just by giggling."

"You caved?" Tessa muttered as she cocked an eyebrow and gave her little brother a teasing smirk, Oliver sagged his shoulders and looked off.

"Maybe," He grumbled.

"Big softy," Koko teased to her big brother as she leaned closer to Tessa, so to also dote on her nephew, Theo.

In the midst of their gentle chatter, the group in the living room began to go wild with shouts and calls, which also included Wren squealing Orph's name at the top of his lungs. Tessa beamed an excited, wide smile as the three heirs, at the kitchen island, dropped their small conversation and honed their gazes to the commotion. With such, Gloyd was now angrily and wildly flapping his arms, amidst trying his very hardest not to laugh, and with the sheer amount of dumb remarks Orph was haphazardly shouting at Gloyd, the rest of the crew was now calling out very blatant hints to Orph, for everyone else had guessed just who Gloyd was trying to imitate.

"Big, fluffy, scaling thing!" Taffyta yelled with a hard laugh as she sat up a little more and situated Wren in her lap.

"Dragon! Dragon!" Wren loudly giggled.

"With how hard this is for you, I can guarantee you're not getting LUCKY tonight," Swizzle largely winked at Orph, hoping he got the innocent segue inside his innuendo, though Orph furrowed his eyebrows in a hard gape and pointed to Gloyd in bewilderment.

"LICKITY?!" Orph shrieked, Gloyd firmly sat down at the gorgeous, wide bench of the fireplace and shoved his face into his hands in whole entire irritation; the whole group continued to howl with excited, happy laughter as both began to loudly bicker.

"Even Wren understood who Gloyd was!" Penny practically couldn't even sit up from how hard she was laughing.

Tessa's wide, eager smile was so suddenly sagged into a sharp prickle of remembrance. In the gentle slope of her demeanor, she inhaled a slow, silent and annoyed breath, and as her eyes finally sagged back down to the adorable little baby wrecker in her arms, she exhaled said long, hot sigh through her nose. The reminder of Lickity, and her hot topic at hand, had her heart gently sinking in an abyss of confusion, the dilemma of taking Lickity to Dead Zed in a bout of freedom, or keeping her safely tucked away in Sugar Rush, a proverbial act of imprisoning her. Tessa got lost in Theo's adorable, incredibly emerald green eyes and could feel the gentle stares of her concerned siblings finally sag to Tessa's being in a warm, palpable string of apologetic understanding.

"You're holding one of the cutest babies on this entire lot and you're FROWNING?" Vanellope suddenly chimed as she had previously rounded the corner, a wide, lovely, long hallway that lead to a bathroom, a few bedrooms and a smaller, different wing of the recreational hall.

"She was reminded of Lickity," Koko pressed warmly, to her mother. Oliver and Koko both peered to Vanellope in a silent string of near plea, as if they were simply conveying that both of them, together, had tried absolutely everything to get Tessa out of her funk, to no prevail.

"It's fine," Tessa mumbled with a forced, weak smile. She shook her head and softly began to mumble cute coos down to Theo, once more.

"Have you decided if you're taking Lickity with you guys, or not, yet?" Vanellope eased as softly as she could, though she knew that somehow she had to get to the bottom of this ordeal. Vanellope crossed her arms, leaned her hip into the island's counter, where she was stood across from her three children. She cocked an eyebrow and wasn't surprised that Tessa wasn't giving her a response, though Oliver's and Koko's dewy, nervously innocent expressions sagged to their mothers in a further slope of plea; Vanellope inhaled a sharp breath and gently furrowed her brow, "... Is it really that dire of a decision that you can't even MAKE said decision?"

"I don't know, mom," Tessa blurt in gentle annoyance, and as she finally inhaled a deep breath and stood up straight, she carefully brought Theo's front up to her chest and shoulder and tenderly cradled the back of his fragile head in her strong, wrecking hand. Tessa shook her head and softly began to jostle Theo up and down a little, once she realized his coos of rising urgency held impending twinges of sleepy fussiness, deep in the depths of his little lungs, "Zed and I could so easily just use Dead Zed's code room's powers to get about our honeymoon spot... It'd definitely be easier with Lickity, but..."

"So bring her, it's no big deal," Vanellope shrugged, though Koko grit her teeth at her mother, as if she knew better which of Tessa's buttons not to push.

"Mom, she'd ditch us for a code swap," Tessa insensitively spat, though the second Vanellope's eyebrow cocked in a rise of dominant sass, Tessa knew that her Queenly status was only just a hierarchy title, and not something she could even remotely hold over her own mother and predecessor to Sugar Rush's reign.

"Wow, that... Sounds strangely familiar," Vanellope's cute voice lilted in entire, sarcastic charm as she fingered her lip and coyly looked up; Oliver largely rolled his eyes, lulled his head back and slowly brought Berri up to his chest.

"Alright, Bear, I don't want you learning how to be as sassy as these ladies, okay, we're going to go elsewhere now," Oliver muttered in cheeky cuteness down to his niece, though Koko choked a noise and began to urgently flail her fingers a little.

"Nooo it's my turn to hold her," Koko urged in gentle sweetness, to which Oliver bowed to her requests.

"Mom," Tessa eased in a strange dollop of sad warmth, she knew she had matured past the point of blatantly and loudly arguing her mother, she knew Vanellope was smart and quick, had more knowledge and wisdom than her cute and sassy demeanor lead on. Tessa furrowed her eyebrows in a slope of continued defeat and sagged her shoulders as Vanellope waggled her finger and eyed her first born with a smile.

"Be sensitive towards your best friend... She's an animal, at her core," Vanellope stated, "Let her do what she's gotta do..."

"But... What if she doesn't come back?" Tessa worried, she knew she was beginning to sound like a broken record, though for some reason she felt as if she was believing the words the more she said them, even though she knew, deep down, they weren't true.

"Doesn't come back?" Vanellope hissed as she shook her head; Oliver gently handed little Berri over to Koko in the background of Vanellope's and Tessa's conversation, "How could she not come back, Tessa, she LOVES you."

"She could never just forget about us, Tess," Koko eased warmly, she lovingly cradled Berri in her arms and tidied the bright blue hair atop her little head, "She has a son, a grandbaby on the way, her entire family here, and not to mention... This whole palace?"

"There's no better place to be, Tess," Oliver grumbled as he crossed his arms and leaned his upper body lazily onto the kitchen island's counter, due to having a break from holding a baby, "You, yourself, should know that first hand. You created this palace..."

Tessa sighed, sagged her shoulders and knew she was being controlling. She lulled her eyes closed, cuddled Theo's little furnace of a body tighter to her chest and buried her nose into the top of his little shoulder. He squirmed just barely, though snuggled into Tessa's loving embrace, nonetheless.

"Tessa, tell me what it was like when you discovered that Ace was about to fly the coop and go off and find his own footing, in this world," Vanellope cued, she gently pointed to Tessa and shrugged, "What was it like when he and Libby started to become interested in each other? Were you scared that Ace was just going to ditch and forget about you guys?"

"Well, no, cause... Ace and Libby were childhood best friends," Tessa shrugged, she shook her head as Oliver blurt a small, knowing laugh, "We could hardly wait for Ace and Libby to FINALLY get together, it was torture watching the two tip toe around each other."

"Bad example," Koko teasingly muttered to her mother, Vanellope fingered her lip in pondering thought.

"What abouuuut... When Berri grows up and leaves the nest?" Vanellope shrugged as she gestured to adorable little Berri, saddled gently in Koko's arms; Tessa cocked an eyebrow and nervously eyed her second born, "I'm sure Zed will likely have a much harder time with it, but... What are you going to do then? You can't stifle her wants and needs just because you feel insecure that she won't come back."

"Well, mom, how did you handle the situation when Tessa became interested in Zed?" Koko cued, and although Vanellope looked as if she was about to defend herself and rush to hers and Ralph's aid of being rather hands off, with the situation, Tessa bobbed a nod and peered her mature eyes to her mother's.

"She let me go," Tessa eased warmly, she sighed once more and tidied Theo's dark green hair, "They didn't really like Zed... But they never forbid me from doing what I wanted to do."

"That's exactly how you should treat this situation," Vanellope gestured, "Sure, we were scared for you... We didn't know Zed well enough, and we were certain that you were going to fall head over heels and get lost in the jungle with your newfound blue-haired bad guy, but... You didn't."

"I mean, I did, but it was because Turbo and Lash had a hayday on EVERYTHING," Tessa blurt a small laugh, which cued Oliver and Koko into wider smiles.

"You still came back, you fought for that crown," Vanellope shrugged and cutely looked up in thought, "And now, said blue-haired bad guy is Sugar Rush's King... Good things happen if you just stop holding the world with your fist."

"Maybe she'll bring back a really cool OTHER bat dragon," Koko excitedly peered to Tessa, though more for the sake of cheering her up, "Maybe they'll have babies? I mean, C'mon... Lickity's your best friend. She's not just going to ditch you forever."

"And Tess, if she does," Oliver grit his teeth as the group fell nervously silent and honed their eyes tight to Oliver, "Then she maybe wasn't as wonderful of a friend as you thought..."

"Lickity wouldn't do that," Tessa blindly defended, though with such, Vanellope, Oliver and Koko were all smiles.

"SEE?" All three chimed at once, which had Tessa sheepishly shrinking into herself.

"Take her, Tess... She may run off, but she will always come back to you," Vanellope lovingly encouraged, and with such, Tessa finally bobbed a soft nod of agreeing and eased Theo away from her shoulder a little, so she could get a good look at him.

"You guys are heading out tomorrow, right?" Koko wondered as she softened her tone, fully noticing that Berri was drifting off to sleep, in her arms.

"Yeah, we'll be leaving..." Tessa furrowed her brow and stopped her train of thought the second her phone, in her sweat pant's pocket, began to softly vibrate. She gently angled herself closer to Oliver and gestured down to her leg, "I don't know who's calling me, but can you get it?"

"Sure," Oliver pressed as he dug his larger finger into Tessa's pocket, smoothly slid her phone out and peered down to the screen. He huffed a surprised chuckle and showed Tessa the screen, "Oh, it's Turbo. Want me to answer it?"

"Yes please," Tessa urged as Oliver's large thumb accepted the call and put it on speaker. Tessa cleared her throat and spoke down to her beautiful, slim phone, of which Oliver kindly held out to her due to Tessa's arms being preoccupied with Theo, "Hey T, you're on speaker."

"...O-Oh, hello," Turbo's raspy, masculine voice warmly eased through the phone; Koko and Vanellope loudly giggled.

"It's just Oliver, Koko and Vanellope," Koko assured, to which Turbo huffed a bashful choke of a chuckle.

"No worries, hi all," He eased, "You wanted me to call you before I headed to the palace, your majesty."

"Oh, yeah, are you on your way now?" Tessa pressed, though Vanellope furrowed her eyebrows in whole confusion.

"Yes ma'am," Turbo politely volleyed, "Am I to meet you in the code room?"

"Yeah, I'll meet you there, I might have some stragglers," Tessa cutely warned, due to the extremely curious look on Vanellope's face.

"No issue," Turbo stated, though Tessa could tell he was silently begging for not a lot of company to tag along.

"I'll see you in five," Tessa assured, and with Turbo's quip of agreeing, Oliver waited until they were finished to end the call. Tessa smiled in a soft show of longing delight, "Aww, he is so polite."

"It's almost painful," Koko blurt a chuckle and rolled her eyes, "Nox could definitely take a page outta Turbo's book."

"Nox is just playful," Oliver kindly defended, to which him and Koko began to playfully bicker.

"I can't believe Turbo's leaving his perch," Vanellope blurt, though just as Tessa softly began to hand Theo back to Oliver, she warmly began to receive the now dozing Berri from her sister, Koko; Vanellope pressed on, "I'm assuming Turbo gets the heavy task of acting-King?"

"Mom, he's Sugar Rush's Knight. He doesn't need to be acting-anything when he has his own specific Knightly duties," Tessa retort lovingly as she began to peel from the kitchen island and to the recreational hall's teleportation pad; Vanellope was tight in tow.

"Duties," Vanellope snipped with a snort of a giggle, Tessa largely rolled her eyes before she peered back to Oliver and Koko.

"We'll be right back, I'm just going to be assigning a few things to Turbo before Zed and I leave, tomorrow," Tessa called, to which Oliver and Koko promised to remain in their spots and await her return.

"Assignments," Vanellope teased with a smile, she lulled from the balls of her feet to her heels in a playful manner, atop the glowing teleport pad that her and Tessa had finally stepped onto, and in a single bout of rushing pixels, all three girls were zipped straight to the heart of the code room. Vanellope cocked an eyebrow and peered up to her new surroundings, Sugar Rush's massive web of a silver code room that hung in a dimmed, nighttime sleep mode, "And what of said little blue-haired assignment fast asleep in your arms?"

"Don't remind me," Tessa grumbled as both women stepped off of the teleportation pad and into the dim, warm and inviting heart of Sugar Rush's code room.

Above the three was the massive glass dome, Sugar Rush's incredible starry sky smiled down upon it's previous and current ruler, and as Vanellope crossed her arms and looked about, she felt a sweep of pride. Such a gorgeous, welcoming sight, the web of Tessa's code room was tidy and beautiful, all laced in her's and Zed's glowing silver coding, primed and ready for absolutely anything. Vanellope finally dragged her gaze to Tessa and eased a wider, more loving smile, she was well aware Tessa had an important task at hand; delegating all of her important rules to Turbo and Rancis, Sugar Rush's sworn protectors. Vanellope was well aware Rancis likely already got his own run down, though with the gentle twinge of nervousness, in Tessa's eyes, it was clear that Tessa was secretly agitated to hand over the entire slew of Sugar Rush's power to one of the only people involved in Sugar Rush's previous demise.

"So, little Blue goes to an inexperienced User-dad to be, and the entirety of the code room goes to the guy wanting to desperately unbubble the OTHER one guy that nearly ruined it for all of us," Vanellope cued as she crossed her arms, she bobbed a nod and nonchalantly shrugged, "Seems like it could work."

"Ace and Libby have Oliver, Emery, Taffyta, Rancis, you AND dad for support, with Berri, while we're gone... They need the experience before the twins are born," Tessa lulled her eyes closed in whole annoyance and wondered if there was ever going to be an instant where she maybe didn't have to justify her actions to her own mother, "Turbo has had important aspects, of the code room, for a whole entire month now and everything's been fine... Can you please have a LITTLE faith in my decisions, please, mom?"

Vanellope frowned and now felt as if she was mildly stepping a toe out of line, and with such, she knew to shape up; with the worries building in Tessa's head, Vanellope knew she shouldn't fuel the fire.

"I'm sorry, Tess... I don't have to be in on this conversation, if you don't want me to," Vanellope politely cued, to which Tessa softened and easily responded to.

"I-It's fine, mom, I just... I'm trying my best," Tessa sighed, "I can easily hand the code room to you and dad, but... You guys have game days, and... I'm trying to give Turbo a bit more responsibility. I'm hoping it gets him out of his shell, a little more."

"I don't think anything, at this point, can pull that hermit out of his shell," Vanellope staggered a laugh and shook her head, "That guy is as secluded and solitary as they come."

"He definitely prefers to be alone," Tessa shook her head and heaved a hard sigh, and as they eased deeper into the code room, they came upon Tessa's sprawling workstation. A massive white desk, lightly cluttered with a few papers, a few dimmed and screensavered-holograms that hovered, a beautiful work lamp and a few Sugar Rush knick-knacks, alongside it all, Berri's baby sling lazily hung over the back of Tessa's work chair. She began to tighten it over her body, whilst Vanellope held onto Berri, and once Tessa was situated, she carefully sagged Berri into the sling so she could be hands free. She tidied her hair and glanced over to the dimmed teleport pad, to see if Turbo was potentially on his way, "I guess Zed said that he's not even looking to leave his loft, like... At all..."

"Like, physically? Ever?" Vanellope prod in gentle confusion, "Certainly he'll be hanging out in the palace, to be with the code room, while you and Zed are away, right?"

"That's the deal," Tessa bugged her eyes and shrugged, "I can't wait to hear how that goes... With how much he doesn't want to be around other people."

"... Like he won't even leave to go into the city and grab a bite to eat?" Vanellope hissed in whole surprise, "I understand not wanting to socialize, but... THAT level of 'not leaving'?"

"Mom, you know well enough that the code room can supply you with anything you want, at any time of the day," Tessa closed her eyes and shook her head in further exhaustion, "He's all set, in that sixty-four floor high behemoth of a tower. That's all he ever wanted, was to be left alone."

"I don't know, dude... For someone who previously had a swap mate, and loved her with all of his heart," Vanellope rubbed her chin in contemplation, though she sneakily smiled at the teleport pad as if finally began to glow in activation, it eagerly anticipated to receive Turbo's teleported code, "I'm certain this seclusion is just a cry for help."

"Why don't you ask him, then, mom," Tessa dully muttered as they watched Turbo's hot red coding finally zip above the pad in readiness.

"Brilliant, ask the game-ending legend why he is the way he is," Vanellope sassed through the grit of her teeth.


	6. Chapter 6

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Yesh! All the little babies are super cute.

 **Jay Sketchin :** Hoo Lickity gets love, alright xD And, it's no problem! That's the nature of this site, I've been here for 13 years now, so I understand. Typically at the very end of November and the very end of April is when reviews start to drastically dwindle, due to finals. I was surprised my first chapter got as many reviews as it did, due to being so close to finals. So, it's no biggie, I'm prepared for it every year, and I'll understand one day when I'm finally in school :P Thank you for your continued support, friend! I hope you're well!

 **Snake557 :** As for Arcade birthdays, they celebrate them every year like normal :) It's just not as heavily celebrated as it would be in humans. Cause they're infinite beings. Although they don't technically physically age, past 1 year, faux-codes eventually do start to show a small amount of age due to their 'non-User made' coding. Tessa starts to get grey hairs, in the 5th story, which opens up a whole 'nother section of them trying to further understand coding. Thanks friend! Stay tuned!

 **Theoriginalon3 : *my response to your review contains mild spoilers, for the first 3 stories, just an FYI*** Hi! I appreciate your concern, and I think it's actually very sweet. It shows you care! So, Wrecking Limits was heavily centered around Ralph and Vanellope. Defying Code and Rectifying Origin, although are not heavily centered around Ralph and Vanellope, both stories still have romantic scenes and a decent amount of 'screen time' for the both of them. I've stemmed into other family branches, and heavily focus on certain couples, but Ralph and Vanellope are in all 4 (eventually 5) stories. Hell, the 5th story is strictly about Ralph and Vanellope raising their 4th born. Yes, parts of the story do seem to 'go all to hell' but, that's story writing. And like you said, conflict, cause and effect is key. The previous chapter of Out Of The Blue, Chapter 5, INCLUDING this chapter, have heavy exposition and character dialog from Vanellope. I don't ever get rid of the main characters, because I love them so much. RO has a few game overs, but none of the main characters. I hope that you rest easy with that, but if you don't carry on with the rest of the saga, I understand, and it doesn't hurt my feelings. To each their own! Out of the Blue builds up to eventually have Turbo as a main character. For now, it's just Tessa and crew, which includes Ralph, Vanellope, Rancis, Taffyta and the other SR racers. Hope this helps!

 **Pubgspot123 (ladykiller) :**

Aww hey! Yes I remember you :) Thank you so much for reaching out. Hope you're well! And thank you for the words of encouragement, it means a lot to me!

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Cold Summer by C148 (first half)**

 **Certitudes by C148 (second half)**

* * *

 ***Chapter 6***

With a gentle scuff of his thick boots, Turbo gingerly stepped off of the code room's much larger teleport pad. He wore a dark grey zip up underneath a worn leather jacket, alongside a proper pair of motorcycle jeans. He looked like the quintessential bad boy, though with the way his warm, shy and tender demeanor crossed the gaping, hollow code room's gap, the irony about him was something sweet and delightful, palpable in the most endearing way possible. He sagged his nervous hands into his jacket's side pockets, eased closer to Tessa and Vanellope and finally glossed his eyes above the lot of them, to the dome of the glass that so massively encompassed Tessa's incredible code room. Turbo marveled at her work, and as Tessa's and Vanellope's quiet conversing finally broadened to Turbo's, as he neared, he bobbed a gentle nod of approval and finally beamed a cute, little smirk.

"She's incredible," Turbo's raspy deep voice eased in reference to the hundreds, if not thousands, of incredible, twinkling, silver code boxes over head, all powerfully surging with white hot electricity through the web of coding.

"Why, thank you," Tessa's voice soothed as Turbo finally eased to a stop, Tessa gingerly raised her hand, allowed her silver coding to swarm her palm, and cued for her code box to come down from the safety of the code room's tangled, glowing web, "How have you been, lately, Turbo?"

"Ah, been okay, same 'ol," Turbo shrugged in gentle nonchalance, though Vanellope cocked an eyebrow and gave him a kind, curious smile.

"Not too keen on palace life, eh?" Vanellope wondered gently, Turbo quickly began to show signs of crawling back into his shell, after Tessa's smooth transitional demeanor in hopes of easing him out, even more so.

"Uh, well... I-I just really enjoy the loft Tessa has graciously gifted me," Turbo skillfully maneuvered, he peered up to Tessa's code box as it began to hover down to the three, and once Tessa's larger hand diligently tapped said blip of coding, the box expanded to multitudinous splays of menus, contexts of game-wide cues and options. Turbo cocked an eyebrow in gentle awe and watched as Tessa skillfully eased her way through Sugar Rush's coding, in hopes of temporarily handing off half of the code room's responsibilities to both Turbo's and Rancis's coding.

"Y'enjoying the city life?" Vanellope kindly wondered, Tessa softly glanced up to her mother and was cued to the fact that Vanellope was now in full-on scope mode, as if she was prepared to potentially try and dissect Turbo's entire personality, right here and now, "Surely that loft is a hot spot for new friends, yeah?"

"Friends? No, no... Just... Me, myself and I," Turbo scoffed a nervous laugh and finally gave Vanellope a cheeky look, "Sometimes Nox and Throttle come over, but... For the most part, no visitors. I'm okay with it."

"I don't blame you," Tessa pressed, she gently nudged her mother, out of Turbo's view, as if to politely tell her to take it easy on the prodding.

"Guess it makes focusing on your work, a little easier, huh?" Vanellope eyed Tessa in a string of naive confusion, though she quickly got the hint and crossed her arms, to hopefully appear easy going, "Orion City is beautiful. I'm sure you have an incredible view of it, no?"

"Oh yes, it's breathtaking," Turbo bobbed a nod and finally began to ease up, though it was immediately thwarted, once more, the second Vanellope furrowed her brow and inhaled a few sharp sniffles in Turbo's direction.

"... Cinnamon sugar tobacco?" Vanellope wondered tenderly, though she immediately tried to come across as non-abrasive the second Turbo's gaze grew incredibly nervous, "Sm-smells good. I didn't know you smoked."

"I-I, well... Y-Yeah, I just..." Turbo struggled to get words out, though Tessa took this painful opportunity to interject.

"I'm not a smoker, but I've heard that it's definitely supposed to calm your nerves," Tessa bobbed a gentle nod of agreeing, "Likely not the best thing for your lungs or throat, but... Good to see you at least taking steps towards trying to relax and find your center."

"I-I'll... I'll ween off of it eventually, I'm sure," Turbo sighed, "For now, I'm just trying to come off of the thirty years of hell I've put everyone through, including myself."

"Well, rest easy," Tessa's warm voice soothed, and in a few pushes of certain options, the code room chimed a tender noise of agreeing, which caused the coding underneath Turbo's feet to glow for a moment, as if to code Turbo's authority to a different section of Sugar Rush's incredible coding, "She's all yours, dude. Please take care of her while we're away."

"Oh wow, that easy, huh," Turbo choked a small laugh and gave Tessa and Vanellope a playful look, "Had I known it'd be this easy, all along, I would've... Well..."

"Too soon," Vanellope only teased, Tessa blurt a laugh, though Turbo looked off in discontentment, as if to begin berating himself.

"Knew it," Turbo hissed through the grit of his teeth in whole embarrassment, though he heaved a gentle noise of attempted revival and gave Tessa a look of apologetic, kind plea, "Sugar Rush is safe with Rancis and I."

"Don't I know it," Tessa bobbed a nod and gently gestured, though she grimaced the second Berri began to squirm against her chest, all snuggled in her sling, "Alright, I... I gotta go feed Berri and put her down, for the night. I'll check in with you tomorrow, before we leave, okay?"

"Yes, your majesty," Turbo's deep, polite voice reverberated, and with such, Tessa eased him a grateful smile.

"You staying on the lot tonight, friend?" Tessa wondered as she began to head towards the teleport pad in the middle of the domed, glass code room.

"No, but Throttle has offered me his spare bedroom while you guys are away... So, I'll be staying on palace grounds, starting tomorrow night," Turbo warmly pressed, to which Tessa nodded in relieved conclusion.

"Good, you and Rancis will have your work cut out for you," Tessa stood on the teleport pad and gave Turbo a warm, loving smile, "But you don't need me to tell you that."

"Appreciate the heads up, anyways," Turbo volleyed in politeness, and as Tessa's incredible silver coding was zipped away in an airborne fleet of glitch-lines, Turbo felt his pupils begin to shrink at the sheer fact of who he was left alone with; Vanellope Von Schweetz.

"Y'gunna be okay, there, big guy?" Vanellope prod in cute, teasing kindness, though Turbo began to grow nervous.

"Rancis and I will manage," Turbo retort, Vanellope's shoes began to scuff closer to the teleport pad, as if to insinuate that she, too, was going to be leaving; her dallying demeanor made it clear, however, that she enjoyed this intimate, in depth, fleeting moment of solitude with someone so previously greatly feared.

"It'll be nice to have you on the lot, though. You definitely have been missing out on all these Saturday party nights we hold in the rec. hall," Vanellope bobbed a nod of encouragement and tried her hardest to emulate Tessa's more tender and warm approach to Turbo.

"I... I really don't think it's wise for me to mingle with Sugar Rush's other racers," Turbo grit his teeth in nervousness and held his glowing, golden eyes tight to Vanellope's, across their ten foot gap, "I'm glad I'll have Rancis to fall back on, and Throttle's home to temporarily reside in, but... I likely won't be around, much."

"Well, why not? Certainly you'll want to experience life on palace grounds, a little, no?" Vanellope tried her hardest not to be forward, though she somehow hoped Turbo would at least phase her, here.

"I guess I wouldn't mind a tour, or something," Turbo shrugged, he knew exactly what Vanellope was fishing for; to somehow hope that mingling with the Sugar Rush racers, and everyone else, tensions would ease, though Turbo knew full well that the rest of the group still didn't totally appreciate his presence, even after everything Turbo had done to help save this very game.

Vanellope slowed her movements, crossed her arms a little and eyed Turbo in a gentle glower of curious contemplation. She bit her lip and tried her hardest to see into Turbo's soul, beyond those incredible, glowing golden eyes. She furrowed her brow in a rise of stubbornness that crawled over her, the fact that Turbo's gentle, authoritative gaze was not backing down, and with such, she inhaled a deep breath and tried to steady her thoughts. She knew to just let Turbo be, he'd take great care of the game, alongside Rancis, while Tessa and Zed were gone, he'd lurk in the shadows and quietly reign the code without so much as a peep, though Vanellope somehow wanted to play doctor, on the situation. How badly she wanted to just overexpose her other racers to Turbo's good side and pray that somehow, the burnt bridge would be rebuilt.

"Can I offer to make you coffee tomorrow evening? Maybe we can just sit and chat, after dinner, in the main kitchen?" Vanellope pressed warmly, she shrugged and tried so very hard not to be cumbersome and pushy in her invitation, though how badly she wanted to prove to everyone on the lot that Turbo was, indeed, a changed man, was overriding anything in her brain, in this instance.

"... Just us?" Turbo wondered as he narrowed his gaze, a proper show of wanting to cautiously take the bait.

"Ralph may join, but yeah, for the most part," Vanellope shrugged, "Maybe bring Throttle or Nox along? I can make some dessert, or something. It's been a month since everything has been said and done... I'd say that we should reconvene, don't you think?"

Turbo held his eyes tight to Vanellope's and somehow wondered if this was a trick. He knew the main palace's castle was the hub for all of Sugar Rush's racers, he was well aware there'd likely be other people coming and going, though somehow, he wondered if being tight in Ralph and Vanellope's presence would take the edge off, them being previous King and Queen of Sugar Rush. Turbo exhaled a shaky breath, he knew he was already a little stressed about properly running the game, alongside Rancis, though throwing in socializing alongside it had his insides clenching in a whole amount of rising discomfort. Nonetheless, he bobbed a final nod and gave her a look of nervous plea, as if to beg her to stick to her word of strictly inviting Ralph and Turbo's brothers.

"I think I can afford that," Turbo's deep voice nearly grumbled, to which Vanellope softly gestured.

"We can even pop a window and let you have a smoke, if that will help," Vanellope shrugged as she began to ease closer to the teleport pad.

"It would," Turbo shrugged as well, alongside a nod; he knew it wasn't totally necessary, though somehow the thought of Vanellope at least attempting to cater to him was what was winning him over, in the end.

"I'll text you tomorrow, then, yeah?" Vanellope pointed a little and questioned with a loving, girly smile; Turbo bobbed a nod and heaved a final sigh of agreeing.

"Tomorrow," Turbo concluded, and with one last smile of gratitude, Vanellope's electric purple coding splayed into glitch-lines and zipped off in a bolt of teleportation, from the pad in which her feet previously stood.

Turbo finally sagged his shoulders, lulled his eyes closed in a rise of dread and began to rub his forehead in agitation. He felt as if the headache in his eyes was already beginning to form, strictly from the thought of his new plans tomorrow evening. He pried his golden eyes open, dragged them up the entirety of the code room and sagged his hands into his pant's pockets. He let his gaze softly get lost in all of Tessa's incredible glowing code boxes, a mass of intelligent coding that kept Sugar Rush alive, and it was in this raw instance did Turbo feel a mass of gratefulness sweep over him. He felt whole knowing that Sugar Rush's Queen now entrusted him with the entirety of her code room, an honor he had only dreamed of, something he was astounded came about so quick, trust so diligently handed to him without question. He smiled and finally looked down to his feet in a rise of pride; he knew one little get together with familiar faces wouldn't kill him.

* * *

The next morning came, Sugar Rush's lovely, exotic, sweet song birds coat the cold, winter morning in a crisp of tender renewal. Although the game was slowly cruising its way through January, Sugar Rush held tight onto Winter, as if to promise that the snow likely wouldn't melt until the end of March. With the flyer's enclosure's canopy delicate shroud in snow, the faux-jungle floor was the only thing not coat in powder. With the delicacy of Dead Zed's jungle trees, now learning to thrive in Sugar Rush's cold, Zed made sure to keep a tight eye on said foliage, upping it's resilience to the bitter cold, strictly so all four flyers, soon to be five, could live comfortably in the warm encompass of the jungle's familiarity. Although the snow had a hard time making it's way to the jungle floor, on palace grounds, Ace and Libby's tender footsteps made their way along the lightly snow-kissed path that lead straight to Tessa's and Zed's tower, a long, winding sneak-way off of the side of the recreational hall's sprawling terrace.

"Your energy is so palpable, right now, Ace," Libby eased, her tender, sing-song, Teltokuan accent fogged the cold air before them and coat Ace's nervous, trembling figure in a proverbial embrace of love. Libby's piercing blue eyes shifted from the lovely, winding stone path straight to her boyfriend's gentle gaze, "You haven't said two words to me, on the entire walk here... Are you okay?"

"Yes, just... Please promise me something," Ace rushed, as if he had been panicking about this notion for awhile now. He peered his pleading hazel eyes down to his mate, her beautiful short white hair ruffled in the cold breeze, and although her simple, cute, womanly gaze was enough to stop his heart at any given moment, he could feel that rise of anxiousness try it's best to override any lovestruck feelings, "Please don't leave me alone with Berri, I don't think I'm prepared for it."

"Aw, babe," Libby sagged her shoulders and huffed a bit of a chuckle, "You know Emery and I have that ice cream date, tomorrow night."

"C-Can't you bring the ice cream to the house?" Ace gestured out to his mother's and father's glorious, humble little tower, one of which they now were approaching; Ace was excited to be given the opportunity to stay in Tessa's and Zed's comfortable abode, for the time they're in Dead Zed, on their honeymoon, though he grew even more anxious at the thought of being left entirely alone with an infant.

"We had a small outing planned, in Orion City, Bub," Libby pressed, though she shook her head and beamed Ace a nearly annoyed smile, "You will be JUST fine. You can always invite Oliver over, to help you out, or something, while Emery and I are gone?"

"Uncle Oliver will have his hands full with Theo," Ace complained, he set himself in a dead end rut, thus any outside advice went in one ear and out the other strictly due to the sheer amount of anxiety he was crippled with.

"Well, babe, you're resourceful.. And Berri is a good baby, I'm positive you can hold down the fort for an hour or two," Libby encouraged, and before Ace could argue her, the two softly approached the main door to the small common room, the ground floor and pre-entrance to Tessa's and Zed's home on the Sugar Rush palace lot. Once inside, they didn't waste time ogling the gorgeous interior to the small common room; they knew they'd have the next three or four days to relax in the King and Queen's love nest. Once their feet hit the dimmed teleport pad, a few holographic cues came within Ace's eye level as a gentle prompt, Libby patiently continued and eyed what option Ace's larger finger pressed, "There will be instances were Beaux AND Mara will be left with you, alone... You understand this, right?"

"Dad said it's different with your own children," Ace began to lightly complain, he gently hit the option 'ring doorbell', a gentle cue that was sent straight up to Zed's and Tessa's home. After a few moments of waiting, Tessa allowed the two inside their home via teleporting their coding from the common room to their main home; said high perch above the tree's canopies. Once Ace and Libby's coding came into recollection in Tessa's and Zed's lovely foyer, Ace continued on loudly as him and Libby came face to face with Tessa, herself, a way of now including his mother in on their tender conversation, "This is someone else's baby. One of which I haven't helped raise or nurse or change diapers or anything, for that matter."

"... Ace, she's your little sister," Tessa cocked an eyebrow and gave Ace a now stern look of entire, playful annoyance. Tessa gently eased into Libby's gravity and gave her a loving hug. She directed her whole attention to Libby and kindly waggled her fingers a little, as if to silently ask Libby a certain question, "How are the babies?"

"Oh, good, I'm craving absolutely everything," Libby rushed with a small giggle as she finally took her thick, fur-lined hood off. With such, she unglued her hands from the depths of her coat's warm pockets and allowed her bare hands to come in contact with Tessa's now live-wired, silver coded hand. Libby and Tessa became warmly connected in a platonic exterior swap, and with such, Tessa narrowed her gaze and began to read Libby's coding, which included the twin's fragile coding as well. Libby exhaled a long sigh and wistfully shook her head, "Less than two months, now..."

"It'll go by," Tessa warmly cooed, with such, Ace patiently awaited to see just what his mother had to say about Libby's code reading, and once the two girls softly pulled apart, Tessa shrugged a little and squeezed Libby's shoulder, "Everything checks out. Happy, healthy babies. Weird gestation period, but happy coding, nonetheless."

"Phew," Ace huffed as he rubbed the back of his head, though as he peered down the short corridor, of his mother's and father's home, he spot his father quickly walk by, from the living quarters and into the kitchen; both men caught eyes, only briefly, alongside a cue of welcoming smiles. Ace perked up, pushed down the corridor and rounded into Tessa's and Zed's lovely little kitchen, "Hey, dad. You guys almost out?"

"Yep, this little nugget is ready to be handed off, as well," Zed chimed cutely down to Berri, who babbled a few noises and squirmed her arms. Zed gently began to move Berri a little bit closer to Ace, to physically hand Berri off, like suggested, "Every single parent, on palace grounds, is fully aware that you and Libby may be reaching out for questions or concerns, while we're gone, so don't hesitate to contact, say, your great aunt Taffyta, either your grandmother or grandfather... Honestly, I'd reach out to Ralph, first. He's King of doting on Berri, and will be offended if you choose anyone over him."

"Reaching out to Ralph first, got it," Ace grunted with a nod, though he felt his skin begin to crawl in terror, once more, the second Zed softly eased Berri into Ace's more than capable hands. Ace grew rigid and cradled Berri, in his arms, as best as he could; it was clear she was on the verge of becoming fussy, due to said positioning.

"Here, hold her upright," Zed carefully instructed, to which Ace bashfully peered to his father in a whole slew of uncertainty. Zed choked a small laugh and began to lift Berri, so to have her sitting upright with her back against Ace's broad chest, "She's getting better at holding her own head up, so you don't really have to cradle her like an infant, any longer. She likes to look around, now... Keeps her eyes busy," Zed softly narrowed his gaze tight to Berri's cute face and softly kissed the broad of her adorable nose and cheeks as he continued on, "Big, strong muscles, huh, Bear."

"I only just learned how to do that," Libby only teased as she strolled up, both her and Zed quietly began to dote on Berri, who was being carefully held by Ace; almost too carefully, "Babe, you look like you're holding a cherry bomb."

"He practically is," Tessa rubbed her forehead in agitation, "Hope you guys don't value your clothes, cause she's about to spit up on everything you love."

"We stocked up on laundry detergent, for you guys," Zed uttered in a whole show of exhaustion, and with such, he perked up said exhaustion by only just a notch of energy and expectantly peered to Tessa, "Ready to head out?"

"More than ever... Lickity's going to meet us in the Great Hall, as well as Uncle Rancis," Tessa grunted as she put her hood over her head. Her and Zed stood by, for just a few moments longer, to begin briefing Libby and Ace, "Now... The Hull has instructions laid out for you, downstairs, you know where that is."

"Under no conditions are you two allowed to leave Sugar Rush WITH Berri," Zed firmly instructed, both Ace's and Libby's eyes held tight to their King and Queen in a rile of now impending nervousness, "If there's a dire emergency, you can contact Finn, who has been told to keep in tight contact with us while we're away."

"Any non-emergency inquiries can be referenced in The Hull, though I'm positive you guys won't need it," Tessa rattled off, to which Zed bobbed a nonchalant nod.

"She's weird around Nox and Throttle, we think it's because of their square pupils," Zed shrugged as Berri began to lightly babble; Libby cutely began to wrinkle her pointer finger into Berri's little chest, alongside some cooing notions of sweet nothings to the adorable baby in Ace's embrace, "If you guys have Nox over, or what have you, just make sure they don't make eye contact for too long."

"Nox got right in her face, the other night, and she screamed for a good thirty minutes straight," Tessa stated through the grit of her teeth.

"Eat anything you want, sheets on the bed are washed, do what you please, just leave our home the way you found it," Zed eased in warmth as he glossed his eyes about their beautiful, clean, humble little abode.

"Code room is under Turbo's and Rancis's control, for the days we're gone... I've referred them to mom and dad, as well as you and Libby, in case of an emergency," Tessa instructed.

"All the flyers, excluding Lickity, will be going to Honeydew Ridge for the week," Zed pointed softly, to which Ace furrowed his eyebrows and tried to keep up with his mother's and father's quick remarks.

"What about Lickity?" Ace pressed gently, to which Tessa inhaled a deep breath and looked off. Ace grit his teeth and grimaced, "Oh, right... Uh... I forgot to talk to Royal about a potential male suitor returning to Sugar Rush."

"W-we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Tessa rolled her eyes and felt as if she couldn't even begin thinking about that, in this instance.

"You guys have fun, we'll miss you Bear," Zed cooed kindly down to his daughter as he bent over, once more, and kissed Berri's adorable little nose, once more; Tessa eagerly joined in on the nonsense, and before Ace could loudly make fun of the two, before him, he flinched and watched Libby join in on the mess.

"Alright, alright, for User's sakes," Ace barked with a hard laugh as the three finally stood up straight and began to saunter away. Ace jostled Berri a little, a gentle notion of potentially forcing confidence and proving to everyone that he had this in the bag, "The three days will go by before you know it, you'll be back with Berri before you can blink."

"You gunna be okay, bud?" Tessa pressed warmly as she eyed Ace, though Libby firmly pat his upper arm and gave Tessa a look of whole confidence.

"Honorary Teltokuan birth coach and baby sitter, here, mom," Libby assured with a full, confident smile, something Ace envied in this instance, "You can count on us!"

"You guys are the best, thank you for everything," Zed gestured with a loving smile as the four exchanged hugs and kisses, "Don't forget to read the instructions, in The Hull downstairs, y'guys."

"We will," Ace and Libby both chimed at the same time, and with a few more goodbye notions and waves, both Tessa and Zed stood on their teleport pad, silver glitch lines evaporated them into thin air, and they were whisked away for good.

"I'm already exhausted," Ace huffed nervously as he held Berri to his chest, though Libby whirled around and gave Berri a wide, excited smile. Libby's little hands gently took Berri's much littler hands in her own and jostled them around.

"We're going to have so much fun, little blueberry, huh!" Libby cooed in a high pitch noise, and it was in this instance did Ace cock an eyebrow and feel his heart swell from cold, hardened irritation, to a gentle melt of remembrance; the sheer fact that he was getting a proper glimpse into Libby's cute and tender version of motherhood, and before Ace could allow his anxiety to cloud every positive thing that could come from this little adventure, he sagged his shoulders and allowed warmth to coat him as Libby continued on, "C'mon... Let's go check out those instructions, in The Hull, and we can go from there."

"I'm assuming she's already fed and changed," Ace wrinkled his nose in a rise of apprehension, "I-I've never changed a diaper, before..."

"Well, looks like you'll be getting a hands-on experience, here, babe," Libby giggled, she motioned to Berri and gave her a cute look, her and Ace began to lightly stroll out of the kitchen and towards the small, tucked away staircase that lead down one floor, to Tessa's and Zed's bedroom, alongside The Hull, "Berri will be the guinea pig!"

"I feel like I'M the one who is the guinea pig," Ace choked.


	7. Chapter 7

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Hahaha oh gosh, that sounds like chaos.

 **Burgie :** Aww that's nice of you. I like to think it is, hopefully you all will as well! :D

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **All I Am by Jess Glynne**

 **Happy Now by Zedd & Elley Duhé**

* * *

 ***Chapter 7***

In the dim warmth of Tessa's and Zed's bedroom, Ace and Libby stood in their comfortable clothes, dressed down for the night. Libby patiently held Berri up against her chest and her left shoulder, she so gently jostled Berri up and down and was successful in easing Tessa's and Zed's new princess out of a crying fit. Berri continued to softly whine nonetheless, though Libby's motherly hands pat and rubbed Berri's small back in soothing motions of love, Libby's sweet and tender voice coat the air about both girls, encompassing them in a bubble of ultimate comfort. Libby delicately straightened the bright, longer blue hairs on the back of Berri's head, and as Ace came closer to both girls, Libby's warm expression broadened, alongside a smile.

"Poor thing... Mom's instructions DID say she was teething, off and on," Libby pressed, Ace bobbed a nod and cocked an eyebrow.

"They warned us for rough nights, to be had," Ace sighed, though he shook his head and shrugged, "We should be fine. It's only a few days."

"Uh-oh, someone's stinky," Libby wrinkled her nose, and as she slowly began to head over to the small nursery area in Tessa's and Zed's sprawling bedroom, Ace felt relieved that she was heading there without any inquiring if Ace would like to follow. Libby continued on to Berri's little figure, "Probably should put you to bed, soon, huh... You're rubbing your eyes a lot."

"Mom said that when Berri sleeps, we probably should sleep as well," Ace rubbed the back of his head in mild contemplation; he shrugged and lofted his eyes to his mother's and father's bed, a massive, canopy California King all shroud in heavenly white and cream drapes, fluffed with the biggest billows of beyond inviting blankets and downs. Ace cocked an eyebrow and shrugged, "I mean... I was just about to say that I'm not tired, but just LOOKING at mom's and dad's setup makes me excited for sleep."

"I was just thinking that," Libby sighed as she shot Ace a sleepy, eager smile. She came upon Berri's beautiful changing table and carefully laid her down, so to prepare to change her diaper, "We can just relax, maybe use their new star pad and watch a movie together, with headphones."

"Sounds like a plan... Been wanting to test that thing out, anyways, what with all the commercial hype," Ace smiled in warm excitement, and although he could feel the nervousness of any baby-related tasks cloud his eagerness to learn, he cocked an eyebrow and somehow was still drawn to the chore Libby was about to dive into. He still held his distance, strictly out of a bout of lacking confidence. Ace opened his mouth to maybe begin suggesting a few movies for him and Libby to watch, though a gentle chime of a timer began to go off, sounding it's alarm from the open stairwell at the gape of Tessa's and Zed's bedroom. Ace cocked an eyebrow and peered his nervous attention to the back of Libby's head, "Wh-what's the timer for?"

"Shoot, I forgot about the cookies," Libby rushed in a stab as she urgently peered down to Berri, though in a rush of knowing exactly what she was setting Ace up for, she nonchalantly lofted Ace a kind smile, gestured down to his little sister and began to step away; something Ace was now dreading, "You wanna change her real quick while I go see the status of the cookies?"

"O-Oh, well... Why don't..." Ace staggered his words and now felt the blood leave his face. He held his breath in a slump of agitation as Libby's body began to hurriedly leave the room, though Libby eased a small giggle and rolled her grey hoodie's sleeves up to her elbows.

"It's okay, babe, just practice what I showed you earlier, the last time we changed her," Libby assured in an overflow of encouragement. She gestured to Berri's well lit changing table, "Remember... Clean her up first, then the powder, THEN a clean diaper."

"Libby," Ace huffed nervously, though Libby breathed a small giggle and passed up Ace's pleas as she began to vanish up the stairwell.

"You'll be fine, Ace, she's not judging you," Libby assured with a cute smile as she finally left the room.

Ace clenched his fists in entire nervousness and peered his trembling hazel gaze to Berri's changing table. Berri lay helpless on her back, she squirmed her arms and legs a little and babbled cute little noises out to the air, she remained in a mood that could be borderline content and sleepy, though Ace was well aware it could switch at the drop of a hat. Ace inhaled a deep breath, shook his head and knew he definitely had to start somewhere, no matter how shaky his confidence was. He bit his lip in nervousness, eased his body closer to the changing table and peered down to his adorable baby sister. Once Ace came within Berri's line of sight, her noises and babbles became happier and more apparent. Ace allowed his expression to soften, his baby sister's piercing blue eyes held tight to his in innocent inquiry, and it was in this instant did Ace finally sag his shoulders. He knew him and Berri would eventually have some spectrum of a loving, sibling bond, though he wondered just when said bond would start to sink in and take root. Ace was well aware Berri was way too little to properly from any verbal communicative bonds with him, though he eased into Berri's gravity and knew somehow, he had to be the one to make the first move, as the adult.

"Hey, Bear," Ace cooed, his deep voice was unsure, though once Berri's cute little wrecking hands grappled her feet, she beamed a gummy smile up at her big brother and was successful in blurting an adorable little giggle; Ace sagged his shoulders even more and suddenly felt his heart melt at the easiness she had towards him, "You pooped yourself."

Berri blurt another little giggle, and although she couldn't understand Ace's words, Ace beamed a wide smile and now was certain he could somehow run with it. Ace's much larger, wrecking fingers softly tickled Berri's belly, and as he eased tighter into her gravity with confidence that now began to sparkle naturally, he felt a bit more at ease about the situation, and with such, he began to unbutton Berri from her onesie, so to begin cleaning her up.

"Don't feel bad, I've done it before," Ace teased as he squirmed Berri's legs out of her soft onesie, and once he opened up her diaper, he largely wrinkled his nose, shut his eyes tight and gaped in a whole entire show of entire dismay, "Whoaaa, Bear, what the hell did you eat!"

Berri now choked a much happier giggle and began to squirm alongside it, which made Ace's job a little harder. Ace choked, fanned the air and felt his eyes begin to water.

"Okay, I've said I've also had this issue, but mine didn't nearly smell this bad, Bear," Ace playfully teased, his voice lilted in and out of playful tones and warm chuckles as Berri's face was entirely lit up with happy laughter. As quick as his large, fumbling hands could muster, he folded Berri's dirty diaper and began to successfully clean her up. He held his breath, and with such, he puffed his cheeks out, resulting in Berri's laughter to grow and grow. Ace finally choked a hard laugh and shook his head down to his adorable little sister, "I'm so thrilled you find my misery hilarious, Bear! Real awesome of you!"

In a forever grimace of a tightly wrinkled nose, Ace threw away the few dirty wipes, the dirty diaper and everything in between. As quickly as he could, he saddled Berri into a new diaper, sprinkled some baby powder on potential chaffing points and did everything he could to get his larger fingers to cooperate with Berri's tiny little diaper. He bit his tongue in whole concentration, though Berri firmly kicked her legs, causing Ace to lose his grip. Ace blurt a laugh, as did Berri, and in a quick movement, he softly tickled Berri's little belly.

"I'm telling on you, when mom and dad come home, by the way," Ace's playful tone eased, he softly leaned a little closer to Berri and nuzzled his nose to hers, a show of the birth of an undying bond that very rapidly began to bloom. He eased away, after a moment, and finally was successful in keeping Berri in her new diaper, as well as getting her legs back into her soft onesie, "Alright. Finally smelling Schweet. Get it? Berri Schweetz? Very sweet? Clever, I know."

Berri eased another giggle, it was clear all the energy expelled was beginning to exhausted her, and once Ace finally sagged his large hands underneath her head and lower back, he tenderly brought his baby sister to his broad chest and, for the first time ever, he soaked her into his warmth in a natural draw of a squeeze. Berri rested the side of her head against Ace's broad collar, and as Ace warmly kissed the back of her head, he heaved a sigh of success and slowly began to rock her, a natural progression of hoping she'd continue to become drowsy and doze off. As Ace very slowly turned heel, he cocked an eyebrow and halted his footwork as he noticed Libby standing in the stairwell, comfortably leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, adorning the tender sight she had a front row seat to. Ace raised his eyebrows in dewy, innocent surprise and began to feel a bashful smirk come across his face.

"You set me up," Ace muttered in cheeky dismay, though he was entirely thrilled with himself, in this instance.

"Most certainly did," Libby bobbed a nod of cute agreeing.

* * *

As Sugar Rush's most pristine haven, the palace held confident underneath Turbo's and Rancis's dual reign. With the warmth of the Sunday night coming to a close, every single racer either retreated to their own wing of the palace, or loitered in the palace's main kitchen in preparation for racing game day, to come. Much to Turbo's dismay, he could feel every single last inch of anyone's presence coming and going, the bodies that weren't the ones of the calm individuals he held tight to. Within the melt of calm conversation, underneath the soothing lighting and the glorious Sugar Rush constellations the sky lights easily poured in, Turbo tried his hardest to keep his heartbeat from thumping right out of his chest; he did his best to glue himself to the cute conversation coming from Penny, Emery and Vanellope.

"Archived Chaos lost their guitarist," Penny stabbed in whole agitation; she was dressed in one of Orph's hoodies, which absolutely drowned her, though she wore tight black lounge leggings underneath and had her baby brother successfully saddled to the side of her hip. With her small yet strong arm snug tight around Wren's rear, he sat upright against her body and fiddled with the long strings of Orph's hoodie. Penny flagged her hand and urgently peered to Emery, "This is the second one since last year."

"Yeah, they're struggling hardcore," Emery stated through the grit of her teeth, she tucked the loose, emerald green hairs behind her ears, hairs that refused to stay in the long braid that trailed her back.

"Aren't they in the middle of their tour?" Vanellope wondered as she sagged into the island's counter, and as kindly as she could, she eased the plate of cookies closer to Nox, who diligently sat close to his big brother Turbo.

"YES!" Penny loudly urged, Wren heaved an adorable giggle and peered up to his big sister in mild bewilderment at her outburst. Penny choked a giggle, as well, and jolted to tickle Wren's belly, which resulted in him cackling in uncontrollable laughter, "Don'tchu laugh at me, mister!"

"Weren't you and Emery going to go to one of their concerts?" Ralph lazily wondered, he reached for one of the cookies on the pretty white plate in the center of the large island everyone was comfortably lounged about, he eyed his niece in a teasing way and shook his head, "Orrr... Are you just waiting for them to come to you?"

"They're coming to Sugar Rush this coming December," Penny slumped her shoulders and rolled her eyes, only after she had gotten done lightly playing with Wren and smooching his cheeks; his adorable blue eyes held tight to his big sister, "It's so far away... I WOULD just follow their tour and go to every single concert I could, but they sell game-specific merchandise at each game their concerts are held in."

"Soooo you want an Archived Chaos-Sugar Rush cross-bred abomination hoodie," Vanellope rattled off, which had Nox, Throttle, Ralph, Emery and Wren loudly laughing; this was enough to get a silent stifle of a chuckle out of Turbo.

"Yes, and I don't care who makes fun of me," Penny rushed in girly dismay, though Emery flagged her hand a little and tried to control her laughter.

"I'm right there with yah, Pens, I for sure what Archived Chaos Sugar Rush merch," Emery hurried to Penny's aid alongside both girl's giggling, "I'm glad Oliver is indifferent to my massive crush on Gunner."

"You are so lucky," Penny stabbed, to which Vanellope covered her face and blurt a hard laugh; both girls continued on in fangirling goodness that no one could look away from, "Orph constantly is wondering if he should just dye his hair black and take up singing just so I'll get off the Gunner-train."

"And change ethnicities?" Vanellope nearly cried with laughter, Penny largely rolled her eyes and held Wren comfortably against her body.

"Who is Gunner?" Nox cheekily wondered, to which Ralph and Vanellope loudly groaned, as if to beg not egging Penny on, "And, what does his ethnicity have to do with Orph's code-room alterations?"

"Only the dreamiest, edgiest lead singer with a voice of literal HONEY," Penny ogled, Emery heaved a hard giggle and covered her face in riled bashfulness.

"He's Japanese," Vanellope blurt to Nox, though he beamed a confused smile and shook his head, "Sugar Rush's parent company is a Japanese company, so naturally... He's the cooliest."

"I don't have a crush on him or anything, I just like their music, and so what if the lead singer is a cool dude," Penny shrugged, "Excuse me for living!"

"So, you're going to his concert this December?" Ralph pressed a everyone was trying to control their laughter, "Where is it being held?"

"Orion City," Turbo mumbled in gentle, playful dismay, though he shrunk into himself in boyish cuteness as everyone dart their bewildered attention to the quietest, shyest TurboTime boy of the group, "H-His manager reached out to me to find a venue."

"Ohhh no," Emery covered her whole face and eased out of Penny's presence, which was now rigid in whole, fangirling dismay.

"Youuu... SPOKE TO HIM?" Penny choked in a high pitch, which had Wren nearly blue with laughter.

"Y-Yeah, I... Met with him and his manager, actually," Turbo began to feel a bit more confident as the positive conversation eased about him like a warm hug, he straightened his spine and felt a little bit more comfortable given the fact that Penny was now absolutely glued to his every word, "He was nice, seems as if stress gets to him quick, he wouldn't look away from his phone... Neither of them realized who I was, thank User."

"Did you get his autograph?" Penny huffed as she urgently stepped closer to the island, as if to get closer to Turbo, who was properly stationed on the other side of it.

"I mean, he signed the contract of renting out the venue... In which is in my possession," Turbo now felt a wide smile want to burst forth, the way everyone's friendly eyes held to Turbo's, he finally began to feel as if he could be comfortable in this group, with no judgement passed. He could feel the glow of his eyes want to blind everyone, though before he could carry on, he could hear gentle whispers, from far behind him, begin to saturate his worries, "D-Does that count?"

"I mean, YEAH?" Penny choked with a startled laugh, everyone kindly peered to Turbo in an encouraging manner of love, though it was in this rise of confidence and sudden plummet of fragile nervousness did Nox and Throttle quickly see the spike in confusion, on Turbo's end. Penny glossed past all of this and readjusted Wren against her hip, "Can you show me, sometime?"

"Sure," Turbo eased politely, his deep and raspy voice now very quickly dwindled down to concern, and it was in this silent lurk back into the shadows did he reassess the body-count of the room.

Turbo narrowed his eyes a little, peered down to the marble counter top and clenched his teeth tight in his closed mouth. Penny and Emery loudly continued on, a giggling mess, and although Turbo had a hard time really pushing past all of the nonsense, he could feel his stomach dip with dread at the sound of soft, nervous and sly whispering from far behind the group at the island. Stationed comfortably on a few lounge chairs and couches, in the dip of the kitchen into a small bout of living and gathering quarters, sat a few of Sugar Rush's racers. Turbo's eyes got lost in the marble's lovely splays and speckles of designs as he did his best to really hone in on what they were whispering about, though the only thing that really stood out was the hard 'T' sound and annunciation they made whenever they whispered Turbo's name. Right away, Turbo could feel the glow in his eyes begin to diminish, a dead give away of his emotions, a literal mood ring he couldn't hide, no matter what.

Turbo felt his heart sink; he knew he had been tossed side-eyes the whole evening, the trek from Throttle's tower to the main building, alone, was enough to make Turbo upset. He held his breath and suddenly felt like an alien. He was well aware he was welcomed in the group he was stationed with, though somehow, not being accepted by everyone on the lot was what made him want to run and hide away, for the rest of time. He knew no amount of reasoning or talking could possibly get the rest of Sugar Rush's racers to cooperate, or enjoy his presence. Turbo was well aware him simply existing, on an even playing field with everyone else, was likely not the most ideal situation they wanted to find themselves in. Sat comfortably in the same room with someone who nearly destroyed Sugar Rush, and who now temporarily held almost every single last ounce of Sugar Rush's power, yet again, was not their idea of a lovely Sunday night.

Turbo could feel Nox's and Throttle's gentle energy practically glue to his, their glowing eyes held to his, which now were certainly void of the lovely glow his eyes usually held. He tried his hardest to force a small smirk to both of his brothers, as if to silently tell them that he was alright and to just simply drop the notion for now, though after a few minutes, Turbo dreaded the impending fact that now Ralph and Vanellope were cued to the switch up in Turbo's demeanor. The grey, matte gloss of his already creepy eyes held in a drown of sorrow, as if all he ever did in life was try and get ahead, though the second he tried, he was thrusted ten steps back. Turbo exhaled a shaky sigh through his nose and held his tongue for the rest of their get together; he was well aware, once he was back at Throttle's, the roof would likely come off due to all three TurboTime's boys' pent up worries.


	8. Chapter 8

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** She's adorbs! :D

 **CHICKENM4N :** Aww thanks! And thank YOU for reading! Merry Christmas :)

 **Burgie :** Yeah, Turbo's journey is a rough one... He sort of has to fall behind in order to get ahead. It's been fun to write about, really!

* * *

 **A/N :** Hey guys! Merry Christmas! Sorry for the slow updates. If you want the truth, my desk chair is broken and makes it VERY hard to sit and write. I'll be getting a new chair on Thursday, but seriously, I've written this chapter over the span of about 4 days... When usually, I can poop out a chapter in less than an hour. This chair is just warped and broken, so sitting here sucks. After Thursday, I'll be back to my normal self. Until then, y'guys! Thanks for your patience!

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Without Me by Halsey**

* * *

 ***Chapter 8***

With the flick of a light switch, Throttle's ghostly white skin illuminated as his foyer's bulb slowly brightened from a dull gradient of warmth to a gentle beam of solid light. A few colorful moths fluttered about the hanging light of Throttle's one story abode's front door, in a shuffling silence of only the crunch of snow underneath their thick boots, TurboTime's only three living relics eased into Throttle's home once and for all. Once fogged breath finally ceased with the clack of his round front door, Throttle nervously eyed the back of Turbo's head. Alongside the short walk across palace grounds, from the Great Hall's exterior gates and entrance, straight to Throttle's spacious home, near the palace lot's front and main gates, Throttle had noticed that Turbo's depressed, matte grey gaze had very slowly begun to burn into the embers of angry red. In a string of gentle silence, Throttle's and Nox's eyes glossed to one another in a volley of splayed concern. Nox shrugged a little, took off his zip up, ruffled his dark grey hair and hung his coat on Throttle's tidy coat hanger.

With Turbo's demeanor now easing out of his shell, him being behind closed doors with the only two men on the lot that knew him the best, his true character began to want to burst forth, a beast of passion, a being of vulnerable feelings and a heart that he so desperately wanted to wear on his sleeve. Throttle cocked an eyebrow and watched Turbo's demeanor. Although thirty years had passed between them, he knew Turbo like the back of his hand, antics that had never subsided, no matter the throw around of years lost to the wind, tyranny wasn't enough to erase all of Turbo's quirks and sullen show of smoke and mirrors; Throttle knew the exact signs until Turbo's breaking point, and with such, Throttle held his breath and softly rested his hand upon Nox's shoulder. His looming hand reached out due to seeing Nox reel in a naive show of getting ready to unload gentle, lovely quips of reassurance to his disturbed big brother, bouts of words that would not do Turbo any good, from what Throttle knew to be true.

"Vanellope's frosted sugar cookies are... Phew," Throttle cocked an eyebrow, brushed his forehead in a proverbial swoon of full-stomached delight. Nox only pushed a nervous smile to his face, to somehow signal to Throttle that he was at least trying his hardest to ease into the eldest brother's segue, "And what of that peppermint white cocoa?"

"I nearly began to eat the cup," Nox cheekily agreed with a bob of a nod, and as Turbo began to vanish deeper into Throttle's gorgeous, round-roomed abode, down the few steps into Throttle's crisp, white carpeted living room, Nox thumped to a sit on Throttle's little mud room's stool, in order to properly take off his boots, "Y'think if we ask nicely, she'll at least loan us the recipe?"

"Maybe get Koko to squeak it outta her," Throttle teasingly pressed as he, too, took off his shoes, though in a more educated manner opposite Nox's grabby, clumsy approach. Throttle glossed his attention to Turbo's whereabouts, almost angry pacing about the broad of Throttle's swooping ceiling to floor windows, which also doubled as a massive sliding glass door onto his secretive garden of a patio; one of which that was shroud in untouched snow. Throttle could feel the anger begin to overflow from Turbo's demeanor, and with a switch, Throttle was well aware he had to somehow draw a parental approach to his younger brother, a weird tactic he had fallen into in a past life, "I'm calling Black on you."

Turbo raised his eyebrows in a pinprickle of surprise and felt the frustration in his soul now begin to heat to beyond a boil; he whirled around and pointed a finger to his eldest brother.

"You can't call 'Black' in a situation like this, Throttle, that's NOT fair," Turbo's masculine voice growled, the viens in his jugular bulged as he became riled, Nox sagged into himself and now felt the golden glow begin to leave his eyes, as well.

"...For User's sake, Throttle, I don't even remember the last time you used our last name against one of us, like that," Nox uttered in gentle offense, as if the stab was directed at Turbo, though Nox felt the recoil of it all, as well.

"Lash would so much as step into a room and use Black against me," Turbo now became outwardly angry, and it was in this instance did Throttle regret using the 'Black' treatment against Turbo. A verbal agreeing of a swear, as if to state that whichever one of the TurboTime's boys were to call out their own last name, Black, they were the one who was ultimately and immediately correct in any impending argument about to happen, as if to run safe to a designated 'base' in a riveting game of tag. Turbo inhaled a deep breath through his nose and began to angrily push closer to Throttle in a becoming-aggressive manner, "I'm tired of my last name being used as a tactic against me in an argument. Don't you dare start out this conversation with that, Throttle BLACK."

"Who came up with that, anyhow?" Nox nervously asked, he remained sitting on Throttle's mudroom stool, which was about ten feet away from the impending argument.

"LASH did," Turbo angrily spat, and in a clumsy rush of a now seething demeanor, he began to nearly rip off his zip up hoodie. In a slick swipe, he grappled his pack of cigarettes, his lighter, thrust his leather coat into Throttle's couch and began to storm to Throttle's patio. In a smooth slide of a few movements, Turbo eased his phone out of his pocket, thumbed to a few very exclusive code room options, he hacked the mainframe of Throttle's abode and, without lifting a finger, Throttle's patio glass door intelligently slid open, welcomed Turbo out into the snow, and successfully slammed shut as hard as it could possibly afford without shattering.

"I wish I would've known you were going to call Black on him, Tee," Nox grumbled in entire dismay as he glowered in his oldest brother's direction, "That was a stupid joke Lash made up, and then... We all just morphed it into some sort of a sick tradition we used against each other in fights. How are you not remembering how nasty our fights got the second one of us called Black?"

"I just... I knew it'd give me the upper hand," Throttle shook his head and felt that fleeting feeling of authority so quickly come and go; he knew Turbo was hurting, for many reasons, though somehow, he fell into old and nasty habits of keeping Turbo under his thumb, as his student; the greatest racer ever.

"Not any more, dude," Nox grumbled as he finally stood, though he rolled his eyes and began to stumble back into his thick winter boots, "C'monnn... He's not going to come back inside for a smoke. We gotta suffer outside with him to sort this out."

"Goodie," Throttle grumbled in rising irritation, and as both boys began to approach the sliding glass door, they noticed Turbo had slowly wandered a few feet off of Throttle's gorgeous, clay and cream colored patio tiles, which were caked in snow and only showed through via the press of Turbo's boot prints.

Turbo wrinkled his nose in muttering dismay, he sunk into Sugar Rush's cold, and as his eyes softly glossed the wild blue of the darkening evening sky, his thumb intelligently rattled the spur of his lighter, causing the hot embers of a flame to gently spark. As he lit his cigarette and took a solid, deep inhale, he finally exhaled an entire cloud of smoke and hot fog to the bitter cold air. He lulled his angry, glowing red eyes closed as he heard Throttle's sliding glass door firmly open, the crunch of his brother's feet stepping onto the snow, to join him, had him continuing to seethe. Throttle's back patio was dark, the only thing illuminating the crystalized, white snow under-toe was the incredible, haunting glow of Throttle's white stare, Nox's golden gaze and Turbo's burning red glower. Throttle and Nox stood close to one another, though they gave Turbo about a ten-foot wide berth.

"I'm sorry, Bo," Throttle's deep voice crackled. He shoved his now cold hands into his coat's pockets and glossed his eyes to the snow underneath, a sprawl of pristine, brand new snow and ice layered the entire palace grounds. Although Throttle's little abode was right near the front and main gates of the palace, he was snuggly tucked back into the bend of the ground's front wall. The stark difference between the glistening white wall against the midnight blue sky, riddled with snow clouds and frozen, twinkling stars. Throttle shook his head, heaved a fogged sigh to the dark atmosphere before them and long blinked in dismay, "It's... Easy to fall into old habits."

"Yeah, well, I'm here trying to prove to everyone that I've, indeed, turned over a new leaf, here," Turbo suddenly stabbed as he yanked the cigarette from his mouth and flailed the small smoke trail around in anger; he dared to take a few skulking steps closer to his two brothers, who grew rigid in rising fear, "I don't have the luxury of falling on old habits. How badly I'd love to call Black over the entirety of EVERYONE on this LOT!"

"Turbo," Nox eased nervously, his molten red glare merely glanced to his youngest brother.

"You hear the whisperings, I'll bet you've heard it for years and years now," Turbo stabbed to Throttle as he pushed into their vicinity, although his demeanor was threatening, Nox and Throttle knew Turbo wouldn't hurt a fly, "I'll bet it was torture being tied to someone so terrible, someone made out to be the biggest, meanest bad in guy in all of arcade... Protagonists in a simple racing game, my name just tainted forever. No one dares trust the dreaded good guy gone bad, the virus that nearly destroyed Litwaks. No one cares for Turbo Black."

"Turbo, you were just in a group of half a dozen that were all really enjoying your company," Throttle argued as he flailed his hand a little, Nox eagerly nodded; Turbo hovered over the two like a nightmare, disheveled and so bruised from the eons of distrust and hatred his poor soul has had to endure.

"Their smiles are a mile wide, but trust me when I say... I can smell fear from a million miles away," Turbo's deep voice dribbled to a tone of entire, scheming, deathly delight. His haunting, molten red gaze practically burned into the retinas of his two brothers, and as if he was simply death himself, ready to claim lives and lay waste on their hearts, he hovered in anticipated wait and just barely shook his head, "None of those people trust me... Vanellope, Ralph, none of the racers... No one."

"Tessa trusts you," Nox quipped in retort, he bravely stood up to his big brother; Turbo furrowed his brow in gentle confusion and peered hard into Nox's glinting golden eyes, "Tessa and Zed's trust is the only thing that matters, here. Screw what everyone else things... You have the King and the Queen in your corner."

"Not to mention your brothers, who have been with you since day one, and Sugar Rush's first Knight, Rancis," Throttle stabbed in competing anger, and with such, Turbo finally exhaled a hot sigh through his nose, dallied a few steps away from Throttle and Nox and slowly began to meander out into the small field behind Throttle's abode. He puffed on his cigarette in thought, and as Throttle gently lofted his gaze to Nox's in contemplation, both boys began to bravely step out to join Turbo. Throttle tried to quell his anger as he continued on, "Ace and Libby trust you, all the flyers really like you."

"Getting Lickity's seal of approval is what really should set your mind at ease, really," Nox bugged his eyes in playfulness, a defense mechanism he used well.

"I hold the entire game in the palm of my hand," Turbo's voice now croaked into something darker, sadder. He opened his empty hand, peered down to it and long blinked in a rise of sorrow that now shroud him. His molten red gaze only just began to subside to a hot orange of promised calm, "It's been a month of ruling in Tessa's and Zed's shadow... Don't they know that I'm not dumb enough to try anything? I've kept the game safe, I-I've never missed a deadline, I've done everything in my power to keep Orion City up and running smoothly... A place they all frequent."

"It'll take time, Bo," Throttle's warmth returned, he shrugged and peered to Turbo in a gentle show of wanting to eke love, "It only HAS been a month, like you said... You're going to have to just keep doing what you're doing, it takes time."

"It'd really help if you were on palace grounds, more often," Nox encouraged gently, to which Turbo flickered the ashes of his now dwindling cigarette to the snow below.

"My sanity wouldn't be able to afford a week here," Turbo grumbled darkly, he eased his now gentler eye contact to his youngest brother, as if to be apologetic, "If you only caught the amount of whispering I hear. I can't walk into a room without half the crew hugging the wall and inching out, as if I'm going to just go on a delete spree."

"Turbo, you've been stuck inside Sugar Rush for the majority of your life, I really don't think you understand how detrimental this all is... You used to be Arcade's nightmare, it wasn't something to be taken lightly," Throttle expressed as gently as he could, and much to his surprise, Turbo remained quiet and eagerly listened to his oldest brother, "These guys only know the terrible things about you, and suddenly you were put in charge... I'm sure that's not easy to swallow."

"The only way you're going to change minds is by being present, and showing everyone that you've changed," Nox shrugged, Turbo sighed and lulled his eyes closed as he shook his head in defeat.

"It's going to take new faces, people that have never heard of me, to really genuinely enjoy me," Turbo grumbled, "Everyone knows who I am, everyone knows my past. I can't crawl my way outta this one."

"So, what, you're just going to stay cooped up in that lonely tower of yours?" Nox debated in a rile of annoyed protectiveness, he shook his head and gestured his arm about, "You can't... You can't just gain back two brothers and then just vow to vanish, and not at least ATTEMPT to make this better. None of the racers question Throttle or I."

"Because neither of you ruled Sugar Rush with an iron fist!" Turbo suddenly bellowed in whole entire brimming dismay, though Throttle finally gathered the strength to clap back.

"I taught you EVERYTHING you know!" Throttle's voice matched Turbo's, and with such, Turbo was now figuratively shrinking; he knew Throttle was not one to get up in arms about just anything, so the second he ever did, the world froze, "I was your racing coach, Turbo. I took you under my wing, I shaped you into the greatest racer ever, you were the product of my care!"

"You didn't do harm," Turbo argued, Throttle wrinkled his nose in rising anger and could see the glow of his white eyes now begin to show a kiss of red against Turbo's grey skin.

"I cultivated it," Throttle growled, which now shut Turbo up, "Everyone on the grounds loves me, because I'm present every single day. You've followed in my footsteps before, my shadow was tightly hugged by yours, my brother. It's time we reshape just what the Black family means to this Arcade."

"You're going to have to leave me out of it, because I'm a lost cause," Turbo stabbed, to which Throttle begrudgingly looked off.

"You're one of the faces of Sugar Rush, Turbo," Nox complained.

"I'm running in the background," Turbo retort, "I was the face of TurboTime."

"You're in charge of Orion City, Turbo, sorry it's not nearly as wonderful as Vidrix," Throttle now darkly argued in sarcasm; Turbo largely cocked an eyebrow and shot Throttle a glower.

"You're RIGHT! It's not!" Turbo shouted, Nox put his hands up in defense, as if to physically tell Turbo to calm down, "Nothing will ever be as grand or as great as Vidrix... It's GONE! Because of my stupid mistakes! There's nothing we can say or do to bring TurboTime back, so while I live out the rest of my miserable life, I'd like to be left alone!"

"We don't want that for you, Turbo," Nox begged nervously, Turbo shook his head and looked off.

"You guys are welcome to visit me, but once Tessa and Zed get back, I'm... I'm not coming back, I can't," Turbo stabbed, "I'm not going to keep subjecting myself to this pain. I'm much happier where I can be alone and away from mean whispering and looks of terror lofted my way."

"I already stated what you can do to quell all that," Throttle grumbled as he crossed his arms and began to look entirely annoyed.

"Look where your teachings and advice has gotten us, Tee," Turbo meanly stabbed, and with said stab, Turbo now reeled and understood that he had maybe taken this argument too far due to the frozen looks of hurt on Nox's and especially Throttle's face.

"Okay, now I'm REALLY calling Black, on you," Nox suddenly barked, to which Turbo flinched in surprise; someone as cute and funny and happy as Nox getting so suddenly riled was a rarity, "You have no right to say that... It's ALL in the past. Throttle's right... The only thing we can do, to make a good name for the Black family, is to be PRESENT."

"Hiding away just makes you more creepy and mysterious," Throttle stated through the grit of his teeth as he tried to reign in his anger.

"Cool, maybe one day I can use said creepy, mysterious qualities to my advantage," Turbo shrugged as he gestured outwards in sarcastic cheek.

"That's your argument?" Throttle huffed, Turbo smiled a smug, mean smile in Throttle's direction and firmly pat Nox's shoulder.

"Our wee one, here, called Black on me. That's all I got," Turbo spat, and in a final turn, he began to ease closer to the sliding glass door, to head back inside, "You wanna play that game, then fine. We can just keep tainting our name and forever use it as a tool of negativity on everyone and everything."

"Turbo," Both Throttle and Nox grunted in calling dismay, they urgently began to follow Turbo back inside. In the slump of taking off snowy boots and unravelling from thick, winter coats, Throttle and Nox stumbled up the few steps into Throttle's kitchen, to finally join Turbo.

"So what's going to become of you if Tessa and Zed need you here, on palace grounds, for something?" Nox argued, "You're just going to decline the invitation simply because a few racers on the lot throw you the side-eye?"

"You really think I'm dumb enough to disregard orders from the people above me?" Turbo joked, he took off his hoodie to reveal a thin black tank top. He shook his head and ruffled his hair as he finally got comfortable, "Boys, I'm sure the thirty years doesn't look good for my wits, but I promise you, I know what's good for me."

"We can still come bother you, whenever we want, though, right?" Nox wondered nervously, to which Turbo sagged his face into his hands and shook his head in dismay.

"Of course you guys can come visit me," Turbo grumbled, "I never said you couldn't. I just don't like being here... Everyone looks entirely on edge."

"You can't blame them," Throttle stabbed, to which Turbo stiffened his spine and peered his angry gaze into Throttle's, "You're TURBO. I-I mean, seriously... You're wondering why only a month doesn't hold a flaming torch to thirty years, I mean, you can't be serious."

"So, what, Tessa and Zed can just hand me limitless trust in the span of two weeks, but ohh, nooo, everyone else needs an extended, unnamed period of time," Turbo shrugged, Throttle grappled his long black hair in entire frustration.

"You WON Sugar Rush with Tessa and Zed at your side! You spent nearly two weeks with them, fighting for the very game you rule!" Throttle raged, "You did LIFE with them, of course they trust you!"

"That's the plight... You have to be present in order for the rest of the racers to see a new you," Nox begged gently.

"And what of the new babies on the lot?" Throttle pressed with a shrug, "You want to be around enough so THEY have a good impression of us... Maybe if THEY like us, unconditionally, it'll make the process easier."

"I'm not here to warp the minds of adolescents," Turbo grumbled as he leaned his lower back against one of Throttle's dark marble counters, he crossed his muscular, masculine arms and exhaled a hard sigh, "Berri, Wren and Theo are going to grow up with Throttle and Nox on the lot, and a strange and mysterious other TurboTime boy across the city. It won't matter, because one day, they'll know the truth... So what's the point."

Both Throttle and Nox grew quiet and began to wonder if this fight was now a lost cause. They softly peered to each other in gentle dismay, as if they desperately wanted to help their brother Turbo get comfortable, though it seemed as if the only option was to leave him be and let him grieve this weird period of his life by himself. They knew isolation wasn't wise, though somehow, Turbo's figure radiated an aura of an unmovable wall, a mind made up, as if he was simply punishing himself for his own past mistakes.


	9. Chapter 9

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** I agree. Poor Turbo is just the largest melancholy hermit there is.

 **CHICKENM4N :** Self hate a little, he's just a bit wary and insecure. I'm sure a lifetime of being hated would mess with one's self esteem.

 **Snake557 :** Yeah :[

 **chuckiboo :** Aww, that's sweet. I agree, he just needs friends. Boy does he get 'em xD

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Meridian, Shining by Joris de Man**

* * *

 ***Chapter 9***

Although Tessa and Zed had started their day out bright and early, a good portion of the day was blissfully lost on catching up with Zed's younger brothers. The second Dead Zed's two moons began to diligently show through the cold, crisp, clear night sky was the second the newlyweds began to think about heading to their lovely, honeymoon, jungle getaway. On Lickity's incredible wingspan, they soared above the stretching canopies of the jungle and head about an hour South of Zed's brothers jungle abode. Up the sloping, climbing reaches of jungle cliffside, Finn and Zed had so diligently programmed a proper getaway for the new King and Queen. A single tower that was comfortably nestled into the cliffside, shroud in the reaches of the most incredible reaches of jungle foliage, and to top it all off, it hung next to the wide, gaping sprawl of a cascading waterfall. A single room was all that was programmed, though with just how secluded and away from civilization this romantic getaway was, the majority of the single, large round room was all windows.

Lickity's gorgeous, new cream wings and dorsal feathers lofted through the cool skies, carrying her precious cargo, and although the getaway was so gorgeously kissed by moonlight and could so easily be seen glistening against the spray of the rushing waterfall near it, Zed was still eager to show her to a nice getaway for a few nights; no responsibilities, no game-duties, baby and worry free. In a soft bow, Lickity's sharp wings and tail sails caused her to bank around the single spire said hideaway was perched top, and as she successfully rounded it, she hovered in a few flaps, came to the proper landing spot of the massive, swooping balcony and allowed her sharp talons to come to the wood below. Lickity inhaled a deep breath, perked her ears in curiosity and allowed the surrounding jungle noises to coat her being, as if she had promised to play guard dog for the two, and was simply surveying her temporary domain.

"Wow," Tessa eased in whole excitement as she slid off of Lickity's spine, with Zed's diligent, gentlemanly help.

"Y'like?" Zed pressed in calm kindness, though it was clear the two were absolutely exhausted and ready for a good night's sleep.

"How did you find this place?" Tessa pressed as she looked about the proper landing plane, soft birch wood that lead up to a single room, a very decent sized hut-like domain, crowned in the most glorious architectural details, beams of birch wood that were carved with such delicacy, properly and royally seamed with untouched floor to ceiling windows the majority of the way around. Inside, a few lights were on, and it was clear right away that said abode was equipped with a small living space, a small kitchenette, and a gentle sneakway that Tessa was certain that lead to a cute, proper love nest. She eased her tired yet entirely grateful gaze to Zed's and shook her head, "You programmed this place, didn't you..."

"Only the finest for you," Zed's deep voice crawled over her skin like honey, and with a touch of impending romance to surely overflow, he tenderly took her left hand and placed a proper kiss to her knuckles, just above her gorgeous wedding ring.

"Alright, you two," Lickity started in a teasing grumble of a smile as she properly folded her wings to her body and flattened her ears, "Now... I'm grateful my eyesight sucks, because all that glass makes it too easy to spy on y'all. Certainly you've remembered my incredible hearing?"

"The whole building is sound proof, my friend," Zed grumbled in cheeky annoyance, though he lofted Tessa a near apologetic smile and shrugged, "But, methinks you're safe sleeping inside, with us tonight, Lickity... Pretty sure we're going to be out like a light, the second our heads hit the pillow."

"Now... One would think the honeymoon would be nothing but swapping codes left and right," Tessa began to sleepily rub her eye as she shot Lickity a knowing look, "That's for couples who don't already previously have a newborn."

"I've dedicated this honeymoon to catching up on sleep, I really don't know about you," Zed rushed in tired relief at Tessa's words, to which she also beamed him a cheeky, tired smile of entire elatedness and sagged.

"Oh, thank User, I'm so glad we're on the same page," Tessa huffed, though Lickity cocked an eyebrow and gave them both looks of wild disbelief.

"WHAT?" Lickity barked, Tessa and Zed both flinched in tender surprise, "You're going to wake up tomorrow morning just BEGGING me to go outside!"

"... You're probably right," Zed muttered in teasing cheek, to which Tessa playfully rolled her eyes, looked off and hoped her face wasn't turning too red.

"C'mon, I wanna see what the inside looks like," Tessa rushed, to begin cutting Zed's and Lickity's teasing antics at the quick.

"You're gunna catch up on sleep, wake up refreshed and realize you're on your HONEYMOON," Lickity barked with a wide, fang-filled smile as Zed maneuvered his way about Tessa, so he could open the sliding glass door for her and let both girls inside, "You know for sure you guys are going to go back with another loading bar."

"NO," Both Tessa and Zed suddenly blurt as they eagerly peered to Lickity, as if to beg her not to jinx them.

"I've literally tripled our firewall protection, while we're here," Zed muttered in whole dismay as he opened the door, Tessa excitedly stepped inside as Lickity gave Zed a bewildered, teasing look of disbelief and shook her head, "I certainly do love having children with that woman, but... Can we at least put a year between these happenings?"

"So you DO want a third?" Lickity pressed as Zed rolled his eyes and began to open the span of the sliding glass door to its full potential, leaving a wide gape into their little abode; a lovely feature that allowed all the sounds and atmosphere of the jungle into their senses.

"I mean maybe, eventually," Zed shook his head and grunted as he finally pushed the sliding door to its full, opened potential. He cocked an eyebrow and peered to Tessa in their small getaway, she daintily soaked up the sight of their cute little home and ogled the high ceilings, "I just got the hang of caring for a second baby. I need a breather."

"Can't relate," Lickity stated with great cheek, she shot Zed a fang-filled smile that only proved she was a loving, teasing being. Zed narrowed his gentle gaze, wrinkled his nose and gave her a snotty, playful look in return.

"Holy User, this place is so cute," Tessa eased in gently girliness she rarely showed. Zed slowly drummed to a gentle stop as he neared the small kitchen island, a perfect seat for maybe only two or three. He leaned his hip against it, crossed his arms and peered to his wife in entire, coy delight.

"I knew you'd like it," Zed's masculine voice gently grumbled, Lickity's bumbling, padded claws could be heard easing towards the gaping entrance, in preparation to come inside. Zed warmly gestured his hand about to the light fixtures, cocked an eyebrow and gently shrugged, "Finnigan Atlas gave the place a few touches of his love, as well. I laid the ground work, he customized it."

"How come you had him do all the little detailed work?" Tessa wondered as she finally turned and peered to Zed in loving inquiry.

"Because, I wanted this place to look different than Sugar Rush's palace," Zed gently shrugged, "Finn's only been to the palace maybe twice. I wanted this to be an entire getaway from the norm... So, I had Finn put in his ideas."

"Well, it's perfect," Tessa bobbed a kind nod and crossed her arms, "You... Also said something about a lagoon nearby?"

"Sparkling, crystal clear waters," Zed explained in a riveting tone of impending delight, an exciting few days they had ahead of them, "A gorgeous waterfall at one end of it... It's incredible, I can't wait to show you."

"Well, why don't we just go check it out now? I mean, I know it's dark and all, but-" Tessa was abruptly interrupted by a call of a sound, a guttural of a roar from the great beyond, rattling the moon and stars, and in a frozen collection of hot realization, both Tessa and Zed bugged their eyes and threw their gaze to Lickity, who nearly reeled from the sudden, sharp halt she brought upon her large body.

Tessa held her breath in a pang of nervous fear that now coat her being, and much to her conflicting dismay, Lickity's massive ears perked higher than ever before, her whole body stiffened in a reel of bewildered curiosity, and as her pupils dilated to mere the entire orbs of her eyes, she whirled around, propped her wings in readiness and heavily began to sniff the breeze that whisked about their lovely little jungle escape. The scent through the trees seemed to hit Lickity's snout just right, the way her agile paws slithered her towards the edge of the landing platform, she eagerly peered out to the great beyond, and in a huge expansion of her rib cage, she threw her head back in a chirp of a few grunting calls and allowed her voice to carry for seemingly miles. Her whole demeanor was tense in animalistic instinct, very different form her usual, lackadaisy stance and aura.

Tessa and Zed remained entirely frozen in curious bewilderment, and much to everyone's surprise, Lickity's loud, vibrating call was eagerly answered by a suitor, far in the distance. Lickity's whole body tensed in a bow of a pounce, and just as Tessa could feel her pupils tighten in raw fear, she flung her arm out and merely grunted Lickity's name the second her large, bat-like body eagerly lunged off of the landing platform. In a whisk, Lickity's silent flight swooped her deep into the dark, wet jungle beyond, immediately out of sight and sound. Tessa held her breath, jolted in a pang of entire sorrow and halted her clumsy, lunging footsteps. Tessa peered her scared eyes into the patch of jungle in which Lickity disappeared, and in a roll of rising sorrow, confusion and uncertainty, Tessa hugged her hand to her chest and bit her lip, as if to beg herself not to allow tears to form.

"Aww, babe," Zed's understanding voice so tenderly grumbled, and as he came along side her, he inhaled a raspy breath, rubbed up and down her back and allowed the two to stand firm in the middle of the landing platform's gorgeous white wood. The breeze whisked about their hair and clothes, and as quickly as Lickity had filled their bubble with love, she vanished into the night, not leaving a single trace as to where she was going or when she'd be back, "It'll be okay, Tess... She'll come back."

"What if she doesn't?" Tessa wondered in a huff of a nervous whisper as she kept her arms close to her chest in a fit of needing comfort, she aimlessly began to fiddle with her long, wavy auburn hair, a distraction more or less.

"She will, Tess, we'll be here for three whole days," Zed shrugged with a widening smile.

"And if she doesn't?" Tessa wondered, and as the idea of Lickity now being gone began to soak more into her mind, she sagged her shoulders and peered out to the jungle. She knew Lickity had to eventually return. There was no way someone so great and so reliable would suddenly just forget where she was needed and loved.

"That's not an option, my love... She WILL return," Zed affirmed in tender sternness as he grabbed her hand. In a delicate swoop, he kissed the back of her hand in a gentlemanly way and peered to her with a certain twinkle in his eye, "... We best be utilizing her absence while we can."

"Zed," Tessa complained, though with the broadening of her smile, Zed was glad he was able to begin to persuade her; he so gently began to lead her back indoors, he shrugged his masculine shoulders and gave Tessa a bewildered, nearly offended smile.

"Lickity's allowed to get some but I'm not?" Zed barked with a laugh, though he grunted and flinched a little as Tessa blurt a small giggle and swat her free hand at his chest and shoulder, "Whaaaat, I may be King, but SOMEONE'S gotta play the part of the Jester."

"Leave that nonsense to Orph," Tessa choked a laugh, the two were a stumbling mess amidst vanishing inside their temporary, romantic love nest.

* * *

"Aaaand TIME!" Libby called in whole excitement, and in the rush of a spew of cold snow, she covered her head and face and softly ducked away; the morning sun flickered through a few nearby candy cane trees that seemingly thrived in the cold.

At top, lightning speeds, Balba and Marble had whipped past the small group, a race to see just who was the fastest lykata, a single lap around the palace's inner wall. Deep in the thicket of the single wall that encompassed Tessa's entire lot, a hollow, inner corridor made for a seamless, rounding path about the entire grounds. Although not the fastest way to get from point A to point B, it still aided in palace lot travel, majority shielded from the elements and always lit with crowns and tiers of beautiful silver light aided by the code room. Although Royal, Balba and Marble were supposed to spend a few days at Honeydew Ridge, their trip was cut short due to a blizzard that encompassed the better half of the ridge; with the free time, Balba and Marble were constantly going head to head to see just who was the fastest.

"Balba won that lap," Libby called, her mitten-covered hands cupped over her mouth as she called to the two lykatas. They both came to a rolling trot, banked about the bend of Throttle's abode and slowly began to trot their way back to the small group, whom of which hung in the overhang of said inner wall's open aired corridor.

"Did it while pregnant, too," Balba playfully sneered as she approached, she flickered her tail and began to now trot in a much flouncier, girlier manner, which had Marble huffing in an annoyed aspect, rolled eyes included.

"It's okay, Marble, I'm not pregnant and I couldn't run to save my life," Royal's bellyaching coat the frozen cold corridors that him, Nox, Ace, Libby, Oliver and Emery properly lounged in. Protectively and securely underneath a coded bubble of warmth, via Ace's User powers, both Berri and Theo could also remain in the group without having to withstand the bitter, Sugar Rush snowy winter. Royal eased more into his lean, which eventually sagged into a lazy, slumped sitting position, "Now, CLIMBING, on the other hand... I have all y'all beat."

"No fair," Babla smirked as she came alongside Libby, a gentle loving nudge given to her sister, "Marble and I don't have retractable claws."

"Neither do I," Royal argued; him and Balba carried on in a cute show of arms as Nox furrowed his brow and gave Ace and Oliver a curious smile.

"I was just reminded of something," Nox huffed, he pushed himself to a stand with the help of Oliver's larger gloved hand, "I saw a really weird commercial, on tv, last night."

"Oh, is the Wifi working again?" Ace pressed in curiosity as Libby, Balba and Marble slowly neared underneath the massive stretch of ceiling above them, the neverending winding corridor of palace wall.

"It's been spotty for the last few weeks," Emery shrugged, though everyone honed their attention to Nox, "We sort of gave up on it... Curious it's back on, though."

"It's probably because Litwak keeps moving the plug for it," Ace stated, though his tone held gentle wonder, as if to state he was not confident of his words.

"We were able to catch the end of the Pacman finals, but... Alongside the show's credits, a commercial played with it," Nox pressed curiously, though he narrowed his gaze and merely grimaced a nervous expression to Ace's now frozen demeanor, "I guess... A new game is being advertised. It's in the internet... It's called Game Over."

"JUST where I want to go," Libby's cute, gentle voice only sarcastically chimed; everyone blurt into kind laughter, she was the master at lifting the mood, no matter what.

"Game Over?" Ace chuckled as he narrowed his gaze; he had Berri securely strapped to his chest, he lovingly held his large hand about her back and little head, inside the sling, and softly glanced down to her, "Is it a place you go to die, then I guess?"

"Pretty much," Nox huffed nervously, his demeanor unchanging; the gentle lilt Libby put everyone in so softly began to subside in a dewy sting of cold nervousness, "I guess... It's where the best of the best go head to head with other gamers. The victor walks away with his life, and the honor of being, well... The best."

"And the loser...?" Oliver nervously pressed as him and Emery urgently locked eyes.

"... Game Over," Nox uttered nervously, with a shrug, "Th-they made it seem like, you sign yourself up, you know what you're getting yourself into. I guess... Gamers can get all sorts of DLC, you can add onto your coding inside the game, DLC you've purchased, and then once you're in the arena, well... Guess you just have at it, against your one opponent."

"This... Seems extremely barbaric," Libby pressed as she crossed her arms and nervously peered to Emery, who nodded in agreeing, "So, what, you go in knowing that you'll either be killed for good, or... You have blood on your hands?"

"Surely there's consequences," Ace pressed in rising horror.

"It's at your own risk," Nox staggered as he raised his hands in gentle defense, he shrugged and peered to Ace in gentle confusion, "It's... Where the best gamers become legends, what the commercial said. If you leave with your life, then-"

"You're due to spend the rest of said life watching your back," Emery snipped in riled confusion, "Who would ever want to go to such a game?"

"Gamers with nothing to lose," Nox muttered, he nervously peered to Throttle's abode, across the plushy, gentle hills of snow between the stretch.

"This is advertised to be broadcasted?" Oliver grunted in a chuckle of disbelief.

"Said sometime this coming Winter, the end of this new year... I guess they're still working out the rules and the kinks," Nox shrugged, "Gotta secure a spot on the internet where gamers can willingly come to die, for good. Guess... Think of it as the internet's trash can of no return."

"Only people that survive are going to be looked at as a God," Oliver grumbled, and in a nervous draw of cold silence that befell everyone, they dragged their gazes straight to Ace and Libby, the only two know User's in all of Arcade.

"Libby and I aren't stupid enough to throw ourselves headlong into a void of potential no return," Ace loudly argued with a laugh of tender, confused disbelief, "Surely you can't be worried about us, we're about to welcome two babies into the world. I don't need the honor of being the best gamer ever. I know where I'm needed."

"It's not you two I'm worried about," Nox grumbled as he fixated his gaze on Throttle's abode, once more, "It's Turbo."

"Turbo?" Ace worried, and with the entire weight of heat now off of Ace and Libby, everyone slowly volleyed longing looks of concern to just where Turbo was resting his head, for the next three nights.

"I know I'm not extremely serious all of the time, but trust me when I say, guys," Nox bobbed a nod and huffed a shaky breath of impending urgency, "The guy is in desperate need of some attention."

"Okay, so how do we supply him with it?" Libby pressed, her sing-song accent so cutely continued to sag the sorrow out of any situation, "He's become so much of a hermit, it's really impossible to break beyond that shell of his."

"Persist," Nox eased, his glossy golden eyes hooked to the side of Throttle's front door and porch of his abode, he shook his head and allowed his gaze to get lost in the snow about Throttle's patio, "That's all we can do. I know Turbo wouldn't do anything to break our trust, and he's an honest man until the end, but... I could see the gears turning in his head, when that commercial played, last night..."

"He's needed in Orion City, though," Ace pressed, though Nox tenderly interrupted him and gave Ace his creepy, golden stare.

"He knows where he's needed... But it's more than just his lonely loft, nearly seventy stories above the entirety of the game," Nox rushed, he shook his head in a fit of becoming defeat and sighed out to the cold, morning crisp about them, "Come this time next year, we need to be doing anything and everything to make sure he doesn't cave and... Find himself signing up for such an event."

"How would we even begin to keep tabs on him, like that?" Emery wondered in a huff of concern.

"Bang down his door, if we have to," Nox's soft voice stated, a conclusive promise the group sought out to uphold, "Whatever keeps him inside Sugar Rush."


	10. Chapter 10

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Oh, well that entire premise was played out in Defying Code. Sugar Rush was downgraded, and when Tessa and Zed went to Tron, Lickity ran off with Orion and he got her pregnant in the time being. When Tessa came back to Sugar Rush, Lickity was outside of the forcefield, waiting for her/waiting to be let back inside. Orion was different because he wasn't Lickity's species; they just ran off for a good time. The difference here is it's Lickity's breed's mating season, so everything is heightened/detrimental.

 **Burgie :** Just takes onnnne special someone to knock on his door ;)

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Meridian, Shining by Jonis de Man**

 **A** **Wondrous Place by Mark Mancina**

* * *

 **A/N :** **Hey guys! Sorry this chapter is late. Coming off of the holidays has been brutal for me, because of how much I've been working. I'me xhausted and am currently trying to find my feet in a few new years resolutions I've set for myself, so I appreciate the patience!**

 **Also, my best friend will be visiting and staying with Cory and I for a week, coming up, so I will be very slow to update until about the middle of January. Thanks for all the love and support guys! Much appreciated :D**

* * *

 ***Chapter 10***

Int he sweep of a breath, Tessa felt her consciousness come back to her body. In a small tense of her muscles, she shifted in bed and allowed her eyes to flutter open. Amidst the cool breeze, Dead Zed's humid jungle air flit into their cozy little abode, and with the warm realization that she was strictly on vacation, no duties or responsibilities, no crying baby to tend to, she exhaled a long, hot sigh through her nose, sagged deeper into the bed and felt Zeds body shift next to hers. In a tangled mess of skin and fluffy sheets and blankets, the room practically sung in it's frozen stillness, a deep embrace of morning love, the sun just barely flickered through the hanging jungle trees over head, and with such, casted shadows of the leaves onto their bodies adorned with nothing but their glistening wedding rings.

With the sting of now suddenly missing her baby, she allowed her eyes to flutter open and peer lazily across the span of the small bedroom and bed her and Zed were cuddled on. She shifted a little, and with such, Zed inhaled a deep, sleepy breath through his nose, scoot a little deeper into her body and rested his head on her bare collar. His chaotic, electric blue hair was in sprout all atop his head, which tickled Tessa's nose a little. She wrinkled her nose, got readjusted and warmly kissed Zed's forehead, though with such, she finally allowed further alertness to come to her gaze as the gorgeous white curtains, of their windows, fluttered in soft licks of drapery with the morning breeze.

"I miss Berri," Tessa admitted meekly into the top of Zed's hair, he grunted a silent rasp of a laugh and sleepily found his arms about her bare waist.

"I thought for sure you'd miss Lickity more so," Zed's deep, grumbling voice made her rib cage reverberate with his power, though gentle voice.

Tessa furrowed her eyebrow in a sharp pang of remembrance, she held her breath and felt her skin grow cold. She felt a weird bit of conflicting thoughts hit her. She missed Berri badly, due to the fact that she is her newborn, though she knew there was a stark difference. She was well aware just when she'd see Berri again; seeing Lickity again was a time frame that was simply up for grabs by the universe. She closed her eyes in a further sag of sorrow and hugged her arms about Zed's head in a needy, suddenly melancholy fashion.

"... Sorry to remind you," Zed mumbled in a deep, apologetic tone as he just barely begun to lift his head. He grunted as him and Tessa' readjusted themselves, and as Tessa laid back to the bed in a slump, Zed remained tight next to her with his head propped on his hand, in which his elbow was now sharply propped into his pillow. He shook his head in sleepy dismay and eyed his bride, "I will make you a bet."

"A bet?" Tessa started in a tone of already annoyed defeat.

"I'll bet you an entire, Kingless Sugar Rush day that come this afternoon at the latest, Lickity will be back," Zed cheesed her a sleepy, smug smile; Tessa cocked an eyebrow.

"But, this bet works in my favor, if you're right, then I win out," Tessa rushed in meek confusion, she scrunched her shoulders and rolled over with a soft, alluring smile. She gingerly rested her larger fingers to Zed's chest and lulled her eyes closed, "I don't want to rule Sugar Rush without you... What happens if you're prophecy doesn't pan out?"

"Nothing changes," Zed shrugged, "I'm trying my hardest to make it so I'm right AND you get your way. You'll feel guilty for being so worried about this, and you'll get an entire Sugar Rush day without a Mr. Zedian Kalivar hovering nearby."

"Hmmm," Tessa fingered her lip and eyed Zed in gentle suspicion, "You're just saying that as an excuse to have a day off and sleep in, aren't you."

"Your majesty," Zed huffed in an exaggerated whisper as he gently clutched his bare chest, "I wouldn't DREAM of it."

"Oh, shut up, you're doing anything to hit snooze in the morning," Tessa blurt a hard chuckle, swat at his playful, masculine hands and began to slowly roll over, so to get out of bed.

"Caught me," Zed muttered in great cheek; he eyed his bride's bare body for a moment before he, too, rolled out of bed and both beings began to lazily scrounge for clothes to put on amidst the strewn mess of torn off clothes from the night prior, "Y'gunna bet on it, or not?"

Tessa gently yanked her head through the hole of her lazy tank top, she inhaled a deep, annoyed breath through her nose and whilst she lazily adjusted her bra under her shirt, she cocked an eyebrow and volleyed a look of dull, annoyed cheek to her husband. She exhaled a long, hot sigh through her nose and bobbed a lazy nod of nonchalant disdain, as if agreeing was moot. Zed's eyebrows perked in a high show of smug desire as he sauntered over to her, after wrestling his lazy sweat pants over his legs. He outstretched his masculine hand to hers, was successful in getting a handshake out of her and bobbed on the balls of his feet in pre-celebratory success.

"What should we do for breakfast?" Zed wondered softly, to which Tessa began to messily throw her crazy waves of auburn hair into a high ponytail atop her head.

"Is the fridge stocked with stuff? I'd assume you and Finn got that covered... Dunno of any grocery stores this far out into the wild," Tessa muttered softly as she opened their bedroom door, strolled down short, narrow hallway and came into the main room, which cozily consisted of the kitchen and living room.

"Yes, ma'am," Zed politely called from the bedroom, he stayed behind to search for a shirt he could wear.

Tessa smiled at the sixth up, how easily Zed could go from full on teasing to the kindest, truest form of politeness she ever knew. She heaved a satisfied sigh and was delighted with the refresh Zed had given her coding, the night prior. Although their love life had very swiftly taken a back seat, due to Berri being born, she was glad the two hadn't lost touch. As she swung into the kitchen, she could swear the smile on her face was bound to become a mile wide; she knew her's and Zed's fiascos were nothing new to her, though somehow he always still managed to leave her beaming the next day. In a gentle droop of feeling entirely satisfied and ready to simply laze about for the rest of the day, she switched on the kitchen's dim lighting and volleyed her gaze across the still space.

Although it was mid morning, the calm, misty, dense jungle foliage did absolutely everything it could to keep the atmosphere shroud in a humid fog. With the lovely splay of breezy fog that eased throughout the jungle and kissed the multitudinous bay windows with a lovely morning dew, sprinkled with sunlight that so desperately tried to eke it's way through the thick, jungle air. Tessa tucked her loose hair behind her ears, stepped into the wooden floors of the kitchen and was prepared to open the fridge in her search for something to cook up, for the two newly weds, for breakfast, though just in the break of her turn, an inhale that got cut short, she held her breath and double took on something that caught her eye just on the landing deck outside.

A massive, winged creature could be seen through the thicket of the fog, one that had seemingly silently landed and was now frozen solid in its stance. Tessa raised her eyebrows in prickled surprise and felt entirely delighted at the fact that Lickity had come back so fast, though with her rushing thoughts, she immediately came to a raw conclusion; this creature was much larger and much darker than Lickity, and with said realization, she began to feel fear plague her skin. She froze in her tracks and now silently cursed the jungle for fogging their windows, the only thing that could even remotely be seen was the darkened, mysterious silhouette of a creature, sat hunched and nervously poised out on the flight deck; in a jolting pang of dire curiosity, mixed with a healthy dose of impending fear, Tessa held her breath and began to slowly push towards the massive sliding glass door in preparation to fully investigate her discovery.

With footsteps as lithe and as silent as could possibly be, Tessa practically hovered to the glass, unhooked the latch and, without any sudden movements, she began to slowly slide the glass open. As the foggy glass finally eased out of her tight vision and peripheral, what was stood perched, poised and alert in a show of hesitance, was an unbelievably gorgeous bat dragon. A being of Lickity's breed, except a lot larger and bigger built, its fur and scales was a dark charcoal brown, and in the gentle swing of volleyed gazes, Tessa felt her breath catch the second their eyes locked. A hypnotizing pierce of massive blue eyes, amidst slits of pupils held sharp to its intended prey, Tessa only opened the door far enough for her to fit through it, though as both beings froze in an impending roll of further uncertainty, Tessa continued to hold that everlasting breath and dare to wonder if stepping outside was wise.

In a gentle push of her bare feet to the cool, massive, wooden landing platform the two shared, Tessa did everything and anything to keep her now becoming nervous gaze tight to this incredible beast far out before her, and as she began to worm her way outside, said dragon sprawled its wings in a slow fashion of further hesitance, as if it so badly wanted to let Tessa approach, though somehow instinct begged it to fly off and be safe. Vivid, cerulean blue eyes held terrifyingly tight to Tessa's, as if to nervously question if Tessa's presence was a threat or not. Before Tessa could allow her overjoyed excitement get the better of her and rush this incredible creature, she slowed her roll, softened her posture and so quietly began to make cute tsking and kissy noises, to hopefully goad the attention of her new potential friend. As slowly as she could, she outstretched her arm, opened her palm face up and hoped to convey peace.

"Hey baby," Tessa eased in much lighter, higher pitch. With such, the creature's posture began to soften with trust, and much to Tessa's entire delight, the dragon's incredible bat ears, which were previously held high and tight to the top of its head, very slowly began to sag in a show of a release of needing dominance in this situation. Tessa just barely began to press further, in hopes of being able to ease into this creature's bubble, "I'm not gunna hurt you."

As Tessa approached, she began to feel dwarfed. Lickity's breed was typically a lithe, smaller figured being, one of agility and flexibility, though as Tessa finally came within half a dozen feet of this incredible beast, she peered up into its eyes and quickly began to feel as if she was in Royal's presence, a being who is much larger than Lickity. Much different than Lickity's cream and chocolate colored markings, this new dragon was entirely coat in a gorgeous splay of charcoal brown, a matte finish its perfect scales and fur were thoroughly complete with, though all down its throat, chest, belly and the majority of its ventral was the most vivid pop of hot blue Tessa had ever seen; a color to easily rival Zed's hair color. Tessa peered up to this creature in total awe, her heart skipped a beat as she noticed its ears sag entirely into succumbed neutrality, its bat snout began to wrinkle in a few soft inhales of sniffles to Tessa's hand, which was now only a foot or two from its snout.

"That's it," Tessa cooed warmly, and gentle roll of success, Tessa gently eased her fingers onto the snout of this strange being. Tessa bit her lip in excitement and felt it strange to be in the presence of another being of Lickity's breed, she eagerly felt the softness of this dragon's fur and relished in the potential idea of befriending yet another one of these awesome creatures. Tessa giggled a little, narrowed her gaze in sweet curiosity and gingerly shrugged, "You, uh... Wouldn't happen to know Lickity, would you?"

With Tessa's question, she was well prepared to not receive any form of understanding, though her facial expression sloped to numb surprise as this creature's eyes gently hooked tight to Tessa's, and with what Tessa could swear was a smile, it began to show it's fangs in non-intimidating delight. Tessa furrowed her brows in bewilderment, and just as she was about to open her mouth and potentially inquire more rushing questions, she flinched and felt a brisk gust of a breeze suddenly sweep through her hair. As she broadened her gaze down the plank of the massive landing platform they stood on, Lickity gently sagged down to the wood on silent wings, a swoop of an incredible skill of being almost entirely unheard, though as she finally eased to a small trot, she peered cheekily into Tessa's eyes, a knowing look of cute, dallying sass everyone knew well.

"I-I, uh..." Lickity staggered, though Tessa finally gaped a wide gape and put all the pieces together. In a gentle swoop of knowing, she cupped the larger dragon's jaw, peered into its eyes for a moment before shooting Lickity a knowing look of floored, girly surprise, "Sorry I sort of, uh... Vanished there. Dunno what came over me."

"I'll tell yah what came over yah!" Tessa barked with a hard laugh, and although the puzzle was now all coming together, she still felt entire surprise with the fact that a deep, tender and masculine chuckle emit from the new dragon's much larger rib cage.

"I-I hope you don't mind the addition," Lickity eased bashfully as she came into their bubble of riled knowing, "This is my mate."

"Chosen well, how do you do?" Tessa wondered in kind excitement as she peered her attention to the male before her, she furrowed her brows in a gentle jolt of confusion and peered to Lickity in kind question, "Can, uh... Can he talk at all?"

"Yeah, he can," Lickity blurt with a gentle laugh as she suddenly nudged her mate with the backside of her folded wing; he grunted a noise of playful dismay, flattened his ears and gave Lickity a teasing look of stern bewilderment, "Not too good at it, yet... Maybe a little shy?"

"Well, well, WELL," Zed suddenly barked from the opened screen door, and with such, Tessa felt a jolt of fear shoot through her the second Lickity's mate suddenly tensed and began to look afraid, as if being in the presence of humans was something entirely off of his normal day-to-day routines. He flinched, taut his ears tight and honed his nervous gaze tight to Zed's across the way, though Zed teasingly carried on, "I'm SUPER glad I made that bet with you. Guess who gets to sleep in when we get back to Sugar Rush! This guy."

"Guess whose on baby-duty at the same time, then?" Tessa volleyed in solid annoyance, she was thrilled to feel the snout of Lickity's mate gingerly find it's way back to her still extended hand for reassurance; she gladly began to rub his snout and give him all the affirmation he needed.

"You guys made a bet?" Lickity staggered in playful annoyance as she flattened her ears and eyed Zed in entire dismay, he slowly sauntered out onto the deck and even further slowed his roll due to the sheer amount of nervousness this new dragon was radiating.

"You bet," Zed choked, Lickity flattened her ears further and gaze Zed an even more annoyed look of teasing disdain, "Tessa was worried you wouldn't come back, so... I bet that if you came back before noon, she gets to run the game for a day without me."

"...That's a lazy excuse for you just getting to sleep in," Lickity rushed with an annoyed smile, Tessa beamed in entire delight as another deep, cute chuckle emanated from Lickity's mate's chest, "I reinforce this baby-duty notion, dude. Y'got played."

"Whatever, I love hanging out with Berri," Zed sneered in Lickity's direction, though Tessa finally eased the conversation back around to the newest addition to their family.

"Well... My name's Tessa, Lickity is my companion. This is my husband, Zed," Tessa motioned to Zed, who finally eased into everyone's bubble, "He's the head of this game. Dead Zed's final boss."

"What's your name?" Zed cued in warmth as he put his hands on his hips and assessed the incredible blue markings and colorations along this new dragon's chest and ventral.

"...B-Boss?" His raspy, deep and tender voice cued in boyish uncertainty, and with such, Tessa could feel her heart just absolutely melt to goo as she encouraged him.

"Your name is Boss?" Tessa pressed with a lilt of a giggle, though Lickity shot him a look and beamed a fang-filled smile.

"You don't have a name, do you," Lickity wondered, though her tone was light and eked excitement, she furrowed her brow and peered to Tessa, "Come to think of it, I didn't have a name until I found Tessa."

"Well Orph named you Lucky," Zed reminded, Lickity rolled her eyes.

"Lucky," Boss eased in entire delight as he turned to peer to his new mate, his velvety voice was like honey, the softest, wisest amount of warmth and desire.

"Yeah, guess it's fine," Lickity shrugged and playfully looked off in a show of disdain, as if she now had to pretend that she still sort of hated Orph, even though everyone knew it was now openly quite the opposite.

"Y'certaintly GOT lucky," Tessa sniped in a stifle, not being able to resist; everyone tried their hardest to hold back laughter, excluding Lickity, who looked off in further annoyance.

"Well, looks like y'sort of named yourself," Zed choked a small laugh to Lickity's mate, "Boss it is."

"I love it!" Tessa pressed, Boss perked his ears in a rise of slowly becoming comfortable.

"Th-thanks you," Boss staggered on his words a little, though Lickity looked up and blurt a chuckle.

"Guess the first thing on the to-do list is English lessons," Lickity snorted a laugh.

"I remember the good ol' days of you stumbling on your words, too, missy," Tessa teasingly reminded as she waggled her pointer finger.

"Long behind me, I am an eloquent being of eternal wisdom and success," Lickity pushed in a cheesy manner of pompous knowing, though Boss wrinkled his nose in a wild, huge smile of disbelief and caught eyes with Lickity in a roll of a budding, teasing relationship that only just began to blossom into the realms of the showy unknown of discovery. Lickity sagged her wings and swat the backside of her wing into Boss's side, once more, which shook a cute chuckle out of him, "Oh, shut up, you believed it last night!"

"Welcome to the family," Zed choked as Boss volleyed his smiling, dizzy gaze of cute uncertainty to Zed's, "We're all crazy."


	11. Chapter 11

**Reviews :**

 **chuckiboo :** Yyyyyyep D: Roy boy definitely doesn't handle it very well, unfortunately. You'll have to find out who Boss allows on his back, it's definitely not anyone anytime soon, however! He's a shy one.

 **Jay Sketchin :** YAY I'm glad! Hopefully you all love him more as the story progresses.

 **Burgie :** Aww that's sweet, you're definitely right :)

 **Snake557 :** Yeah, Royal doesn't end up taking it so well. Also, I've drawn Boss and have talked about him in the past, on my deviantART, so I'm sure that's where you saw the name :)

 **Vsnyder :** Hey, thanks so much for joining and for reading along! I'm glad you're enjoying everything. YES, this story is where all the TurboxBerri fanart is coming from. Those plot points are currently underway and we will be diving into all of it in the next few chapters, actually. I'm stoked, so stay tuned! Thanks again :)

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Meridian, Shining by Joris de Man**

 **In Great Strides by Joris de Man & The Flight**

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 ***Chapter 11***

On cold, marbleized, glistening palace tiles, Royal's chameleon paws heavily thudded about the bend of the racer's corridor. Said corridor looped in a circle about the entirety of the code room's dome of a hub, the safest most secure place in the entirety of the game. Said high ceilinged, swooping corridor was dimly lit in the comfort of Sugar Rush's cold nightfall. White walls casted in a honey glow of warmth, an even amount of tall, majestic doors tidily lined the outer rung of the donut-shaped corridor, each being the front door of each individual Sugar Rush racer, separate wings of the main hub. With each said front door properly clad and decorated to emulate just which racer lived there, Royal and Ace so quietly chit chat in boyish murmurs of tender silliness, an innocent, brotherly, dallying sway of winding down, the palpable sense of no amount of urgency coat the cold game's exterior with love. Although both boys were on the way to the code room, with Berri comfortably fast asleep in Ace's strong arms, they were aware they'd eventually run into other beings that reside in said palace; a lilt of rising coos could suddenly be heard as Jubileena, Candlehead and Minty spot the tiny baby in Ace's arms.

"Aww, big brother finally learning the ropes," Candlehead so sweetly teased, all three girls had long, wet hair down their back, they were dressed in comfortable attire for the night, a waft of sweet scented lotions and body washes easily soaked into Royal's and Ace's gravity as all three girls tip toed their sock-covered feet across palace tiles.

"Definitely trying," Ace huffed a warm chuckle, he so gingerly jostled Berri in the slightest and peered down to his baby sister; an adorable bundle of warm, pink, chubby cheeks, a mess of hot blue hair was properly crowned atop her head, the same exact pop of color Zed so proudly flaunted day in and day out.

"No doubt she's Zed's daughter, that's for sure," Minty's curt tone was something Ace was still trying to navigate; a seemingly cold and nearly uninviting individual on the surface, though as the weeks went on, Ace quickly discovered a warm and sensitive smile behind those cold green eyes. Minty dared to tilt her head in a show of submissive tenderness, her eyes narrowed as she assessed Sugar Rush's princess, "Does any one know if she has any glitching or wrecking abilities, just yet?"

"Not sure we'll find out too soon, but who knows," Candlehead shrugged her girly shoulders, cloaked in an oversized pink hoodie, "I remember Vanellope making mention of Tessa's glitching abilities right from the get-go, though... Baby Tessa would sneeze and she'd blob out in purple pixels."

"...Purple?" Ace tenderly wondered, his big hazel eyes soaked into Candlehead's warm eyes, though he inhaled a short breath and bobbed a quick nod of understanding, "Oh, her original coding, right."

"Silver, for this girl," Jubileena promptly addressed to Berri, Ace was thankful the women kept their eager, cooing voices to a shushed volume so that Berri could continue sleeping.

"Odd how that works," Ace chuckled dryly, though his smile only began to broaden, "So many code colors, so little time."

"Muddied," Minty lightly mumbled, as if to suggest her words held no amount of conscious malice, though with the draw of everyone's now confused expression, she stiffened in a bout of embarassment and flagged her hand, "I-I didn't mean that in a bad way, I guess... I just..."

"It's taboo, we get it," Royal tried not to snip, though with this hot topic now coming to a head, Ace raised his eyebrows in tender politeness and smiled to the three women about him.

"Royal and I were just about to meet up with Rancis and Turbo, in the code room," Ace eased as warmly and as gentlemanly as he could, so to sap the now rising anger out of the air, all built from Royal, "Hopefully you guys can hang with little Berri tomorrow, once she's awake."

"I'd love to get the chance to feed her, maybe after racing time?" Candlehead so sweetly pleaded, something she had been trying not to bug Tessa about; Ace nodded in conclusion and successfully began to ease him and Royal about the three women, in a beeline for the bend of the code room's massive round gape of an entrance, secure and shut in it's pristine, untouched defenses.

"Absolutely," Ace promised warmly, and with a nod and a gentle turn, he waved to the three women, "Goodnight, ladies."

"Goodnight," Only Jubileena and Candlehead called; Ace turned heel before he could even see Minty's likely dulled and mildly confused facial expression.

"Thanks," Royal just barely mouthed, he rolled his large, golden eyes, looked off and laid his bat ears flat to his head. His body slithered in his walk, a bow-legged step of a chameleon's, and with his huge, gorgeous white wings lazily drooped about him, his un-coiled tail barely hovered over the cold palace tiles, each color-changing scale only glistened with the sparkling palace tiles. Once the two were safe inside the sanctity of the code room, Royal further exhaled an annoyed sigh and looked up to the code room's glass dome, "I try to avoid Minty where I can."

"Supposedly, she's warming up to all of us," Ace shrugged in gentleness, "Just give her patience... She leads a very different lifestyle, than us swappers. Ma made clear that Minty's always been like this, but is slowly coming around."

"Maybe you should talk to her about it, then, if you seem so confident," Royal grumbled, only teasing; he eyed Ace with a brotherly smile and shrugged as both boys eased deeper into the massive code room, the whole place sung in the hum of electrified harmony.

"It was my plan," Ace sighed, he smiled down to Berri, the code room was aglow with warm silver, code boxes that didn't gleam too brightly, they properly illuminated the milky, starry sky overhead, "Who knows if she'll come around. I'd like to maybe get inside her head a little and see the other side of the coin. Just why people are so against code swapping."

"People like that want us code swappers dead," Royal quietly argued as they now began to approach Tessa's and Zed's workstation; it was all tidied and clean, due to their absence.

"Minty doesn't want us dead," Ace huffed through a raspy sigh, a headshake of disbelief and a tender, teasing side eye thrown in Royal's direction.

"So, what of this code room meeting, then?" Royal stated after a moment of soaked in the soothing breath of the code room's humming life.

"I guess Turbo and Uncle Rancis have a bit of a concern," Ace stated in a nonchalant tone, leading to suggest that he was confident he'd be able to quell both Sugar Rush's Knight's worries, "I guess since the castle, as well as the code room, was hanging over The End, when Lash was in charge, the game still occasionally believes it's in danger of being swallowed by The End. Annoying, blaring code room alarms."

"Any way around it?" Royal wondered softly, Ace shrugged and readjusted Berri's cute, warmly bundled sleeping figure.

"Surely, they just need a User's touch," Ace's voice emit humility with a gentle touch of sass, and with such, he eyed Royal with a smile, "Y'guys miss Lickity?"

"Oh sure," Royal honestly expelled, he bobbed a nod and innocently looked up, "Too bad our Honeydew Ridge got cut short, like it did. Mom wanted me to bring her back some of that jade rock candy. She loves that stuff."

"Ah well, you guys can go back sometime in the Spring, maybe?" Ace wondered, it was in this gentle segue did he now bite his lip and wonder just how he was going to go about warning Royal about Licity's potential escapades, in Dead Zed.

"Yeah, that'd work," Royal shrugged, he narrowed his eyes in boyish plea and chuckled, "I want that rock candy now, though... It's so yummy!"

"It is good," Ace bugged his eyes and nodded; both boys got comfortable in each others presence as they waited for the anticipated union of Turbo and Rancis, in the code room. Ace was glad him and Royal had a second, and although he wanted to continue beating around the bush, he heaved a shaky breath and knew he needed to get this information off of his chest, and to Royal, "Roy, uh... Can I talk to you about something, real quick? It's about Lickity."

"Sure, what's wrong?" Royal pressed as he sat on his hind quarters, sagged his wings and got comfortable.

"Nothing's wrong, I just... I just need to, well... Prepare you, I guess," Ace staggered, he now wondered how exactly to go about this.

"Prepare me?" Royal pressed, now clearly becoming mildly apprehensive.

"It's nothing bad, well... At least I don't THINK it's bad," Ace nervously rubbed the back of his head and eyed Royal in tender confusion, though Royal shook his head and flattened his ears.

"What's going on?" Royal urged gently, inner frustration was brimming.

"Well... When dad and I took Lickity into Dead Zed, the other day, to search for their perfect honeymoon spot, well..." Ace gestured his hand, as if to express he was looking for the proper words to say, "Lickity nearly got caught up in the prospects of a suitor."

"... A suitor?" Royal pegged, his one ear perked in a show of near scoffing annoyance, "You mean like... A mate?"

"Lickity got so wrapped up in a mating call that she nearly took off, inside instinct," Ace eased as gently as he could, he shrugged and gave Royal a look of apologetic cuteness, "I guess... I'm not positive what taking her back into Dead Zed would mean for when they return, but-"

"Mom would bring home another MALE?" Royal now pressed in rising agitation, and it was in this show of burning agitation did Ace feel thankful he warned Royal before it was largely too late.

"We really won't know, but... I just wanted to prepare you, if something like that were to happen," Ace rushed to Royal's aid, it was clear he was now becoming mad.

"H-How could mom do that, though? Just... Up and swap with any old male with the right call and colors? She wouldn't just bring a strange male back to the pack," Royal shook his head in denial, absolutely certain of his words, "I'm the head of the pack, if she brings back another male, where the hell does that put me?"

"It doesn't put you anywhere, Royal, you're all family," Ace wavered in forced confidence, he sheepishly began to wonder if this now was the wrong time for this subject, due to both boys having to keep their voices painfully hushed.

"... A strange male that mom just randomly would bring home?" Royal argued in a gape of hot irritation, "No, not my family."

"Roy," Ace complained tenderly, "Think of your mother's feelings... Y'guys can hang with us and talk and all that jazz, but Roy... I've seen how lost in the mating game you become. When Balba first sent out that call, in Dead Zed, all that time ago? There was absolutely NO stopping you. Lickity is in that same boat, Roy."

"How could she just... I mean... You're telling me she's going to come home with a mate? One that can talk? One that we now HAVE to get along with and share our enclosure with?" Royal was now offended, "Old man will have to earn his keep... You come toe to toe with me, these are my grounds."

Ace shut his mouth and was prepared to let Royal continue, though he wondered if he should continue to interject where he could; as the dominant and only male of the group, outside of his unborn male pup, Ace knew this was likely a weird situation for Royal.

"I don't think Lickity went into Dead Zed thinking she'd come out of it with a mate, Roy... That sort of thing sort of just happens, with you guys," Ace shrugged, "Your genetic makeup and biology is far different than us humans. We share the common denominator of talking and reasoning, but you guys have instincts and abilities beyond ours."

"Exactly," Royal near growled as he looked Ace dead in the eye, and it was in this raw instance did Ace understand just what the palace was up against; a show of arms, a battle of the greats, a fight for dominance. Ace sagged his shoulders and now began to drown under Royal's powerful, though still hushed voice of reverberating power, "Imagine if Zed died and Tessa reversed her code, only to later randomly bring home another man. You can't look me in the eye and tell me you'd let the guy in with open arms, without some sort of show of firm boundary."

"That's... Entirely different," Ace dared to argue, with Royal perked his ears in mild offense and side-eyed his brother.

"Sure we have a different genetic makeup... My biology would say to show my size and physically demand respect from any other male to encroach on my pack, where as yours would be a strictly verbal approach," Royal smartly argued. Ace bit his tongue and couldn't seem to waver his eyes from Royal's hypnotizing, snake-like golden gaze, "A show of arms is still something we share as a common denominator here, as well, you can't deny."

Ace bobbed a nod and gingerly shrugged.

"But the difference here is-"

"I get the differences between Tessa finding another man and my mom, an animal, simply finding a mate. I get it," Royal snipped in a rise of protectiveness, his snout wrinkled in the show of his fangs, a snip of biter confidence; it was clear this frustration was strictly stemming from fear of the unknown, "Either way, I hope mom DOES bring home a random rogue..."

"She's not doing any of this to betray you, or your pack, Royal," Ace defended in now becoming-exhausted annoyance.

"It's just hot off the heels of my dad's death," Royal shook his head and looked off, a moment in time Royal had greatly taken to heart, "Seems careless."

"Lickity hardly even knew Orion, Roy... This isn't out of malice," Ace tried his hardest to get underneath Royal's stubborn, angry surface layer, though it was clear Royal had now made up his mind.

"No other male gets over those walls without going through me," Royal grumbled in riled, masculine irritation; Ace heaved a hot sigh and looked up in defeat.

"I'm going to have to fireproof the palace, aren't I," Ace's deep voice groaned, Royal cocked an eyebrow muscle and eyed Ace in challenging cheek.

"If that's what you think would be best."

* * *

"R-Ro... Oil," Boss staggered, his masculine voice did everything it could to find strength and avoid wavering, a confidence he'd eventually fall into.

"Royal," Lickity patiently repeated, she giggled; an easiness she was unsure she'd really ever find again.

"Roil," Boss stated again, gained confidence; Lickity continued to laugh, which had the glossing attention of Tessa and Zed, across the way.

Sat that the mouth of a gorgeous, sprawling river, Lickity and Boss sat on the comfortable, mossy shoreline whilst Tessa and Zed did everything they could to wade closer to the small, trickling stream of a few individual waterfalls nearby; they were clad in their swim wear, hair soaked, bodies glistening in the noon sunshine, and although it would be typical to leave the two honeymooning couple alone, said honeymoon very quickly began to morph into a fun and relaxing double date. With the overflow of Tessa's and Zed's laughter echoing across the glassy, serene pond and river they all were enjoying, Lickity sagged her posture a little and dared to drag her gaze back to her new mate.

An odd concept, being able to talk and also pick out a mate outside of human like abilities, Lickity observed her new other half and wondered if Boss was satisfied with this brand new installment. It was clear he was a bit of a loner, an older, much bigger male well beyond Lickity's years and wisdom, it was apparent that he likely had a lot of life experience, as a proper dragon, above Lickity. The way his intelligent blue eyes scanned the surroundings, the way his massive ears were always taut and ready to scour any bit of information the jungle had to offer, his gorgeous blue coat and underbelly was nearly always on the verge of being puffed with fight or flight agitation, the mark of an apex predator always on the prowl for prey.

In the day Lickity had with Boss, she was able to properly fill him in on her stature in Sugar Rush, her story of how Tessa saved her from the jungles, Lickity's past with Orph and how that all melted into her life, she was glad Boss was taking everything in stride and positivity, though with the raw and nervous look in Boss's eye, it was very clear that he had never been a part of a family unit. He seemed confused at the raw fact that Lickity's pack consisted of a chameleon dragon hybrid and two Dead Zed lykatas. Nothing about Lickity's dragon life made sense, though she was beginning to see that Boss's curiosity for it all was on overdrive, and the more Sugar Rush was talked about, the more he itched for this little shindig to be over with so they could all return home. Before Lickity could soak into more of her thoughts, Boss just barely relaxed and began to look as if he was about to form the word 'Royal' again.

"Break it down, it's two syllables," Lickity's motherly voice sapped into Boss's gorgeous, dark brown fur. He inhaled a deep breath, one of mildly losing patience, a show of playfulness he was only just beginning to show. He grunted a noise, readjusted his lazy sitting position and tucked his large, dark wings tighter to his body as Lickity added in a further snip of information, "Roy-Al. Royal. Next, we'll try Royalty."

"Tryin'teh kill me," Boss muttered, his incredibly blue eyes hooked into Lickity's as he eased a playful smirk of mild annoyance.

"If that's what we're going with, then sure," Lickity barked a laugh, to which had Boss in further stitches.

"Royal," Boss finally eased through a chuckling sigh, to which Lickity perked her ears and sat up, she pushed her self up with her forelegs and sat on her hind quarters in a sag.

"Y'got it," Lickity encouraged; Boss slowly emulated Lickity's shift in positioning and mirrored her for comfort, so she wasn't simply hovering over him.

"Royal's your... Son," Boss pressed in tenderness, his eyes hooked to Lickity's in mild confusion, and with such, Lickity now felt the weight of this situation begin to seep deeper into their tender, newfound relationship, "Wh-where's, uh... Royal's dad?"

Lickity held her breath, stiffened in a slow rile of pent up confusion and allowed her eyes to only just barely remained glued to Boss's hypnotizing blue orbs. Lickity finally released the pent up frustration and anxiety through a hot exhale, through her nose. She dragged her lime green eyes across the span of jungle river they comfortably sat in the presence of. Tessa and Zed loudly laughed, off in the distance, they draped in hugs and tender smooches, here and there, absolutely soaking up the away-from-baby time they were graciously allowed. Lickity smiled at the two, across the stretch of water and finally knew she had to face this awkward situation, head on.

"Orion and I, well... Had a night of fun, shortly before I was locked out of Sugar Rush, the game I was telling you all about earlier," Lickity gently explained, "Said night of fun resulted in me becoming pregnant with Royal."

"That's how we... c-can talk?" Boss navigated his words as easily as he could, each sentence was structured a little bit neater and cleaner than the last.

"Through Orion, yeah... He was a big dragon-like chameleon, with the ability to talk. He passed it to me, in which I in turn passed to Royal," Lickity sighed in wistful annoyance and gave Boss her dallying, sassy gaze of knowing, "Which, in turn, got passed to you. Welcome to the club."

"Tell me a-about... Th-the lykatas," Boss continued to fumble, his eyes searched for words in his brain, a brand new language he now was fluent in, though somehow mastering the manual was what was proving to be difficult.

"Oh, Balba and Marble?" Lickity sighed wistfully, thinking highly of her family, "Well, Marble was actually Dead Zed's first programmed lykata, so that's pretty cool. Balba is Royal's mate, they're expecting a cub in a few months."

"W-Wait... Royal isn't little?" Boss wondered in a now sharp rise of concern, to which Lickity confusedly cued to.

"User, no... Royal's fully grown, he's about as big as you," Lickity pressed, though as the words were coming out of her mouth, she cued back to her old life, of strictly being a non-talking dragon, and remembered pack notions, hierarchies that lie within. She sagged her ears in a droop of now nervousness and eyed Boss, as if to somehow pray that they could maybe set said animalistic tendencies aside, "H-He's... Technically the alpha male, on the lot. The ONLY male, really. Their cub is a boy, but that's different."

"Will this work?" Boss tenderly worried, he shook his head and showed Lickity a side of gentle concern, though the look of pure, dominant masculinity in his eyes spoke of a thousand different notions, all of which made clear to Lickity that if him and Royal were to go toe to toe, it'd most certainly be a show to remember.

"I didn't think any of this through," Lickity grumbled as she finally got to a stand, and in a dallying saunter of now defeated confusion, she began to slowly wander off.

Boss perked his ears, cued to Lickity's movement and very quickly got to his feet to follow her. Lickity heaved a hard sigh and, in the typical fashion of having Royal usually come to her aid whilst she was sad, she felt an odd sense of relief come over her. The silent, padded paws of Boss's large, intimidating clawed paws eased into rhythm with hers, his much larger body came alongside her, and in the cue of navigating their new, blossoming partnership, Boss's much larger tail very carefuly slipped underneath the tip of hers, causing a delicate curl of an intertwine.

"What's wrong?" Boss's deep voice cued, he kept his demeanor at arms length, as if he, too was still trying to figure himself out, and any bout of information given to Lickity was also brand new information to him, something he tried to keep reeled so he could properly assess this new side of himself, as well.

"I didn't really think about the repercussions of bringing you back home, to Sugar Rush," Lickity eased as she looked down and to the side, Boss hung close in a new level of warm, tender loving care Lickity wasn't used to receiving; anything Royal had to give was strictly platonic and didn't last for way too long, due to him being busied with Balba and their upcoming new baby. Lickity hovered in the stillness of Boss's wise demeanor, and as they locked eyes, she felt relief hit her fur, even though she was still stuck in a sticky situation, "Royal's sort of head honcho, of our lot and enclosure. I just... Hope you two get along, I guess."

"I m-may be... Older," Boss started, he wanted so desperately to carrying out conversation with her without any fumbling, though he knew it'd at least take time, "A-And... Th-that would technically put me in charge, but... I'll keep my head down, i-if... That's wh-what you think to be best."

"I know Royal won't be happy," Lickity sighed, she shook her head and eyed Boss in rising apprehension, "He just watched his own father die, not to months ago, and now... I-I'm coming home with an entirely new 'father' figure. I REALLY didn't consider any of this."

"You were riding on instinct," Boss shrugged, he sagged his ears and now sat close to Lickity's warmth, though just as he was about to carry on, he jolted in a small nudge of confusion as Lickity began to nuzzle her whole face and snout into the dark, velvety mane of Boss's chest and neck, though she managed to huff a hard sigh into his fur, ultimately exposing the pop of cerulean blues that lined his ventral. Boss smiled, relaxed a little and was beginning to feel a sense of high walls that wanted to come down, and although he knew it'd take time and a whole world of adjustment, he still felt content in this instance. His deep, warm voice carried on in cheek, "I don't like fighting, and I don't do it often."

"You fought off that other male, last night," Lickity chuckled as she reopened her eyes and peered across the crystal clear lake, it rippled with the warm breeze, shadows of the jungle trees casted sunlit freckles unto their gorgeous splays of fur.

"I knew you were a catch," Boss grumbled, as if now exposing a more romantic side was extremely bizarre, he navigated it with narrowed eyes that gazed off in mild confusion at himself, "I-I fought off another male from getting to you, but... D-Doesn't feel right to encroach on your own kin."

"I'm sure Royal will read you the riot act, so I guess just... Be prepared," Lickity huffed in mild, nervous annoyance, knowing full well how stubborn and hard-headed Royal could be, at times.

* * *

 **A/N :** **Hey guys! I want to thank you for being patient while I was away for a week. My staycation was really nice, and much needed! I'm back at the story and my artwork, once again. I have a handful of Sugar Rush palace pieces I WANT to upload, but I'm waiting until I have a decent amount built up so I can do a proper sketch dump, if you will. So, it's all comin'! Stay tuned! :)**

 **ALSO, this could probably be seen as *SPOILERS* but I just wanted to let you guys know that the story begins to pick up after Tessa and Zed come back from their honeymoon - a time jump happens, and it'll segue into Berri finally becoming the main character, and what that all looks like for Wren and Theo. Just to keep you guys in the loop! I felt it right to slowly segue into all of that, and really get a good chance to show you guys what palace life feels like, with the characters you guys have come to know and love from Rectifying Origin. I like easing into my hot topics, and not so much just thrusting everyone into it head first. More chapters, more content, more to love I guess. Enjoy guys! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** Bawww, I'm glad you like him already! He's a big mellow boi. Him and Royal DEFINITELY 'hit it off' x_x

 **Burgie :** Ehhh, I won't spoil anything, but they've never really been huge supporters, obviously. And yes, Boss and Royal unfortunately do not play nice for the first while.

 **chuckiboo :** Wow. I was wholly taken aback by what you said, I am forever floored when my readers remember very small details all the way back to Wrecking Limits, kudos to you my friend! You're definitely right, Minty was a bit of a brat about it all, (and yes, you're right about Swizzle - she eventually confides in Ace about it all) and although she's come around a little, she still is a bit weird about the whole concept.

 **Snake557 :** This is true, I try not to take away their entire animalistic behaviors. Thank you friend!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Beasts of Steel by Joris de Man (end of the chapter)**

* * *

 **A/N :** **Hey guys, so sorry for the delay. I'm in the process of reversing my sleep and work schedule. Cory got a much better job, but it's a very early morning job, so I changed my schedule around so him and I aren't on opposite sleep/work schedules (been there, done that... It sucks.) It's been a really difficult process trying to reverse the past 15 years of going to sleep at 4am every day. Cause now I'll be waking up at 4am every day xD It's just exhausting and at the end of the day, I can't bounce back enough to poop out a chapter. But, like everything, it'll take a little bit of time to fall into a new routine and I'll be up and running shortly. Thanks for understanding!**

* * *

 ***Chapter 12***

"Oh, hi, uh... Can I get two large pizzas with..." Ace trailed off, his voice only politely wavered as the sounds of busied workers could be heard on the other end of the line, the only thing now distracting his thought process being Nox's arms urgently flailing, an unmitigated show of potentially changing his mind on what kind of pizza he wanted. Ace tilted the microphone end of his phone away from his mouth, narrowed his eyes at his best friend and carried in on a sharp whisper of only teasing frustration, "Nox, this is the fourth time you've changed your mind, you freak, I'm about to order you anchovies, is that what you want?"

"Damn," Turbo choked, he eyed Ace with a widening smile, somehow thrilled there was another man on the lot that was willing to properly brother Nox. Turbo crossed his arms, relaxed and tried to gloss his eyes away from the endearing situation before him, messily slumped at Tessa's and Zed's kitchen island.

"Hello?" The innocent, seemingly bored pizza employee's voice could be heard, just barely, on Ace's phone.

"Yes, I'm still here, I'm sorry... We'd like two large pizzas, one meat lovers and the other... Mushrooms," Ace wrinkled his nose and eyed Nox, who beamed, eagerly held a thumbs up and nodded with fervor. Libby raised her eyebrows in prickled delight and cast her tender voice in Nox's direction.

"Can I have a slice, Nox?" Libby tenderly wondered, a dainty smile of loving goodness, she carefully cradled Berri in her motherly arms.

"Of course," Nox eased politely, Ace began to slowly mosey away from the kitchen island to continue the transaction over the phone.

"Yeah, my name's Ace," Ace stated as he began to gently distance himself from the ever growing conversation at the kitchen island, he cocked an eyebrow and carefully held his father's bank card in his larger hands. A hefty, thick slate of a card, made of solid metal and coat in a glorious display of silvers and blacks in a simple marbled design. Zed's full name was etched into this prestigious card in hot blue, and it was with this did a nervous lump gather in Ace's throat, the raw fact that he was simply talking to an unsuspecting civilian down in Orion City, "I-I'll be using my dad's card, though."

"No problem, what's the name on the card that will be used upon delivery?" The kind employee eased, and with such, Ace staggered a breath of a silent chuckle.

"Uh, Zedian Kalivar," Ace lilted in boyish question; the neverending silence on the other line had Ace certain that now every employee in this pizza shop was going to vie for the task of delivery.

"Zedian... K-Kalivar, the new King of Sugar Rush?" The employee finally staggered in a raised, concerned tone of bewilderment.

"That'd... Be correct," Ace stumbled through a laugh and rubbed the back of his head, "Y'know, I didn't really think this order through and forgot that one of your coworkers is going to have to deliver to Sugar Rush's palace, but... I-I mean I can tip ahead of time, or I can come down to the city to pick it up-"

"No, no, User, no," the employee now lilted from the dregs of their typical exhaustion, from a work day, to that of their best customer service voice, "W-We'll deliver no problem, it's on us, really, we'd be honored."

"Please let me pay," Ace blurt with a laugh of rising concern, he grit his teeth and glared down at his father's bank card, one of which Zed had so kindly left for the kids to do exactly as Ace was doing; order food and have a small bit of fun while the King and Queen were away.

"We insist, it's our pleasure, we'll have two deliverers on their way shortly," The boyish employee rushed to Ace's aid, something of which Ace was now having a hard time navigating, "We'll be there in fifteen minutes sharp."

"... O-Okay, well, thank you," Ace eased in gentle defeat, and as he slowly pulled his phone away from his ear, he ended the call on the larger touch screen, wrinkled his face in mild discomfort and turned heel to rejoin the bickering group at the island.

"So help me User, if you say you like pineapples on your pizza, then I'm going to have to second Ace's statement and label you an ultra-freak-Frappuccino," Turbo rushed, the rasp in his voice was sharply prominent in his playful, teasing tone.

"Well FINE! I hope I'm at least a Venti, then... With extra whipped cream," Nox boasted as he shook his head and playfully glared at his big brother down the bridge of his nose; Turbo sagged his face into his hands in entire defeat.

"What's wrong, puba?" Libby eased to Ace through a giggle, she quite enjoyed watching Turbo interact with Nox in this way, as it was something she had never been able to witness until now.

"Uh, well... I really didn't think any of that through. I told them the name on the bank card I'd be using, I couldn't give anymore information past 'Zedian Kalivar' without them begging to not charge me for my order," Ace rushed in confused, delighted dismay. He rubbed his temples and gently eyed Turbo for guidance, "I-I don't know how I feel being treated like... Like..."

"...Royalty?" Turbo cocked an eyebrow, his tone was that of dull annoyance, though it was clear his allegiance to the royal family would never waver.

"The pizzas were FREE?!" Nox barked in annoyance, Berri blurt a gentle squeal upon hearing the volume of voices get louder and louder, "Why didn't you order like four more! Cinnamon bread! Anything!"

"Because! I'm not that kind of person, Nox, that inventory is their livelihood, and they're just giving away two pizzas for free," Ace shrugged and looked off, "I guess it's not that big of a deal, just... Feels odd. I was never treated like this growing up."

"Just tip them really well," Turbo shrugged, he reached into his back pocket, of his jeans, and lazily lofted a crumpled wad of cash onto the kitchen island. Ace cocked an eyebrow and peered to Turbo in a show of kind uncertainty, Turbo kindly eased his timid eyes across the gazes of Nox, Libby and Ace, "On me."

"...This is fifty dollars," Ace murmured in a show of rising surprise as his large fingers thumbed through the messy cash, he smiled to Turbo and side-eyed him in a teasing show of discovery.

"I'm not running that city for free, my friend," Turbo mumbled in a deep, raspy, reverberating echo of cunning charm, the glow of his eye nearly twinkled with sly knowing, something that made a lump gather in Ace's throat, a show of prickled surprise.

"Tessa and Zed must treat you well if you just have fifty dollars in your back pocket for chump change," Nox cheekily pointed out, to which Turbo crossed his arms and smiled, though the gentle vow of silence he now sank into was a humble display of a now cut-off game of 'don't ask don't tell'.

"Guys," Rancis's voice croaked from the living room, although he had been previously snoozing through a late morning nap, the group began to become louder upon noticing Rancis quietly wake up and run through a few game duties via Zed's much larger digital pad. Everyone sharply peered to Rancis, who had his neck wretched to peer to the group at the kitchen island, from the billowy grey couch. He nervously waved the digital pad, which showed a fifty-square mile radius of the castle, including a majority of Orion City, as well as Sugar Rush's entrance, "Top dogs are back... Hope someone's warned 'ol Roy-boy, because Lickity is being tailed by another dragon."

The whole room fell silent in a stiff, frozen gape of realization. Although they had somewhat prepared for this, to see it unfold into reality was what took every single person in the room aback. Certain that nothing could take any of their minds off of the impending pizza to come, Ace firmly pushed across the room, came to the backside of the couch and was offered the digital pad from Rancis. In a firm swipe, Ace cued to Tessa's and Zed's waypoints; both properly aboard Lickity, the silhouette of an 'unknown' being eagerly tailing Lickity had Ace's pupils tightening in anxiety. In a quicker swipe, he urgently zoomed to the palace grounds, his large fingers cued to highlight strictly the flyers on the lot. Balba and Marble were tucked away in a secluded area of their enclosure, likely napping the late morning away, though Ace grit his teeth in a further spike of anxiety as he noticed Royal's waypoints nearly dead center the Sugar Rush palace lot; likely sunbathing.

"Royal's out in the field... The second Lickity crosses those palace walls, Royal's going to know," Ace urged, he peered to the group at the island and glanced down to his uncle in fear.

"What should we do?" Nox wondred in uneducated worry, Libby tilted her head up and gestured to the digital pad in Ace's hand, as easily as she could whilst holding Berri.

"Well, if I were you, I'd hurry and code whatever being, that is following Lickity, to the game," Turbo rushed, Libby urgently nodded, "If Royal's going to go ham on this fella, it'd be best if it weren't permanent..."

"Good thinking," Ace stated quietly and sharply, his hands began to go to work; Rancis finally groaned an exhausted noise and stood in a stiff, sleepy fashion. He groaned a noise amidst his firm stretch and finally slumped to join the rest of the now panicking group.

"One of us should go down and warn Royal, quick," Rancis quipped gently as he rubbed his eye, and although he was just slowly coming out of sleepiness, it was clear the prickled sense of urgency now coat the room in a cloak of concern.

"On it," Ace's curt tone snipped, and in a gentle thrust of the digital pad to the kitchen island, he hurriedly moved across his parent's home, raced down the long corridor to their teleportation pad of a front door, yanked his thick coat off of the hanger and shoved it onto his body as fast as he could; without any time present for anyone to loft questions his way, his incredible golden coding evaporated with the cue of the teleportation pad.

"So, Berri and I will be here to enjoy the fireworks," Libby stated in a dull tone, and although she was teasing, it still held underlying speckles of nervousness; Turbo nodded, in agreeing to her statement and eyed Rancis in concern.

"What precautions should we take?" Turbo quietly questioned to his partner, in this mess.

"This could go one of two ways," Rancis's deep, tired voice grumbled as he thumbed through the still powered-on digital pad, he cocked an eyebrow and noticed the tidy layout Ace had left on the screen. A proper reading of Lickity's mate, breed, descriptions and adjectives alike, Rancis waggled the pad and showed Turbo his findings, "Either this beast knows to keep his head down and lets Roy-boy hold his 'territory', or..."

"... The palace lot turns into a volcano," Nox muttered into his hands, he lazily sagged his palms and fingers down his cheeks in a messy array of impending exhaustion, "Maybe we should warn Orion City..."

"This is unlike anything I've ever dealt with, Tee," Rancis eased to Turbo as he shook his head and shrugged, "Everyone here isn't outside their own game, so we're really at no risk... Only pressing issue is the contingency of this fight, potential clean up, and the stability of Royal's pack after this all goes down. Who knows what their dynamic will look like, after everything is said and done."

"Royal's lazy Sunday just took a turn for the worse," Nox stated through the grit of his teeth as everyone peered out Tessa's and Zed's bay window; Ace could be seen, far off across the lot, glitch-hopping to Royal's lazily sprawled figure in the snowy grass, everyone eagerly stood to watch the show from the safety of the King and Queen's loft.

"Royal," Ace huffed loudly as he came out of his educated glitch-hopping. His golden user coding easily took to the snowy field like wildfire, golden honeycombs grappled any ounce of ground coding it could get its grip on. Ace heavily panted as he neared Royal and continued on through intakes of sharp, cold winter air, "Royal, Lickity's back."

"For User's sake, it's about time," Royal's sprawled, lazily body finally tensed in the slow action of moving from his unhinged, belly-up position to back on all fours. He garbled a noise, shook the snow off of his massive body like a dog and perked his ears in excitement as he finally bounced on all fours a little and peered to Ace in a cute, boyish manner, "I've been dying to go back to Honeydew Ridge, already."

Ace continued to softly pant, and although he inhaled a deep breath to continue on to Royal and explain just what was going on, the second both boys locked eyes, Royal froze in a gentle downslope of impending dread. Royal's perked wings and ears very slowly began to sag to that of a droop of defense, his tail gently uncurled from that thick, friendly bundle of white, cream and golden scales, and as Royal's cute and delightfully child-like demeanor began to sink to something Ace had never seen before, Ace bit his lip and began to tenderly back step the second Royal's hypnotizing eyes lost that cute boyish charm, a slippery slope to that of riled, pure, animalistic instinct. Just as Ace was certain Royal was simply going to be lost in this battle of impending dominance, and he was well on his way to stepping out of harms way, Royal flattened his ears, tilted his head up and called to Ace in a now sharp, stern and fatherly show of arms.

"Where is he?" Royal barked meanly as his pupils began to shrink, and with his words, Ace only had seconds to open his mouth before a strict loft of a gliding beast could be seen on the far end of the lot, hovering tight about the palace's perimeter; Lickity knew she was bringing home a ticking time bomb of a situation, and was wise to not cross over the border of Royal's territory.

"Royal," Ace demanded gently as Royal's attention sharply darted to his mother's whereabouts; much to everyone's ironically delighted and terrified surprise, Lickity was loosely and non-threateningly being tailed by a much larger male of her breed, one of which Ace was certain Royal was having a very hard time comprehending.

Before Ace could get anything else out, Royal bared his fangs a little as a deep, core-shaking grumble of a reverberating growl emanated from Royal's large rib cage. Ace was well aware there was no stopping whatever show was about to go down, and it was in his best interest now to just seek shelter. Ace grit his teeth in apologetic sorrow, turned his back on his brother and began to glitch-hop to the safety of the recreation hall, just across the field. In a few seconds, Ace was safely inside the warmth of the hall, which had gathered the attention of Taffyta, Penny, Wren, Snowanna, Swizzle, Koko and Emery. In a panting mess of nervousness, Ace began to explain to everyone the predicament, and implored them to temporarily stay indoors, and with the prerequisites laid out for everyone, they gathered to the rec-hall's massive bay windows in preparation for a show.

After about five minutes of Lickity and Boss nervously circling the outer ring of the palace's lot, Royal stood dead center, the very pin-point of his domain, his strong legs and paws were firm in the snow. As a show of arms, his massive white wings were sprawled to display size, his once cute curl of a tail was now unraveled to it's full potential, and what a lot of the lot's residences were unaware of, Royal had a secretive set of tail fins he hardly ever put on display; in this instance, they were fully popped open, gold and black flags of whole agitation, it was entirely clear Royal was prepared to fight. With ears perked high and fangs bared, as a further show of dominance, his growling urgently began to become more aggressive the second Lickity and Boss finally braved the territory and crossed the perimeter. To Royal, this was a challenge, a threat, a fight for his own space, and although he wasn't aware that Boss wouldn't simply come in and take over, he knew he couldn't chance letting his guard down.

In an educated separation for good, Lickity nervously lofted in the direction of the recreation hall and soared just on past the roof top, straight for Tessa's and Zed's tower amidst the enclosure, leaving Boss to now face Royal on his own. As Boss tenderly lofted to the snow below, he finally landed in a trot of a gallop and was now about thirty feet from Royal's positioning. Boss inhaled a deep breath, peered a soft gaze in Royal's direction and assessed Royal for everything he was. Boss, being a much older male, wasn't entirely intimidated by Royal, though with the millions of warning signs Royal was sending, this definitely made Boss think twice about making a wrong move. Boss, knowing full well this wasn't his territory and he was for sure arriving slightly unannounced, he knew to let Royal have higher ground. In a show of respect and submission, Boss flattened his large bat ears, though sharply was aware not to take his eyes off of a potential foe; vivid blue eyes that honed tight into Royal's soul, something that irritated Royal, certainly.

Royal continued to loudly snarl a very unwelcoming display towards Boss, though as Royal sized Boss up, it was clear that both boys were about the same size in both height and length. Royal just barely sagged his demeanor the second Boss's ears went flat, and as Royal's first mistake, he began to close in on Boss to further assess this strange new male, one of which could talk, unbeknownst to Royal. Although Royal finally sealed away his fangs, he continued to growl from the depths of his throat, a guttural display of threat and warning, Royal's educated footwork eased through the snow as his slithering body slowly closed in on Boss, so to further assess. As Royal ever so slowly got within fifteen feet of Boss, he resisted the urge to continue snarling and finally began to sniffle the air. Boss almost nervously eyed Royal down, an unwavering stature of entire dominance, wisdom and experience far beyond Royal's years, Royal was well aware he was in over his head, though he knew full well he'd do anything to show an outsider just who was in charge.

Boss remained frozen, ears now tightly kept to the back of his skull, the urge to let loose his own set of snarls and growls brimmed at the back of his fiery throat. He remained planted, firm paws into the few inches of snow. Boss's incredible dew claws peeked out of his dark matte fur and body, against the pop of incredible white snow, the cerulean flash of color coat his throat and underside in a potential threat display, as if to warn Royal that he wasn't simply up against a silly old timer, but rather a foe who had endured every single trail of wild life thrown to him, unlike Royal. As much as Boss wanted to lash out at Royal and make known that he wasn't going anywhere, he felt that weird relief of reasoning coat him. Boss knew Royal was just scared and unsure, though as Royal began to every so slowly circle him, Boss sneakily bared his massive fangs and finally let loose a gentle grumble of a growl to Royal, to express to Royal that he was getting uncomfortably close, even if it was just innocent sniffles, at this point.

Royal perked his ears high in a jolt of the challenge, though with the sudden switch up, Boss bared his fangs even harder and let loose a becoming snarl of a growl. In the rile of potentially getting too close, Boss finally tensed his ears, from his submissive state, and dared to take a small snip at Royal, alongside a bark of a growl, as if to urgently exclaim to Royal that he was entirely too close, too soon, for comfort, a mistake an uneducated youngster, like Royal, would make. With the sudden snip at Royal's spiky jaw line, Royal ducked in a reflex and felt every single last burning circuit of Lickity's molten, angry agility come flying to the surface of his scales, and in a sudden, swift action of educated footwork Royal was entirely unsure of it's origin, Royal lunged with his hind legs, locked the scruff of Boss's neck in his powerful jaws, grappled his chameleon paws and claws to Boss's back and upper body and, in one clean swipe, Royal easily knocked Boss right off of his feet and straight onto his back and side with a hard jolt of a thud to the ground.

Both boys loudly roared and snarled amidst the struggle, though Royal very easily overpowered Boss, something Boss struggled against. Snow, unearthed dirt and grass easily splayed about the air in a show of flurried aggression, a wild splay of wings, tails and limbs, though once Royal had Boss pinned in the shock of it all, blood dripped down Royal's snarling fangs, which now hovered tight over Boss's head and face. Boss struggled to peer Royal in the face, though it was clear he was entirely floored that said youngster was able to take Boss down in one single swipe, like such, and with this new, raw information, Boss knew never to underestimate Royal ever again. With white wings sprawled high and wide in a flagged show of victory, Royal continued to angrily snarl down to Boss, Royal's chest scales were splayed with the pops of reds and oranges Orion's hide was covered in, a show of entire dominant aggression. Through his snarls, Royal leaned down a little and angrily muttered to Boss, through the grit of his teeth.

"You're on my turf, buddy," Royal sharply snipped, the clip of his fangs clacking together made the small dribbles of blood dot Boss's cheek, "Don't forget it."

Boss panted in the sag of uncertainty, the wind wholly knocked out of him, he was certain battling against Royal was going to be cake, though he very viciously was reminded just whose bloodline Royal came from; the ever quick and agile Lickity Split, with Orion's incredible weight and power to boot. Just before Boss were to open his mouth and respond to Royal, to hopefully somehow ease the tension, Boss wildly flinched as Royal suddenly ripped away from the situation. The downflap of his powerful wings sent snow and debris scattered about Boss, and the second the air had settled, Boss gently sat up in a small struggle and watched as Royal's lightning-fast flight carried him across the castle lot, off the perimeter and completely out of sight. Boss finally felt the weight of the small fight come to him in the form of a now dwindling adrenaline rush, and as a little bit of his blood scattered and dot the surrounding, crystal white snow, he hoped that the worst of it all was now behind him.


	13. Chapter 13

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** CLEARLY a Nox and Ace duo-decision lol!

 **chuckiboo :** Thanks for pointing that out. I have a very mild case of dyslexia, and that word has always been my kryptonite. I know the difference between the two, but it's JUST subtle enough that when I edit my chapters, I don't notice it. It will 100% happen again in the future, I can guarantee, so I hope that's something y'all can just bear through xD Sorry about that. And yes, Ace is not the most confident of dudes, probably the most humble on the lot.

 **Jay Sketchin :** BAW. Yeet, both boyos eventually love each other. Just takes some time and a lot of talking and understanding, from each other's perspectives, to finally feel accepted. Similar to how Lickity finally came around to Orph, though I promise it won't take an entire story and a half for that to happen haha.

 **Snake557 :** I think you may have missed the point :P Ace and them were just fine ordering pizza, it was the second the shop employees learned that they were delivering to royalty did Ace begin to feel uncomfortable with the special treatment. They're definitely not above ordering or eating pizza, it was the fact that 'commoners' were freaking out and wanting to bend at Ace's every whim that had him uncomfortable, and felt undeserving. Hope this helps! :)

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Meteor Bursts by** **Tomas Skyldeberg**

* * *

 ***Chapter 13***

In nervous, lightly fumbling steps, Boss navigated the slick, sprawling white tiles that entered Sugar Rush's massive code room. The late morning sun shone its glorious rays through the glass dome, each code box was set ablaze with the incredible gleams of silvers and gold lights the electricity of the code room was made up of. Tightly keeping to Zed's six, Boss lowered his head in a climb of uncertainty and peered his incredible blue eyes to the sight above and around him, the comforting hum of Tessa's code room set the whole group at ease. Followed by Boss was Lickity, Ace, Nox, Penny, Turbo and Tessa, who excitedly snuggled Berri into her motherly arms. Boss inhaled a shaky breath, flattened his ears in nervousness and glanced his eyes behind himself, to his mate; Lickity caught eyes with him and shot him an apologetic smile, as if to potentially feel bad for the way her son treated Boss on the first go. Boss readjusted his gaze to the code room around him, eager to be reset of the nasty gash on the scruff of his fluffy, dark-furred neck and scruff.

"So, we now know that Royal is definitely a force to be reckoned with," Zed mumbled in knowing delight as the group came to the center of the code room, Zed held his hand out and upwards to cue the game's main code room orb.

"I knew he always had it in him," Ace rubbed his face in agitation, everyone's tender footsteps drummed to a stop as Boss hovered tight to Zed's vicinity.

Tessa eagerly peered down to Berri's face in whole delight, she quietly cooed down to her child, though in the act of tender silence between the group, Tessa slowly dragged her gaze to Boss. He looked as if he was stifling a great amount of terror. His fluffy mane was extended in a show of potential fear, the vivid blue on his underside was nearly sparkling due to the intensity, and his tail was held rigid in a hover above the cool code room tiles. Tessa frowned and felt her heart sag, she knew he was suddenly being introduced to an entire lot of people, not to mention an entire established pack of dragons and lykatas alike, Tessa was well aware this was likely much for him. In a slow saunter, so not to startle anyone, Tessa eased into Boss's vicinity and lovingly put her free hand out.

"You look scared, bud, is everything okay?" Tessa wondered quietly, to which Boss gratefully bowed his head to Tessa's touch and allowed her larger fingers to soak into his lovely, dark fur; he lulled his eyes closed and relaxed under Tessa's pats, "Let's get you cleaned up quick, and then we can slowly introduce you to everyone, maybe show you around a little."

"Yes ma'am," Boss's very deep, gentlemanly voice hovered above a whisper; said notion had everyone's eyes lit up in delight, the fact that Boss finally spoke words for them to hear.

Zed smiled in delight as the code room's orb finally hovered tight to Zed's vicinity, and as he opened a few options, Ace uncrossed his arms for a moment and gestured to his dad.

"I coded him to the game as you guys were on your way to the palace, dad," Ace quickly instructed, to which Libby, Turbo and Nox nodded in agreeing, "We, um... Were worried Royal would put up more of a fight, and we didn't want Lickity's mate to be deleted."

"Good thinking," Zed encouraged with a nod, he rubbed his chin in contemplation and eyed Ace's handiwork. He bobbed a nod, sifted through a few options and smiled to his first born, "Good work, son. Clean transfer... Alright, buddy, you ready?" He shifted his attention to Boss, who perked his ears in gentle curiosity and inhaled a shaky breath.

"Ready," Boss encouraged, and as everyone took a few steps back, so to give Boss a wide berth during his regeneration process, Zed finally cued the game to reset Boss's coding; in a flash, Boss was properly reset, a clean and gorgeous regal. He sprawled his wings in delicacy and heaved a sigh of relief, alongside a smile that was finally warming him up from his cool, blue shyness, "Much better... Thank you."

"I always knew Royal had a good set of teeth on him, but man, he took a chomp outta you good," Tessa muttered as she gently volleyed her gaze to Ace, who shrugged and shook his head in hard annoyance.

"I tried warning him," Ace mumbled, to which Lickity now felt the need to chime in.

"Is there something going on here that I don't know about?" Lickity suddenly barked, and although her tone was strictly warm and playful, everyone shot their nervous attention to her anyhow.

"Well, we figured, with you being in Dead Zed during mating season..." Ace shrugged and gave his aunt a nervous smile, to which Libby lovingly rested her palm to the fold of Lickity's wing for assurance, "We figured, and quite frankly hoped, you'd be coming home with a mate... Which, you did."

"We warned Royal, we knew it'd likely be difficult for him," Libby eased to Lickity as she soaked into her vicinity a little more, for further comfort; she was glad to see Lickity relax a little.

"I hope he comes back, soon," Lickity pressed in nervousness, "It's not like Royal to leave the lot without telling us when he'll be back."

"It... Looks like he's headed to Honeydew Ridge," Zed stammered his words as he opened the game's way-finder, and pinpointed Royal's location, he gave Lickity a soft look of knowing and shrugged, "Maybe he wants you to follow him."

"It's all Royal's been talking about, since you three left," Ace included, Libby nodded to Lickity and smiled, "Maybe you SHOULD follow him, aunt Lickity... Just you. He's been wanting to go to Honeydew Ridge with you so badly."

"What about Boss?" Lickity pressed softly, and it was with this did everyone peer to Lickity in confusion, as to just who 'Boss' was, though once it all clicked, they beamed knowing smiles in Boss's direction, who began to shyly sag at the added attention, "Uh, by the way... Guys, this is Boss, Boss, this is, well... Only a fifth of everyone, but you get the point."

"Oh, User, don't tell Royal your name, he'll freak out on you again," Nox staggered in a chuckle, to which everyone, including Boss, began to warm up and feel comfortable in this sticky situation. Nox puffed his chest and pretended to imitate Boss, for a moment, "My name is Boss and I'm THE boss and I'M moving in! Deal with it!"

"Oh come on," Boss finally showed a genuine smile, one of full fangs, though the way it made his shy eyes light up had everyone's hearts and demeanors doing a giddy, contagious dance of pure joy.

"I mean, you DID name yourself," Lickity blurt, everyone laughed and began to throw teasing notions towards Boss with wide smiles; he gaped and began to show confidence in hs posture, this new set of attitude and personality his talking abilities now flooded his coding with.

"Oh, that's not fair, I was inquiring about Zed being Dead Zed's final boss and you guys just so happened to ask me my name right in the middle of me saying the word 'boss'," Boss rushed in a wheeze of a chuckle, shy eyes and sagged demeanor now thawing from nervousness to a flower in bloom, a beautiful creature of huge, bumbling cuteness, raw strength so greatly masked by his warm, teddy bear self.

"Likely story," Ace choked teasingly, as everyone laughed, he flagged his hand downward to prove to Boss that he was strictly just teasing.

"Alright, Boss, so now you get to meet the little bundle of Blue that Tessa wouldn't stop talking about," Zed eaed as he gestured to Tessa, who was holding their adorbale little newborn, Berri.

"Berri," Boss remembered with a nod as he sagged his ears and softened, Tessa eased into his vicinity and allowed Boss a closer look, as well as giving Berri the opportunity as well. Berri beamed a wide smile and waggled her little hands in excitement, having typically a hearty laugh whenever Lickity was within her line of sight, "She's so smiley."

"Yeah, she thinks Lickity's the funniest thing she's ever laid eyes on, so don't be surprised if she laughs at you, as well," Tessa rushed in a mutter of playful annoyance, to which Boss's eyes lit up with glee.

"Can't wait," Boss chuckled, him and Berri shared a small moment together before Zed broadened the spectrum.

"Alright, Boss, this is my first born son, Ace," Zed gestured to Ace with care; Ace gently waved his hand and put his hands on his hips as Libby drew near.

"Blue hair," Boss bobbed a nod as he eyed back and forth between Zed, Berri and Ace; everyone loudly laughed with the insinuation, "Blue must be a very dominant trait, around here."

"My wrecking gene overrides a lot, as well," Tessa mumbled as she gently jostled around Berri's slightly larger-than-normal hands; Ace waggled his fingers as well.

"Next to Ace is Libby, Ace's girlfriend and swap mate," Zed sighed in a whole bout of delightful remembrance, "They will make me a grandfather shortly."

"Great news," Boss encouraged with another confident smile as Libby and Ace nodded, with Zed's words.

"This is Penny, Tessa's younger cousin, but... They technically consider each other sisters," Zed kindly gestured to Penny, who was easily swallowed into a headlock via Tessa's free arm; Penny choked a laugh and sagged into Tessa's forceful hug.

"Nice to meet you," Penny staggered with a girly giggle, to which Boss smiled and nodded in a gentle gesture of the larger hand on his wing.

"Then we have Nox, Ace's best friend," Zed now became nervous to introduce the two Turbotime boys that were present, especially Turbo.

"Nox, cool name," Boss encouraged, to which Nox put his hands on his hips and bobbed a nod.

"Short for Nitro, though I doubt that's as cool," Nox teased, Ace playfully shook his head and mouthed 'it's stupid', to which Nox firmly shoved Ace's arm; both boys began to quietly banter with each other, both a laughing mess.

"And, then we have Turbo, Nox's older brother," Zed grit his teeth and gave Turbo a nervous look; having never really introduced anyone to the infamous Turbo, Zed felt his insides clenched and wondered just how this was going to play out.

"Turbo?" Boss pressed as he perked his ears and stood a little taller, "Another cool name, got anymore siblings with cool names?"

Turbo froze in the recoil of confusion; the sheer fact that Boss had literally no clue who Turbo was, it was in this roll of surprise did everyone eagerly catch on to Turbo's demeanor of delightful confusion and volley knowing chuckles of elatedness towards Turbo. Turbo inhaled a confident breath and felt something come to him, the essence of enjoying the fact that his old life wasn't even in the know, he was slowly being forgotten as the destroyer of worlds. He felt his veins do a weird dance, the sheer delight of hopefully starting over, even though it may be small and may only be within one dragon creature that previously couldn't talk, he knew it was a start.

"Yeah, I have an older brother named Throttle, and... Well, a younger brother named Whiplash, but, he's kind of missing in action, as of late," Turbo skirted the details, he knew Boss would eventually be filled in.

"You've never heard the name Turbo before?" Penny only innocently questioned, in hopes of solidifying Turbo's feelings.

"No, not at all, it's awesome," Boss naively and confidently encouraged, to which Turbo bobbed a nod and peered about the group with a furrowed look of now rising confidence.

"Feels good, man," Turbo blurt a chuckle, to which everyone melted into the same existence, the same playing field.

"Alright, why don't we show you the palace, and the grounds?" Tessa pressed, hoping that the conversation would simply stop there, for the sake of Turbo's current cloud-nine experience; Boss eagerly nodded and felt at peace with their standing, "I know you already sort of got a good look, from circling the lot outside for so long, but it'll be good to properly show you around, huh?"

"Sounds great," Boss's deep voice lilted in excitement, and once everyone began to file out of the code room, Turbo hung back and waited for Zed to properly seal the code room's orb away, for safety; Zed eyed Turbo in a rise of cheek.

"Baby steps, my friend," Zed's voice grumbled to Turbo as Turbo ran his hand through his dusty grey hair and heaved the hardest, longest sigh.

"Wow, that was probably one of the weirdest things to happen to me," Turbo nearly choked a laugh, he peered to Zed with such zest, such excitement to finally begin moving forward, "I mean... If Boss doesn't have a single clue who I am, certainly there are other gamers out there that don't know me, right?"

"Well yeah, newer games that are just plugged in, games that weren't plugged in during the whole TurboTime-Sugar Rush fiasco, it's all simply hear-say and lore, for all they know," Zed shrugged, he gave Turbo's back a loving, firm pat as both men began to saunter out of the code room together, "For all they know, it's just a massive rumor. The only way you'll be able to put those rumors to rest is by being present, my friend..."

"I'm trying, it's... Difficult, but I am trying," Turbo pressed, he sagged his shoulders and was glad to be under Zed's fatherly care, something Turbo had never experienced, "Rancis and I didn't have any issues while you were gone. She's as clean as a whistle."

"I noticed, you boys did some tidying," Zed chuckle as he squeezed Turbo a little before finally releasing their already loose, walking side-hug, "Much appreciated. I'll make sure to teleport those tools over to you, to have. You're still on about building yourself a new bike, right?"

"... Have? I-I thought you were just going to let me borrow your tools," Turbo staggered with gentle humility, Zed shook his head and furrowed his brow.

"It'll take a little bit to duplicate them, but c'mon. You help take care of Sugar Rush day in and day out, it's the least I can do," Zed's deep voice eased over Turbo with care, "Your money should be in your account, as well."

"Thanks man, means a lot," Turbo eased, and as both boys melted out of the code room, a few dozen feet behind the rest of the group, Turbo felt his heart begin to soar.

The sheer fact that everything was very slowly falling into a place where he'd like was something he could swear would never come. Although he wanted to jump face first into this feeling, he knew he needed to tread lightly. How easy it would be to saunter into Orion City and hope for the best, he was well aware he probably still wouldn't receive a warm welcome. Although that stark fact still angrily hovered over him, he was at least glad the handful of individuals, inside the palace walls, were always here for him. With the glimmer of hope on the horizon, and a new year right in his grasp, he finally felt little bits of that stronghold, around his heart, begin to want to soften into moldable clay.

"Alright, who ordered pizza and didn't tell anyone?!" Snowanna suddenly bellowed from the corridor that lead to the kitchen, it was clear there was potentially a commotion going on at the front door.

Ace grit his teeth in a sudden pang of remembrance, to which Libby and Nox suddenly blurt out in hard laughter; Tessa side-eyed her first born with a widening smile and shook her head.

"You gunna go show some love to a few of our Orion City residents, son? Prince of Sugar Rush?" Tessa pressed in a knowing fashion as she cocked an eyebrow.

"... I knew I should've just sucked it up and baked a pizza myself," Ace mumbled in defeated regret.

"Nooo, nothing is better than Hungry Howie's, c'mon. I'll go with yah," Nox pressed as both boys began to excitedly march towards the corridor that lead to the kitchen, which eventually lead to the Great Hall and the palace's front gates.

"Oh, good idea, maybe you'll scare them off," Ace only teased, to which Nox waggled his finger.

"Now you're gettin' it," Nox's obnoxious voice echoed as they vanished.


	14. Chapter 14

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Aww that's sweet of you, thanks! Ehh, likely a little too soon to feel relief. Turbo does eventually end up walling up again, due to someone's loud mouth.

 **CHICKENM4N :** Thank you! Sorry the gap is a little lengthy, but I'll figure it all out shortly.

 **chuckiboo :** Thank you so much! Yes, Boss and Royal definitely remain on the outs for a hot minute, but Boss warms up to Royal a lot faster than Royal comes around, unfortunately.

 **Snake557 :** It's all good, I appreciate it, nonetheless! I love Hungry Howie's :D I knew you'd understand my reference haha. Well, Turbo's used to the entirety of Arcade absolutely hating his guts, so even just hearing the fact that he's unknown by someone, anyone, is a shock to him.

* * *

 ***Chapter 14***

"Your highness, supposed delivery girls are here to speak to you? They have, erm... Sustenance, I believe," Stated one of the palace guards; a spikey-candied creature that reached only to about Ace's kneecaps, in height, though the lot of these guys secretly defended the palace's exterior with fervor.

"Thank you, I-I... I forgot to warn you guys, we just ordered a pizza, is all," Ace sheepishly smiled, him, Nox and the guard stepped into Sugar Rush's glorious sunshine, the kiss of a cold, winter breeze licked at their skin as they strolled, with purpose, across the main outdoor terrace. Ace cleared his throat and now felt a lump gather in his throat the second his eyes cast across the glorious tiles to the ajar palace doors, seemingly stretched into the wild blue. Ace straightened his shirt in a weird wave of tidiness and glanced down at the guard, "Certainly they didn't scare you guys, or anything?"

"Well, no, two mild-mannered young women on a vespa carting around lunch," The guard chuckled, his voice was deep considering how little he was. He wrinkled Ace a wise, old smile and gave him a cheeky look of understanding, "Certainly you two can handle it, a User and Turbo's brother."

"Did you specifically say to send delivery girls?" Nox muttered to Ace as both boys slowly separated from the main guard; as they crossed the beautiful, glossy outdoor tiles, they could hear the excited, nervous murmurs of the two delivery girls from across the way.

"Yeah, Nox, I asked for two of their finest delivery girls knowing full well I have a woman inside who is due to bear my two children in one go," Ace muttered through the clench of his teeth in whole annoyance as he eyed his best friend; Nox was entirely in stitches as Ace begrudgingly continued, "You certainly understand just how quickly Marble, Balba and Libby would have my head?"

"And your mother," Nox added on his finger, he looked up in contemplation and began to simply name off any lady of stature on palace grounds, "Uh, Penny, Vanellope, Lickity, Taffyta, TAMMY for certain-"

"I didn't ask for delivery," Ace interrupted in a now sharp whisper of frustration.

"...You wanted dijorno, huh," Nox geeked, Ace sagged his shoulders in defeat.

"I wanted to eat pizza in peace," Ace grumbled now underneath a whisper, and as they neared the two girls, both men straightened their postures and attitudes, "Hello, I'm Ace, uh... Thank you so much for bringing this all the way here, we were more than happy to ride into the city and pick it up."

"It's our pleasure, it's not everyday we get to delivery to the King and Queen's palace, of all places," One of the more extroverted girls stated in a cadence that was clearly forced into a mixture of cuteness and teasing coy.

Both girls were strictly Sugar Rush, with a gentle blush of pink skin riddled with almost freckle-like specks of candy. Amidst Sugar Rush's gorgeous landscape, it also had a few different breeds of humanoids, these girls, of which, were the epitome of poise and beauty. With colorful hair messily tucked into high ponytails, their typical uniforms, it was clear that said employee, on the other end of the phone, made his promise to send their best deliverers. Ace nervously put his hands on his hips, his masculine chest broadened as his shoulders dropped, a nervous tactic he pick up from his father, one of physically, though subtly, asserting dominance. He eyed Nox in gentle curiosity and nearly felt weird with the amount of shy giggling coming out of both girls.

"Thanks a lot," Nox eased politely, he put his hands in his front pockets and relaxed, though he eyed Ace in return and noted his posture, "So, what part of the city do you guys come from?"

"Oh, well Sarrif is from the East side, more near Cascadia Park," the shyer girl finally spoke; they both looked almost identical, though this particular girl had piercingly vivid blue eyes. She bashfully continued on, all whilst desperately trying to hold eye contact with Ace, "I-I live closer to the Northern end of the city, near the palace's borders, but we just came from work, obviously."

"I hope the guards didn't give you any trouble, coming in," Nox pressed, he gently lofted his gaze over his shoulder, to where three of the guards were now lightly mingling and conversing with one another, likely about the situation at hand.

"Oh, no, they... Just asked us a few questions, who we were here to see, and all that," Sarrif shrugged, of the gutsier girls, she coyly tucked her arms behind her back and glanced up to Sugar Rush's gorgeous, minty sky, "You uh... You boys ever leave palace grounds and head into town?"

"The nightlife is awesome," The shyer girl tried so desperately to conjure up solid conversation without blushing or looking off in cute shyness.

"Ah, well... I typically am a bit of a home body, and well," Ace rubbed the back of his head and contemplated his next move, somehow to let them down gently, though he eyed Nox in gentle curiosity and wondered if letting Nox in on his little secret, so soon, would be a good idea, "My... Fiancee is due with my twins, shortly, so I will be needed here."

"Aww," Both girls cooed at the same time; it was clear their demeanors shifted, and although they looked massively let down, they seemed genuinely happy. Sarrif was the one to keep the side-stepping conversation moving, "More heirs, then I guess?"

"Yes, ma'am," Ace eased politely; he was well aware he was due for twenty questions once him and Nox were alone, strictly by the look of subtle bewilderment Nox was eyeing Ace with.

"A-And I, uh... Well... I gotta keep Turbo company, then, I guess," Nox cheesed, he knew he should've likely mentioned Koko, though he figured, at this point, it'd be overkill. Both girls' expressions dropped to severe, stunned surprise, "Poor guy is having a hard time finding friends."

"... Turbo, like THE Turbo?" Sarrif choked as both girls figuratively sank within themselves.

"H-He's in THERE?" the shyer girl now looked wrought with terror, she pointed behind Ace and Nox and both girls glued their scared eyes to Ace for assurance.

"Oh, yeah he's in there, he's a great guy, I wouldn't worry," Ace rushed to their aid; they seemed to finally un-tense their shoulders, "Y'know, the whole lore behind Turbo was all just a big misunderstanding. He helped save Sugar Rush, and all."

"He did?" Sarrif questioned, they both began to ogle Nox in further assessment, having just learned that he was of Turbo's coded family.

"Yeah, he was Knighted by my grandmother, former Queen Vanellope, actually," Ace nodded, kept his hands lazily on his hips and sighed, "He's really funny, too."

"Well, that's good to know, what a relief," Sarrif put her hand to her chest and eyed her friend in a rile of conclusive happiness; they both nodded, "I wish more people knew about that."

"Trust me, Turbo does as well," Nox bobbed a nod, though as Sarrif began to unpack the pizza box from it's secure warming container, she smiled in warmth and turned back to both boys with both pizzas.

"Well, tell Turbo that if he's ever down at our pizza shop, he's welcome any time. One's on the house, even," Sarrif assured as Ace tenderly retrieved the pizzas from her.

"That's really nice of you guys, we'll be sure to tell him," Ace nodded, though he urgently began to fumble into his pant's pockets for that wad of cash Turbo had generously given, "Speaking of Turbo, he wanted to make sure you guys were tipped well."

"Wow, that's insanely nice of him," Sarrif stuttered as her and her coworker sifted through the bills, their eyes widening, "Tell him thanks, for us."

"We will, thanks again," Ace waved as both parties began to slowly separate, and once both girls got back onto their bikes and began to speed away from the palace's gates, on the paved path for them, Ace heaved a hot sigh he was holding in and gave Nox a disgruntled look of confusion, "Dang, I haven't talked to anyone outside of the palace grounds since we moved in."

"It shows," Nox grumbled as he crossed his arms, both men slowly sauntered back into the safety of the Great Hall, "Sooo, just when were you going to tell me that you proposed to Libby?"

"I didn't," Ace sighed, he shook his head, "I certainly WANT to, it just... Uhg... Requires a lot."

"What, certainly getting a ring is no problem Mr. My-Dad-is-King-of-Everything," Nox only teased, their quiet voices just barely echoed Vanellope's glorious Great Hall, one of the only things salvaged from the remodel.

"It's not money I'm worried about," Ace rolled his eyes as they both began to finally sink into the vicinity of the kitchen's long and glowing corridor; said kitchen was clearly bustling with busied bodies and voices of love and joy, every bit of it filled the castle with a typical lunch-time bustle. Ace shook his head as both boys slowed their walking and continued their conversation in a hushed tone, "It's more... Ritual, I'm worried about. I want to propose to her in such a way that reflects her Teltokuan culture, but... I don't know anything about it, naturally."

"She gave you knowledge through code swap, right?" Nox wondered quietly, they finally came to a stop together.

"Yeah, but I only know the bridal aspect of it because that's the only experience she's had," Ace shrugged, "Although Libby gave me all of my Teltokuan knowledge, I still have no clue what a man is to do for a woman he wants as a bride."

"Can't just waltz in and ask the tribe, can you?" Nox uttered through the grit of his teeth, to which Ace sighed and looked off.

"I had the idea... But, I think it's definitely something I'd have to save until our kids are a little bit older," Ace shrugged, "It's something I'd like them to be involved in, too, having that be a part of their heritage, and all."

"Well, surely Libby isn't anxious for a ring anytime soon, is she?" Nox wondered quietly, Ace shrugged and shook his head.

"Not that I know of, nothing has been said... We only swapped codes a few months ago, she very well may think it's all too quick, if I try and propose to her as well," Ace chuckled, Nox bobbed a nod.

"Welp... Y'ever need help getting in and out of her tribe in one piece, you know you can rely on me and the boys to help you out," Nox assured, insinuating Royal, Turbo, Zed and Oliver would drop what they were doing to help, as well.

"It likely will take an army," Ace uttered in a nervous, discouraged tone.

* * *

Having almost immediately left palace grounds, after Boss was reset inside Sugar Rush's code room, Lickity's sprawling wingspan soared her straight to Honeydew Ridge in search of Royal. The winter sunshine began to show signs of beginning to fall in the sky, setting the minty blue ablaze with an ironic, winter orange. Lickity felt a weird mixture of feelings; excitement, guilt, anger, sadness, confusion, her eyes trained to the glorious green ridge in the distance with a whole slew of anxiety. Honeydew Ridge, although peppered with a gorgeous amount of fluffy white snow, its vivid jade peaks still triumphed through the cold, glistening and twinkling with mystery. She was well aware Royal definitely needed some motherly care, right about now, something the two now had the luxury of in private.

After a small bank about the whole of the ridge, she was successful in finding Royal near Rancis's old cabin. Although his white scales blended in perfectly with the snowy ridge, the pops of gold and black, along his spine, made him stick out like a sore thumb. With a silent glide, Lickity did everything she could to remain unseen and unheard. With great success, she eased to the snowy field Royal angrily paced in; it was clear he had done a very decent amount of pacing due to the slops of chameleon paw prints, the slither of his massive tail, the snow even began to thin to dead grass, due to it. The second Lickity's paws crunched to the snow, however, Royal flung around in a hard sear of heightened surprise, sprawled his wings and let loose an intimidating snarl of riled emotion, though with the sheer sight of his mother, he immediately tucked away all defenses and sagged into himself like a sudden dollop of honey.

"Jumpy," Lickity barked a small laugh and stood proud and tall, a small show of parental dominance over Royal, something he immediately succumbed to.

"Defensive," Royal now begrudgingly corrected, he narrowed his eyes and situated his wings tight to his body, as if to somehow convince his mother he wasn't as previously frightened as he was. Although he was well aware his mother was as sharp as they come, and could see right through him, he looked off and finally ceased his agitated pacing, "What do you want..."

"Well," Lickity heaved a hot, long sigh through her nose, which caused a very long exhale of fog into Honeydew's frigid winter air, "Y'know, Orion gave me this really incredible ability to, um... User, what was it again... TALK, that's right. I want to talk."

"I'm not here to gab about your new boyfriend, mom," Royal grumbled in a show of now rising irritation that could so easily be seen as brewing spite and vengeance.

Lickity ceased her words. She knew full well she could simply strong arm Royal and make him figuratively roll over for her, by means of parental authority, though as she gave Royal her silent, undivided attention, she saw a scared, sad and confused individual, one who had fully come into himself. Although Lickity was used to treating her pup as just that, she saw a future father in the beast before her, someone who was ready for these mature challenges, and with the switch, Lickity sagged her wings and looked off in gentle understanding that she wasn't simply dealing with her small child any longer, and more so her full equal. One that deserved her whole understanding.

"Royal, I know I've hurt you by bringing home a mate," Lickity sighed, she looked up to Sugar Rush's gorgeous, cloudy sunset and recalled her's and Boss's previous conversation about the topic at hand, "Hot off the heels of Orion's death... I'm positive you're feeling as if this is all too soon and unfair."

"Congratulations, you cracked the code," Royal rudely side-eyed his mother, and although Lickity had a depth of understanding she was willing to give to Royal, it quickly turned to shallows the second she felt disrespected; with such, she tightened her posture a little and raised her large ears in a show of dominance.

"Excuse me?" Lickity's motherly voice went from tender to stern in a second flat, cueing Royal to let up on the snark immediately.

"Nothing," Royal mumbled in solid defeat; Lickity narrowed her gaze and tried to collect her now boiling geyser of frustration. She heaved another hot sigh through her nose and relaxed, though before she could return to trying to cater to Royal, he gently spoke up, "I-I just... Feel disregarded. I only just was able to meet my father, a-and then... He's just killed, right before me. Am I the only one who cares about this?"

"You're not, I guess... It maybe seems as if I'm more nonchalant about it all because, well... To be honest with you, I didn't ever know Orion, personally," Lickity shrugged, she looked off and tried desperately to recall that fateful night, long ago, "We swapped on a stupid, brainless whim, and... I don't think he realized his talking abilities would be transferred to me, because the second I started conversation with him, he immediately concluded anything we would've become and pushed me away. I didn't take it personally... It was a weird situation, quite frankly."

"Why didn't you stay with him? At least try and get to know him?" Royal begged in whole confusion, "He got you pregnant and you just... Left?"

"I was kicked out of Sugar Rush, shortly after, Roy," Lickity quietly and patiently corrected, and although she could swear Royal previously had all of this information, she felt relieved that the cogs were at least turning, now. The way Royal looked down in pondering humility, she was glad his tough scales were now softening, "I-I... I guess I didn't realize I was going into Dead Zed during mating season. I've never experienced anything like it, before. I gave birth to you during the last time I was alive during something like that, so obviously my attention was on you... Not finding another mate."

"I was warned this would happen, I guess... I didn't think it'd actually pan out, the way it did," Royal grumbled, though Lickity softened further the way Royal's masculine voice began to crackle with the potential onset of tears, "I wish I could've gotten to know Orion... I wish this looked different. He's the only part of me that's chameleon, no one else can relate to me in that aspect. Without that, I feel as if I'm sort of missing a part of my identity."

"Well... I can't sit here and say I understand where you're coming from," Lickity eased in dismay, and with the gentle cues of neediness Royal was giving off, Lickity ever so slowly began to step closer to Royal, in hopes of maybe being allowed to show him some physical comfort, "I didn't do any of this to bring this slew of issues to your life, Roy... I don't even really know what came over me. Boy, it hit me like a wall the second he looked at me and uttered words of confusion."

"That's what happened with Balba," Royal just barely blurt a small chuckle and looked down to his bow-legged chameleon paws with a small, nastolgic smile. After a few moments of gentle silence, outside of the crunch of snow underneath Lickity's carefully treaded footsteps, Royal inhaled a shaky breath and shook his head and a slump of defeat, "I-I never meant to hurt him, I just... Feel threatened."

"How? He's not replacing you, by any means," Lickity shook her head, "He spoke highly of you, inside Dead Zed... I warned him that he may not be welcomed, by you, at first."

"Great," Royal mumbled and looked off, though as Lickity's motherly figure finally came within his bubble, she gently tucked the wrist of her wing underneath Royal's chin and moved his skull to look her in the eye.

"He respected that... This isn't his first rodeo, when it comes to this kind of thing," Lickity mumbled with a loving smile as she shook her head; Royal sunk underneath her eye level and peered up to her in a show of tender desperation, the way his demeanor sagged in a slump of sorrow and confusion, his wings eased to the snowy ground underneath and big, billowy tears began to gloss his gorgeous, golden eyes, "Even when we reset him to Sugar Rush and reconvened in the code room, he had nothing bad to say about you... That lot is yours, Roy, and he respects that. If it'll make you feel better, he doesn't mind sleeping off of the lot, for your own sanity."

Royal long blinked tears down his white, scaly cheeks. A gentle show of secretive submission, he hung in his mother's warm, heavy care with gratefulness, the way his glassy eyes aimlessly soaked into the mess of velvety fur that Lickity's bat-like mane consisted of, Lickity knew it was in due time he'd probably appreciate a hug. Lickity finally huffed a small silent giggle, sprawled her wings in welcoming and did everything she could to close the gap. With as much strength, warmth and tenderness she could emit, she tugged Royal's upper body and head tight to the nook of her neck and chest, and much to her delight, he eagerly sunk into her care in a slump of now entire defeat.

"I'm not going to do that to him," Royal mumbled, as if he maybe potentially did want to leave Boss out in the rain, though knew it wasn't the right thing to do. Royal shut his eyes tight and shook his head in confusion, "I-I... I just hope no one expects me to treat him as my dad, or anything. He's not my dad. He never will be my dad."

"No one's asking that of you," Lickity confirmed tenderly, she rested her furry chin atop the side of Royal's head, where she could comfortably rest without laying on one of his spikes, "Maybe one day he will be a good male figure, in your life... The guy has a lot of life experience under his belt."

"He can live on the lot," Royal curtly protested through the nasally drag of his voice, he shut his eyes in annoyance he now was due to live with, until these hard feelings would eventually dissipate, "That's all I can handle, for now."

"Very kind of you," Lickity concluded, she was well aware this likely was going to be a hard transition for Royal, though somehow, she knew Boss's quiet, boyish charm would probably make Royal come around a lot faster than anyone anticipated.

"... What's his name?" Royal quietly pressed, Lickity popped open her eyes and now felt a pang of dread hit her fur. She swallowed in nervousness, and as the two pulled away, she grit Royal a toothy, sheepish grin of apology.

"Boss," Lickity only stated through the clench of her teeth; just as she dreaded, Royal narrowed his gaze and wrinkled his nose in a rise of further irritation.

"Was that his idea?" Royal dully argued, Lickity blurt a laugh and bobbed a nod.

"Actually, yeah, but it was an accident," Lickity giggled gently as Royal kindly allowed her to explain, "I introduced him to Zed, and explained that Zed was the final boss of the game... And just as he was asked what his name was, he was in the middle of questioning Zed's 'boss' status... Thus, answering their name question with 'Boss'."

"...Smooth," Royal's gaze narrowed further, Lickity rolled her eyes and laughed.

"It was not a calculated move," Lickity assured as Royal looked off in a twinge of irritation, though the conversation had clearly warmed him up to this fiasco, if just a tiny bit, "Why don't we stay here, at Honeydew Ridge, for a few days... Let Boss get acclimated to palace life. We can hunt and eat also all the rock candy you want, my love."

"...You sure?" Royal pressed in a pitiful show of curious defeat, "You don't want to be with your new boyfriend?"

"In this awkward transitioning period of meeting EVERYONE on the lot? No," Lickity choked an annoyed laugh and gestured her hand, "Maybe it's selfish of me, but... He's a big boy. He'll be fine. We'll hang here, gives us a few days to collect ourselves. We can head back together, and I can properly introduce you to Boss when the time is right. Deal?"

Royal finally bobbed a small nod, and although he was lukewarm to the entirety of it all, he finally eased his mother a look of gratefulness and sighed his end of the bargain, "Deal."


	15. Chapter 15

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Aww :] Royboy needed a good mom hug haha

 **chuckiboo :** It's true! Royal just takes a bit to come around, but Royal is such a softy, it's hard for him to stay mad for long. :D Thank you!

 **Burgie :** Agreed! It was probably a long time coming lol

* * *

 ***Chapter 15***

After a long day of properly getting acclimated to palace life, Boss, Marble and Balba lay comfortably with each other in a splay of laziness on the recreational hall's snow blanketed terrace. Soaking up the last bits of Sugar Rush's sun rays, all three beasts were as still as statues amidst their napping. Although Boss was nervous to meet a pair of lykatas, due to the two species being enemies, Boss was thrilled that both females welcomed him, albeit with a healthy amount of caution. Once the three got acquainted, and both girls showed Boss about the palace grounds and enclosure, they began to warm up as friends, once and for all. Due to the stress that the day weighed on Boss, he felt absolutely drained, and although he was soaking up every single second of their group nap, he still felt as if he couldn't fall into a proper sleep. He feared that at any one moment, Royal would jump back into the ring and take another snap at him.

Boss nervously peeled his eyes open in slow, dreaded exhaustion. He furrowed his brow in a rise of concern, the rollercoaster that was now taking a toll on just how much sleep he got, his vivid blue eyes peered to Sugar Rush's melting sunset, far on the horizon, past the glorious white spires of Sugar Rush's palace. He thought on the fact that not just days ago, he was carelessly living his life amidst Dead Zed's jungles, hunting and simply being, and with his age, he was certain he wasn't due to partake in mating season, having come this far in life not hearing the perfect call. He sagged a little and allowed a smile to play across his mouth; he wondered if waiting all this time, for Lickity's call, was a smart move, on his part. None of his existence now, as it were, would be his reality, and with his gentle daydreamings, he knew he had a lot to thank Lickity for, alongside hoping her own son felt the dregs of said gratefulness.

With a deep expansion of his rib cage, and a grumbling yawn that made the recreational hall's window's tremble, Boss lazily rolled over, closed his eyes, slumped his wing atop Marble's spine and snuggled into the mess of fur the three had easily become. Marble and Balba sleepily shifted accordingly, and in no time, all three were back to snoozing. He huffed a long sigh into Sugar Rush's cool air, and as it fogged with the last little bit of glistening sunlight, he tried his very hardest to at least get some form of shut eye. Having never lived in a pack before, he was worried this would be a rocky transition, but with the ease and welcoming Marble and Balba were certain to show him, he wondered if it was more than enough to maybe having three of his four pack mates at least enjoy his presence.

Inside the warmth of the recreational hall, Turbo had been hesitantly dragged into the palace's typical bout of social gatherings. Zed and Tessa were able to reconvene with everyone, properly thank Ace and Libby for watching over Berri, as well as Turbo and Rancis for taking care of Sugar Rush whilst they were gone. Amidst the group loosely and comfortably scattered about the warmly lit living quarters of the rec hall, a proper murmur of conversation soaked the air, a group which consisted of Ralph, Vanellope, Candlehead, Gloyd, Swizzle, Minty, Torvald, Penny, Nox, Ace and Libby; tight to Penny's gravity was Wren, and Tessa was rightfully due for snuggling Berri all night long. Hung tight to the kitchen island was Turbo, Tessa and Zed, and although the group was having a grand old time, Turbo nervously hovered to the King's and Queen's gravity, he knew amidst the nervous side-eyes and whispering notions, he was safe and sound with the two most important people of the game.

With a shaky inhale, Turbo's nervous, glowing eyes did everything they could to subtly peel from the kitchen island to the beige tiled gap of excitable conversation, a good amount of laughter, drinks were shared and smiles were plenty, though Turbo was very well aware that Minty, Gloyd, Swizzle and Torvald had their defenses honed tight to Turbo's being. In the sly sweep over the group, he could occasionally see the four also tenderly throwing ever so subtle glances Turbo's way, as if every single second of his eyes even so much as laid on them was a pose for a potential threat. Turbo felt himself on a weird roller coaster of winning and losing; the royal family so diligently did everything to build him up, whilst their royal subjects worked their hardest to tear him down. Turbo felt as if it were maddening, he clenched the fabric inside his zip-up's pockets, clenched his teeth behind a neutral facial expression, and although he was getting worked up, he did everything in his power to keep that anger brimming just underneath the obvious from happening, his eye color turning molten red.

Although Tessa was cued to Turbo's energy, she played it off in hopes of eradicating his worries, a potential to override his frustrations with a solid amount of love and acceptance, she knew this was difficult for Turbo. She gently tightened the cozy sling she wore across her chest, Berri's little body was snuggly outlined against Tessa's front and chest due to it, and although the group of people continued on, Berri soundly snoozed in her mother's care. Tessa gently tidied some of the hot blue fuzz atop Berri's head and eyed Turbo for a moment. He looked off towards the massive floor to ceiling windows, of the rec hall, and just as he was about to potentially get lost in thought forever, Tessa inhaled a soft breath and let her even softer hand find the side of Turbo's upper arm. Tessa felt her insides clench the second Turbo's attentive, creepy gaze darted to hers without a single blink.

"You doing okay?" Tessa eased warmly, she successfully concealed the twinge of fear that Turbo successfully laid over her; she had to wonder if part of his problem was the rigid, formidable posture he always held himself in.

"Your majesty," Turbo nearly grumbled, though it was ladened with an appreciative smile. He bobbed a lukewarm, not wholly satisfied nod and finally showed a small sag of his shoulders, "It'll be good to head back home, I strangely miss the city."

"You enjoying the city life?" Tessa prod, her voice held a gentle lilt of mild disbelief.

"Oh, well... Yeah, it's gorgeous to look at, from my little coop," Turbo finally showed a smile and faced Tessa, once and for all; Tessa huffed a small sigh of defeat and gave him an annoyed smirk.

"You've never been TO Orion City, have you," Tessa muttered, still through said annoyed smirk.

"No, ma'am," Turbo sighed through his nose and softened even more so, a direct hit of pity Tessa immediately took on, though she reeled at said fact; he was so good at simply just being a doughy, secretive softy that Tessa felt as if said given pity was entirely second nature, an involuntary, knee-jerk reflex, and also something Turbo deserved, something she was willing to give in full force.

"Well... Hopefully when it warms up, you'll feel more inclined to leave that sky scraper of yours," Tessa encouraged, Turbo shrugged and tried not to fall into his rhythm of peering across the gap of people, to where the four secretly agitated Sugar Rush racers mingled.

"Who knows," Turbo exhaled a continuously defeated sigh, his eyes sagged to the back of Berri's head in an aimless, comfortable stare, though he shook his head amidst the stare and furrowed his brow. After a few seconds of gentle, honed silence between the two, Turbo's creepy eyes stabbed into Tessa's, once more, "You think this will ever get easier?"

"... You mean, others accepting you?" Tessa inquired, Turbo nodded once with an intent long blink, Tessa held her breath and tried to remain positive.

"Well, you've come this far," Tessa shrugged, gave him an apologetic smile and gently glossed her eyes about the room, "I think everyone here seems pretty accepting of you. I mean, if even anyone was scared or suspicious of you right now, they'd likely up and leave, or I would've heard about it."

"You sure?" Turbo naively asked, his gentle eyes glossed about the room, as well, and it was with Tessa's words did he begin to maybe wonder if he was other thinking; unbeknownst to him was Tessa's protective bluff.

"Oh yeah, I'd be sure to snuff out any nay-sayers real quick," Tessa assured with a nod, she confidently gave Turbo her word, "All else fails, you always have the King and Queen on your side. Our say is the final one."

"Thank you, Tessa," Turbo eased, a warm smile that finally showed a bit of relaxation, though just as he was maybe beginning to warm up, he was cued to reflexes he couldn't quite break from, habits that likely would never die; he knew the second he got too comfortable was likely the second he should shy away, in fear of potentially feeling hurt as the night progressed, "I-I think I should probably head on home. I've had enough socializing for the month... Year."

"A lifetime of socializing, all condensed into three days," Zed only eavesdropped of Turbo's last sentence, though he eased into their conversation and warmly pat Turbo's upper arm amidst a firm, confident and finalizing handshake, "Thanks for everything, man. I haven't forgotten about the tools to be sent to you. It'll probably be a few days, but I'll keep you posted."

"Thanks, it means a lot, really," Turbo warmly assured, and as both men continued to gab about the potential of Turbo's new build, a proper bike to either race or leisure with, Turbo said his quick and appreciative farewells to Tessa, and Penny, alongside a cute, friendly wave to little Wren, who promptly returned said wave with gust.

As they both sauntered across the rec hall's glorious tiles, Tessa crossed her arms about Berri's snoozing body, cocked an eyebrow and gently glossed her attention across the crowd that mingled. Penny stood with a dawdling Wren at her side, though Penny quickly caught on to Tessa's thought process and conclusively brought her attention to the group, across the way, as well. Candlehead stood with Torvald and Swizzle, the look on her face assured to Tessa that her aunt was diligently trying to get a point across to both people. Their body language was hunched and reserved, as if secrets were being traded, Torvald finally rolled her eyes and angrily peered off to the recreational hall's massive double doors, ones of which Turbo and Zed were just now disappearing out of, and the second the door latched shut, Tessa could see Torvald's, Swizzle's and Candlehead's conversation finally rise from hushed secrecy to defeated, revealed annoyance. Tessa cocked an eyebrow and was glad her and Penny dragged their met gazes to each others in a string of silent conversing, a constant reminder that both girls were on the same page.

"Hey, Aunt Candlehead," Tessa called gently as she finally dragged her eyes from Penny, who lovingly stroked the top of Wren's head; he had his little arms hugged about Penny's lower leg, he was fighting sleep in a drowsy show of gentle neediness.

"Yeah?" Candlehead perked up, a gentle conceal of her now frustrating conversation with Torvald and Swizzle; her emerald eyes glistened with the twinkling show of sheepish girliness, her emerald hair was in two low pigtails.

"You guys doing alright over there?" Tessa prod sternly as she remained frozen; her tomboyish, funny and loving demeanor could so quickly flip to Queenly dominance at the drop of a hat, that even Penny was trying not to recoil.

"We're... Okay?" Candlehead prod nervously as she sheepishly peered to Torvald and Swizzle; Tessa knew Candlehead was the entire antithesis of a liar, she wore her heart right on her sleeve and she knew it. Torvald tried her hardest to force an assured smile, though she defeatedly slumped and peered to Swizzle in a show of now sorrowful confusion, Candlehead continued to desperately try and prove to Tessa they were okay, but failed right from the start, "W-We're just discussing... Well, Turbo, I guess."

"C'mere," Tessa cued, her voice was kind though absolutely laden in motherly dominance; all three racers began to nervously cross the gap, and although Tessa wanted this to remain within their small conversation, she knew it would turn into a show the second her father was caught curiously and nervously glancing over his shoulder and nudging Vanellope, so she could be cued in as well.

"We're sorry, Tessa, it's just... Uncomfortable," Torvald suggested with a shrug, she tucked her golden brown hair behind her ears and shot Swizzle yet another look of nervous desperation, as if she wished maybe he took the reins, for this conversation. The three finally eased into the opposite side of the island, from Penny, Wren, Tessa and Berri, as Torvald continued on in a show of uncertainty, "W-We know Turbo is accepted as a part of the royal line up, and all, but... It's just..."

"Nerve-wracking," Swizzle completed in a blurt, his masculine voice coat the group of women in a tremble of sheepish uncertainty. He huffed a small cough into his fist, eyed Torvald for assurance and finally glued his attention to Candlehead.

"I was trying to reassure them that, if Turbo were to want to do anything bad to the game, he would've certainly done it by now, right?" Candlehead wondered, as if she was confident in her words but also uncertain and had to ask Tessa for clarity.

"Yeah, considering we were gone for three days and the game is safe and sound," Tessa snapped with a shrug and a confused, nearly annoyed smile, "He's been in charge of a decent chunk of the game for well over a month now. The poor guy really is trying, but it's hard when you guys are constantly throwing him side-eyes."

"We weren't," Torvald defended nervously, and just as Tessa suspected, the rest of the group began to hear the gentle argument in the kitchen and came to investigate, "Weren't trying to, anyways, I just always like to at least have my eye on him."

"Well, what about Nox? Throttle? You guys don't treat them as if they're a threat," Penny dared to jump in, in being Tessa's right hand woman, she was thrilled Tessa willingly shared the task of putting out fires.

"Yeah? What about Nox and Throttle?" Nox prod in cheeky dismay as he crossed his arms and joined the group at the island; he bugged his creepy gaze and pierced it straight through Torvald's heart like an ice dagger, though his smile proved just how much hidden mischief this guy could potentially fall into. He huffed a chuckle and merely glanced to Tessa, for assurance in the Queen's court, "Got beef with my big brothers?"

"Oh come on, it's justified!" Swizzle began to grow defensive, a challenge for Tessa he was certain he didn't know just what he was getting himself into; though Candlehead held the sides of her head and scrunched, as if to physically show Swizzle that he was asking for it. Torvald eyed her in a rising spike of worry and dart said look of worry to Tessa and Penny, though Swizzle loudly continued on, "The guy had our game in a choke hold, or... At least helped in it."

"We've already explained just exactly what happened. This was Lash's doing, and he's safely bubbled away," Tessa reassured, and although she wanted to be firm with her subjects, she diligently was reminded that she also needed to be a leader, one of grace and tenderness, of reassurance and safety. She held her tongue and was glad she was getting the hang of navigating just what it meant to be Queen over so many different personalities.

"How do we know Turbo hasn't unbubbled him?" Torvald now tenderly wondered as Minty, Ralph and Vanellope loosely surrounded the backsides of the group at the kitchen island; it was in this instance did Penny pick Wren up into her arms.

Tessa heaved a hot, annoyed sigh through her nose, kicked in her silver coding and allowed her palm to become soaked in a gentle show of light and circuit board. As she pressed her palm to the kitchen island, she cued a read-only drop down of menus, from Sugar Rush's code room, and in one single swipe, the very bubble that Lash was tucked away in, gently hovered above the kitchen island in a bob of gravity. Tessa crossed her arms over her chest, and Berri, once more and cocked an eyebrow in Torvald's direction.

"Turbo has access to Lash's bubble... He always has," Tessa revealed, to which Torvald nervously peered up to Swizzle for reassurance; he only shrugged and gave her a look as if to express to her that they should maybe consider Tessa's words, "Turbo's not the bad guy, here. He never was... He's on our side, and after so many days and hours of brewing and stewing, it'd be absolute cake for him to just unbubble Lash and have at it... But he hasn't."

"But whose to say he WON'T?" Minty finally chimed in; a force to be reckoned with, someone who never let up, someone who fiercely defended her own strict opinions, and although Tessa valued this about Minty, she was well aware it made Minty a rather intimidating being to be around, for everyone. Minty eased to the island's counter, rested her fingers to the marble and cocked an eyebrow. Her gorgeous, light green hair was tucked into a low ponytail, her warm, hazel eyes read a weird amount of cold delight, as if she relished in simply arguing with others on their own opinions, "Maybe he's biding his time? Maybe he wants our trust? Turning on us will be incredibly easy, then."

"It's already incredibly easy, now," Nox interjected, he knew Tessa had the floor, though he also was well aware his outbursts were justified, "He has access to nearly everything the code room contains."

"WHY? Why does he need all that?" Minty now raised her voice, to which Tessa inhaled a sharp breath and knew it was time to put the arguing to an end.

"Because he helped save you guys!" Tessa barked, the whole entire group fell into prickled silence, "You're forgetting, that without Turbo's help, I would've never been able to get the code room back from Lash. You guys are holding on to this too tightly, and aren't seeing that Turbo wasn't the one in charge of this mess. Turbo was too exhausted due to his old and decaying code swap."

"Well, that's his own fault," Minty very boldly dared, she shrugged and abruptly reeled her next words due to the fact of just who she was surrounded by; swappers and faux-codes alike.

"We all do things we're not proud of, we all make mistakes, but certainly you see his efforts to at least try and come around," Tessa argued, she gestured to Nox in urgency, "Nox and Throttle have earned their place, they're an awesome addition to this castle, and I know the lot of you would be sad to know that in alienating Turbo, like such, you're hurting Turbo's only kin. You DO know this, right?"

"We're not trying to hurt anyone's feelings, we're just scared," Swizzle defended, to which Tessa diligently took in, "We never know what's going to make him suddenly turn, it's not easy to give up trust to one of Arcade's most feared bad guys. You so easily just handed over an insane amount of power to someone who knows the code room, and all, like the back of his hand."

"He saved our lives, has proven himself and is in desperate need of our attention," Tessa demanded as she gently held the back of Berri's little head, "Keep this up, y'guys, and just maybe he'll use this ammunition for something negative. If you're so sure he has in it him, why aren't you guys kissing his ass?"

The group fell silent under Tessa's stern words, and it was in this instance did Tessa understand she had the attention of every single being in this room. Not only that, but Balba, Marble and Boss slowly began to shift and sit up from their continued nap, they peered inside with agitation, and it was only a matter of time before they pawed at the rec hall's door handles and let themselves in. Tessa huffed an annoyed, curt noise of despair and gestured her hands out, only to lazily slap them to her sides in defeat.

"I mean, I don't understand your guys' way of thinking. Isn't the term 'keep your friends close but your enemies closer' appropriate here?" Tessa exhaustively peered to Minty, Swizzle and Torvald in a show of now wanting this all to end, though Minty meanly narrowed her gaze and tried her very hardest not to stare in Nox's direction with her sharp, unraveling words.

"We can keep our enemies as close as we want, clearly," Minty scoffed, and although she tried not to make it clear that she was directing her words towards Nox, she failed miserably, cocked an eyebrow and shot Tessa a knowing look, "The issue goes beyond friends. Blood is thicker than water... Where does that eventually put all of us?"

"If you're going to take a stab at Nox, at least get the quote correct," Ace suddenly jumped into the ring, everyone nervously flung their attention to their resident User and figuratively shrunk. Ace firmly sunk his hand atop Nox's shoulder in a protective, brotherly stance and gave Minty a look of whole challenge, "The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. If y'got a problem with Nox, Throttle and Turbo, then y'got a problem with me."

"And if you have a problem with a Userrr," Penny trailed, she pursed her lips and looked up to the rec halls high, beamed ceilings in girly, coy, mischievous delight.

"But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you," Ace felt bad for getting mean so quickly, though he firmly held onto Nox and defended him, as if his life depended on it, in which is previously has, "You're too scared to get close to anyone... Let alone the fact that the rest of us have close relationships and friendships with one another. You delight in alienating people who are misfits, or outcasts... My mom has a solid point. If you're so scared Turbo is going to turn on you, why aren't all of you bending over backwards to kiss his ass and remain on his good side?"

"Forgive us for not immediately befriending the guy who helped keep us locked up in silence for over a year and a half," Torvald dared as she crossed her arms, Minty bobbed a nod whilst Swizzle now remained a silent neutral.

"Well, then be prepared for the creepy, uncertain vibe you're getting from him," Ace argued as he put his hands on his hips and removed Nox from his loving hold, "You get what you give... He's only mirroring you guys. You give Turbo an inch, and he'll give you a mile. It could either be a mile of love or hate. Which direction do you want to go in?"

The group, again, fell silent, and it was in this instance of pride did Tessa willingly back down from her own fight and allow Sugar Rush's Prince the floor; Zed had finally strolled back into the rec hall, a few minutes prior, and was diligently mediating from the side lines. He looked disgruntled and frankly exhausted, from the topic at hand, and although he wished so badly that everyone would get along, from the racers to Turbo, and now the flyer's dispute, he heaved a hot sigh and brushed his hand through his electric blue hair in a show of persisting defeat.

"He showed Sugar Rush a very fair amount of love... What only took two weeks to show eradicated over two decades of hate," Ace explained in a wheeze of narrowed-eyed desperation, he gestured his hand out to Nox and frowned, "This isn't hard. Turbo is a great guy, he's hilarious, he's giving, and sure... He's a little mysterious and walled off, but, if you just take the time to get to know him, you'd really be surprised."

"He secretly loves to sing, he's a sucker for romance novels, he tells the funniest jokes," Nox listed in a rise of desperation, somehow hoping to convince the group before him.

"Oh, so the whole entire time he was in the background of Sugar Rush's demise, he just, y'know... Had the code room in a choke hold, but, oh! Sure loved a good, steamy, romance novel!" Minty now continued to challenge anyone she could, and it was with this did Vanellope's wick burn down the quickest.

"Minty, we get that you have an opinion on everything and everyone," Vanellope grumbled in entire dismay, she sagged her face into her palm and shook her head, though she finally stabbed her irritated eye contact to Minty and was well aware she was now flying well beyond impending word vomit, "If you're so adamant about who we live with, who we share our codes with and how anyone on this User-forsaken lot does life, then why even show up?"

Minty glowered Vanellope down, and although Tessa was now Sugar Rush's current Queen, Minty's allegiance had previously lied in Vanellope's hands, something that may have never fully switched over, just yet, and with Vanellope's shut down, Minty's facial expression began to crumple to a show of anguish and impending tears, and in a push of a huff, Minty shoved her way through the crowd, stormed to the recreational hall's teleportation pad and was briskly whisked away, lime green coding and all. Vanellope groaned an echoing, loud moan of whole annoyance up to the recreational hall's ceilings and grappled her black hair; Penny stifled a hard laugh into her hand and winced as Wren so cutely copied in Penny's gestures and giggling.

"Rule number one," Libby eased from the edges of the argument, she lifted a finger and lazily looked about the group in tender dismay, her accent coat the conversation in a gentle lilt of difference, "Never put Minty on the spot. This is the third time I've seen her storm off, over something like this."

"I don't know how we're going to get to the bottom of this," Vanellope loudly complained in a raspy groan of exaggerated despair; Ralph, and a few others, laughed at her expense.

"She can't be reasoned with," Nox complained, though his agitation was clearly justified, alongside the look of hurtful sorrow in his golden eyes.

Ace narrowed his eyes and tenderly eyed the teleportation pad, he wondered just where all this frustration and opposition was rooted, and just why it became so rooted. He inhaled a nervous breath and knew, deep down, absolutely anyone could be reasoned with; all it took was the right person of conversation.

"I think she can," Ace assured in a show of forced confidence, though he hoped his words resonated with everyone, a clear bookmark Ace promised the group that he'd soon pick up after.


	16. Chapter 16

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** Hey friend! Thank you for such an awesome, insightful question. I don't specifically know, or am close to, anyone like Minty here in the story. I've come across people that are similar, but in my own way, she represents the devil's advocate that I so often struggle to quiet, in myself. She doesn't represent me, but as a reasoner and someone who plays fair and sees both sides, I get to combat my OWN story ideas through Minty, and exercise my own brand of devil's advocate. She's pretty opinionated, which I can be, as well. So allowing myself a little bit of freedom, through Minty, has helped. She's a safe offload character, for me. I can be brash with her and have it be secure, because if it were anyone else, it'd become off-character. She represents some of my most difficult flaws. I can be stubborn and get bent out of shape and close minded, to an insane degree, but it's just interesting to explore. It's like giving each of your traits and flaws a character name and a script; how would they interact? What would their conversation develop into? This is just a small glimpse into my mind, I guess. Thank you!

 **chuckiboo :** You're not wrong! Thank you friend :)

 **CHICKENM4N :** Hahaha! I'm glad y'all still hold on to that. It's comin'! Can't promise it being a huge or main part of the story, but Minty definitely has her own closet full of skeletons.

 **Nikki Firesong :** Aww hey! Long time no see! Thank you so much for hanging in there, with me. That means a lot, especially through busy seasons. I hope you're well, thanks again! :D

 **Burgie :** Your review literally made me tear up. Thanks for that! I appreciate it. And yes, the gang always has a knack for worming out details and secrets out of anyone LOL.

* * *

 **A/N :** Sorry for the massive chapter, guys. This one has a TON of exposition, so I just felt the urge to get it all out. Thanks for sticking with me, guys! It means a lot! :D

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **One of the Family by Henry Jackman**

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 ***Chapter 16***

"Who does she think she is?" Nox very loudly complained to Ace and Boss; all three boys were comfortably hunkered inside Ace and Libby's tower, located closely to Ralph's and Vanellope's on the other, more secluded side of the dome of the code room. The morning sunshine glinted into Ace's open floor plan. Nox had the floor, his angry pacing thumped Ace's birch wooden floors, Ace and Boss were comfortably lounged on Ace's large couch, ottomans and dividers all mushed into one massive unit of comfort. Nox wildly gestured his arms out and urgently peered to Ace in whole frustration, "How am I supposed to act while we're in the same room? I can't look at Minty the same, she's just... She's just... Such a...!"

"Hooo, don't say it," Ace's deep, masculine voice blurt a hard chuckle; Boss perked his ears, amidst the laughter and dared to huff a quiet, whisper of a snicker alongside Ace.

"How would you feel, if Berri was all grown up, and Minty was assuming all these things about your own sibling?" Nox frowned and peered hard down into Ace's eyes, a whole rile of tender anxiety, his shirtless figure stood before the two, his rib cage heaving in a gentle, panting mess of frustration, his crazy grey bed head shot in all directions, "Wouldn't you just feel so... So angry?"

"I would," Ace agreed in a small sigh as his eyes looked off, the other end of the massive couch was laden in a strew of fluffy blankets and pillows; Nox had crashed at Ace and Libby's for the night, due to all the stewing. Ace's large fingers idly smoothed out and toyed with the thick, luscious fur atop Boss's head, "Although I would be labelled a hermit, and that I shy away from conflict, I also am a good mediator."

"What are you saying?" Nox questioned nervously, the sunlight from Ace's glorious windows only silhouetted Nox's shadow starkly against Ace's whole body, alongside a cast over Boss's snout and eyes.

"I'm saying, maybe we should go talk to her, get to the source of all this mess... Have you come with, I can start it all off, and if you feel the need to debate or get something off of your chest, I can mediate," Ace shrugged his shoulders through his lazy tank, his muscular chest expanded in impending, exhausted irritation the second Nox began to pace, once more.

"Yeah, I have some choice words," Nox muttered, he angrily ran his hand through his hair and shook his head in entire irritation.

"Just remember, she'll throw said choice words back at you," Ace muttered in his hand as he subconsciously mocked Nox's irritated behavior and also rubbed his hand through his hair and across his face.

"Whats with this switch up in attitude?" Nox suddenly volleyed said irritation towards Ace, though it was clear his tone had not a single ounce of malice; Ace smiled cheekily, at his words, and knew just where this was going, "You're usually so weird and quiet and do anything and everything to avoid conflict. What's gotten into you?"

"Nox, I'm literally about to become a father of two, all at once," Ace's voice grumbled, although it was out of love, he could already feel the exhaustion set in, "I won't have time to think about wanting to avoid conflict."

"Your life will BE conflict," Boss's deep, grumbly voice coat the boy's conversation with the onset of great cheek, to which they both blurt out in laughter.

"You're having kids, I'm STILL a kid," Nox wildly gestured to himself, to which Ace rolled his eyes and figuratively dawdled to his aid in a show of teasing, boyish annoyance.

"Nox, you're almost thirty years older than me," Ace reminded, both him and Boss laughed as Boss's cumbersome body did everything it could to shrink down to the size of a house cat and comfortably ease into Ace's lap; the only part of him that even remotely successfully fit into Ace's lap was his massive jaw and skull. Ace grunted with the weight, and although he was used to it with Royal, he gently rubbed the top of Boss's head and eyed him in loving suspicion, he was grateful Boss was so easily warming up to everyone, "What about you, Boss, you have kids?"

"Royal," Boss muttered with his eyes closed, without missing a beat; Ace and Nox blurt laughter as Nox began to slowly reach for his t-shirt.

"User, I doubt he'd allow that," Nox staggered a harder laugh as he clutched his chest, amidst yanking his shirt over his already chaotically splayed grey hair.

"Maybe one day... But no, I don't have any offspring," Boss stated in a lull of warmth and mild, bittersweet cuteness. He shifted, as if he was likely due to stand, though the second Ace shifted, as if to get up, he finally got to his feet on Ace's clean, wooden floors and allowed the couch a massive croak of the weight lifted. Boss nonchalantly carried on as Ace clumsily got to his feet, as well, "Lickity is, well... My only well... um..."

"Aww, she's your first?" Nox prod in a nearly teasing manner, though he bobbed a nod of agreeing and shrugged, "Don't beat yourself up over it. Koko's my first. Took me thirty years."

"It only took me a few months," Ace stated in a cocky show of pure teasing as he put his hands on his hips and held a smolder, he seductively ran his large hand over his muscular chest, though Libby's adorable little voice from the kitchen popped his bubble.

"We were childhood sweethearts, puba, doesn't count," Libby volleyed; Nox choked a hard laugh and gave Ace's chest a brotherly swat and a shove as Ace sagged into himself in whole annoyance.

"Lickity told me that women are always right," Boss grumbled as he joined Nox in his laughter, Nox and Ace heaved hard, loud, exhausted sighs and lazily bobbed nods of conditioned, continued affirmation.

"Happy wife, happy life," Both Ace and Nox repeated in a dull cue.

"Though, neither of us are married, soooo..." Nox dragged as he cocked an eyebrow, though Ace shook his head and looked off, although his face read annoyance, he was well aware all three men here wouldn't trade their significant others for the world.

"Code swaps... More permanent than a marriage license," Ace shrugged with an eager smile, he firmly pat Nox's shoulder and began to cross his glorious, sunlit living room in hopes of egging Nox closer to his teleportation pad, "Speaking of people who disagree with code swapping-"

"We weren't speaking of such," Nox protested, knowing full well where this was headed.

"C'mon... Let's go find Minty and just get this over with," Ace explained tenderly, and before Nox could protest and bring up a million excuses as to just why they shouldn't do that, Ace skillfully volleyed his and Nox's attention to Boss with a gentle point, "Have had a lot of fun with you, dude, but... Maybe three guys against one woman isn't the smartest idea."

"Sooo two guys against one woman is still somehow better?" Nox argued, only the beginning of his impending excuses as to why they shouldn't go find Minty.

"We'll grab Balba on the way out... Not only is she a female perspective, she's also a neutral perspective, and a user-made gamer," Ace maturely listed on his large fingers, snuffing out Nox's energy to verbally combat him with a simple slump of his grey shoulders, "She can relate to Minty on two of those accounts, so it won't seem so much like we're ganging up on her."

"I hope you do all the talking," Nox grumbled in gentle irritation as he yanked his coat off of a hook amidst Ace's and Libby's sprawling mud room, it was collectively and somehow neatly littered with snow coats, shoes, scarfs and hats alike.

"I'll get you as far as I can, my friend," Ace sagged his shoulders and was thrilled Boss was comfortable enough in Libby's now doting presence, they warmly eased back into their sunlit living room and began to quietly and cutely chat about their separate lives in Dead Zed's jungles. Ace longingly peered at the endearing sight as him and Nox slowly moseyed towards Ace's and Libby's front door of a teleportation pad, "Remember, I'm there to put out fires."

"Hope you have a fleet of firefighters at the ready," Nox grumbled, mostly to himself, as his and Ace's coding was skillfully whisked from their warm interior to the teleportation pad out front of Ace's and Libby's little tower abode.

Ablaze with Sugar Rush's noon sun, the two easily garnered Balba into their battalion and began to make their way to the North end of the palace's main hub, which garnered the gorgeous glass dome of the code room. Warmly hugged about the code room were separate wings and corridors that belonged to each of Sugar Rush's racers, though the North exit and entrance into the main building lead out to a beautiful courtyard. Any other season, each massive tree would hold canopies of billowy leaves and flowers, truly a sight to behold, though in the dead of winter, there was only one tree that held true throughout the extremes; Ralph's and Vanellope's now blossomed cross-striped candy cane tree. With gorgeous buds of marshmallows and cherry blossoms, the tree was more incredible than any other tree on the lot, the epicenter of the gorgeous, nature-filled courtyard, a quiet escape with sneaky walking paths and benches near small ponds to sit and be at peace.

Amidst entering the acre or two of said courtyard, Ace's, Nox's and Balba's footsteps crunched amidst the snow covered grass and concrete with no other sounds made. They were well aware this was an area of peace and quiet, and barging in with loud voices and cantankerous conversation was an understood no-no. With said quiet, and nothing but the fog of their breath that trailed behind their beings, Ace cocked an eyebrow and softly peered to his left. Through the thin amount of brush and the leafless trees that still stood proud and naked, was none other than Minty, very quietly carrying on a serious conversation with Torvald. Ace gingerly halted his footwork, which cued Nox and Balba in a light stumble of confusion, though once they peered to his line of sight, Nox heaved a hot, long sigh through his nose and finally volleyed Ace a look of now entire dread, as if seeing Minty in person now made this ordeal very real, and he was beyond unprepared to follow through with this little shindig.

"Thought for sure we'd have to go knock on her door," Ace ever so softly eased to Nox, who wrinkled his nose and silently imitated Ace's mannerisms and silently repeated Ace's words in a mouthy, exaggerated form of mocking. Ace beamed Nox a wide smile and gave him a look of teasing, brotherly challenge, "I can ditch your ass the second we go up to her, is that what you want?"

"No, let's just get this over with," Nox sharply muttered in playful irritation the boys knew was strictly just banter, though to an outside perspective, it was viewed as entire brotherly annoyance towards each other.

Balba quietly stifled a giggle and much enjoyed watching the two, she politely tucked her wings to her body, flattened her ears and was glad both boys with her allowed their posture to soften and not seem so intimidating. The three slowly began to ease closer to where Minty and Torvald sat, and once the three were within twenty feet of both girls, they hushed their conversation, nervously peered over in rising irritation and halted every single last ounce of information being shared. Minty softly crossed her arms as Torvald sat up a little straighter, both girls were sat comfortably at one of the two benches present, and once Ace, Nox and Balba were within comfortable speaking distance of Torvald and Minty, Ace gently cleared his throat and eased his posture.

"Hey guys," Ace's warm voice lilted, though he made sure to express that his tone wasn't exactly light hearted. As kindly as he could, he peered to Torvald with gentle apology and gestured to Minty, in a polite manner, "I'm really sorry to interrupt you two, but is it okay if I steal Minty for a few minutes?"

Both Minty and Torvald were frozen in closed off body posture and rigid mannerisms. Minty heaved a silent, though clearly annoyed sigh through her nose as she peered to Torvald in such a way that nearly said she was finished with this ordeal before it even started. Torvald bobbed an unsure nod, gave Minty a look of silent plea, as if to somehow ask Minty if she'd spill the details of said private conversation once it was all said and done with. With a few quiet, polite exchanges between Ace and Torvald, she finally excused herself and made her way towards the North entrance of the racer's donut-shaped corridor that hugged the code room.

"I knew I should've stayed indoors," Minty's slick words were strangely ladened with warmth, alongside an even warmer smile of passive irony, something Ace had an impossible time navigating. With stiff uncertainty, Nox was first to take a seat at the bench next to Minty's, though Ace was brave enough to take a seat on Minty's bench, just a few feet from her. Both adjusted to face each other as Balba finally sat on her hindquarters near Nox, to keep him tight in the loop. Minty tucked her pretty, light green hair behind her ears and sighed through her nose with said continued passive aggressive smile, "I always find myself into trouble when I leave my wing of the palace."

"We were headed for your wing, anyways," Ace shrugged with a gentle chuckle, hoping to desperately ease the tension, though Minty was quick to tighten it, once more.

"Not like I'd be forced to answer the door," Her dainty shoulders shrugged in girly cuteness, a sassy, bratty way she carried herself; she was the only one on the lot that could even remotely get away with it, though Ace felt his frustration begin to just barely bubble with said notion. Although most of the women in his life were bold and didn't take anyone's crap, he found Minty's approach to be childish and entitled.

"I just wanted to come by, with Nox, and apologize for last night," Ace gently eased as he put his large hand on his chest, he glanced to Nox and prayed he'd eventually warm up, even a little, "I didn't mean for all that attention to be on you, and I'm sure it was uncomfortable."

"I'm used to it, I get picked on for that topic a lot," Minty shrugged, as if it were no big deal, though her tears the night prior certainly had her singing a different song.

"...Do you?" Ace wondered in genuine curiosity.

"Well, yeah," Minty lilted in annoyed understanding, "Candlehead and Gloyd are paired off, and, well... I-It's just sometimes a conversation between the group of racers. Everyone else seems to be okay with it, curious, even asking questions and... Considering swapping themselves. They know my stance, sometimes I feel as if they bring it up just to piss me off."

"You're entitled to your beliefs, and what you prefer to do for your own life, no one has anything against you for that," Ace warmly explained, though with such, he glanced back at Nox once more and wondered if he'd ever warm up to eventually speaking, "I guess... Another reason why we wanted to come talk to you was because, well... Maybe we can enlighten you on the topic, a little. I wonder if your distaste from it comes from maybe a lack of knowledge, on the subject matter, and we want to maybe help you understand."

"Don't patronize me," Minty quietly snapped, though Ace flinched as Nox's voice suddenly coat the courtyard's tender, quivering silence.

"See? There's no reasoning with you, there's no doing ANYTHING with you because you just think you know it all!" Nox boomed in a whole outburst of frustration, and just as he was about to get into the action of standing up and potentially getting in Minty's face, Ace acted fast.

In a single swoop, Ace was grateful he was at arm's length from Nox, simply so he could grapple his forearm and soak Nox's coding with his own, via exterior swap. Nox's crimson, berry colored honeycomb coding angrily swarmed and glitched up his arm, though Nox faltered in his movement and softly sat back down, albeit in a huff of a now halted, angry exhale. Ace blurt a chuckle as Nox's now molten red eyes peered hard into Ace's, and as Minty got a good show of just what she basically protested, she still eagerly watched what was unfolding. Ace held onto Nox's arm and swarmed Nox's coding with his own gentle, soothing golden honeycombs, a soak of User power, a brotherly proverbial hug that conveyed a million different statements of warmth and calm to Nox in this heightened moment.

"Easy, I know you're mad, I get it, I'm mad as well," Ace kept his eyes tight to Nox, and vice-versa, and it was with this did Minty furrow her brows in a press of curiosity and tried not to seem too needy for answers, "We can't all reach an even ground if you're going to fly off the handle... Just relax. The only things hurt here are feelings, and those can easily be mended."

Nox exhaled a trembling breath through his nose, tried to sag his shoulders and was grateful to sit in Ace's steady, calming coding, their platonic exterior swap kept each other, and others, in check during heightened moments of regretful actions or words. Minty remained still in a silent show of humility, though she could swear a chill went down her spine the second Nox's molten red, pixel-cubed pupil eyes locked with hers, a haunting show of just what Nox was potentially capable of, a proper display of dominance Minty now was certain she underestimated.

"Wh-what... What are you doing, there?" Minty pressed in a now vulnerable tone, the sudden outburst was successful in wiping the sass right off of her face, something for which Ace, Nox and Balba were grateful for.

"It's an exterior swap," Ace pressed kindly, he kept his hand warmly held to Nox's lower arm as their coding finally soaked into one another and cooperated, once and for all, in a tender show of now rosey honeycombs that sprawled their arms. Ace glanced to Nox in a grateful show of cheek and peered back to Minty with certainty, "I get my glitching powers from Vanellope, my grandmother, so... It's really only possible for us glitches."

"I-Is it permanent?" Minty choked as she now eyed Ace's and Nox's arms, she grew bashful and nearly disgusted, "H-Have you two... Sw-swapped?"

"No, for User's sake," Nox choked, his anger was now replaced with a dry amount of cold annoyance.

"So, think of this exterior swap like a hug... It's a hug for your coding," Ace shrugged with a smile, "It's reassurance, it's love, it's warmth, all conveyed through your own thought stream and identity."

"A hug?" Minty finally began to show a gentle amount of warmth, "I-I mean... I thought all versions of swapping was strictly, well... Sexual."

"Well... Are all versions of hugs sexual?" Ace quizzed with a kind smile, to which Minty barely shook her head in incredulous agreeing and understood what Ace was getting at, "An interior swap is sexual, the act and everything it includes, but... A surface, exterior swap is like a hug. Like, between Nox and I, it's platonic, clearly. I love this guy, but wow. It's platonic."

"You wish," Nox muttered, he tried his absolute hardest not to smile, though he failed the second Minty suddenly blurt out a surprised laugh; Ace rolled his eyes amidst an annoyed smile.

"So, much like a hug, it can be platonic, OR, it can have other annotations," Ace shrugged, "Sometimes Libby and I will share an exterior swap, and it'll be similar to like what I'm doing here, with Nox, but... It's deeper, more romantic. Just like a hug. Hugs can be short and brief and friendly, they can be brotherly, they can be platonic, or... They can hold for longer, be tighter, be romantic and lead to different avenues of love. Y'know?"

"I see," Minty pressed in further curiosity, though she tried to mask it with pursed lips of an irritated front, "So, why are you exterior swapping with Nox now, then? Because he almost just beat me up?"

"Yeah, I really was going to beat you up," Nox blurt in another slump of irritation, the rise to return to normality now ruined and back to square one.

"You see how my demeanor and my attitude here is neutral? By exterior swapping with Nox, I'm trying to calm him down and get him on my side, here, dude," Ace ended said sentence in Nox's direction with a cheeky look of teasing cuteness; Nox rolled his eyes, sagged and looked off, to which Balba continued to stifle laughter.

"A hug," Minty chimed gently, she finally began to show a genuine smile.

"Yeah, though if I tried to just flat give Nox an actual, physical hug right now, without the tug of coding involved, I'd probably get punched," Ace stated through a wide smile of knowing glee, as if he knew exactly what he signed up for when he became Nox's best friend.

"You're not wrong," Nox mumbled, he finally showed signs of warmth, once more, however little they were.

"So, now that we're all calm," Ace urged as he cleared his throat and eyed Nox, as if to beg him to behave, he kindly volleyed his eyes to Minty and long blinked in the show of continued, unending patience, "I think that we should clear the air, here, about Turbo, about swapping... About everything you're uncomfortable with. No union, inside palace walls, is going to be carefree and easy for you until we get to the root of this issue... Are you okay to have this conversation with us?"

Minty now held in a gentle, frozen position of crossed arms, a closed off body posture and a tight-lipped look of almost protesting hesitancy. Although it looked as if she wanted to snip Ace and Nox a reply of denial and swiftly walk off, she began to sag her shoulders in tepid warmth, as if taking the bait here was something she was entirely interested in, though was doing a fantastic job of hiding it. After a few moments of contemplative silence, she finally bobbed an uncertain nod, eyed Ace in further curiosity and tried her hardest to reserve the impending overflow of a million questions she had, for the subject at hand.

"Yeah, that'd be alright," Minty revealed gently, and it was with this did Ace see a wall come down, her reserved, icy green eyes finally opened a little more to show interest and understanding, as if she was simply just uneducated and was scared of the unknown.

"So, Nox, why don't you tell Minty how you feel... Gently," Ace instructed, and once he could feel Nox's heart rate finally ease to normality, he removed his hand from Nox's forearm and ended their pretty, shiny, coded display of an exterior swap; Nox inhaled a nervous breath and eyed Ace, as if to silently ask Ace to spot him in case anything gets out of control, once more.

"I guess I'm just tired of defending poor Turbo... I understand he really soured your guys opinion about him, and, well... Everything his past entails, but... He's just misunderstood, and he may seem formidable and scary, but he's a fragile, sensitive dude," Nox rushed to explain in a mild tone of desperation, "I can see it in his eyes... Throttle, Turbo and I were discussing it, the other night, actually. He was really hurt by all the whisperings and nasty looks you guys give him."

"We're just nervous he's going to turn our world upside down, again," Minty shrugged and frowned, "It doesn't help that he avoids us."

"Turbo is very much the kind of person that needs to be approached first," Ace interjected softly as he gave Minty a look of tender apology, "I know it's not technically fair, and he really needs to play his part and come out of his shell, but... Trust me when I say, you guys are safe under his protection. The guy is just desperate to put the past behind him."

"You're really not going to trust the word of a User?" Nox prod in disbelief as he gestured to Ace.

"I guess it'll just take time," Minty shrugged, "It'll take a bit of him coming around and... Maybe talking to him."

"Should this conversation be reserved for me and Turbo instead of me and Nox?" Ace pressed in a new level of curiosity, to which Minty grew flustered.

"User, no, I-I don't think I'd feel comfortable telling Turbo, to his face, that he makes me uncomfortable," Minty scoffed with a chuckle of disbelief.

"So you'd just rather do it behind his back, then," Nox stated in his rawest tone of sarcasm, alongside a conclusive nod; Minty glowered him down.

"Yeah, I would," Minty confessed in gentle honesty, to which Nox rolled his eyes and looked up in dire annoyance, "You guys went on a whole entire User-damned adventure with the guy, know everything about him, he even has a swap mate. Of course I don't feel comfortable telling this all to his face, he hardly even knows who I am and-"

"Wait a second, Turbo doesn't have a swap mate," Ace interjected gently, once more, to which Minty gave him a look of genuine confusion.

"I-I thought...?" Minty trailed in a lilt of humility, though Ace smiled and shook his head.

"No, Libby was Turbo's old swap mate, from the year TurboTime was unplugged... Remember? Lash shoved Turbo's and Libby's swapped coding into my dad's sensitive brain coding, Dead Zed got reset, Libby spawned to the game in a freak accident kind of way," Ace rambled as he gestured his hand, as if to refresh Minty of the story that was told to everyone, after Sugar Rush was won, so to have the entire group on the same page.

"Oh, that's right," Minty huffed in a quiet meep of gentle defeat, "But, Libby reversed Turbo's coding... How was that possible if she's not a User?"

"She is a User," Ace stated.

"I thought you were the only User?" Minty grew further confused, though Ace huffed a small, knowing laugh.

"I code swapped with Libby," Ace explained, "Thus, giving her my User coding."

"... This is why the whole of Arcade thinks you swappers are up to no good," Minty blurt a nearly annoyed giggle, to which Ace apologetically smiled, though Nox continued his dull look of purely unamused agitation, "From an outside perspective, that looks as if you're planning on building a User army and taking over."

"I mean, my two children will also be Users, and any children they so happen to have will be Users, as well, so... I can see how that may look fishy," Ace shrugged his masculine shoulders and looked off, "But, for all of you that know me, you know that's not the case. I simply swapped codes and procreated with the love of my life. That's all."

"I just... I guess I just don't understand why you'd swap your coding anyways?" Minty now began to tread into sensitive, vulnerable territory, one of which Ace, Nox and Balba cued to, "When we were just plugged in, it was extremely taboo to swap your coding in it's entirety, thus you'd be stuck with someone else's coding forever... You'd be seen as a threat in the Arcade, due to getting unfair power ups and the like. We were taught that if you were to gain a love interest, and to, well... Y'know... Then you'd have to code block."

"Ugh, I hate that term," Nox complained as he rubbed his face in agitation; Ace also wrinkled his nose, "It hurts just thinking about it."

"To be honest with you, I don't even know how to accomplish something like that," Ace grimaced Minty a confused smile and shrugged, "I really don't think it should be taboo, anymore, I mean... Look at all the kids that go to the Arcade's Academies. Those are all faux-codes."

"Looked down upon by nearly every game that's plugged in," Minty completed in gentle disgusted, though it only seemed as if she was potentially riding on the dregs of previous opinions.

"... I don't think that's very much the case, any longer," Ace grit his teeth and gave Minty an apologetic smile.

"I don't think it should be shamed, either... It's a beautiful process, and sure, you gotta choose wisely, but..." Nox shrugged as him and Ace caught eyes in agreeing, "I can see how some would use it for a greater evil, but... Can't anyone use ANYTHING for a greater evil? Anything beautiful can be turned upside down and be used for harm, instead of good."

"Nox is right... Anyone who is a naysayer is just paranoid and suspicious that all swappers are only swapping either for the thrill of it, or to get better power ups during game play," Ace explained, he gently waggled his finger, "I know my grandpa, Ralph, strictly doesn't use his glitching abilities during game day. Everyone trusts him... If he were to glitch in the midsts of quarter alerts, he'd risk his cabinet being unplugged."

"Anyone who takes that risk isn't doing themselves any favors," Nox shrugged, "They'd get unplugged and... That'd be the end of them."

"Or, they'd go on to be one of Arcade's hugest nightmares," Minty snipped, she skillfully brought this all back to Turbo, and with such a thwart, Ace and Nox fell painfully silent, "All due to a swap... Turbo aided in taking down Sugar Rush and nearly dragging Dead Zed AND Hero's Duty with it. That's three entire games, if we're not counting Sweet Streets."

"Minty... You can, I don't know... Go to the internet and buy a jetpack, come back to your own game and fly around for an endless amount of fun," Ace rushed to explain in staggered breaks of searching for examples, "Innocent, right? Fun for you and your friends... Or, you could fly said jetpack low over a crowd and end up hurting people."

"Code swapping is a 'use responsibly' kind of fun," Nox blurt a small laugh and finally began to show a need to warm up, no matter how difficult it seemed.

"So, while there are people out there that could potentially swap for the greater evil, and ruin it for the rest of us, there are still beings in Arcade, like the entire palace lot, that use swapping for something strictly intimate and personal," Ace warmly continued on, "It doesn't have to be this big, scary, taboo thing..."

"Certainly there's been at least ONE person in this entire Arcade that you've at least had a crush on, or considered in that kind of way," Nox grasped at straws, to which Minty shrugged and glanced to Balba, who was more so doing Ace's job and displaying a silent amount of proper mediating, though her large wolf ears remained perked in gentle, attentive listening.

Minty frowned and felt as if both boys had very lovingly called checkmate on her heart. Deep, hidden secrets, she swore not to share with anyone, all came rushing to the edges of her lips, and as if she had to simply recoil and retain everything for her own knowledge, she heaved a shaky breath and looked down to her hands in a rush of now rising emotion that she had so successfully bottled. She shook her head, furrowed her brow in confused contemplation and opened her palms in aimless thought, on her lap.

"Yeah, there has been," Minty nervously admitted, though Nox cocked an eyebrow and held his breath, as if he was absolutely surprised that he got an answer out of her, "I-I... I need some time alone, I think. This is just... A lot. Look, I'm really sorry for causing you boys grief, and for making Turbo feel uneasy, really, I am. I guess there's just a lot I don't know, about the swapping world, and likely won't ever discover for myself."

"Don't say that," Ace frowned, as if he was now worried Minty was going to go on a downward spiral inside her own self, and as she hesitantly bloomed before them, Ace got a glimpse inside her heart; all this was, was jealousy, wanting, desire for something she didn't understand whatsoever and didn't know how to obtain, but likely desperately wanted for herself, "E-Everyone has a shot at love. It's not something you should dismiss. Especially if there's someone you're interested in."

"I doubt he'd be interested in me, I mean, I make such a fuss about everything," Minty choked, she shook her head and further avoided eye contact with all three beings before her, strictly for the fact that she had started to well up. In a skillful move of catching a tear, she began to stand and wave her hand in soft, defeated apology, "C-Can... Can we revisit this topic some other time? I just... Think I need to be alone."

"A-Are you sure? We didn't mean to make you upset," Ace now felt terrible, though he knew that despite tender feelings, the three achieved a lot in such a little amount of time, and the mountain was already nearly cleared.

"It's not you guys, I just... Have a lot on my mind," Minty assured in the crackle of her voice, a vulnerable, tender side of her that no one had a front row seat to, it was something that both boys, and Balba, eagerly soaked in every second of.

"Alright, well... We hope you feel better," Ace gently called after her as she began to turn and walk away. She nodded and gave Ace and Nox a kind, appreciative smile, as well as a politely dismissive wave alongside Ace's warm words, "Y-You can message either of us any time, if you have questions or need to talk."

"... Well that went well," Nox grumbled in entire dismay.

"Y'think she has a crush on someone here?" Balba tenderly asked as Minty grew out of earshot, she lowered her head and relaxed a little.

"I don't know," Ace crossed his arms and watched as Minty finally reached the swooping, open-aired outdoor corridor, which eventually lead to the massive double doors of the North side's entrance and exit, "We already made this much progress, with just a single conversation... Who knows if she'll be the one to keep it going."


	17. Chapter 17

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Exactly :D I wanted the issue to emulate real life. People scoff at things that they don't understand, even if it's not hurting anyone.

 **CHICKENM4N :** LMAO I am alive right now oh my User.

 **Burgie :** Yes indeed! :) Thank you!

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Silver Comforts Jim by James Newton Howard (Treasure Planet Score)**

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 ***Chapter 17***

"I'm not sure how they're going to do it," Nox's masculine voice ever so softly carried on; him and Koko slowly meandered about the racer's, donut-shaped corridor, that hugged the code room. They head in the direction of the corridor's North entrance, one of which lead to the main courtyard, as well as a winding path that eventually lead back to Nox's and Koko's little tower abode. In the stillness just before everyone had gone off to sleep, the two had just left the palace's main kitchen, a long-overdue double date with Ace and Libby. Koko and Nox walked close in step, hand in hand, Nox finished his thought through a long sigh, "But, Ace seems to be coming into himself, thankfully."

"You can tell he's excited to be a dad, I think it's cute," Koko chimed in kindness, she tucked her long, wavy, chocolate brown hair behind her ear and relished in the warmth of Nox's hoodie, in which she proudly wore, one of which that had TurboTime's logo confidently labelled down her left arm in a stylized way, "I can't wait to cuddle more babies. I thought I'd be satisfied with Wren, Berri and Theo, but wow... Throwing in two more will just be icing on the cake."

"... What about a third?" Nox pressed with a coy smile as he eyed Koko in rising, boyish cheek, though the second Koko's eyes flashed to his in a sudden zip of stunned surprise, their tender little bubble was popped.

"Hey, Nox?" Minty called from her wing of the corridor, a massive archway that each racer had, and although Nox and Koko had nearly entirely passed her entry way, they halted their movements and eagerly peered in her direction. Minty was bashfully hanging out of her large double doors, her name was gorgeously engraved in the marble and stonework above her pristine white doors, the warm glow from her home eked out the peek of her cracked door. Her long, green hair was down and draped her shoulders in a damp show of preparing for bed, though the twinkle in her eye lead to suggest she still had energy left for one last conversation. She gently waggled her hand in uncertainty and gestured inside her welcoming home, "Can, uh... Can I talk to you two for a moment, in private?"

Nox and Koko remained frozen in uncertainty, and although Nox knew what this was likely about, he felt Koko's eyes peer up to him in a slew of thrown around confusion. Though Nox had filled Koko in on the conversation that him, Ace, Balba and Minty had had days prior, the both of them were absolutely certain that nothing was going to come of it, and it was due to be dropped and entirely forgotten about. Nox gently gripped Koko's hand, peered back to her and silently asked her permission to join Minty, strictly through eye contact. Something of which Koko appreciated, she bobbed a small nod and fell into the movement of turning around and slowly sauntering closer to Minty's wing of the palace. Upon closing their gap, Nox gave her a nervous smile and shrugged a little.

"Is, uh... Everything okay?" Nox pressed, though Minty opened her door a little wider and allowed for the two to step inside.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just... Would like to tell you something, I guess," Minty staggered, she tried to remain confident, though it was clear she was very nervous.

Once Koko and Nox slowly and apprehensively stepped into Minty's abode, they both got a good eye full of her place. Upon Minty softly shutting and latching her door behind the two, Nox and Koko's eyes dragged about in delighted surprise. Although each racer's wing was nearly identical in architecture and structure, each home was different in decor, furniture and style. Minty was clearly a very neat and tidy individual, one of cute minimalism, accents of mint greens, creams and soft coral pinks were abundant in her choice of wall art and decor. Each wing was in the style of a two story abode; a ground floor for living and a proper loft for sleeping, which over looked the first floor. Warmly lit with an array of different house lights, Nox huffed a small chuckle in humble amazement and glossed his eyes to her pearly white kitchen, as clean as could be.

"Wow, your home is beautiful," Nox complimented, to which Minty bashfully tucked her hair behind her ears and eased into the kitchen, cueing Nox and Koko to follow.

"Thank you, I... I keep it tidy in case anyone wants to come over, or what have you," Minty sighed, the small twinkle of despair hung in her eyes as she gently sagged to her smaller kitchen island with an equally as defeated shrug, "Really the only person that ever comes over is Torvald, though... Sometimes Jubi, even Libby has come knocking on my door, but... Whatever."

Nox held his tongue; he knew very well why she didn't have much of anyone over. Her bratty exterior made it nearly impossible to even understand that there could be a potentially doughy, warmer interior. Nox narrowed his eyes a little, tucked his hands lazily into his jean's pockets and exhaled a small sigh, and understood in this instance that all Minty needed was love. Her fear of anything abnormal came off in such a harsh and degrading way, Nox felt something softly tap him on the shoulder, reminding him that he was once an outcast himself, someone that no one cared to get to know, until someone, being Ace, took him under his wing. Nox nearly felt annoyed; of all people to softly scoop into his safety net, the last person he expected it to be was Minty. Nonetheless, he was well aware that he had a duty here, and he knew not to let the people that helped him, in his struggling past, down.

"I mean, Tessa comes by every other day, or so, to check up and have a chat," Minty rushed in smiling annoyance as she looked off, though she tread lightly due to being in Tessa's sister's presence, "But, she's the Queen, I think... It's sort of on her daily to-do list, is to make sure everyone's in good spirits."

"Yeah, Tessa checks up on all the girls, Zed for the guys," Koko relayed, solid inside information Minty perked up to with a gentle smile.

"Oh, so that really is a thing," Minty chuckled, she almost wistfully looked off, "I always wondered why Swizzle would keep saying that he got visited by Zed, but I never do."

"I think they may switch it up, every now and then, but," Koko shrugged and gave Minty a more relaxed smile and stance, "Would seem a bit odd if Zed was knocking on all the ladies doors and asking 'what's up', y'know?"

"User," Nox blurt a small laugh and shook his head, as if he hadn't even thought about it until Koko said something.

"Yeah that'd be weird, I guess," Nox concluded, though he sighed in the clear of the conversation and gave Minty a nearly nervous smile, "So, uh... What did you want to talk about? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine, I just... Have been doing a lot of thinking, since our conversation with Ace, the other day," Minty started tenderly, though in the break of her sentence, Koko gently cocked an eyebrow and remained frozen.

"Oh, the one where you thought Nox was going to beat you up?" Koko asked in such girly charm, it nearly didn't seem like a stab. Minty froze and now felt any bit of confidence wash flat to fear with the way Koko's sharp, agitated brown eyes hooked tight into Minty's; a proper show of Vanellope's bitey and more dominant side, it was clear that Nox had told Koko everything that had happened.

"Easy," Nox softly soothed in Koko's direction, he placed his masculine hand on the small of her back and gave her a small nod as they caught eyes, he silently thanked her through their intense eye contact, it was clear Koko was simply protective of the vastly misunderstood TurboTime boys, all of which were now her coded brothers and family alike.

"Yeah, that one," Minty snipped, though it was more in a show of collected, sorrowful defeat. She looked down to the kitchen island, inhaled a long, deep breath and tried her hardest to regain her composure. She shook her head and peered to Nox in a show of whole remorse, "I just wanted to apologize for... Well... Everything. How I've been acting, how rude I've been to Turbo. I know I've probably made you pretty angry. Both of you."

Koko and Nox remained silent and allowed Minty to carry on, it was obvious she likely had a lot to get off of her chest. Nox felt his heart begin to soften, the gentle sag of his crossed arms, he looked down to Minty's beautiful, white wooden top kitchen island and was thrilled to step into this conversation, once and for all. He knew it was only a month of torture for him, though for Vanellope and everyone else, it was years. He inwardly grimaced at said thought and finally dragged his eyes to Minty's in listening tenderness, they held for a moment, as if Minty was silently begging this conversation remain within these walls and nowhere else.

"You and Ace really got me thinking and... I guess I haven't been honest with myself, or with anyone," Minty pressed, the hesitancy in her voice was almost painful, "Ever since Vanellope swapped with Ralph, and then, well... Taffyta and Rancis joined on board the swapping train, and then Candlehead and Gloyd, it just started to freak me out. And then Vanellope had Tessa and I just shut down, I guess."

"Because you didn't know how it all worked? Or were, I guess, scared?" Nox pressed as gently and cautiously as he could, though he was elated that Minty nodded.

"I was so overcome with frustration... Everyone was pairing off so easily and it just was such a natural thing for everyone to do, and I was wondering why, well... Why..." Minty began to grow embarrassed, as if she suddenly realized what this conversation was due to unfold, and in the tender glance of her apprehensive gaze, she shook her head and peered hard into Nox's eyes with a wavering shiver of worry, "I guess why... No one..."

"... Was pairing off with you," Koko finished, as softly as she could; Minty heaved a gentle sigh, bobbed a nod and looked off as her face turned red in further embarrassment. Koko huffed a small giggle, crossed her arms and caught glances with Nox. Although she came into this conversation wanting to throw hands in Minty's direction, she realized all this anger stemmed from a very vulnerable point in Minty's heart, something she knew to be sensitive to. Koko's demeanor finally softened, and with such, she felt she should likely bring a feminine touch to this fragile conversation, "Well, certainly there's at least someone in Sugar Rush that you've been interested in, or vice-versa, right?"

"Yeah, there is someone," Minty sighed with a small smile of bashful reminiscing. She shook her head and barely glanced at Koko, as if revealing it was likely too much to bear, so she tip toed around it, "It's extremely irritating that he lives one door down from me and not once have we properly hung out, alone..."

Nox furrowed his brow, as did Koko, as they suddenly scoured, inside their brains, for the layout of the racer's circular corridor. They scrambled for just who was Minty's next door neighbor, the palace courtyard being on the other side of her wing, though the second the name hit Nox's brain, he softened his facial expression, peered to Minty in growing, cheeky delight and remained with his hands in his jean pockets, his posture frozen. He just barely tilted his head in a boyish side-eye, to Minty, and allowed his smile to grow in curious cuteness.

"... Malarkey?" Nox pressed warmly, to which Koko snapped her fingers in knowing, as if Nox had answered her question, for her, of just who lived next door to Minty.

"Mr. Malarkey," Minty stated through a long, annoyed sigh as her bashful eyes glossed her kitchen island, though Koko blurt a girly laugh of delight and gestured her hands in encouragement.

"W-Well, why don't you tell him how you feel? Why has nothing ever progressed between you two? You guys are always seen together, I mean... Anywhere in the palace you are, he is," Koko rushed, as if she was now excited to potentially get Minty a date, though she frowned once Minty shook her head and shrugged.

"I mean... Swizzle pursued me, a few years ago, but I... Rather harshly shut it down," Minty stated in whole regret, "I was just scared, w-we had always sort of liked each other, but I knew it'd eventually lead to swapping, and... The idea of losing my coding to someone else, for the rest of my coded life, just terrifies me."

"I'm not going to lie, here, it terrified me, too," Nox admitted as he glanced to Koko, who bobbed an equally as agreeing nod, as if her and Nox had had this conversation previously, "It's pretty nerve-wracking knowing your coding is meshed with someone else's for the rest of time, but... I guess we have the luxury of now four Users on our lot... As much of a slap to the face that'd be to Swizzle, you could always reverse it if you guys didn't end up staying together."

"But, on the other hand," Koko started as she waggled her finger in Minty's direction with a look of kind cheek, "If you've noticed... Every single partner, on this lot, hasn't split up. You practically consume the other person's coding, you BECOME the other person, internally. It takes a great deal of love to want to have your coding in someone else's hands for an eternity, but... To then be trusted with theirs, and have that mutual love be realized through the both of you? There's nothing quite like it."

"You won't want to reverse a bond so great," Nox smiled in assurance, the hope in Minty's eyes began to come back, "I mean... You pushed Swizzle away strictly because you were scared? You really like him, don't you."

Minty frowned and peered to Nox in such a way that showed a now overflowing amount of teary desperation, as if her best friend had very rapidly become something much greater over time, and due to her stubbornness, she had just grown accustomed to stifling every last ounce of desire, every urge she ever had, due to not being fully educated. She shook her head, as if to disagree with Nox's statement, though she narrowed her teary eyes and huffed a small, nervous giggle.

"I love him," Minty confessed quietly, to which Koko now stepped about Nox and closed the gap between her and Minty.

"Minty, this is GREAT," Koko hissed quietly in a show of girly excitement, having felt bad for being so snippy towards Minty, she was thrilled that all Minty's mean front consisted of was fear. Koko gently put her hand on Minty's shoulder and tilted her head the second Minty looked down in teary dejectedness, "You're literally surrounded by dozens of people who can help you overcome this fear you have... Er... Objection?"

"Fear," Minty corrected with a small shrug, she nervously glanced to Koko's eyes and was glad that her fiery, protective side had softened, "He asked me to be his girlfriend YEARS ago, but... Ever since I shut it down, we just are now best friends, but... Sometimes he tries to flirt with me and I just shut down and don't know how to handle it."

"He's trying to make the move and take the reins," Nox chuckled as he shook his head, "It's clear he's confident about it all, I'd say you should just enjoy."

"Nox is right," Koko assured with a nod, "It's definitely not something the whole of Arcade is entirely gung-ho about, but... I mean, look at the Arcade's Academies. Those places are full of faux-codes. They all came from swappers."

"I don't think anyone has sought Ace out, yet, for a code reversal," Nox looked off in contemplation, though Koko shook her head.

"I don't think really anyone, besides the people on this lot, know that Ace is a User anyhow," Koko volleyed, to which Nox shrugged and returned his attention to Minty.

"I'm glad we could at least get to the bottom of this, I know Vanellope's been stewing on this issue for a long time, now," Nox urged quietly, Minty guiltily looked off.

"Yeah, I... Caused her and Taffyta a lot of trouble, in the past," Minty confessed in gentle sorrow, she shook her head and furrowed her brow, "I didn't mean to be so nasty about it, I just... Was jealous. I had a suitor right at my feet but didn't want to let him in because, well... I was scared."

"Have you discussed this with Swizzle? What was your excuse for pushing him away?" Koko pressed, "If you don't mind me asking."

"I didn't give him a straight answer, and for whatever reason, he respected it nonetheless... He hasn't outwardly pursued me since, which, if I'm being honest..." Minty trailed off in now nearly smiling annoyance, though Nox blurt a laugh.

"Has only made your side of this situation worse," Nox continued to softly laugh, to which Koko stifled a small giggle alongside Minty's now wide and bashful smiling eye roll.

"It's whatever... I just thought I'd at least fill you in on exactly what was going on," Minty sighed as they all calmed down, "Just please don't tell anyone... I-I'm going to try and work up the courage to talk to Swizzle about all of this, I'm just not positive how or when."

"Well... We hope that when you do, things go smoothly," Koko shrugged, "Sorry for, well... Coming at you, like that. I'm just protective of Nox, and his older brothers... That includes Lash."

Minty froze and peered hard into Koko's eyes, a roll of gentle surprise, and although nearly every racer on the lot was wary of Turbo and up in arms about Lash, Minty froze and wondered if Koko's depth, her shared coding with Nox, could potentially reveal some things.

"... Really?" Minty pressed in tender disbelief, Koko bobbed a nod and glanced to Nox in a loving manner.

"Well, yeah. When Nox and I swapped, I obtained blips of all his precious memories and feelings he has for all of his older brothers," Koko laid her hand to her chest and smiled warmly, "All of these TurboTime boys are simply misunderstood... But they're all incredible, in their own right, and deserve our attention. Very hypocritical of me to care for Nox's outcasted feelings and let Turbo, Lash and Throttle just dangle in the wind."

"I guess I just don't understand cause I don't know that depth, that you do," Minty stated in a lilt of defeat, though as the room fell silent, Koko gently glanced down to Minty's hands and felt an idea come to the forefront of her mind.

"Well... Why don't I just show you, then?" Koko pressed warmly as she held her hand out, and although Minty peered to her hand in honest confusion, once the idea of it all hit her skin, she bashfully peered into Koko's eyes in a push of rising surprise.

"Y-You mean..." Minty staggered in a now very visible show of nervousness, something Koko cued to.

"Exterior swap," Koko chimed kindly, she shook her head and narrowed her gaze in a roll of royal sweetness, "I'm the daughter of a glitch, remember?"

"I-I saw Nox and Ace do this, yesterday, but... I didn't know you could really do it with someone who wasn't a glitch," Minty staggered, as if she was potentially trying to grasp for faltering excuses as to why they shouldn't follow through with this.

"As long as a glitch can tab in to their own exterior coding, exterior swaps can be done with anyone," Koko assured, and as she began to reach for Minty's hand in slow, apprehensive wondering, she kept her glitching abilities at bay until she got Minty's permission, "What do yah say?"

Minty nervously lifted her hand and allowed hers and Koko's grip to gently come together, amidst no amount of coding, just yet. Minty began to feel her heart rate accelerate in nervousness, strictly for the unknown, though she glanced into Nox's eyes and felt a strange peace. So many people on this lot had followed through with this nonsense, she knew it was safe, though she gripped Koko's hand in a last-minute spike of fear and nervously bit her lip. Amidst her rushing thoughts, she finally bobbed Koko a nod and bravely braced for whatever was to come.

With as much ease as Koko could, she allowed hers and Nox's incredible, berry-crimson honeycombs to swarm her palms, and with as much ease as simply opening a door, Minty's coding took like wildfire, as if she had been hoping to just be eased of this struggle, to put every single last one of her worries to rest. Minty gasped a small inhale, stiffened her spine and nervously began to pant through her nose as a weird wave of new coding soaked over hers, like a loving hand on her shoulder, a kind smile in her direction, just tiers and tiers of Nox's ancient coding mixed with Koko's fresh self-programmed coding, Minty's brain had a hay-day with all the information lofted at her, all at once.

Minty felt humility practically take her legs out from underneath her, and in the sweep of it all, she gripped Koko's hand and adjusted to everything that was lofted her way. A sheer amount of warmth, of love and an infinite amount of Koko's and Nox's shared, coded DNA eased into every single dusty nook and cranny of Minty's coding, causing the two girls to have a shared show of nearly neon-orange coding sprawled up their arms. A mess of glitch lines and honeycombs, Minty took in every single aspect of their love, their shared interests and behaviors all properly put on display, every single flash of Nox's memories from TurboTime, glimpses of Turbo from thirty years ago, an entire organized mess of nothing but family, Minty could swear the tears forming in her eyes were absolutely unstoppable.

"You're not just sharing your coding with another person and that's the end of it," Koko's voice was now on surround sound, in Minty's ears. Minty flinched as the tears rolled down her cheeks, a release of every single last worry ever laid on her, she squeezed Koko's larger hand in mild desperation, as if letting go would rocket her off of the planet, "You're sharing their memories, their grief, their happiness, flaws and traits alike. It's not just a union of circuits... You take everything you're made of and intertwine it with the one person you adore the most."

Minty was at a loss for words, soaked in every single last inch of assurance that this wasn't scary or wrong, that this territory was only for the brave and the strong of heart, and every single last thought put into this permanent action was beyond worth it. Koko huffed a small laugh and figured that she should probably unleash Minty, lest she'd be entirely overwhelmed. Koko softly ceased their exterior swap, and once Minty was released, she cupped her hands to her mouth in shock and sat in silence, nearly trembling at the final release of worries that had been haunting her for years. Nox and Koko both huffed apologetic chuckles, and before any words could be conveyed, Koko lovingly scooped Minty into a hug. With arms wrapped tight about Minty's shoulders, both girls soaked into each other for a moment of tender loving care.

"See? Not so scary," Koko assured, "You can thank my mom for starting this trend... If anything, they'd be able to give you the most information, about all of this."

"I don't think I'm comfortable telling Vanellope everything I told you guys," Minty meeped in gentle humility as she wiped her eyes. She inhaled a refreshed breath of air and shook her head with a bashful smile, "I-I don't even know how to deal with it, myself, just yet."

"It's fine... You can always message one of us if you have questions," Nox assured, to which Koko's eyes lit up.

"Or boy advice, I'm good at that," Koko proudly nodded, to which Nox rolled his eyes and bashfully looked off, amidst a nearly annoyed smile.

"She's not wrong, had me hook, line and sinker on the first day we met," Nox mumbled in only teasing dismay; both Koko and Minty laughed amidst the loving relief.

"I'd love that," Minty sighed as she looked down to her feet in a slew of rising gratitude, "I don't know where to start, but... Guess better late than never."


	18. Chapter 18

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** I'm glad you feel that way :D Any sour gumdrop here can be cracked. At least as far as the Schweetz/Kalivar clan is concerned lol

 **Snake557 :** I'm glad you think that! :]

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **The Deep South by Adam Young**

 **The Highest Step in the World by Adam Young**

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 ***Chapter 18***

"Dada," Zed's deep voice did everything it could to pitch to a cute tone of love that Berri could easily retain and adhere to. Her incredible blue eyes honed tight to Zed's face, a massive, gummy smile that sprawled her gooey, squishy cheeks, and with such, Zed couldn't help but easily beam back. He huffed an excited chuckle and just barely shook his head, "C'mon... Dada."

"Dada," Berri's adorable little voice stated with ease; although this simply wasn't the first time she had uttered this word, Zed could never get over it.

"Now how about... Mama," Zed encouraged, he cocked an eyebrow and gently began to gather some more of the warm bowl of mushed vegetables onto the little baby spoon he held.

"Dada," Berri now barked, her little chest expanded with a big inhale, and alongside a hard outburst of a giggle, she kicked her feet in her high chair and clenched her fists, "DADA!"

"Well... Now I know how you felt," Tessa grimaced with a hard chuckle as Zed finally spooned the food into Berri's mouth, she easily accepted and ate every single spoonful with glee. Tessa gently readjusted Wren, in her arm and against her hip, she lovingly began to tidy the white hair atop his head, "When Ace couldn't say 'dada' to save his life, I felt so bad for you... But now I guess I'm getting a taste of my own medicine."

"And, 'dada' is far easier for babies to say, I don't know why Ace skipped over almost every single baby's first word," Zed huffed a laugh, to which Berri was all smiles, in a good mood, a full belly and a bright, sunny day of opportunity. She was dressed in an adorable grey long-sleeved shirt, one properly ladened with a cute crown design right on the chest. Her vivid blue hair and eyes matched Zed almost exactly, as if someone hit the copy-paste on him. Zed finally peered to where Tessa was, comfortably stood at their tower's kitchen island, having a tender and loving conversation to Wren whilst she ran through a few things via a remote version of the code room, "Ah, well. Feels good, man."

"What was YOUR first word, Wren?" Tessa asked Wren quietly.

Although Wren was only about a month older than Berri, because aging is rapid and accelerated in the Arcade, Wren's Earth age would be two months, though he emulated that of a four year old. With Berri at just barely one month old, she was pushing that of a one year old. Wren peered up into Tessa's eyes with gentle glee, boyish cuteness, with solid white hair that mocked Taffyta and a whole entire facial expression that was all Rancis, Wren was a perfect dolloped mixture of both of his parents. Having Wren for the day, whilst Taffyta and Rancis were responding to quarter alerts, was a good way for Wren and Berri to have a good amount of bonding time, as well, and even more so when Theo was thrown into the bunch. Wren gestured his hand in an uneducated manner and gave Tessa a white, toothy and goofy smile.

"Tessa!" Wren fibbed, though Tessa playfully rolled her eyes and peered off to Zed, across the way; he furrowed his blue eyebrows in confusion and eagerly peered to Tessa and Wren, across the way.

"No it wasn't, silly," Tessa scrunched her shoulders and softly tickled Wren's belly; he blurt out in laughter and pushed on Tessa's shoulder in playful defiance, though let up once Tessa readjusted him on her hip, once more, "C'mon, my dude, what was it?"

"Berri," Wren eased bashfully as he honed his eyes for his baby second cousin, to which Tessa beamed.

"Which is so nice of you," Tessa concluded, though as Zed continued to feed Berri, he shook his head in gentle confusion and smiled.

"So weird to hear Wren flat out call you your name," Zed chuckled, Berri ate with enthusiasm and held her incredible eyes tight to her dad, "Not 'mom' or 'aunt' or anything attached."

"Why wouldn't he just call me my name? We're cousins," Tessa flatly argued, she gently pulled up the holographic screen she was previously working on, to which Wren's eyes hooked tight to the intricate details before him.

"I keep forgetting," Zed bobbed a lazy nod and shrugged, "Huh, Bear."

"Dada," Berri stated with confidence, alongside a loud blurt of other words, in which were entirely indecipherable.

"Lookie here, bud," Tessa's voice softened for Wren, she began to prod through a few options, "Now, we're going to check the status of all the babies that aren't born, just yet."

"Mara! Beaux!" Wren exclaimed with excitement as he flung his arm and hand out, and although he was close, his arms weren't long enough to grasp at any of the holographic information Tessa had out before her, a small beacon-point that rested on the kitchen island and properly displayed everything she cued up, in front of her.

"Yes, and we can't forget Balba's and Royal's baby, huh, remember his name?" Tessa cooed, she brushed the longer white hair out of Wren's face, once more, though Zed perked up.

"Wait, they picked a name for him?" Zed wondered in a small bout of feeling left out, he eyed Berri, gently spooned her some more food and continued to direct a proper display of puppy-dog eyes to Wren and Tessa, "What is it? I didn't know this, when did you find out?"

"Balba told me a few nights ago, I'm sorry, Bub," Tessa eased in Zed's direction, to which he shook his head and pleadingly peered to the two.

"What did they decide on?" Zed pressed, though Tessa smiled and peered down to Wren, as if to ask if he wanted to do the honors; Wren bashfully peered up to Tessa before throwing his arm up in delight.

"Chester," Wren exclaimed, to which Zed beamed a genuinely excited smile.

"Chester, I like it," Zed nodded, to which Wren and Tessa easily smiled in agreeing.

"Alright, my dude, so let's check on Beaux and Mara, first," Tessa pressed as she zoomed out on the lot of palace individuals; Tessa cocked an eyebrow and peered down to Wren in a quizzical way, "Can you tell me who their mommy is?"

"Libby," Wren stated with confidence, Tessa nodded and gently pushed her larger finger into the holographic button that was properly labelled with Libby's whole, Teltokuan name; something of which Wren couldn't read yet, anyways.

"Yes, sir. Who is their papa?" Tessa quizzed, once more, she pulled up Libby's stats and specifically honed in on the two, adorable little loading bars that read in positive confidence.

"Ace," Wren nodded, to which Tessa smiled again and followed through simple routines.

"Good job... Looks like both Beaux and Mara are doing great, both babies are at about seventy-one percent," Tessa pressed, she gently looked down to Wren and bobbed a nod, "Meaning, they'll probably be born in another month, or so."

"That's far," Wren stated, as if he was confident of his findings. Tessa huffed a small giggle and gave Wren's cheek a firm smooch as he continued on, "So what about Chester?"

"Let's see, here," Tessa pulled away from Wren's cute and cushiony face, she gently thumbed out of Libby's positive reading and came back to the board of hovering, mini code boxes. She bit her lip and scanned for Balba's, and upon finding it, she softly pushed her finger into Balba's box options, "Can you tell me who Chester's papa is?"

"... Royal," Wren uttered in a sag of not being so sure about his answer, he curiously peered up to Tessa and wondered if he was right.

"Good job," Tessa nodded, once more, though as she expanded Balba's options, she froze and felt her heart sink, "Let's... See what we got going on, here, for Chester."

"Yay, Chester," Wren called in delight, though Tessa held her breath and honed her eyes tight to the odd display on Balba's chart.

Tessa felt her pupils tighten in whole entire dread, and it was in this instance was she glad Wren couldn't read. Stamped in hot red were two exclamation marks, aside Chester's still loading bar. Tessa smiled and tried her hardest to seem lighthearted, for Wren's sake; he continued on about Chester's loading bar and pointed out obvious colors and marking inside Balba's code box, though once Tessa expanded on the angry notification marks, she felt her heart sink at the raw sight of a few things that weren't properly loading. In the tiers of functions that Chester, or any gamer, would need to survive and simply live, Tessa wholly frowned at the plain facts out in front of her. Although everything else read in bright green, confident and as clear as day, the two things that were absolutely refusing to load were Chester's eyesight and the ability to talk. Tessa urgently closed out of it, cleared her throat and cocked an eyebrow.

"Wow, everything checks out there, too!" Tessa encouraged to Wren, though Zed furrowed his eyebrows in hard confusion, as to why Tessa's tone was so strange; he quickly peered to her in a roll of dread and stopped spooning food onto Berri's baby spoon. Tessa huffed a small, nervous chuckle, jostled Wren a little and just barely glanced Zed a look of rising terror, "Chester will also be born within a month, or so... Just got a little bit of waiting to do, but it won't be long!"

"YAY! More friends!" Wren exclaimed in excitement as Tessa began to put Wren down, though he squirmed a little and began to hobble to the bathroom, "I-I have to potty."

"Okay, dude, let me know if you need help," Tessa called after him, knowing full well he'd likely be okay on his own, though was still also getting the hang of it and could potentially need an adult's help. Tessa heaved a trembling sigh, straightened her shirt and peered to Zed in a whole slew of sorrow. She shook her head and stepped closer to Zed as she rushed to reveal to him just what was going on, in a tight tone of whispering, "Chester's eyesight and ability to speak aren't loading whatsoever."

"What?" Zed hissed in a spike of gentle sorrow, though they both were glad Berri's babbling loudly continued on.

"I-I don't know what to do," Tessa gestured as she desperately peered into Zed's eyes, "We can try and reverse it, in the code room, and see what we can do, but... Otherwise, we're... Going to have to break the news to Balba and Royal."

"... Chester will be mute AND blind?" Zed whispered in a continued spike of whole sorrow, to which Tessa tucked her hair behind her ears, shrugged and looked off in a slew of dread.

"I was able to reverse your brain coding, or at least the majority of it, all those years ago, but... Just a small shred of it took forever," Tessa rushed, though she grimaced and peered across her home and in the direction of the hallway Wren had disappeared in; the toilet flushed, to which Tessa continued on even faster, "I-I can potentially do a reversal on retina and voice box coding, but, shit... That's going to take an entire eternity."

"You think Ace and Libby can do some User-magic?" Zed wheezed desperately, though Wren came confidently skipping around the corner.

"Tessy, the light in the bathroom isn't there," Wren's cute little voice trailed, though Tessa furrowed her brow and peered down to him in a rise of confusion.

"...Bulb must've burnt out," Tessa stated nonchalantly, though as her and Wren began to slowly saunter back to the bathroom, Tessa flashed Zed a desperate look of rising sorrow, to which he easily received and didn't know just how to box up.

* * *

"If you tilt your head sideways, it sort of looks like pac-man," Balba blurt; her, Boss and Marble were all haphazardly sprawled on their furry backs in the snow, smack dab in the middle of Sugar Rush's gorgeous, sprawling palace lot.

In the afternoon sun, the three lazily peered up to Sugar Rush's glorious, sun-kissed clouds with ease and delight. They were aware Lickity and Royal likely should be home any day now, though just which day, they were uncertain.

"Who's pac-man?" Boss pressed in gentle curiosity, though he tilted his head like Balba suggested.

"Y'got a lot to learn, my friend," Marble's telepathic voice floated into Boss's head, something that made his ears twitch, something he was certain he wouldn't get used to.

"We should take you on a tour of the Arcade, sometime," Balba stated with a sigh as she sagged deeper into the fluffy snow, of which clung to her feathers and fur in a frosty, dainty way.

"That one huge station we crossed, from Dead Zed?" Boss wondered gently as he now tilted his head to look into Marble's brilliant, turquoise eyes.

"Yeah, there are a few stations in Arcade we can take a tour of," Balba bobbed a positive nod and sighed in relaxation, though Marble inhaled a sharp breath and suddenly shifted, so to properly get to her feet.

"Incoming," Marble's motherly voice eased into both Boss's and Balba's minds, and in a nervous jolt, both beings tilted their heads up and peered across the palace lot.

In a lofty, silent glide, both Lickity and Royal slowly began to sag into the palace's gravity. Although the stretch was massive, the flight across the lot only took the flyers a minute or two. Boss nervously got to his feet, flattened his ears and knew this was the moment that he had been dreading for days now. He shut his eyes tight, wrinkled his nose and quickly did everything he could to shake the snow off of his pelt, like a dog freeing itself of water. Balba and Marble easily joined him, which caused the area to erupt in a splay of thinly veiled flying snow, in all directions. Although Balba barked a small laugh, due to the now settled chaos, Boss straightened his posture, tucked his wings tight to his body and tried his hardest not to show an entire display of defense.

Once Royal and Lickity were close enough, their silent glides brought them cleanly a few feet above the ground, and once the two caught the ground with their paws in a gentle gallop, that soon sauntered to a finalized trot, they eased their footsteps about a dozen feet from Boss, Balba and Marble. Boss desperately tried not to instinctively bare his fangs and let that urge of a deep, grumbling growl to be let loose. He knew both him and Royal could properly talk out their differences, however foreign that may be to Boss. The five beings stood in a collective show of still, curious silence. The females hung close and watched for a few moments, wondering if they'd eventually have to diffuse a fight that would erupt, though after a few moments of sensing only just mild tension, all three females sprawled their wings and delicately began to head in the direction of their enclosure, so to leave Boss and Royal their privacy.

As another cue to Boss that this situation wasn't nearly as tense as the last, Royal's posture was that of a non-threatening stance, even so much as putting his guard down to look over his shoulder and watch said three females softly glide away. After a moment of watching Lickity, Balba and Marble sag into the distance, Royal finally brought his attention back to Boss. A much heftier built male, Boss's stunning, vivid blue markings and eyes were entirely captivating. Royal got a good look at Boss and was now understanding just why his mother had fallen victim to Boss's call and demeanor; he was an entirely handsome creature, though the formidable look of tense nervousness in his eyes had Royal understanding that he likely should be the one to speak first, due to him previously being the one to sink his fangs into Boss's skin, all those days prior.

"I... Just wanted to apologize for lashing out at you," Royal's deep voice grumbled, he bashfully looked off, though it was his curt and tense demeanor that had Boss solid still in his defensive posture, "I shouldn't have reacted like that..."

"No harm done," Boss's much deeper, fatherly voice coat over Royal like a gloss of honey. Royal perked his ears a little, and although he wanted to fly away and forget this other male existed, he somehow felt drawn to Boss's secretive warmth, "Tessa reset me... I hope I got that term right."

"Yeah, that's right," Royal pressed with a nod; he was well aware Boss was strictly a wild creature, up until now, and all of these new, modern terms that were lofted at him were starkly different than what he was used to. Royal felt that fighting urge to set differences aside and potentially learn from a wonderful, skillful male from the wild of Dead Zed's jungles, though he knew his grudge likely would hold for longer, "My name's Royal... As... You probably already know."

"Boss," He volleyed in tenderness, though he just barely let a snarky smile peak through his demeanor as he shrugged and looked off, "I, uh... Accidentally named myself. I'm not THE Boss... Just a Boss... I guess?"

"Nice to finally meet you," Royal staggered as he desperately tried not to chuckle at Boss's little joke; due to wanting to keep Boss at arm's length, he shook his head, stiffened his posture and gave Boss cold, hard eye contact, once more, "Where have you been sleeping while I was gone?"

"Ace and Libby have kindly let me stay in their home," Boss flattened his ears and now delivered the same amount of coldness Royal was dishing; he knew both boys eventually had to find common ground before any proper amount of warmth were to be conveyed, "They knew it'd put you at ease."

"They're not wrong," Royal grumbled, he eyed Boss before he lofted his gaze across the lot, to where Ace's and Libby's gorgeous tower glinted rays of sunshine off of their bay windows, "You can remain there while the dust settles."

"... Y-You want me to keep sleeping in their tower?" Boss prod in confusion; it was in this instance did Boss feel the hierarchy of the lot begin to sway in Royal's favor. Typically, it was the older and stronger male that would put his foot down and make the rules, though Boss knew not to step on Royal's toes in this weird predicament.

"Was that not clear?" Royal wondered, his tone began to grow a touch sassier, something he desperately tried to rein in.

"I-It is, just... Making sure," Boss figuratively bowed to Royal's request; he knew he had to earn his keep, amongst Royal's fragile heart. He bobbed a nod and heaved a gentle sigh, "Glad you and Lickity are back. I guess... I'll see you guys tomorrow, then."

"We'll be hunting later, tonight," Royal started as he began to turn, so to sprawl his wings and head towards his proper enclosure, "We'll be sure to bring you back something to eat."

Boss sagged, he hoped that maybe Royal was about to invite him out for the hunt, though he was well aware he likely shouldn't have expected something so grand in these raw and fragile moments. Boss heaved a hot sigh through his nose, bobbed a nod of defeated understanding and frowned as he watched Royal softly sprawl his wings high, take off in a low flight and head straight for their enclosure, in the direction of Tessa's and Zed's loft. Boss frowned as he was left in Royal's poof of snow dust, he was well aware Lickity would likely come by and give Boss the lot of love he deserved, though he still wondered just when this rollercoaster would let up.

Royal gently glided low to the snow in a single loft of low altitude. He flattened his ears and honed his incredible eyes for a clearing near Tessa's and Zed's tower, on the ground. Once he reached it, he popped his wings open, caught air and slowly trot to the snow, once more. Once he slowed, he began to saunter into the clearing, a long walk to their usual napping spot that he hoped would give him time to mull things over. He shook his head and began to feel bad for being so cold to his mother's new mate. He was glad she at least understood the difficulty, though he was well aware guilt would eventually get the better of him, and letting Boss into their circle would become a new norm he wasn't sure he was entirely prepared for. Through a long, hot sigh that fogged his gravity, he pushed on, though he flinched the second Tessa's gentle voice was heard.

"Hey, Roy?" Tessa pressed through cupped hands; she stood outside of her little tower's main floor common room, the door hung open ajar.

"Yeah?" Royal blurt as he perked up, peered his eyes in his aunt's direction and halted his footwork, just before he vanished into the thick, jungle enclosure altogether.

"Can, uh... Can I see you up here, for a minute?" Tessa continued on in tender anxiousness, she tried not to seem too hesitant, though she was at least thrilled Royal caught on to her demeanor.

"Sure," Royal huffed gently as he altered his path and made a quick bee-line in Tessa's direction. He furrowed his brow and wondered if this had to do with his interaction with Boss, just now, though as he sagged into Tessa's common room of her's and Zed's tower, the door softly shut in a rise of dread, bad news Tessa wasn't totally prepared to deliver to Royal about his new cub-to-be.


	19. Chapter 19

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** You're absolutely right! He is a fantastic flyer, and an even better runner, due to his incredible hearing; gained from Lickity, no doubt, but super-honed due to his blindness. I'll leave spoilers out, due to his voice box, but he definitely gets on just fine :)

 **Snake557 :** Oh, many thanks. I have a bad habit of editing only once and then uploading LOL.

 **CHICKENM4N :** Poor beeby doggo. He'll be alright!

 **Burgie :** Too true! The whole lot certainly does love on all the new babies, no matter what~

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Last Day by Shallou**

* * *

 ***Chapter 19***

With a gentle zip of Tessa's and Royal's coding, they both were welcomed into Tessa's and Zed's foyer. A long, arching corridor, properly lit with sky lights, gorgeously glinted shadows of nearby jungle canopies desperately trying to avoid the snow, Royal always felt a peace about the King and Queen's tower. In a slow saunter, alongside Tessa's bare footsteps, the both silently eased down the corridor and hooked an eventual left, which lead to the single, massive swooping kitchen, living and dining room, equally soaked in evening sunshine. Royal perked his ears in a dollop of excitement the second he saw Berri's adorable little figure. She had recently learned how to crawl, and was now in the process of learning how to pull herself up to a stand.

"Berri babe," Royal's deep, excited voice bellowed into the room, and although a small baby would typically be startled by said massive beast that sauntered into the room, Berri beamed the widest, gummiest smile and held her little arms and hands up. Alongside a loud, excited scream of glee, she kept her arms up, as if to silently ask Royal to have him pick her up. Royal easily pressed into Tessa's and Zed's home, he approached Berri, who was in close perimeters to Zed, whom of which kept his tight, fatherly watch over Berri, though in the motion of a gentle scoop, Royal picked Berri up with his large chameleon paw and nuzzled his large bat snout into her tiny face, as tenderly as he could, "Little blue berry standing and doing things on your own, independent little sugar princess, you."

"She'll be off to Academy in no time," Tessa assured with a small laugh, to which Zed bugged his eyes in terror and shook his head.

"Too soon, too soon," Zed choked in a rise of nervous, teasing agitation.

"Huh, babe? Getcha an edumacation, thinger," Royal staggered as he flattened his ears and softened his demeanor for her, though she loudly wailed in entire glee and pressed her cute little wrecking hands to the broad of Royal's snout, he hovered Berri over his head and gladly allowed her to wail in his face, one of pure joy, "Make all the boy's jaws drop with that gorgeous, blue hair of yours."

"Iii do not want to think about this," Zed staggered as he slumped hard to the kitchen island, he pushed his face into his palms and teasingly groaned in impending dread, though Tessa blurt a laugh and watched Zed agonize over the thought of his baby girl pairing off with someone, "Maybe she'll hate everyone there and... I don't know..."

"Not find love? Not find a future King for Sugar Rush? C'mon, dude," Tessa huffed a laugh, though Zed largely gestured his hands.

"Ace is supposed to be the next King of Sugar Rush," Zed rushed in whole agitation as Royal and Tessa finally came about the kitchen island, though Tessa shook her head in gentle understanding.

"You and I both know that Ace and Libby respectfully don't want the crown... Similar to Oliver and Emery's respectful plight," Tessa gave Zed an apologetic smile, though she happily watched Royal and Berri have an adorable bonding moment, "I guess it's up to Berri... Whatever man she finds will eventually have Sugar Rush's crown."

"Doesn't that kind of fly in Turbo's face?" Royal loudly wondered, though Berri barked a huge belly laugh as Royal exaggerated his facial expression and went cross-eyed, "Turbotastic!"

"Wait, why?" Zed pressed in tender confusion, Royal softened his teasing side and gave Zed a warm smile.

"I don't know, I thought Turbo always was fighting for Sugar Rush's crown," Royal shrugged, "Poor dude runs the entire lot of Orion City and doesn't get a glimmering hope of the crown."

"I mean... He's Sugar Rush's Knight," Tessa shrugged, she gave Zed a small smile in a rise of girly, lilting curiosity, "He hasn't expressed wanting more."

"Poor guy just wants to be alone and make his own racing bike," Zed mumbled, though he raised his eyebrows in now exhausted remembrance and shook his head, "Which reminds me... I need to duplicate my parts for the poor guy, he's been waiting for days."

"I can see it now... King Turbo, Queen Berri, of sweet, sweet Sugar Rush in Litwak's Arcade," Royal stated dramatically as he expanded his wing and pretended to look off, he huffed another laugh as Berri continued to just wail with laughter. Royal wrinkled his nose and softly nuzzled his snout into Berri's giggling face, once more, "Okay, I know I'm funny looking, but c'mon!"

"Turbo and Berri?" Zed blurt with a hard chuckle, "Yeah, good luck with that. Poor guy isn't around enough, anyhow."

"I think it'd be cute, he's a good dude," Tessa quipped in nonchalant tenderness and a small shrug, she furrowed her eyebrows at the weird thought and shook her head, as if to rid herself of the strange pair, though she heaved a sigh and segued into just what she cued Royal's attention for, "There's... Something important I need to share with you, Royal."

"Is everything alright?" Royal blurt a small chuckle at his and Berri's shenanigans, though he eased everything once he finally cradled her close to his warm, scaly chest, safely tucked in his large chameleon paw.

"Yes, everything is fine, we... Just have a few things to, I guess... Warn you about," Tessa started in as tender of a tone as she could possibly muster, though Royal sagged a little and peered to Tessa in a sweep of oncoming dread.

"Did Boss do something while I was gone?" Royal immediately snipped in a heightened show of frustration, though Tessa nearly recoiled at the proverbial whiplash and largely shook her head.

"No, no, it has nothing to do with Boss," Tessa pressed in rising sorrow, she shook her head and now nervously began to pick at her fingers, "It's, uh... It's about Chester."

"... What's wrong?" Royal suddenly blurt in a huge show of now prominent despair, he shook his head and furrowed his brow as he staggered on in a now trembling tone of terror, "Did... B-Balba didn't miscode or anything, did she?"

"No, no... Chester is alive, he's doing okay," Tessa rushed to assure, though she shook her head and grit her teeth in a nervous way, "I... I was looking over all of the babies coding today and... It was revealed that Chester's voice box, alongside his vision, are refusing to load."

"... H-He won't be able to see or talk?" Royal wondered in continued terror.

"I can potentially reverse these things, but... I can't do it quick enough, before he's born," Tessa stated sorrowfully, though she began to feel her heart sink once big tears began to gather in Royal's gorgeous, golden eyes, "We'll have to wait until after he's fully grown to begin to toy with his coding... Cause while he's growing, it'll be impossible to keep up with the new data his coding will garner, as he gets bigger and bigger."

Royal shook his head in defeat and looked off. He sagged his shoulders and felt slapped with sorrow, and although he deflated, he kept little Berri securely tucked to his chest. He urgently brought his attention back to Tessa and tried his hardest not to be verbally overcome by outward tears.

"H-He's okay otherwise, though, right?" Royal's voice broke in lilting sorrow, though with such, Tessa felt her eyes begin to gather with tears, as well; she urgently nodded, hoping to bring Royal some positive news.

"He's perfectly healthy, otherwise," Tessa cleared her throat and tried to stay composed, Zed came alongside her and figured he should probably take the reins.

"We're thinking, that due to the sheer amount of different breeds Chester will be, his coding is having a hard time loading everything from each breed he is," Zed shrugged and gave Royal an apologetic look of tenderness, "He will still lead a wonderful life, and he will still be able to do mostly everything that everyone else can... Considering who his grandmother is, his hearing will likely override the need for eyesight, anyways."

"I-It can eventually be reversed, right?" Royal now outwardly allowed tears to fall down his scaly cheeks, to which Tessa gently pushed out of Zed's vicinity and rushed to comfort Royal in this difficult time.

"It can be," Tessa assured as she closed the gap between her and Royal. She lovingly gave him a hug about his broad neck, he sat hunched on his hind quarters and held Tessa with one arm, and continued to cradle Berri with the other, "We can certainly reverse his blindness... However, giving him a brand new voice might be a little difficult."

"How come?" Royal wondered sadly, as Tessa pulled away, she stayed close to Royal for comfort.

"Well... Even though he's born as his own individual, he will still be born without proper speech or a voice box," Tessa tenderly explained.

"No howling, no noises, NOTHING?" Royal refused to believe it, though Tessa shrugged and looked down.

"Maybe growling and grunting at the very least... Or purring?" Tessa frowned and shook her head, "We'd... We'd have to find him a voice box, from someone else, that we can use. One that's not already being used."

"Certainly... We can conjure up something, eventually?" Royal begged, and although Tessa and Zed were entirely uncertain, they bobbed nods of affirmation and hoped that this would at least get Royal through the night.

"I'm positive we can think of something," Tessa assured, her nose began to clog from the onset of tears, "Just... Wanted to keep you informed. He'll still be incredible, as is... Life will just look a little different."

"I-I... I'm devastated I won't be able to hear his first words, or anything," Royal's voice wavered once more, he desperately peered to Tessa and shook his head.

"You will, Roy, we'll... We'll make sure of it," Tessa pleaded with a nod of assurance, and although she was entirely unsure how to even hold up a promise like this, she knew it was her duty to eventually follow through, "It'll... It'll just be once he's fully grown, and it'll be a mature male voice."

"Weird," Royal finally blurt a small laugh, which encouraged Zed and Tessa to softly smile as well, though Royal shook his head and sighed a nasally sigh, "It's better than nothing... He'll be unique, but I wouldn't want anything more than him just by my side. I can't wait."

"It'll be interesting to hear his eventual first words," Zed smiled with a great deal of understanding, "I know it won't be exactly like how you envisioned, but... Rest assured, the silence and blindness won't be forever."

"It'll certainly feel like it," Royal frowned as he peered down to cute little Berri in his massive paw, whom of which was beginning to doze off, "I... I really have no idea how I'm going to break this to Balba."

"We can come with, if you'd like?" Tessa pressed in a tender show of curiosity, she was thrilled that Royal finally nodded after a moment of pondering.

"That'd be best," Royal concluded.

* * *

A few days had passed, Sugar Rush's unforgiving winter only just barely began to show the promise of an impending Spring. After a long, game day full of racing, the palace crew winded down after a large dinner and quietly began to retreat to their own respective wings and towers of the palace grounds. Although the majority of everyone had already gone off to sleep, Ace quietly kept to himself in the palace's main, sprawling kitchen. Silent with only the hum of the three futuristic refrigerators and freezers, amidst the kitchen's glorious, pearly counter tops and appliances, the only other sound present was Ace's gentle breathing. Amidst furrowed eyebrows, Ace diligently scanned through Balba's and Chester's coding via his own holographic, digital pad. Glorious tiers of lykata and dragon coding swirled together to form Chester's rapidly growing coding, and although Ace was doing well at navigating it all, he grew more and more stumped.

The main kitchen lights were off, only the gentle glow of the dim counter lights, underneath the white, pearly, towering kitchen cabinets gave the cold kitchen a warm glow. Ace knew he was better off doing his work in a place that wasn't his and Libby's own comfortable home, due to the potential of getting too comfortable and falling asleep on his work. Just as he figured he should probably wrap up his now futile prodding, he felt his ears prickle to the sound of the palace's main teleportation hub, a room just down a small corridor from the kitchen, and before he could take a guess as to who it could be, he furrowed his eyebrows in whole confusion at the sound of his baby sister's loud cries; she sounded as if she was in a lot of pain. Ace raised his eyebrows in a roll of terror, tore his gaze behind him, to the gape of the corridor, and before he could stand and see what was wrong, his mother and father quickly eased into the kitchen with Zed tightly holding Berri upright and to his chest.

"What's going on?" Ace rushed in a rising bout of continued terror, though with the way Tessa shook her head, looked up in an exhausted eye roll and gestured her hands in annoyance, Ace felt relief hit his golden honeycombs.

"Berri has a really terrible diaper rash," Zed mumbled, though Ace largely furrowed his eyebrows, amidst a grin of entire glee and took note that Zed's hair, although in the same style that he usually had it, was jet black; his Zane persona.

"Wait, can't we just reverse it through her coding?" Ace shook his head, as if to wonder why his parents, the very King and Queen of Sugar Rush's code, hadn't thought of that.

"I think mom keeps it in one of these cabinets," Tessa mumbled to Zed as she rushed into the kitchen and began to open and close nearly each and every single sleek, high cabinet, in search for what, Ace didn't know; Berri continued to wail in whole entire dismay.

"I know, baby, I know," Zed cooed sorrowfully as he rubbed Berri's back tenderly, he shook his head and softly eyed Ace, to revisit his tender inquiry, "I mean, we technically could, but... It's better if her body can learn to fight off these things on it's own. We did this with you, as well."

"If you constantly have the code room coddling you, for illness or blemishes your body can fight off on it's own, then your immune system won't be strong enough to endure Arcade life outside the safety of your home game," Tessa tenderly explained; she pulled a small vile out of one of the cabinets and wiggled it about, for Ace to see, "Your grandma Vanellope made this awesome diaper rash serum that I forgot to take with me to the tower, like an idiot... Remind me to share it with you when the twins are born."

"It's fine, we have it now," Zed grunted with a small chuckle, he hurried to swipe Rancis's hoodie, in which he had forgotten and left on the other swooping end of the kitchen island. Zed gently laid said soft orange hoodie on the cold counter tops and tenderly laid Berri on it, so she was cushioned. Berri nearly screamed and wailed in entire frustration, though Ace eagerly assessed his mother and father, he was floored at just how calm they were remaining, even in the face of Berri's ballistic screaming. Zed's gentle, fatherly voice glossed over Berri's tiny figure with a sense of honey-sweet protection, "Shh-shh, Berri-bear, it's okayyy."

"I guess that's a good point," Ace considered his mother's words, though he cocked an eyebrow and tried not to immediately notice something; Tessa was draped in Zed's large shirt, hair a mess. Zed was shirtless and wore a pair of black sweats that looked as if he rushed to put them on. Ace side-eyed his parents, who easily honed their entire attention to their newborn. Ace knew he likely should stuff his prodding questions for after Berri was done screaming, though he felt a wide smile easily burst forth as he tried to nonchalantly continue on, "So, you guys did this with me, growing up?"

"Oh, yeah," Tessa nodded and finally brought her attention to her first born as Zed's quick, precise hands unbuttoned the bottoms of Berri's onesie, undid her clean diaper and began to gently spread the serum onto her angry red rash. Tessa rubbed her forehead and long blinked, as if she was trying to collect herself and bounce back; from what, Ace was certain he could take a wild guess, "I mean, anything dire and we made sure to utilize the code room. Anything your body could've handled, though, we let play out."

"It's going to seem counter productive, but trust us," Zed bobbed a nod as Berri's screams now turned into gentle whines of needy sorrow, "You'll be grateful in the long run. Cause now, you can go to and from any game in this Arcade and handle any environment or foreign ailment tossed your way."

"Good to know," Ace bobbed a nod, though Tessa heaved a small chuckle and peered to her first born, as if she was maybe mildly embarrassed and didn't expect anyone to be in the kitchen, right now.

"So, how are you," Tessa stated in a teasing show of forced nonchalance; Zed and Ace shared a small laugh, to which Ace cocked an eyebrow and knew now he could deploy all of his teasing inquiries directly to his father.

"Uh, I'm doing great," Ace blurt a laugh as Zed finally cleaned Berri up and brought her whimpering figure back to his chest, in an upright position; she buried her face into Zed's bare shoulder and continued to whimper in adorable neediness, "You two uh... Get interrupted role-playing, or something?"

Tessa huffed a small giggle, tucked the back of her larger hand to her mouth, looked off and bashfully eyed Zed, who sport his very sleek persona; black hair that was lightly ruffled. Zed sagged his shoulders and narrowed his eyes to Tessa in a rising show of embarrassed cheek. He shook his head and shrugged his muscular, masculine bare shoulders.

"Y'know, not even an 'oh, change your hair to blue before we go to the main part of the castle where ANYONE could see us'?" Zed directed to Tessa, to teasingly insinuate that this was her fault.

"Yeah, dropped the ball, there," Tessa admitted with an extremely shy giggle as she sagged her larger hands to the island, looked down to her feet and raised her eyebrows in girly, embarrassed delight.

"What is it with the black hair, then? I don't understand that," Ace rushed with a hard laugh as Zed smiled and looked off, his black hair glistened a little, from the warm cabinet lights.

"During the whole 'Radex' fiasco, Zed constantly operated under a different persona, so no one would know he was Zed," Tessa rushed to explain as she shook her head, and although they looked as if they were disheveled and potentially excited to get back to their love nest, so to continue with their shenanigans, they were almost relieved to break away and enjoyed slowing down a little, even though it was entirely Berri's fault, "I actually met your father when he was strictly disguised as Zane."

"You looked like this, though?" Ace inquired with a wide smile, though Zed shrugged and looked off.

"Zane was a lot more gangly," Tessa loudly blurt a laugh, to which Zed finally beamed a bashful smile and glanced into her eyes, "You had a cool loft at the edge of Swillah village, right at Dead Zed's entrance. You surfed, you taught me to dance... We even had our first kiss under your disguise."

"Whoa, I didn't realize it was something that ran that deep," Ace softened his teasing notions and now knew not to take this little desire of theirs lightly, "I thought it was just something different and fun."

"Ho, no. I knew Zed as Zane for about a month, or two, before he... VERY warily, revealed to me that he was Zed," Tessa rushed, to which Zed shrugged and shook his head.

"Everyone hated me, I enjoyed being liked whilst I was Zane, I got caught up in it," Zed complained playfully, he gave Tessa a loving smile and shook his head, "I'm just glad Tessa took the news like a champ."

"So, now you're reliving the good 'ol days," Ace crossed his arms, sat up a little straighter and eyed his parents with great cheek, though Zed gave Ace a coy look of understanding.

"Son, I'm going to say this to you, man to man. Take a mental note of this," Zed grumbled, and although Tessa was present, he continued on and gave Ace a knowing, stern look of bashful, dominant cheek, "The second your children are asleep, and you have even a little bit of energy, bow to Libby's requests."

"So, this was mom's idea?" Ace began to loudly laugh, Tessa joined him in further embarrassment and covered her face.

"So I like a good throw back, SUE ME," Tessa blurt; all three beings were in stitches.

"I guess that's reassuring," Ace sighed as he looked down to the hologram he was previously prodding at, "I was worried that having babies would mean romance would sort of slip to the back burner."

"I mean... It does, sometimes," Zed shrugged, him and Tessa both peered into each other's eyes with gentle inquiry, "But, it takes two to keep it all alive, no matter what. It's easier once there isn't a crying baby in the room over, but... You do what you can. Clearly."

"Here, I'm going to go back home and put Berri back down," Tessa stated quietly, she could tell that Zed and Ace weren't quite finished talking, and due to Zed's 'man to man' comment, she wondered if Zed could potentially instill some wisdom into Ace's forever uncertain demeanor, man to man, like they maybe subconsciously wanted.

"You sure?" Zed worried gently, he began to ever so softly transition Berri over to her mother; Ace eyed his mother and father, their wedding rings prominently glistened with the glint of said comforting cabinet lights.

"Yeah, hopefully she'll be asleep by the time you get back," Tessa assured hopefully with a nod as she began to softly peel from both boys, she smiled back at Ace with a show of undying love, to her first born, "Love you, bud, see you tomorrow."

"Love you, mom, g'night," Ace tenderly volleyed as she finally vanished, though he huffed a gentle sigh and gave his father a cheeky smile, "Honeymoon phase never died, then?"

"I sometimes think about that," Zed crossed his arms over his muscular, broad chest. He heaved a satisfied sigh and gave Ace a look of gentle humility, "I don't think your mother and I ever left the honeymoon phase. Even back when we were just dating... I, too, was worried that having you would sort of halt production, in the romance department, but... It just keeps barreling forward. Not that I'm complaining."

"Seems like you have this marriage and babies thing all figured out," Ace huffed a compliment, though he peered down to the holographic display in a gentle slump of inner dismay, towards himself, something Zed tenderly cued to.

"... I wouldn't say I'm an expert, son," Zed breathed a small chuckle and furrowed his brow, he was well aware his first born was a brooding, quiet and tender-hearted individual, though he was also well aware that Ace responded exceptionally well to Zed's prominent, fatherly care, "You nervous about what yours and Libby's relationship will look like after the twins arrive?"

"I guess... Not so much in terms of romance or anything, but... I'm glad I had those few days with Berri, alone with Libby, cause I was able to see just how she operates as a mother," Ace pressed, though Zed shook his head in tender confusion.

"I think she does wonderfully, are you worried?" Zed wondered, though Ace huffed a small chuckle and shook his head, as if to berate himself.

"She's just... So carefree, she treats these twins as if they're going to go on grand adventures and... We're going to do ALL these exciting things RIGHT when they're born, like go to EZ Living and Dead Zed," Ace rushed to carry on, though Zed furrowed his eyebrows in further confusion and allowed Ace to get it all out, "I mean, dad... Anytime she took Berri out of your's and mom's tower, I about had a panic attack."

"Well, why? They're children, not glass bubbles," Zed choked a small laugh and began to wonder if this predicament was now caused due to Ace's extreme caution.

"She's talking about taking the twins, right after they're born, to Dead Zed," Ace explained, the look of worry in his eye made it clear he had been struggling with this for awhile, "I feel bad trying to put my foot down and say a big 'hell no', but... She wants to do it for the reasons of Teltokuan tradition. Each Teltokuan baby gets a proper Teltokuan tattoo mark on the bottom of their heel to represent their roots."

"Well, I don't see why that's a huge deal... Mom and I will go with, and I'll code them to Dead Zed immediately," Zed shrugged, and although Ace looked as if he was comforted by Zed's notions, the look of worry still hung in his eyes.

"I express concern and disagree with a lot that she suggests," Ace worried, he gently shut the holographic display, of Chester's coding, and shrugged, "I-I... I worry that I'm not good father material, or... Husband material."

Zed smiled and gently lofted Ace a look of entire longing. How wholly false Ace's words were had Zed nearly beaming with just how adorable Ace's continued innocent mind ticked. Zed heaved a hard sigh through his nose and looked down to the palace kitchen's glossy island's counter top, and although both men were silent for a minute, Zed collected Ace's words and put together a puzzle-picture in his mind, something that he could show Ace and have his fragile heart fully understand.

"Ace, your solution to a simple diaper rash was to fix it in the code room," Zed blurt a small chuckle, to which Ace now sank into himself and began to understand that he maybe wasn't as centered as he thought, "We have the luxury of reversing ailments and treating little things with the code room, but... It's definitely sheltered you, growing up. You need to allow your children, as well as Libby, a little breathing room. Libby didn't really grow up with the luxury of a code room, so all of her ideas and reactions to life, and what that should look like for your children, are absolutely normal."

Ace raised his eyebrows in plucked surprise and was somehow relieved this problem lied with him, and not Libby. He understood it was easier for him to come out of his shell, as opposed to stifling his beautiful, Teltokuan princess, the passionate firework she was. Ace sighed through his nose and looked down to his large hands, though his ears pricked as Zed gently began to round the island and join Ace. He put his fatherly hand atop Ace's shoulder and squeezed in a draw of love and understanding.

"You're going to make a fantastic dad," Zed assured, he teasingly jostled Ace a little and cocked an eyebrow, "I should know. I raised you. Diaper rashes and all."

"You didn't fix those in the code room, when I was little?" Ace wondered, once again; Zed snorted a laugh and gently shook his head.

"It didn't even cross our minds," Zed laughed a little louder, Ace sagged his shoulders and began to feel a little better, "You have to take risks, you have to trust your mate... You can't shelter your children from every single little thing. You want them to grow up strong-willed and ready to face the real world, sans code room."

"I guess, looking back, you didn't really spoil me much with the code room," Ace shook his head and allowed his tired gaze to look off, "I don't know why I just... The second she told me she was pregnant, I just..."

"You'd jump in front of a moving train for your children, outside of your own game, no questions asked. You'd take a bullet for them, you immediately understand that you'd do absolutely anything to protect them from harm, right?" Zed pressed, Ace bobbed a nod and now peered his nervous gaze up into his father's sweet, dominant blue eyes, "I'm in that same boat, as you... And now I have my own kryptonite, cause I already felt this feeling with you, but now that I have a baby girl... Man, it's like... I'm in huge trouble."

"I'm glad we both can now at least confide in each other, when it comes to THAT," Ace blurt a chuckle as his heart surged with the idea of his precious baby girl, Mara, who was well on her way to being here shortly.

"I'm always here for you," Zed gently jostled Ace's shoulder, "Allow Libby a little free rein. These are her children, as well, and her customs are extremely important to her. It may make you a little uncomfortable, but you have a whole team behind you who is willing to make these experiences easier to endure."

"Thanks, dad," Ace bobbed a nod and heaved a gentle sigh of relief, though he felt his heart race the second Zed narrowed his fatherly gaze in a side-eye of impending inquiry.

"... You mentioned something about not being husband material," Zed gently prod, hoping Ace would finish the sentiment, and much to Zed's delight, Ace sighed and looked off with a bashful grin.

"Y'caught that," Ace mumbled, to which Zed jostled his shoulder, once more. Ace blurt a gentle laugh and gave his dad his honest, sweet hazel eyes, "I'm going to ask Libby to marry me shortly after the twins are born."

"Your mother is going to do a backflip, with this news," Zed erupted with a small laugh as he now lovingly brought his arm about Ace's shoulder and tugged him into a small hug, to which Ace gladly reciprocated, "Great news all around... You just let me know if you need any help getting a ring, or anything, okay?"

"Thanks, dad," Ace sighed with a smile of gentle relief, though as Zed softly began to step away, he pointed in Ace's direction and gave him a knowing look.

"We can talk more about how you think you're not husband material, and how wrong you are about that notion, another time," Zed teased, Ace turned to face his dad, on the bar stool he sat on, and gave Zed a look of knowing cheek. Zed pointed back to Ace and dorkily sauntered off in the direction Tessa had left in, "But for now, Zane's got a hot date with the Queen of Sugar Rush."

"Wow, how did he manage that?" Ace loudly teased, Zed very largely shrugged his arms up in the air and shook his head as he continued to disappear down the bend of the corridor.

"I ask myself that question every single day!" Zed concluded with a boyish laugh as he vanished, once and for all.


	20. Chapter 20

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** True xD I guess we can blame Berri for this go-around.

 **Snake557 :** Aw, thank you! It's something I strive for, with my own little future family! Thanks friend :)

 **CHICKENM4N :** omg :( That just made my entire day. You really mean that? Thank you!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Feels Like Home ft. Kent Jones by Sigala**

* * *

 ***Chapter 20***

"Sh-shh," Theo put his larger wrecking finger over his mouth, he eagerly peered back at Berri through his vivid, emerald green eyes, he obnoxiously dangled from the railings of the narrow spiral staircase that lead upstairs to Berri's bedroom, "I think they're on to us."

"How can you tell?" Berri whispered, her shoulder length cerulean blue hair dangled as she, too, was hanging from the banister of said stair case. Sunlight glinted down in a pattern of speckled, jungle canopy shade.

"They go quiet," Theo hissed in a louder whisper, though he readjusted his grip on the white, metal railing and tried not to make any noise.

"How are we going to sneak to the kitchen without them seeing, peasants!?" Wren pushed in a loud whisper; he waggled the pointing stick about, in his hand, and shook his head, "Your King is not pleased."

"We'll get the cookies, we just... Have to crawl, maybe," Berri wondered, she shrugged her little shoulders through her coral pink tank top.

The three younglings had been politely asked to play in Berri's bedroom, quietly, whilst Tessa, Zed, Ralph, Vanellope, Rancis and Turbo had a proper palace meeting in Tessa's and Zed's glorious gathering area, just beyond the kitchen and living quarters. All six adults stood about the hips-high table, it was a perfect square, twelve feet in all directions. Above said glossy white table was Tessa's and Zed's proper extension of the code room, all opened and displayed with sensitive information, and as all of the adults in the group talked about a becoming-serious matter, the cute children on the stairs banister had not a single inkling of said importance. Due to their mischievousness, and the ability to feed off of each other, they garnered the brilliant idea of sneaking into the kitchen, after two times of Rancis and Zed diligently reminding the children to play upstairs in the meantime, and properly warning them that the third time asked wouldn't look pretty.

"You think Auntie Tess will let us have some cookies if we don't sneak them first?" Theo wondered, though he largely flinched as Berri sharply shushed him, due to him speaking out of a whisper; they were thankful the adults didn't hear them.

"Maybe, if we're quiet-" Berri was suddenly cut off due to losing her grip with the banister, and from about a six foot drop, she squealed a hard, giggling scream and fell to the tiling underneath.

All at once, Wren and Theo loudly erupted in wails of exhausted laughter, and as Berri choked out a groan and a bout of joined loud laughter, as well, she grunted in cheeky dismay, got to her feet, brushed her hands off and cheekily grinned up to the two boys on her staircase. In the rush of forgetting that they needed to be quiet, she largely shook her head, waggled her pointer finger up at the two boys and inhaled a deep breath, to begin berating both boys, though before she could even utter words, a Queenly voice dominantly soaked the corridor in which the children were lightly sunk into.

"Ms. Berri Schweetz Kalivar," Tessa called, and although her tone wasn't inherently mad, all three children froze in a shock wave of terror and remembrance, "Alright, kids. Front and center."

Berri bugged her eyes in terror, as did Theo and Wren, in whole entire frozen shock. Theo looked the least terrified, due to his parents not being present, though Berri and Wren both looked washed with cute, child like fear. In a stumbling, nervous mess, all three children slowly stepped out of the stairwell, eased down the corridor with cute bare feet and light, spring time clothes, their faces sloped in a dollop of innocent worry. Berri nervously tucked her larger hands to her chest and felt the height of every single adult practically cave over her little 'five-year-old' self. All eyes were on the kids, though Berri felt a wave of fear roll over her with the dominant, uncertain and rather cheeky and smiling stare-down Turbo was giving.

"C'mere," Tessa's voice, although soft and tender, held a stern bite. Berri frowned and, although she knew she was in trouble, she beamed her mother a sheepish smile and hoped that somehow she could schmooze her way out of getting a verbal butt-whoopin. Though, much to her dismay, Tessa gently squat down to Berri's level, hooked Berri's chin in her much larger finger and held tight eye contact, "You remember what your father and great uncle Rancis told you ten minutes ago?"

"I... Think maybe..." Berri looked off, although she was in trouble, she disguised her fear in a fantastic show of nonchalance, a bratty, girly exterior that both Zed and Tessa had an impossible time navigating, due to being used to Ace's sweet and honest disposition, as a child.

"Look in my eyes, what did your father tell you?" Tessa's voice grew more stern, which had Berri nervously snapping to attention.

"Not to leave my bedroom," Berri's voice now wavered; as diligent and stubborn that her bratty side was, she was still young enough to cave almost immediately, especially in Tessa's Queenly presence.

"You three have the entirety of your bedroom to run around and play and be loud," Tessa stated firmly, and although her voice was quiet and directed right to Berri, her entire palace meeting group had a front row seat to Tessa's parenting, "You need to set a good example, and stay in your bedroom for the small time we need for this meeting. We gave you kids leeway and let you have some free reign. Do you want us to call you three a sitter?"

Berri frowned a look of now rising anxiousness, the fact that all adults had their eyes on Berri and Tessa. Rancis had quietly called Wren and Theo over, so to quietly give them the same warning that Tessa was giving Berri. Although Berri was younger than Wren and Theo, Tessa made sure to hold her to the standards of her own home, to set a good example to her cousins and obey. Berri's wavering blue eyes nervously glossed past Turbo and hooked tight to her dad, as if to silently beg for help, though much to her dismay, Zed cocked a blue eyebrow and gave her the same, stern, authoritative vibe Tessa was giving.

"I warned you, my babe," Zed grumbled, he shook his head and blurt a small chuckle, to which Ralph and Rancis finally eased knowing smiles.

"We're not going to be much longer, but I need you to obey and play upstairs for the meantime," Tessa patiently and sternly requested of Berri, who now was successful in garnering big tears in her gorgeous blue eyes, due to all the attention on her; although Tessa tried to keep their little conversation private, she continued on, "One more time and we're going to send Wren and Theo home, and you will go down for a nap. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," Berri whimpered as she finally crumpled to tears, she grimaced a small noise and rubbed her nose in agitation, though Tessa sagged her shoulders and finally eased a gentle smile.

"You're having a lot of fun, huh," Tessa almost whispered, to which Berri nervously nodded and peered her wet eyes into her mothers, and much to her relief, Tessa heaved a hard sigh and lovingly scooped Berri into her arms.

"I remember disrupting many a castle meeting with your uncle Oliver and Penny," Tessa grumbled as she finally stood and lugged Berri into her arm and hip, with one arm. Berri tucked her wet face into the top of Tessa's shoulder and remained entirely bashful as the group of adults softly chuckled with knowing.

"We weren't so easy on you, either," Ralph shook his head, Vanellope largely rolled her eyes and tucked her hair behind her ears as Ralph eagerly peered to her, "I remember one time resulted in a spanking."

"It was the one time where Oliver kept daring Tessa to knock on the Hull's wall," Vanellope huffed a laugh, to which Rancis bugged his eyes and gave Ralph and Vanellope a knowing smile of remembrance.

"I'd never seen Tessa so terrified to be in trouble," Rancis grunted a laugh, to which everyone easily joined him, Tessa rolled her eyes and glanced in her mother's and father's direction.

"I remember that... Hooo mom was pissed," Tessa grumbled as she readjusted Berri on her hip.

In tender inquiry, Berri finally peeled her face from the nook of Tessa's neck and shoulder, and in doing so, she remained tucked tight to Tessa's motherly care. Although her face and head was still successfully sunk into Tessa's neck and shoulder, her eyes gazed across the broad of Tessa's collar and bashfully hooked with Turbo's. In a shiver of terror, Berri shrank into herself and could feel Turbo's intimidating, creepy, golden gaze hook to hers in a show of forced laziness and un-intimidating disposition, his haunting square pupils, although matched Nox's and Throttle's much more welcoming gaze, was something new and unique for Berri to worry about. Although she had time to get used to Nox's and Throttle's creepy gaze, and had come to know and love them in their own right, Berri was especially wary of Turbo, the only one of TurboTime's boys that was hardly ever around.

"Alright, Bee," Tessa grunted, though just as she went to unlatch Berri from her, she could feel Berri grip to her in a show of terror. Tessa grunted, tried to peer down to her, and diligently followed her line of sight. She could tell that her and Turbo were having a bit of a wary, silent greeting, due to the two never being properly introduced before. Tessa lofted her gaze to Turbo, who raised his eyebrows in dewy, collected surprise and sagged into himself, "Y'okay, Bear?"

Berri didn't answer verbally, though only with a tender, nervous shrug as she remained entirely latched to Tessa, though with this, Tessa chuckled and jostled her a little.

"You remember Turbo, don't you? He's Nox's big brother," Tessa reminded; she was aware that Berri was extraordinarily terrified of all of the TurboTime's boys eyes, due to how mysterious and otherworldly they looked, though she was certain Berri was past this, "He's not gunna bite you, Turbo is one of Sugar Rush's Knights, much like your great uncle Rancis. Remember?"

Berri nodded softly and kept her entirely curious, though still wary, gaze tight to Turbo's continuously sinking demeanor. He tried his hardest to come off as non-threatening and as un-intimidating as he could, though he knew nothing could help his creepy gaze.

"Say hello, don't be shy," Tessa uttered quietly into the top of Berri's head, and alongside this, she gave the top of Berri's head a gentle smooch.

To break the ice, Turbo softened even further, gingerly waved his fingers a little, and so not to seem too forced or intimidating, he just barely let his teeth peak through a tender smile. With this, Berri's eyes showed a little bit more confidence, and with Turbo's little act of bravery, Berri gingerly waved and uttered him a kind, albeit girly and shy 'hello'. Tessa gave Turbo an apologetic smile, shook her head and silently conveyed to Turbo that she was just overcoming a fear, to which Turbo politely shook his head and conveyed that Tessa had nothing to worry about.

"Alright, babe, please... PLEASE stay upstairs for just a little longer," Tessa grunted as she swung Berri down to the ground, set her free and urgently grappled for Theo's hand, as he ran by. Theo blurt a hard laugh, jolted and peered up to his aunt, though much to his surprise, Tessa yanked him into a strong hug, firmly smooched his cheek and blew a raspberry on his skin. He hollered in laughter and squirmed, though once he was finally free of Tessa's grasp, Tessa playfully began to swipe at Wren, who successfully got away, all three kids were a giggling mess, "Y'guys are going to be going with dad and grandpa to EZ Living after the meeting, so get your suits on."

"YAY!" All three kids hollered in a spike of excitement, though Berri stepped a little closer and peered her girly eyes up to her mother.

"Mom are you coming too?" Berri begged, to which Tessa gave her an apologetic smile and shook her head.

"No, me and your grandma have some work to do, here," Tessa explained, "You'll be going with the boys and the flyers. You'll have fun."

Berri raised her eyebrows at the word 'boys', to which she lumped every single male, on the palace lot, into that notion. Even though it was just Ralph, Zed, Rancis and Nox to be joining on the EZ Living trip, Berri bashfully glanced to Turbo and wondered if he would be joining as well. In an act of the utmost bravery, Berri broadened her spectrum and was now certain that Turbo was in on all of the fun.

"Is Turbo coming?" Berri politely asked, though with this, Turbo raised his eyebrows in a pang of mild, inquiring surprise, though he huffed a small chuckle and glanced to Ralph with uncertainty.

"No, baby, Turbo probably won't be joining, he's uh... He's got some plans after this meeting," Tessa gave Berri as polite of an answer as she could, though Berri frowned and accepted her mother's answer, Tessa was proud that Berri at least came crawling out of her comfort zone, a little more. The kids began to finally hustle towards the corridor in which lead to Berri's bedroom, "Y'guys go get ready, I'll come get you when the meeting is over with."

"That was nice of her," Zed volleyed to Tessa, he eyed Turbo and shrugged, "If y'ever feel comfortable leaving Sugar Rush, you can count Berri in on the multitudes of people who'd want you to join in on the fun and protect you, in the process."

"Means a lot," Turbo mumbled with a grateful smile as he looked down to his hands in a rise of cute uncertainty.

* * *

In EZ Living's incredible, spring time breeze, the group of Sugar Rush beach goers were diligent in finding a spot away from the crowds and hoards of people eager to get that slice of EZ Living sunshine. Tucked away in a sunny cove of wading pools that met with EZ Living sands, as well as the potential for crashing waves, Ralph, Zed, Nox and Rancis lay lazily in EZ Living's sunshine, all while keeping a diligent eye on the three younglings that splashed in the shallows nearby. Lickity, Royal and Boss also joined the beach crew today, no matter how hesitant Boss and Royal were about it. They knew they'd have to break the ice eventually, and getting out and doing activities was a cure all.

Boss flinched in a recoil of surprise, suddenly jolted from his nap, his massive blue eyes rolled from the back of his skull, the void of his enlarged pupils immediately shrunk with the hit of EZ Living's sunshine, in which splayed across his face. With a startled inhale, and the fight or flight instincts that still hung tight to his scales, he froze, took in his surroundings and was reminded where he was. He exhaled a hard, long sigh of relief and gently sagged back to the hot, black rock in which he lazily slept on, though the very noise, that woke him up, sprung once more, causing him to flinch and fixate his gaze in the direction of the noise.

Although it was packed with power, Royal clumsily hovered over a shallow pool of clear water and was unsuccessfully trying to fish. With another loud pang, he sharply threw out his long chameleon tongue with a pop, and as the fierce speed split the water in half and popped like a jolt of lightning, he was still failing at catching any fish, with this method. Boss resisted the urge to ignore Royal and fall back asleep, though he diligently kept his mature eyes honed tight to Royal, a curious show of just how Royal went about things, such as hunting and fishing. Royal was a more than capable being, though for his sheltered, palace lifestyle, it was clear he likely needed to learn a thing or two, when it came to his wild, animal side. Boss eyed him in contemplation, though the seventh time Royal flashed his tongue down into the water, at lightning speed, and was continuously unsuccessful, Boss finally inhaled a readied breath and got to his four feet.

In a slow saunter over to Royal, he was uncertain how to approach this tender situation, though with able paws, he finally lowered his head and neared the massive span of Royal's shallow, which was about four feet deep. Boss's large clawed paws hung to the edge of the shallow, his incredible blue eyes scanned the school of fish Royal was desperately trying to fish from. With one, final pang of Royal's tongue, water viciously splashed back to his face, as if to prove that he was ultimately failing, once and for all. Royal grunted an annoyed noise, sagged his wings and finally acknowledged Boss's presence with a simple gloss of irritated eye contact. Boss cleared his throat, did everything to prove his good intentions and lowered his ears, to show he wasn't asserting dominance here.

"You mind if I help out, a little?" Boss pressed warmly, his fatherly voice coat Royal's with love, and although it was clear Boss was desperately trying to mend the gap between him and his mate's son, he still felt his grumbly exterior want to just leave Royal to his own devices. Lickity's loving, encouraging coding coursed through his, as if to prove to Boss that it was likely his duty to take Royal under his wing, teach him the things any father would teach their pup, though Boss wondered if Royal would have him, as such.

"You want to help me?" Royal snapped quietly, he, too, flattened his ears and gave Boss his cold, golden stare of whole annoyance; Boss persisted.

"You're trying to catch the fish while they're alert, they're ready to flee at any strike," Boss instructed, "Y'gotta stun them, first... Then catching will be easy."

"... Go on," Royal instructed gently as he eyed the fish, and although he didn't want to admit it, he knew Boss had a good point.

"Watch closely," Boss pressed as he tucked his wings tight to his body.

With careful practice and years of experience, he swung his tail around, sprawled his gorgeous blue and dark brown tail fins, and in a sudden, vicious movement, Boss slapped the top of the water with his tail, ultimately stunning the fish, like stated. With a lunge, Boss nearly dove face first into the water, took a quick snap, stood up straight and was happy to show Royal that he had a very large, flailing and protesting fish tight between his fangs. Royal sagged his wings in surprise, allowed humility to coat his existence and wondered if Boss was on to something. Boss blurt a small chuckle and was quickly to swallow the fish whole.

"Wow, that... Was quick," Royal choked, he tried not to show too much warmth, though he mocked Boss's demeanor and was diligent in tucking his wings tight to his body.

Although Royal wasn't used to it, he sprawled his gold and coral tail fins, steadied himself, and inhaled a deep breath. With a great amount of clumsiness, Royal thrusted his whole tail into the water, causing water to splash everywhere. Boss blurt a hard laugh, took a step or two away and shook his gorgeous mane free of water.

"Lightly, lightly! Just slap the surface, Roy," Boss let a wide smile sprawl his face, he wanted to so desperately warm up; Royal looked disgruntled.

In a second attempt, Royal shook his head, flattened his ears, and with greater success, he finally slapped his tail to the top of the water with a pang. Royal widened his eyes, watched the fish lazily fall out of formation, and with a gentle lunge, Royal opened his mouth wide, shot his tongue out, once more, and was successful in reeling in a fish. Royal panted, stood up straight and was entirely surprised to have a wiggly, protesting fish tight in his fangs, much like Boss was just a minute ago. Royal perked his ears in boyish cuteness, he bounced on his feet and peered to Boss with a roll of excitement, though he immediately sagged and remembered he was playing a very grudge-filled game of keep away with his mother's new mate. In a firm snap and swallow, Royal ate his prize and only glanced in Boss's direction.

"Th-thanks," Royal staggered gently, Boss bobbed a nod and knew this was his time to gently bow out.

"You're welcome," Boss eased as he finally turned heel and walked away.

Boss smiled down to his paws in cute, scheming delight. He knew he had struck gold, he was well aware Royal was teachable, and it was in this instance did Boss understand that his and Royal's little ember of a bond would only continue to grow through teachable moments, a lifestyle in which Royal has not had much experience in. Boss felt floored at this thought, the lifetime of hunting and wilderness living was now coming to his aid, to successfully take Royal under his wing and make him a well rounded dragon. Just as Boss sunk back to his napping spot, he peered back to Royal and was thrilled to see Royal still following through with Boss's technique; he knew it'd be a journey, though with the first steps already played out, Boss was certain the road to Royal's heart shouldn't be too long, from here.


	21. Chapter 21

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Wonderful question! You're definitely not wrong in thinking that, however, Lickity has been technically a 'captive' dragon her whole life. From when she was a pup, she was in Orph's 'care', and when Zed set her free, she eventually bumped into Tessa and was then indoctrinated into cushiony castle life. So, although Lickity definitely has animal INSTINCTS, Boss has an entire lifetime of wilderness living experience, of proper hunting and fishing and falling in and out of the seasons and what that looks like. So while Lickity has the upper hand, due to more life experience and listening to her instincts and having a pup and finding a mate, Royal has been rather sheltered, in that aspect, and is now at Boss's will, when it comes to learning proper wilderness-lifestyle lessons. Thank you friend! :)

 **chuckiboo :** Ahh YES I loved that! Definitely a good call back. The kids get into similar trouble, in a few chapters here. Definitely a good throw back!

 **Jay Sketchin :** YAYAYAY I love Boss's and Royal's relationship. It's so tense and funny. And yes, Turbo is terrible with children, in the fact that he's never really been around them and doesn't know how to handle them really. Then again, once all three kids are grown, he STILL low-key doesn't know how to handle them, at first. This whole story is one big chunk of desperately trying to push Turbo out of every single last one of his comfort zones LMAO

 **Burgie :** Thank you so much! :D

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **comethru by Jeremy Zucker**

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 ***Chapter 21***

In a mess of agitated pacing, Royal's clumsy paws scuffed the glossy tiles of Tessa's incredible code room. With wings and tail taut in a show of whole nervousness, Royal practically paced himself into the ground. With ears perked tight on his head, he listened for any sounds from his mate, a detrimental moment in their lives, and although he wanted to rush Balba and stay tightly informed, he was politely asked for breathing room, from Tessa, who diligently coached Balba, kept tight with hers and her baby's coding; Chesters birthday had finally come, a day before his due date, and everyone on the lot was floored. Tight in communication with Tessa was Zed, who hung back and gave both ladies room, though he had a whole splay of code boxes and holographic menus out before him, he made sure to stay strictly on top of every single function of the code room, due to this birth.

Underneath Sugar Rush's glorious, nighttime, late February stars, the code room sung with love, a preparation for another baby coded to the game. Zed and Tessa knew they'd have to turn around do this all again sometime shortly, because of Ace's and Libby's twins to be due, though there was nowhere else they'd rather be. Amidst the gentle, nervous pacing of Royal's clumsy paws, Tessa sat with Balba in a comfortable shroud of pillowy downs, as if the center of the code room was a tight, though doughy trampoline, it bowed with the weight of Tessa and Balba, strictly so Balba didn't have to lay on the cold, hard tiles of the code room. Whilst on her side, Tessa hung tight to her head and lovingly pet her snout as Balba went through coded contractions, surges of Chester being properly downloaded to the code room. Though Tessa had it all under control, she huffed a gentle chuckle and volleyed her gaze over her shoulder, to where Royal's pacing had finally given both girls a run for their money.

"Alright, Roy, I know I told you to give us a little breathing room, but now your pacing is stressing me out," Tessa blurt a small giggle, to which Zed joined; Balba smiled as best as she could and slumped her head into Tessa's lap through a shaky sigh of panting preparation, "C'mere, Roy-boy, come take it easy, Balba is doing just fine."

"I'm so nervous," Royal sagged, he finally trot over to the two, though sagged the second he found the springy, doughy flooring in which Tessa had diligently coded. Everyone sagged further into the comfortable, billowy downs and cushions, as if they were simply on cloud nine, there was no where else they'd all rather be, "I-I guess I just don't know what to expect, here."

"Well, what're we looking at, Zeddy?" Tessa chimed in gentle girliness, a shrug of cuteness to hopefully put Royal at ease; Zed bobbed a nod, sprawled the tiers of coding he had up, of Balba and Chester, and inhaled a deep breath to prepare to coat Royal with affirmation.

"She's about ready... You're looking at a healthy pair of paws, Royal. The only thing that's up in the air is what Chester will look like," Zed huffed a small chuckle, he kept a kind distance from Balba and Tessa, though his hand was firm over the coding of it all, "I mean, Chester's a hybrid of three very different beings, so it'll definitely be interesting."

"You doing okay?" Royal nervously huffed to Balba, though he had an elated, dewy smile of nervous bliss on his face, and once they gently nuzzled noses, Tessa beamed the widest, closed-mouth grin she could.

"I-I'm alright," Balba uttered through a smile as she sagged her wings to her side, a little, though she wrinkled her nose and grit her teeth in a grimace, "Ow, ow, th-this one... Hurts!"

"One hundred percent, it's time," Zed instructed with a gentle nod in Tessa's direction, in which she prepared for the throw around.

Royal tried not to be too cumbersome, though sat on his hindquarters, near both girls, and gently nuzzled his snout into the back of Balba's neck as he diligently sat alongside her spine. Like previously, the code room's wires gently came down from the heavens, like silver snakes, they sought out Balba's loading bar. Tessa grimaced a nervous face, outside of Balba's line of sight, and the second said silver wires inched closer to Balba's lower stomach, Tessa prepared for Balba's pain to come. The second the live wires eagerly latched onto Balba's skin, she inhaled a sharp gasp, stiffened and began to loudly gripe about the pain in the form of grunts and groans. Every single feather on her neck, back and wings stuck on end in a show of entire pain and agitation, and in the drawn out minutes that this process took, the nervous group surrounding her felt as if it might as well be centuries. The silver code wires did everything it could to extract Chester's coding from Balba's care, so to properly be brought to the game, though just as Balba was nearly about to call out in entire defeat and flop to the ground in writhing pain, the code wires finally ceased activity.

In a final, gentle pop, the wires released Balba's skin, and as Tessa's larger, diligently hands lovingly stroked her snout, the wires gently lifted and made their way to Balba's head, as well as Tessa's presence. Balba panted in pain and exhaustion, though she perked her ears in readiness, propped herself up a little and eagerly watched the wires begin to work their magic. In a 3D-printer fashion, the code room's glorious, silver wires did everything they could to create Chester's little main frame. A hefty boy, about three feet long, the wires took their time stringing together every single feather, every spike, every scale and every little toe bean, everything was absolutely perfect about him. All four beings held their breath and watched the skeleton, muscles, and mainframe of Chester's little being, and just before they could grow entirely impatient with the process, the silver wires suddenly sparked life into the little being that hovered over Balba's readied paws and arms. With a ginger plop, Chester's gorgeous little fluffy, squirmy body was finally placed into Balba's motherly arms.

"Ohhh wow, he's SO beautiful!" Tessa cooed in entire excitement, and with the elated coos of the entire group, Chester's little figure let out whispers of whimpers, as if he so badly wanted to prove that he had a voice somewhere, deep inside, though the lack of said cries easily was forgotten as Royal and Balba beamed ear to ear at their incredible little newborn.

Chester, although born to a green lykata and a cream chameleon dragon, sport an incredible, vivid, hot orange coat and a creamy white underbelly. With a few stubby spines on his jaws and the top of his head, said features, as well as his little, scaly dragon wings, emulated Royal's genes. Although he was very much Royal's son, he had the lithe, beautiful figure, head and tail of a proper lykata. His spine was riddled in hot blue speckles, and it was in further inspection did Tessa shake her head with a hard, loving realization; Chester's pelt mocked Orion's markings and colorings nearly down to the scale. Tessa covered her mouth and lovingly put her hand on Chester's small, back, on his velvety soft fur.

"He has Orion's exact colors," Tessa gasped, as if she nearly forgot what Orion looked like, though with the way Royal's eyes further lit up with remembrance, Tessa gently sagged her hand to Royal's snout and huffed a teary chuckle, "H-he got all of Orion's colors, Roy... Orion would be... So beside himself."

"I-I wish he was here," Royal now peered his teary, golden orbs into Tessa's, and as Tessa easily matched his fervor, everyone easily relaxed in the presence of Orion's grand baby, "I really miss him."

"He is here, he's here with us," Tessa encouraged with a small nod, Balba eagerly nuzzled Chester's face and chest, she lapped him in a good amount of dog kisses, "Orion would be so proud."

"I surely hope so," Royal bobbed a nod and peered down to his beautiful, adorable newborn.

"It's insane, those are Orion's EXACT markings," Zed stated in gentle, loving nostalgia as he very carefully approached Balba and her newborn, though she kindly allowed Zed to approach, "He's incredibly adorable, you guys... You're in for a wild ride, that's for sure."

"It'll be fun having a puppy around," Tessa encouraged as Zed softly knelt next to Tessa, in front of Balba and Chester.

"May I get a proper reading on his exterior coding?" Zed tenderly asked Balba as he allowed his own silver coding to swarm his palm.

"Of course," Balba sighed as Chester softly got comfortable in the nooks of Balba's folded front legs. Zed gingerly reached his hand out, for Chester's lower back, and allowed his silver coding to soak into the velvety orange and blue fur along his spine, "Th-that was... Wow, I was about to yank those leads off of me, that sucked."

"Yeah, I... I wasn't conscious for Ace's birth," Tessa grit her teeth and gave Balba a knowing look, "Buuuut I most CERTAINLY was through Berri's birth. Wow."

"It's that bad?" Royal frowned, to which Balba and Tessa, both now experienced mothers, bugged their eyes.

"YES," They both confidently urged; Zed huffed a knowing chuckle as Royal bashfully sank into himself.

"He's very healthy, everything reads normality," Zed instructed, though he nervously eyed Balba and shrugged, "Everything except his eye sight and his voice box... It seems as if his voice box has a little bit more 'energy' than his eye sight. He very well may be able to make noise, as he grows up, and trains his vocal chords. The only way he'll be able to speak is if we can somehow code him a proper voice box."

"And, his eye sight?" Royal pressed, hoping that maybe that would strengthen over time.

"He's entirely blind," Zed frowned, as carefully as he could, he tilted Chester's fuzzy chin up and got a good look into his opened eyes; although they were a gorgeous, pale turquoise, they were still entirely fogged and glossed in an aimless gaze, "That coding is not something that even reads... Though, the good news is, it's easier to code eye sight coding than it is to code a voice box."

"How come?" Balba gently wondered, Zed shrugged and gave all three adults a bashful smile.

"Because... We'd simply have to re-use someone's voice box, we'd need something to go off of," Zed huffed a small chuckle, "We could easily give Chester my voice, or Royal's voice, but then... It wouldn't be his own. Y'know?"

"Makes sense," Royal sagged in defeat, "Well... Who knows what the future holds, I guess... I'm just glad he made it," Royal smiled in tender easiness, he flattened his ears and gently nuzzled his larger snout into Chester's sniffling, wet lykata nose.

"He's perfect," Balba whispered in gentle glee, and as her and Royal began to sink into a tender, romantic and loving moment with their newborn, Tessa and Zed took their cue to quietly excuse themselves and allow the three a moment together, as a brand new family unit, a confident glow they gave off underneath Sugar Rush's beautiful, welcoming, early spring time stars.

* * *

"Ace, when will I get to meet Beaux and Mara?" Berri wondered in girly impatience, she heaved a drawn out sigh and slumped over the top of Ace's head.

"Soon enough, Bear," Ace chuckled with a broadening smile; he had Berri safely sat on his broad shoulders, the two strolled through Sugar Rush's main courtyard, every single tree and flower absolutely sung amidst Sugar Rush's glorious, springtime sunshine, a haven for birds and bees and amazing smells alike.

"HOW soon?" Berri prod, she wrapped her little arms and larger hands about the crown of Ace's head, he grunted with yet another laugh as Berri squeezed and gently kicked her legs, "I want it to be NOW!"

"Don't we all, Bear, I'm just as impatient as you," Ace looked up to Sugar Rush's wild blue in a wistful show of giddy, new-father anxiousness, though he shook his head, "Libby's due date is in two days, so... Let's hope it's soon, cause I'm sure everyone is itching for them to finally be here."

"You're my big brother," Berri started gently, she nuzzled her sweet little cheeks into the top of Ace's muted, dark blue hair. Berri wrinkled her nose, her vivid blue eyes peered up to Sugar Rush's equally as vivid sky with gentle question, "Are Beaux and Mara going to be my brother and sister too?"

"No, silly, they'll be your niece and nephew," Ace blurt a laugh, Berri bashfully beamed a smile into the top of Ace's head, as if she was caught wrapped up in a silly question, even though Ace was thrilled to treat it as a teachable moment, "You and I are brother and sister. Beaux and Mara are my children, so they will call youuuu. Aunt Berri."

"ANTS?!" Berri choked a laugh, to which Ace rolled his eyes an absolutely could not help but get lost in Berri's adorable, hyper antics, "I don't like ants!"

"For User's sakes, Bear, I mean like... Great Aunt Taffyta? Aunt Penny?" Ace rushed through Berri's giggling, Ace couldn't possibly stop smiling.

"Ohhhh," Berri drew out in a sigh of cute girliness, she hugged Ace's head a little tighter, "I thought I'd turn into an ant."

"That'd be cool," Ace joked, to which Berri squealed a noise of protest; Ace continued to loudly laugh and tease his little sister.

"No fair," Berri cried with a giggle, though she sat up in tender realization and gaped a wide, toothy smile as to just who was seen, across the courtyard, making his way over to the main center piece of the area, the cross-striped tree, "PAPA RALPH!"

"Grandpa?" Ace wondered in a jolt of confusion as his eyes hooked to Ralph's figure, though he sagged in realization and smiled, "Oh, I forgot today's Sunday. Arcade's closed."

"Grandpa, grandpa, grandpa!" Berri hollered as she nearly tore the scalp right off of Ace; he grit his teeth in a show of teasing agony and wrinkled his nose.

"BERRI, I would like my hair to stay on my head!" Ace loudly teased, the two siblings laughed with each other as Ace gently peeled Berri from the tops of his shoulders and set her larger bare feet to the ground; he flinched the second she took off in a jolt of silver coding, the glitch-hop she was nearly a master at.

"Whoa, kid," Ralph barked as Berri suddenly zipped in a bee-line for Ralph, and upon re-entry, she stumbled into Ralph, a glitching mess, something that also wigged out Ralph's purple coding. Ralph easily laughed, scooped Berri into his large hands and arms and firmly smooched her smiling, giggling, sunkissed cheeks, "Y'really got that whole glitch-hop thing under control, already, huh? Y'got mom teaching you day and night or something?"

"She showed me twice!" Berri held up two fingers, she was excited to reveal to her grandfather her progress.

"Well, you're already a master," Ralph grumbled with glee, he lovingly lofted Berri up to his one broad shoulder and was grateful she got comfortable, much like Vanellope used to, all that time ago, when she was still a little gamer, "Better tell Tess to watch out... Got another Queen glitcher to worry about."

"Princess!" Berri corrected, Ralph choked a laugh and looked off.

"Right, right," Ralph sighed, he continued to saunter across the courtyard and was thrilled once him and Ace were within earshot of each other.

"I hardly even saw where she went, she was so quick," Ace choked a laugh as both men approached each other, "I don't even think I can glitch hop, that fast."

"It's much easier for the ladies," Ralph grumbled as he nudged his larger finger into Berri's bare heel, which dangled just above Ralph's upper chest; she loudly blurt a giggle and swat Ralph's hand away, "Lithe, sneaky little things."

"Got that right," Ace bugged his eyes and shook his head, as if to insinuate that Libby was potentially lumped in that group, as well.

"Y'doing okay? What have you two been up to?" Ralph wondered with a smile as both men began to saunter to a canopy-covered sitting area, just near the massive trunk of Ralph's and Vanellope's gorgeous cross-striped tree.

"Oh, I picked Berri up a few hours ago for some babysitting," Ace eased as he peered his eyes up to his little sister, "I guess mom and dad have requested a lazy Sunday afternoon alone, and I'm happy to oblige."

"Ohh lala, you know what that means," Ralph teased to Berri as he shrugged the shoulder his granddaughter was sitting on, though Berri raised her eyebrows in bashful knowing and peered to the side of Ralph's head.

"No, yuck!" Berri spat in annoyance; both Ace and Ralph eased knowing laughter as Ace shrugged.

"They've done a lot for me, I figured I'd give back," Ace shrugged, he eyed Berri with a brotherly smile, "I GUESS I can deal with Sugar Rush's only booger."

"BOOGER?!" Berri cried in girly annoyance as all three beings began to laugh, "No fair. You're smelly!"

"She's not wrong," Ralph teased, Ace rolled his eyes and playfully threw his hands up, as if to show defeat.

"Oh, whatever," Ace grumbled, though the three finally began to ease closer to the large, comfortable bench they were slowly coming upon, and with a final sit, they relaxed in the springtime sunshine.

"So, what's new? You living it up before the twins are born?" Ralph finished his question with a chuckle the second Berri began trying to escape the height of Ralph's shoulder. In routine, Ralph held his massive finger up for her, and with all her might, she hugged her arms about Ralph's finger as he gently swung her down to the ground, onto her feet. Once she released, she gently skipped off to chase a few nearby birds, "You look exhausted, man... Try and get some good sleep before the twins come, because, well... You don't need to hear it on repeat, but you know what I'm going to say."

"I'm just... So nervous," Ace sighed in defeat as he and Ralph watched Berri's inocent self begin to loudly chat and play by herself, she let her cute imagination run wild, "Libby wants to take the twins to Dead Zed, right after their born, so to give them their Teltokuan newborn tattoo."

"...Newborns get their own tattoo?" Ralph wondered in gentle surprise, to which Ace nodded.

"They get their parent's thumbprints on the bottom of their heel... Once they're grown up, women get a tattoo on their left arm due to marriage and men get their tattoos after they have children," Ace listed, though he beamed the ground a bashful smile and shrugged, "I-I'm sure she's probably going to give me my tattoo, as well as our children, in one fell swoop, but... I-I just am so nervous to take the kids outside of Sugar Rush."

"I don't blame you," Ralph shrugged, he looked off to Sugar Rush's gorgeous, pink cotton candy clouds and shook his head a little, "I understand it's nerve-racking, there are so many unknowns when it comes to taking your own baby outside of their home game, but... If you go in a large group, that should give you more security. Libby seems persistent with this, yeah?"

"Yeah, I mean... I'm not going to say no, because this is her heritage, these are her roots," Ace shook his head and peered up to his grandfather in nervous neediness, "I can't simply deny her that... But it doesn't mean I'm not worried sick over it."

"Well... The only thing that will really help you get acclimated to it is to simply just DO it," Ralph shrugged his larger shoulders and gave Ace a kind, apologetic smile, "I hate giving that advice, cause I'm sure it's not something you want to hear, but... It's the truth. Once you're out in the station, off the station's trains and crossing into Dead Zed, you'll understand that everything is a-okay."

"I know it'll be fine," Ace sagged, "I just wish I could let my brain shut up about it. I even asked Royal about it, the other day. Even HE seemed totally chill with bringing Chester to the EZ Living trip uncle Orph and Nox and them planned. It just blew my mind."

"Well... Everyone's different, and once your children are actually HERE, you may think differently," Ralph smiled, "I mean, if you maybe asked Royal that question a few days before Chester was born, he likely would be singing the same song you're singing."

"I guess you're right," Ace sagged in defeat, against himself, he shook his head and let his wistful smile chase after his adorable little sister, "Another thing that has me all anxious is, well... I-I've been trying to muster up the courage to ask Libby to marry me."

"... No kidding?" Ralph pressed with an elated smile, Ace bobbed a bashful nod and looked off, though Ralph blurt an excited laugh and nudged Ace's upper arm, "Good man. How are you going to do it?"

"Well... It's hard, because I wanted to make it more geared towards her culture, but... I have no clue how men propose in her tribe," Ace peered up to Ralph in gentle, boyish worry, "I-I can't very well go knocking on their door, I mean... You saw what happened LAST time we interacted with her people."

"The flyers ate very well," Ralph grimaced through in inhale in the grit of his teeth, though he sagged and gave Ace a curious smile, "Well... Is there any way you can treat her to YOUR own culture, for that one?"

"What do you mean?" Ace pressed in willingness.

"Well... I mean, sure, you've taken on her culture in this venture, but, she's also taken on YOURS," Ralph encouraged, "You're already catering to HER ways when it comes to giving the twins their Teltokuan mark, but... Maybe you should propose to her in the way YOU see fit. The Sugar Rush way."

"I-I... I never thought of that," Ace's voice was tender in renewal as he fingered his lip in concentration.

"And, truth be told, she was the Queen of Sweet Streets," Ralph looked up in coy delight, he shrugged and finally gave Ace a cute, knowing smile, "She has Sugar Rush in her roots, too... Methinks you should treat her to every single aspect of her new life, y'know?"

"That idea definitely takes a load off," Ace held his hand to his chest in gentle relief, "Not a bad idea... I just need to think up an idea for a ring."

Ralph furrowed his brow and peered to his adorable grandson. A strapping young man, built for anything, his innocent, hazel eyes were certain to hold that delicate innocence, no matter what he did in life. Ralph held his breath and contemplated, though the more he dragged his eyes upwards, the wider his knowing smile sprawled across his face. He cocked an eyebrow and allowed his eyes to soak into the beauty of his and Vanellope's beautiful cross-striped branch. The trunk of the tree was thick and healthy, any branch and spindle that came from it eager sprawled and grasped for life, delicate blooms that boasted themselves year-round, Ralph knew this tree was an entire metaphor for his and Vanellope's grand adventure. What started with Vanellope's wedding ring eventually carried on to Tessa's wedding ring, Penny's wedding ring, and now Libby's, including any other Sugar Rush women to garner a husband. Ralph finally gave his eyes back to his grandson and gently gestured upwards.

"Well... Why don't you take a good look at the history of the tree you're sitting underneath?" Ralph pressed, and with such, remembrance finally came back to Ace's incredible eyes as he soaked his gaze up to the beautiful canopy overhead, "You're Sugar Rush's Prince... Why don't you give Libby the ultimate experience by treating her to a cross-striped ring? The Queen, and previous Queen, themselves, have the same foundation. You understand it's importance..."

"I-I mean, I always thought it'd be great, but I wasn't sure it'd be my place," Ace pressed sorrowfully, though his eyes hopefully scanned the tree in kind excitement.

"...Your PLACE?" Ralph blurt a laugh and nudged Ace's shoulder, "You're my grandson, your Sugar Rush's Prince... It is entirely your place. And it's my say who gets a shred of the bark... And I say, it's all yours, son."

"...Really?" Ace kindly pressed in a show of loving disbelief, Ralph urgently nodded and held tight, connecting eye contact, "Wow... Thanks paw..."

"Anything," Ralph eased with a sigh as both men finally relaxed, "You guys are doing good at keeping mine and Vanellope's love alive and well. It's only fair that we give back in any way that we can."

"Then it's decided," Ace bobbed a nod and gave Ralph a kind, excited smile, "I get the cool tattoo and Libby gets the gorgeous, cross-striped ring."

"Win-win, dude," Ralph shrugged as both boys blurt out in gentle laughter.

* * *

 **A/N :** **Hey all! I just uploaded Sugar Rush's Palace Map to my deviantART! Hopefully that helps give better context to the story! :D Check it out on my deviantART, Username Vyntresser.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy that :D Chester definitely has a lot of Orion's traits, as well!

 **Jay Sketchin :** YAY Thank you! :D I'm so glad you feel that way!

 **chuckiboo :** You're not wrong there. And yes, becoming a dad definitely toughens him up, so no worries there.

 **Snake557 :** It's true! As grumpy and crusty as he was, he'd be beside himself, I'm certain. Thank you friend!

 **CHICKENM4N :** Royal ABSOLUTELY is a tsundere LOL! He takes a long while to warm up, but once he does, him and Boss have a wonderful relationship.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Arrival by Japanese Wallpaper**

* * *

 **A/N :** Hey guys! So sorry about the delay... Cory and I have been pretty busy this week, because we have taken in a bearded dragon! We rescued him from an owner that, although he had good intentions, he wasn't taking very good care of his pet... So we took his bearded dragon into our home, and we've been very busy making sure he's fed, situated and happy!

In honor of our newest family member, we've decided to name our cute little guy, Chester! He is two years old, almost two feet long, and is SUCH a love. He's also orange, just like his namesake from the story! :D We're so freaking in love and excited, and we hope to have many years with Chester under our care! Which, he came just in time because I was about to go crazy without a proper pet.

This is our first time owning a reptile, so we've definitely been trying to adjust, which is why my uploads sort of halted there for a second. This is the third night he's been with us, and it's been pretty tame so far. He's still getting used to this HUGE adjustment, I know reptiles don't like change, but he's slowly coming around. He lets us hold and pet him, and all that good stuff, though he has his moments of uncertainty where he gets nervous and puffs up. We're hoping he will eventually settle in and enjoy his forever home with us! YAY CHESTER :D

* * *

 ***Chapter 22***

In the periwinkle dawn of Sugar Rush's lovely, springtime coolness, Tessa's bare feet silently shuffled across her kitchen's glossy tiles. Through a narrowed gaze, her eyes caught with the clip of the sunshine that glinted through the code room's dome of glass, across the lot, and with exhausted thoughts that flit through her brain and proper realization that soaked into her retinas, she scoffed a small chuckle of disbelief and made her way to her fridge. How early the day was currently, though how long the entire night prior had been; starting into the very early hours of the morning, her and Zed had successfully delivered Sugar Rush two brand new Users. With heavy eyes and lethargic movements, Tessa diligently moved her kettle to the grills on her's and Zed's gorgeous gas stove. She knew this process was exhausting for her, though she was absolutely certain it was only a shred of what Libby was currently soaked in.

Although it was a long process, baby Beaux and Mara had been successfully downloaded to the game without a single issue. Much different than what Tessa expected, she hung in the kettle's vicinity and allowed her eyes to soak into the matte black coloring, she got lost in excited thought, the reality that she now had grandchildren was not something that had properly set in, and it was with her continued thoughts did she smile a wide and sleepy smile to herself. Although she was well aware Ace and Libby were ready, and more than capable, Tessa and Zed insisted on the two spending the morning in the King and Queen's abode, so to acclimate, get rest and ease into parent life. Ace and Libby were kindly given Tessa's and Zed's bed, so to sleep as well as spend time together amidst feeding and cuddling their precious newborns. It wasn't until Berri's spiral staircase presented the patter of feet did Tessa perk up in diligent remembrance; she had to properly segue Berri into this situation and successfully conceal the firecracker that Ace's little sister was.

"Mommy?" Berri wondered in cute, girly sleepiness as she slowly came out of the gaping corridor, that ultimately lead to the different avenues of the house, though she furrowed her blue eyebrows and peered to the living room's swooping couch in confusion over the fact that her father was on said couch, fast asleep, "Why's... Why's daddy asleep in the living room?"

"C'mere, B, I gotta tell you something," Tessa's motherly voice eased in a rise of whispering, sleepy excitement. Berri tenderly stepped over, wearing nothing but one of Zed's old, baggy, grey Dead Zed shirts, her choppy, shoulder length blue hair was a mess. Her brilliant blue eyes hooked up into her mother's with a dollop of twinkling, girly surprise as Tessa gently squat to Berri's level and gave her a good morning kiss on the cheeks and lips, "Good morning, baby. Alright, now I have something really important to tell you, but we have to be very very quiet... Is that something you can do for me?"

"Mhmm," Berri mumbled amidst Tessa's loving smooches, she rubbed her eye and peered into Tessa's eyes with further inquisition as Tessa continued.

"You remember how Ace and Libby were getting ready to have their twins?" Tessa pressed with a knowing smile as Berri let her eyes dart about her mother's bare collar bones. In the flash of a light, Berri's eyes began to grow wide with a spike of excitement as Tessa scrunched her shoulders and silently shushed her, to remind her to keep the excitement present, though contained, "You have a new niece and nephew to meet... But they're all sleeping right now, so you have to be quiet."

"Where are they?" Berri's adorable, girly voice whispered, the unadulterated look of pure glee, in her eyes and toothy smile, just grew and grew.

"They're downstairs in mine and your dad's bedroom," Tessa whispered, she tucked Berri's beautiful hair behind her cute ears and smiled her second born a loving smile, "We can meet them a little later, once they've gotten some rest and woken up. For now, you and I can have some breakfast together and wait for dad to get up."

"Can I wake him up?" Berri wondered with a gentle smile, to which Tessa shrugged and heaved a soft sigh.

"You can, but please do it quietly, my love," Tessa reminded, which had Berri nodding and softly skipping across the kitchen and down into their lovely, dimly lit living room.

Tessa smiled, her heart was absolutely full. The sound of Berri's cute footsteps meeting with their plush carpet, the cute way she so gently approached Zed's sleeping figure and gingerly whispered for him to wake up with little wrecking hands that tenderly pat Zed's forearm had Tessa's heart just aching. She heaved a gentle giggle and was reminded of her chore the second the kettle began to softly whistle. As she began to prepare herself a french press of coffee, she allowed the hot water to properly steep the grinds for a few minutes. In the meantime, she watched as Berri so quietly continued to coo Zed to wake, the only sound present was simply the reverberation of Zed's deep, whispering tone near-silently easing tender inquisitions back to Berri. The second Tessa saw Zed's hand sleepily begin to tidy Berri's hair and then encourage her to join him on the couch, for a snuggle, had Tessa assured that the calm, throughout the house, would continue on. Something she was relieved about, due to the two newborns that were safely tucked away in the quietest and most peaceful place on the palace lot.

"Okay, so I got two hours," Zed's exhausted voice was a few notches deeper than normal, his blue hair was flattened to his skull and poofed off to the side in a proper show of bedhead, he finally got off of the couch and picked Berri up into his arms. He had Berri comfortably sat against the broad of his stomach and chest, her little chin was rested on Zed's broad shoulder, her arms grappled about his neck in a clingy show of comfort. Zed heaved a raspy sigh, smiled and sagged the side of his skull to Berri's in a further show of sleepiness, "Have you checked up on Ace and Libby at all?"

"He messaged me fifteen minutes ago, he said the babies were asleep but we can come down and see them shortly," Tessa assured with a nod as Zed slowly strolled into the kitchen, he had his arms securely crossed underneath Berri's thighs and rear as she lay slouched against the broad of Zed's chest in an equally as lazy show of sleepiness, "Quietly..."

"I'm surprised Libby still wants to trek into Dead Zed, later," Zed raised his eyebrows and shook his head, he finally eased into Tessa's calm presence and gently leaned down, so to give his bride a small smooch on the lips. Upon release, Tessa smiled and shrugged with a small sigh as Zed continued softly, "After Berri was born, the last thing you wanted to do was leave the house."

"Yeah, Libby is a different breed of woman, dude... She has a million times more energy than I do," Tessa grunted in tomboyish cheek, she ran her large fingers through her tangled hair and shook her head, "That girl has the stamina of a thousand suns. I'm not surprised she wants to dive head first into Dead Zed after downloading two User children to the grid. Who else, you kidding?"

"Touché," Zed blurt a small laugh, and with the raise in energy, Berri finally lifted her upper body away from Zed's and gently pushed her little hands to Zed's collar bones; she peered into her father's eyes with a little bit more zest.

"We're going to Dead Zed?" Berri wondered gently, to which Zed bobbed a nod.

"Yep, with Mr. Dead Zed himself," Zed teased, he nuzzled his nose against Berri's as she uttered a confused giggle.

"Whose Zed?" Berri innocently wondered, to which Zed sagged his shoulders and lazily peered a teasing, disgruntled gaze to his bride; Tessa blurt out into laughter and began to saunter in the direction of their bedroom, in which Ace, Libby and the twins quietly resided.

"Me, you turd," Zed choked a small laugh in Berri's direction, he teasingly jostled her in his strong arms, which had her now grappling Zed's shirt in a beaming show of girly, giggling cheek.

"Your name isn't Zed!" Berri protested, to which Zed heaved a long sigh and shook his head.

"Yes it is, Bear, you just call me 'dad' because... Well, I'm your dad," Zed volleyed, they lowered the volume of their cute conversation as they eased out of the kitchen and followed Tessa down the gaping, shallow stairwell that lead to the King's and Queen's lovely, romantic hideaway.

"Your name really IS Zed?!" Berri loudly hissed a whisper of entire surprise, Zed couldn't help but beam a wider smile.

"Yes, Berri, that's no joke," Zed whispered, Berri looked off and, like a sponge, she eagerly began to retain further knowledge about the important people in her life, and just what that all looked like.

"So, what's mommy's name?" Berri wondered, to Zed's delight, she obeyed and kept her voice in a tight, delicate whisper; Zed rewarded her by warmly smooching her cheek a few times.

"Tessa," Zed eased, though Tessa cocked an eyebrow and turned around in response to her name.

"Yeah?" Tessa whispered, though both Zed and Berri sharply stifled laughter.

"Nothing," Zed shook his head and gave Tessa a look as if to insinuate it wasn't important in this moment, and as they tenderly continued on, Tessa carefully opened her's and Zed's bedroom door and peered in with a look of girly excitement.

"Can we come in?" Tessa pressed as quietly as she could as Zed and Berri waited back; once she got the go ahead, she opened the broad of their large, round bedroom door even further.

Across the stretch, Tessa's and Zed's bedroom let in a beautiful show of morning sunlight. Snuggled deep into their bed, Ace and Libby quietly sat up against the fluffy, billowy downs and pillows, absolutely smitten with their two new additions. With dewy, matured eyes of hyper sensitive, excited, sleepy agitation, Ace and Libby happily gave off a welcoming aura, a positive sign of acceptance of visitors. Although Ace and Libby sat shoulder to shoulder, tight in each other's care, Libby had both tiny babies laid against her chest, their little heads rested on Libby's collars. Tessa beamed an eager smile and did absolutely everything she could to not rush over and ask to hold one of them, instead, her and Zed patiently approached the side of the bed, that Libby was on, and made this moment about Berri. With a nervous demeanor Berri suddenly radiated, due to knowing this was an extremely tender, important situation, Ace perked up a bit and knew he could likely ease the tension, here.

"C'mere, Bear, there's two people I'd like you to meet," Ace kindly cued as he held out his arms up to Zed; upon the release, Zed kindly handed Berri over to Ace, and as Ace made room between him and Libby, he kindly snuggled Berri tight to his side and held her up into the downs, "Y'ready?"

"Yeah," Berri meeped with a nervous look, though as Ace held her in his loving grip, he gently reached over to one of the babies and gently stroked her head.

"This one is named Mara, she's your niece," Ace instructed kindly, Libby easily smiled and tried to situate herself so Berri could properly see.

"Her hair is blue like mine!" Berri loudly whispered as she turned and eagerly peered up to Ace; Mara had a small patch of hair atop her head, and although it was blue like Berri's, it was closer to a soft, pastel sky blue.

"It is," Ace bobbed a nod and couldn't smile any wider, kissed with maturity, that raw 'new dad' look certainly hung on the forefront of his demeanor, something that Zed easily gravitated to, "And this one is Beaux... He's your nephew."

"He has white hair, like Libby," Berri's cute and dainty voice concluded as she bashfully peered up into Libby's eyes; Libby easily giggled and bobbed a nod.

"It has tints of blue in certain lighting," Libby stated in a sense of excited discovery, "It's really cool."

"Kalivar kids, tried and true," Zed grunted with pride, he ruffled his blue hair and eyed Berri in great cheek, "Clearly, blue hair is a dominant gene."

"Eh, mom's almost won over, with me," Ace teased, he pointed to his hair, which was nearly a perfect mixture of Tessa's auburn and Zed's blue; a muted, darker blue everyone knew well.

"Berri, on the other hand," Libby gently nudged Berri's arm, both girls giggled.

"You guys doing okay?" Tessa wondered as she hung tighter to Libby's side of the bed, her larger fingers lovingly tidied some of Libby's hair and tucked it delicately behind her ear.

"Yeah... Tired, but doing great so far," Ace bobbed a nod, "We were able to get a few hours of sleep."

"I'm a little hungry, but other than that, we're all good, for now," Libby sleepily chimed, she shrugged her shoulders and gently dragged her gaze to Zed; he was caught with a look of delighted longing, an endearing look of reserving an explosion of glee as he peered down to his two new grandchildren, and with such, Libby cocked an eyebrow, tilted her head and volleyed a knowing look of cheek up in Zed's direction, "Does grandpa maybe want to hold one?"

Everyone gently lofted their gazes to Zed in cute knowing, though with such a foreign title, it flew right over Zed's head. He furrowed his eyebrows, replayed Libby's words, allowed the cogs to turn and finally stabbed his eyes into Libby's in hard realization. Everyone easily blurt out into laughter as Zed's face turned red in mild, smiling embarrassment.

"Grandpa!" Berri quietly exclaimed up to Zed, he furrowed his eyebrows harder and shook his head in floored, delirious surprise.

"To be frank, I'm STILL trying to get used to the term 'dad'," Zed chucked as Libby began to sit up a little, so to offer one of her newborns to Zed's careful, able hands.

"Should we all call you Zed?" Berri teased in a girly, bratty way, in which everyone shot their surprised smiles in her direction; Zed gaped and peered to her in a roll of now stunned regret.

"Dang, Bear, don't try that kind of sass on mom, you'd be done for," Ace choked a laugh as he playfully wrangled Berri into a headlock; she grunted a sharp giggle and gently began to push on Ace's much larger, stronger arm.

"Regret telling you my name, now, stinker," Zed grumbled as he so carefully began to reach for Beaux, and upon success, he tenderly snuggled the tiny, itty bitty newborn into his strong chest.

"I'm in for a whole world of hurt," Tessa rubbed her forehead in teasing dismay as Libby peered up at her, a beaming show of apologetic cheek on everyone's faces showed through, "I may be Queen of sass, but Berri's in the running..."

"She's got stiff competition with great Aunt Taffyta," Ace mumbled as he continued to playfully drown Berri in a headlock; she continued to giggle and squirm.

"And Penny," Zed sighed quietly, he kept his whole attention glued to Beaux, who soundly slept, his little wrecking hands were snuggled tight against his chin, so innocently snoozed in Zed's fatherly care, "I love it when they're this tiny..."

"Live it up, cause next week, you'll have a blue-haired troll monster, much like the one Ace is currently trying to suffocate," Tessa furrowed her brow and watched her two children now begin to bicker and wrestle out of love, "Alright, you two, don't make me separate you."

"Hey, we're going to Dead Zed later," Ace finally picked Berri up by her ankle and flopped her against his broad chest; she breathed a startled giggle and finally sat up, clumsily brushing her blue hair out of her eyes, "Don't make me feed you to the wild dragons."

"So be it!" Berri quietly demanded, girly giggles and all; Zed furrowed his brow and shot Ace a look of tender surprise.

"...Not so nervous about it, anymore, son?" Zed wondered in gentle confusion as Libby kindly began to hand over Mara to Tessa's excited demeanor.

"I... I am," Ace sighed, he relaxed against the headboard as him and Libby caught eyes. Libby gave him a proud smile and lovingly rested her little hand on his much larger forearm, as if to assure him that he's done well to allow the feeling of trust to encompass his worrying heart, "But I know we'll be fine. We're all coded for Dead Zed... I shouldn't worry so much."

"And getting there will be cake," Zed assured with a nod, "All the flyers will be joining us."

"Even Chester?" Berri's eyes lit up.

"Yes, even Chester," Zed smiled, Berri hissed an excited 'yes' and eagerly smiled up to her big brother.

* * *

After half a day of adjusting to parenthood, doing their best to get sleep, and allowing Berri, Tessa and Zed proper bonding time with Beaux and Mara, Dead Zed's new battalion of protectors prepared to head out of Sugar Rush, with Beaux and Mara, for the very first time. Much in new dad fashion, the look of entire fear and worry, in Ace's eyes, only multiplied the longer they were inside Sugar Rush's arcade cabinet wire, the only exit into Game Central Station, from the game itself. Although Libby had Mara securely snuggled to her chest in a tight wrap, as did Ace for Beaux, Libby gestured her hands freely, spoke in a calm, normal tone, and acted as if the baby strapped to her chest was the hundredth baby she had ever raised, simply as if this whole parenting and worrying thing was absolute cake; Ace eyed her in jealous terror and held his massive wrecking hand on the side and whole of Beaux's head and body, as if even Game Central Station's light could potentially kill him.

Tight in tow, and hung in a protective formation about the group, were all the flyers; Balba and Royal hung in the flank of the group, with Chester tightly snuggled into Balba's strong wing, against the side of her long body. Ace held his breath and peered ahead as Tessa, Zed, Nox and Libby happily continued to chit chat, without a care in the world. The golden glow of Game Central Station was upon them, something that had Ace's pupils tightening. He furrowed his blue eyebrows and nervously peered down to his adorable, first born son, Beaux squirmed and tenderly grimaced a cute little newborn noise, his squishy face began to turn red; Ace sagged his shoulders and very quickly came to learn what that could potentially mean.

"C'mon, bud, I just changed you, y'gotta poop right as we're leaving the game?" Ace whispered down to his adorable little boy, he heaved a long sigh through his nose and placed a warm kiss atop Beaux's head, he nervously chuckled and kept his radiating nervousness tight to Beaux's, as if to ask Beaux to keep it all a secret, "...Can't say I blame you, I'm about to shit my pants, too."

Just as the group confidently continued to push out of Sugar Rush's outlet, Zed and Tessa sharply stopped right at the gape of the golden arch, and with a spike of concern, Ace urgently peered to his mother and father; the flyers halted their footwork as well, as the King and Queen's demeanors very quickly shifted to a pang of unadulterated confusion. Ace held his breath harder, held his hand tighter over Beaux's little body and urgently peered to Libby, who had Mara tightly secured to her chest.

"What's wrong, what's going on?" Ace rushed, and out of instinct, he took a nervous step backwards and met his lower back with Royal's snout.

Zed cocked an eyebrow, peered down Game Central Station's glorious station, lightly bustled with a few gamers here and there. He narrowed his gaze in a sinking show of nervous suspicion, an as his eyes connected with his very own game, Dead Zed, across the way, he finally narrowed his eyes even tighter and was thrilled Tessa's equally as squinted, suspicious gaze caught with Zed's in a string of a million burning questions. Zed opened his mouth in a huff of confusion, grunted a breath, as if he didn't know where to start, and shook his head at Tessa, as if to wonder just where to begin with their own newfound discovery.

"So... You remember that one time that we left the Arcade and went to the human world?" Zed's boyish voice teased, Libby furrowed her brow in entire confusion, as to why Zed was bringing this up, though Nox furrowed his brow and now caught on to just what Tessa and Zed were insinuating; Nox nervously adjusted Berri against his hip as he held her in his capable arms.

"Yeah, I managed to bring home a User, as a souvenir," Tessa joked dully, she lazily gestured back to Ace and huffed a small laugh, though she shook her head and volleyed her gaze across the way.

"You... Remember what I did with Dead Zed's cabinet, when we came back to Litwak's the next day, as humans?" Zed pressed, to which Nox and Libby nervously caught eyes, "I plugged it into End Of Line station..."

"...It's been there ever since," Tessa pressed in a roll of further confusion, Zed shook his head as everyone now nervously peered to Dead Zed's outlet, which stood proudly in Game Central Station, just a few outlets across the way.

"So tell me what Dead Zed's outlet is doing in Game Central Station?" Zed pressed, "I didn't move the cabinet... I simply moved it's plug to End Of Line."

"Why... Why did Mr. Litwak move it back to Game Central Station, then?" Nox wondered nervously as Berri's innocent, now worried eyes scanned the gorgeous glow of Game Central Station, "What was previously plugged in to Dead Zed's now current outlet?"

"A few weeks ago, it was the internet router... I guess it was something that Mr. Litwak had unplugged, for a long time, according to dad," Tessa stated sharply in a heightened sense of nervousness, to which everyone cued to, "Dad said that lots of things have been getting moved around, lately..."

"Hope the boys are okay?" Nox wondered, referring to Zed's younger brothers, as him and Berri lofted their gaze to Zed, in which he glanced to Nox in understanding and bobbed a small nod.

"I'm sure they're fine," Zed tenderly assured, though he eyed his outlet in even further suspicion and inhaled a nervous breath, "I just want to know why Mr. Litwak is playing Tetris with the outlets..."


	23. Chapter 23

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Aww thank you so much! :)

 **Snake557 :** Aw! I'll be uploading a journal to my deviantART soon here, with pictures of Chester. I have two pictures of him on my Art Station already though! My username there is LuckyBat :)

* * *

 **Song Listened To : **

**Daylight by Maroon 5**

* * *

 ***Chapter 23***

Standing in the midst of Dead Zed's humid, lovely springtime air, the handful of individuals gathered for this important, mini ceremony Libby was adamant about. In a rush of hoping not to miss the event, Ralph, Vanellope and Zed's brothers quickly rushed to where Libby, Ace and everyone else resided inside Dead Zed's jungles, after game day, so to not miss out on this important event. Stood in a sunny clearing of Dead Zed's jungles, near the old grounds of the previous Kalivar castle, Ace and Libby stood in cued anticipation, they knew to wait until everyone had settled to step out into the clearing and begin this simple, yet fragile, process. Although Zed had successfully coded Beaux and Mara to Dead Zed's core, Ace still hung onto Beaux like his little life depended on it.

"Bud, you can relax now," Zed softly eased to Ace's stiff demeanor, and with such, Ace exhaled a shaky breath and gave his dad a weary smile. Zed chuckled, pat Ace's shoulder and shook his head, "I understand you want to protect your new babies, at all cost, but you HAVE to relax... They're both safely coded to Dead Zed, and they are so far from harms way, right here and now. Just ease up, even a little."

"You're right, I'm sorry," Ace sighed, he sagged Beaux's little body and peered down to him with an adoring smile. Beaux just barely opened his little eyes, squinted and peered to Ace's chest in a discombobulated, aimless gaze of entirely getting his bearings. Ace chuckled, softly rubbed his much larger finger against Beaux's soft cheek and shook his head in disbelief, "This is so incredibly bizarre..."

"It doesn't stop being bizarre," Zed assured as he placed his hands on his hips and breathed a chuckle, though Libby softly approached both men and began to tenderly wiggle Mara out of the cloth, tribal designed chest sling she was currently snuggled in, "Do you guys need any of our help?"

"I-I don't think so," Ace staggered through a trembling, excited breath; he knew this little event was small and rather anticlimactic, though he was unaware just what Libby had planned for him after giving their son and daughter their first Teltokuan marks.

Just as Ace gave his father a kind thank you, smiled and turned his back to head into the clearing, Libby cocked an eyebrow in Zed's direction, bobbed a nod and secretly insinuated that she'd need Zed's help after this small event, so she could surprise Ace by properly giving him his very own Teltokuan markings, due to now having two children. Zed raised his eyebrows in knowing, bobbed a nod, smiled and sagged his hands into his black jean's pockets. In the gentle separation from the group, Ace and Libby tenderly parted and eased about a dozen feet away, with nothing but their two babies, unsheathed from their slings. Once the two came upon the special, henna-like mud that was traditionally used for Teltokuan staining and tattooing, Libby kindly turned and peered to Ace.

Wearing a cream, tribal crop top and cream colored harem pants to match, Libby looked like a vision, and coming hot off the heels of downloading two babies to Arcade, Ace was absolutely certain the woman he was forever tied to was superwoman. Her short, gorgeous choppy hair fluttered in the warm wind, she held their tiny daughter close to her chest, upright and supported, and once Ace stepped closer to her, he narrowed his gaze and peered into her beautiful blue eyes. He shook his head in disbelief, he could hardly even begin to understand just how he had gotten so lucky, just how this all could've properly unfolded. Such a tender, beautiful childhood friendship that blossomed into something so healing and so magical, Ace was absolutely certain this was a feeling on par with winning the lottery; and now the fact that he had two gorgeous children with said incredible woman, he finally closed his eyes and allowed the reality to continue to plow into him, with open arms.

"Y'okay, puba? Y'ready?" Libby's cute, girly voice whispered as she peered up at his masculine face; he pried his eyes open from the back of his skull.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Ace nodded, and with such, Libby held Mara tight in an upright position against her right shoulder, knelt down, and firmly sagged her thumb pad into the special mud near their bare feet.

Upon standing, she gently tilted her head down to said mud, cued Ace to also do the same and blurt a small giggle the second he huffed a flustered, knowing noise, bent down and did the same, all whilst holding Beaux safely to his chest. Both babies quietly babbled and cooed, having just been fed and cared for, they rested in pure contentment. Although the group about Ace and Libby couldn't understand Teltokuan, Libby spoke her native tongue aloud, making clear just what her intentions were for these two Teltokuan children. Ace, having being able to understand her, honed his eyes tight to her figure and soaked in the further knowledge she gave him of her incredible culture, and once she was finished pronouncing Mara one with the tribe, Libby softly lifted Mara's right heel, sagged her mud-coated thumb into the bottom of Mara's right heel and pulled away, showing a cute, perfect thumbprint of Libby's hand. With an expectant smile, Libby peered to Ace, gestured to Mara's bare left heel, and insinuated for Ace to place his mark on her, as well. In cute fashion, Ace's thumbprint nearly encompassed the whole of Mara's little left heel, something both parents quietly laughed and joked about for a moment.

With Libby's word, she beamed the group an expectant, excited smile and gently waved Mara's little arm about. Although the group about them couldn't understand a single word Libby was saying, they still quietly cheered and clapped in congratulations for little Mara. Once the excitement settled, Libby inhaled a deep breath and squat back down to the mud, so to complete said journey with Beaux. Ace joined her this time, and upon returning to standing, Libby quietly continued on, in her Teltokuan tongue, instructing that Beaux was to now be included in on his new heritage, a bond he had with his Teltokuan roots as well. In perfect order, Libby diligently pressed her thumb print into the bottom of Beaux's right foot, and Ace's for Beaux's left. Once that was finished, the group excitedly clapped and cheered for Beaux, a congratulations that both babies deserved, something that they knew meant a whole lot for Libby and her people. With ease, both parents flood each baby with their own, comforting golden honeycomb coding, and just like that, their little tattoos flaked and showed permanence on their new skin.

Ace smiled down at his two babies, now properly indoctrinated into Libby's, and now Ace's, coded roots. Libby gently reached out and squeezed Ace's arm in a show of gratitude, she bobbed a nod at him, as if to kindly suggest that he was doing great, though before Ace could open his mouth and inquire if there was anything else him and Libby needed to do, for Beaux and Mara, in this important moment, he flinched and noticed his mother and father quickly making their way over to Ace, Libby and the babies. Ace furrowed his eyebrows in gentle confusion as he watched Libby tenderly hand Mara over to Zed, and as Tessa gently approached Ace, all smiles, a soft gesture to reach out and hopefully acquire Beaux from Ace's grip, Ace furrowed his brow harder and smiled a smile of whole entire confusion. Although he trusted his own mother and father with babies, of anyone's, he still hesitantly and slowly handed Beaux to his mother and peered his confused gaze tight to Libby's, which looked girly, scheming and delighted, all in one.

"What's going on?" Ace pressed in a lilt of tender concern, though Libby gestured down to the staining mud, below their shadows, and gave Ace a knowing look.

"You know you didn't come all this way to just not receive your OWN tattoos, right?" Libby titled her head, side-eyed her love and gave a girly shrug, and with the wash of realization, Ace raised his eyebrows in a pang of excited surprise.

"Me!" Ace choked with a chuckle, to which Libby gestured to him.

"YOU!" Libby blurt a giggle, the group about them eagerly laughed at Ace's doughy, cute demeanor, "Can you please kneel for me?"

Ace huffed a soft breath of tender, delighted surprise, and with one gentle swoop, he ever so slowly got to one knee. Amidst the posture, his bare knee sagged into the soft earth underneath, and upon understanding just what detrimental position he was in, he bugged his eyes a little and froze. He exhaled a trembled breath and allowed his sight to sag to Libby as she knelt down to gather some mud in her hand. He felt his pupils tighten, his heart began to race with knowing, and just as the idea of proposing right here, right now, hit his brain like a brick wall, he felt mild disappointment at the fact that he had unfortunately left the box, alongside the cross-striped ring, from Ralph's and Vanellope's gorgeous tree, in a different pair of shorts. Upon wondering if he could potentially be wrong, he gingerly sagged his larger hand to his right pocket, and as if he had simply struck gold, his heart leapt clear out of his chest at the realization that hit him; said pair of pants, that harbored such an important ring, just so happened to be the pair he had on.

With raised eyebrows, he was glad Libby was still busy gathering a proper amount of mud onto her hand. He huffed a silent chuckle, turned to his left and peered to his curious, expectant family members a dozen or so feet away from the two. He caught eyes with his father, obviously a sharp-witted man, the look of expectant, dumbfounded surprise and curiosity hung tight to Zed's demeanor, as if everyone could see that Ace was in a proper proposal stance, though they all wondered if it were simply a one in a million chance that Ace actually had Libby's engagement ring on him. Ace cocked an eyebrow, eyed his father in a knowing, bug-eyed way, and as subtly as he could, he gingerly nodded in Zed's direction, without Libby seeing, and with such, Zed could visibly be seen stiffening his shoulders with excitement and preparation; he tenderly leaned in to Tessa's vicinity and began to silently whisper, something Ace cued to and immediately brought his brimming, giddy attention back to his now future bride, an incredible, able woman of many talents, one that remained gently knelt with Ace.

"In Teltokuan tradition, tattoos are clearly ritual, in all parts of life. Children receive a hell tattoo, from both their parents, upon birth, women receive a left arm tattoo, annnnd," Libby chimed, she spoke loudly so the group about Ace and Libby could understand just what this Ace-specific tattoo entailed, and just what it meant for him, "Men receive one tattoo per child they have... So, lucky you, you get two."

"I want you to decide what I get," Ace stated bravely, he knew Libby had an eye for design, strictly due to the fact that her own tattoo was a gorgeous representation of herself, and with such, Ace was confident she'd deliver.

"... You sure?" Libby cooed in a voice of unadulterated gratefulness, she sagged the mud in her palm and gave Ace a look, as if to wonder if he was absolutely certain; he nodded, knowing full well she was the one to be surprised anyhow, at the end of all of this.

"I'm positive... Whatever you give me, I will proudly boast," Ace bobbed a nod, and with such, Libby's eyes now trailed Ace's broad chest and shoulders, as if to contemplate.

"Well, then..." Libby fingered her lip in tender inquisition, she narrowed her gaze and kept her eyes tight to the road of Ace's shoulders, and with such, she came to a decision and bobbed a nod, "If you will, then, please take off your shirt."

"Yes ma'am," Ace concluded, and as politely as he could, he took off his black tank top, tossed it aside, and awaited Libby's masterpiece.

With able hands, Libby gingerly began to go to work. The whole group about them eagerly watched just what kind of tattoo she was going to adorn Ace's body with, and although Ace felt the urge to grimace at the cold paste Libby was now coating his shoulders and the broad of his chest with, he relaxed and allowed her to do what she will, to paint whatever she wanted on the canvas she was given. In due time, Libby huffed a small giggle and began to ease about Ace's back, and as the cold paste began to hit near the back of Ace's neck, he chuckled and felt a massive urge to scrunch his shoulders, to beam in teasing dismay. Upon everyone's initial view of Libby's masterpiece, it was clear she was making his tattoos to mock hers; rings that trailed down her left arm now stood out proudly on Ace's chest. A thin, inner ring, much smaller and one that hugged about the tops of Ace's collar bones, and around the tops of his shoulder blades, formed a perfect circle; underneath said thinner ring was a much thicker ring, one that went across the top half of the broad of Ace's chest, and came full circle about the backs of his shoulder blades. A thin, dainty circle for Mara, and a thicker, bolder one for Beaux, something that was entirely obvious without Libby even having to explain.

"Look'it you," Libby teased quietly as she finally came full circle with the staining paste, and upon gently soaking the last of Beaux's circle together, and completing the piece, Libby eased off of Ace's presence and gently gestured down to him with a loving smile, "A proud dad, indeed."

"Without a doubt," Ace encouraged quietly, a handsome smile and a twinkling set of hazel eyes, only for her.

"Y'ready for it to be permanent?" Libby wondered kindly, she gestured down to his tattoo and quietly inquired that he take a good look, and once Ace peered down to her handiwork, looked all about his shoulders and was all smiles, he finally sagged and gave her a confident nod.

"It's perfect," Ace lovingly whispered, he nodded once more and lulled his eyes closed, as if to express that he was content with her masterpiece, "I'm ready."

Libby bobbed an elated nod, gently rid her hand of the staining paste, and as easily as she could she laid her clean hand to Ace's upper arm. In a tender flare of a reveal, their incredible, rare coding gently shone in a swarm of cooperation, a lovely glow of gold honeycombs that everyone knew well. Amidst redirection, Libby inhaled a gentle breath and closed her eyes, something Ace cocked an eyebrow and cued to. Upon Libby diligently training their coding to melt into the staining mud, and preparedly ink Ace's skin in permanence, Ace took this shining opportunity to gently ease the little, special boxed ring out of his pocket. The second Ace could feel the mud immediately dry undernetah the heat of their going, and flake off in the reveal of his brand new permanent tattoo, Ace's trembling hands clumsily, and slowly, opened the little black box, one of which housed Libby's new, gorgeous, cross-striped engagement ring, and upon Libby's eyes reopening, her eyes glossed down his chest in endearing, girly delight and landed straight for the glowing prize in Ace's hand, presented just for her.

Libby furrowed her eyebrows in a lilt of tender confusion, though as the information immediately hit her brain in a roll of thunderous surprise, Libby gasped in a sharp inhale, tucked her hands to her now gaping mouth and took a clumsy, confused step backwards. In a choke of gentle, excited laughter emit from both Ace's and Libby's figures, the entire group about them was now alive with prickled, stunned surprise, notions of soft elatedness, darted glances of beaming disbelief, and in this roll of continued surprise, left and right, Ace felt his eyes well with tears the second Libby's face grimaced to a tight show of overflowing emotion. Libby coughed a small cry of happiness, covered her face and hunched into herself in raw disbelief as Ace held out their incredibly special ring, a proper Sugar Rush proposal, all plastered brand new with his fresh Teltokuan tattoos to represent his brand new babies. Ace knew there was no other moment this would feel real and correct, and the fact that he caught Libby entirely off guard had his heart absolutely soaring.

"I-I know I'm permanently yours, and vice versa, due to the TWO babies you downloaded TODAY, mind you," Ace choked a laugh as the tears billowed in his eyes, the whole group was alive with laughter and notions of proud surprise, in Libby's direction, "We may share the same code, and now share two children together, but... I want to continue on this path of permanence."

Libby finally peered out from her hands, her whole face was wet and red with an overflow of tender, blushing and floored surprise. She inhaled a sniffle as her nose ran, from crying, and with wet, sweet eyes that peered hard into Ace's blooming soul, she shook her head and beamed him the widest smile of stunned disbelief.

"Kajiksana," Ace started tenderly, his masculine left hand tenderly roped her own left hand into his, he squeezed with all the passion in the world as he asked her the perfect, finalizing question to their journey, "Will you marry me?"

"Yes, yes!" Libby squealed with a small, tender pep of a jump on the balls of her feet, and with such infectious joy, the excited group about them eagerly clapped and cheered for the two as Ace confidently sunk the gorgeous, cross-striped ring onto Libby's little left ring finger. In a sudden swing of excitement, Ace gently got to his feet and held his larger hands to the dip of her waist as her wet eyes humbly peered up to him, a rush of overflowing excitement she couldn't contain, "I-I can't believe it, I can't believe it! That was such a surprise!"

"The second you closed your eyes, I knew I had that in the bag," Ace blurt a hard laugh as he quickly scooped Libby into his arms, twirled her once, set her back to the ground and hovered tight over her fragile, cute, lithe figure, "I love you... My white fire flower."

"I love you too, my big, bumbling worry wart," Libby teased as Ace leaned in and hardly let her finish, he eased a few gentle smooches to her smiling lips, a tender and intimate moment Ace didn't want to entirely indulge in, due to all the eyes on him, though he allowed at least a little bit of it, due to the special occasion.

"Cross-striped ring," Ralph grumbled with a proud smile as he eyed Vanellope, he cocked an eyebrow and bobbed a knowing nod, "Works every single time."

"Ralph, me, Orph, and now Ace," Zed trailed as he snuggled Mara closer to his chest, though he dragged his knowing gaze straight for Nox's excited, though now suddenly shriveling demeanor, "We, uh... We gunna maybe add Nox to that line-up?"

"...HUH?" Nox staggered in bashful embarrassment as Ace and Libby finally rejoined the group about them; Ace firmly pat Nox's shoulder and gestured to his ow mother.

"You're in cahoots with Sugar Rush's third heir, my dude," Ace reminded, though Nox cocked an eyebrow and nudged Ace's chest.

"Y'think I don't know that," Nox argued with a small laugh, to which Ralph kindly bobbed Nox a nod.

"Y'ever need a branch of that tree, you just let me know," Ralph assured, and although Nox was finally accepted into the clan, via Ralph and Vanellope, it still seemed like brand new information, every time it was apparent.

"What I love about this tradition is... Each ring is juuuust a little different from the other," Tessa cued as she held out her left hand, which encouraged Vanellope and now Libby to proudly present theirs, "So while each ring is technically from the same tree, each husband has crafted the ring out of different sections of the stripes, which gives each ring it's own unique flare."

"No one branch of that sprawling tree is the same," Ralph encouraged with a gentle smile as his family kindly peered up to him in expectant adoration, "Fitting for a rowdy, romantic group of misfits."

* * *

 **A/N:** This chapter marks my word-count over the 100k mark! INSANE!

...Mostly because I haven't even made a DENT in the plot yet. Whoops.

For those of you that are interested in what is to come up next, read on to see the spoilers!

 **The next few lines underneath this bold print is spoilers! I have warned you!**

 **I've warned you twice!**

 **I've warned you THRICE!**

 **vvvvvvvvvvv** ***SPOILERS*vvvvvvvvvvv**

A time hop happens certain trio of kiddos start themselves a garage band, in which the whole palace is entirely annoyed of

There is a TINY bit of Minty/Swizzle romance, nothing huge, I apologize, but it's something.

Berri finds a temporary way for Chester to see, thus creating their special bond

Another time hop happens and Berri runs into Turbo... quite literally and physically lol.


	24. Chapter 24

**Reviews :**

 **chuckioo :** Aww, why thank you! And, no, the way Cory proposed to me was beautiful and perfect, I wouldn't have had it any other way. ] And, although Beaux and Mara are definitely IN the story, unfortunately it's not entirely centered around them. They're in the plot, here and there, but everything centers around the main three kids, Berri, Wren and Theo. Hope this doesn't disappoint!

 **marinetanker97 :**

Hello! Why thank you, I greatly appreciate that! And yes, her encounter with him is certainly a bumbling one, to say the least! I'm excited for it, nonetheless!

 **Burgie :** Thank you so much! YAY! I'm glad! :D

 **Snake557 :** Aww, thank you friend! That really means a lot to me :D

 **Romantic Sapp :** I know you're still reading Rectifying Origin, but I just wanted to properly thank you in real time, and hope you get to see this once you reach Out of the Blue! Thank you for all your support and, holy cow, for reading this saga SO quick! You're awesome!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Mess by Noah Kahan**

* * *

 ***Chapter 24***

Through an exhausted gaze of defeat, Tessa's eyes lazily glossed to the glass of water she had poured herself a few minutes prior. The water inside bounced just barely in a jostle, reverberating bass to good music that was a lot of fun to listen to and be encompassed with for the first few days or so, though now it nearly rattled the entire King and Queen's perch, as well as the flyer's enclosure. Tessa was sure that gifting Berri a shiny electric guitar, Theo a bangin' drum set and Wren a high tech, state of the art keyboard was something they'd just tinker with for fun, prod at and play with on down times or rainy days, though the potential of a small hobby very rapidly turned into a garage band in Tessa's and Zed's common room; something that was indeed a valuable talent in of itself, though very quickly overstaying it's welcome in Tessa's, Zed's and Berri's home.

At the ripening age of about eight months in the Arcade, equal to about thirteen years old on Earth, Berri, Wren and Theo loudly hollered, banged and strung their way into the afternoon, wrecking hands beat the drums and the symbols, Berri's strengthening voice could be heard singing with all of her might, into the mic, the gorgeous and fun melodies Wren would guide the two through, it was truly unfolding into something wonderful, though Tessa's eyes dragged back to that rattling glass of water. She forgot the last day she had peace and quiet, she wondered just how many times her and Zed escaped to the code room and disabled the teleport pads, it wasn't until Tessa lofted her sleepy gaze to her husband. Both were comfortably sunk into their own work, amidst their remote aspects of the code room, though it hit Tessa like a wall; Zed was diligently at work, programming a proper tower for Berri, Wren and Theo for their up and coming first birthday, when all this time, he could so quickly make a space for their little band project.

"Hey Zed?" Tessa loudly called over the muffled noise, the tiles on the ground practically began to itch out of the grout and tremble like clay ground in an earthquake.

"What'd you say?" Zed loudly wondered as he furrowed his brow in desperate listening, he tilted his head to the side and tried his hardest to hear his wife's calls.

"I just called your name," Tessa yelled in already brimming annoyance, though she tried not to smile.

"You combed your mane?" Zed loudly barked in whole confusion, he narrowed his gaze and extended his neck, as if it'd potentially better his hearing in some way.

"I JUST CALLED YOUR NAME!" Tessa hollered, though the second she did, the music downstairs ceased. Tessa wildly looked up, threw her arms up in defeat and endured Zed's loud, incredulous laughter, "The second I start screaming...!"

"Okay so... Remind me to check our hearing coding, later tonight," Zed grumbled, the two were grateful for the break in music, "What's up?"

"I just was thinking... You're spending all your evenings coding those three kids a tower, for their first birthday, but I don't think either of us can wait three more months of this nonsense," Tessa stated in a choke of dread, "Why don't you maybe quickly make the kids a recording studio, or some form of a practice area, in the garage or something?"

"The racer's garage? On the main palace lot?" Zed wondered nervously, as if to preemptively state apprehension towards the idea, though as his intelligent hands moved their way through the tiers of silver holograms before him, he spanned open the racer's garage and took inventory of each of their incredible race cars, "I guess... That doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"They don't sound half bad," Tessa grumbled into her hand as she heaved a hard sigh and enjoyed the small shred of silence they knew not to take for granted, "Maybe if we upgrade their setup, they'll really hone this skill... And we'll be able to relax in our home with peace and quiet."

"Noble of you to let them use the common room, though," Zed shrugged, he diligently began to go right to work on the racer's massive, underground garage.

"I guess I didn't anticipate the structural integrity of the separation to the common room and our living room to be so lousy," Tessa rushed with a small giggle, "Didn't think their little hobby would evolve like this... They need a proper spot."

"Well, thankfully, extending a small portion of the garage and adding a sound proof room and a few mics won't take me but fifteen minutes," Zed now furrowed his brow in confusion, at himself, and began to work on his little project, "...Weird that we didn't think of this prior."

"I think we didn't think of this prior simply because we thought said small 'I want a guitar' phase would, well... Be just that," Tessa shrugged, she wistfully looked off and lulled her eyes closed, "I guess all those times singing Berri to sleep really stuck with her."

"You never sung Ace to sleep, did you?" Zed wondered, his incredible blue eyes glanced to his wife in longing tenderness as Tessa stood up straighter, lofted her messy mane of auburn hair into a ponytail and arched her back, she was beautifully and comfortably slouched in a snug, black t-shirt.

"No... I mean, for the first two weeks of his life I was really going through a dark time... No pun intended," Tessa choked a small laugh, Zed's gentle eyes just barely glanced to the circuit board burn marks on her temples and over her eyes, faint marks of honor she proudly displayed, "Ace really relied on all those exterior swaps, remember? I was a much different woman, raising Berri..."

"You were happier," Zed bobbed a nod and peered back to his work, though not without eyeing his wife up and down in a subtle show of cheeky admiration, "You didn't have Sugar Rush, when you raised Ace. Methinks all those exterior swaps weren't strictly just for his benefit."

"No, I definitely used it as a crutch, where I could," Tessa sighed in annoyance to herself, though she shook her head and fell into a state of gentle peace, "It was easier, now... I had the energy to sing, more."

"It's good... I love your singing voice," Zed eyed her in a sneaky way, knowing full well Tessa was never caught singing in front of anyone, if she could help it, "Don't think I didn't eavesdrop on all those nights where it was your turn to put Berri to bed."

"Yeah, yeah," Tessa muttered in a pursed look of trying to force back a smile, she gently sauntered out of the kitchen and perked up the second the teleportation pad gently hummed with life; she gently motioned to Zed and gave him a look of coy girliness, "Y'gunna tell the kids now?"

"I guess I could, huh," Zed lulled his shoulders into a lazy shrug, his hands meticulously continued on with his small chore, setting aside his much larger chore, of building a new tower for the lot.

"Mom, can I borrow your nail clippers?" Berri stated in a huff of adolescent frustration, alongside an eye-roll and a gentle glower down to her nails.

Berri, although still considered a child and a minor, stood at the proud, exact height as her mother, as it were. Five foot five and still holding about four months more of growing to do, Tessa was certain her cute, lithe though curvy figure would easily span about two or three inches over her, height that Berri and Ace certainly got from their father. Wearing a tattered grey t-shirt and sparkly lounging leggings, clad in tints of blue and teal, all three kids looked as if they were thrilled to be let off the leash, a zone of comfort they knew not to get way too comfortable in, due to starting Academy in the next four months.

"Yeah you can, everything okay?" Tessa prod tenderly, Wren and Theo comfortably came sauntering in behind Berri with boyish looks of change in scenery; from banging on drums and keys and singing their hearts out, to the calm stillness of the King's and Queen's abode.

"Nails, nails, nails," Theo teased; a strapping, hefty guy that very easily boasted all of Oliver's and Ralph's genes, though his facial features were softer and easier, extraordinarily vivid emerald eyes, his mother's tender details proudly showed through on his masculine face. His hair was nearly black, though just a tint of dark green could be seen in the right lighting. Theo easily towered over Tessa and Berri, Tessa was certain he, too, had a lot more growing left to do even still. Theo blurt a chuckle and nudged Berri's little arm, he was dressed in comfy brown sweats and a black Dead Zed t-shirt, his gap-tooth smile was a sure-fire sign he was Ralph's kin, "How's those callouses?"

"Don't remind me," Berri grunted, she shook her head, her messy blue bun, atop her head, fluttered with stray fly-aways.

"I'll go get the clippers, give me a second," Tessa giggled, she gently high-fived Wren as he sauntered in, a clumsy stumble of trying to adjust his white sock on his foot, "Sup dude."

"Hey Tess," Wren wobbled and grunted a small chuckle of uncertainty as he finally stood up straight and eased into Berri's and Theo's vicinity, "Whatcha workin' on, Zed?"

"Dad and his projects," Berri eased into her father's vicinity, their shoulders scrunched into a small side hug, excluding arms.

"You guys having fun down there?" Zed prod, he eyed his nephew with a cheeky smile, in which Theo volleyed him a nearly apologetic grin.

"Ho yeah... Sorry for the noise, then, I guess, uncle Zed," Theo stated tenderly; both him and Wren were well on their way through puberty, making their tender voice crackles a delight to hear, here and there.

"It's no issue," Zed shrugged, he smiled and eyed his project, though as he opened his mouth to surprise the three with the castle's new installment, Wren gestured to Berri in inquiring tenderness.

"You still deciding on what to call that last number?" Wren prod, Berri rolled her eyes and heaved a hard, long sigh as she slumped further into her father's side; he finally caved and wrapped his bare, masculine arm around his daughter's tender shoulders.

"I don't know," Berri mumbled in despair, "I keep referring to Archived Chaos's last album, and all those song names... I keep blurring the lines."

"We're not Archived Chaos," Wren grunted as he crossed his arms, he smiled a toothy smile that very easily mocked Taffyta's sass, "Penny's going to go see them in December, by the way."

"I KNOW," Berri choked in further despair, Theo laughed at her expense and made himself comfortable at the kitchen island, across from Zed and Berri.

"What's so great about this band, anyhow? The music? Or... Maybe something more?" Zed began to tease, Berri's face turned bright red.

"Wouldn't happen to be a Mr. Gunner Ko, would it?" Theo muttered, he side-eyed his cousin, to which Berri now sagged into Zed's arm and rolled her eyes in further embarrassment.

"I can't blame you, Bear, he is pretty cute," Wren bobbed a nod and shrugged, "Out of our league? Entirely. Maybe one day we can go to their concert."

"They lost their drummer, recently," Zed stated, to which Theo, Wren and Berri nodded, as if maybe Zed wasn't up to speed on the latest musical news.

"He got kicked out, dunno why," Theo chuckled and shook his head, "He was an amateur anyways. Couldn't hold a beat to save his life."

"You'd have him beat any day, T," Berri encouraged, Wren nodded in nonchalance, as if it weren't even a question.

"Alright kids, your dude here has a surprise for yah," Zed grunted as he gently finalized his plans, closed them out and relished in the look of fascinated glee each kid's eyes held once the holograms vanished in silver snakes of glitch lines and mini-lightning flashes.

"Surprise?" Berri wondered delicately as she sat up straighter, though she hooked eyes with her mother as Tessa came back with the nail clippers, like promised.

"You're gunna love it," Tessa whispered in encouragement as she handed the fingernail clippers over to Berri; she eagerly went to work on her own nails, biting her tongue in concentration all the while.

"Is it the tower?" Wren's handsome blue eyes lit up in entire delight, he clapped his hands together and peered up to Zed in a show of plea, though Zed gently pat Wren's shoulder and began to ease in the direction of the teleportation pad, in hopes that everyone would follow him.

"Not quite yet," Zed apologetically smiled, the three kids eagerly trailed behind Zed's powerful demeanor, like puppy dogs. Tessa giggled and followed the crew in tow, her arms crossed, her attentive eyes watched the cute, unfolding situation, "I'm having major deja vu."

"When Nox, Ace and Libby were tailing you for THEIR tower?" Tessa questioned, Zed blurt a laugh and pointed to Tessa, as if to state that she nailed it.

"Ah, good times," Zed grunted as everyone eagerly piled onto the teleportation pad, "Alright, family, y'ready?"

"Yes, I can't contain myself, let's hurry," Wren snipped as he gestured his hands in entire impatience and excitement, and once Tessa was on the teleportation pad, Zed easily zipped the crew into thin air, coded information that teleported clear across Sugar Rush's Palace lot and onto the humming teleportation pad of the Sugar Rush's racer's garage.

Upon easing into the change in atmosphere from Berri's comfortable home to Sugar Rush's massive, underground garage, the crew of five stood still in adjusting on the teleportation pad. A massive stretch of about the length of two basketball courts, a swoop of low ceilings and slick, glossy concrete mapped the entirety of the garage. Warm lights lined the ceiling in a beveled, futuristic sense, the flawless, clean white ceiling and walls sung with stillness and purity. Each and every single racer's incredible beast of a car sat in cold, quiet wait underneath the calming, white garage lights. A well lit warehouse of sleeping race cars, it also held a small section off of the entrance that housed a proper workout area full of weights and exercise equipment. Zed cocked an eyebrow and peered just beyond said exercise area, to a prominent white door he had just programmed, leading straight into the kid's new sound studio.

"Y'see that door, there?" Zed pressed; he knew the kids knew the palace lot like the backs of their hands, so any new door in their vicinity was brand new territory unexplored, and they knew it. Berri furrowed her eyebrows in a rise of surprise, and as all three kids shot each other looks of cute, smiling uncertainty, they peered back up to Zed in readiness and held their breath as Zed continued, "Go see what's behind it."

In a solid second of a huff of silence, Theo and Berri suddenly came alive with their own coding and zipped off in a mess of proper form, glitch-hopping at it's finest. Once Berri's silver coding and Theo's lime green coding finally zipped away from Tessa and Zed, they realized one kid was left standing; likely the sassiest of them all.

"Oh, no! Go right ahead, it's totally fine that y'all have weird superpowers and I have to use my lowly little legs to get me to my destination, you freaks!" Wren only teased, though his adorable, bellowing voice filled the garage with an overflow of attitude as his hunched, agitated posture began to begrudgingly stomp in the direction Berri and Theo took off in; Tessa and Zed held in suspended disbelief before loudly howling with laughter at their adorable cousin.

"You have the skill of a swordsman on your side, Wren," Tessa blurt through a giggle as she waggled her hand, her and Zed followed after Wren in crumpling laughter, "Berri and Theo wouldn't know what to do if they were handed swords."

"You hold on to that and say it to me in instances like these, Tess, I'll need it," Wren demanded as he waggled his finger and shot his older cousin a wide, cheeky, boyish grin.

"Dad, you've got to be kidding me!" Berri cried in entire disbelief as her and Theo eagerly assessed their cool, cozy new recording and singing studio. She gawked at the specs her father had easily implemented, a sound-proof booth and a recording side Berri was absolutely certain they'd utilize, "I-I can't believe this!"

"A new place for you guys to play and sing and be loud, to your heart's content," Tessa assured with a wide smile, she crossed her arms and leaned against the opened door's frame, her and Zed proudly peered in to the grateful kids that quickly rushed about the studio, quietly and eagerly gawking at all of the details and tech specs.

"Alright guys, you're allowed to utilize this studio whenever you'd like, but it has a ten p.m. curfew, understood?" Zed instructed, he eyed his daughter and hoped that she wouldn't protest; although her bedtime was about an hour later, he clenched his teeth in dismay to see her begin to want to so badly protest.

"But, dad," Berri started, though she raised her eyebrows in prickled surprise the second Tessa's motherly gaze stabbed into hers with whole authority; with such, Berri sagged and bobbed a nod, "Yes, sir."

"Look, there's even a spot for me!" Theo urged as he dragged Wren and Berri back into ogling their new, futuristic, cozy space.

"Oh, whoops," Zed grumbled, his phone gently buzzed a noise as a reminder that he had an unread message he didn't know about. Zed furrowed his brow and peered down to his phone in curiosity, though he cocked an eyebrow and gave Tessa a cute smile of prickled surprise, "Odd... Turbo messaged me fifteen minutes ago."

"What'd he say?" Tessa wondered, the sound of Wren's, Berri's and Theo's excited notions soaked into their ears, Zed unlocked his phone and squinted into the brightness, he read Turbo's text aloud.

"'Bike's up and running, man. I'll be over shortly to show you the finished product and return your tools to you. Thanks again, man'," Zed quoted Turbo's text, he gave Tessa a warm look of tender relief, "Well, good... I'm glad he's keeping busy, in that perch of his. He'll probably be here, any minute."

"Whose coming?" Wren wondered in gentle curiosity, all three kids tenderly settled and peered to the King and Queen.

"Turbo, he's coming to show us his new motorcycle-" Zed grunted a small noise and was startled to feel Berri nearly lunge into his center, her arms wrapped tight about Zed's lower chest. Zed chuckled, held the back of Berri's head and sweetly peered down to her. She rested the side of her head into her father's chest and squeezed him tight as he tenderly continued on, "What's going on, Bear?"

"Thanks, daddy," Berri mumbled in blissful, content glee as she closed her eyes and squeezed him harder, though Zed chuckled and leaned down to softly kiss her forehead, he hovered over her skin and cheekily whispered a retort.

"This was your mother's idea," He concluded, he stood up straight and gently tilted his head to Tessa, and with a gentle sag, Berri unglued herself from Zed's figure and beamed Tessa a bashful, girly smile.

"Noooo, I'm just chopped liver, it's fine," Tessa teased with narrowed eyes, a shrug and a girly smile, though Berri easily flopped into her mother's arms and rested her chin on Tessa's collar and upper chest.

"Thanks mommy," Berri corrected as she squeezed her arms about Tessa's center, to which Tessa sighed and hugged her arms tight about Berri's head.

"Anything for you, sweet girl," Tessa sighed, she, too, gave Berri's forehead a firm smooch, though before Theo and Wren could properly thank Tessa and Zed for their brand new studio, the garage came alive with the sound of a core-shaking, earth shattering grumble of an engine.

In a tense sense of knowing and curiosity, everyone eagerly piled out of the kid's new studio and eagerly peered down the stretch of the garage's runway, each racer's car was parked neatly on the left side of said runway. The garage's narrow road lead down a single tunnel, out of the garage, and exited out onto the hillside, just outside of Sugar Rush's Palace lot. In the stretch of Turbo's bike grumbling down said double-lane corridor, Berri nervously clamored her being tight to Tessa's side, like a shy child. She peered out from the back of Tessa's shoulder as she scrunched behind her mother, Turbo's incredible bike came into view, in which all the boys cooed and went crazy for. In a slow roll, Turbo's incredible bike eased to a gentle stop, and as his heavy racing boots tenderly rested to the concrete undertoe, he powered down the bike with a simple shove of his thumb to the center of the bike's body.

"I'll be damned," Zed choked as he put his hands on his hips and admired Turbo's beautifully crafted bike, though Zed cocked an eyebrow and gently gestured back to the kids near his side, "Don't repeat that."

"Language," Tessa reminded as she rolled her eyes and lulled them closed at the same time.

"I didn't expect a crowd," Turbo's deep, crackly voice gently coat the group in a strange sense of mystery and comfort, of warmth and coldness, all in one weird ironic twist of rising curiosity.

Berri shrunk a little further as Turbo took off his white and red helmet, he shook his head and in the seconds Turbo had his creepy eyes closed, Berri relished in the anticipated wait. The slump of fear she always was sat in anytime Nox or Throttle lofted their eye contact her way, it was something she desperately struggled to get used to. In a gloss of hypnotizing, golden glow, Turbo's gaze stabbed to Zed's with a knowing, shy smile as he gestured to his bike, though with the unexpected company, Turbo looked reserved as his eyes gently landed on Wren, Theo and then to Berri. Berri sagged tighter behind her mother, held her breath in fear and tried her very hardest not to let the imprint of Turbo's incredibly creepy eyes be burned into her retinas for good.

"Bear," Tessa choked a small giggle, and although she began to ease away from Berri, so to get her to come out from her hiding spot, Berri skillfully kept tight to Tessa's body, cueing Tessa to take this bout of perceived silliness as a serious need. Tessa softened and stood still for Berri, even tenderly reaching her hand down and resting her larger fingertips on the side of Berri's thigh, so to silently soak comfort into her second born, to reassure her that she was in good and safe company.

"Holy smokes, that thing is LOUD," Theo beamed an excited smile; both him and Wren weren't phased by Throttle's, Nox's or Turbo's creepy, pixel-cubed pupils and glowing stare.

"Fast, too," Turbo gently added, he stood and eased off of his bike; a beautiful white and red beast, cloaked with the streamline, futuristic touch of sleekness, though it still held that old, rugged charm; it suit Turbo well. Although Turbo simply wanted to dude-out with Zed, he switched gears and now knew to cater to the two impressionable pair of eyes that held tight to him in boyish glee, "Hey, guys... Built it myself, y'like?"

"DO we?" Wren chuckled, he gestured his hand to the gorgeous bike and scoffed a cute noise of disbelief, "It's awesome!"

"Thank you," Turbo eased, he felt his interior want so badly to hop back on the bike and shy away, though he tried his very hardest to cater to Sugar Rush's next generation, "Wren, is it?"

"That's me! Wren Eddie," Wren bobbed a nod and waved his hand a little as Turbo smiled, bobbed a nod and switched his attention to Theo.

"Edward," Zed's deep voice teased, an inside joke him and Wren had; Wren wrinkled his nose and shot his cousin-in-law a playful, snotty smile.

"Annnd... You're Oliver's and Emery's son," Turbo pointed lazily, waggled his wrist and desperately tried to reach for the name, in which Theo confidently bobbed a nod and crossed his arms.

"Theo!" He proclaimed proudly, a Ralph-riddled smile to boot; Turbo chuckled and narrowed his gaze tight to Zed's.

"This is weird, man, it's like little versions of everyone I know," Turbo rushed quietly, Tessa and Zed loudly laughed at Turbo's cute notions, though Tessa could feel Berri's whole demeanor shriveling as Turbo's kind gaze finally lofted to Tessa, and the trembling being behind her, "And, uh..."

"Ms. Berri Kalivar, as you know," Tessa instructed kindly, she only gingerly tried to move out of the way, and to avoid further embarrassing herself, Berri finally allowed Tessa to barely reveal her, "You remember Turbo... It's been awhile, I think, you were only four months old, or so, the last time you saw Turbo."

"Hi," Berri quietly and nervously eased, her shivering eye contact held tight on Turbo's, once and for all, the golden glow was strangely warm and welcoming, though it was clear Turbo's entire soul was heavily guarded behind high walls, no matter how sweet and gentle his smile was.

"Your highness," Turbo's deep, crackly voice glossed over the group as he bobbed Berri a polite nod, he knew not to push the attention on her, due to her body language and the warning flags she was most certainly figuratively waving around.

"Your eyes," Tessa only mouthed to Turbo, she shrugged and gently rolled her eyes, not in due annoyance to Berri but rather the solid fact that Turbo potentially wasn't around enough to hopefully help quell this fear of Berri's; something Tessa didn't hold against anyone, though Turbo sighed and bobbed a nod of understanding, knowing full well there wasn't anything he could do about his scary gaze, anyways.

"Well, I have your tools in my materializer," Turbo sighed as he gently pulled out the small black, square pad, he gestured his hand to Zed and cocked an eyebrow, "Want me to leave 'er here for the night? Let you have a spin?"

"Man, would you?" Zed gawked in excitement as both men, as well as Wren and Theo in tender, boyish eavesdropping, began to excitedly swarm Turbo's wonderful, new bike.

"Sure, you helped me get her made, after all," Turbo's masculine shoulders shrugged through his loved, thick, brown leather jacket.

Berri's inquisitive, nervous gaze held tight to Turbo's disposition, his back turned. She knew this stranger was a recluse, and wasn't talked about much, though his sweet demeanor and the ability to watch his unique shyness slowly thaw, over time, was intriguing to Berri. She furrowed her brow, gently glanced up to her mother and wondered just why said recluse didn't live on the palace lot, like everyone else. Tender questions finally raised in Berri's heart, wonder as to why someone so gentle and kind excluded himself from the fun of family and gathering. She held tight to Tessa's side and mulled over the new thoughts in her mind, Sugar Rush's second Knight somehow protecting from afar made her curiosity run wild. She wondered just what was so good about living off of the palace lot, and if he potentially knew something that the rest of the Sugar Rush crew didn't.


	25. Chapter 25

**Reviews :**

 **CHICKENM4N :** He does, everyone sort of has an inkling he's gay, it's an unspoken thing between everyone. Wren sort of 'comes out' to Rancis in chapter 27, I believe it is. They have a nice father/son bonding chapter :)

 **Jay Sketchin :** Thank you friend! I appreciate it!

 **Snake557 :** Yes indeed! They utilize this music room a LOT in this story - and even upgrade it! Woot!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Party For One by Carly Rae Jepsen**

* * *

 ***Chapter 25***

Within the next few days, Berri, Wren and Theo spent every waking hour that they could inside their brand new music studio. Although this was a bit of a struggle to get the kids to come to dinner, and to come home at the end of the night, the kids decided to change it up for a small while, if just for the day. Cooped up inside their music studio for days straight, Ace had kindly suggested the kids to get some sunshine, potentially throw a ball back and forth, do something that required fresh air. Although it was pushing into the Fall months and the evenings were cold, Sugar Rush's crisp Fall air was still welcoming and warm. Vivid, minty skies shroud with gorgeous, fluffy, pink cotton candy clouds, the whole palace lot was encouraged to be lazy on Arcade's only day off.

"Bear, I'm open!" Wren shouted, this time he was entirely agitated, the sheer fact that she was not throwing the ball to him had him nearly pushed over the edge, "If you throw that ball to Beaux I swear to USER!"

"You can't catch to save your life!" Berri grunted as she easily lofted the ball in Beaux's direction; a few months younger than Berri, Wren and Theo, Beaux and Mara enjoyed being able to run around and play with the big kids, no matter what it entailed. With the three bigger kids at nine Arcade months, thirteen Earth years, Beaux and Mara stood at about eight Earth years old. Beaux successfully caught the ball amidst a jolt of a laugh and began to immediately run in the opposite direction of Mara, who swiftly dart after him. Theo barreled into Berri with a loud grunt of a laugh, causing Berri to flop to the ground. Berri loudly wailed a noise and tried to collect herself as she sat up, "THEO, I said tackle, not annihilate!"

"That's karma, I can't catch and you can't get good," Wren stabbed, clearly kidding, though he easily got heated. He brushed his shorter white hair out of his eyes, ruffled the shaved part of his scale and began to begrudgingly take off his zip up coat, "They're losing anyways, can't you just throw it to me ONCE? Like... I'll open my arms wide, it'll work!"

"Wren, you open your arms too wide and the ball hits your chest and then falls to the ground," Theo instructed, he adjusted his hot red tshirt on his broadening shoulders, he ran his larger, wrecking hands and fingers through his dark green hair and shot Wren a teasing smile, "Happy medium, my dude."

"Yeah, whatever, I play the keys, not football," Wren rolled his eyes, though they collectively sighed in frustration once Beaux loudly proclaimed a touchdown, at the end of the field. With Beaux, Wren and Theo easily towering over both Berri and Mara, it was clear that they'd permanently hold height over the girls. Strong, strapping men that were coming into their own, though still bumbling with childlike innocence, Beaux and Mara quickly began to run back over to the bigger kids. Wren gestured his hands to Beaux and gave Berri a wild look of dismay, "I mean, look what I'm up against. Two huge dudes related to Wreck-It Ralph, and not to mention, all of you guys can glitch. I'm left in the dust."

"I didn't glitch-hop then, Berri told me not to," Beaux's gentle disposition now sloped to soft concern, a big ol' worry wart, just like his father, his hazel eyes peered nervously into Wren's, as if to be entirely apologetic.

"It's okay," Berri assured to Beaux as Mara shyly hung tight to her brother's side, her beautiful, pastel blue hair was shoulder length and held deep waves, clearly something she got from Ace and Tessa. Berri finally softened her teasing, girly antics and gave Wren a small smile, "I'm sorry Wren, I'm just playing."

"Play less, it's becoming much," Wren snipped, a sensitive and sweetly sour personality still coming into his own, Berri knew Wren was the kind of person that needed to be taken seriously at all times, and after a few hours of stewing, he always came back around.

Beaux and Theo began to excitedly exclaim the points of the previous play, going over different strategies, discussing just what they could do different or better, though just as Berri was about to open her mouth and join in on the fun, she narrowed her gaze and noticed a group of individuals far across Sugar Rush's Palace lot. Every flyer stood about Ace, Zed, Tessa, Libby, Koko and Nox. They looked to be discussing something important, the way their attentions were fixated on Balba and Lickity, who also joined in on conversation, Berri felt her mind switch gears in innocent curiosity. She was well aware the group was likely discussing their fragile, yet bumbling adorable blind flyer, Chester, who was likely struggling to get on with the clan. In a gentle gesture to Theo and the rest of her small group, she began to softly step away, her bare feet against the palace's cool, soft, bright yellow grass.

"Hey, guys, I'll be back," Berri called as she continued to quickly step away, "I'm just going to go make sure everything is okay, over there."

"Okay!" Theo waved, he huffed a hard sigh and gave Beaux a knowing look, "Okay, NOW the teams are even."

"Okay, so whose on my team, then," Wren grunted in irritation; they all fell silent, though Beaux choked a small chuckle and raised his hand, to somehow pretend that this was something he wanted, out of politeness.

"I'll be on your team, Wren," Beaux stated kindly, to which Mara and Theo both let out sighs of relief, alongside teasing laughter, laughter Wren knew wasn't malicious.

* * *

In a gentle jog, Berri slowly crossed the palace lot. Before too long, she inhaled a deep breath cued her incredible silver coding, given to her from her mother and father, and with all of Tessa's glitching lessons that came rushing to her, she flood the surrounding grass with coding and took off in a lightning bolt display of a glitch hop. In seconds flat, she finally eased into the vicinity of the group, and much like she assumed, everyone was nervously and loosely gathered about Balba, who stood proudly with Chester tight to her side. Although Chester was Beaux's and Mara's age, due to his nature, he was already a strong, tall and sturdy lykata hybrid. Although the top of his head was level with Balba's shoulder blade, and his long, incredibly powerful legs stood still and solid, his disposition was that of entire reserve. His incredible orange pelt, that eventually melted into his cream underbelly and the dark orange, blue and white markings that delicately swirled down his spine and dragon wings, was glossed to perfection. Chester's vivid, glossy, foggy and blind turquoise eyes sealed the deal and really made clear that he was an absolute gem, a rarity in of itself.

As Berri entered the conversation, everyone eagerly peered to her with gust and excitement. Berri gently sagged into Ace's side, and amidst a tender side hug, Ace lofted his gaze across Sugar Rush's grass lot and assessed the location of his two children, as well as Wren and Theo. They happily continued to throw their ball around and loudly played and laughed with each other, which had Ace's curious gaze brought back to his little sister. Her sharp blue eyes held tight to Chester in concern, Ace knew that Berri was the one that had successfully taken Chester under her wing and was the one to try and help him navigate his surroundings, due to his blindness. The fact that Chester couldn't talk made it all the more difficult, though the group knew Berri had a way with Chester, something she possessed over everyone. Ace gently tucked some of Berri's long, cerulean blue hair out of her eyes and cocked an eyebrow.

"Hey, B... You get bored of your game?" Ace wondered, Tessa, Zed and Libby continued to gently chit chat with Balba and Royal, about Chester's ever-tense predicament.

"Eh, it was an odd number of us, I figured I'd come see what you guys were doing," Berri prod, she kept her eyes tight to Chester's being.

Safely snug inside the gentle dip of Balba's feathery wing, Berri thought it interesting that Chester's haunting, foggy eyes held tight in Berri's direction, as if the sound of her voice was something he strictly recognized, and although his ears were laying flat prior, the second Berri started talking was the second his long, dark, orange wolf-like ears perked high to his head and held strict in Berri's direction, like satellite dishes that picked up every ounce of information that it could. Ace cocked an eyebrow, glanced in Chester's direction and noticed the switch up.

"You uh... You had a trick, to help Chester see, right?" Ace wondered to his little sister, who hung tight on his side in a sloppy side hug, "You used your glitching abilities... We've been trying to do the same thing, all day, and he's not responding."

"He's not?" Berri prod in confusion, she knew over the course of the last month or so, she had been successful in getting Chester to trot around, get a feel for his environment and all around help him see, via a prolonged exterior swap.

"We're able to connect with him, but then he won't really connect with us," Ace explained, though everyone now was noticing how fixated Chester was to Berri.

"He is eagle-eyed on her, right now," Lickity blurt a small chuckle, and with her concluding words, everyone tenderly peered to Chester and fell silent.

Berri felt her heart begin to surge in knowing, she smiled in Chester's direction, his broad, cream colored chest expanded with a refreshed inhale as he stood a little taller, more confident, and with such, Berri dared to take a step out into the circle. With flyers and adults towering over her, she tried her hardest to only keep her gaze to Chester's blind eyes, hauntingly peering straight through her, she knew his stare was strictly curious and friendly. As she eased about a dozen feet from Balba and Chester, Balba gently and lovingly flattened her ears, nuzzled her motherly snout into the side of Chester's face, lined with two prominent spines, a physical appearance Chester had gotten from Royal and Orion. Balba eased a few loving words to her tall, growing pup, in which he lulled his eyes closed and returned said gentle nuzzles, though before long, he fixated his blind gaze straight into Berri's soul, once more.

"Seems to have some sort of bond, with Berri," Boss pointed out, him and Lickity bobbed eager nods, in which the whole group now fell silent as Berri came within six feet of Chester.

Chester gingerly shifted on his feet, tilted his head down a little and continued to hone his incredible hearing tight to Berri's presence. In a gentle wash of Berri's silver coding, a streak of circuits and glitch lines easily swarmed Sugar Rush's color-changing summer grass, like snakes that side-winded their way for Chester's paws, Berri knew this little trick was nothing new to anyone, though how Chester would receive it had everyone holding their breath. In a gentle swarm of Berri's silver coding, Chester's paws swarmed with the marbled, iridescent display, though before long, Chester's wings, held tight to his sides, slowly began to relax in a warm display of a thawing disposition. Before too long, Chester's beautiful, marbleized forest green coding finally cooperated with Berri's and soaked into a gorgeous display of silvered, swirling greens and greys.

"There he is," Zed chuckled, he crossed his arms and softly lofted a curiously cheeky smile in Tessa's direction, and as they watched their daughter interact with their resident, blind, hybrid lykata, a sense of pride swept through the group the second Chester's wings unfolded, bumbling paws stepped forward, and a happy tongue dangled out of his mouth like an excited puppy dog.

"Chester," Berri called in a coo, concluded with encouraging kissy sounds. Chester gently sprawled his wings, shook his fur a little, licked his nose and began to clumsily trot over to Berri in whole delight. Berri giggled a loud noise as Chester's much-too-big-for-his-body paws came flopping to the tops of Berri's bare feet, he jostled Berri and grumbled a faint noise of delight as he nuzzled his whole snout into her opened hand, "Easy, boy! Geez!"

"Remind you of anyone?" Nox's deep voice wondered, he crossed his arms and gently gave Tessa a cute smile, he gestured to Lickity and shrugged, "You told us you won Lickity's heart by exterior swapping, like such, right?"

"Like mother like daughter," Koko stated in a knowing, happy tone as the whole group shifted and peered to the adorable situation with whole relief.

"C'mon, Chester, over here!" Berri called as she gently glitched away and in a totally different direction, though outside of her voice, she shifted her position to about fifty feet off, in a different direction than where her voice previously came from.

To everyone's surprise, the paw pads on Chester's feet still held solid with his and Berri's exterior swap, his whole posture was that of entire confidence, a lithe and beautiful lykata that easily scanned the plains with suspected eyesight, Chester's whispering voice barked a soft noise, as best as he could, and with a bit of a clumsy start, Chester began to gently dart straight for Berri, a bee-line in her direction. Berri breathed a hard giggle and, upon Chester reaching her, she swiped his snout out of love and quickly rushed off to a new location, closer to the group. Chester successfully began to run towards her, his rudder-like tail functioning out of instinct, his gorgeous wings flopped a bit, not knowing that whilst running, he needed to keep them tight to his body. Due to this, he clumsily fumbled, though rushed Berri in speeds no one had seen from Chester, nonetheless.

"Good boy, Chester!" Berri encouraged as he finally dove his snout right into her face and began lapping at her cheeks. She loudly laughed and shoved on his chest as he overflowed her with gratefulness, "Y'think he'd let me ride him?"

"You should try, Berri, you've gotten him this far," Balba warmly encouraged as she proudly watched he two become further acquainted, she gratefully peered to Berri and flattened her ears in a polite manner, "That may help him get around even better, if you're there to help him see the whole time, y'know?"

"Hmm, whatdoyahsay, boy?" Berri prod as she peered up to Chester, though he perked his ears and honed in the direction of the other kids, across the lot, and listened in on the nonsense they were getting into. She bit her lip in contemplation and peered to Chester's spine, which was about at Berri's eye level. She knew she had to be careful and gentle in this endeavor, and as easily as she could, she lugged herself against Chester's side, hoisted herself up onto his spine and successfully straddled him, bare back. Berri beamed the group a wide, excited smile and gestured down to Chester in a rile of fast-moving excitement, "I did it!"

"GREAT Bear! See if you can get him to look around, have him run around a little," Zed gestured his hand in encouragement, and with such, Berri inhaled a deep and shaky breath, peered down to the back of Chester's head and suddenly felt like a fish out of water.

"Alright, Chester, let's... Take it easy, then," Berri's voice shook in excited nervousness as she tenderly hunched over Chester's shoulder blades.

She softly grappled the long, gorgeous fur of his mane, which eventually dribbled to smooth, large scales. She admired the gorgeous patterns of blues and oranges down his strong spine, and as she readied herself, she allowed their exterior swap to heighten a little, her live-wired palms softly met with his fur and scales, ultimately upping their connection. Berri gasped a small noise and felt as if the switches in Chester's brain were now turned on, and as she closed her eyes, she felt a weird sense of otherworldly existence come to her. She relished in the eyesight Chester was now given, a sort of sonar-like approach, every single inch of the palace lot was mapped out in strict grid lines and glowing heat points from each being that was within the vicinity. Once Berri reopened her eyes and glossed her own eyesight across the lot, she immediately felt her heart soar.

"C'mon, bud, we got this," Berri cute, girly, adolescent voice whispered quietly as she properly leaned forward, upped their shared coding and silently willed him to ease forward, a promise that the eyesight she was gifting to him wouldn't fail him, and in this bout of new territory to map, Chester leapt forward in full trust and started out in a clumsy trot of wanting to climb to an eventual gallop. Berri huffed a small giggle as his massive, cleat-like paws did everything to fall into correction, the proper form of a gallop, and with a wobbly start, Berri beamed a widening smile and loudly encouraged Chester with further zest, "That's it, Chester, y'got it!"

"Babe after my own heart," Tessa concluded sweetly as she crossed her arms and proudly watched the two get the hang of their new chore, she hung tight to Zed who narrowed his loving gaze, his aching heart soared.

"She's one hellofa girl, that's for sure," Zed quietly breathed with a smile of disbelief.

Berri huffed a small noise of surprise the second Chester's fumbling feet began to find some form of rhythm, her heart raced, a fire ignited within, she fumbled to get a proper riding position against Chester's bare scales, and with a soft mutter down to the fluffy mane on his neck, she tilted her head down and honed her tight, incredible eyesight over the top of Chester's head, a wind whipping flicker of fanned embers that so easily roared to an open fire, let loose to the palace lot. With boyish paws that fumbled to an eventual proper thud of a gallop, Berri loudly whispered Chester another jolt of encouragement, and in the sugar rush of it all, even time nearly couldn't escape Chester's top speed. Like roaring thunder over the palace's acres, cleat-like claws that viciously tore through the lot's now dead, blue, winter grass, the two heavily panted in the fog of December's cold, morning air.

Sat hunched in a proper, immobilized riding stance, fit with proper riding boots, straddling a sleek riders saddle, Berri kept her hands tight to the two spikes, on the sides of Chester's shoulder blades, his more matured, adult body finally showed his majestic pelt, spikes and thorns that all came through his adolescent stage and straight into the speed demon he had become. With Chester reaching top speeds of about seventy-five miles an hour, around the bend of the circled Sugar Rush lot, Berri narrowed her gaze through her flight goggles and did everything to prepare Chester for the next bend of their running exercise; bobbing and weaving through the tree-covered bend of the Sugar Rush lot, the flyer's enclosure. Now only a week away from her first birthday, and starting Academy, Berri's matured voice huffed through Chester's deep, quick, raspy inhales and exhales, she saddled herself tighter to Chester's spine and readied herself the second they flew past Ace's and Libby's tower, near the edge of the flyer's jungle enclosure.

"C'mon, Chester, y'got it this time, just picture every tree ahead of time," Berri's sweet, matured, womanly voice encouraged over the whipping wind, her long blue hair was tightly woven into a long braid, down her spine, though it easily whipped about behind her as Chester's whole body galloped in the roll of a cheetah's run, his spine so easily flexing with the rhythmic pumping of his long, powerful legs, and cleat-like claws that successfully lunged him forward with each huge stride, Berri hunkered tighter to Chester's spine and upped their familiar exterior swap, so to map out each upcoming tree for Chester, she called to him through the grit of her teeth, "We're making good time, bud, you got this!"

The second Chester's incredible speed began to encroach the towering trees of their enclosure, Berri grit her teeth and prayed; the last dozen times they attempted this resulted in being thrown, due to brushing or full on colliding with a tree. With clenched teeth and a tight, motionless posture aboard the rocket that Chester had so successfully become, Berri did everything she could to make his eyesight training easier, mapping out every single tree that he could potentially come in contact with, and like taut sails on the sea, Chester's rudder-like tail so diligently guided and steered him through the maze of trees he now plummeted into. Berri held her breath and looked ahead of the game, something Chester couldn't do on his own, and with great success, he weaved in and out of tree trunks, ducked through low branches, soared through the mess of vines and leaves as if he were out on the open plains, all whilst keeping his incredible speed and momentum. Berri choked him a loud few words of encouragement as they, lightning speed, approached the end of the enclosure, and with a pop out into the open sunshine, once more, hot orange and blue exploded from the muted winter foliage like a bolt of lightning.

"Here they come," Theo's deep voice muttered, they hung in the gaping, open walk way that circled the entire palace lot, the high walls that held a lovely breezeway the entire way around.

"Shit, they might actually make it," Wren mumbled, he cocked an eyebrow and peered down to the ticking stop watch he held in his gloved hand, he glossed his eyes to Theo in nonchalance as Theo's larger thumbs typed away on his phone, he quietly smacked on a piece of gum, "...How did you know they were coming without looking?"

Theo raised and waggled his eyebrows amidst a smacking, cheeky, boyish grin and began to wiggle his toes; Wren looked down to his bare feet in confusion and could see his glitching, lime green coding easily sapped into the earth underneath, cueing to Wren that he could feel Berri and Chester on their way due to the vibrations in the coding. Wren lulled his head back, rolled his eyes, held out the stop watch and let his lazy, aimless and annoyed gaze peer down the cool, sunlit corridor they hung in the gape of, and as he exhaled a long, irritated, fogged breath of defiance, Chester's whole body suddenly whizzed by the two, nearly as fast as the speed of light. The rush of wind, to follow, had Wren wobbling, both boys' hair easily fluttered in the sudden gust.

"Time," Wren muttered to himself in further annoyance, Chester was now easily more than a hundred feet off, though Wren sighed and could see Berri finally sag down to Chester's saddle, ease up on the reigns and cue Chester into a slow gallop that eventually bumbled to a cool down of a trot as they began to turn around and make their way back to where Wren and Theo were waiting.

"Any good news?" Berri called from a now fifty foot distance as she sat up straight on Chester's spine, he slowly trot over to the two boys, he panted hot, fogged breath out to Sugar Rush's cool air.

"You didn't beat nor fall short of your record," Wren called as Theo stood from his leaning position, sagged his phone into his thick jacket's pocket and anticipated his cousin's return via Chester's strong, sturdy, thudding paws, "Right on the nose..."

"Welp... Guess that's likely it, then, bud," Berri grunted, she lovingly pat the side of Chester's neck and mane, a job well done, "He successfully dodged every single tree... Not a single scathe. That's huge."

"Go Chester," Theo encouraged as Chester finally slumped to a gentle halt, he flickered his tail and fanned out his long feathers, on the end of his tail, in proper lykata form, though he lifted his left wing a little and assisted in Berri dismounting his spine. Berri's boots crunched to the cold earth underneath, and she slowly grimaced in taking off her flight goggles to sag them onto the crown of her head. Theo lovingly began to stroke Chester's snout as Wren began to anxiously tick the start and stop button on the stop watch he held onto, "Y'think flying will be on the agenda anytime soon?"

"Doubtful," Berri sighed, everyone peered to Chester as he flattened his ears and huffed a long, raspy noise of agreeing, as if to state that Berri was indeed correct. He grimaced a teasing smile, glossed his blind eyes in Berri's direction and wrinkled his nose in a snotty way, as if to tell Berri that it'd take an entire lifetime of convincing, "I think Lickity and Royal attempted to teach him to fly, a few weeks ago, but... I mean, once you're in the air, there's no ground or anything your coding and grip to, so to see properly."

"He'd literally be flying blind," Wren mumbled, he felt agitated due to the whole 'no coding' nonsense and argument him and Theo often got into, though it became easier to stuff it and let it all just get swept under the rug. He fixed his tan beanie, atop his head, and finally sagged his glove covered hands into his nice, grey button up winter coat, "I don't know how you're not cold, I'm freezing my ass off."

"Oh, here comes Throttle," Theo chimed in gentle kindness as he gestured his shoulder; Throttle casually made a bee-line right for the small group, he wore warm clothes and a lovely, thick, black scarf tightly woven about his neck.

"I guess after the first few seconds of near eighty miles an hour winds stabbing you in the face, you forget just how cold it is due to your face going numb," Berri stated with a huff, the tender speech impediment she had acquired, due to her face being so cold in this instance, was further proof that she was indeed telling the truth.

"We should go inside, get some hot chocolate or something," Wren suggested as his teeth now began to chatter, Chester chuffed a noise and softly nuzzled his nose into the side of Berri's face, causing her to wobble in a choke of a giggle.

"Hey, Throttle," Theo called kindly as he was now within earshot of the small group, his dark shoes crunched the torn up path that Chester had left, he smiled in the kids' directions.

"Hey, guys," Throttle eased, he shrugged and shook his head as he sagged into their gravity, "Was watching your run out my windows... Chester's incredibly fast. Teaching him well, your highness."

"Why, thank you," Berri chimed in a sweet tone of gratitude and a small head bob; she was the only, single individual on the palace lot, inside Sugar Rush's hierarchy, that actually enjoyed going by her social status, outside of Tessa being referred to as Queen in serious matters; it was something that everyone dutifully took note of. Berri sighed a wistful, smiling sigh and lovingly let her larger hand sag down Chester's warm snout, "He's a pro, now... Our next massive chore is flying. Not so sure how well that'll go, but... Won't know until we try, huh bud."

Chester blurt a small, raspy noise and flattened his ears, he grimaced Berri an annoyed smile, yet again, and, as creepy as it was, his foggy eyes shook in a trembling dart into Berri's gaze, as if to state that he was well aware of their conversation and could fully understand everything being said, despite the fact that he couldn't talk back to anyone. The group warmly laughed as Berri rubbed the side of his neck and mane, to reassure him that there was no pressure on him, in their endeavors.

"I just got a message from Rancis, not too long ago... I guess a handful of people are in the main building, having some sort of argument," Throttle prod, he didn't seem way too worried, though Berri, Wren and Theo all furrowed their eyebrows in confusion and heartily peered to one another in a show of further hesitancy.

"Guess it's time to put out some fires," Wren grumbled in tender dismay, all six individuals now began to cross the lot, pass Throttle's abode and head for the old castle's Great Hall, which eventually lead to the palace's sprawling kitchen, "You remember the last thing Tessa and Aunt Vanellope fought about?"

"No, what was it?" Theo blurt a chuckle as everyone kept in tow with each other, their shoes alternatively crunched on the dry, cold ground.

"Something about daylight savings time, since California recognizes it, and blah, blah, blah," Wren waggled his hands about, as if to insinuate it was all nonsense.

"Ohh I remember," Berri choked a laugh and gave the glowing, pristine spires of the palace a proud, devious smile, "I think mom won that debate."

* * *

 **A/N :** And if you're wondering Tessa's opinion on day light savings time, it's that she hates it and is SO glad Florida now doesn't recognize it anymore, just like Arizona. I'M TIRED.


	26. Chapter 26

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Thank you! I LOVE those kinds of transitions in movies, so I thought I'd try my hand at it. I'm glad it got across! :)

 **Burgie :** Thank you! That really means a lot!

 **CHICKENM4N :** Hey! I replied directly to your review :)

 **Jay Sketchin :** Yeah that's true! They both definitely need their rider. Chester can physically fly by himself, but having Berri there to guide him is what would be detrimental. Thanks friend! :]

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Does Your Mother Know by ABBA**

 **Stay With Me ft. Jeremy Zucker by ayokay**

* * *

 ***Chapter 26***

In the span of the massive, circular kitchen, the glorious Sugar Rush sunshine glinted through the skylights. Filing in, one by one, Berri, Wren, Theo, Throttle and Chester all cautiously eased into the kitchen. In the lower half of the kitchen, a few Sugar Rush racers lounged about on the nearby seating, cozied with a few house plants, side tables, reading lamps and the like. The few steps that actually lead up into the kitchen boasted the two, huge, swooping kitchen islands, gorgeous and glossed in the pearliest, glassiest of white marbles. As if to be frustrated and searching for some little way to get his agitation out, Rancis was hard at work, cleaning the hearth. Ralph, Vanellope, Tessa, Oliver, Koko, Nox, Zed, Ace, Libby and Beaux all loudly hung about the kitchen island to the left of the south entrance, in which Berri, and the rest in tow, slowly emerged from.

"That's absolutely not fair, just because we have kids doesn't suddenly make us party poopers," Tessa yelled, everyone was in high spirits, loud energy, and although Throttle had the impression that everyone was legitimately fighting, it seemed to just be a family brawl, one of teasing notions. Everyone loudly began to volley their own retorts to Tessa's further remarks, "What, we're still the same people, so we're a little exhausted! I still know how to have fun!"

"Right, but when's your bedtime," Nox urged as he waggled his eyebrows; all the parents loudly groaned and griped, everyone else laughed.

"Ten at night," Berri chimed in loving sass, she crossed her arms and firmly squeezed herself in between the small gap between her mother and father.

"You kids have no clue, we used to go on all sorts of stupid adventures, EZ Living's motocross tournament, all those nights of those crazy, drunken times at Tapper's," Ralph listed on his fingers, Vanellope crossed her arms and bobbed a heavy, beaming nod.

"Yeah, but admit it, once you had me and Tessa, things tightened, you guys got slack with those wild and crazy drunken adventures," Oliver shook his head and beamed his father a wide smile, Ralph rolled his eyes and looked off.

"Yeah, then it was OUR turn to do stupid shit," Zed gestured to himself and waggled his eyebrows; everyone roared with laughter.

"But, then what happened after you had me?" Ace prod in further question, everyone went down the line, though Libby waggled her finger and gave Zed a sneaky look.

"Nahhh I wouldn't write ma and Zeddy off so quickly," Libby's cute, lilted accent chimed into coy knowing as she nudged Ace's elbow, though everyone feverishly gawked in Zed's direction as his face turned beet red.

"No, don't do it," Zed stabbed through a choke of a laugh.

"C'mere," Ace muttered to Beaux in a fatherly fashion, and with a teasing smile, he firmly sank both of his hands over Beaux's ears. Ace flared their shared, golden honeycombs, making it so Beaux now couldn't hear anything. Beaux gaped a wide exhale and huffed a noise of whole annoyance as Ace quickly carried on, "I barged into the garage, on the Kalivar castle lot, shortly after mine and Libby's birthday, and... Y'guys were gettin' REAL freaky on the hood of mom's car."

"WHAT?!" Berri shouted in a hard squeal, everyone was absolutely lost in loud laughter.

"I hate where this conversation has gone," Zed grunted as he covered his face and threw his head back in whole agitation, meanwhile Tessa shoved her forehead to the counter and covered her whole head with her arms and hands.

"I didn't see anything detrimental," Ace chimed as he unhanded Beaux, he grunted and peered up at his father in teasing agitation, young, innocent ears that likely already heard too much anyways.

"I'm sure this is JUST want uncle Ralph and aunt Vanellope want to hear, eh?" Wren wrinkled his nose and sagged into the kitchen island with a widening smile; both Ralph and Vanellope largely rolled their eyes and finally shot their playfully agitated smiles to Sugar Rush's King.

"We always knew Zed was trouble," Ralph grunted, he flagged his massive hand outward and caught Zed's shoulder, causing him to wobble, "Remember that one night Tessa spent the night in your loft and you didn't ask us if that was okay?"

"Ohh, that was the night Oliver was pissed at me," Tessa finally lifted her head, her face was still beet red. Oliver beamed and eagerly nodded as him and Tessa reminisced, "He was mad that I wanted to swap codes with a User made gamer."

"Forbidden swap," Vanellope waggled her eyebrows and beamed her typical, cute, toothy smile.

"Lickity stopped anything from happening because of a stupid thunderstorm," Zed muttered, as if he were still salty about it.

"Damn, breaking all the rules, dad," Berri crossed her arms and peered up to her father in great cheek, he rolled his eyes and puffed his hot blue hair out of his eyes.

"Alright, let's uhhh... Take the attention OFF of Mr. Zedian T. Kalivar, can we? Please?" Zed begged, though Berri lifted her finger and was confident in keeping this train going.

"I think I remember a few nights ago, I went to the kitchen to get a drink, and I don't think you guys closed your bedroom door all the way, and-" Berri was suddenly grappled into a teasing headlock via Zed, in which she blurt a hard, stifling laugh and urgently began to wrestle Zed's strong arms.

"We were FAST asleep, Bear! Thank you for that story, NEXT!" Zed choked a loud laugh as him and Berri continued to struggle in further, chuckling retorts; the kitchen sung with laughter and happiness.

"Y'could always tell the kids the story about how you caused a power surge in Game Central Station, Mr. and Mrs. Schweetz," Rancis's gentle, manly voice cheekily called from the hearth; everyone loudly cooed knowing antics in Ralph's and Vanellope's direction.

"I honestly don't think we will ever live that down," Ralph covered his face and shook his head, though Ace bugged his eyes in widening disbelief and shook his head with a huge smile.

"WHAT? I thought the Kalivar castle losing power, because of me, was a huge deal," Ace rushed in a gawk of whole surprise, though Beaux widened his eyes in smiling, irritated stun and peered up at his father, he finally blurt a hard laugh as Libby covered her now blushing face. Ace wildly gestured to his grandfather and beamed wider, "The whole ENTIRETY of Game Central Station?!"

"We should, y'know, keep discussing this further, I think," Vanellope sneered, she shot Ace a sarcastic smile and shrugged.

"The whole station," Ralph mumbled, though he eased Vanellope a loving, knowing smirk; she rolled her eyes amidst blushing cheeks.

"Ooo, remember that one day that me and Penny took my brand new dirt bike around the Evergreen forest?" Tessa gestured in Oliver's direction, he sagged and shook his head in smiling remembrance.

"I had to get Orion to come fish us out of trouble," Oliver's nostalgic smile held true, to which Vanellope perked up and pointed at her first and second born.

"I will never forget that day," Vanellope stated with a gentle laugh as everyone eagerly honed in, "You three almost became hood ornaments."

"Ohh, the good 'ol days," Oliver bobbed a nod and finally caught eyes with Theo. He playfully pointed to his son and shook his head, "We're still cool. We just have children. It doesn't change anything!"

"Yes it does," Nox, Koko, Berri, Wren, Theo and Throttle all mumbled in teasing, smiling dismay; every parent in the group loudly let out a hard groan, though it wasn't until Rancis finally strolled over did the group glue their attention to the added voice.

"You're forgetting Tessa's and Zed's incredible escape to Tron?" Oliver cocked an eyebrow and gently lofted his teasing smirk in Zed's direction, though with a pang of nervousness, Berri furrowed her brows in hard surprise and shot her father a look of concern.

"...Tron exists?" Berri prod quietly to her father, as if to wonder just why he would've kept this information from her; before he could hesitantly answer her through a grimace of grit teeth, Rancis tenderly popped the group's bubble.

"If you guys REALLY want to prove that you're still cool, why don't we play a hard, palace-wide game of hide and seek, then?" Rancis chimed, he waved about the long shoveling stick he used for the kitchen's main hearth.

Everyone at the kitchen island fell silent in contemplation, everyone's eyes gently glossed to one another in smiling curiosity, and with the frozen, heightened mood of question that hung in the air, Rancis gently waved the stick about some more and cocked an eyebrow.

"Stay on the lot, you're not allowed to teleport anywhere else, nor go inside anyone's home, nor the flyer's enclosure," Rancis listed, he cocked an eyebrow and was entirely floored he had everyone's solid, frozen attention, they held in suspended wait as Rancis's cheeky smile only broadened, "I'm it... Y'got a hundred and twenty seconds. Starting now."

For merely a second and a half of holding curiosity, it wasn't until the whole room lit up with coding did Wren and Throttle urgently cover their faces and eyes. In the blink of an eye, every single glitcher in the group picked one of the four entrances from the kitchen to shoot down, tiers of colorful glitch lines and circuit boards easily swarmed the room in a buzz of chaos, one that made the electricity in the room drum to a buzz of heightened frenzy before settling, just as every single firework of a glitcher was gone like vanishing streaks of lightning. Wren and Throttle's hair whisked about for a moment, and once everything settled, the only sound left was Rancis counting down from a hundred and twenty, his muscular arms and back worked to continue cleaning the hearth. Wren sagged his shoulders in now boiling annoyance and felt the heat of the massive disadvantage he had. He glowered his aimless gaze across the room and clenched his teeth in steaming agitation, though he felt tepid warmth want to simmer the second Throttle gently rested his hand on Wren's shoulder.

"... I, too, feel the pain of not being a glitch," Throttle's deep, caring voice blurt a small chuckle, though with such, Wren heaved a hard, long sigh and began to slowly saunter in the direction of the Sugar Rush racer's garage, as well as where his, Berri's and Theo's music studio hung in hot wait.

"I surely do looove being normal," Wren's voice came down to a depth of crackling annoyance as he shoved his hands into his coat's front pockets, his father had finally reached the forty second mark as Wren nonchalantly sagged out of the kitchen for good, with no sense of urgency. Chester slowly followed Wren, strictly by the sound of his voice and footsteps.

"You just did that to get them out of your hair, didn't you," Throttle mumbled quietly to Rancis with a knowing side-eye as he sat at the island; Rancis shrugged and didn't miss a beat.

"Worked, didn't it?"

* * *

With a jolt of searing, silver electricity, Berri effortlessly glitch-hopped down the long stretch of a corridor that lead to the Sugar Rush racer's underground garage, as well as her's, Wren's and Theo's music studio. With the garage being entirely underground, the first twenty feet of said well lit corridor glossed it's way to a proper stair well, one that finally leveled with the underground garage. The second Berri's coding connected with the ground, down the long tier of stairs, she continued onward, like a bolt of lightning. After a few seconds of travel, she finally reached within twenty feet of the gaping entrance to the garage. Through said small entrance, she could see a peak of a few of the racers cars, as well as another peak of the selection of exercise equipment that the majority of palace residents utilized.

Berri choked a small huff of a breath, came out of her agile glitch-hopping and peered ahead, to the garage. She knew hiding in her music studio was likely just an easy spot, and she would easily be found, though she fingered her lip and wondered if she could fit in the whole of Theo's kick drum. She grinned at the idea, shook her head and rolled her eyes, though in the flicker of nervousness, she could hear, from way down the other end of the corridor, where she had just come from, the soft patter of nonchalant footsteps. She knew whoever was en route to her, in this moment, had to eventually climb down the whole entire staircase. She knew if it were her great uncle Rancis, no glitching would be involved, and it'd likely take him a hot minute. Berri turned around in skillful footwork and began to walk backwards, she kept her eyes on the massive stretch of a gorgeous, white corridor she had just come from, and in gentle diligence, she inhaled a readied breath, eased the core of her glitching powers and whirled around in a sudden splay of blue hair and agile, steady footwork.

As if moving in slow motion, Berri's line of sight caught again with the entrance of the garage, though she felt prickles of heightened electricity sprinkle up her arms and spine as she suddenly saw an added presence round the corner of said corridor, heading into the hallway from the garage, in the opposite direction she was headed in. As if trying to slam on the breaks and halt a transmission from kicking into high gear, Berri's incredible, powerful coding did everything to begin to launch her forward in the lunge of a proper glitch-hop, or the beginnings of it, though she choked a startled noise and felt all of her efforts fall short. Berri shut her eyes tight, allowed herself to firmly collide with whoever this individual was, and in the mess of splayed coding, Berri choked another startled noise the second her exterior coding excitedly danced with this individual's exterior coding. she unfortunately didn't get a proper look at said person before diving headlong into them.

In the sear of it all, Berri shut her eyes tight and was delighted to find that, although this individual wobbled backwards a step or two, they were more or less an unmoving force of warm strength. Berri's ears pricked as she could hear this individual grunt a noise of concern, his deep voice was glossed in uncertain warmth, and it was in this hot moment of colliding realization did Berri understand that this male she had dove into wasn't a familiar one. Her excited, frenzied and confused coding collided with this being, and it was in the licks of molten, stinging, uncooperative coding did Berri get a sudden wash of scalding binary, from this person. Hot red honeycombs swarmed Berri's mainframe and easily mixed with hers in a soak of grippy curiosity, though as soon as the sparks of passionate coding finally died in a zip of remembered shyness, Berri huffed a few panting exhales into the chest of her victim.

Berri fluttered her eyes and tensed in entire surprise, her blue eyes met with this person's soft, light grey t-shirt, her hands and arms rested tightly against the inner bend of his forearms and grappled tight to the skin, and it was in this concluding wobble of exasperated grunts and huffs of further confusion did Berri furrow her eyebrows and enjoy the confusing sense of warmth, his arms came tight about Berri's sides and upper back. It wasn't until Berri realized her long, soft, blue hair had splayed all over the side of her right arm and down to this individual's left arm did Berri finally ease her head away in shock and peer up into the stab of golden eyes that nearly used to haunt her, all through her childhood. Like looking straight into every single last childhood fear she had, she sunk into herself, sagged her shoulders in unadulterated fear and embarrassment and could hardly even get his name out, amidst staggering, blushing horror.

"Turbo," Berri huffed in a shaky tone of girly, apologetic grief.

"Your highness," Turbo stabbed in a near-whisper of rising adrenaline, and it was in this instance did Berri understand that Turbo likely assumed she was running from trouble. With the way Turbo's arms fastened about Berri and began to softly situate the two so that Turbo was in the line of whatever danger she was running from, Turbo's terrified glowing eyes peered down the lonely corridor in a spike of purpose, "Wh-what's wrong, is everything okay? Where's Tessa?"

"O-Oh, no, I'm... I'm fine, I'm fine," Berri now blurt a bashful chuckle, she suddenly felt her face wash to an embarrassed shade she could swear was somewhere close to purple. She tried her damndest to seem nonchalant, though the only thing she could do was breath a nervous giggle and sag her gentle hands to Turbo's strong, masculine forearms. Although he still held onto her in suspended anticipation, as if all of his swearing to protect the royal family was now coming to fruition, he finally sagged his shoulders and peered his vividly glowing yellow eyes straight into her soul. Berri felt her insides clench, though the strange amount of tenderness said scary eyes held was something she dutifully noted, "W-We're... We're all playing hide and seek, I was just... Headed to the garage to find a spot to hide."

"Oh, phew," Turbo stated through a raspy sigh as the two held suspended in each other's arms, Turbo's strong hands gently cupped behind Berri's upper back. He held almost an entire foot of height over her, the tender way his long-blinking eyes held down to Berri in boyish, dumbfounded uncertainty. They held painful, awkward eye contact for a second or two before they both quickly eased off of each other. Turbo huffed a trembling breath, now entirely uncertain of what to do with himself, he anxiously rubbed the back of his head and stammered on a few conversation-starter words, "S-So, I-I... Y-You guys, uh... Wh-why are you..."

"Oh, your books, I'm so sorry," Berri tucked her vivid blue hair behind her ears and suddenly began to step over to the few books Turbo had abandoned on the ground, due to their bout of coded fireworks; Turbo jolted to halt Berri in picking up his books for him.

"Please, your highness, I-I got it," Turbo tenderly laid his fingers to Berri's soft shoulder and cued her not to lift a finger. He scrambled to pick up his books before she could even think about fighting him to it, and in a shlep of the few books he secured tight to his chest, he stood up straight and nervously eyed Berri, "Th-Thank you... I-I hope I didn't scare you."

"No, not at all," Berri fibbed. She knew staring into those golden, square-pupiled eyes of his was only the stuff of her entire nightmares, mild childhood trauma that not enough time around Nox and Throttle apparently quelled, though she sucked it up and knew she could handle it, especially due to the softness Turbo's hardy, scary exterior tried to defy, "I wasn't looking where I was going... You, uh... You here to see my parents?"

"Yeah, I'm just dropping these books off to Zed, he let me borrow them," Turbo staggered, and it was with this did Berri begin to see Turbo's hands lightly tremble, likely due to the scare, though Berri cocked an eyebrow and gave him a cute, knowing smile as he began to nervously side-step around Berri, as if being in Berri's presence was somehow something he potentially wasn't worthy of, "I-I... Good luck, with your game."

"Thanks, Turbo," Berri gestured with a small giggle as she waved her hand, he only barely gave her a nervous smile in return and began to hurriedly make his way down the long corridor, his only destination, from there, being the palace's kitchen.

Berri sagged her shoulders, stiffly turned around, clenched her fists and her teeth and silently began to mutter to herself in whole entire embarrassment. She shut her eyes tight, eased into the garage, quietly berated herself and felt the hot wash of forever lingering embarrassment cling to her skin like a ghost that was lonely. She knew it'd be a hot minute before she could let herself live that encounter down.


	27. Chapter 27

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie : CONGRATS! **You're my _ **100th**_ reviewer for OOTB! Thank you! :D And yes, Berri definitely would've had that meeting go entirely differently... Though Wren definitely eats it up haha

 **Jay Sketchin :** Hey, friend! No prob, I'm here to help. So, in my last chapter, when she was riding on Chester's back, I (tried) to skillfully do a time transition, and in those paragraphs I wrote - _Now only a week away from her first birthday, and starting Academy, Berri's matured voice huffed through Chester's deep, quick, raspy inhales and exhales, she saddled herself tighter to Chester's spine and readied herself the second they flew past Ace's and Libby's tower, near the edge of the flyer's jungle enclosure. -_ In the first half of that chapter, she was about 8 months old (about thirteen Earth years) and now she's almost entirely an adult, ranging anywhere from 18-22 in maturity and only going up, in maturity, over the years, even though she has physically stopped growing. Hope this helps, sorry for the confusion! I guess that's what I get for trying something new lol.

 **Nikki Firesong :** Hey friend! Long time no see, I hope you've been well! And yes, I'm SO glad you guys are enjoying the trend :D Good things come in threes! ;]

 **CHICKENM4N :** No problem at all, I just want everything to be as clear as I possibly can afford. I don't want any confusion for my readers! Thank you, friend.

 **Snake557 :** Too true xD

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Gold in a Brass Age by David Gray**

* * *

 ***Chapter 27***

"For User's sake, for User's sake, for User's SAKE!" Berri suddenly shouted inside the security of her soundproof music studio; white walls that had white foam-padded walls with two separate rooms, one for playing music into mics and the other for recording and mixing it all together. She scrunched her larger hands into her bangs, furrowed her eyebrows in a tight grimace and shook her head through tight, squinted eyes, "Could I BE anymore clumsy? For User's sake, I just... BARRELED right into him!"

Berri huffed a long, noisy sigh, puffed her blue bangs out of her eyes, slumped down to one of the four comfortable studio chairs, near the massive mixing board of their recording studio. She sagged in whole entirety, looked up to the lower ceiling and continued to shake her head in embarrassment that only seemed to get worse with every passing second.

"I might as well have gotten down on one knee and asked him to marry me! What the hell is my problem!" Berri scolded herself, she white-knuckled her fist and lightly knocked it against her forehead in further punishment, "He's probably going to go tell my dad what a turd Sugar Rush's princess is...! UHG!"

"For User's sake, I can hear you all the way down the corridor, are you good?" Wren barked with a hard chuckle as he eased into the studio, though with his noiseless entrance, Berri jolted with a fright and bugged her eyes, now realizing that she hadn't shut the door all the way.

"WAS THE DOOR HANGING OPEN THE WHOLE TIME?!" Berri shrieked just as Wren shut it behind Chester's moseying, bumbling paws.

"Yes, you freak, you were shouting about marrying someone?" Wren beamed her a sassy smile and shook his head in dire curiosity, "I bumped into Turbo, on the way down here, by the way."

"You bumped into him too?!" Berri was on pins and needles as Wren slowly eased into the recording side of the studio, he skillfully twirled the chair around and fixed the cushion so he could sit down, though he slowed his roll and cocked an eyebrow in his niece's direction.

"...No? Theoretically, my presence bumped into his... Meaning, we crossed paths? I said hi, as did he, and we moved along," Wren's curious smile couldn't get any wider, "What, did you ACTUALLY bump into him?"

"Bumping into him would be a MASSIVE understatement!" Berri hollered, her face was still shroud in a hot red blush, all over her cheeks and nose. Wren sagged in the comfortable, white studio chair, crossed his left ankle over his right knee, crossed his arms and gave Berri an entirely delighted, anticipatory grin of continued eagerness, "I practically rocked him off the face of Arcade!"

"Couldn't have been that bad," Wren choked, though Berri gawked. Wren held his hands up and was now lost in delighted laughter, "What, couldn't have been much more than just a tumble into him, you're acting like you steamrolled over him!"

"WREN," Berri sharply groaned as she side-eyed him, though she couldn't help but smile amidst all of Wren's contagious laughing, "I was in the process of glitch-hopping... I mean we exterior swapped and EVERYTHING."

"Ohhh, now it's interesting," Wren genuinely looked surprise as he sat up a little, "You... You're really not kidding, are you."

Berri wildly gestured her arms, grunted a few incoherent obscenities and lazily twirled around in her studio chair. Once she came back to correction, Chester sauntered up to her, sat on his hindquarters and began to happily pant; his turquoise tongue hung out of his mouth in soft breaths as Berri finally sagged and looked off in mortified defeat.

"... He smelled really good," Berri finally muttered in annoyance as she furrowed her eyebrows and peered to Wren out of her peripheral, as if to be further shy of her now collected findings.

"How romantic," Wren teased, though Berri rolled her eyes and held her forehead, once more, "What would you describe his scent as, then?"

"Oh, hi Turbo, haven't seen you since I was a child, let me just body slam you with my glitching powers," Berri rushed as she wildly gestured her arm again, Wren shook his head amidst all their laughter and was quite enjoying this show, "Got to know me REAL quick... Cinnamon pipe tobacco and a fresh shower, by the way."

"How much can you tell about someone amidst three seconds of an unprepared exterior swap?" Wren shrugged, he knew not to write off the incredible ability of the glitching powers of Vanellope's brood, though he still remained salty that he was a minority of royalty, the hard fact that he didn't have any official gaming powers.

"I got a read of his mood, a quick blip of his thoughts, I was able to tell his gender, his name, his heart rate, his current emotion, the state of his energy levels, how old he is," Berri quickly listed on her fingers, she cocked an eyebrow in Wren's direction and sharply shook her head, "And, unfortunately, vice-versa."

"Yeah, but he's not familiar with glitching abilities or anything like that," Wren sneered, "Certainly he was just lofted a wad of your coding and he had no clue what to do with it... You're well trained by the Queen herself, glitching master."

"...Y'ever think he's even had something like that happen to him?" Berri wrinkled her nose and narrowed her gaze into Wren's beautiful, dark blue eyes.

"Doubt it... Only Nox has proper glitching abilities, and I don't think I've ever seen Turbo come over and properly hang out with all of us," Wren lofted his gaze into the windows of their studio, in which looked into the recording room, "Pretty sure he's just been running Orion City since the beginning of time, no? All alone in that perch of his?"

"Guess so," Berri sighed, she shook her head and allowed a small, grateful smile to sprawl her face, "His emotion and mood read, well... Confusion at first, but, it was really sweet how quickly it switched to protection."

"He IS Sugar Rush's second Knight," Wren reminded, he smiled fondly of his own father and shrugged, "Turbo and my dad took an oath, I'm sure he maybe thought you were in danger. You ARE Sugar Rush's heir, y'know. He probably kicked it into high gear and was prepared to defend a royal at all costs."

"I definitely sensed that," Berri bobbed a gentle nod and looked off, it was clear she was riding on the dregs of true, horrified embarrassment that would take User knows how long to finally get over.

"Y'guys are terrible at this game, gotcha both," Rancis suddenly blurt in a cheeky tone as he only poked his head in, firmly pointed his finger and waggled it about in a playful manner, "Losers get to finish cleaning the hearth while I look for everyone else."

"C'mon, I cleaned the hearth last week, uncle Rancis," Berri groaned with a hard, sagging sigh as she finally slumped to get out of her studio chair; upon standing, it loosely swiveled, cueing Chester to get to his feet and softly sniffle his wolf-like snout into the back of Berri's side. She lovingly swiped his snout and began to head for the door, in which Rancis was hovering in, in anticipation, "I have to get Chester's saddle and gear off of him, anyways... Brush him, feed him, all that fun stuff."

"Oh the joys of having a blind companion," Rancis grumbled to his great niece, upon her nearing him, he lovingly snuck her into a side hug and smooched the side of her head, "Fine, Wren, you're the lucky duckling. I already finished half of the work, anyhow."

"That's fine," Wren stated in tender defeat though as Berri and Chester filed out of the studio, Rancis nonchalantly propped the door open, peered his attention in the direction that Berri and Chester were slowly moseying in, and in the gap of time Rancis was prepared for Wren to come catch the door and press into the garage alongside him, he furrowed his brow and quickly peered his attention back into the studio. Wren hadn't moved from his chair, he looked stiffly sorrowful, his nervous blue eyes merely glossed in his father's direction. Rancis peered to his second born with a prodding smile and tilted his head towards the garage, in which the studio exited into, "Y'comin' bud?"

Wren frowned and softly glossed his eyes across the studio in calm and collected acceptance, one of sorrow and the continuing of sweeping his issues under the rug, though like clockwork, Rancis softened, noticed the switch up and understood that Wren likely needed some tender loving care; Rancis carefully came back into the studio, closing the door behind him, so to securely seal him and Wren inside said private, cozy abode.

"C'mon, Wren, I was just teasing," Rancis chuckled, his loving, fatherly approach was beyond palpable, something Wren was wanting to cling to, and although Rancis knew that Wren was clearly upset about something way beyond their game of hide and seek, he knew soaking into the issue was easier than diving in head first.

"It's not that," Wren muttered, and as Rancis neared, he passed by Wren, grabbed the back of the studio chair that Berri was previously sitting in and grunted a deep, relaxed groan as he sat down, making clear to Wren that he had his father's whole, undivided attention, the act of sitting and staying, showing commitment.

"Well, I'm all ears," Rancis sighed as he relaxed. Rancis, although Sugar Rush's first Knight, was enjoying a lazy day of a dark grey t-shirt, nearly too big for him, bare feet and casual black jeans that had the makings of holes in the knees. He previously was wearing a faded yellow hoodie, all clad in his logos and racing numbers, though he had taken it off to do the manual labor of cleaning the palace's hearth.

"It's... Nothing important, I guess I'm just... Struggling with feeling like I belong, really," Wren tenderly admitted, he side stepped this conversation, for he knew his mother and father, Taffyta and Rancis, had really no gamer skills passed to him, excluding sword training and every single last ounce of racing knowledge they possessed. Although still skills and gamer tools in their own right, Wren sighed and wished he was blessed with something more flashy. With his running thoughts, he heaved a hot sigh and looked down to his hands in tender sorrow, "Dad, it's... Really nothing, I don't want to hurt your feelings or anything, I just-"

"Wish you were a glitch?" Rancis mumbled with a cheeky smile, as if to state that this was entirely old news, as well as likely being something that him and Taffyta had already struggled with. Approving all of Rancis's inquiries, Wren rolled his eyes, sagged and looked off, as if to feel annoyed that Rancis was, indeed, correct, "Ohhh, believe me... I've been thinking the same thing since day one, son."

"It's so hard being the only one, in my group of cousins and nieces and nephews... I'm the only normal one," Wren frowned, his becoming-glassy, dark blue eyes hooked to Rancis's in a rise of dire need, he had previously taken off his nice grey coat to reveal a very clean, pressed, tidy, conservative v-neck of a t-shirt, one that complimented his nearly white hair. Wren shook his head and looked off in confusion, "They just... Rush off, glitch-hop, share exterior swaps when comforting the other... I just feel as if I'm missing something, there's a piece of me that longs for that connectivity."

"I agree," Rancis bobbed a nod, and instead of rushing to aid in all of Wren's sorrows, he knew relating to Wren, here, was likely going to go a lot farther.

"You ever just... Hang out with all the glitches of the palace and feel... Like..." Wren dragged, it was here that his eyes finally began to become glassy with the promise of tears.

"Incomplete?" Rancis finished, to which Wren bobbed a nod and urgently peered his sorrowful eyes into his father's.

"I mean... Berri was upset about something, the other day, and Theo gave her a hug amidst a light exterior swap, and she immediately felt better," Wren rushed, he waggled his hands, "He didn't even say words to her, he just... Sat there in silence, like they were secretly communicating through their coding. I just feel so left out, like... What do I have to offer?"

Rancis furrowed his brow and peered to his stunning second born, a creature of tidiness, his white hair was shaved down on the sides of his head, only to starkly spike into a proper, handsome faux-hawk. His broad, masculine shoulders were strong and muscular, though his lithe figure easily mocked Penny's and Taffyta's. All those sword fighting lessons really built his upper body to a show of that of a reserved, apex predator, a strong young man built for anything. Rancis felt his heart ache with the sheer fact that this incredible being felt so inadequate, when in all reality, he was the entire opposite. Rancis choked a small laugh, shook his head, and gave his son a cheeky look, as if to warn Wren that he was about to overload him with compliments.

"Wren, what do you offer to yours, Berri's and Theo's garage band, here?" Rancis prod, Wren softly glanced his teary eyes through the glass and into the recording side of the studio, to Berri's favorite lime green electric guitar, Theo's gorgeous drum set, Wren's splay of keyboards and mix-boards alike.

"I-I... I play the keyboard, I also mix and do back up vocals," Wren's adorable, handsome, deep voice crackled with the impending onslaught of further emotion coming his way.

"Sure, Berri and Theo could carry on with strictly her singing voice, her guitar and his drums, but what's a song without the melody?" Rancis tenderly listed, he was glad he had Wren's attention, "What's an album without the backup vocals, the harmony and the tunes that melt everything together? Cool synths or something? You mix it all together and make it awesome, don't you?"

Wren stayed quiet and soaked up all of his father's compliments, though he grew bashful and avoided eye contact as a few tears escaped.

"You know full well that any single person on this lot, excluding your sister, wouldn't know the first thing to do if they picked up one of our swords," Rancis choked a laugh as he recalled a fond memory, "Even the big bad Ralph... He used the damn thing as a toothpick."

Rancis felt his heart surge the second Wren choked a laugh he desperately tried to stifle, and with meticulous hands that cleanly tidied his bangs, Wren bat his eyes and continued to look off in a desperate attempt to keep his warm and happy side from showing through; he wanted to continue on the moping train as long as he could.

"'Don't have anything to offer'," Rancis repeated Wren's words with a lilt of tender detest, he narrowed his loving, fatherly gaze and shook his head as he gently leaned forward to rest his elbows on his upper thighs and knees, he eased further into Wren's fragile bubble, "You know full well this palace lot would be a lot duller, without you, here... You make up the spice of this family. You and Penny can thank your mother, for it."

Wren finally blurt a confident chuckle and inhaled a shaky breath, he tried his hardest to compose himself though the smiles eased through the tears that streamed his cheeks.

"You're my son," Rancis stated with warm determination, "You have a whole world to offer, just through your personality... The glitcher's and wreckers, of this lot, aren't who they are strictly because of their powers, Wren. Their characters and personalities make them who they are. Sure, they have added flare, but... So do you, in your own right."

"I'm practically Berri's stylist," Wren muttered in a rising confident show of sassy cheekiness, though he wiped his cheeks of tears and still peered to his father in tender, boyish question, "I-I guess I just wish I could enjoy those exterior swaps and be included, y'know... I-It's not like I have a fantastic glitching boyfriend, or anything."

Rancis held still in Wren's tender insinuation, and although everyone guessed that Wren potentially swung a different way, Rancis refrained from exhaling and was thrilled it was finally, and legitimately, unfolding before him. Rancis knew to tread lightly, so not to scare Wren off, the only thing he could deem as least threatening as possible was a loving head-nod.

"That doesn't matter, though, Berri's a head-turner... Hard to compete with, I guess," Wren muttered, and although it was clear he wasn't bitter towards his niece, he still looked as if he maybe wasn't dealt a good hand.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Wren, you're still young," Rancis choked a small laugh and shook his head, "There are PLENTY of guys at Academy, I'm sure you'll be just fine. Just enough for you and Berri. Pretty sure you two have different tastes in guys, anyways, so I wouldn't be so worried about it, y'know?"

Wren gently peeled his eyes from the gorgeous splay of buttons and knobs, on their sound board's counter and straight into his father's eyes. Wren felt his heart thud with the fragile bubbles him and his father were finally able to pop, uncertainty that always hung over everyone in the baited anticipation to rush Wren with love and acceptance, Wren was certain this little show of warmth, from his own father, was the only amount of support he needed to fully carry on feeling confident in himself. Wren gently smiled a teary smile, once more, and looked down to his hands in his lap.

"Thanks, papa," Wren staggered through a gentle clearing of his throat, and with such, Wren raised an eyebrow and was thrilled to see Rancis softly get to his feet.

"Just doin' my job, bud," Rancis grumbled with a loving smile as he neared Wren, and although Wren had previously acted walled off and unapproachable to love, Wren immediately stood out of his chair and welcomed his father's impending embrace. Rancis heaved a grumbly sigh, wrapped his arms tight about Wren's strong shoulders and firmly tucked his scruffly chin atop Wren's head. With a firm squeeze, and a gentle sway, Rancis lulled his eyes closed and allowed the two a tender moment of understanding, of acceptance and warmth. He firmly rubbed Wren's upper back and was thrilled to feel Wren's gentle arms squeeze tight about Rancis's middle.

"Just know that any guy you bring home will definitely be getting the same treatment that your big brother Orph went through," Rancis grumbled into the side of Wren's head, and before Wren could protest, he pushed a firm smooch into the side of Wren's head, on the shaved part of his hair.

"User, then I'm not going to bring a guy home, Orph told me he hardly survived the event," Wren choked a laugh as both men pulled apart, and with one last doting touch of love, Rancis tenderly wiped the rest of the tears off of Wren's cheeks and jaws.

"He's not Penny's husband just yet," Rancis grumbled, a teasing air he always kept about his future son in law, though Wren shot him a look and shrugged.

"Y'got one month left, to chase Orph away, dad," Wren blurt a laugh as Rancis rolled his eyes, amidst a smile, and ran his hand through his golden, curled hair, "The second they state their vows and say 'I do', it's all over for you."

"Yeah, yeah," Rancis rolled his eyes, the front he gave off was that of cold annoyance, though everyone knew Rancis deeply cared for Orph, "I guess he's alright."


	28. Chapter 28

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** It's no issue! yay, glad it was cleared up :]

 **chuckiboo :** Aww, thank you! I'm glad! And yes, Berri is a bit louder and more easily flustered than Tessa, she has a ton of 'outward' personality.

 **Burgie :** Thank you so much! I'm glad you think so!

 **CHICKENM4N :** I agree. I wish everyone was as accepting as mostly everyone on the Palace lot.

 **Snake557 :** Indeed!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **End of Line by Daft Punk, TRON soundtrack**

* * *

 ***Chapter 28***

In Sugar Rush's cold, blue, December day, Berri and Chester moseyed to Chester's riding stable. All squared away with grooming equipment, it's also where Berri fed, bathed and saddled Chester. Due to his blindness, he wasn't the best at hunting with his flight pack, due to the fact that they hunted in the air. Berri did a wonderful job of keeping Chester in tip top condition, due to the amount of running and riding they do. Chester, being a rare hybrid of a lykata, had the lithe figure of his mother, though the head, jaw and ferocious set of teeth due to his father. With an organized mess of scales and fur, both pops of orange and blue, with a creamy underbelly of softness, Chester's height easily towered over the top of Berri's head. She was eye level with the gorgeous, short, cream furs on his broad upper chest; he stood proud and tall, even with his disabilities, something Berri so diligently uplifted so he could live as normal of a life as he could.

" _I remember the nights, when we would waaatch the sun come up_ ," Berri sung sweetly, every note was hit in absolute perfect pitch, the lilt of her voice just barely carried down the massive, arched, outdoor corridor they wandered down, en route to Chester's stable. Berri sagged her shoulders, looked off and let go of Chester's lead, confident he'd continue following her. She sang on, outside of the lyrics, though stayed in tuned, " _When I'd hockey-check youuuu in the garage corridorrr._ "

Chester huffed a silent choke of what would be a laugh, he grimaced a wide, fang-filled smile and flattened his ears. How badly he wanted to emit laughter, he poofed the feathers that lined his neck, like a bird, to show excitement. Berri rolled her eyes and lulled her eyes closed in continued embarrassment.

"Holy User, Chester, I don't know if I'll ever forgive myself for that... Dive face first into such a noble, prestigious being, someone so important to Sugar Rush," Berri muttered as she grappled her bangs, angrily peered into her hands and was now certain she wouldn't be able to think about anything else for the next hundred years.

As Chester and Berri came upon his open-aired stable, they gently sauntered inside. A smaller enclosure comfortably tucked into the very edge of the flyer's massive, jungle enclosure, it was lined with crates and hooks, all gorgeously splayed with different saddles that Berri would decorate Chester's spine with, leads and reigns alike, Berri knew it'd be a matter of time before she could confidently give Chester a proper flying saddle, whenever that day would come. Although Sugar Rush's foliage was on it's way to dying for the winter, new crops of winter greens and gorgeous, green and white striped candy cane sprouts began to present themselves about Chester's stable, all crowned with pretty green leaves, covered in powdered sugar speckles and mint. The smell was fresh, an indescribable wash of newness.

"Maybe I'll never see him again and I can just pass it off as a misunderstanding?" Berri shrugged as she finally began to unhook Chester's saddle, she reached underneath his soft belly and unhooked a few more buckles before she grunted and caught his heavy saddle. She turned heel, so to properly put his saddle away, though she continued with a girly giggle, "It's just LORE. Only Wren knows the real story... I doubt Turbo would go telling other people."

Chester huffed a hard exhale, perked his ears high and caught the sharp stir of something he heard, just where Berri was approaching, and before Chester could likely give Berri a warning signal, Berri jolted clear out of her skin in fear, her silver coding nearly rocketed through the roof of the stable. Berri choked a small, nervous wail, stumbled backwards and uncontrollably welcomed Chester's heavy saddle into her lap as she fell to her rear.

"ACE?!" Berri blurt in whole annoyance, although Berri hadn't forgotten that the castle-wide game of hide and seek was still a thing, she didn't think anyone would choose Chester's stables as a hideout; Ace nervously peered his head out, from behind the few saddles on display, and the big storage cabinet he had squeezed next to.

"So sorry," Ace meeped with a sheepish smile as he scrunched his shoulders. He finally grunted and tried to worm his large, muscular body from wedged between the nonsense of the saddle rack and the storage shelf, "I didn't think you guys would come back so soon... Did great uncle Rancis ALREADY find you?"

"Yeah, I sort of checked out," Berri muttered as she held her larger hand to her racing heart, she inhaled a long breath through her nose, to calm down, and gave her big brother a wily look of teasing detest. She grunted, got to her feet and began the hoisting process, of Chester's saddle, all over again.

"I heard all that, what's this about, erm... 'hockey-checking' Turbo in the garage?" Ace blurt a hard chuckle, rolled the sleeves of his hoodie up his arms and remained stationary whilst Berri eased past him and began to hang up Chester's saddle and leather reigns.

"For User's sakes, now that you AND Wren know this story, I know now that I will never live it down," Berri grunted as she hoisted the saddle on it's proper rest, she rolled her eyes, sighed, quickly began to tuck her loose, long blue hair into a sloppy low ponytail, and in the movement of it all, she bent down, opened her storage cabinet's drawer and grappled for Chester's large brush, "Go'head, tease me, make fun of me, I get it. Get it out of your system while you can, go on."

"I'm not going to make fun of you, Bear," Ace chuckled as he crossed his arms, she rounded about him and began to lovingly brush Chester's pelt where the saddle sat; the fur there had mildly clumped, and with her diligent hand, she began to firmly iron everything out whilst Chester sniffled the grassy substrate below him, his massive paws and non-retractable claws shifted a little as Berri methodically stepped about him, brushing his orange fur with ease, "...Wait, Turbo's here?"

"I mean, unless I bumped into a VERY realistic and matter-filled hologram of Turbo, Ace, YEAH... Turbo's here," Berri muttered in further dismay at herself, she knew she'd get over it eventually, though she was sarcastically excited to spend the rest of the evening moping about her embarrassing encounter with Sugar Rush's noble Knight, "He's wearing a light grey shirt with black biker jeans, he uh, just showered, smells of a delightful cinnamon pipe tobacco, his heart rate spiked when we collided so I don't know what it was resting, his birthday is May first, nineteen eighty-two... Wait a second..."

Ace cocked an eyebrow just barely and suddenly felt his heart surge, the fact that if Berri were indeed telling the truth, and said collision was a coded frenzy of an exterior swap, then Berri got a good, solid dose of Turbo's vitals, health and age statuses, all backstory that none of the new generation had really been introduced to.

"... Turbo's thirty seven Arcade years old?" Berri staggered in eye-bugged confusion as she stopped brushing Chester, sagged her arm to her side in defeated confusion and peered to her big brother over the tops of Chester's shoulder blades, "What gives? I thought Sugar Rush was plugged in, in nineteen ninety-seven? The game is twenty two years old... How is Turbo a whole fifteen years OLDER than the game he was made in?"

"User, you're going to rock whatever math classes you take, at Academy, Berri," Ace blurt a hard chuckle and put his hands on his hips, he knew he wanted to dodge and prolong Berri's curious questions for as long as he could, though he also knew it was futile.

"His... His coding didn't state that he was from Sugar Rush, now that I think about it, it... Didn't clarify anything," Berri prod, she narrowed her gaze to Ace and gave him a challenging look, as if to wonder now if information was being withheld, "He's coded for Sugar Rush, but... That's not his game, is it..."

Ace held his breath and let his cheeky demeanor slide, he tenderly peered to his baby sister, a mature, fully fledged gamer, a gorgeous display of Zed's dominant eye and hair color, a sturdy, curvy and lithe representation of Tessa, she was a solid powerhouse of intellect, as sharp as they come. Ace knew slipping by her was as hard as trying to slip past Tessa's radar, which rendered nearly impossible. He was well aware only vague details were to be given to the children, on the palace lot, about the insane amount of turmoil both Sugar Rush and Dead Zed had previously gone through, it was all they could do to prepare their young minds for Academy and to potentially fill in the gaps when they were fully ready. Ace felt the weight of Berri's now heavily questioning blue eye contact, like warm ocean water on most days, though in instances where she meant business, her gaze was as sharp and as cold as daggers of ice.

"Ace," Berri demanded, her womanly voice was something Ace was still trying to compute, he knew the aging process was super quick in the Arcade, though now having to witness it all first hand via his baby sister and his own two twins, he wondered when his head would stop spinning.

"I-I'm sorry, Bear, I just..." Ace staggered, he was worried that one of Sugar Rush's younglings would rope him into this sensitive conversation, and strictly did everything to avoid it, though in the tender secrecy of Chester's stable, Ace heaved a hot sigh through his nose and knew he'd have to surrender some shred of information, to tide her over; he hoped their mother and father would eventually do the rest, "Turbo is from a very old game called TurboTime... It was one of the first games to be plugged into Litwak's, almost forty years ago."

"What happened to it?" Berri's tight-lipped attitude stabbed in tenderness, as if she were now determined to get to the bottom of this, the sneaky avenues of Sugar Rush's sickly sweet palace lot now showing it's sticky past, the grid lines that glowed hot white with the remembrance of past horrors untold.

"It was unplugged before Sugar Rush was plugged in," Ace wondered if he could keep all of the details to a minimum, "Turbo took refuge in Sugar Rush later, and... H-he's been here ever since."

Berri narrowed her gaze and suspiciously side-eyed her big brother. They held painful eye contact for nearly twenty seconds, Berri somehow hoped her intimidating, womanly glare would eke more information out of Ace's pores, though nothing came of it. She had to wonder if that were simply the end of it, or if Ace had been practicing his poker face. Nonetheless, she shook her head softly and shrugged a little.

"So, no one was going to tell me this?" Berri blurt an annoyed chuckle, she gestured her hands outwards, "And what of Nox and Throttle? They, too, just took refuge in Sugar Rush?"

"Well," Ace sighed, he knew he could slack in some places, though was somehow praying their mother and father would soon fill the gaps to this crumpling gingerbread house, "They split up... Nox hung out in EZ Living for a long time, and Throttle was actually a professor in End of Line Academy."

"So... All three brothers call Sugar Rush home now? Turbo was just immediately Knighted for no reason and now is in charge of the entirety of Orion City? Which, if you do remember... Is Sugar Rush's largest most massive metropolis," Berri put her hands on her hips and, again, gave her big brother a look as if to clearly state that she smelled a rat, information that was even still being withheld; Ace sagged his shoulders and looked off.

"Berri..." Ace looked down to his bare feet, shook his head and contemplated his next move extremely carefully, he knew the topic of him, Libby, Beaux and Mara being Users was something still tight under wraps, though he was also well aware the 'User' conversation was likely due for Berri, Wren and Theo, any day now, "There... There was a lot that happened before you, Wren, and Theo were born. A lot... Now, I don't know if I'm the right person to spill all of those details to you."

"Well, why not?" Berri prod in further annoyance, "It all started today, when uncle Oliver mentioned Tron... It still exists? I thought that place was just a myth."

"It's real, Bear," Ace bobbed a nod and desperately tried to segue this nonsense off to his father, "Dad... Dad was one of Tron's protectors."

"Why hasn't he told me?" Berri now looked insulted, though Ace stepped up his game and furrowed his brow, he knew he could relate to Zed in this aspect and the fragile game of chess played with your children, due to just how much sensitive, personal information is told, and when.

"I'm sure he was planning on telling you whenever it arrises, he wasn't going to tell you something like that when you were a child and unable to totally understand," Ace defended, "You're a grown woman now, Bear... I'm sure if you approached him with your questions, he'd happily tell you. The majority of this nonsense happened even long before I was born. I'm only two and a half years old..."

"Why do I feel hurt by this?" Berri wondered gently, she shook her head and gave Ace an annoyed look of rising sorrow, "I feel like I've been lied to."

"That's the farthest thing from the truth, Bear... Information is withheld due to your age, I'm positive mom and dad just thought they'd tell you as you reached your one year, into adulthood," Ace defended softly, he gave Berri a knowing look and gestured to himself, "Mom and dad sat me down and told me a LOT of heavy stuff when I came upon my first birthday... I'm sure your time is coming shortly, as well."

"What kind of stuff did they tell you?" Berri now wondered in tepid, rising fear, as if the previous embarrassment with Turbo, from earlier, was not even a blip in the algorithm any longer; Ace sighed and peered Berri down, wondering just how she would swallow the fact that her own big brother was a demi-god.

"More than I can still wrap my head around," Ace admitted, his deep voice crackled to a depth of realness, something Berri wasn't entirely used to, and it was with this switch up did Berri feel her glorious, innocent Sugar Rush Palace lot give off a haunting presence, a vibe of dark times that were had, a molten core that was sour to the taste, though entirely irresistible. Berri, for once in this conversation, unhanded the dominant stance here and sagged her shoulders in reserved nervousness as Ace darkly continued on, "There's things you probably could afford to know right now, and... Things that will probably be presented to you, in time. I'm sorry Berri, but I don't think it's my place to spill all of mom and dad's back story."

"Backstory," Berri scoffed, although she knew she wasn't betrayed in the slightest, she still held on to the sting and relished in it, "They can tell me if they want to... I guess I shouldn't pry, if it's really as big of a deal as you're making it out to be."

"It's your call," Ace held his hands up and tenderly began to back-step towards the gaping entrance of Chester's cozy stable, "Every single person on this lot has a story, all intertwined... Y'wonder why we're all here, on this lot, anyhow?"

Berri furrowed her eyebrows and now had to reassess the headcount on the lot, just how many people lived here that weren't of royalty, though just as she opened her mouth to urge Ace to not be so cryptic, Rancis suddenly poked his head into Chester's stable and firmly pointed a finger at Ace, a wide, fatherly, teasing smile crowned his face.

"Gotcha... Damn, you guys are terrible at this game," Rancis choked a laugh, "Losers get to clean the hearth. Wren's already got a head start, so get to'it."


	29. Chapter 29

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** Aww that's so sweet! Thank you! :D

 **Burgie :** The ENTIRETY of it is what scares me the most hahaha

 **Snake557 :** Aww, wow. Thank you friend! I assure you though, whatever any one else writes is likely magnificent in of itself. Don't compare yourself to me, I'm positive that your stories, as well as anyone elses, are just wonderful and unique in their own right. Keep doing your thing, and don't look back! :D

 **Nikki Firesong :** Hey! So sorry, I uploaded too soon before I could see your review on the previous chapter. To answer your question, I believe that Ralph, Vanellope and those 'older' gamers would probably be considered 'baby boomers', then. Because Tessa and Zed is mirrored off of me and my fiancé, as well as their crew/generation, they'd be millennials. I feel as if any generation after them would also be millennials, or the generation that comes after. I haven't put way too much thought into that aspect because they age so much differently in Arcade than they do in the real world. Thank you so much for loving on Wren so hard, as well! He definitely is very quickly shaping up to be another one of my favorite characters.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Let Me Down Slowly by Alec Benjamin**

* * *

 ***Chapter 29***

 _In the dim, cold atmosphere of her code room, Tessa felt the weight of sleep paralysis taken over her coding. Although she had some shred of memory circuits in the back of her brain practically s_ _creaming that this was all just a bad dream, the insane amount of realness continued to plague her mainframe. In the dreaded fear of an exhausted long-blink, she tilted her head on the cold, dark, code room floors and peered to the gaping entry way, where Lash stood, his molten, golden glowing eyes held tight to hers in a rise of haunting success, he held Sugar Rush's trembling orb, and as Tessa laid helpless in her own blood, amidst the shred of deletion, she knew this nightmare wasn't the one where she was resurrected, by some stroke of an absolute miracle; that miracle being Berri's coding. Tessa grit her teeth and could feel her body safe and sound, asleep in her massive bed, next to Zed, jerk in the twitching desperation to come out of this night terror, the fact that she had to endure the sensation of deletion once was more than enough for a million lifetimes._

 _Tessa huffed a staggered breath through her lungs, airways that felt entirely flattened, the pressure on her chest only upped the second the angry deletion coding swarmed her mainframe, she remembered the stinging, ripping sensation on her tendons and muscles like it was yesterday. With trembling hands, she grappled where Berri's precious loading bar would be, she begged for the nightmare to be over, she was absolutely certain Zed could hear her cries into the night, though with just how many times she had this horrible night terror, coupled with the success of sleep paralysis, she knew she was making no noise, and Zed was soundly snoozing next to her, not a care in the world. It took every single last ounce of energy for Tessa to even open her jaw past the clench, and just as she blinked, Lash's figure suddenly was stood above her in a jittery, black mass of a figure, the only thing seen was his piercing yellow eyes, a much scarier sight than just casual conversation with one of the sweet TurboTime boys on the lot, an image Tessa was absolutely certain could scare her to tears, and was successful on more than one occassion._

In a final, knee-jerk of a jolt, Tessa huffed a loud gasping noise of unadulterated terror, sat up straight in her bed and grappled her thighs. She heavily panted, her breath was hoarse and raspy, her large hands grappled the comfortable downs her and Zed were encompassed in, and as her eyes nervously dart about their dark bedroom, she was thrilled to feel the stillness, to feel her silver coding functioning properly and living easy in a now alert and awake state of rising awareness. She finally heaved a trembling breath through her nose and knew that this horrific nightmare wasn't only a reoccurring one for her, but also one for Berri. Berri's entire childhood was littered with these night terrors, every few weeks, and what Tessa discovered was that her and Berri shared it in succession, something that they both have memories of, the very deletion and victory of Sugar Rush's code room was something only the two girls were there for, in it's entirety.

The need to take care of herself was very quickly overridden with the urge to take care of Berri. Tessa jolted, as if to potentially get out of bed, though she froze and had to recoil in remembrance. She knew Berri was no longer a child, her adorable baby voice no longer screamed and cried out into the night, for her mother, whenever she was struck with this particular night terror. Tessa knew Berri resorted to other avenues now that she was almost an adult, whether it be to seek her parents out physically, or through text, and like clockwork, Tessa's phone, on her nightstand, tenderly illuminated with the notification of a text message. Tessa tried to control the tremble of her panting, through her nose, and as she sleepily laid back, leaned over and grappled her phone, she sharply squinted through the brightness of her phone and swiped up to unlock her device. Upon opening her messages, she glossed Berri's text, sent just now, and desperately tried to get her veins to settle.

 _Blue :_ _Mom are you awake?_

Tessa lulled her eyes closed, locked her device, sagged it to her chest and thanked every single User and God in this universe that said deletion nightmare was just that. She knew she had typically gone into Berri's room to comfort her, to sing her back to sleep, to reassure her that this was just a terrible nightmare, though what Berri didn't know was that Tessa shared the same nightmare. Tessa gently lofted her thick blankets off of her legs, she tried to recall the last time she had this nightmare, the last time she had to ease into Berri's terrified presence and make her believe it was all just make believe, Tessa held her breath and allowed her feet to gingerly ease onto their heated, glossy white tiles. Her pupils shrunk a little as the grout lines just barely illuminated white, within a three foot radius of her being, so to be able to see where she's going in the dark, half awake. As Tessa crossed hers and Zed's room, eased out their massive round bedroom door and shut it behind her, with a silent clack, her eyes eased to her dimly lit corridor, one of which that lead up a few stairs and into the gape of the kitchen.

With their humble abode dim and still, dark and silent in the very early hours of their cold, winter morning, Tessa moved like a ghost through her home. As easily as she could, her bare feet hooked a right, soaked down the main corridor of their home and finally came to a swooping left, an alcove where only Berri's lightly secretive spiral staircase reside. In confidence, Tessa began to head upstairs, a small spiral, or two, that came to a sky-lit landing. Sugar Rush's midnight stars smiled down upon their Queen, a stark difference to what was previously smiling down upon her, in her nightmares. With a tender few thuds of her knuckles to Berri's gorgeous double doors, carved in intricate Sugar Rush detail, Tessa pressed her ear to Berri's bedroom door and awaited her daughter's tender voice. Upon hearing Berri defeatedly give her mother permission to come inside, Tessa turned the handle, stepped in and shut Berri's door behind her.

"I'm awake, baby, everything okay?" Tessa fibbed lightly, over the course of Berri's childhood, she had become an absolute master at masking her own fear of the very shared nightmare they both endured, unbeknownst to Berri.

"I had that damned nightmare again, mom," Berri complained with a sleepy, teary croak, it was clear she was at the end of her rope.

Sat up in her gorgeous canopy bed, Berri's lovely blue hair was down in a gentle mess, she wore a huge, comfortable, peach colored t-shirt and black underwear, her pretty long legs were criss-crossed with her fluffy downs and sheets haphazardly soaked in between her knees and thighs. The look of forlornness hung tight to her demeanor, as if she was absolutely certain this stupid nightmare was going to be the death of her, she shook her head amidst a defeated sigh and gingerly lifted her hands to her cheeks, in a girly fashion, she wiped away her tears and lulled her exhausted eyes closed. Tessa slowly approached Berri's big, fluffy bed, and like all the nights prior, she softly sat down on Berri's downs, though this time, she sat before Berri, mocked her sitting style and made clear to Berri she was going to get comfortable in preparation to stay and chat, something Berri easily welcomed.

After a few moments of Berri nervously peering into her mother's eyes for answers, Tessa finally heaved a gentle sigh of defeat and bobbed a nod, amidst a tender quip of revealed understanding, "I know you did..."

Berri's sleepy blue eyes peered to her mother through the dimness of her bedroom. Berri had a few pretty, girly string lights that encompassed the thick, sturdy posts of her canopy bed, her room was just dim enough to comfortably sleep in, though the thin fairy lights made for wonderful, relaxing ambience. Tessa sagged her shoulders, peered down to her larger hands and softly fiddled with the diamonds engraved into her wedding ring, the beautiful cross-striped bark. Tessa wore a lazy tank top and light grey sweats, her mane of a head of hair was in fluffy spouts of chaos, something that encompassed her jaws, shoulders and chest in an endearing way.

"...You know?" Berri lightly questioned as she shook her head in confusion, though she bobbed a nod of understanding and finally gestured to her phone, which was sunk into her fluffy downs about a foot from her figure, "Oh, because I messaged you?"

Tessa heaved a long, hot sigh through her nose, looked down to her right and to Berri's downs, she knew this definitely wasn't going to be an easy conversation. She wondered even just where to start; the beginning, when her own mother and father nearly lost Tessa's code box to Radex? When her and Zed game jumped to the real world and conceived a User? When they saved Sugar Rush with Turbo by their side? She shook her head just barely and knew this whole entire behemoth of an explanation was wild, she narrowed her gaze and dared to wonder if there was even the possibility of shortening it all, though she was aware that was likely a pipe dream.

"Your nightmare isn't a nightmare, Blue... It's a memory," Tessa tenderly started with a gentle nod, she could feel Berri's hot stare on her sleepy face, "It's one of my memories."

"You mean... You actually... Were on the ground like that? Bleeding?" Berri staggered in rush of rising fear, "Turbo standing over you like that? The hell kind of evening did you guys have?"

"Language," Tessa's motherly voice asserted, to which Berri meeped a small apology and sagged her shoulders, "To... Put it as short as I quite possibly can, this time last year, Sugar Rush was... Well... Under a different rule. A terrible tyrant that rearranged the game, separated us all, and put force fields over the entrances."

Although Berri looked like she wanted to interject, she shook her head, opened her mouth and failed to let anything out. She long blinked in tender, reeling surprise and huffed a trembling breath of confusion.

"Sugar Rush's previous castle, under your grandmother's rule, was teleported all the way to Sugar Rush's end... It sat over a void of white nothingness, we had to travel all the way there. It took almost two weeks," Tessa huffed a chuckle, looked off and let all of the wonderful and horrible memories hit her head on, "To... Put it bluntly, on the trip, your father and I conceived you. The closer we got to the end, the more our powers were sapped. We swapped codes to let our powers go back to normal, though in that we knew we were going to code a baby... Your loading bar showed up the next morning."

"I was made on an adventure to save the palace?" Berri pressed, she brushed past the awkward sex talk and beamed a wide, girly smile, a toothy grin that mocked Zed's to a T, "So, you got the palace back to normal, right? Weird to think that I was present, for it..."

"You were far more than present, my love," Tessa's voice crackled with sleepiness, she shook her head and lulled her eyes closed, and after the gap of silence, she sighed and peered down to her hands in humility, "You saved my whole entire life, Berri. If I hadn't been pregnant with you, that memory would've died with me... Bloodied, on the floor, Sugar Rush defeated."

Berri frowned and peered hard to her mother's figure. She knew, full well, this little story Tessa was telling likely had a million more arcs and twists to it, though she shook her head a little and tilted her head to get a good look into her mother's eyes.

"Why did Turbo do this to you? What exactly happened? How could've my unborn coding saved your life?" Berri asked, it was clear to Tessa that she would have a million more rising questions to come, something Tessa had to likely brace herself for, "I-I thought Turbo was a good guy, a Knight?"

"It wasn't Turbo that did this," Tessa assured, "If anything, Turbo got us closer to our goal than we could've ever dreamed. Without Turbo's help, we likely would've been at it for weeks and months after you were born. Surely... Your childhood would look an entire world different. There would be no palace, this house you're in wouldn't exist, none of Sugar Rush's goodness would be right at your fingertips, had Turbo not helped us like he did..."

Berri soaked in all of her mother's knowledge in a rise of conclusive fear, knowing and excitement. Tessa tenderly carried on, she bobbed a nod.

"My mother Knighted him... And once you and I saved Sugar Rush, mom immediately crowned me Queen," Tessa explained with a smile, "I've only been Sugar Rush's Queen for about a year now... You were born very shortly after Sugar Rush was saved, as was Theo."

"And Wren?" Berri staggered, Tessa sighed and heaved a small giggle.

"Your great aunt Taffyta stayed behind, in Dead Zed, to give birth to Wren, whilst we were on our last mission to save the code room," Tessa pressed, "Wren was born about a week or two before you and Theo. Weird that he's considered your uncle, huh?"

"I don't call him uncle Wren, he hates that," Berri blurt a giggle, as did Tessa, both girls relished in each other's tender conversation, though Berri allowed a gentle amount of silence to soak it all in, "How did my coding save you, mom? How is that possible? Why was Sugar Rush underneath this other person's rule?"

"Well... This intruder, whom of which we called Radex, deleted our code boxes from Sugar Rush, though when you were conceived, Sugar Rush's code room made you your own code box," Tessa warmly explained, "You were made in Sugar Rush, and whilst I didn't have a code box, your coding was still inside of me... Thus, we sort of shared your code box. So when I was deleted... Your coding saved both of our lives, and I was able to regenerate, alongside you."

Berri nodded in tender curiosity, her gorgeous blue lights twinkled underneath her fairy lights, she looked absolutely intrigued.

"This individual, we formerly called 'Radex', successfully deleted me once I got to the castle and tried to gain back the code room," Tessa revealed, she shook her head and shut her eyes tight, "That nightmare you keep having is the memory of me being deleted... That nightmare was a real thing that happened to me, to us... Every single time you have this nightmare, so do I..."

Berri wholly frowned, peered to her mother in entire sorrow and shook her head in nervous disbelief.

"Mom, all those nights you came to comfort me? You, yourself were dealing with this nightmare?" Berri begged, as if to now feel bad for Tessa's selfless acts, "I-I'm so sorry, mom, I-"

"Berri, you were a child, there's no way I'm going to lead you to believe that said horrid nightmare was actually a memory, while you were just a kid," Tessa defended with a teasing, nervous smile, "No way I was going to put that burden on your innocent little mind, like that... You weren't ready to know all of the crap that went down. I knew I'd tell you eventually, but it's been weeks since we've had this nightmare. I wondered if maybe it had gone away."

"I-I can't believe that was real," Berri staggered, she shook her head and grappled the sides of her temples, "All that blood you were laying in? The dark code room? This... Radex person over you? Clearly someone related to Nox, Turbo and Throttle?"

"The blood were from my burns, here," Tessa motioned to her temples, the gorgeous display of tan circuit marks that delicately laid over her eyes, eyebrows and temples, and easily vanished into her hair line, "And, yes... This individual is related to Turbo and them."

"... Who was he?" Berri prod in a rising tone of fear, "I-Is he still around?"

"No, he's not around," Tessa assured with a shake of her head, "He's... He's currently bubbled in the code room, safely tucked away in code room purgatory. He still exists... My soft and gooey heart got the better of me and I just... Didn't have it in me, to delete him."

"But, he actually DID delete you," Berri tried to fight it, she gestured her arm and gave her mother a look of wild disbelief, "If I were Queen, I would've deleted his sorry hide LONG ago!"

"There's more to being Queen than just deleting the people who have wronged you, no matter how massively," Tessa chuckled in tiredness and shook her head. She shut her eyes and remembered the memory like it was yesterday, the very image of Lash's terrified eyes peering up to Sugar Rush's rightful Queen, the full position of groveling, his quivering bottom lip, the whole entire wash of hot white regret, "Boy did I want to, but... After everything Turbo has done for the royal family, and for me... I didn't have the heart to up and delete his little brother."

Berri's eyes bugged in tender, sleepy surprise. She tucked her straight blue hair behind her ears, staggered on her words a little and shook her head in whole disbelief.

"I-I'm sorry h-his... His... Little BROTHER?" Berri wondered in a lilt of gentle terror, Tessa blurt a laugh and adored Berri's zest for life, the genuine cuteness she radiated.

"Little brother, yes," Tessa blurt a small chuckle, she narrowed her gaze and lovingly helped Berri tuck her hair behind her left ear, "There's four of them... Nox, Whiplash, Turbo and Throttle."

"Whiplash," Berri prod, she looked off towards her bedroom window, the glorious dome of the glowing code room could be seen, far across the palace lot and in between the trees of the flyer's enclosure in which their humble tower was tucked into, "So... Whiplash is bubbled in the code room? Does Turbo know? Surely he wants to un-bubble Whiplash, right?"

"He does, fervently," Tessa bulged her eyes, looked off in delirious exhaustion for the subject matter and gently shrugged, "Turbo and Rancis answer to me and your father, and we've told Turbo that the answer is no, for now... Seemingly, he's respected and accepted that answer, so I guess... It's all up to how time plays out."

"How does Turbo feel about all of this?" Berri prod in further inquiry, though Tessa sagged her shoulders and gave Berri a knowing smirk as she tenderly continued on, "I mean... If Ace was bubbled, I'd be clawing at the code room, I really don't know what I'd do. You think he's okay with Whiplash being bubbled? I guess with what Whiplash did to Sugar Rush, it's deserved, but..."

"Babe, why don't you ask Turbo these burning questions yourself?" Tessa delicately wondered, as lighthearted as her question was, Berri bugged her eyes and vigorously shook her head.

"Hooo User no, no, no no... Not after what happened yesterday," Berri held the sides of her head and peered her nervous gaze into her mother's eyes; Tessa furrowed her brow in a spike of delight.

"What? What happened?" Tessa prod, Berri heaved a raspy sigh, rolled her eyes and looked off.

"During our game of hide and seek, I... I was glitch-hopping to the garage, and... I accidentally hurled myself straight into Turbo," Berri staggered, her face turned red with remembrance, "We exterior swapped... It was sooo embarrassing."

"Aww, how funny," Tessa blurt a small laugh and scrunched her shoulders, "I'm sure he thought nothing of it... When he talked to me, last night, he didn't seem bothered or anything."

"He didn't say anything, did he?" Berri worried in girly horror, though Tessa giggled and side-eyed her young daughter.

"No, he didn't say a word," Tessa choked a laugh as Berri sighed with relief and looked down, "You're such a worry wart... I know you and Ace get that from me, but holy User is it amplified in you kids. Don't worry... Just talk to him! Maybe text him? Surely he'd open up to you, you're Sugar Rush's princess."

"I doubt it, mom, it was so awkward yesterday, he hardly knew what to do with himself," Berri shook her head and looked off in girly dread, "I couldn't just message him, out of the blue..."

"Sure you could, your father and I message him all the time," Tessa shrugged, "Here, gimme your phone, I'll put in his number, for you."

"Mommm," Berri whined as Tessa grappled Berri's phone, held it out for Berri to put in her password, and quickly tabbed to her contacts.

Tessa's larger fingers worked quick, and like clockwork, she successfully logged Turbo's number into Berri's phone, "There. Only really your father has been able to successfully get answers out of him on how he's feeling about this mess, so if you strike gold, be sure to let us know."

"'Hi, Turbo, it's me, Berri... Remember me? Berri? I somersaulted over your ENTIRE LIFE yesterday? Left you battered and bruised, both physically and emotionally?'" Berri listed off in cheeky sarcasm, she looked off and stiffened her spine for said act as she playfully continued whilst her mother was easily in stitches, "'No? Just me? Oh-you blocked my number? Yeah, sounds 'bout right, my dude.'"

"He won't block you," Tessa choked through laughter, Berri continued on.

"'Hi, Tessa? Your Majesty? Your daughter viciously assaulted me in the garage, I'mma need compensation for my therapy, thanks,'" Berri's forced her voice to go as deep as it could, she gestured her hands to her face, to poorly insinuate her eyes were glowing; Tessa was absolutely lost in laughter, though she caught her breath and grappled Berri's shoulder.

"Just message him," Tessa loudly giggled, she shook her head and began to show signs of wanting to go back to bed, "Your father and I can discuss this with you, in greater detail, tomorrow if you'd like."

"I would like that," Berri assured as Tessa began to get off of Berri's bed, and in a slow climb, she eased across Berri's gorgeous room and soaked past her bedroom door.

"Text me if you're scared or need me, I'm just downstairs hun," Tessa assured, to which Berri held her phone to her chest and bobbed a nod.

"Thanks, mom... Love you," Berri called, to which Tessa eased her loving eye contact back to her daughter.

"Love you more," Tessa eased, she soaked out of Berri's room once and for all and softly escaped back to her's and Zed's lovely, romantic abode.

Berri heaved a sigh through her nose, peered down to her phone and cocked an eyebrow. Still hovered tight in her contacts, the infamous 'Turbo Black' was confidently stated in bold letters, underneath was his phone code. Berri felt her hands begin to shake a little, all the information lofted at her, she stumbled through the memory of said nightmare that she kept having, and now lived in it, as if it were actually her reality. She grit her teeth in horror and wondered now just how her mother got said burn marks, how Turbo's little brother was able to reign in that much power, enough to take down an entire kingdom, so many questions raced through Berri's already lightning quick thoughts, though with her trembling thumb that hovered over Turbo's name, confidently plastered into her phone, she shook her head and wondered if she could potentially muster the courage to ever reach out to him. She figured gabbing to Wren and Theo about this, after a good night's sleep, was definitely in order.


	30. Chapter 30

**Reviews :**

 **CHICKENM4N :** lol yeah, it's the worst when that happens... haha

 **Burgie :** Yes indeed! All answered in different avenues of time and people lol

 **Snake557 :** Yeah he definitely doesn't like it x] Berri will call him that just to be teasing.

 **Jay Sketchin :** Hahaha! Ohh in due time, my friend. Don't you worry :P

 **Romantic Sapp :** Hey! I just want to give you one MASSIVE thank you. When you first reviewed on Wrecking Limits, showing fervor to keep reading, I was excited but I also was worried - nearly 99% of my new readers, to Wrecking Limits, eventually fall off the face of the Earth and never actually catch up with me. Understandable, the story is incredibly massive and likely daunting to look at from chapter 1 of Wrecking Limits... But you totally did! And I LOVE seeing your guys' reactions to everything this saga entails, and the relieved moment given off when one finally does catch up with me. You powered through, which is awesome, and I'm glad you shared that with me cause it reminds me that my saga was worth the effort. Thank you so much for reading through this behemoth of mine, and now you're all caught up with me and my reviewer crew! Welcome aboard!

 **chuckiboo :** Seriously! You're telling me... It's exhausting for me to have to keep re-explaining what went down, though it helps me with continuity. I don't have a ghost writer going back and making sure everything int he story arc is aligned, so I guess it's good to have a refresher, from all angles haha.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **For Ya by Abir**

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 ***Chapter 30***

"I'll get the number two with a vanilla shake, please," Berri chimed in tender politeness, the cuteness of her huge, vivid blue eyes peered into the dewy, starstruck gaze of the burger joint employee that stood on the other side of the counter from Berri, Wren and Theo. Berri gently lofted her gaze to Wren and Theo, who patiently stood behind her in line, and although Berri was wondering if she should potentially pay for her uncle and cousin, she knew full well they had their own allowances, as well. She gently peered her gaze back to the near-trembling employee and softly shrugged, "I guess that'll be it... O-Oh, no ketchup, please."

"A-Anything, your highness," The employee staggered with a nervous smile, the sun glinted through the busy shop's bay windows, it glistened on said employee's name tag as the kitchen crew, behind her, was in near panic trying to tidy and cook in the presence of their game's royalty, something Berri nervously grimaced at. The cute employee had her black hair tucked in a low ponytail under a baseball cap, her bashful candy red eyes and dewy, blushed and speckled skin curled a delightfully anxious smile up into Berri's dominant, Queenly disposition, "Y-Your meal is on us, today, w-we'll bring it to wherever you decide to sit. It's an honor that you're here, really."

"Oh, you... You don't have to do that, please," Berri urged quietly as she scrunched her shoulders and held her dollars closer to her, "Please, let me pay."

"It's our honor, we'll have your food out to you in a jiffy," She urged with a bob of a nod, her taller, huskier and sweatier manager came alongside her with a wide, welcoming grin, and an equally as fervent bob of a nod. Said register employee kindly continued on, "H-Here's your number for your table, your highness."

"Well, thank you," Berri staggered in a show of gratitude, though she folded a handful of her dollars and tenderly shoved it into the messy, scuffed plastic tub of a tip jar.

"Of course, only for the princess... I'll give you my entire allowance if they comp my meal," Wren muttered to Theo as he slunk to the cash register. He gave the employee a kind smile and was surprised to see said employee hold on to that star struck demeanor, "Hi, I'll also get the number two, though I'll get a soda and curly fries."

"Sure, anything," She eased, although still staggered in a star-struck tone, it wasn't as much of an earthquake as it was with Berri. Nonetheless, she cocked an eyebrow, tabbed a few things into her register and gave Wren a kind smile, "It's on us, Mr. Fluggerbutter."

Theo cocked an eyebrow, gave Wren a beaming, cheeky side eye and softly held his larger hand open to him, which now annoyingly nudged at Wren's lower arm, as if to insinuate that Theo was patiently waiting for payment. Wren gaped a little, peered to Theo in a whole entire roll of shocked, unadulterated sass, and with a massive eye roll, Wren shoved his wad of cash into Theo's hand.

"Thank you, that's really kind," Wren stated to the employee with a bob of a nod and a grateful smile, though he grit his teeth and muttered Theo a few obscenities as he began to walk in the direction Berri vanished in; he rolled his eyes again the second he heard Theo loudly ordering a smorgasbord of food for himself.

Wren furrowed his brow, peered through the crowd and noticed Berri had gone outside to sit. Although the kids were used to being lightly fawned over whenever they left palace grounds, due to being royalty, Wren was uncertain he'd ever get used to it. He grimaced a small look of near delighted annoyance and, as he crossed the noisy, colorful burger joint to get to the side door, he noticed Berri, out the bay windows, kindly loving of a few Sugar Rush citizens, signing a few autographs, her threshold and patience for the small little hoard of adoring onlookers was outstanding, something Wren was certain he should be taking notes on. Just as he were to get lost in his train of thought, his phone, in his rear pocket, vibrated a few times. In a slick swipe, he eased his golden phone out of his light grey jean's back pocket and peered down to the screen in confusion; Penny had messaged him once, which very quickly turned into an overflow of bombarding messages.

 _Fluggers : ARCHIVED CHAOS SPLIT UP!_

 _Fluggers : BUT ALSO THERE'S MORE INFO_

 _Fluggers : CAN I CALL YOU?! WHhear are yOu?!  
_

 _Fluggers : Where*_

Wren bulged his eyes, shook his head in a sudden jolt of disbelief and reread Penny's words. He heaved a hard, annoyed sigh, locked his phone and sagged it back into his jean pocket. He figured he'd sit down and get settled before he tried to tame his big sister's worries. Once he approached the table Berri had set their flagged number at, he felt a little more at ease the second Berri finally peeled from a few tourist-type gamers, Sugar Rush locals and itty bitty candy residents alike, what furthermore made him sag his shoulders in relief was a few security guards that loosely surrounded Berri's table of choice. Close enough to protect but far enough to not be intrusive, something Wren was very appreciative of. He finally heaved a long sigh, returned his attention to his phone and began to urgently tab away, his eyes dug into his phone.

"They call you dangerous lightning," Berri grunted in a playful, announcer-like voice as she plopped down next to Wren, she furrowed her brows and shook her head at him in tender, incredulous curiosity, "User, who are you rapid-fire messaging like that? Are you fighting with someone?"

"No, Penny just, uh... Sent me some very interesting news that I don't know how to deliver to you," Wren rushed in a stab of cheek, he smirked down to his phone and shook his head, "It'll knock the blue right out of your hair, sweet cheeks."

"What, is she pregnant?" Berri huffed in a lilt of now entire excitement as she perked up, though Wren lulled his head back, let a loud groan escape his throat, his adam apple sagged in a drone of guttural irritation towards his niece.

"You and everyone on the palace lot," Wren droned up to the vivid blue sky, though both him and Berri wildly flinched the second Theo heavily plopped down on Wren's other side, ultimately sandwhiching Wren between him and Berri, albeit loosely, "Hey, allowance stealer, I cleaned the hearth AND the main teleportation pad like three times for that wad of cash, you jerk."

"Well, you made a lousy, uneducated bet that I didn't even agree to, so," Theo shrugged his masculine shoulders, he wore a dark grey t-shirt and a cozy, faded maroon zip up with tattered seams; it was properly clad with Dead Zed logos, so to represent his mother, Emery, "Really, YOU'RE an allowance GIVER."

"Go choke on a di-"

"Tell me what Penny's sayinnng," Berri complained as she urgently gestured to Wren's phone, though just as she finished her sentence, Wren's phone began to daintily ring; Penny's cute face showed up on the caller ID, in which Berri nearly jolted to a standing, "PICK IT UP!"

"Y'know, I was thinking of just letting it roll to voicemail, what's life without a little suspense?" Wren sassed as he cocked an eyebrow and gave Berri a cheeky smile. He shrugged his shoulders, challenged Berri's annoyed facial expression of urgency and gently slide his thumb across his phone's button-less interface, so to answer the call. He also quickly put it on speaker and looked off into the distance of the huge, sunny, outdoor mall and quad they were comfortably stationed at, "Joe's Crab Shack, how can I help you?"

"Seriously Wren, where the hell are you? The one time I barge into mom and dad's house and you're not there," Penny rushed through the phone, she sounded like she was panting, as if to be speed walking; a few voices could be heard in the background, it was clear that she was likely passing by the palace's typically noisy kitchen.

"I'm with dumb and dumber at the mall," Wren stated in nonchalance; it was this that Berri and Theo began to silently argue just who would be dumb, and who would be dumber. Wren chuckled to himself and continued to let his dark blue eyes get lost in the crowds of people at the mall.

"Which mall? Orion City has like five of them, you freak," Penny stabbed in sass, to which Wren cocked an eyebrow and gave his phone an exaggerated look of shock as he tucked his palm to his broad chest.

"Oh, okay, I mean I can just hang up on you," Wren volleyed, clearly playful banter that Berri and Theo were always excited to be present for, "We're at Lemon Drop Square. Where else."

"Maybe Gumdrop Ridge? It's the closest mall to the palace, Tessa and Zed really let you kids go all the way to the heart of Orion City?" Penny staggered, though she broke up as she seemingly spoke to someone else for a second, it sounded as if it could've been Oliver.

"Literally our first day of Academy is next Monday, rude," Wren huffed, he gestured his hand in sassy annoyance and shook his head, "Speaking of Academy, tell tweedle-dee and tweedle-dumb what you told me. You're on speaker."

"Hi aunt Penny," Berri chimed in excitement, as did Theo, "What's going on?"

"BERRI YOU WON'T BELIEVE," Penny loudly urged through the phone, causing her voice to cut out a little. Berri winced a little and eyed Wren in tender suspicion as he covered his face with his hand and grit his teeth, as if to brace himself, "Archived Chaos split up!"

"...WHAT?!" Berri barked in whole terror as she grappled the sides of her head, her pupils practically shrank in dread, "What, why? How? When?"

"Where? Who?" Wren mocked Berri quietly, Theo blurt a laugh and crossed his arms.

"And sometimes Y," Theo stabbed in confidence, though Wren dart him a look of cheek.

"Those are vowels, dude," Wren mumbled, though everyone flinched once Penny's voice pierced their existence once again.

"Gunner's drummer and guitarist bailed on him! The band split up!" Penny cried in horror as Berri now held her cheeks, in speechless stun, "I-It's a good thing I saw their show last week, before this nonsense... I would've been pissed. I mean I still am, but-"

"Well what's going to happen then? They're just... Done making music?" Berri worried as her eyes gently collected with Wren's and Theo's inquisitive gazes, though Wren looked on, like maybe he had more information than both wreckers.

"Get this... Gunner is going to be going to Game Central Academy with this next Spring semester," Penny rushed in a squeal, to which Berri's jaw nearly fell on the ground, "Supposedly, he's waiting until after New Years to-"

"He's ATTENDING ACADEMY?!" Berri urged into Wren's phone, she nearly grappled it out of his hand, to which he blurt a chuckle and held his steady hand to her shoulder to hold her back, "I-I... What should I wear? Do you think we'll have classes together?"

"Gunner's a faux-code?" Theo wondered as he scrunched his face in whole confusion, to which Penny laughed.

"I was surprised by that too! I guess he's from some game, long unplugged," Penny confirmed, "He currently lives in EZ Living... Somewhere up in the hills, crazy security, the whole nine yards."

"So, he'll just be coming to class with us surrounded by body guards?" Wren shook his head and let his gaze stab across the crowd in continued, tender nonchalance, a cute, poised air he always kept about himself, "Clamored by girls of all sorts, desperate for autographs? Berri leading the battalion of bullshit?"

"Hey," Berri complained as she furrowed her brow and gave Wren a girly look of displeased annoyance, "C'mon, I'm not THAT desperate."

"If Gunner came up to you and said 'oh, this seat taken?' Girl," Wren side-eyed Berri and raised his eyebrows.

"You kidding, her shirt would go flying or something," Penny choked through the phone, to which everyone, excluding Berri, was nearly doubled-over laughing.

"This seat's for you!" Theo cried in a girly voice as his large hands urgently clawed at his broad chest.

"You can sit here forever, Gunner, my love," Wren also teased as he pretended to play with long hair on his shoulders, in which he didn't have; Berri plopped her elbow to the wooden table they sat at, shoved her chin in her hand and looked off in whole irritation.

"You guys suck," Berri choked, though she immediately perked up, raised her eyebrows and beamed a wide, polite smile the second said previous employee came out with a tray of their food and softly set it on the table, "Oh, thank you!"

"A-Anything, your highness, just let us know if you need anything, absolutely anything," She staggered in star-struck glee, and as she slowly slipped away, Berri, Wren and Theo gave her polite words of gratitude.

"...You guys didn't go out in disguises?" Penny stabbed with a laugh, "How many people have bombarded you thus far?"

"Ten million," Wren cheekily exaggerated, "Future Queen Bee, here, even signed autographs."

"It was cool," Berri bobbed a nod and looked off to the crowds of people about the mall, most of which were walking from store to store, eating, or minding their own business, though outside the gentle circle of security guards was a small crowd of excited onlooker, "Never experienced anything like that, before."

"Imagine what it'd be like if you had Turbo with you," Penny choked a small laugh of entire, muttering dread, though due to the confused silence by all three younglings, Penny sharply fell silent and reeled in the feeling of mild word vomit.

"Wait, why would that be bad?" Wren stated in gentle confusion, and although Wren and mostly Theo glossed past Penny's remark, Berri was now hawk-eyed to Wren's phone, even leaning in to hear what Penny had to say, a spike of pinged information she never knew she wanted.

"Oh, I don't know why I said that, he's just a hermit, so... I'm sure it'd be awkward for him," Penny rushed in a voice of nonchalance, though Berri narrowed her gaze in whole confusion and side-eyed Wren's phone, something he tenderly cued to. He shrugged and gave Berri a look as if to wonder why she was bothered, though Penny's cute voice carried on, "Alright, my dumplings, let me know when you're back on palace grounds, we can continue talking then, I guess."

"We'll be home in a few hours," Wren confirmed, and in gentle easiness, all three kids stated their goodbyes to Penny and Wren ended the call. Wren furrowed his brow and peered to Berri as she nervously began to pull her food closer to her, as did Theo for his own food, "What was that look for?"

"Well... To be honest with you, my mom gave me some weird information about Turbo, last night," Berri shrugged and began to pick at her delicious french fries, "I guess... Before we were born, some crap went down between my mom, Turbo, Sugar Rush, and... One of Turbo's brothers."

"Nox, or Throttle?" Theo wondered, his mouth was now entirely full; Wren wildly wrinkled his nose at him and shoved a few napkins into his space in an obnoxious manner.

"Neither," Berri's voice eased to tender seriousness as she gently unlocked her phone, lazily thumbed through her notepad, "His name was Whiplash... I guess he's in coded purgatory, in the code room. He really had Sugar Rush in a choke hold, when grama Vanellope was Queen, from what mom told me..."

"Whiplash?" Wren furrowed his brow and peered to Berri in tender confusion, "How come... Nox, Throttle nor Turbo have ever mentioned his mysterious other brother they have?"

"I have no clue," Berri shrugged, she shook her head and peered down to her phone in tender confusion, "Mom gave me Turbo's number, though... She told me to ask him my questions, seemingly his word would hold more weight. I guess they've tried, he's too much of a hermit and will only really open up to my dad about it all."

"You have Turbo's number?" Wren gawked in excitement, he began to eat his curly fries in a dainty show of carefulness, "Did you text him?"

"No, I've... I've literally written out like fourteen different messages that I COULD potentially text him," Berri rushed in cute, girly nervousness, "I-I have NO clue what to say to the dude."

"Especially after your little code swap escapade with him," Theo muttered as he obnoxiously waggled his dark green eyebrows; Wren choked a hard laugh as Berri gaped in whole annoyance.

"Okay... It was an EXTERIOR swap," Berri stabbed in rising irritation, "Not to mention, an accident."

"Here, gimme your phone," Wren waggled his fingers, and although he was prepare for a struggle, Berri nonchalantly handed Wren her phone. She furrowed her brows and noticed him quickly typing away, thinking that he was simply adding to her notepad, though after a moment, Wren shrugged, handed her phone back and continued to eat, "There. Easy."

"... You MESSAGED HIM!?" Berri blurt in a choke of terror, Theo nearly lost his mind with laughter as Wren daintily shrugged.

"YOU weren't going to, so..." Wren coyly eyed his niece and gave her a dominant, cocky smile, "You're oh so welcome, my love."

"WREN," Berri stabbed in a groan of bug-eyed horror, though she peered down to her now brand new text conversation with Turbo and read the message in beet-red blushing embarrassment.

 _Blue : Hi Turbo, it's Berri. My mom filled me in on some stuff last night and I was wondering if you could answer some questions I had?_

"For User's ACTUAL sake," Berri grunted as she locked her phone, she shook her head and now began to angrily pick at her fries, "He's going to write back and be like 'delete my number from your phone you freak house'."

"Freak MANSION," Theo cracked himself up with no shame.

"No he's not," Wren choked a laugh as him and Theo continued to eat and carry on, though Berri now peered down at her food in continued, reeling horror. She cocked an eyebrow and peered down to her unlocked phone, her's and Turbo's now new, raw, gapingly blank text conversation, "Just getting the ball rolling. You know how much I love tea."

"This is not tea," Berri stabbed, she could hardly contain a laugh as she jostled her phone about, "This is serious, Sugar Rush was absolutely screwed before we were born, this isn't just friendly gossip, Wren, this is Turbo's little brother we're talking about. Code room purgatory! Do you know what that is?"

"No, but I'm sure you were on your way to trapping your own mind in purgatory, what with that full-ass notepad of would-be messages to the very keeper of Orion City," Wren rushed with whole sass, he shrugged and gave Berri an ironically kind smile, "Let me know what Mr. White Knight says. I'm invested."

"Invested," Berri mocked in a mutter of annoyance as she finally locked her phone and set it between her and Wren, on the table, "Intrusive, more like it."

"Just keepin' it real, babe," Wren recited as he quickly nommed on another curly fry, "Oh look, speak of the devil."

Berri's eyes bugged in whole terror as her screen lit up, with none other than Turbo Black's notification of a reply message daintily plastered on her screen.


	31. Chapter 31

**Reviews :**

 **Romantic Sapp :** Haha! Yes, their talk is indeed awkward, for sure. Not going to spoil anything, but Berri is rather forward about it and I'm glad I can finally give you proper shoutouts with each chapter now! Woohoo!

 **Burgie :** Really?! THANKS ;-; Seriously thank you, that means a ton.

 **CHICKENM4N :** Heck yes, excite.

 **Snake557 :** LOL! Where as Ace is a brooding and quiet hermit, Berri is a very loud and urgently outward worry wart. Makes for some interesting conversation!

 **Jay Sketchin :** LMAO! She crushes WAY harder on Gunner, though as the story goes on, she develops a secret crush for Turbo that she's good at hiding. So any 'crushing' vibe you get from her now is strictly just her being nervous to talk to such a secluded stranger of the royal family lol. But you're not wrong.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Waiting ft. Otis Parker by West Coast Massive**

* * *

 ***Chapter 31***

In the drum of Sugar Rush's steady rainfall, a cold and bitter show of just how unforgiving their winters really could be, each flyer was eased into whichever home and tower they were welcomed in to; Chester and Lickity made themselves comfortable in front of Tessa's and Zed's roaring fireplace, their home was dim and warm with love, the smell of a delicious Mexican dish cooked on the stove, with Tessa and Zed nonchalantly at work. All the while, they laughed and lovingly teased each other, a further blossoming bout of romance that was never-ending. Smiles, laughs, pokes, prods and swooping hugs galore, Berri could feel the amount of love from down the corridor, in which her bare feet gently tread. She wore a pair of thick, comfortable sweats that scrunched at the ankles, a faded grey with muted Sugar Rush logos. She wore one of Zed's much larger t-shirts, something he was due to give away, though Berri had successfully snatched it. She tucked her long blue hair behind her ears, kept her phone close to her chest and pressed into the warmly lit living area and kitchen.

"Bear, just in time," Tessa blurt through the dregs of a giggle, Zed gently unravelled her from a tenderly swaying embrace they shared, "You wanna pick your sides? Dinner's almost finished."

"Thanks mom, yeah, I can," Berri stated in a dull tone of mental exhaustion, she sat down at the kitchen island and gave her mother an apologetic look, as if to silently ask Tessa to bear with her.

"What's up? What's wrong," Tessa froze and peered to her second born in a roll of nervousness, though Berri shook her head and sadly looked down at her phone.

"... Archived Chaos split up," Berri stated sorrowfully, to which Zed peeled his eyes from his chore, on the stove, and shot his beautiful daughter a sympathetic frown.

"Aww, Blue," Zed droned in a gentle grumble of apology, he shook his head and softly began to stir what was on the stove, "I'm sorry... I know how much you love their music."

"Like, for good?" Tessa sagged her shoulders and peered to Berri for answers, having quite enjoyed their music as well, "Like... That's IT?"

"Yeah, well... There IS some good news," Berri gave her mother a knowing smirk, she was well aware Tessa was going to be starting up Academy with Berri, Wren and Theo next Monday, "Gunner is going to be attending Game Central Academy..."

Tessa gaped, held her hands to the kitchen island and peered hard into Berri's eyes with whole disbelief. Zed heaved a long, noisy sigh and scratched the back of his head.

"Hooo boy, here comes a life of living as chopped liver," Zed grumbled, though Tessa scrunched her face in irritation and flung her hand backwards; she tenderly swat Zed's upper arm, which encouraged a choke of a laugh out of him.

"He's... He's going to be attending with us next Monday?" Tessa blurt in a roll of a laugh, she shook her head and furrowed her eyebrows, "How is that even going to work? Body guard central?"

"Guess so... Aunt Penny told me he won't be starting until after New Years, next month, so," Berri shrugged and heaved a soft sigh, though she still had a look of forlorn on her rosy cheeks, "We'll see what that entails... Would be cool to try and talk to him, maybe encourage him to branch off and find other band members."

"...What about you, Wren and Theo?" Zed suggested with a shrug, to which Tessa bobbed a nod and gestured her hand in tender encouraging, "I mean... Surely you three could rise to the challenge."

"We're not professionals, dad," Berri sighed, she still seemed a little more aloof than normal, typically she had bright eyes and was excited for everything; Tessa immediately cued to this.

"What's going on with you?" Tessa prod as she glanced over her shoulder to see Zed tending to the few pots on the stove with diligence, "You're awfully melancholy tonight, is everything okay?"

"I'm okay, mom, I just... Really have been thinking about what you told me last night," Berri narrowed her mature eyes, looked off and heaved a gentle sigh. As if she had been avoiding it, she peered back down to her phone, unlocked it and thumbed to her's and Turbo's text conversation, "I messaged Turbo... On Wren's accord, which is annoying."

"Oh, you got ahold of Turbo?" Zed prod, and although both Tessa and Zed massively reserved their excitement for the situation at hand, Berri could tell they were both bursting at the seams, "Did he write you back?"

"Yeah, he did," Berri bobbed a nod of uncertainty, she cocked an eyebrow and shook her head, "He... He's really good at being allusive, I didn't get an answer out of him... Hardly anything, rather."

"Well how did the conversation go?" Tessa wondered tenderly, she knew not to seem way too invested in this mess, due to potentially scaring Berri off, though much to her delight, Berri inhaled a readied breath and properly recited her's and Turbo's small conversation.

 _Blue : Hi Turbo, it's Berri. My mom filled me in on some stuff last night and I was wondering if you could answer some of the questions I had?_

 _Black : Your highness. I'd be interested to know just how much Tessa filled in you on? I knew the day would come where you, Wren and Theo would likely have questions about Sugar Rush's past, I'm happy to fill in the blanks wherever is appropriate._

 _Blue : My mom mentioned that you have a third brother that no one talks about. Is this true?_

 _Black : Yeah, Lash. He's, well... Currently in code room purgatory. Nothing to fear, your highness, Sugar Rush is safe._

 _Blue : Safe from what, exactly?_

"And then he didn't reply," Berri sagged, she peered to her mother and father in a dire roll of urgency, as if she was near the point of demanding answers, though she shook her head and long-blinked down to her's and Turbo's conversation in defeat, "This was a few hours ago."

"He probably doesn't know where to begin," Zed muttered, he shook his head, dusted his hands free of spices he was using, turned the burner on low and softly turned around to face Berri. He confidently stood next to Tessa, bobbed her a nod of assurance and shrugged, "Should we just give her the entire run down?"

"Can you do it quickly? Cause I'm hungry," Tessa mumbled, though Berri furrowed her eyebrows and perked up a little.

"Rundown?" Berri inquired, though as Zed inhaled a deep breath and expanded his chest, Tessa rubbed her cheek and cocked an eyebrow, as if to brace herself for Zed's impending throw around.

"Once upon a time, Sugar Rush was plagued with a virus... Said virus was Turbo's younger brother, Lash... He put on a disguise and called himself King Candy, he had thrown your grandmother out of the code room, wiped the citizen's memories, the whole shebang," Zed started, Berri's eyes lit up with the overflow of information her father was now willingly pouring over her soul, "Very long story short, Lash was eaten by a cybug from Hero's Duty, your grandfather Ralph saved Sugar Rush via the diet cola beacon, the cybug version of Lash was deleted in the beacon, though... Lash regenerated to Sugar Rush's code room, a very weakened being."

"In which said weak coding was shoved into your great uncle Rancis's code box," Tessa rattled, Zed bobbed a nod as the two continued on in near-rapid fire comments and quips.

"Ultimately dragging Rancis into this mess... Sugar Rush got an upgrade, you remember your grandmother telling the stories about how they used to be itty bitty gamers?" Zed questioned Berri, to which she lit up and blurt a giggle.

"Yeah, is that why everyone is now taller and more mature? The upgrade?" Berri prod, Zed firmly nodded.

"After the upgrade, Lash came all the way to Dead Zed and befriended me... And by befriend I mean he wiped my memories, placed a code-pact in my sensitive brain coding and escaped back to Sugar Rush," Zed shook his head and looked off, "He wanted me to join him in overthrowing Sugar Rush, but when I declined, he... Well... Tried to ruin my life."

"Why did he mess with your brain coding? Where was mom in this mess?" Berri pushed, though Tessa cocked an eyebrow and eyed Zed down, as if to teasingly express that she still, to this day, was full on prepared to tease Zed about him actually falling in love with her.

"He knew he'd need a back up plan," Tessa huffed a small sigh and looked down to the counter, "Lash took my unborn code box out of Sugar Rush and threatened to delete me if he wasn't offered the crown, from Vanellope, right then and there..."

"What happened then?" Berri was wholly reeled in.

"Uncle Rancis reintigrated himself for me," Tessa nodded in humility, "Since Lash's code box had merged with Rancis's, killing Lash meant killing Rancis."

"But... Rancis is alive now," Berri stated in confusion, though Tessa smiled and sighed.

"At that same time, Aunt Taffyta was pregnant with Penny, and Rancis was revived through Penny's baby coding."

"Oh, wow," Berri huffed, she shook her head amidst the roller coaster she was now on, "So, where did mom end up in this mess, then?"

"...Your mother wasn't born yet, you know that I'm a User-made gamer and your mother is a self programmed gamer, right?" Zed instructed, Berri nodded gently and eyed her mother in suspicion as Zed continued on, "He set something in my coding to seek out Sugar Rush's heir, no matter which one... In the hopes of one day code swapping with said heir and, thus... Lash would ultimately be re-released back into Sugar Rush's mainframe."

"Oh no, dad, you didn't," Berri sagged her shoulders and sat up a little straighter, though Tessa blurt a hard laugh as Zed froze in a recoil. Berri shook her head and tsked her father a knowing sound, "C'mon, dad, I know it's probably difficult to abstain..."

"Okay," Zed grunted as he attempted to defend himself, though Tessa and Berri were lost in laughter. Zed scrunched his shoulders and desperately peered to both girls, "It was just a source-code placement! The forbidden swap was too tricky to think about tackling in one night, c'mon, it was a sweet sentiment, I was trying to tide your mother over."

"Oh, DO NOT blame that on me, good sir," Tessa firmly sassed with a finger wag and all.

"Okay, so that didn't do any harm, then?" Berri giggled as she wiped her eyes; although she had gotten the 'swapping codes' talk a month or two ago, the concept of a source-code placement was still a little foreign to her.

"Try every single last pixel of harm the arcade had to offer," Tessa muttered into her hands as she rubbed her face in agitation, "Lash was reintroduced into Sugar Rush, he desperately tried to downgrade the game, he eventually flipped Sugar Rush upside down, rearranged everything and everyone... Put forcefields over the entrance, kicked everyone out he deemed to be threatening, annnd... Good times."

"Wait, so how did you guys fix it? Clearly, we're all sitting here, Sugar Rush is totally fine and in your guys' rule," Berri exclaimed as she gestured her hands on the kitchen island's counter, though Tessa cocked an eyebrow and caught eyes with Zed in inquiry.

"...Should we tell her?" Tessa prod quietly, knowing full well that Berri could hear; Berri choked a noise and gestured to herself.

"Come on, I turn one in a few days, please, I'm old enough, just tell meeee," Berri pleaded as she cupped her hands and gave her father a look of whole desperation, "You mentioned Tron earlier, is... Is that what this is all about?"

Zed sagged his shoulders, softly glanced from his beautiful daughter and wife. He held his breath and felt a wave of weirdness fall over him. He knew he had previously had this chat with Ace, about how he was a User all along, though somehow he felt as if it were harder to deliver this news to Berri. He prayed she wouldn't suddenly feel inadequate, or as if she wasn't strong or good enough, just because her big brother, not to mention sister in law, niece and nephew, were all demi-gods. Zed sighed a long breath through his nose, looked down to his hands and bobbed a gentle nod.

"You're right, it does involve Tron... Your mother and I left the Arcade to fix Sugar Rush from the outside," Zed explained, Berri gaped in whole disbelief and shook her head.

Berri tenderly furrowed her brows, and although she was likely sharper than nearly anyone on this lot, she pondered her father's words in whole confusion. She reeled in the fact that even leaving the Arcade was a possibility, but as the gears and cogs started turning, her entirely bemused and surprised eye contact hooked tight into her father's nervous grimace.

"...You guys were HUMANS?" Berri gawked, Tessa shifted on her feet and loved seeing the riled, excited look of dewy eyes and eager dispositions anytime this story was told to a fresh, new soul, "H-How... When?"

"We left Litwak's Arcade, stayed the night in a hotel, came back the next day and reset Sugar Rush's cabinet," Zed explained, he heaved a trembling breath and was worried when this bomb would be dropped on Berri, though her illuminated, excited eyes never ceased to show eagerness for this unfolding conversation.

"So then that's when you rushed the code room, right? The horrible, reoccurring nightmare mom and I keep having?" Berri innocently inquired, though Tessa shook her head and looked down to the kitchen island.

"Our reset only put Lash back on the grid, physically... And since he had begun rearranging everything, every city, everyone's standpoints, he was regenerated in Sugar Rush's code room with full access," Tessa pressed, the way Zed peered to her with tender readiness, it was clear he likely was thankful that Tessa was to deliver this weird, huge wave of news onto Berri's quivering soul, "I couldn't get back into Sugar Rush... Lash had disguised himself as Rancis, he met me at the entrance and told me that I made a huge mistake and that I needd some time outside of Sugar Rush to think about what I had done."

"They kicked you out?" Berri stabbed in entire defense, she shook her head in rising rage and furrowed her brows, "That's not fair."

"It was Lash... I only thought it was uncle Rancis," Tessa shrugged, "Mom and dad never would've done that to me, or to us... So... I sought refuge in Dead Zed, we had Ace, and... Spent the year of Ace's childhood just laying low."

"Wow, so Ace is a Dead Zed native, then," Berri chuckled, to which Tessa and Zed nodded, though Berri furrowed her eyebrows and began to notice the nervous strings of eye contact her parents were giving each other. Berri side-eyed the both of them, faltered on a few words and felt a cold roll of nervousness come over her, "So... H-How did you guys get past the forcefield, then?"

Tessa heaved a finalized sigh, sagged her hands to the island's counter, and with a gentle look of knowing, she gave Berri a humble smile, "Ace got us through the forcefields."

"How is that possible?" Berri stabbed, desperate for more information.

"That one, fateful night we were outside of the Arcade, Ace was conceived," Zed affirmed tenderly with a small nod, though with such information that was rolling through Berri's brain, both him and Tessa froze and wondered just how she was going to react.

"Ace was made while you two were humans?" Berri staggered, the whole wash of realization soaked over her skin like a ghost, and in a trembling stand, she abandoned her phone on the island, looked out the gorgeous bay windows, to her right, her eyes met with the gloss of steady rain and thunder, she shook her head and peered back to Tessa and Zed in unadulterated shock, "A-Ace is... A User?"

Tessa and Zed gently nodded in unison, praying that Berri would take this news with grace. So far, the only thing she was successful in getting out of her system was a scoff of entire disbelief, she shook her head and held her temples, as if to rethink her entire life.

"A-Ace is a HUMAN?" Berri gawked, Tessa blurt a small laugh, shrugged and looked off.

"May have all those cool, User powers, but... He'd be the first one to tell you that he only knows how to use a small shred of said powers," Tessa smiled, Berri looked entirely rocked off the face of the Earth.

"M-My older brother," Berri trailed off, she shook her head and finally sat back down at the kitchen island, though she looked wholly disheveled. Before she could slump too far into herself, she perked up and gave her mother and father a look of reeling shock, "WAIT. What about Libby then? Beaux and Mara?"

"One big happy User family," Zed blurt a chuckle and bobbed a nod, he looked out the massive bay windows, across the stretch and sighed, "We owe a lot to Ace and Libby... They really did help us out, when it came to winning Sugar Rush back."

"Just exactly how much crap went down before I was born?" Berri ogled in continued, reeling confusion, "I-I... I never imagined it to go this deep, or to stem back this far."

"It's a lot... More than just this conversation can encompass, I promise you that. Many months of scouts into Sugar Rush, desperately searching for the castle, we were roughing it for every trip," Tessa nodded, she looked down and shook her head, "Though, I'm telling you... Without Turbo's immense help, we would've been running in circles."

"How exactly did he help you?" Berri prod, though it was with this did she understand that her parents would likely just refer her to Turbo, for her burning questions, once again, though Tessa indulged.

"He knew exactly where the castle was," Tessa stated as she stood up a little straighter and finally gave her attention to the turned-off burners of the stove, she eased into it's bubble and began to cook, once more, though still invested in their conversation, "I know you hate hearing it, but... You really should ask Turbo for his side of the story. I think it'd mean more, coming from him. He has his whole angle, to tell, anyhow. That's stuff that even we don't know."

"There are no more surprises, are there?" Berri stabbed in a rise of inquiring annoyance, though Zed grit his teeth and shot Tessa a look of dismay. Berri sagged her shoulders and looked up, "Oh, of course. Just great. Love that for us."

"You now have a direct line to Turbo," Zed shrugged, "Maybe catch him the next time he's at the palace?"

"Or go and knock on his door?" Tessa prod nonchalantly, "There have been a few times where I'd have to teleport myself all the way over to his sixty-fourth story perch, strictly because he was being vague through text messages and I needed a clear, direct answer."

"He's just an old soul, I think this new messaging thing is weird for him," Zed affirmed, to which Tessa nodded in understanding.

Berri fingered her lip, peered down to her locked phone and narrowed her gaze. Although so much was going through her mind, she shook her head and peered to her mother and father.

"You guys raised a User?" Berri hissed in disbelief, a whole bout of awe she was uncertain she could contain, "I-I mean... How did you tell Ace? Do Beaux and Mara know?"

"No, they don't... Ace and Libby will tell them once they turn one, like what your mother and I did for Ace near his first birthday," Zed sighed, he gave his daughter an apologetic look of tenderness, "It's not like we WANTED to keep this information from you, OR Ace... It's just a lot, it's life altering. We wanted you kids to grow up as carefree as you possibly could."

"You should talk to your brother, just let him know that we told you what was up," Tessa looked over her shoulder from the stirring and prepping she did, "He'll probably be relieved... He told us, the other day, that he nearly spilled it to you."

"I wouldn't have complained," Zed grunted as he rubbed his face, Berri gave him a wily look of girly cheek.

"Keep the pressure off of you, huh dad?" Berri teased, though Zed gave her a playful look of challenge.

"Alongside running the entirety of Sugar Rush, my dear? Yeah," Zed scoffed with a firm nod, to which Berri shrugged in defeat and nodded alongside his fervor.

"Fair... Thanks for, well... Getting me this far, in the story," Berri stated in humble gratitude, though Tessa cocked an eyebrow.

"You have no idea, kid," Tessa muttered through a chuckle, "I've earned my stripes."

"... THAT'S where you got your burns from, mom?" Berri prod, ultimately opening up another hot topic, "Did you get your burns coming in and out of Arcade?"

"No, I got my burns giving birth to Ace," Tessa stated in teasing exhaustion, she gave Berri a knowing look and lazily waggled about her spatula, "You give birth to a User and come out of the other end of it unscathed."

"She went blind for two weeks, too," Zed bugged his eyes and shook his head, "It was wild."

"I'll tell you what else is wild," Berri stabbed as she gently stood from the island, rounded it and came deeper into the kitchen, to inspect the food that was being made for the three, "I have three relatives and one in-law that have the capability to delete me in one single key-stroke. WHOSE HUNGRY?"

"Oh, come on, they wouldn't just delete you," Zed shook his head and gently scooped Berri into a side hug.

"I'M the one with that power," Tessa stated with dark cheek as she waggled her eyebrows and peered to Berri down the bridge of her nose, though Zed reached out and prod his pointer finger into her stomach, causing her to flinch and retreat due to being tickled, "HEY!"

"High and mighty, your majesty," Zed grumbled with a wider smile, though he successfully roped Berri into a loving hug and firmly kissed the top of her head, "We love you. We just wanted you to have this information when you were ready."

"She probably was ready a month or two ago, to be honest," Tessa mumbled as she gently bent over and took a platter out of the oven, "Girly has an eagle-eye sense for any tiny little thing that seems to be out of place."

"Won't get past any of the boys at Academy, eh?" Zed wondered, hoping Berri would agree, though she slumped herself into Zed's figure and loudly groaned.

"Yes sir," Berri grumbled in tired, cheeky annoyance.

"Let's eat. Got a lot more than food to digest," Zed eased as he finally unhanded Berri, the three passed out their plates and began to dig in.

With the hot topic of Archived Chaos splitting up, Turbo being vague and not answering Berri's questions, and the whole slew of information lobbed at Sugar Rush's princess, dinner, dessert and the wildly unravelling conversation snuck well into the night. As the evening easily crept up to about eleven at night, all three family members helped clean up after dinner, said their goodnights to each other, and quietly dispersed to their separate quarters, with Lickity following Tessa and Zed, and Chester keeping tight to Berri's footsteps. In a spike of adrenaline that seemingly was impossible to stuff, Berri hurried up her staircase, helped Chester along the way and finally tabbed back into her phone, after the hours of abandoning it at the kitchen island, due to being wrapped in conversation with her mother and father. Her heart jumped in surprise, the sheer fact that Turbo had replied to her.

 _Black : Safe from Lash, unfortunately. The road to hell is paved with good intentions._

Berri slowed her roll once she let Chester into her dimly lit room. She flicked on her lamp, heaved a shaky sigh and thumbed the sides of her phones. She noticed the timestamp of Turbo's message, and although he had sent said message an hour prior, she figured it might be too late to reply to him anymore for the day. Another being she knew was the epitome of a night owl was her big brother. Her stomach churned at the thought of her goofy, lovable big brother wielding the entirety of Arcade's power, such a tender-hearted individual really needed no introduction, though with the title 'demi-god' plastered to his existence, Berri bit her lip and wondered just how hard it must've been for Ace to keep such a huge secret from all of Sugar Rush's younglings, as well as society as a whole. Berri furrowed her brow, tabbed to Ace's contact information, in her phone, and opted to flat out calling him, knowing full well that he'd be awake. The phone rang twice, though she felt her heart jolt the second Ace picked up.

"Hey sis, what's up?" Ace's voice was kind and gentle, deep and quiet, it was clear that although they were nightowls, they were probably on their way to thinking about winding down for the night.

"Hey, I... I just wanted to call you, and..." Berri drifted, she looked around her room in nervousness and wondered why she could feel her eyes well with tears. She shook her head and relished the sound of Ace's soothing voice, one of her best friends growing up, she heaved a trembling sigh and held her hand to her forehead, "I-I really don't know why I called you, to be honest, I just... Wanted to tell you that I love you."

Ace was quiet on the other end. Not because he had no response, though simply because he was contemplating just what the issue was, here. After a moment, Ace breathed a small chuckle and sounded as if he had potentially been discovered.

"Mom and dad told you, huh," Ace grumbled with a small laugh, which only grew the second Berri beamed a wide smile and joined in on his contagious laughter, "I love you too, Blue... Wanna come over for a little bit? Beaux and Mara are asleep, but Libby and I just popped some popcorn."

"I-I'd love that," Berri nodded with a small sigh, she wondered if Ace potentially had even further information for her than Tessa and Zed, and with a conclusive nod, she eyed Chester with a smile and lovingly pet his broad chest, "I'll be right over."


	32. Chapter 32

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** Aww, that's so sweet. I definitely don't feel that same feelings in my situation, but with my marriage, I've gained the lot of Cory's little brothers, so THAT'S been a ton of fun. I'm living out my saga as we speak. It's REALLY weird.

 **Snake557 :** Oh I TOTALLY relate. I try not to live too much under a rock, but yeah, I agree. Having anxiety like that REALLY will mess with you. I understand! And thank you, friend! I appreciate it :)

 **CHICKENM4N :** LMAO Yeah I definitely didn't put all of that into perspective. That's so funny. Only difference, Ace is Jesus that has nearly no idea how to use said Jesus powers hahaha.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Don't Talk About Love by G.R.L**

* * *

 ***Chapter 32***

"Hey, turd, castle meeting in five, code room," Zed instructed with a knowing smirk towards his daughter; Berri's head flew up from her gentle concentration in her phone, she sat at the palace's main kitchen's island, dressed in a comfortable Sugar Rush hoodie and ripped, skinny jeans, her eyes honed tight to Zed's in whole confusion.

"Dad?" Berri pressed with a lilt of disbelief, he blurt a chuckle, head for the fridge and waited for Snowanna and Jubileena to pass by, alongside their noisy chatter.

"You heard me," Zed stated kindly, he yanked an energy drink from the fridge, popped the can's top and took a swig before he gestured the can to her, as if to insinuate that she was following along, "You always wanted in on those meetings, right?"

"Well, yeah but... I assumed that I'd have to be well over the age of one, and neck deep in Academy work before that was ever my reality," Berri staggered in confusion, though her heart began to race the second she saw Vanellope, Ralph, Taffyta and Rancis slowly begin to mosey in the direction of the code room, they loudly laughed and chit-chat with one another.

"Your mother and I figured it'd do you good to shadow us, this time around," Zed shrugged, he began to head in the direction that Ralph, Vanellope, Taffyta and Rancis began to mosey in, and with a gentle head tilt, he gave his daughter a cute show of an inquiry, "Y'comin'?"

"Y-Yeah!" Berri staggered in whole delight as she jolted to get her legs workings. She quickly eased off of the bar stool she was on, crossed the loose crowd of lazy Sugar Rush racers and palace residents alike, and as she sagged her phone into the back pocket of her jeans, she felt her heart jolt in remembrance; she knew full well that castle meetings involved the tight knit circle of hierarchy, including Sugar Rush's Knights. She successfully kept up with her father's powerful stride, and in tenderness, she elbowed his lower arm and kept tight to his gravity, "Dad, who uh... Exactly is going to be in this meeting?"

"Well, sometimes Oliver, Ace, Libby and Koko show up, sometimes not," Zed stated through a huff as the four previous heads of Sugar Rush were farther down the shorter corridor that lead to the code room, as well as the donut-shaped hallways to each racer's respective home, "It's obviously Ralph, Vanellope, Taffyta, Rancis, Turbo, annnnd... Mrs. Queen Bee."

"S-So, uh... What exactly are we going to be discussing this time, then?" Berri wondered in bright eyed, bushy-tailed excitement. She successfully linked arms with her father, something he cued to, and in gentlemanly fashion, he lovingly held the top of her hand with his free one and chauffeured her to the code room doors. She eagerly carried on as Zed eyed her in cheeky suspicion, "A-Anything exciting?"

"Well... Just a few things regarding the wifi router," Zed bobbed a nod, he looked on in already exhausted nervousness, "Some heavy stuff, regarding that, but... Shouldn't be way too detrimental. Just pay close attention to your mother. You are her shadow, after all."

"Dad, as much as I am future Queen, you and I both know mom is not going to be giving up that crown ANY time soon," Berri muttered, as if to express that all the note taking and shadowing would likely be all in vain, eventually.

"It's still good to know what you're doing, Bear," Zed grumbled with a kind smile, "User forbid your mother and I have to step away, for whatever reason, however long... You'd be acting Queen. While you were growing up, that title fell to Rancis and Turbo."

"How'd they fair?" Berri pressed, and as they gently entered the gaping, code room doors, she felt herself shrink as realization of this all finally hit her; she was attending a castle meeting, something she begged to do for months.

"Well," Zed bobbed a nod and continued to lead Berri across the glossy tiles of Tessa's glorious code room, "They're two people you'd want to pay attention to, as well... Not to mention your old man."

"Got it down pat, dad," Berri encouraged softly, to which he gave her a loving, wrinkle of a smile; they softly sank into the tender conversing that was abundant at the game's center, the code room's middle.

"Berri, you're joining us today?" Taffyta chimed in tender excitement as Berri and Zed approached Taffyta, Rancis, Ralph and Vanellope's loose circle at said center.

"Guess so," Berri eased in girly excitement, she shrugged her shoulders and met eyes with her father, he peered to her through narrowed eyes of pride and love.

"Figured, since your highness turns one this coming Thursday," Zed inquired as he gently nudged Berri's arm, which was still tightly linked with his; she bashfully looked off and hid a smile, to which all the adults in the room began to coo and groan at just where all the time went.

"Alright guys, everyone here?" Tessa gently inquired, her silver coding materialized on the code room's teleport pad. She wore a clean pair of grey skinny jeans, no shoes and a cute white t-shirt. Her messy auburn hair was down and in delicate waves all down her back and shoulders, her typical style. She easily glossed her eyes over everyone in the group and furrowed her brow in tender inquiry, "Sans Turbo?"

"He's coming, he just messaged me," Rancis bobbed a nod and gently waved his unlocked phone about.

"Bear," Tessa chimed in motherly delight as her and Zed softly unhanded each other. Tessa warmly eased her larger hand to Berri's shoulder and bobbed a gentle nod, "First castle meeting... You excited?"

"I am," Berri nodded, her cute, girly disposition was a nice, refreshing quality of any natural born wrecker. She nervously tucked her blue hair behind her ears and was grateful that everyone began to quietly chit chat amongst each other; she leaned closer to her mother and gave her a nervous look of inquiry, "Mom, I-I... I don't have to talk, or anything, do I?"

"Not unless you feel lead," Tessa shrugged, "Most of this is just formalities, checking in... I do have a bit of a hot topic to discuss, but for the most part, it eventually just turns into all of us hanging out."

"Even with Turbo?" Berri so quietly wondered, though Tessa squinted and looked off with a shrug.

"Well, he's usually first to leave... We're all used to it, and no one takes offense... You know how much of a hermit he is," Tessa gave Berri a blank, uninterested look of kind understanding for Turbo's position in life, and in society. She shrugged and gave Berri her full attention, whilst they waited for said TurboTime hermit, "Any progress with your Turbo-related questions being answered, by the way?"

"Hardly," Berri scoffed in annoyance, she looked towards the teleportation pad, where Turbo would arrive, in rising nervousness, "Y-You think, if I pulled him aside after the meeting, he'd chat with me?"

"Hard to say, love," Tessa shook her head and gave Berri and apologetic smile, "He gives Zed and I his full, undivided attention because, well... We're his boss. Although you're royalty, and he's due to giving you the highest respect, whose to say how much of himself he'd be willing to give. The dude has a very limited supply of energy for socializing. You may be better off just texting him."

"But even then he's vague, you said yourself that it's impossible to get anything out of him via messages," Berri complained quietly, she continued to eye the teleportation pad across the way, as if she was worried she'd be caught talking about him once he materialized.

"I don't know what to tell you, babe," Tessa huffed a small giggle and shook her head, "If it means that much to you, your father and I can arrange something, and we can mediate... Orrr, you can just go knocking on his door. Break down that spiky koopa shell of his."

"Yeah right, he'd have me trespassed," Berri furrowed her brow and held a negative air, she figured, at this point, it was probably a lost cause, and pursuing this further would likely get her on Turbo's bad side.

"Give him more credit than that, Turbo is a wonderful person... He's just painfully shy," Tessa nudged Berri's arm and tenderly began to peel from her daughter's presence, the sound of the teleportation pad coming to life had Berri's heart jolting in hot, searing anxiousness, "Everyone has at least ONE wall erected around their heart... In Turbo's case, it's, like, twelve. If you persist, in a respectful manner, surely he'll come around."

Berri held her breath and avoided replying to her mother; her eyes nervously shot to the teleportation pad, and as it came alive with a delicate mess of red hot honeycomb coding, Turbo's posture and mainframe was eagerly written out in angry licks of circuitry that snaked the open air. Once fully realized, Turbo huffed a small breath of apology, stepped off the teleportation pad and began to make his way to the group that waited in gentle, meandering chit-chat. Berri nearly sank into herself and glossed her eyes about this mysterious being's disposition; dressed in black biker jeans, a comfortable looking black and grey t-shirt with a small hole in the left collar, he looked as if he maybe was previously working out and threw on some jeans to at least somewhat look presentable.

"Sorry I'm late," Turbo huffed, his deep, masculine voice was weathered. He long blinked in irritation, towards himself, that golden glow of his eyes only vanishing when his lids were closed, "I lost track of time..."

"Very unlike you," Zed stated tenderly, though as Turbo's eyes glossed the group, Berri could see him nearly stumble over his own footwork, altogether, the second his creepy gaze landed straight on Sugar Rush's princess. Zed's voice carried on, ultimately breezing past the hiccup in Turbo's destination, "Everything alright?"

"You're the most punctual guy I know," Rancis blurt with a laugh as Turbo gently sagged into the circle, and much to Berri's anxiety-ridden dismay, he stood right next to her, in the circle.

"Don't remind me," Turbo grumbled, it was clear his nearly disinterested front was actually taken well by everyone, due to their smiles and gently laughs at his remarks, as if this shy, quiet and mildly grumpy individual was somehow beloved for everything he was, and everything he wasn't. Berri sagged tighter to Zed's side, and having being loosely sandwiched right between Turbo and her own father, she wondered if Zed would notice if she eased tighter into the King's more positive and bubbly demeanor. Although Berri was doing a good job at not getting caught staring in awfully-concealed terror, Turbo hesitantly gave Berri full eye contact and bobbed a nod, "Your highness... Glad to see you here."

"Th-thanks," Berri eased, she tried to hide the tremble in her voice, the absolute stab of the void of his square pupils continued to haunt her, and it was with this that she was certain that even an eternal amount of time spent with Turbo may never erase the fear she had of his creepy eye contact, even if it was deep down and more healed over the course of her childhood. Berri tried her hardest to be brave, though she finally peeled her scared eyes from his and looked down to her hands, "D-Dad's idea."

"Can you believe it's already been a year since all that nonsense?" Vanellope chimed in a lilt of knowing, everyone groaned and blurt grateful chuckles, as if to be relieved that Sugar Rush's demise was no longer a blip on the radar.

"I was gunna say," Turbo eased, and it was with this did Berri feel surprise hit her skin, the second his figure just barely shook a warm chuckle and a shy smile, to boot; she furrowed her brow in tender contemplation and now was worried that she would spend the entirety of this meeting trying to discover if Turbo had more emotions to show, more weak spots she could hone in on and use to her advantage of hopefully getting answers out of Turbo, as selflessly non-invasive as she could muster.

"Alright guys, let's get started," Tessa cued to the group, her voice was slightly raised, so to reach everyone and assert authority over the group; everyone immediately fell silent and honed their gazes to their queen, stationed in the middle of the loose circle. She held a holographic display of a checklist, messy notes, a map of Sugar Rush's entrance and Orion City as a whole. She glossed the group and, much to Berri's surprise, she diligently cued to Turbo, "Alright, friend from across the sky... How's that perch of yours holding up? Everything going well? The year's been kind to you, no?"

"Yes, ma'am, my share of the code room is a powerhouse," Turbo bobbed a nod, Berri eagerly kept her eyes on him in her peripheral; she was grateful he stood a few inches out before her so she could easily stare and not get caught, "The city is thriving... Has its good and bad parts, as any big city."

"Haven't been discovered, have you?" Taffyta wondered as she wrinkled her nose and peered to Turbo, ultimately dancing around sensitive information Berri wasn't aware of, yet.

"No, but funny story," Turbo sagged his strong, masculine hands into his jean pockets, raised his eyebrows in exhaustion and looked down to the ground in near-smiling cheek, "The resident's home on the closest floor down from me, so... The sixtieth floor, caught fire."

"What?" Zed blurt with a nervous laugh, as did everyone, Berri glossed her eyes about the group and was eating up every single second of anyone's interactions with Sugar Rush's main shy guy.

"Yeah, that was... An interesting night, to say the least," Turbo chuckled, "The code room warned me, and, well... I reversed the damage and contained the fire down to nothing... I sent their residence a master notification and made clear that if they screw around anymore, they'd be out."

"Don't mess with Orion Tower," Tessa blurt a small laugh, Turbo shrugged and gave her a look of mild cheek.

"Not my first run in with them," Turbo's voice lilted with a sigh as he peered to Tessa, "It's fun playing landlord and also being able to remain anonymous."

Berri furrowed her eyebrows and now wondered just what lengths Turbo would go to for this painfully shy and hermit lifestyle, she knew it was easy to just slink away and avoid social interactions, though she was starting to feel a weird amount of detest for this mysterious being she was uncomfortably stationed next to. She looked off in a glower of rising annoyance, as if now this act was becoming a bit much. She wondered why her mother and father never wrangled it in, and allowed him to live in this weird lifestyle of is. It was with this did her burning questions only multiply, though the desire to now seek out said answers was beginning to dwindle due to conflicting irritation. She tried not to wrinkle her nose and shoot Turbo an annoyed side-eye, she patiently awaited more information to come out of his figure.

"What was the cause of the fire?" Rancis prod in boyish cheek, it was with this did Berri seem even further confused that everyone was on board with Turbo's strict lifestyle.

"Bonfire on the carpet," Turbo's now smug look of smiling irritation grew, he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, "I'm tired of renting to these rich kids and having the tower trashed due to drunken house parties. I've learned a lot over the year... I get wanting to have fun, but for User's sake."

"Sounds like you have a handle on it, nonetheless?" Tessa pressed, to which Turbo finally sighed and showed proper signs of sealing himself up.

"Your majesty," Turbo's polite voice drummed in methodical sweetness, a deep rasp of routine, Berri felt her mind do all sorts of backflips, as if she now couldn't even put her finger on just what she liked and disliked about this strange individual.

"I have a bit of news, before we carry on, but uncle Rancis, I know you had something you wanted to say?" Tessa pressed as she gently swiped at some of her notes, she gestured her larger hand in Rancis's direction and finally gave him her full eye contact.

"Yeah, I wanted to actually warn you guys," Rancis pressed nervously, he softly invited himself into the circle, alongside his niece, and was thrilled to see her step aside so he could say his peace. He pulled up the map of Sugar Rush's entrance, that Tessa had readied for him, and as he began to zoom in to the high definition display of Sugar Rush's rainbow road entrance, he eased tighter to the foliage and the dirt just at the end of said wide, swooping road, "So, the other night, I was making my rounds, and I discovered these really weird footprints at the base of Sugar Rush's entrance... You guys see?"

"What... What kind of creature made those footprints?" Ralph worried in tenderness as everyone softly squinted and leaned in, to get a good look at the strange looking footprints that Sugar Rush's grid had successfully captured, forever sealed in the time lock of the game's data base.

"I'm not sure, I've scoured Sugar Rush's database, creature index, as well as from Dead Zed, Hero's Duty AND Fix-It Felix Jr.," Rancis listed, he caught eyes with Zed and briefly nodded, as if to silently insunuate to the group that Zed was in on this nonsense, "Nothing matches."

"It looks like something you'd probably have to take to Surge," Vanellope pressed in a lilt of nervousness, though she hooked her hazel eyes to Turbo's now silent demeanor, "I don't know, does this look like anything you've ever seen, Turbo? Given just how long you've been in this Arcade."

Berri felt purpose come back to her skin, she wondered now if she could potentially get answers out of him strictly over the course of this meeting. As all eyes fell back to Turbo, Berri held her breath and was absolutely glued to the topic at hand.

"It's hard because, it looks familiar, but... I don't think I have enough information, or memory, to really grab on to one particular clue and go from there," Turbo shook his head, tenderly stepped out and further examined the footprints with Rancis, Tessa still quietly hovered behind the two, "I've seen a lot of crap, in my day. I think Vanellope's right, this looks like something for Surge."

"Are we in danger, here?" Taffyta tenderly worried, and as Rancis and Turbo slunk back to their respective spots in the circle, Tessa took the center, once more and shrugged in apprehensive debate.

"Are we ever NOT in some shred of danger?" Tessa eased as delicately as she could, she shook her head and peered about her core group, "We're the safest we've been in years, I'm sure we're just fine in Sugar Rush, but... This leads me to my next point. We seemingly have a bit of trouble in terrorist town."

"So thankful for the internet," Zed muttered with a smile, as if to show delight towards said game, though Tessa shook her head and gently sighed.

"Although the wifi router has seemingly been here and there, vanishing and popping up in stations everywhere about the Arcade, it seems to have leaked some things into Litwak's... I'm not sure what Mr. Litwak is on about, moving the router so much, but..." Tessa drifted off, peered to her notes aimlessly, as if to look straight through them, and shrugged, "Zed and I had a meeting with a few other game-heads, as well as a few officials from the station's Academies, and, it seems as if the internet is leaking something invisible into the Arcade."

"Invisible?" Taffyta prod in a rise of disbelief, "If we can't see it, how do we know about it, then?"

"... It's taking the lives of faux-codes, and faux-codes only," Tessa stated in a lilt of dread as she eyed the group, the only self programmed gamers, in this meeting, were Berri and the Queen herself, both of which softly caught eyes in a rise of terror, "It's a higher and faster death rate than that of opposed-code swapping, statistics show... Something we easily know how to accomplish."

"Which, the Academies are slowly coming around to the idea of, on a positive note," Zed tenderly interjected; knowing full well Tessa ran these meetings, as King, he knew he had the floor just as much as she did.

"You think they'd let you teach a course on it, or something?" Rancis questioned kindly to his niece, to which she shrugged and gave him a look of hope.

"Would definitely be cool... Tomorrow's my first day back in well over two years, so we'll see how things pan out," Tessa stated, the brimming excitement of rushing Academy's doors, once more, was all she ever dreamed of, "Faux-codes are dropping like flies, with witnesses stating that their friend or brother or sister, or whoever, is just there beside them, and the next second, they're deleted. Without a trace."

"Outside their own game, or?" Vanellope worried as everyone stole nervous glances to each other.

"Outside their home game, yes. The majority of these attacks are actually happening at EZ Living," Tessa instructed nervously, "With just how many beach-goers are there, from all of Arcade's games, it's an easy target. Thousands of gamers are there every single day."

"Sooo, staying away from EZ Living, dutifully noted," Taffyta mumbled in dismay as she crossed her arms, "Wait... Is it ANY gamer? Or just self-programmed gamers?"

"It's just self-programmed gamers, but..." Tessa sighed and looked down to her larger wrecking hands, the gorgeous wedding ring that glistened in the code room lighting, "It could happen to anyone, I'm sure. I'd dare to say Sugar Rush is on a lockdown... No one is safe outside of their own programmed games."

"I ain't leaving, don't have to tell me twice," Rancis choked in dismay, though him and Turbo caught eyes in boyish knowing as the both of them chuckled in understanding, "Being deleted is absolutely no joke, I'm not going through THAT again."

"Right there with you," Turbo grumbled as he crossed his arms and bobbed a nod to Rancis across the way; it was at this point did Berri totally lose track of just how many questions she wanted to ask Turbo.

"I have a meeting with Game Central Academy Council tomorrow, after school," Tessa stated in a lilt of dread, "I really have no clue what's going on, but we need to protect our self-programmed gamers."

Zed smiled in knowing and, although Berri was quiet for this entire time, he obviously hooked his arm about her shoulders and yanked her into a loving, fatherly hug. She blurt a quiet laugh and stumbled into Zed's strong embrace.

"We've worked hard to raise this next generation of babies, our legacy and our family," Tessa nodded and held firm eye contact with her peers and subjects, everyone respectfully and kindly agreed, "No one is to loiter outside of either Sugar Rush, Dead Zed, Fix-It Felix Jr., or Hero's Duty."

"Aww man, this excludes Tapper's, doesn't it," Berri muttered into Zed's arm, and although she thought she had only said that for her father to hear, the entire group burst out in laughter, sans Turbo.

"Poor girl can't even celebrate her first birthday properly," Zed cooed in knowing as he now began to obnoxiously sway her; she finally grunted a laugh and freed herself from her father's stronghold, she fixed her hair in a fluster of poofed agitation.

"There are ways of getting Tapper's root beer outside of his game," Turbo's deep voice grumbled, as if to be irritated, though he curled a cute, sly grin of dark mystery and caught his golden eyes with Berri; she raised her eyebrows in prickling fear, that she was desperate to reign in, though she blurt a chuckle and was forever grateful he at least lofted her a friendly smile.

"I'd appreciate that," Berri encouraged, to which he looked down to his feet and raised his eyebrows.

"Take it from someone who doesn't set foot outside of Sugar Rush, at all costs," Turbo eased as the group began to murmur continuous concerns about the issue at hand, and although Turbo was still a formidable wall, Berri was beginning to potentially see the sun rise over the top of said wall, any shred of warmth she could get her pixels on, "Where there's a will, there's a way."

"Text Turbo for alcohol, got it," Berri waggled her finger, to which Turbo nearly stiffened at said idea and scoffed a chuckle, as if to mildly dread and anticipate her notions.

"Alright guys... Just lay low until I can get some more details from the Council tomorrow," Tessa assured, to which everyone nodded in affirmation, though with this she beamed an excited smile and lofted her gaze to Berri, "...I get to go back to Academy!"

"With me!" Berri stated in a rise of excitement, the group began to loosely chit-chat into a further drum of the meeting's completion.

"Yeah, babe. Me, your aunt Koko, uncle Oliver, Tammy, Emery and Penny will all be able to show you, Wren and Theo the ropes," Tessa blurt a small laugh and held her forehead, "User, that's weird."

"That's going to be wild," Taffyta blurt as she eased more into Tessa's bubble.

Berri stood on her tip toes and lit up, though just as she was about to interject with her own excited notions, she felt the presence next to her so silently leave a cold gap of absence. Berri whirled around in stunned surprise and felt her heart drop with the image of Turbo steadily making his way back to the teleportation pad. She raised her eyebrows in a jolt of surprise and felt everything in her just scream to insert herself in the situation, get two steps ahead of Turbo and sort this mess out, once and for all. In a lightning quick jolt of a glitch-hop, she managed to bounce a few steps out and to the side of Turbo, causing him to flinch and urgently halt his footwork, just half a dozen feet from the beckoning teleportation pad.

"Turbo, hey, sorry, I... I had a question for you," Berri started, though she realized she startled Turbo by the way he had taken a few steps back; she grimaced and gestured her hands in a lilt of now trembling apprehension, "I-I... I'm sorry for the other night, I'm... I'm not going to barrel into you, again."

"It's all good," Turbo stated in reserve, although he had previously seemed to be barely opening up, Berri was frustrated to find that each sentence, each spacial interaction was just a brand new start, right at square one. She immediately felt annoyed at this notion, though was glad Turbo at least gave her respectful eye contact, no matter how creepy. He bobbed a nod and gave her a small hint of a smile, "Not the worst thing that's ever happened to me."

"I-I... I guess I was wondering if there would be a good time we can maybe sit down and talk?" Berri pressed, she tried not to be way too forward, though she knew she needed to assert herself in order to get him to cooperate, "I have a few questions about, well... What we were briefly texting about the other day, and I just want some straight answers."

"Your highness," Turbo agreed with a nod, and with said encouragement, Berri's eyes and smile lit up.

"Great, thank you," Berri pressed, her smile growing wider by the second, "I guess... Well... When would be good for you, then?"

"Name a time and place, your highness," Turbo's voice lilted into a depth of warmth Berri was certain was likely difficult for him to convey, "I'll be there."

Berri felt a frozen, as if any single shred of friendliness that Turbo had to offer was something sacred and brand new. Any chance she could at least somehow feel as if she was talking to a normal person, she relished in. Getting too lost in the feeling of desperately wanting normality, she staggered on a small 'thank you' and took too much time in giving a proper reply. As if Turbo had a strict countdown, he kindly peeled from her gravity and escaped to the teleportation pad. In a whisk of hot, red honeycomb coding, Turbo's figure vanished into thin air. Berri bit her bottom lip and, although she wasn't wholly successful at getting him to entirely open up, she was at least thrilled that the ball was now in her court.


	33. Chapter 33

**Reviews :**

 **Romantic Sap :** I apologize for skipping it, but yes, it is beginning to get a little redundant. Berri and Ace revisit it, due to him being worried about telling Beaux and Mara their powers. So, the chapter may have been 'skipped' for now, but it'll eventually be revisited in a different way. Not to worry. Like said, it's just too repetitive, and due to Berri wanting to pry answers out of Turbo, I didn't want each chapter to practically be a re-hash of my entire saga. And yes! I'm very excited to be writing about Academy again, it's very special to me! I haven't been doing a lot of drawing lately due to my job, planning my wedding, getting in shape and I also have a pet to take care of. I have a LOT of stuff I AM working on, it's just slow moving. I have a ton of works in progress I can't wait to finish and upload. But yeah, I'm just extremely busy and can only really squeeze in these chapters every other day.

 **Snake557 :** Same! And, I sort of don't understand what you're asking here, friend. Sorry D:

 **CHICKENM4N :** MOOD

 **Jay Sketchin :** LOL! It's okay, yeah it's because of those night terrors she had, or Tessa's memories of Lash, in which sort of bled into Berri's coding, and she was also saddled with said memory, because although Tessa regenerated due to Berri's coding, Tessa was only running off of Berri's coding and nothing more. So that whole scene burned into Berri's coding and, even well into her's and Turbo's friendship, she constantly makes clear that his eyes scare her. He helps her get over it via -non-spoiler-fluff-filled-activity- something to look forward to :]

* * *

 ***Chapter 33***

"Lookit her, getting all dolled up, like Gunner himself is going to come scoop you up," Koko choked as he pointed to her cute, girly niece.

Berri haphazardly sat cross-legged on her mother's and father's bathroom counters, her mouth agape, applying eyeliner with skill and diligence. Berri furrowed her brow in a rise of impending annoyance and could only simply huff a breath of protest, lest her eyeliner be crooked. Penny, who stood next to her, also excitedly fixed her cute, choppy, golden haircut. Every woman, that was due for a new day at Academy, had easily crowded Tessa's and Zed's bathroom. Berri, Penny, Koko, Tessa, Emery and Tammy all had a grand time, loudly chatting, excitedly swapping schedules and planning just where to lunch, Berri applied her natural-styled makeup as fast and as neatly as she could. She finally leaned back, peered to herself in the mirror and inspected her work.

"You NEVER know," Berri retort, to which Koko and Tammy blurt a laugh, "Mom, would you be mad if I came home with an awesome super star boyfriend?"

"Uh, if he didn't treat you like the princess you are, then yes," Tessa barked, she sat on the closed lid of their toilet, elbows on her knees, chin plastered into her opened hands. She looked entirely unamused, knowing full well she was eager to just throw on a cute pair of jeans, alongside a nice top and a zip up; she appreciated that the other women in her life wanted to doll up, though she nearly sulked in hot, anticipated wait, patience quickly running out.

"Like hell we're ever going to be able to even say two words to the dude," Tammy barked as she crossed her arms, she finally moved away from the mirror and joined Tessa on the other end of their massive, sprawling, pearly white bathroom, all clad with a gorgeous amount of sun kissed skylights, "We'll have to go through his body guards."

"Like a screening process?" Emery mumbled as she began to tidy her long, gorgeous emerald colored hair; each girl was dressed in nice clothes, warm cardigans and zip up hoodies alike.

"Hi, my name is Berri Schweetz, and I am a future Mrs. Gunner Berri Ko. How dare you withhold my husband from me, like this," Berri snapped her finger and gestured to herself in the mirror; everyone was easily lost in laughter.

"Are you telling me you want Sugar Rush's future King to be a rock star?" Tessa blurt through her laughter, she loved how much zest and cute amount of girly energy Berri harbored, a bottomless pit of excitement.

"Are ANY of us complaining?" Penny stabbed as she, too, continued to prod at herself in the mirror.

"No, that guy is yum," Tammy muttered as she crossed her arms, though she lazily pointed back to Tessa and cocked an eyebrow in her direction, "Don't tell Finn."

"It's okay, Orph already feels like chopped liver, over here," Tessa mumbled as she cocked an eyebrow and eyed the back of Penny's head.

"He's fine with it! What, I'm not allowed to like certain musicians just because they're guys?" Penny argued, Tammy gestured her arm towards Penny's little figure and thanked her for the sentiment.

"I mean, the amount of fawning, over Gunner, that you do," Tessa eyed her cousin with a smile, all notions in good faith.

"Whatever, let's go, we're going to be late," Penny sighed as she fixed her curl, one last time, and in a bustling, excited herd of women, everyone began to gather and file out of Tessa's and Zed's large bathroom, a giddy mess of chatter and excitement.

As the group hooked about Tessa's and Zed's massive, tidy bedroom, up the stairs of their little love-nest of an alcove, and into the King and Queen's gaping, open-aired corridor of a main hallway, Zed patiently hung with Oliver, Theo and Wren in the dip of an entry way that lead to Berri's staircase and bedroom. Zed cocked an eyebrow, gave Tessa a kind smile and was briefly greet by the group of women that continued to chatter, all moseying in a mass to the teleportation pad.

"For User's sake, it's not like its your wedding day, or anything," Wren snapped at Berri with a playful smile, she linked arms with him and firmly nudged Theo's larger arm as he, too, loudly agreed with Wren. Wren tucked Berri's wrecking hand tight into the nook of his arm and began to lovingly lead her to the teleportation pad, as well, alongside everyone else, "...Save it for after New Years."

"We're only kidding ourselves, you now," Berri sighed as the first small batch of girls began to zip away on the coded teleportation pad, a make-shift front door area. They set the teleport to a small alcove near Sugar Rush's entrance, so to skip the entire journey all the way from the palace. Berri continued on as her mother and Theo hung close behind Berri and Wren, "It's nice to think about, but you and I both know that guy is never going to look our way."

"But WE can look HIS way," Wren shrugged as he waggled his hand and shook his head, "Admire from afar... Sigh."

"You guys are hilarious," Zed choked a laugh as all five of them eased onto the teleportation pad.

"So it begins," Tessa stated through a soft sigh, she shook her head and peered into Zed's eyes with a twinkle of excitement. The five easily landed, all their pixels corrected, on the teleportation pad safely tucked inside a sealed off room hidden in the walls of Sugar Rush's waffle cone entrance. As everyone eased out of said room, with a massive wall that heavily slid into the ground, they loitered in Sugar Rush's brisk, cold winter air for a moment as they said their goodbye's to Zed. In the midst of it all, Tessa sunk into Zed's arm, for a loving hug as she bashfully carried on, "Wish me luck..."

"You won't need it, my Queen," Zed grumbled into the top of her head. He gave her skull and auburn hair a firm few smooches and a good squeeze about her shoulders, "I'm so proud of you... I can't wait to hear about everyone's first day."

"It's gunna be a doozy, that's for sure," Berri bobbed a nod and gave her dad a nervously excited smile, in which Wren slumped his shoulders and rolled his eyes.

"For no one BUT me," Wren blurt, the group began to slowly mosey away from Zed, who stood stationed near the secret, hidden teleportation room tucked away in the walls of the entrance, "You and Theo have first hour together... Seems like everyone has class with SOMEONE in this group. Except me!"

"Oh, you'll be fine, all three of us have second hour together," Theo chuckled as he slung his arm over Wren's whole shoulders, he and Berri now properly sandwiched Wren, who scrunched in disgruntled defeat.

"Not to mention lunch," Tessa shrugged, "Too bad I don't have proper classes with Throttle, anymore."

"But you're tutoring with him after school, though, right?" Oliver pressed as him and Tessa fell into step together.

"Well, yeah, but it's not going to be the same," Tessa complained as she quickly began to file onto the moving platforms that were to properly whisk everyone straight to Game Central Station, "I loved going to his secretive atrium classroom via dark and mysterious elevator."

"For User's sake, was he even legally a teacher there? Or just created a spot for himself in the attic and prayed not to get caught?" Tammy blurt with a hard laugh, everyone joined in as they sectioned off in groups of two and three, on each moving platform that slowly bobbed in single file.

"Y'know, I wouldn't be surprised if the latter was true, now that I look back on it," Tessa muttered as she fingered her lip and looked off in cheeky, smiling contemplation, which had everyone's laughs easily soaking Sugar Rush's wires with excitement.

In the ease of strolling out of Sugar Rush and into Game Central Station, the lot was as cheery and as excitable as usual, though it was clear that Berri had taken her very first castle meeting seriously, and had remembered everything her mother diligently laid out in front of said castle meeting group. The danger of the random delete-spree of faux-codes, Tessa noticed Berri gently looking around, like an owl on a branch, her eyes scanned the station. Tessa crossed her arms and gave the back of her daughter's head a proud smile, she knew that Berri was a rather mature individual for her age, something Tessa envied, as selflessly as she could, though she was glad Berri was going to be safe inside of Game Central Academy, including the rest of her precious lot.

In the sweep of excitement, Tessa and Emery eagerly inquired, to Koko and Tammy, about the things that had changed, new teachers, new corridors, new rules, anything to anticipate. Although Tessa had only been absent for about two years, as they approached the gorgeous, gleaming, golden pillars of Game Central Academy, a hub at the opposite end of Game Central Station, Tessa ogled the glorious stoop with tears in her eyes. To see self-programmed gamers, of all kinds, loosely filing into the main hub, Tessa bit her lip in entire excitement and was so thrilled to ease back into her education, to finally have a handle on running her kingdom and to really be that well rounded gamer she always desired to be. Everything right at her fingertips, every last pixel she ever desired, was all sealed with entering into Academy's doors, and started with Vanellope crowning her as Queen. She knew hardly anything could top this feeling.

As everyone eased inside the schools incredible, massive, open-format styled foyer and great area, the schools incredible library could be seen just beyond the break of the first story, two stairwells that lead down into an incredible sprawl of a room with tables, bookshelves to the ceilings, chandeliers and sliding ladders galore, Tessa eased to the railing, that over looked said library, and held her breath. Gamers were everywhere, a seemingly quiet bubble of a hub just underneath the bustling hallways and great-hall style foyer of Academy's main hub, Tessa inhaled a deep breath, closed her eyes, and could swear she was sat right in the memory of Zane asking her to dance.

"Everything you ever remembered, huh," Penny's sweet, tender voice eased to her best friend of a sister, although Penny's shell had hardened over the years, being inside Sugar Rush's sweet, loving and gooey palace easily brought her back to a place of tender warmth. With her little hand that held over the back of Tessa's, on the golden railing, both girls peered hard into each other's eyes, "Full circle... You made it."

"Feels good," Tessa bobbed a nod as big tears welled in her eyes, and although she wanted to get lost in this moment, she flinched and peered over her shoulder in nervousness for Berri's whereabouts; Penny gently caught her movements and lovingly grappled her shoulder.

"Ah-ah, Berri's fiiiiine," Penny cooed with a small laugh as both girls lofted their gazes across the way; Berri, Wren and Theo had successfully began to happily chat and laugh with a newcomers counselor who was diligently passing out school maps and making first-time Academy students feel more than welcomed. Penny sighed and shook her head with a smile, "Must feel weird to have a child in school, now, huh?"

"Forgot that poor Mr. User boy can't come to Academy," Tammy mumbled as her, Emery, Oliver and Koko eased into Tessa's and Penny's vicinity.

"He's not bent up about it," Tessa chuckled as a tear escaped her eye, and although she desperately tried to catch it and clear her throat, everyone softly began to loft knowing notions of love in her direction; Oliver easily pulled her into a hug.

"You've earned this, sis," Oliver chuckled into the top of her head as everyone easily crowd around her with hugs and loving pats to her back and shoulders.

"And you and I have first hour together," Koko stated in whole entire excitement as she bobbed on the balls of her feet, as if she could hardly contain herself, "I can't believe my luck."

"It's so good to be back," Tessa sighed as Oliver softly unhanded her, and as Tessa gently peered off to find just where Berri, Wren and Theo had gone, she was thrilled to see the three begin to meander down a specific corridor, in search for their classes; it seemed as if they had tagged along a few other newbies as well.

"Already making friends," Emery narrowed her eyes at the sweetness, though she gently nudged Tammy's arm, "C'mon, we're gunna be late."

"You ALWAYS want the seat in the back, what is with that?" Tammy argued as her, Oliver and Emery began to stride in the opposite direction of Berri, Wren and Theo. Tammy looked back to Penny, Tessa and Koko and waved her hand with a wide smile, "See you guys at lunch! Our usual spot?"

"Really? Th-that awesome spot by the tree?" Tessa gawked in excitement, "It's still ours?"

"Still ours, babe," Tammy pointed, to which Tessa heaved a sigh of relief and shook her head.

"Feels as if nothing's changed," Tessa furrowed her brow and peered to Penny in soft surprise.

"Yet the whole entire world was seemingly turned on its head not one year ago," Koko choked a laugh, the three girls linked arms and slowly pressed on down an entirely different corridor from the rest of their family group.

"Biggest understatement of the year," Tessa sighed in wistful, ironic detest.

* * *

"This is INCREDIBLE," Berri gawked, she successfully lead both Wren and Theo in a slow mosey down Academy's C wing, an incredible, glowing corridor with an amazing amount of sun beaming through the sky lights, golden arches and white pillars amidst the gloss of the tiles underneath, a decent amount of their school's mascot artistically plastered in proper places, the three looked on with twinkling eyes of unadulterated excitement, "Can you believe we're ACTUALLY here?"

"I can't believe I have to go to my very first class ALONE," Wren stabbed in hard annoyance.

"What IS your first class anyways?" Theo choked a small laugh. He wore a dark green zip up, a white t-shirt and a faded pair of light blue jeans, alongside his signature, wrecker-styled bare feet. He brushed his dark green hair out of his eyes and peered to Wren with a wrinkle of a curious smile, "Can't be too far from mine and Berri's class."

"Applied Coding," Wren muttered, he shook his head and peered back to Theo in entire detest. He wore the sharpest outfit he could, his favorite grey coat with the brown buttons, a nice button up shirt with a delicate pin-stripe and black jeans. His white hair was nearly perfect atop his head, "I-I know it's a mandatory course, but... I wish I had an elective first thing in the morning. You two REALLY lucked out."

"Grid Physics I," Berri stabbed in solid confidence and her and Theo high-fived. Berri wore a nice black jacket, a flowy cream top and faded grey skinny jeans. Although she was a wrecker and typically lived up to the no-shoes rule, the more girly side of her personality, more often than not, got the better of her. She sport a cute pair of canvas shoes to match her jacket. Although she was due to make a comment about her and Theo being glitches, she wiggled her hand and was floored to find that her glitching abilities were disabled behind Academy walls. She gaped and stabbed her now nervous look of terror into Wren's beaming, cheeky smile, "M-My powers!"

"Oh NO! What will you EVER do now that you're-" Wren dramatically gasped and cupped his cheeks, "NORMAL!?"

"Oh damn, forgot," Theo muttered in whole dismay as he peered down at his hands, "How else am I gunna impress the ladies."

"You may have to use that thing you have, uh... Your personality," Wren muttered in annoyance as he dropped the act and was entirely eating this up.

"Amongst other things," Berri groaned in annoyance, to which Theo wrinkled his nose and shot Berri a wildly bewildered smile, though the second he was going to retaliate to the two, the three drummed to a gentle halt due to a rising commotion about them, in the corridor.

Although it wasn't chaos, Berri's eyes glossed about the tops of everyone's heads, in the massive, crowded corridor they strolled down. People began to urgently pour into nearby classrooms, due to somehow seeing a shred of any television within their reach, teachers began to instruct everyone to remain calm, the air about Academy suddenly grew stiff and tense with action and reaction. Berri, Wren and Theo urgently peered to each other in whole confusion, and just as the crowd had begun to grow just a little bit more hectic, they bumped shoulders with each other before urgently grabbing the wall of the corridor, opposite the wall of classroom doors. Berri softly panted and peered about the stir of now chatty commotion, from all sorts of gamers, though just as she was about to open her mouth, a group nearby began to loudly and urgently spill just what was going on.

"I don't know, something about a game jump?" Someone urged in shock, the three people chatting nearby continued on in stammering nervousness, the urgency to get to their first hour but to also discuss the extremely hot topic at hand.

"Game jumping? W-Wasn't that what Turbo was known for?" Another voice staggered in fear, the group rushed off in a drifting echo of their conversation, "Hopefully nothing got unplugged?"

"Someone from Super Mario Bros. went Turbo!" Barked another person from the opposite end of Berri's tightly huddled little group, though said person loudly continued to gab with their friend from ten feet away, all while people pushed between them, "The whole game just got unplugged!"

"Street Fighter went down too!" Yet another person urged in horror, and although the corridor before them was now rising in an entire tilt of impending fear and chaos, Berri held her breath, furrowed her eyebrows in bulged confusion and peered her entirely floored gaze to both Wren and Theo, who very easily matched her expression.

"Th-they're not talking about... OUR Turbo..." Berri staggered in a wash of an entire galaxy worth of questions that flood her pixels. She grit her teeth and froze as she meeped her conclusion, "...Right?"


	34. Chapter 34

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** I'm glad! Yeah, it's a lot to expand on, that's for sure. And it's incredible intimidating... This is the first time I've written for a villain that wasn't Radex/Lash, so I'm trying my best to navigate this new take I'm doing haha

 **Snake557 :** OH! Yes, I have, sorry. I love that movie! I was WAY into dinosaurs when I was a kid. I was a massive tomboy.

 **CHICKENM4N :** Sorry about that, I'm glad you liked Otto so much! I already have a thousand OC's to wrangle. I'll try and squeeze an appearance with Otto into the story, if I can. She definitely was one of my favorite 'smaller' OC's, as well.

 **Jay Sketchin :** LOL! It's actually not an internet virus, you'll come to find. It was helped along by the internet, but it's actually a home grown issue. Poor Litwaks xD Can't catch a break.

* * *

 ***Chapter 34***

Underneath the still proudly standing old oak of Academy's outdoor quad area, Tessa and her whole group sat haphazardly about two beautifully crafted stone tables and benches for lunch time. The air about Academy was brisk and cool, bright blue skies and puffy white clouds that hung overhead, although Academy wasn't technically considered a game, it still had its own day and night cycle. Without the severity of seasons, Academy was kept in a loose regimen of a constant spring time weather and temperature. The oak's leaves rustled over head, the two tables were lively with shared stories about everyone's first day, thus far, though the dreadful news, of Game Central Station's two unfortunate unplugs from this morning, remained a hot topic, in and outside of Tessa's gang of misfits.

"So, does anyone have the full story, yet?" Tammy barked in a lilt of agitation, it was clear she had been attempting to get the entire unplug story throughout the whole day and was unsuccessful, "Literally every single one of my teachers keeps saying 'we don't have an update on the situation, but once we know, you'll know' bullshit. Yeah, no one's buying it. Just tell us what happened."

"I heard rumor that Luigi just went nuts and abandoned his post," Penny muttered, though she eyed Tessa in sharp knowing. Everyone, with the knowledge of Turbo's past, knew not to mention Turbo's name outside of palace grounds. Although Penny wanted to carry on the topic and compare it to how Lash was absolutely tired of being in Turbo's shadow, thus taking over Sugar Rush, Penny kept it light and open for conversation, all whilst keeping Turbo's name out of it, "I-I guess being in Mario's shadow for so long takes a toll..."

"Seeing a trend," Emery sighed silently, only audible for Oliver and Tessa who sat close, though Tessa cocked an eyebrow and glossed her eyes across the small gap of two tables.

Berri, Wren, Theo and Koko sat at the other table. They happily ate their lunches and enjoyed each other's company, though it was clear that Berri was mulling over certain things. The look of absent minded concern in her vivid blue eyes, the way she prod her food in an aimless bout of mild disinterest, Tessa bit her lip and was beginning to feel the sting of regret come to the forefront of her mind. She knew, full well, Berri had done her part in trying to talk to Turbo, herself, and get his side of the story, though with just how reserved and secretive Tessa knew Turbo was, Tessa knew she'd likely have to intervene and either pair the two up herself, or simply give Berri a quick run down. She shook her head in a sullen show of becoming defeated once Oliver nudged her arm a little.

"What's wrong?" Oliver pressed, he cocked an eyebrow and glossed his gaze to his beautiful niece, across the way.

"Nothing, I just... This is not how I wanted the kids' first day, at Academy, to go," Tessa eased in soft sorrow, she shook her head and peered up to Oliver in a roll of now rising concern, "The amount of times I've heard the term 'gone Turbo' today is astounding... I can just see her drowning in a sea of confusion, over there."

"Well, why don't you pull her aside right now?" Oliver pressed in a gesture, "I mean... We gotta tell these kids, sooner or later, just exactly what those boys did to the Arcade, and Sugar Rush... No matter who was innocent and who wasn't."

"Just... Briefly tell her that we'll fill them in after school, once we're home," Emery shrugged with a hopeful nod, Tessa hooked her eyes to her sister in-law and grappled to any form of encouragement she could, "No one could've guessed that Turbo's name would ever be in abundance, today... Don't beat yourself up about it, y'know?"

"Like a bandaid," Penny gestured a ripping motion as everyone softly landed their knowing eyes to their Queen, and in a slump of dread, Tessa gently stood and bobbed a nod.

"Thanks guys," Tessa eased in a lull of quiet honesty, she finally began to step away, "I'll be right back."

"Not that it matters, anyways," Wren gabbed as he waggled about a pair of chopsticks he held, "Royalty or not, Gunner's likely going to just keep to himself. How else are you supposed to act after your band mates bail on you?"

"I'd be pissed," Theo bobbed a nod and bulged his eyes, he shot Berri and Wren a wide, cheeky smile and shook his head, "Don't ever bail on me, guys... Y'know what happens when you piss off a wrecker."

"Yeah, you wreck it and glitch the shit out of people and go about your merry day with your powers, we get it," Wren rolled his eyes, "What I mean is... He's probably not here to make friends. He's here to distract himself. Why else? He just lost his band mates, he's coming to Academy to prove to them that he has better things to do. Take it from me."

"Petty Betty," Berri cued with a sly, teasing smile as her eyes finally looked up from the food she had been prodding, though before Wren could open his mouth and make a sassy retort, Tessa's loving hand laid upon Berri's left shoulder, causing Berri to whirl around and peer up in gentle surprise, "Oh, hi mom."

"Hey babe, can I talk to you for a sec?" Tessa gestured over to the trunk of the massive oak they sat under, in which they were maybe fifteen feet from.

"Sure, everything okay?" Berri prod as she quickly got up and began to follow her mother to the darker shade of the oak's trunk, she finally found purpose in her demeanor the second she wondered if her mother maybe had something exciting to tell her.

"Everything's fine, I guess... I just wanted to preface a few things for you," Tessa nearly whispered. She softly looked across the massive, glowing, green and grassy field of the quad. A few gamers threw a frisbee back and forth, others ate in the shade, sunbathed or studied in the grass, a lovely sight to behold. Berri's eyes hooked tight to her mother's hazel orbs as Tessa drew in a readied breath, "I-I'm... I'm sure you've heard Turbo's name more than once today, right?"

"I have," Berri hissed; she previously had dropped it and chalked the whole thing up to coincidence, though with her mother's words, a much larger amount of purpose came back to her skin as she stiffened and took a step closer to her mother for privacy, "What's that all about? I don't understand... They're not talking about OUR Turbo, are they?"

Tessa held her breath and knew this was the absolute moment of truth. She bit her bottom lip in a roll of courage, and as she peered to her second born, she felt time freeze. The gentle look of concerned curiosity held tight to Berri's beautiful, womanly face. Vivid blue eyes that Tessa could swear were Zed's, alongside her gorgeous, long blue hair that feathered in the wing, she was entirely a vision. Tessa shook her head a little and knew that time had so rapidly escaped her, triumphantly steamrolling right past the important information she likely should've told Berri a long time ago. Tessa finally sighed through her nose, looked down to her hands, and bobbed a nod.

"Yes, they are talking about our Turbo," Tessa kept her voice low and nervously looked about. Although they were far from any listening ears, she still felt paranoid, "It's... It's why I wanted you to reach out to Turbo and get all your questions answered from him... A more well rounded bout of information, but... I've seemingly dropped the ball, here. I should've probably warned you about a few things."

"Well, we didn't know today was going to pan out like it did," Berri stated warmly, though the look of entire concern still hung on her face, "I mean... When's the last time something's been unplugged, anyhow?"

"Long before I was born," Tessa bulged her eyes in concern and bobbed a nod, though she gently reached out and held her daughter's hand, "I just... I wanted to connect with you and reassure you that anything you hear today may sound weird or untrue. Just... Hold your tongue until we get back to the palace. We'll sit you, Wren and Theo down tonight and lay everything out on the table. Can you do that for me?"

"Yeah, mom," Berri's warm voice lilted in continued concern, alongside a small nod, though she long-blinked in confusion and felt as if all of those millions of burning questions were now beginning to seep into a molten puddle at the center of her brainstem, everything just pooling into one big haphazard mass of unintelligible questions and concerns.

"Thanks, Blue," Tessa sighed with relief, and in a gentle swing, Tessa began to slowly lead her and Berri back to the two tables of chatty groups, "You enjoying your first day so far?"

"I am," Berri lilted in an uplift of cuteness, a pep in her step that slowly returned, "I guess I can't get too comfortable, just yet, though..."

"Why?" Tessa prod as she tucked her auburn hair behind her right ear and eyed her daughter in cute curiosity.

"Because, we started Academy right before Christmas and New Year's break," Berri blurt a small laugh as her and Tessa eased into the gravity of Berri's lunch group and table.

"This week is more 'getting to know you before you stuff your face silly with holiday food and won't recognize you after break'," Koko air quoted, both Wren and Theo bursted out laughing.

"We'll all be tired and obese upon return," Wren choked, Koko shook her head in ironic agreeing and rolled her eyes.

"At least you guys can ogle over Gunner once you come back," Theo waggled his finger around, as if to pretend to be excited, though he was clearly the last one to be, "Merry Christmas to Berri, Penny and Wren ONLY!"

Everyone laughed, excluding Berri and Wren, who began to quietly mutter words of agreeing to each other. Tessa gently pat Berri's back amidst a small laugh, and in the saunter back to her own table, she heaved a refreshed sigh and felt a little better about the situation. As she returned to her spot next to Oliver and Penny, she shrugged and got comfortable in front of her lunch, once more.

"That was easier than I thought," Tessa chimed, Penny looked over her shoulder and eyed Berri's small, chatty group, "Took it like a champ. I'm so used to really doing everything I can so that Ace doesn't worry. Berri's an entirely different story."

"Maybe she's just more internal about it," Oliver warned as he, too, eyed his niece in gentle knowing, across the way, "She must've been prodding her bag of chips for at least ten minutes before she finally picked one up and ate it."

"He's not wrong," Tammy agreed, which had Tessa's lifted spirits now quickly deflating.

"I really dropped the ball, here," Tessa muttered as she sagged her cheek into her hand and slumped her shoulders, though Oliver frowned and was quick to rush to her aid.

"Don't beat yourself up about it, you're the Queen of Sugar Rush," Oliver protested softly, to which Penny bobbed a nod.

"Not an easy task," Penny mumbled, knowing full well that she had a front row seat to Tessa's responsibilities, as Tessa's right hand woman.

"But still, she's my own daughter, my own successor," Tessa now began to look more deflated than what everyone thought would happen, "I guess... This incident, in the Arcade, sucks, but... It's a good segue into the conversation at hand."

"They're all really sharp, smart kids," Tammy assured, in which Tessa, Emery and Oliver gave her grateful smiles for, "They'll bounce back and understand the weight of it."

"Better to get it out of the way before they have to come back after break, when the REAL work begins," Penny nodded in knowing.

* * *

With moseying footsteps, it was Berri's turn to finally have a class all by herself. Her last hour class was at the reaches of Academy's D hall, a massive, great hall with huge, outdoor arches that reached straight into the sunshine. Although the bustling crowd, about Academy, was usually really quick and flustered, everything seemed to settle the second she eased into D hall. More mature gamers and students hung around, all shapes and sizes. They loitered in small groups and awaited the bell, Berri's last hour class was a class designed for third year students. Due to being trained under Tessa's teachings of everything code room and coding alike, Berri was successfully placed in a year three coding class. With a pep in her step, a nervous heart, eyes and mind both eager to soak in as much information as she could, she finally rounded a small bend and eased into her last hour class.

A gorgeous, open-aired room with one wall that was entirely windows, she was thrilled to be welcomed into such a beautiful, peaceful environment. With a lilt of rising excitement, due to the gentle and curious stares of her classmates, she decided that she would be bold and take a seat near the front of the class. With a proud posture, such a high honor to be bumped into a class that was technically out of her year range, she sat down, tidied her bag and her books and awaited for her new class to mold her mind in ways she could hardly wait for. The eagerness to learn, the willingness to be broken down and built back up again held tight to her skin, she could feel the further curious gazes of her classmates on the back of her head and vivid blue hair, though the teacher's voice gingerly broke the chain of rising concern.

"Hello class, your teacher is home sick today, so I will be substituting," Came the voice of an older woman. She swiftly marched into the peaceful classroom, ultimately leaving the gentle, untouched air now disturbed and full of tense energy. Berri let it roll, she assumed today would maybe be a little rocky and tomorrow she could properly meet her real teacher. Their substitute carried on in a lilt of dismay, she was a feral looking creature, an older, anthro, fighting type individual that had a look of cold, disinterested annoyance in her dark eyes, it was clear that the entire class was not in favor of said substitute being here due to the awkward shifts of chairs and attitudes that radiated from behind Berri, "My name is Coral, your teacher has left me with a teaching plan for the day, but... Due to recent events, we may deviate."

Berri sagged in her chair a little, all the energy she had for hopefully impressing her new teacher went out the opened windows before her. She relaxed a little and figured tomorrow would be a nice reset, and for now, she knew it'd likely be best if she kept her eyes down. As Coral began to sift through her real teacher's notes, the ones that were diligently left, Berri examined her tattered claws and grey, scarred hands. Her long, black tail looked as if it was previously mangled, and only came back to half health. An extremely interesting creature in of herself, Berri knew by her demeanor to keep any curious, wandering questions to herself. She replayed her mother's words in her head and knew that tomorrow would look different.

"Alright, so... Your teacher has left a teaching guide on the topics of game regimen and the effects that code blocking can have on one's not only concentration, but loyalty to your game," Coral listed as she flipped through a few pages. She cocked an eyebrow and gently eyed the class in cheek, "Though, I know everyone really wants to talk about the unplug."

With this, Berri was floored to hear the class about her groan and murmur gentle notions of entire agreeing to Coral's words, as if they were grateful they were open to further chat about it. Berri looked about in a roll of soft surprise and also felt her veins do a little dance of glee, as if open this can of worms further was exactly what her curious heart was desiring. The whole rush of Turbo came back to the forefront of her mind, and although she was previously excited to delve into a topic that pertained to her studies, she felt as if a little class gossip was not something she was going to complain about, either.

"I heard both games got unplugged because Luigi was tired of being in Mario's shadow, for this long," One classmate stated gently, everyone murmured their own ideas as others spoke up.

"I thought it maybe was Bowser's fault?" Someone else prod, more questions rose, Berri felt as if her ears could not retain enough information.

"Poor Street Fighter," Someone else stabbed in defense, "It's just like what Turbo did to Roadblasters... It's not fair!"

With this, Berri felt every single last ounce of her tender, excited curiosity now come to a drum of boiling anxiety. That molten pit of a million questions now easily morphed into a sludge monster of awakened defiance, as if all this talk about Turbo was now going to just rot her from within. With listening ears that now included the narrow of her eyes and a gentle slump in her seat, she began to stew in a weird feeling of protectiveness towards Turbo. Even though her mother made clear that Turbo was, indeed, involved in some sort of this mess, she still felt as if she had no choice but to stand with Turbo as royalty, and him as one of her future kingdom's knight. She tried her hardest to actually want to keep her mouth shut, she physically resorted to biting her tongue in order to avoid butting in.

"I understand it's confusing, and I understand that this is injustice at it's finest," Coral settled the class, all eyes held to the front, "It's scary knowing that gamers can, indeed, still go Turbo... We still have no idea what could've made Turbo do just what he did. No one I think will ever know."

"He wanted to be in first, right?" Someone wondered, from the front.

"That is very true, on the outside," Coral agreed in a crackling, grumbling drum carried conversing, "Although we know full well that he wanted Roadblasters out of the picture... What exactly drove him to act on his thoughts? Had to've been something..."

"Obviously it was different with Super Mario's," A girl across the class interjected, "They're not in competition with Street Fighter..."

"You think someone game jumped to Street Fighter to prove their strength or worth?" The girl next to her concluded in a lilt of cute, though nervous, curiosity.

"Whatever the case," Coral started, she flattened her tattered ears and held her hands behind her back, as if to presume the fun was only beginning, "I will forever detest Turbo's actions, for starting such a horrible trend... He was the absolute scum of Arcade, and I hope he's currently rotting in hell."

"Take that back," Berri suddenly stabbed through grit teeth.

In the drag of eyes and wretched necks that eagerly glossed their nervous gazes to Berri, she inhaled a deep breath, held it and knew she couldn't handle this weird bout of hate being spewed at someone so noble and so untouched. She furrowed her eyebrows and rode the wave of protectiveness she had for someone she hardly knew. Although she was flying blind, she knew, without a doubt, anyone that her mother and father entrusted with a third of Sugar Rush's code room, was most definitely someone who was worthy of praise and loyalty. Berri knew, as Sugar Rush's princess, she had absolutely no choice but to stand in defense of Turbo Black, no matter the hateful comments to be now easily lofted her way. She tried not to glance around the room, she knew full well, from the kind of day that she had been witness to, that her opinion here was highly unpopular.

"...I beg your pardon?" Coral snipped in a stab of now molten, angry confusion.

"Turbo is my friend," Berri pressed as she slowly got to her feet, she knew standing alone was one thing, though she was certain the physical act of it would hopefully burn into the memory into her classmates for the rest of their lives. She shook her head and felt her circuits begin to tremble with both terror and relished in the invigorating feelings of justice she sought, "I just was with him last night... I don't know why the lot of you decided this whole mess was Turbo's fault, but I assure you, you're wrong."

"... Honey, I don't think we're talking about the same gamer," Coral now sagged in relief and peered her annoyed gaze to Berri, as if to now side-step Berri's fervor, "Just... Take a seat, we're talking about a crazy kook gamer who is long gone."

"Grey skin? Yellow eyes?" Berri stabbed as she gestured to her face, "Over thirty years old? Secretive and is never seen? Turbo lives in my game... And I assure you, he wouldn't do anything to harm a single person... Hell, I bumped into him the other day and he practically held me like I was made of glass. All this negative talk about Turbo isn't fair, and I'm here to put an end to it."

Everyone in the class was frozen in terror as they peered to Berri. In the gentle glance she finally braved of her classmates, she could feel her heart drop to yet another degree of uncertainty. She furrowed her eyebrows a little and wondered just how big this can of worms actually was, just how deep of a hole Turbo had potentially dug himself, and just how impossible it seemed to be to reverse the damages. Whatever Turbo had previously done, Berri now felt as if the water was beginning to bubble over her head. She stood firm in her stance, peered hard into Coral's angry, concerned gaze and was absolutely certain her substitute teacher was two minutes away from either forcing Berri to the front office, or having Academy's security whisk her away, never to be seen again.


	35. Chapter 35

**Reviews :**

 **Romantic Sapp :** Thank you so much! Yes, Berri doesn't have to deal with that sub ever again - her actually teacher, you'll find, is far more understanding :)

 **Jay Sketchin :** LMAO! I'M FINE I'M FINE IT'S FINE I'M FINE. (I'll reply to your PM I promise)

 **Snake557 :** Nahh, Coral doesn't have THAT kind of power xD

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Bad Language by Topi**

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 ***Chapter 35***

Although she were simply a returning student at Academy, Game Central Academy's administration knew full well she was the head of a very powerful and a very large hierarchy. In a push through the school's main office, she breezed past the receptionist, who nervously kept her eyes down and meeped Tessa a wary 'your majesty'. In rolls of chills, laced with anger, terror, frustration, a whole swathe of different emotions, Tessa cleanly wove her way through the long stretches of Academy's behind the scenes, office areas where top administrators offices resided, conference rooms of all sorts, and sat nicely at the very end of the massive, long hallway she trekked, sat the head of Academy's office; a man of promise, one that was previously very courteous and accepting of Tessa and her predicament, though she was certain having Berri in his office, on her very first day, was something that he was not going to be too thrilled about.

With a gentle few knocks to Mr. Kelta's massive, wooden office door, Tessa heard his deep voice, from across the room, allow whoever it was inside. With a firm push, a swing and a loud clack of the door behind her, Tessa eased into his office, glossed her eyes about the front of his marvelous, cherry-wooden desk and spot a certain blue-haired princess off to her right. Tessa cocked an eyebrow, gave her daughter a whole entire glower of motherly dominance, a glaze of nervous concern, she felt her stomach dip in further frustration with the raw look of sullen, guilty sorrow splashed across Berri's whole face. She sat with her arms crossed, slumped in one of Mr. Kelta's very nice leather chairs, a few sheets of paper were splayed out on the side of his desk that Berri was closest to; clearly forms of reprimanding. Tessa firmly crossed the room, put her hands on her hips once she neared a few feet before his desk and, although she spoke to Mr. Kelta, she held her tight, authoritative gaze to Berri's wilting, sapped demeanor.

"What's going on here?" Tessa snapped in demand, almost as if to ask Berri herself, though Mr. Kelta cleared his throat, raised his eyebrows in exhaustion and looked down to the digital display, which was apart of his desk.

"Mrs. Kalivar, Your Majesty, we have run into a little bit of... Scare mongering, here, with a Ms. Berri, in her last hour class," Mr. Kelta stated in a long, raspy sigh. He was an older man with darker skin and greying, peppered black hair. His professional glasses hung tight to the edge of his nose, his hypnotic, grey eyes finally slid to Tessa's in a slew of curious concern, "Your daughter claims to be, uh... Personal friends with a Mr. Turbo Black... The very gamer that has wrought Arcade with fear for the last almost forty years."

Tessa held her breath, tore her eyes away from Berri and now quickly realized this wasn't something she felt the need to punish Berri over. Having sworn that Berri maybe acted up in class, got into a fight with another student, did something against Academy rules, Tessa felt her heart begin to surge in concern at the whole fact that she would now have to sit in front of Academy's head and explain that she, indeed, was housing the infamous Turbo Black. Tessa froze, her eyes held tight to Mr. Kelta's seemingly annoyed demeanor, as if he now assumed this was all just a hoax, though Tessa was beginning to feel fear flood her veins, just what Academy would do upon her reveal of Turbo.

"From Coral's report, she stood up in her seat, demanded the teacher to take back the things said about Turbo and refused to sit down until his name was cleared," Mr. Kelta's voice dribbled to that of continued irritation for said nonsensical pranks. He shook his head, let the papers sift back to his desk and properly folded his hands before him in gentlemanly fashion, "Now... I know, hands down, you're not affiliated with Turbo. I've tried to get some information out of Berri, here, but... She's giving me the silent treatment."

Tessa felt a heatwave of conflicting thoughts hit her skin. She knew, full well, she could lie to the head of Academy, right now, and have this all just brush under the carpet, strictly pretend it was coincidence that Berri had another innocent friend suspiciously named 'Turbo Black'. Tessa bit her lip and peered hard into Berri's nervous, almost teary blue eyes. Tessa was fully aware that she was the first one to desperately want to clear Turbo's name. How hard it's been to keep the very idea of Turbo a secret, she felt her heart tug in a vastly more difficult direction, the road less traveled. She heaved a hot sigh through her nose and wondered if this could be the small hole in the dam, if somehow this could be the start to reintroducing poor Turbo back into the Arcade.

"I'm sure your daughter just has a friend inside Sugar Rush who just so happens to be named after one of the biggest bad guys Arcade has ever been graced with," Mr. Kelta cocked an eyebrow and now began to show signs of nervousness, "...Right?"

Tessa heaved a long sigh through her teeth, shook her head, crossed her arms and knew she'd defintiely be taking the entire brunt of this conversation, a fight she was definitely ready for, though having to spill all the beans, in front of Berri, was something Tessa was hoping to avoid until they were safe within palace walls. Tessa huffed her answer, becomingly terrified of the outcome, "No, Mr. Kelta, I... I can confirm that THE Turbo Black resides in Sugar Rush's safety."

The room fell painfully hot, painfully silent. Tessa kept still, as did Berri, though she eagerly watched as Mr. Kelta sat up stiffer in his chair, planted his hands to his desk, furrowed his brow in bewildered disbelief and shook his head in whole entire confusion. Although he wanted to simply shut this down and have everyone go home, it was clear that he was prepared to pry this conversation open end to end.

"You mean to tell me that your game, your kingdom, is harboring a fugitive?" Mr. Kelta demanded, his voice began to grow a bit more serious, it was clear that he, still, didn't totally believe the two girls, though Tessa knew he'd be well on his way shortly, "You are comfortably housing a bad guy? A CRIMINAL to the entirety of Arcade? You understand the repercussions of such sheltering, don't you, Mrs. Kalivar?"

"He's not a criminal and he is not a fugitive," Tessa demanded as she unfolded her arms and pointed down to the ground, "Turbo's entire story is a massive misunderstanding. He is a huge aid to me and my husband, in Sugar Rush."

Mr Kelta gently looked off, merely glanced in Berri's direction, in disbelief, and now began to show a true wash of anger and terror.

"...I-I can't believe my ears, Turbo is ALIVE?" Mr. Kelta demanded, he desperately tried to keep his voice down, though Tessa raised her eyebrows and was certain she'd win any shouting match she came across, her children watching or not.

"Yeah, he's alive, and to be frank with you, Mr. Kelta, I'M alive because of him," Tessa's voice became firm, the same level she used with Berri or Ace amidst sternness or punishment, something Berri felt triggered by and cued to by slinking farther into her seat, "I'm Sugar Rush's Queen because of him, my own flesh and blood is able to attend Academy because of him."

"You're harboring a criminal, either way," Mr. Kelta stated firmly; a man of fairness, Tessa knew he was just playing devil's advocate, and although she was desperate to get him to see her side, she knew this journey would be a long one.

"A criminal for getting TurboTime and Roadblasters unplugged?" Tessa narrowed her eyes and side-eyed Mr. Kelta as he nodded in fervor, "You understand that he wasn't killed in TurboTime and Roadblaster's unplug, right? Him and all of his brothers hung around in Arcade, for awhile, openly... He sought refuge in Sugar Rush's demo, Sweet Streets."

"I-I don't know, I wasn't alive then," Mr. Kelta pressed, though Tessa's demeanor grew larger.

"For years, everyone was angry at Turbo for his actions, but no one came after him as a criminal," Tessa urged, "It was only until his story turned into lore, fire-side ghost tales, scary bedtime stories did everyone morph his whole identity into that of a game virus, that of a killer... It was only then did everyone fear his name, his whole identity just up for grabs due to the entirety of Arcade playing telephone with each other."

"So, why don't you go ahead and tell me what Turbo is actually like then, if you're so confident in keeping his record unscathed, in keeping his name out of the mud, Your Majesty, what is so great about this guy that you think, for one second, keeping him around, ALIVE for that matter, is a wise idea?" Mr. Kelta wasn't a man of sass, though the attitude he lofted Tessa's way had Berri sinking even farther in her seat, knowing full well just what happens once Tessa is tested.

"Turbo is quiet, reserved, polite, gentlemanly, sweet, and, underneath all that grey matter and decades of hatred lofted at him, he has one of the softest, kindest hearts I've ever known," Tessa stabbed in full confidence as she took a step or two closer to Mr. Kelta's desk, "He is in charge of Sugar Rush's largest metropolis, he helped save the entirety of Sugar Rush and helped us put her back together again, and if it weren't for his two brothers living on our lot, we wouldn't have such an awesome, eclectic group of people to share our space with."

"I thought he had three brothers?" Mr. Kelta worried.

"The third one is the reason Turbo's name is tarnished, Whiplash is the reason the trend kept going, Whiplash is the reason that Turbo's swap mate, inside Sweet Streets, went down with the ship and wasn't warned in time of an imminent unplug," Tessa pointed to the ground in voice-rising fervor, "Whiplash was the reason Sugar Rush was wrought with trouble since day one... Turbo was the one that turned it all around, despite everything. Turbo made a huge mistake by game jumping, and although Turbo created this mess, he did everything in his power to clean up after himself and end it."

Mr. Kelta was silent in continued terror, his eyes held tight to Tessa's in a roll of unadulterated disbelief. He shook his head, opened his mouth to say something, though nothing came out. Him and Berri caught eyes in a slew of confusion, and although Berri was just being introduced to the information Tessa was delivering, she was certain her mother's words were accurate, and had a proper say in just who Turbo was, as well.

"Whiplash is currently in code room purgatory, in my game," Tessa continued, "He had Sugar Rush in a death grip, turned the entire game upside down, ruled it for User knows how long... But he's confined to purgatory and won't be released, rest assured. Turbo has been apart of our team for the past year now, without a single issue."

"Does everyone in Sugar Rush know he's there?" Mr. Kelta stabbed in uncertainty, though Tessa lulled her eyes shut and shook her head.

"He wishes to remain anonymous, he doesn't want to be discovered," Tessa dragged in a sigh, "You know how quickly he'd be sought out? People would be out for blood, the poor thing would probably be dragged out of Sugar Rush and killed on sight, you know this, don't you?"

"I certainly do, I'm sure many people would jump at a chance to punish Turbo for bringing such a terrible idea, as game jumping, to our society," Mr. Kelta complained, though Tessa firmly laid her hands to Mr. Kelta's desk and halted the entire orbit of the planet.

"Then you listen to me and you listen good," Tessa's voice deepened, a quiet tone of deathly delight, she hovered over Mr. Kelta like a ghost, "You have an entire swathe of new information, of helpful dialog, of an incredible conversation of movement standing right before you. A two-for this Arcade is in desperate need of."

"What are you insinuating, Your Majesty?" Mr. Kelta figuratively shrunk, Berri hooked her eyes tight to her mother and soaked in every ounce of this encounter; she knew it was not like her mother to get this riled, to get this in people's faces, though Berri felt pride sweep through her coding as she eagerly took mental note of this raw moment.

"Not only do you have your very own precious Academy's-worth of faux-codes being deleted via opposed code swap, you have another silent, invisible virus on the rise, something my entire team, including Turbo, could be of incredible use against," Tessa's voice remained low, a dangerous vibe of 'shut up and listen' that had Berri practically clenched in terror, "The most important conversation is the one no one is having. Now, I've been through hell and back figuring out the opposed code swap, helping my entire crew through it, battling rogue gamers and viruses alike."

Tessa inhaled a long, deep breath, narrowed her gaze to that of cheeky, whispering dominance and continued on, the slew of sass filled the room to the brim.

"Can you think of any other gamer with that kind of experience?" Tessa's voice was crisp and low, a quiet before the storm.

"No, ma'am," Mr. Kelta staggered.

"My daughter may not have all the facts, but she's wise to stand up for someone she's grown up with, someone who has treated my whole family, my whole entire kingdom, with care," Tessa stabbed, her words began to just barely come out of her figure via the grit of her teeth, signaling to both Berri and Mr. Kelta that she was well on her way to blowing up, "There's no way in HELL I'm going to let anyone shut my daughter up for standing beside those who cannot speak for themselves. Turbo is a great man, a harmless man, someone of who I owe my entire life to."

"Mrs. Kalivar, it's fear mon-"

"It's not fear mongering if it's true, it's not fear mongering if it creates healthy conversation," Tessa now barked as she pointed to the closed door of Mr. Kelta's office, Berri nearly flinched at the spike of Tessa's voice, "It's time the Arcade relearns just who Turbo Black actually is. It's time all these what-ifs of messy confusion, game lore and opposed code swapping uncertainty be put to rest. Everything I just listed is something I just so happen to be a master at, game jumpers and code swappers alike."

"...What are you suggesting, Mrs. Kalivar?" Mr. Kelta began to nervously cave, as if he was sure to see her side, though convincing the entire school, the entire Arcade, was an entirely different story.

"Get me a seat in front of ALL of the Academy's council," Tessa urged in demand, "I don't care what station it's in, I don't care if I have to travel, I need a seat in ANY of Academy's administration. This information is too precious to just sit on, to just watch my daughter try and fumble her way through sticking up for one of her friends, to watch innocent faux-codes be deleted due to viruses and code swaps gone wrong. You want to keep your Academy open, don't you?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Mr. Kelta worried; Tessa squinted and leaned forward in a hiss of annoyance.

"How are you going to do that if every last goddamned self-programmed gamer is deleted?" Tessa stabbed, Mr. Kelta sat in nervous silence.

"I'll talk to the Council... I see your points," Mr. Kelta eased gently, he tried to hide the tremble in his hand as he began to fumble for Berri's papers, "Unfortunately, y-your daughter may have been sticking up for her friend, but she disrupted her class, so her new start date is to be pushed back to a week after the next semester starts."

"Fine," Tessa agreed, she finally switched her heated disposition straight for Berri's wavering figure, and although Berri was right to stick up for Turbo, she still knew Mr. Kelta had a point. Tessa pointed to her daughter with a firm hand and continued on her heated, motherly tone, "I told you to keep your mouth shut until Arcade was over. I know hearing the term 'go Turbo' all day hasn't been easy, but c'mon, Bear, C'MON."

"Mom, I'm sorry, Coral stated that she hoped Turbo was rotting in hell," Berri complained in a gripe, to which Tessa scrunched her face in whole annoyance and switched her anger back to Mr. Kelta.

"You're STILL letting that tired old screech substitute here?!" Tessa boomed in entire irritation, to which Mr. Kelta shook his head, handed Tessa Berri's suspension forms and began to stand.

"I will get you that seat in front of Arcade's Academy Council," Mr. Kelta reconfirmed, "You can take it up with them, she's a travelling sub from West Arcade Academy."

"For User's sakes," Tessa huffed as she tried not to snatch the papers from Mr. Kelta's hands, "C'mon, Berri. We have a lot to discuss."

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 **A/N :** **Hey guys, I just posted a speedpaint of Turbo to my deviantART and Art Station. Usernames are Vyntresser and LuckyBat, respectively :]**


	36. Chapter 36

**Reviews :**

 **chuckiboo :** Hooo if you thought Tessa was mad in the last chapter... xD Wait until you read this one lol. And, I ALMOST had the dialog go that way, where she reveals that he's a User, but it didn't steer down that route, like I thought it would. It'll probably pop up later down the line. I don't thin Mr. Kelta could've handled another hit like that haha.

 **CHICKENM4N :** The fun doesn't stop there xD

 **Jay Sketchin :** Ohhh SHE PISSED.

 **Snake557 :** Yes, the latter of your review is correct :) User-made gamers don't show any age at all, though self-programmed gamers do EVENTUALLY begin to show a tiny bit of age. Like in the fifth story, Tessa begins to show a bit of a subtle grey streak in her hair. They do age, it's just extremely slow and not very obvious.

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 **A/N : Hey guys! Just quickly wanted to say a MASSIVE thank you to all my readers and reviewers. As of this chapter, Out of the Blue has hit over 10k views! THANK YOU GUYS!**

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 ***Chapter 36***

With a buzz of the teleportation pad, Tessa and Berri's silver coding aligned to correction in the safety of their own home, the King and Queen's nest. The whole, fast paced walk home, Berri and Tessa were silent. Both women were fuming, for two very different reasons, and although Berri was certain everything was likely about to explode the second they were in the safety of the palace walls, Berri flinched as Tessa stormed off of the teleportation pad, head down the gape of their large, main hallway corridor, and bee-lined it for the kitchen. Berri harshly furrowed her eyebrows and eagerly began to storm after her mother.

"Hey, hey, wait! You're really going to continue giving me the silent treatment here?!" Berri suddenly shouted, their peaceful home now reverberated with anger, and it was with this was she certain her father was now cued to the impending argument to be had, between two of the palace's most hard-headed fighters.

"I'm not giving you the silent treatment, Berri, I'm just... Just...!" Tessa flagged her hands, the suspension papers in Tessa's left hand suddenly flapped and made a sharp whipping noise as they followed Tessa's firm arm gestures, "I'm mad! I'm mad. I need to think about the words I want to say or else I will say things I might regret."

"What, you regret bringing me to Academy?" Berri prod; she knew her and her mother went toe-to-toe on a lot of issues, strictly because Berri didn't know how to keep her mouth shut, how to read physical cues and how to take a hint. A thing only time and maturity would cure, though for now, she knew she was on the path to full, exploding anger, "Regretting maybe not filling me in on everything Turbo is considered to the Arcade? You really thought sending me to Academy without this valuable information was wise?!"

"I didn't think it'd matter! I didn't think Turbo's name would literally be EVERYWHERE today! It's NEVER like that!" Tessa barked as she whirled around and pointed a finger at Berri, down the corridor, and although Tessa most certainly wanted to absolutely rock Berri's world and give her what for, she shook her head, inhaled a deep breath and turned heel to continue storming into the kitchen, where Zed now nervously poked his head out from, "I-I need time to think, I just need space, we can... We can reconvene in an hour or so, please?"

"Why! Just so you can tell me MORE shit I should know by now?!" Berri was furious, a wrecking rage she had yet to learn how to control, and although she was a cute little ball of fire, typically all smiles and easy going, it was in her heated moments of anger was she certain she became a different person, however less often it occurred.

"You watch your mouth, young lady. You may be suspended from Academy, where you can romp around palace grounds all day, but don't make me confine those restrictions to just your bedroom," Tessa now growled as she, yet again, whirled around and began to switch her path straight for Berri; she figured that if her own daughter was here to continuously push her buttons, without heeding Tessa's very obvious warnings, then she'd give Berri exactly what she was asking for.

"Great, just sit in my room and wait for ALL the answers about your weird, detrimental, convoluted past to just COME to me," Berri snapped in a dripping, mean amount of sass. She put her hands on her hips and gave Tessa a snotty look of challenge, something Tessa was easily prepping to rival, "I dare you, mom. I DARE YOU!"

"You march your ass to that teleportation pad, go say goodbye to Chester, go say goodbye to Wren, to Theo, to EVERYONE," Tessa's voice shook the entire game, the beautiful chandelier above the teleportation pad trembled with the ricochet of her dominant voice, which was slowly becoming hoarse, "You better double dog dare me, child, because you can bet your sprinkles that you're not leaving this tower until you learn some RESPECT."

"Oh, like the respect I maybe deserved? By telling me the important things I should know before I opened my fat mouth at Academy?" Berri shouted, she daringly took a step towards Tessa, a challenge Berri knew full well that she'd massively lose at, and only confirmed said fact the second that Tessa's spine stiffened and posture straightened in further riled anger.

"You must've forgotten our little deal, then, because opening your fat mouth was on YOU," Tessa bellowed, "I warned you! But did you listen?!"

"NO! Cause no one here listens to ME! You all SUCK!" Berri hollered loudly, though she flinched once Tessa took a step closer to Berri, furthermore filling the gap.

"Your feet better find that teleportation pad if you know what's good for you, cause that's the last time you'll be using it," Tessa darkly stabbed into the gravity of Berri's face with a jolt, Tessa's aggressive, dominant silver coding sparked on the undersides of her bare feet, causing the corridor's light and mainframe to bug out in glitch lines.

"I hate you," Berri muttered through now billowing tears and a shredded, wilted demeanor; with a rip of Berri's blue hair, as she whirled around, Berri shot for the teleportation pad and was immediately whisked away.

Tessa panted through her nose and glowered down the gently glowing teleportation pad, and once it settled, so did the air in the corridor. Tessa's shoulders were stiff, and in a firm swipe, Tessa sharply chucked Berri's suspension forms in a messy splay about the hallway. She whirled around, stormed for the gape of the living quarters and the kitchen, and felt thrilled that Zed was only simply observing the fight, and knew to eagerly step out of Tessa's way and leave her be, so to cool down. She fumed as she pushed into the kitchen, opened the splay of their remote code room privileges, above the kitchen island, and just as she was about to pull up Berri's stats, location and everything in between, Zed finally felt a fatherly cue to step in and settle Tessa's fiery heart.

"Tessa," Zed instructed firmly, though his deep voice was tender and soft. He eased his masculine hand to her shoulder, gently swished away Berri's stats and location and was thrilled to gain eye contact with Tessa, even though it was nearly boiling hot to even endure, "Enough, enough... Don't make rash decisions while you're mad. Step away from it."

Tessa heavily panted through her nose, looked off and finally allowed the show of big, billowing tears to sag into her eyes. Zed hovered tight over her, held his hand firmly to her shoulder and knew he was the rock that steadied her rushing, wrecking thoughts. He shook his head, narrowed his gaze and, although he was prepared to overflow his bride with tender loving care, he knew he needed to help Tessa get on his level.

"She doesn't hate you, she's just angry," Zed assured softly, to which Tessa shut her eyes tight in regret, the tears urgently spilled down her cheeks, "You know restricting her will just make her rebel further, love..."

"I don't care right now, I don't care," Tessa urged through a choke of a small, staggering cry. She composed herself, inhaled a long sniffle and quickly wiped her eyes, "She let her entire last hour class know that Turbo is alive and well, in Sugar Rush..."

"Yikes," Zed huffed through a long sigh, he shook his head and looked off.

"She got suspended for disrupting her class, and now I'm left to do damage control," Tessa urged in whole annoyance, to which Zed gave her a curious smile.

"Well... Why? Words already out, there's not much you can do, now," Zed shrugged, "It was about time Turbo's reign of silence was broken. Really who better to spill the beans than a generation of kids that are so far removed from the situation?"

"Mr. Kelta was so mad," Tessa sighed, she began to come off the dregs of her anger, though this only caused more tears of regret to pool in her eyes, "She looked so defeated, I-I just... I feel so bad for sheltering her from all the terrible things that happened."

"Well... Maybe we just need to lay it all out, now," Zed stated in warm, knowing defeat, "It's clear, now, that reserving this and saving her the burden of everything we've ever been through is just not wise anymore. She's this game's successor... She needs to know. No matter how heavy it is."

"She's not going to talk to me ever again," Tessa huffed in a stagger of sorrow, she peered her glassy, hazel eyes tight into Zed's and looked entirely sapped of angry energy, "She's probably going to avoid me for the next month."

"Then, so be it... Give her space," Zed instructed, he cocked an eyebrow and gave Tessa a knowing smile, "Like mother like daughter... You think I don't know how to navigate the two most important women in my life?"

"...Fine. You win," Tessa mumbled as she rubbed her face in agitation and finally slumped into Zed's chest for a supportive, loving embrace.

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As Berri ripped her messy, glitch-hop of silver coding about the inner bend of the palace's massive wall, the covered, outdoor stretch of corridor that encompassed the palace lot, she finally came to Chester's stable and burst into it. With a firm jolt of the swinging doors, Chester's head flew up in startled agitation, the perk of his ears held tight to Berri's footsteps, and although Chester was blind, he still could tell just who was approaching, due to their footstep, their smell, and any noise they would make otherwise. Chester sagged in gentle relief, though he steadied his strong, massive legs firmly into the soft substrate underneath him and allowed Berri to practically plow into his chest. Berri grappled her arms about Chester's thick neck and lovely winter mane, and in a whole unload, she began to sob into Chester's creamy fur, her nose so firmly buried into his warmth.

Chester sagged in a show of sorrow, as tenderly as he could, he flattened his ears, lowered his head and lovingly tucked his wings about Berri's back and whole body. In a firm tug, he held Berri tight to his body as the underside of his jaws tucked tight to her lower back, thus keeping her snug to his chest. Although Chester didn't have a voice box, it was rare that he could sometimes still emit breaths of sounds, and in the gentle meep of a curious noise, he remained a solid rock for Berri, allowing her to cry her heart out into his fur. The rain, outside, spattered the cold, blue and white grass about the palace lot, the only warmth radiated from small street lamps and lanterns posted about the palace lot and at each couple's tower. A fog hung over the day like a blanket of sadness, something Berri just allowed herself to drown in.

"I wish you could fly, Chester, I wish you could fly," Berri begged in a soft hiccup of a few cries. She grit her teeth and allowed the tears to pour like the rain about Chester's warm stable, she shook her head and snuggled deeper into the escape of Chester's chest. She carried on in a raspy whisper of a sigh, "I wish you could fly... I'd fly so far away..."

Chester sagged a little, lulled his eyes closed and flatted his ears tighter as he tucked Berri even closer, as if to apologize. Berri eagerly cued her silver coding onto the warmth of Chester's fur and skin, an exterior swap that Chester relied on to see, though Berri often used it if she needed love or advice. A convey of thoughts from one another, she knew that Chester couldn't verbally talk, though the sensation of his thoughts was enough to carry on intelligent conversation. She unloaded all of her mental worries onto Chester's blank canvas of an emotional hug, he sat in all of her worries, mental cries that came at him rapid fire, something he learned how to just accept and take as it came. He opened his eyes and was thrilled he could now see his surroundings, via glowing silver grid lines and messes of mapping the stable's furniture and structure.

Chester sniffled his wolf-like snout into Berri's soft hair, sprinkled with a little bit of rain. His glorious wings, ones of which he never really opened for display or use of flying, were sagged tight about Berri's body in a protective encompass of unconditional love. As he soaked in all of Berri's worries, about Turbo, about her mother, about Academy, Chester's blind eyes shook as they aimlessly looked about his comfortable stable. In a curious volley, he dared to suggest that Berri seek out her own answers, to not wait for Tessa and Zed to come to her, to take the initiative and get exactly what she wanted, without wasting anymore time. In this lull of tender suggestion, Berri inhaled a shaky breath, pulled from Chester's coded gravity and gently peered up into his blind eyes.

Berri bobbed a nod of realization, inhaled a nervous breath and now urgently pat her rear pocket for her phone. Upon swiping it out of her pocket, she unlocked it, tabbed to her messages and urgently opened her's and Turbo's previous conversation, from days ago. She bit her lip in contemplation and began to urgently type away a rush of a bold message, though before she could hit send, she furrowed her brows, sagged her phone and looked off in another hit of realization. She lulled her eyes closed and recalled a memory from the evening prior. The image of Turbo's warm, though hesitant disposition, the gloss of his deep, raspy voice politely instructing her to name a time and place, she peeled her eyes open in further, dominant assertiveness and quickly locked her phone, thus eradicating texting Turbo.

"Chester, please take me to the teleportation pad by the code room," Berri pleaded quietly, and without hesitation, Chester tilted his body and knelt down a little, insinuating that he was all hers, and he was happy to take her anywhere.

With the thud of his powerful paws, like hooves that thudded in loud, echoing reverberation about the massive stretch of outdoor corridor, Chester easily hauled himself and Berri to the palace's courtyard in the blink of an eye. Upon pushing into the large, donut-shaped corridor that housed each racer's individual home, all whilst encompassing the game's code room, Chester's claws loudly clacked along the palace's gorgeous tiles, he bolted about the bend and finally slowed upon reaching the sealed, intimidating, glowing round of the code room's door. Berri quickly jumped off of Chester's bare spine, huffed a shaky breath and came upon the palace's main teleportation pad.

Although the majority of the teleportation pads, about the palace lot, were all pretty much the same, this main hub was a lot more advanced. Once Berri stepped onto the main pad, almost ten feet in diameter, it gently came alive with the glow of her silver coding, knowing full well each individual's coding color upon stepping aboard. Berri inhaled a shaky breath, having never really utilized said main teleportation pad, due to just how expansive it was. In a mess of glowing, silver, holographic tiers, an entire list of every single teleportation pad in the whole of Sugar Rush quickly unfolded before Berri. Nearly three dozen points long, it was sectioned into three different columns, one listed as public teleportation pads, ones listed as private, and ones listed as semi-private. In a rush of adrenaline, Berri felt her heart begin to surge with purpose, with nervousness, her blue eyes scanned the list and finally came to the teleportation pad she was looking for - Turbo's.

Berri inhaled a trembling breath, her pointer finger hovered over his name in entire hesitation. She furrowed her brow in whole contemplation, she knew that the second she pushed that button and was whisked away to his semi-private teleportation pad, there'd be likely no chance of returning without Turbo knowing that she had visited his pad. Her chest rose and fell in the heat of the electrical grab the teleportation pad had on her coding, the hover of her larger finger over his name, the infamous Turbo. She grit her teeth, held her breath, and as her finger firmly sagged into his name, she shut her eyes tight and was prepared to have her coding whisked clear across Orion City, in the mere blink of an eye. The second her silver coding swarmed the air in a lightning show of dissipation, she realigned to Turbo's teleportation pad and froze in terror she desperately kept reigned and collected.

Berri's ears rung with the clear amount of distance she had covered, and over so many different beings of Orion City. She panted and reopened her eyes, though much to her surprise, she was delighted to see that the term 'semi-private', when it came to teleportation pads, simply meant that the pad was stationed outside of an individual's front door, as opposed to a private pad, much like Tessa's and Zed's, which acted as a front door instead. Turbo's front door foyer was glistening in silent, pristine white walls and ceilings, with a gorgeous array of dark grey tiles that lead into a blank, white alcove. Although it looked like a larger bevel into the wall, as if to insinuate said alcove was an entry way, it had no door handles, no peek hole, nothing. With trembling footsteps, she eased off of the glowing teleportation pad, which was stationed a few feet to the right of the assuming doorway. She took note of her surroundings, peered hard to the wall she was certain was an entry way, and swallowed a firm gulp of now rising terror, a full understanding that this was the point of no return.

She stiffened her shoulders, inhaled a deep breath through her nose, and readied herself. She straightened out her shirt, tucked her damp hair behind her cute ears, shook her head in whole disbelief that she was about to do this, and clenched her right hand into a fist. With said fist, she sank a few, firm knocks into the center of the wall, that seemingly was Turbo's front door, and as if her heartbeat was on whole surround sound in this low-ceiling, dimly lit foyer of Turbo's, she desperately tried to hide the tremble in her veins, the tremble that nearly wanted to crawl right out of her coding and send her running home. Although the thought was now beginning to sound inviting, she felt her pupils tighten the second the large bevel of a wall gently shifted, sagged deeper into the wall, and silently slid down and into the grey tiles, revealing the man she was beginning to fear all over again.

Turbo stood in entire, unadulterated confusion; his hair was ruffled, as if he had only just previously maybe had woken up from a nap. He wore a black shirt and a comfortable pair of faded grey sweats, though his cozy appearance was eradicated by the sheer look of cold confusion plastered deep into his vividly glowing yellow eyes. Turbo huffed a stagger of a startled breath, clutched his chest with his masculine, grey hand and shook his head, as if to potentially want to feel inward agitation over the fact that a royal was budging into his personal life, essentially caught out of normal, presentable clothes and disheveled from a simple, rainy afternoon nap. He tried to collect himself as Berri bravely locked eyes with his, he shook his head a little and gave her a floored look of bewildered disbelief.

"Y-your highness?" Turbo staggered, as if he was now thinking ahead to just what in Arcade could be wrong, just what in Arcade could have her knocking on his door, of all people.

Berri long blinked in the rile of whole disbelief, as if she was absolutely beside herself that this moment was real, that she had successfully propped Turbo up between a rock and a hard place. Her beautiful blue lashes stuck together in a cute, dewy show of droplets, due to the short amount of time she was in the rain. The haunting vision of Turbo's eyes now piercing her soul in unadulterated confusion, she inhaled a trembling breath and was firmly reminded of Turbo's confident words; she knew she was the one in control of naming a time and place, for their impending reconvene, and with the roll of confidence she knew she had to bluntly fake it to make it, she asserted her dominance and kept her eyes tight to his. She uttered a conclusion to this whole mess, knowing full well this was exactly how she was going to get the answers she wanted.

"Here and now."


	37. Chapter 37

**Reviews :**

 **chuckiboo :** I definitely love writing verbal fight scenes, they're some of my favorite things to do. Let's me flex my wittiness to it's stretch potential LOL!

 **CHICKENM4N :** It actually warms my heart to see you say that. Thank you!

 **Jay Sketchin :** This is onlyyyyy the beginning, my friend ;]

 **Burgie :** Thank you! Yeah she was finally fed up lol

 **Snake557 :** LOL The whole tower goes up in flames via bon-fire!

 **Romantic Sapp :** It's true, Berri definitely has a lot of growing up to do, still. In due time!

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 **A/N :** For the first time, since about the beginning of Rectifying Origin, I am a solid 10 chapters ahead of you guys. I AM ALIVE FOR THIS FEELING.

Which reminds me of how I felt when I first started uploading Wrecking Limits. Upon uploading chapter 1, I was almost 65 chapters ahead of you guys... Man those were the days... But alas, it's been seven years and I have a LOT more on my plate. Shits weird, man.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **One of the Family by Henry Jackman**

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 ***Chapter 37***

With crossed arms and a now sinking disposition, Berri felt her heart stop at the raw fact that her bare feet were on Turbo's territory. She could swear she could feel her blood run cold the second his large, sliding front door could be heard successfully securing the two inside, for good. With a slow sweep about Turbo's home, she did everything she could to learn everything she quite possibly could about him in the mere seconds of looking that she had. Upon entering his open-format of a home, she was delighted to see that the front door opened to a sprawling first level of gorgeous grey tiles. To her left was a cozy dining area and to her right was a beautiful kitchen, finished with incredible, glossy white cabinets, stainless steel appliances and grey accents. She was further delighted to find that he had kept himself a few house plants, some of which had thorns and spines.

Upon further reveal with blue eyes that ate up as much as they could, his main, first level bevelled down a few steps into a carpeted area, the cleanest, whitest, plushest carpet she ever laid eyes on. A great room two stories high, the entire full wall, that his whole home sat securely behind, was crystal clear windows with one of the crispest, most gorgeous views of Orion City she had ever seen, which included Sugar Rush's palace far in the foggy, rainy distance. Berri huffed a staggered breath and took in the details of his home; the cozy, futuristic furniture, the beautiful reading lamp he had on, the chaise part of his cozy red L couch, of which he looked to be previously sitting at, was billowed with a comfortable white down comforter and pillow. The end table directly next to said little nest of a napping area, of his, confidently held a steamy cup of something delicious, a loved pipe that filled the atmosphere with the smell of pure comfort, cinnamon pipe tobacco, and a book messily flopped face down as a place holder.

In the slow turn to her right, she began to feel terrible for now interrupting a quiet, lovely evening Turbo was potentially having with himself, though her eyes curiously dragged to a low-ceilinged hallway, just off the bend of the kitchen. She noticed the hallway eventually forked, though the avenues of said fork were dark and unseen from this angle, excluding low, dim lights that hung a foot above the ground, sanctioned safely in the crisp, white walls. Berri finally turned to face the kitchen in a slow slide of assessing Turbo's surroundings, certainly not the home of a guy that practically wrought the entire Arcade with crippling fear. She furrowed her eyebrows, and although she wanted to express to Turbo that she now felt bad for interrupting his peaceful, quiet evening, she knew she just needed to assert that she was here for answers, to not feel sorry for diving in. She finally was within Turbo's wary gaze, and as they caught eyes, once more, this was when Berri began to now feel fear creep back into her skin, once more.

"I-I... I'm sorry I didn't know you were to be arriving," Turbo staggered in tenderness, and although he likely was irritated, he knew he didn't dare show it to Sugar Rush's princess, "I-I would've put on something more presentable, m-made dinner, a pot of... Coffee, anything... Are you thirsty? Hungry?"

"No, no, I... I'm just now realizing I probably should've texted you before I ruined your whole evening, like this," Berri now grew entirely embarrassed, flustered with hindsight, she shook her head and knew she had previously tried not to let her emotions get the better of her, something that so easily just would brisk her away without thinking twice. She crossed her arms tighter and shivered, her clothes were damp from the rain, "You... You said to name a time and place, and... Today's just been so weird, and mom said to say goodbye to Chester and Wren and Theo, and... Well..."

"... The Queen told you to say goodbye to your friends?" Turbo staggered in confusion, not knowing how to begin taking Berri's demeanor, not knowing how to navigate if she was delivering sarcasm or not. He nervously stepped towards his front door, though he came upon another small alcove to the right of it. Upon easing into it's gravity, it bevelled, just like his front door, and opened, only to reveal a small linen closet. He urgently wrestled with a hanger inside and pulled out one of his large, faded, dark grey zip up hoodies. He fluffed it, unzipped it, and eagerly approached Berri with it, "Your highness."

"O-Oh, wow, thank you," Berri chimed in a coo of gratitude, he warmly helped her put on his much larger zip up hoodie. She sank into it's warmth, zipped it over her body and tucked her fists into the loved, soft fleece inside. She heaved a small sigh of relief and was grateful to be warm, "I... I was suspended from Academy, and mom's pissed. I knew I probably wouldn't get another chance to meet with you before I'm home-bound for the rest of my life, so..."

"Why were you suspended from Academy?" Turbo wondered in nervousness, and although he began to itch and feel entirely unsure of just how to treat a house guest, a woman and a royal, nonetheless, he scanned his apprehensive eyes about his house and wondered just where their landing point should be.

"I... Guess, I really hate to say this, but..." Berri grit her teeth and now was beginning to wonder just how she was going to break this all to Turbo, just how she would reveal to him that Arcade now knows he's here, she nervously hooked her eyes into Turbo's for a few seconds before she darted them away in a small break of her scaredy-cat meter beginning to spike, his haunting gaze somehow being something she couldn't really seem to overcome, "... I revealed to my last hour class that you live here, in Sugar Rush."

Turbo fell silent in a figurative jolt of terror that hit his skin, just what this would mean for his life. He furrowed his brows, as if to want to been terrified, insulted, angry, confused, though as his eyes hooked tighter to Berri's fragile demeanor, he sagged his masculine shoulders and felt forgiveness so easily sweep his being. He finally relaxed in the tension of the silence, honed his golden gaze to Sugar Rush's princess and was well aware Berri only did this due to not knowing Turbo's back story, not knowing that he was wanted dead. Turbo heaved a hot, long sigh through his nose and looked off to his kitchen in mild dismay, though he sagged his hands into the gape of his loved, sweat pants' pockets and finally side-eyed Berri with what could be a curl of a smile.

"... I guess it was only a matter of time everyone knew I was alive," Turbo's deep voice grumbled, a crackling tone of teasing, cheeky dismay, though Berri's nervously innocent eyes soaked to Turbo's figure and scanned his collar bones and chest, as if she couldn't afford anymore eye contact with him, any longer, "I'm... Sorry it caused you to become suspended."

"It's not your fault," Berri sighed in defeat, she finally looked down to her hands and furrowed her eyebrows in rising grief; she begged herself not to cry in front of this stranger, she was successful for the time being, though her voice still tenderly crackled with the promise of impending tears, "I-I should've just kept my mouth shut, but... I-I just didn't like what my substitute teacher was saying about you."

As if to be unfazed by the potential of insults behind his own back, he sighed through his nose, once more, and now knew this was his perfect segue into hopefully getting the two in a more comfortable spot. He bobbed a nod, shrugged a bit, as if to insinuate that harsh insults and hatred lofted his way was normal, he gently gestured to the sprawl of his beautiful, cozy living room.

"C'mon, let's... Let's sit down, are you sure you're not hungry or thirsty or anything?" Turbo staggered, and although he treated Berri like the adult he thought she was, he reeled in memory and felt his veins wiggle in a rise of terror at a realization that hit him; Berri's first birthday was in three days, and although she had attended Academy, he quickly mulled over a few nervous notions, silently to himself, over the raw fact of just what Tessa and Zed would think upon Turbo and Berri being all alone in his sixty-fourth floor perch, clear across the city. He lead her down the few steps, past his sprawling couch and to the lovely, comfortable recliner just near his low-laying coffee table, a comfortable recliner that matched his L couch nicely. Upon her sit, he rubbed the back of his head in further, inward agitation and peered back to his kitchen in consideration, "A-Anything you want, I'm... I'm sure I have it."

"...I'd honestly love some water, or... Maybe a cup of tea," Berri dared with a nervous shrug, she peered up to Turbo and snuggled deeper into his warm hoodie, though she flinched in secretive terror as his creepy, golden eyes dart down to her in a string of gentle agreeing.

"Yes, ma'am," Turbo pressed as he quickly turned heel, his bare feet marched up the few, grey-tiled steps into his kitchen, his figure still seen from the open-format of his home.

Berri heaved a shaky sigh and further assessed Turbo's home in a gentle sag of the shred of alone time she was given, and although it was limited, she continued to soak up more details about Turbo, as quickly as she could. Sagged into the cozy recliner, her back was to the massive stretch of floor to ceiling windows. To her right, where the walled window finally met with a solid wall, a lovely fireplace was tucked into the white walls, surrounded by the same matte grey tiles of his kitchen and dining area. Dark firewood was stationed inside the fireplace, looked to be previously burned, though was unlit for the time being. Her eyes scanned further past the fireplace and the span of the wall, that met with the window, and came upon what looked to be a double door, covered with a beautiful white drawn-down shade. She narrowed her gaze and only assumed it lead out to a balcony, due to the dim, outdoor light that peeked through. She cocked an eyebrow and quickly noticed just what was hanging above the fireplace on the mantle; a few medals, and something that made Berri's heart practically stop. A proper, white racing helmet with a red T along the skull.

Turbo bugged his eyes, firmly sank into his kitchen and began to feel his hands tremble a little. He heaved a shaky sigh, just barely peered over his shoulder and glanced his near-terrified eyes to the lovely, blue haired princess sat in none other than his own recliner. He swallowed hard and felt terror just sap his energy, any amount of it he had left of the day. He fumbled to open a cabinet near his coffee and espresso machine, he pulled out the selection of teas he had and blindly picked an herbal tea he hopefully assumed she liked. Upon turning on his gas stove, so to heat the water in his kettle, he eased the loose leaves into a tea strainer, sagged it into a crisp white mug he had and eagerly fumbled for his phone. In a swift stab of navigating through his phone's lock screen and apps alike, he did everything he could to bring up his and Zed's conversation, his thumbs eagerly typed away.

 _Black : Your Majesty, I just wanted to let you know that your daughter arrived on my doorstep. I guess I'll be telling her a little bit about my back story, she's been wanting this for awhile, I think. She's safe here and will be returned before dark. Let me know if this is an issue and I'll see to it that she returns safely to the palace._

Turbo heaved a shaky, silent sigh, set his unlocked phone on the counter and nervously crossed his arms tight. He furrowed his brows and peered hard to his and Zed's conversation, a lump firmly gathering in his throat. He knew, full well, simply hanging out with people, excluding his own two brothers, was not something he was caught doing. A massive introvert, he rarely ever had anyone over, even Nox and Throttle had to pry at him with two hands and full strength. He softly glanced over his shoulder, once more, and felt his heart jolt at the sight of Berri gingerly and curiously situating a few of the larger books on Turbo's coffee table, a further read into his soul that Turbo was entirely not prepared for. He nearly jumped clear out of his skin the second his phone vibrated once, a sharp buzz on his cold counter top.

 _Imdead : No worries, her and her mother just got into a pretty nasty fight, so some time away from the palace is probably best, just as long as she stays in your supervision. Just be sure she's home before her now midnight curfew. Thanks, Turbo._

 _Black : Yes sir, no issue._

Turbo rolled his eyes in now rising dismay, the whole fact that he was now saddled with a stranger for the rest of the evening, he wondered just what Berri, and now Zed, had signed him up for. Turbo knew, full well, that a little bit of social interaction wasn't going to kill him, though with just how reclusive he was, he knew his trembling, wavering soul could hardly afford it. Just as he was about to take yet another peek over his shoulder and somehow pray the vision of Berri sitting there, in his living room, was simply a gnarly hallucination, Turbo jolted once more as the kettle suddenly began to whistle with urgency. Turbo stabbed his heightened, golden gaze to the kettle, removed it from it's flame and bit his lip in concentration. He tenderly poured the scalding water over the tea strainer, into the cup for Berri. It steamed up past his face and smelled of the sweetest chamomile. With a racing heart and terrified urgency he prayed would settle, he finally eased out of the kitchen, down the steps and returned to Berri's fragile presence.

"Your highness," Turbo stated in a depth of crackling, nervous warmth, something Berri cued to, and as he softly handed her the mug, she took it with care as he fumbled to carry on, "C-Careful, it's... Really hot."

"Thank you, that's so sweet," Berri eased as she peered down to the delicious cup of tea, a dainty, golden spoon stuck out from the frothy, yummy mess of it.

"I... Put some honey in it, I wasn't sure," Turbo staggered, his slightly shaking hand fumbled for the arm rest of the edge of his couch, and as he sat down, he sat in a mildly uncomfortable, stiff position of knees just barely spread, hands nervously clasped together in his lap.

"It's perfect, thank you," Berri sighed into the steamy mug, and after having taken a sip, she felt a further amount of warmth coat her soul, something she was absolutely sure she wouldn't be experiencing in Turbo's presence, of all people.

"Good," Turbo huffed a gentle sigh, bobbed a nod and looked across his home. He anxiously twiddled his thumbs, looked as if he was battling a few different words to start out with, and finally resorted to biting his lower lip. After a few moments of tender silence that he was almost desperate to break, he cleared his throat, cocked an eyebrow, and finally volleyed Berri an almost nervous look of inquisition, "So, uh... I-I really don't know where to begin. I guess, my question for you is... How come your subsitute teacher was talking about me?"

Berri heaved a long, silent sigh, looked down to the cup she carefully cradled in her lap and gently tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I guess... Two games got unplugged today because, well... Someone from Super Mario 'went Turbo'," Berri used air quotes, she bravely gave Turbo full eye contact, though only afforded herself a second, or two, of it. She nervously looked off and to the side, she wondered if she could potentially practice holding eye contact with him for longer, in each glance. She tried to remain hopeful that she'd eventually overcome this fear of hers, "It... Was all I heard around Arcade, today. The fact that your name kept popping up. And then my substitute teacher told me that she hoped you were currently rotting in hell."

Turbo choked back a laugh, bravely beamed a boyish smile and looked down at his gingerly clasped hands, though Berri raised her eyebrows in tender surprise and was shocked that she was able to catch Turbo in a nearly-full on smile, the strange sight of it and sound of his laughter had her heart surging in an overflow of curiosity, her brain quickly wondered just what else could possibly keep him smiling and laughing.

"Can't say I blame her," Turbo huffed, and with this little discovery, Berri now noticed that Turbo was doing everything to force said handsome smile away.

"What exactly happened to make the Arcade hate you so much?" Berri hissed in soft, whispering confusion as she narrowed her eyes and shook her head, Turbo's eyes gently locked with hers once more, "I... I can't see that, in you. I can't see you doing something so heinous that... The whole of Arcade would turn its back on you, like that."

"Well, nowadays, it probably wouldn't be deemed as heinous," Turbo shrugged, his tone lilted in annoyance, "What have you heard today, about the most recent unplugs? Nothing but sympathy and sorrow? You think the whole of Arcade would go after, I don't know, Mario or Luigi, if they were found still alive?"

"I don't know," Berri shook her head, as desperately as she fought to hold eye contact with Turbo, it nearly burned her alive. She continued to find solace in Turbo's white coffee mug, half empty of it's delicious tea, "You're right, everyone was just... Sad, shocked."

Turbo held his creepy eyes tight to Berri's tender, womanly disposition, still in thought and listening. He dared to sneak a small smile, he was relieved to find that her presence wasn't making him uncomfortable any longer. As much as he'd kill to curl back up with his book and be left alone, he felt relieved that she had remained calm and had successfully climbed to his level of stillness and maturity, even if it may be hard for a young, bright, fiery, dewy-eyed school girl of a princess.

"A long time ago, I was just... Taught to win, to race my heart out, to place first," Turbo warmly explained, "Throttle thought he was doing me favors. It... Very quickly went to my head. So much so that poor Nox and Lash just... Sat in my shadow, seething. I don't think I ever even would LET them place first."

"...Nox is probably the last person to hold it over you," Berri warmly smiled with a shrug, she silently congratulated herself for holding eye contact with Turbo for five whole seconds; a new record.

"Nox was the last person, but Lash was the first," Turbo's raspy voice stated in dark remembrance, his eyes aimlessly looked down to the coffee table as he heaved a tired sigh, "Lash was so in my ear, so in my head... The second Roadblasters was plugged in, he urged me to go after it. To do anything I could to get Roadblasters unplugged... He dangled my insecurity over me, and made it seem like my whole life depended on it."

"...What was your insecurity?" Berri wondered softly.

Turbo's eyes grew sad, they held aimless to his table as he just barely shook his head and uttered the word, like a stone in his heart, "... Losing."

Berri frowned and held her eyes tight to Turbo's face. In whole gratitude that he was now in a comfortable, aimless stare on his coffee table, Berri took this opportunity to really assess Turbo's face and expressions. Adorn with the beginnings of a rugged, black beard, he looked as if he maybe hadn't cared to shave in a week or two. His dark eyebrows were furrowed into his crisp, golden eyes, the void of his intense stare, the black pixel-cubed pupils that Berri now noticed dilated and retracted like normal pupils, were slightly enlarged due to their dim surroundings; something Berri was sure was potentially helping her with this whole 'hold longer eye contact, with Turbo, than the last time' game she had going on. Turbo's masculine shoulders lifted as he inhaled a deep breath, his strong collar bones peeked through his matte grey skin, he situated his sitting position and slowly got a little more comfortable, as if it were simply a dare he had set upon himself and sought to complete.

"I successfully got Roadblasters unplugged, but no one warned me that TurboTime would go down with the ship, too," Turbo stated curtly, as if to still feel bitterness over it. He lulled his eyes closed and shook his head, "What I'd give to have that game back... If I could go back in time, and do it all again..."

Berri furrowed her brow and, as much as she wanted to look off in contemplation, she held her curious gaze tight to Turbo's face. Any chance she had to look him in the face, sans fear, she ate up, though the second that familiar glow resurfaced, and his gaze was lofted in her direction once more, she felt her insides clench as her eyes did everything they could to hone in on his cheekbones, his nose, his forehead, anything. She finally gave up scouring the rest of his face in secretive panic and looked back down to her mug of tea.

"Well... It seems like mom and dad gave you a bit of a do-over, here, right?" Berri questioned with a lilt of uplift, a cute smile upon her pink lips, she brought the mug to her face and took a hearty sip of the delicious tea. She shrugged, looked up to Turbo's high ceilings and was suddenly surprised to find that he had a secretive loft that hung just above them, an overhang that only the glass of the skyscraper separated the loft from the clouds; she knew they were high up, though she was only just now realizing that Turbo's home was the highest point. She tried not to seem to curious to wander up to that loft by finally giving Turbo a bout of brave eye contact, once more, "I'm sure hiding away is all you want right now... I-I... I definitely didn't make your life any easier, did I."

"Well, I wouldn't say you made it harder," Turbo's voice dribbled to a depth of love, it was now something that Berri was beginning to crave, the cold exterior, of his, showing any warmth, outside the glow of his eyes, was a new discovery, something she was certain was probably hard for him to convey. Although Turbo pushed the envelope, Berri could see him at war with himself, a huge battle of give and take he didn't know how to balance. How badly he wanted to show a secretive plethora of love and warmth, and how terrified he was to open the floodgates of trust. Turbo cleared his throat and shook his head, "I-I'd say you just made it more interesting. I didn't think I'd actually be successful in remaining anonymous for this long."

"I just hope they don't try and come for you, or something?" Berri worried, "My intentions were not to create a safety issue, for you."

"User, no, it's impossible to reach my home unless you're coming from the main teleportation pad, of the palace," Turbo waved his hand in nonchalance, he then gestured his thumb to his sturdy, hidden front door and cocked an eyebrow. He gave Berri a daring, boyish smirk and shook his head, "And even if they did, you think anyone can make their way through that slab? Zed reinforced it tenfold... Not even Ralph himself can bust that door down."

"...How the heck is that possible?" Berri beamed him a wide, incredulous smile, hoping that somehow the smiles and laughter could be contagious, and maybe Turbo would finally come out of his shell in his entirety, though she could tell that he was definitely going to be a tough cookie to crack.

"Code room magic, your highness," Turbo sighed, he sagged into the couch and looked down to the hands in his lap; it was in this small instance of defeat did Berri now begin to feel as if they were at least buddies, at this point, and could be on first name status; she felt his respectful words of 'your highness' continuously and frustratingly push their tiny, budding friendship back to strictly game-mate acquaintances.

"Well... I guess I won't keep you any longer than I have," Berri stated in a slump of nonchalance, though she felt a whole entire slew of victory hit her skin as she tenderly set her mug on Turbo's coffee table, the way that he stiffened and gestured his hand to her in a worrying fit of not wanting her to leave, Berri very slowly began to beam a closed-mouth smile of impending victory.

"N-No, you're not... Keeping me, I wasn't doing anything important," Turbo urged in a rasp of nervousness, though he cleared his throat and furrowed his brow; he inwardly cursed himself. Not ten minutes ago he was upset that his evening of solitude was ruined, and now, he felt confusion hit his heart, why he felt the need to prolong Berri's questions, her curious heart, he eyed her in a spike of now visible nervousness and shook his head, "Forgive me... I hope I was able to answer at least some of your questions."

"I still feel like there's a whole entire hours worth of questions I still have," Berri blurt a small laugh, and although she looked as if she was previously going to stand and suggest she leave, she sat back in the continuous roll of victory within herself, a true affirmation that Turbo's spikey blue koopa shell was definitely penetrable, however painfully difficult it was, "I'm sure there's more to your story than just... You got two games unplugged and now you're simply just hiding away. My mom speaks very highly of you, attributes her being crowned and, well... Being ALIVE, to you, and your successes."

"She does?" Turbo wondered in a tender lilt of humbled surprise as he laid his hand to his chest, Berri blurt a small giggle and looked down to her hands in the conflicting feelings that hit her heart.

"Yeah... And, I, not a half an hour ago, told her that I hated her, to her face," Berri stated through a huff of a sigh full of regret. She shook her head and, this time, couldn't control the well of tears, "I feel like the hugest bitch..."

Turbo flinched at her word, drew his inquisitive gaze to her and felt a sting of confused feelings hit his heart, head-on. He peered to her in a roll of tenderness, not knowing much about Berri, he felt terrible that she had begun to well up. Although the only thing he wanted to do was at least lay a hand to her shoulder and bring her entire solace in the fact that she wasn't as terrible as she thought she was, he felt the walls around his heart grow higher and higher, a notion he almost was at war with, something he almost felt he didn't even agree to, but had no control over. He grit his teeth, he knew he was strict in not allowing himself to get too close to anyone, to remain reserved and reclusive, he furrowed his brow and swore he wouldn't let anyone's tears break his stance of coldness; even if behind those tears were an incredible pair of loving blue eyes, a gaze that lofted him a lifetime of understanding, and from hardly a half an hour of what could be considered a tiny ember of an acquaintanceship.

"You're far from, your highness," Turbo's deep voice eased.

Berri bobbed a nod and felt full defeat finally hit her. She sagged, she was well aware she was not just crying for show, though she somehow was hoping her vulnerable little release would somehow bring him to her level, and finish the deal with Turbo finally jumping on board first-name status. In further defeat, and further realization that Turbo was likely not someone she would ever be able to be good friends with, she accepted this quick fate and bobbed a nod of gratitude, she lofted him a small smile and began to show reservedness herself; as if to wonder if she should play his game back at him. She could see the urgency in his disposition, as if he was simply trying to navigate the fact that he had a house guest for the first time in his life, as if he was plainly trying to figure out just how to go about making a friend, and just what that all entailed.

"I appreciate you answering some of my questions," Berri nodded, she looked over her shoulder in a slow sweep and peered to the palace far on the horizon. She sighed and shook her head, "I... Probably will be permanently palace-bound for the rest of time, so... I don't suppose it'd be alright if I messaged you from time to time? Any other questions I may think up?"

"Yes, ma'am," Turbo quickly agreed with a nod, "Y-You'll... See me around the palace, every now and then. Or I can just let you know when I'm around."

"That'd be great," Berri eased, she tried to not seem too forward, she wondered just why her veins began to wiggle with purpose, just why she wanted to be Turbo's friend so badly.

She could somehow see a small shred of it, as well, in Turbo's demeanor, though she had to wonder if it was just him being painfully nice, to potentially get her out of his house faster. She softly began to stand, though was only further delighted in her findings with the second he nervously jolted to a stand, the look of impending concern on his face, as if he maybe was trying so hard to convey that he rather enjoyed having a house guest for once. Berri slyly gave him a smile, as if to silently insinuate to him that she didn't mind being the guinea pig in this new venture of his.

"Not... To be forward, but... C-Can I make you something to eat? Or, interest you in another cup of tea?" Turbo bravely staggered, the both of them gently stood; Berri was comfortably draped in his hoodie, something he was almost certain he'd likely never get back. He rubbed the back of his head, glossed his eyes to the palace in the distance and knew, full well, that Zed's only plight about Berri being out was her midnight curfew, something that was a whole six hours away, "I... Actually have a few questions for you, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all," Berri concluded with a small huff of a chuckle, a sense of knowing, she was well aware Turbo was likely a fish out of water here, and anything to practice fumbling his way through any shred of a social life was something she definitely had more than enough time for, "I really don't want to go back to that User-forsaken palace, right now, anyways, so... Keep the tea comin'."


	38. Chapter 38

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** He's a soft boi. He eventually opens up entirely - takes a few days, but he does come around.

 **Jay Sketchin :** Dude I need to actually get the floor plan and the layout of it all uploaded, I have it all sketched, I just need to prettify it lol. I try to avoid over explaining LOL but yeah, wouldn't it be awesome to live there omg D:

 **CHICKENM4N :** I'm here for it tbh lol!

 **Snake557 :** YAY it begins! Thank you :D

 **marinetanker97 :** Indeed! Thank you so much :)

 **Romantic Sapp :** YAY I'm glad! It is one of the ships Berri's aboard... One of. ;)

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Rain by Hans Zimmer**

* * *

 ***Chapter 38***

 _In the still of the night, a very comforting hug of darkness eased over Berri's soul. What typically would be a void of darkness that was bound to scare her entirely silly, she felt a strange amount of tenderness, a familiarity she craved, and from the source of just where, she was uncertain. What was usually an entire night terror filled with the paralyzing stiffness, a rigor mortis that was entirely inescapable, was now replaced with the cradle of warmth, a sense of security. Berri furrowed her brows in the laid position she was in, a snuggle of the familiarity of her bed, she knew she was asleep and having the same, terrifying nightmare she usually would, of Lash standing over her bloodied body in Sugar Rush's code room, though every second that passed of dreaded expectations not even close to being met, she finally relaxed and allowed the rest of whatever this memory, of a dream was, to be played out._

 _In the squint of her surroundings, Berri could see her dainty, dimly glowing fairy lights, peachy little lights that filled her bedroom with warmth, the sag of her incredible downs, she felt assured that she was safe. In the dip of confusion, the lull of masculine arms that cradled her, a source of goodness, a soul of warmth eased her into her own bed, and it wasn't until Berri's still scared expectations began to play out did she finally clench in the uptight jolt of familiar fear. In the rustle of tender stirring, the squint of her eyes beyond her fairy lights, she felt her heart surge in a rush of fear at the sight hovering over her; the same stab of those creepy, golden eyes she had come to entirely fear over the course of her life, though unlike her typical night terror she begrudgingly endured, she was suddenly washed with a sense of security as said eyes long-blinked in tenderness and began to ease away from her presence. As simple as a guardian angel looking over her, perching her in her safe haven of a bed and leaving her to have a blissful sleep. Berri could hardly believe her luck, the gloss of protection she felt, and it was with this new soak of a memory did her previous night terror of a memory now get entirely over-written with a good dream._

With a sudden, sharp inhale through her nose, Berri's eyes parted open in a jolt. As she remained frozen, her eyes met with her bedroom, sunkissed with the early morning glow of Sugar Rush's winter sun. Her eyes darted around in a bout of confusion, just how she got here and when it all happened, she began to eagerly try and fumble her confused thoughts together. With bits and pieces of the night prior coming back to her, she scrunched her face and finally began to sit up. Upon sitting up, she noticed she was comfortably draped in one of her throws, and wasn't tucked deep into her downs like what she typically would enjoy. She further furrowed her brows in confusion and realized that she, also, was still wearing her clothes from Academy, only confirming to her that she had fallen asleep somewhere and someone brought her to her bed. She beamed a sleepy, furrowed smile of whole confusion, though just before she could write it off and remain confused, she inhaled a deep inhale and halted every single movement.

She bugged her eyes in a rise of girly terror as to just what scent immediately hit her nose. The same, intoxicating musk of manly body soap mixed with the touch of cinnamon pipe tobacco, she lifted her hands and was so comfortably still draped in Turbo's hoodie. She bit her lip in a show of continued girly terror and felt her whole face heat up, the realization that she must've fallen asleep at Turbo's house, and he must've brought her back to her bedroom in time for her curfew. She sagged her hands to her lap, relished in the softness of his hoodie and sagged her shoulders in a gentle twinge of fluttering adoration and annoyance. Adoration over the incredibly sweet gesture, annoyance that Turbo had to see her bedroom in the tornado state it was in. Berri wrinkled her nose in a settling bout of cute embarrassment, she was hoping that maybe her room was previously too dark to see the strewn clothes and makeup about her vanity and work desk.

Berri ran her fingers through the thick blue hair on her forehead and the top of her scalp, a messy array of strands that previously had been wet from the rain, dried in Turbo's high-elevation home, and then endured an entire night of sleep. Berri heaved a soft sigh, peered down to her nightstand and was thrilled to find that not only had she been brought back to bed, though whomever it was that secured her safely in her room, be it Turbo, her mother or father, they kindly plugged her phone up. With a grateful smile, she grappled for her phone, though with the gentle flutter of curiosity in her heart, she somehow hoped she would simply have a message from Turbo; though the only thing plastered to her phone was a thousand and one messages from Wren. She heaved a hot sigh, opened her phone, tabbed past Wren's hoard of messages and snuck right into her's and Turbo's conversation. Still dead and empty from two or three nights ago, she tucked her fist into the sleeve of Turbo's larger hoodie and softly brought the loved cloth to her mouth and nose.

She took a deep inhale and immediately regret it; she knew that this incredible human smell, of his, was something she was now going to associate with pure goodness, the mysterious lock his whole home and aura radiated, the need to pry to the center of Turbo's spikey, rocky exterior, she finally stopped inhaling said comforting scent and sagged her arm into her lap. She shook her head, as if to simply state she was maybe doomed, and although she was well aware she had no navigational skills when it came to love, she knew she had the potential to be a master at crushes. A fleeting, fun thought, she was excited to messily step into this weird little bout of flirty, secretive, crushing fun she maybe found herself in. She was well aware Turbo had entirely opposite feelings for her, and was likely the farthest thing away from ever returning said cute and light hearted tendencies, though somehow she relished in the one-sided affair. She wondered if just simply being his friend would allow her to ride the crush-wave for it's likely short duration, if he'd even agree to inviting her into his life, ever again.

With a hard sigh of nervousness, Berri began to scoot off of her bed. Just as her feet hit the glossy floor underneath her, her bed croaked a little as she sat back down in a tight grimace. She quickly was reminded just what went down the day prior, the hard fact that she had regretfully told Tessa that she flat out hated her. With a tighter grimace and a look of clenched-teeth terror that crawled over her, she nervously checked her phone one more time. The sheer fact that she didn't have any messages from her mother and father made her feel a stomach-dropping sensation of fear, the whole confusion of whether or not she'd be let out of the house or not. She assumed the only way she'd find out is if she went downstairs. Berri knew her mother had school today, which gave her ample time to complain to her father and give Zed her own side of the story, though as she budged out of her bedroom and eased down her spiral staircase, her eyes glossed with the gorgeous wall clock on the opposite side of her stairwell alcove; Tessa still had an entire hour, or so, before Academy's first bell rang.

In a near stumbling mess of footsteps that halted in a show of dread, her eyes glossed down the long corridor that not only deviated to Tessa's and Zed's bedroom, but also the kitchen. Berri froze and hung in listening and waiting. She could hear the television on low in the living room, clearly a comedy channel her dad enjoyed in the mornings, the sound of clunking stove tops further indicated to Berri that Zed was alone in the kitchen. Berri bit her lip in contemplation and eyed her mother and father's massive bedroom door, which was hunkered down a few steps of their stairwell. The door hung open, sunlight flood their home, and it was with this that Berri was certain her mother was either still in bed, snoozing away, or simply getting ready for the day. As much as she wanted to breeze past Tessa's and Zed's bedroom, she sucked it up and knew she needed to go downstairs and simply acknowledge her mother's presence, to apologize for the fight that occurred.

Although she wanted to shut her eyes tight, whirl around and head back up to her bedroom, remain stubborn and refuse to talk to anyone, she heaved a hot sigh through her nose, bit the bullet, and pushed into her mother's and father's bedroom. Sat cozily in the messy downs of their love nest, Tessa was reclined in said mess, still covered up to her shoulders, she relaxed on her phone and scrolled through a few things. It was clear she was still trying to wake up, though Berri knew Tessa would have time for her, no matter what. As her feet began to want to drum to a stop, they continued on in a slow pace towards Tessa's frozen figure, and upon reaching five feet of their lovely bed, Tessa finally lifted her hand, pat the bed next to her, and without looking up, she raised her eyebrows and eased warmth from her soul.

"C'mere," Tessa's motherly voice soothed, a relaxing, positive sign that Berri was in the clear and wasn't going to get her head ripped off.

Berri bashfully pushed onto Tessa's and Zed's bed, she cozily sat next to Tessa, though enough so that she was still facing her. Berri crossed her legs, sagged into herself and heaved a hot sigh of remorse. She shook her head and almost felt the urge to well up encompass her being.

"Mom, I don't hate you," Berri begged in a tone above a whisper, though much to Berri's surprise, Tessa huffed a silent chuckle, locked her phone and set it aside.

"I know you don't," Tessa sighed, her eyes curiously glossed the hoodie that Berri was wearing. She furrowed her brows in now bubbling excitement and let her larger fingers grapple the ends of the hoodie's sleeve, "Stealin' Turbo's clothes already, aren't we? What next, his heart?"

"H-How... Did you know this was Turbo's?" Berri grunted in a bashful display of nervous smiles, though as Tessa yanked a little harder on the sleeve, she revealed the side of it; Turbo's name and racing logo was confidently plastered down the side of the sleeve, albeit faded. Berri raised her eyebrows in dewy, plucked cuteness and bobbed a nod, "Nevermind, then."

"He also was the one that brought you back home, and it was freezing cold," Tessa shrugged as she unhanded Berri's sleeve and sat up a little more. She sleepily rubbed her eye and gave her daughter a sly, loving smile, "Very kind of him to loan you this hoodie."

"It smells nice," Berri admitted with a cheeky smile, Tessa blurt a laugh and rubbed her face a little harder.

"Ohh, I remember the days I'd steal your father's zip ups to go to Academy," Tessa bobbed a nod and reminisced in the memories, "I hope Turbo knows he's never going to get this thing back."

"I'll give it back," Berri grunted with an annoyed smile and rolled eyes.

"You guys have a good talk yesterday?" Tessa inquired, it was at this point that Tessa was surprised Turbo even allowed it, though with the dewy look of further blushed maturity on Berri's face, Tessa side-eyed her daughter and could smell a bit of a crush unfolding, "I'd assume that, in loo of his hoodie being given to you and him carrying you bridal style, up to your bedroom, like the White Knight he is, that it went, uh... VERY well."

"Mom," Berri now complained, she shook her head and knew that even her own little embers of crushing fantasies wouldn't go that far into detail, "It's not like that. I was a wreck yesterday. I mean I interrupted his whole evening, I felt so terrible. I'm sure he was just being nice."

"What did you interrupt him doing?" Tessa wondered in whole curiosity, as if poking into Turbo's personal life was something she never really got a glimpse into, and having an inside set of eyes was now something she was prepared to live up.

"He was all cozied out on his couch with a pipe of tobacco, a cup of coffee and a book, mom, like seriously," Berri stated in entire dismay, she shook her head and closed her eyes as Tessa blurt out into laughter, "I mean, I might as well have just... Burst into his bedroom in the middle of the night and started glitching around the room."

"Yeah, both are on par with each other, the poor thing probably had NO idea what to do with you," Tessa was lost in laughter, the silent wheezing kind, though Berri's cheeks were hot red with embarrassment as she looked off, "Ohhh, it's fine, baby. He seemingly warmed up to you eventually, huh."

"Yeah, he made me a cup of tea and told me everything," Berri sighed and looked down to the thick, loved sleeves of Turbo's hoodie, "I... I would've never said all those things, in my last hour class, if I knew everything Turbo's past consisted of..."

"Well... I'm glad you did, Bear," Tessa shrugged, she finally sighed and collected herself from her previously laughter, "It creates conversation. I encourage you to keep sticking up for Turbo. Keep doing what you can to show him in a new light. This is a new era, for Sugar Rush, and for the Arcade. I think it's beautiful what you've opened up... Maybe could've gone about it without pissing your teacher off and getting suspended, buuuut..."

"Yeah, surprisingly Turbo wasn't mad about it, though," Berri shrugged, her cute, girly, bashful eyes honed tight to Tessa's in a tender shred of hoped secrecy, "He took the burden off of me entirely... He's really sweet."

Tessa side-eyed Berri in a switch of conversation, she huffed a small giggle and waggled her finger a little, in Berri's direction.

"Uh-oh, someone's got a crushy-crush," Tessa whispered in teasing, she was floored that Berri only smiled down to her hands and didn't even try to deny it.

"Mom, please," Berri quietly demanded, though she shook her head and peered into her mother's eyes, "Maybe I can just be his friend, for winter break. Seems like he needs it."

"A winter break fling? You'll go back to Academy and he'll change the waypoints of his teleportation pad," Tessa choked a hard laugh, to which Berri rolled her eyes and didn't even try to deny Tessa's words.

"You're probably right," Berri laughed alongside her mother, though she peered to Tessa in girly desperation and shrugged, "Don't tell anyone, mom, it's not serious. I just like the challenge of getting him to open up."

"Your first task should be getting him to leave that tower of his," Tessa bobbed a nod and gestured her hand a little, "The second I won Sugar Rush back, his ONE request was the highest perch over the city, where he can finally rest and be alone."

"Then I was born," Berri blurt, both girls were lost in laughter, though in a gentle tug, Tessa eased Berri into her motherly arms and gave her a big hug, one that Berri gladly sunk into.

"Oh, I love you, Bear," Tessa sighed into the top of Berri's head; she snuggled into Tessa's arms and lulled her eyes closed in tender bliss.

"I love you too, mom," Berri mumbled, though she furrowed her brow in a rise of concern, "Mom, I'm... Not house-bound, am I?"

"No, bub, you're not, but I DO have one condition for you," Tessa stated, her warm breath coat the top of Berri's head. She gave Berri's skull a firm few kisses, as well as a final tug of a squeeze around Berri's shoulders, "Since you're going to be home until a week after New Year's, you're to meet up with Throttle every morning."

"Oh, sure... How come?" Berri wondered in a pluck of confusion, she furrowed her brow and sat up and out of Tessa's embrace.

"Since Beaux and Mara can't attend Academy, Throttle has kindly volunteered to homeschool them," Tessa's voice lilted in humbled cuteness, Berri bobbed a nod and knew where this is going, "You'll tag along with them, in Throttle's home, for the time you're out of Academy. Listen good... Turbo's not the only wise ol' owl in this game. Throttle was my teacher for a semester, or two, while we were in End of Line Academy."

"Really?" Berri wondered in girly cuteness, Tessa bobbed a nod and sighed.

"Yeah, he's insanely smart. I've prepped him for your arrival, why don't you go over there a little early so you can reconvene with him, on the whole Turbo situation," Tessa instructed, "He'll probably have some gems of info to tell you, about Turbo, that Turbo probably didn't mention."

"What great lengths the poor dude will go for a full swathe of privacy," Berri rolled her eyes, both women laughed in tender agreeing.

* * *

 _Blue : Hey man, I guess while I'm suspended, I'm going to be hanging out with Beaux and Mara for Throttle's lessons. I didn't know they were starting school a few months early like this? Do they know they're Users yet?_

 _User : No, they don't... We've just explained to them that they'll be homeschooled. We're going to tell them that they're Users after the holidays, so please don't spoil anything while you're with them._

 _Blue : I won't, I promise. I just wanted to touch base._

 _User : Sorry you got suspended, Bear... Dad told me, yesterday. Don't beat yourself up about it, tho. It's about time the Arcade knows of Turbo. He's a cool dude, it's really killing Nox and Throttle to see Turbo so reclusive, so it's cool that maybe you're the one to spearhead all of this. So thank you._

 _Blue : Don't thank me, thank mom and dad literally keeping everything from me. But I guess it's cool. I hung out with him all night, he's such a clam._

 _User : Who, Turbo?_

 _Blue : Yeah! I sort of... Well... Barged in on his quiet evening, but whatever. His house is so freaking cool._

 _User : Holy User, wait 'till Nox hears this. I hope Turbo doesn't give me an excuse to go all big brother on him._

 _Blue : We're just acquaintances, you weirdo. Must you and Nox be attached at the hip?_

 _User : Apparently you're well on your way to being attached to a TurboTime guy's hip, as well. Contagious, eh?_

Berri bugged her eyes in the gentle checkmate her bother laid on her. She scoffed an annoyed noise and finally looked up from her walking, her winter boots crunched on the freshly fallen snow, from the night prior. Sugar Rush's first winter, December snow, she was well aware it wouldn't let up until about the middle of March. She knew she wasn't complaining, though she was eager to eventually see the summer sun and enjoy the beach, once more. She strolled from her's, Tessa's and Zed's cozy tower, tucked away in the flyer's enclosure. Although she was certain the flyers don't use their enclosure in the winter, she knew full well they'd likely be romping in the snowy fields of the palace lot. As Berri came out of the peak of the canopy-shroud enclosure, Sugar Rush's beaming, morning sun glinted across the white land in a crisp, cold setting of strange renewal, just what the game's first snow did to everyone's spirits, a small taste of Christmas to come.

Berri beamed an excited smile and was happy to see, just as she assumed would happen, all the flyers in the field taking what would be a normal dust bath, though this time it was in the snow. She was excited to see Chester romping around with the rest of his pack, they soaked up the cool feelings the snow gave their warm feathers and fur. Berri inhaled a sharp, deep breath, tucked her fingers into her mouth, and let out a very loud, high pitched whistle meant for Chester. With a jolt of excitement, Chester's massive, rolling figure immediately climbed to a stand, and in a snow-filled burst of a lunge, he began to take off in Berri's direction. Berri burst into laughter as she began to cross the snowy field, Chester nearly plowed straight into her, snow-storm and all. Berri held out her hands, Chester's bumbling demeanor was adorable and puppy-like, his turquoise tongue dangled out of his mouth as he panted, Berri's hands finally stroked up and down Chester's snout and face as her snow boots pushed on through the snowy field.

"This is your first snow, huh bud!" Berri stated in a cutesy tone, Chester huffed a hard breath of agreeing, one that fogged the air, though Berri was almost shy to find Chester finally tucked his tongue back into his mouth and began to vigorously sniffle at the hoodie that Berri was still wearing, which was Turbo's. Berri rolled her eyes and huffed a fogged giggle, "For User's sake, Chester, not you too."

Chester's snout went to town in hard sniffles deep into the hood of Turbo's zip up, so much so that Chester's hot breath began to tickle the back of Berri's neck. She blurt a hard laugh, took a few running steps away from Chester and was now annoyed to find his strong, sturdy paws clumsily kept up with her. His insanely loud sniffling, deep into the cloth of Turbo's hoodie, didn't let up. Berri rolled her eyes, once more, and just let it happen; she knew Chester relied on his other senses to get a good reading on people, though she was hoping maybe this could mean she could introduce Turbo to Chester, eventually, and have it go smoothly. Berri's phone chimed in cuteness, cueing her to a notification, and just as she raised her phone and was prepared to read another one of Ace's sent messages, she felt her heart stop in a spark of girly surprise, the hard fact that it wasn't Ace texting her.

 _Black : Your highness. Upon bringing you back to the palace, I went to plug up your phone but realized you left your charger at my house. I gave you mine, because I had it on my person when I dropped you off. I have yours. They're identical, so I guess it doesn't matter, but if you would like to trade, just let me know. I'll be home all day."_

Berri felt a wide smile broaden her face, and just when she thought she couldn't smile wider, it kept going. She huffed a soft laugh, one of which fogged her surroundings. She shook her head and peered ahead, she was half way to Throttle's house, she was dead center in the snowy fields of Sugar Rush's palace. She bit her lip with another giggle and began to urgently type away, even though her fingers were now becoming numb from the cold.

 _Blue : As opposed to being anywhere else? Sir Black?_

Berri blurt another silent laugh and was thrilled Chester now laid off the sniffling; she knew she'd likely have to sit Turbo down and explain to him that he definitely didn't need to continue on with the 'your highness' trend, lest she use the whole 'Sir' prefix, in retaliation.

 _Black : You're hilarious._

Berri's toothy grin began to become cold in Sugar Rush's frigid air, though she locked her phone and tucked her hands warmly into Turbo's front coat pockets. She looked up to Sugar Rush's wild blue and felt her heart thump in another drum of excitement. She was looking forward to having a chat with Throttle, and learning a thing or two, though she knew she'd be eagle-eyeing the clock for the second she could escape to the home of Orion City's keeper, the loft on top of the world, something she never thought she'd ever be doing during her supposed first week at Academy.


	39. Chapter 39

**Reviews :**

 **Romantic Sapp :** LOL! No, Gunner isn't anything like Selka. He's genuinely a good guy, has redeeming qualities, though I'm sure there'll be some things about him that will irk the lot of my readers. I've never written for a love triangle before, though, so I'm pretty excited for it. It's clear really which ship will eventually sink, but there'll be lots of ups and downs. You guys will see. :) Also, yeah... Turbo's extremely subtle with his sly attempts at getting Berri to come right on back to him. It doesn't end with just the switch-a-roo of chargers, either xD

 **Burgie :** That's so sweet! :)

 **CHICKENM4N :** Yeah, neither of them are f*cking around haha.

 **Snake557 :** Aww, wow! ;-; Thank you so much for saying that. You don't know what that means to me.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Ugly Dance by Fulkultur**

* * *

 ***Chapter 39***

"Alright, Chester, I don't know if ol' Throttle will let you inside," Berri started tenderly as she approached Throttle's welcoming abode; a single storied home, it had a domed roof, a spherical feel to it, it emulated the rest of the towers on the lot, though was only just one floor and had a cozy, wrap-around porch. Throttle's teleportation pad hung near the left of his front door, up the few-stepped stoop of his gorgeous porch and home. Berri softly volleyed her sight to Chester, who patiently drummed his paws to a halt and perked his ears in cute confusion, Berri climbed the snowy steps in a lazy side step, so she could keep her gaze tight on Chester, "I'll ask Throttle, bud, gimme just a second."

Berri turned and gingerly began to finish climbing the steps of Throttle's stoop. As she approached his gorgeous, large, round green front door, with the cute, foggy window on the front, she clenched her fist in preparation to knock, though before she could even think about the next steps she was about to take, Throttle's teleportation pad buzzed with life. In the crackling of angry orange coding, Berri jolted in a whole jump of terror as none other than Wren suddenly bounced off the teleportation pad, grappled Berri's upper arms and held her frozen in a death grip of urgency.

"I swear to User if you don't answer my damn messages," Wren stabbed in a hiss of a whisper as he shook his head, his breath fogged the air before them as Berri held her eyes wide and tight to Wren's urgent glower.

"Wren," Berri huffed with a shaky, now sheepish giggle.

"You get yourself suspended and then spend the rest of the entire night ignoring me?" Wren huffed as she jostled Berri's upper body in continued irritation, though Wren cocked an eyebrow, looked Berri over, gripped Turbo's hoodie's left sleeve and gaped. He breathed a sharp, fogged breath of entire disbelief and stabbed his dark blue eyes into Berri's now blushing, shrinking, beaming demeanor, "Uhhh okay. So are you going to tell me where you got this hoodie? That has Turbo's name on it? Excuse me?"

"Wren, it's not important," Berri waved her hand, she shook her head and gave Wren a further sheepish smile, her face was glowing with the blush of a thousand secrets, though Wren firmly side-eyed her.

"How did you get Turbo's hoodie?" Wren stabbed as he gripped Berri's left arm, he squeezed a little, desperate for answers.

"He let me borrow it," Berri shrugged nonchalantly, though she huffed a hard laugh as Wren began to squeeze her arm harder, "Ow ow! O-okay, okay, I... I kind of welcomed myself into his house."

"WHAT?" Wren hissed sharply as he freed Berri's arm, though she shook her head and shushed him.

"It's not a big deal!" Berri sharply whispered in return, Throttle's front porch practically eked of foggy breath as they urgently continued to loudly whisper back and forth; Chester flattened his ears, rolled his eyes and looked off, his demeanor becoming impatient as he waited to see if he could be let inside.

"You actually went inside Turbo's house?" Wren wondered, their spike of excitement was through the game's sky limit, "He gave you his hoodie, you know what that means."

"It means I was cold, Wren," Berri stabbed with a hard laugh, though just as she was about to carry on, Throttle's front door opened, they both whirled around in giddy, childish surprise.

"You uh... You guys good?" Throttle choked a suspicious laugh as both Wren and Berri perked up in scheming, secretive cuteness.

"We're great! Sorry, Wren's just harassing me, what else is new," Berri softly shoved past Wren, who gaped and gave the back of her head a hard glower; Throttle choked another laugh and opened his door a little wider for Berri.

"C'mon, guys, it's freezing outside. Wren, you sticking around?" Throttle wondered in gentle kindness, to which Wren pulled his phone out of his coat pocket and cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I got a half an hour to blow," Wren grunted in irritation as he gave Throttle a small smile and a head bob of gratitude; as Throttle kindly let the two in, he halted his movement and peered back to Chester, who had his ears perked high in curious readiness.

"C'mon, bud, just wipe your paws," Throttle stated in soft dismay towards Berri's massively overgrown puppy-dog.

Chester opened his mouth in a happy pant of excitement, flapped his tail, shifted on his feet and quickly tore up Throttle's snowy steps, something he clumsily tried to get his footing on. With as much ease as Chester could, he flapped himself free of snow, brushed his paws on Throttle's welcome mat and softly budged into his home. Having been in Throttle's home before, Berri easily moved across his lovely, open format home, soaked into his kitchen, sat at the kitchen island and softly pulled out her phone, as well as Turbo's phone charger. Wren grunted an annoyed noise, left his coat and shoes in Throttle's small mudroom-area, off the front door, he eyed Berri as he moved across Throttle's breezy foyer and stood on the opposite side of Throttle's island, from Berri.

"You're inside now, you can take the coat off, you freak," Wren stabbed in Berri's direction, she shook her head and zipped it further up her body in girly defiance.

"You, uh... You have Turbo's hoodie?" Throttle furrowed his eyebrows in hard confusion, he gently sagged past Wren's figure, opened his fridge, came back to the island with a bottle of water and took a sip, though his creepy white eyes held tight to Berri's sleeves and hoodie.

"Yes, I have Turbo's hoodie, I went to his home, I got cold cause I was damp from the rain, he offered me a coat, I put it on, and then I forgot to give it back, OKAY?" Berri stabbed in annoyance as she unlocked her phone and thumbed through the apps, as if to pretend to busy herself.

"You FORGOT to give it back," Wren ogled, he cocked an eyebrow and shot Throttle an annoyed smirk, "I hope your little brother knows that he's never going to get that hoodie back."

"Yeahhh... Though, that's typically the mark of a good boyfriend," Throttle shrugged, to which Berri buried her face further into her phone.

"You know, you forgot you have ANOTHER boyfriend, at Academy, to worry about, have you forgotten already?" Wren shook his head, crossed his arms and gave Berri an annoyed glower; she peered her confused, bashful eyes from the top of her phone and genuinely racked her brain.

"Wait... Who?" Berri asked in tender humility, Wren choked in annoyance and wildly gestured his hand.

"Gunner Ko? Oh, I don't know, the guy you're like... In love with?" Wren staggered, though Berri sagged her shoulders, rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Oh, whatever," Berri argued.

"WHATEVER?" Wren bugged his eyes, "He's like the hottest guy in the whole universe. Just three days ago you were telling me all about how you loved his-"

"D-AH, WREN," Berri wildly flagged her hands, Throttle did everything he could to choke back laughter as he screwed the cap on his water bottle and put it back in his glossy, stainless steel fridge.

"Yeah, he's good looking," Throttle tenderly agreed, and although reveal of Throttle's orientation wasn't news, Wren still furrowed his eyebrows in plucked surprise and stabbed his curious gaze in Throttle's direction.

"... You like guys?" Wren bluntly asked, though he felt confident due to his own, similar preferences; Throttle shrugged and bobbed a nod as he stood a few feet from Wren, on the same side of the island as him.

"Yeah, I sort of... Accidentally came out, last Fall," Throttle grumbled, he bashfully looked down and shook his head, "Not really the top of any conversation I typically am caught having, but, short answer, yes."

"You didn't know that, Wren?" Berri wondered as she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, he shook his head and genuinely looked stumped, a cute smile glued to his face.

"No, I didn't have a single clue," Wren's voice nearly crackled, to which Berri now suspiciously eyed him.

"I think the only person that I genuinely haven't told is Turbo," Throttle sighed, he rubbed his face in agitation and gestured his other hand, to further exemplify said agitation, "I can never get that guy's attention, he's the worst at making and keeping plans. I must've asked to come over a billion times, and he always cancels the next day."

"Oh, you should definitely have Berri give you advice, then, cause she practically waltzed on into his home, into his HEART," Wren flagged his hand in Berri's direction; she gaped and shook her head.

"OKAY, I did that because I told the entire Academy that Turbo was alive, and then got myself suspended, I literally had no choice but to force him to sit down and answer my questions," Berri argued, though Throttle cocked an eyebrow and began to show a bit more of a confident side to himself.

"That why you left with his hoodie and his phone charger?" Throttle dared, though Berri raised her eyebrows and felt her face turn beet red the second Throttle's ghostly white hands began to reach for Turbo's charger, on his kitchen island, "I may also be a little bit of a recluse, but I know this is Turbo's property, as well. See the red dot on the charger's brick?"

"You literally played yourself," Wren muttered without moving, Berri snatched Turbo's charger, urgently began to scour the little white charging brick, and sure enough, there was a red marker indicator on the edge of Turbo's charger.

"Son of a bitch," Berri muttered as she sagged and slumped Turbo's charger back to the island, "I fell asleep there, he took me home, I left my charger there, he just so happened to have his on his person. He texted me about it. Sue me!"

"My love, you've gotten more interaction out of him than me and anyone on this lot, combined, times twelve, have had in this past YEAR," Throttle choked a hard laugh; Berri urgently peered to him, and although his gaze was still creepy and difficult to look at, it was a lot softer than that of Turbo's or Nox's intense golden gaze. She heaved a hard sigh, shook her head and looked off as Throttle continued, "I'd be willing to bet that after my lesson, you're probably going to go see him, drop of his chargerrrr..."

"Hesitantly give back his coat, before, oops! You brush his chest in an attempt to get it off your shoulders," Wren clutched his chest dramatically and shot Throttle a look, as if to urge him to play along.

"Oh no, you clumsily stumble into him," Throttle put his hand on his cheek, both men peered to Berri in a full on slew of teasing looks.

"You guys are cute," Berri muttered sarcastically.

"He SWEEPS you into a romantic hug," Wren swiftly continued on as he tightly wove his own arms about his slender body.

"No, you mustn't," Throttle dramatically looked away and held his hands up, "You're saving all your firsts for... Say it with me..."

"Gunner Ko," Both Wren and Throttle urged at the same time, they were loudly rocketed into boyish laughter as Berri slumped her face into her wrecking hands.

"Y'all are REAL cute," Berri stabbed in an angrier, sarcastic tone.

"Just do me a favor," Throttle softened with a loving chuckle, his friendly eyes eased into Berri's soul like the sweetest honey, he shook his head and narrowed his gaze in further, tender inquisition, "Get him to come around more. We miss him."

"Guys, I'm not like his best friend, all of the sudden," Berri argued, she began to feel genuine embarrassment coat her soul, "I'm literally going to message him, go to his house, give him his things, and come home."

"No you're not," Wren urgently detested with a wide smile, "You're gunna stay there, because I want to come over to his house after Academy lets out."

"User, he would not agree to that," Throttle bugged his eyes and gave Berri a wide, nervous smile.

"Ohh, he would if a certain blue haired princess eloquently requested it," Wren cocked an eyebrow, waggled his finger and side-eyed Berri with a smile, "You watch. If you find yourself actually hanging out with him, suggest you let me come over after Academy. If he agrees, boyyy..."

"Hate to say it, Bear, but at that point, I'd say he's either loving your company, or he's terrified of you," Throttle shook his head and gave her a kind smile and a shrug, "Turbo needs friends, anyways... Even if he agrees, and maybe shows a little discomfort, I'd say just let it happen. Poor guy needs some love."

"So I'm just a pawn in your guys' game?" Berri retort, and although Wren laughed and rolled his eyes, Throttle furrowed his brow and looked to be a little sad that Berri claimed such things. Berri sagged her shoulders, shook her head and began to back-track, "Well, I mean... I feel like I shouldn't bother him if he doesn't want to be bothered. I'm not going to force my friendship upon him."

"Well, although Turbo typically is very lenient to Tessa and Zed, as King and Queen, and you as their princess, he DOES still have clear boundaries," Throttle bobbed a nod and looked off in tender thought, "If you actually were a burden to him, and he genuinely didn't want you around, he'd make clear of his intentions to keep you at bay. Has he messaged you at all?"

"Yeah, not ten minutes ago," Berri stated in tender confidence, Throttle tilted his head up in boyish curiosity and let a sly, toothy smile sprawl his face.

"What'd it say," Throttle huffed in tender, scheming delight, Berri sighed and tabbed to her's and Turbo's conversation, on her phone.

"He said, 'Your highness. Upon bringing you back to the palace, I went to plug up your phone but realized you left your charger at my house. I gave you mine, cause I had it on my person when I dropped you off. I have yours. They're identical, so I guess it doesn't matter, but if you would like to trade, just let me know. I'll be home all day,'" Berri rattled off in a monotone.

"As opposed to being anywhere else?" Wren muttered, Berri lit up with a smile.

"That's exactly what I replied with!" Berri blurt a hard laugh.

"'I'll be home all day'," Throttle used air quotes, his scheming smile only broadened as Berri bashfully locked her eyes to his. He shook his head and softly laughed, "He left the ball in your court. He NEVER does that. He always tells me 'I'll have to get back to you, I'll tell you when I'm available today, maybe tomorrow'."

"Oh, he's into you," Wren bobbed a nod, and it was at this point did Berri now become flustered.

"You GUYS. I literally have hung out with him once, I hardly even know the guy," Berri argued, she shook her head in whole irritation and was beginning to feel the cute, bashful, crushing sensation overwhelm her heart, "I'm not even one yet. My dad would have his head... Can we just drop this? We're not even friends, he still calls me 'your highness'!"

"Guess the second he calls you by your first name," Throttle trailed off with a small shrug, he eyed Berri in a knowing way, something that had Berri's heart thumping in her chest. She heaved a shaky sigh and looked down, and it was then did Throttle understand that this topic was heavily weighing on Berri's heart, "Y'know, Bear... If no form of a friendship unfolds from hanging out with Turbo, then so be it... But, if you guys become friends, then great. He'd come around more often, and, well... You'd gain one hell of a friend."

Berri raised her eyebrows in cute, tender surprise, her and Throttle locked eyes in quiet, humble sweetness, and it was here did Berri feel confidence come back to her. She bobbed a nod and smiled, knowing full well this was likely the universe's way of potentially easing Turbo back into a normal social life, the burdens of his very reclusive, secretive past had only done damage to his poor heart. She sighed, looked down to her hands and bobbed another nod of affirmation, she finally gave Throttle a genuine, appreciative smile.

"He's pretty cool," Berri mumbled in agreeing; Wren was receptive of the tenderness and swiftly held off any teasing, "He's very... Nervous. But, he's cool, nonetheless."

"Just wait, if you guys DO become good friends, you're in for a wild ride," Throttle bugged his eyes and blurt a soft laugh, though Berri gave him a look of mild disbelief, "That guy can get JUST as noisy and as obnoxious as Nox. You think I'm kidding."

"I most certainly know you're kidding," Wren mumbled, Berri shook her head and wrote off Throttle's words.

"I'm sure he doesn't get THAT weird and wild," Berri softly shrugged it off, she gave Throttle a smile as if to hope Throttle would ease off the act, though Throttle only raised his eyebrows, raised his hands, and looked down, as if to throw in the towel.

"Okayyy," Throttle prod with a hard chuckle, "Don't say I didn't warn yah."

Berri and Wren furrowed their eyebrows and peered hard to Throttle in now nervous belief, though before either one of them could ask for an example, Berri's phone tenderly chimed in delightful notification. She raised her eyebrows in plucked surprise, and as everyone softly glanced to her phone to see who was messaging her, both Wren and Throttle eased back with knowing smiles as Berri's eyes dart back and forth between both guys; Turbo's name was confidently plastered at the very top of her text notifications, which had Throttle's inquisitive smile only broadening.

"Neon lights, babe," Throttle's deep, crackling voice coat over Berri's soul with the dregs of a knowing chuckle, "Neon lights."


	40. Chapter 40

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** It's what they do best xD

 **chuckiboo :** It's no issue! Yeah Berri definitely is the key to getting him to finally open up. It's a process, but goes smoother than anyone would think, really!

 **Burgie :** Aw I'm glad! :D YAY! It is a lot of fun, huh.

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Lullaby (English version) by GOT7**

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 ***Chapter 40***

With the scuff of boots down Throttle's snowy stoop, Beaux, Mara and Berri fell into step with each other. Sugar Rush's noon sun shone down on the lot, and although the day was still pretty chilly, the beam of the sun's hot rays began to just barely melt some of the snow on the palace lot. The blue, dying grass showed up in tender patches of desperation, though everyone knew the first day of snow typically marked an official three months of snow straight, melting spots or not. With a light hearted introductory course that Throttle introduced to the three, they left his home after a few hours. Due to Berri only being included for her near three week suspension, she left Throttle's house without the same papers, books and binders that Beaux and Mara left with. Nonetheless, she was grateful to be included in on Throttle's teachings.

"We still down for tonight, aunt Berri?" Beaux's voice, although still cute and boyish, held at a deep octave lower than the girls, a crackling depth of still blooming maturity. Having now a solid amount of height over both Berri and Mara, he looked as if he was shaping up to be Ace's almost identical twin; only difference being his vivid white hair, in which he had gotten from his mother. His sweet hazel eyes peered to his aunt in dewy cuteness, "Karaoke, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, totally," Berri encouraged with a tender amount of excited enthusiasm, she gently eyed Mara in continued sweetness, "Em, y'comin' too?"

"Yeah, I'll watch," Mara stated in tenderness.

Beaux and Mara, being three months younger than Berri, had the maturity of individuals who were about fifteen to sixteen years old. Mara, as opposed to Beaux, was a small, dainty little thing. With wavy, shoulder length pastel blue hair, a girly, sophisticated aesthetic, she was almost too painfully quiet for her own good. With the same wrecking features as nearly every wrecker on the lot, she rarely ever showed it. Tucked away in an adorable, creamy peach colored scarf, a gorgeous white winter coat, a skirt that came to the middle of her thighs and girly stockings to match, she was the epitome of fragility, an almost untouched presence about her. Inside the family, Berri almost always bickered with her, due to their opposing natures. As much as Berri was certain the two would bond over clothes and makeup, Mara never let anyone get close enough to find out if said compatibility would even figure itself out; Berri, much to her dismay, had to just accept that Mara held everyone at arms length, annoying measures she'd go to remain untouched.

"Won't sing tho, huh?" Berri prod, Mara pursed her lips and bashfully looked off in a sting of nervous agitation.

"I'll do all the singing," Beaux barked with a laugh, he nudged Mara's shoulder; she grunted a noise of tender annoyance, though Beaux was one of the only people on the planet that was successful in getting a genuine smile out of her.

"Yeah, I gotta go into town for a few things," Berri sighed, the air fogged, she gently lofted her gaze to Chester, who kept tight in tow at her right hand, "I'll be gone for the majority of the afternoon, but let's plan to reconvene, in my studio, after dinner time. Yeah?"

"Yeah, just text me," Beaux encouraged with a loving smile and a firm nod, the three began to part ways, with Beaux and Mara headed to the main hub of the palace, and Berri headed to Chester's stable, "I think my mom wanted to join, as well."

"The more the merrier!" Berri encouraged with a firm nod, and with their sweet, quick goodbyes, they officially parted ways. Berri heaved a hot sigh to the atmosphere, cocked an eyebrow and felt her heart do a backflip, her and Chester confidently marched onwards, to his stable, "Y'think Turbo will be mad that I show up with you?"

Chester huffed a long breath and bobbed a nod, Berri blurt a laugh and shook her head.

"Ho, man," Berri sighed wistfully, she lulled her eyes closed as she continued on, "What else can I do to make him uncomfortable? Clearly it's a trend..."

Chester breathed another short breath and now hovered his blind, trembling eyes to her figure. He wrinkled her a grimace of a toothy smile, as if to wonder if she should potentially take it easy, though due to the conversation Throttle previously had, with her and Wren, Chester looked off and gave off a demeanor as if to insinuate that he was certain any form of interaction, with anyone, was going to be fresh, new, and uncomfortable for Turbo.

"...Y'think he'd come to karaoke with us?" Berri's cute voice wondered into the winter air, which only had Chester choking a breath of playful detest.

Although Berri was sure she could just use Turbo's teleportation pad, like she had the night prior, she relished in the feeling of having the day off, having the whole lot of the game to herself. She was excited to potentially get out into the city, with Chester as her noble steed, he was successful at weaving in and out of the busy city traffic with grace. Strapped with her professional riding gear, flight goggles and saddle alike, she was thrilled her little exterior swapping trick, with Chester, was enough for him to not only get around smoothly, but also be able to successfully obey traffic laws and lane lines. Berri knew all sorts of vehicles, creatures and machinery had utilized the roads, so long as traffic kept moving, she was in the clear. Chester's confident paws mapped the city's asphalt, the gorgeous sprawl of all sorts of colorful buildings and sweet sky scrapers alike, a perfect mixture of Sugar Rush's candy theme with the futuristic kiss of Orion City's melting pot of a civilization, a day in this massive city was never boring.

Although Berri was glad to get out and about, to have a small outing by herself, she made sure to take Chester on the fastest route to Orion tower, Turbo's sky scraper of a home. She furrowed her brows as they were patiently stopped at a red light, and as she sat up a little bit, she peered off and to her right in distracted excitement. Upon seeing said familiar, infamous green logo hanging confidently over the crowded sidewalks, peeked through a dozen other shop's logos, she sat up straighter on Chester's spine, sagged her shoulders in inner dialog defeat and caved to detouring to her favorite coffee shop. Berri bit her lip in now rising excitement and was thrilled the light finally turned green. In her confident exterior swap with Chester, she was successful in steering Chester through the intersection and to one of the parallel parking spots just outside of said coffee shop. Although there was a location closer to the palace, her, Wren and Theo often frequented this particular one due to the larger selection of seating and quicker, friendly service.

In tender confusion, Chester eased into the spot, tilted his ears back to Berri and barely looked over his shoulder, dainty apprehension coat his scales and fur. In a soft swipe, Berri dismounted, she eased off of Chester's side, tucked her goggles on the crown of her forehead, inhaled a deep breath and beamed a small smile to the massive span of glass windows, of said coffee shop. With a bob of a nod, she finally peered back to Chester's inquisitive, and almost nervous gaze. She lovingly placed her hand on Chester's snout and knew, full well, that leaving Chester in the center of the city, outside, with the bustling and chaotic city noises, was something that made him very nervous. Although they had come a very long way, he still flattened his ears, lowered his head and gave her a nervous look of clinginess.

"It's okay, bud, I'm just going to run in and run out," Berri encouraged as she held his cheeks, she pushed a few loving smooches into the bridge of Chester's dark orange snout, the short fur was like velvet. She nuzzled him a little and softly pat his chest, "You gunna be okay?"

Chester perked his ears in almost hesitant confidence, having had to run this routine before, he at least knew what to expect, and knew that Berri wouldn't simply abandon him, blind and alone in the city. She lovingly pet his chest and remained still, so to give Chester a little bit more comfort, though in the drag of her eyes, a certain, glistening white tower sat hot in her peripheral, just behind Chester's head. Berri cocked an eyebrow and peered directly to Orion Tower, likely a dozen city blocks off, she peered to the very top of it and felt a cute, scheming idea come to her. She furrowed her eyebrows and felt a surge of confidence come to her. She knew, full well, that Turbo was a creature of habit, a person that absolutely avoided spontaneous cues at all cost, she wondered if Throttle's words rung true. If somehow she was going to be the one to spearhead the notion of Turbo coming out of his shell. Although she previously had her reserves, she stared down the tower and relished in all the life about her, the rush of the fun city vibe, she knew no one should be missing out on it. Not even Turbo.

"I'll hang here with you for a second, bud," Berri cued as she inhaled a shaky breath and pulled her phone out of her back pocket. She cocked an eyebrow, thumbed to her contacts and smiled in nervous, devious delight, "I got a call to make."

Chester furrowed his brow in tender confusion, sat on his hindquarters and allowed Berri to cheekily lean her back against Chester's tall, broad side, against the span of his tucked wing. Berri half-crossed her arms, confidently sagged her thumb into the little phone icon, next to Turbo's contact name, and, with a jolt of now trembling anxiety, she knew she just needed to continue diving in, head first. She held her phone's receiver to her ear, and as it began to ring, she bit her lip in a further rush of girly nervousness and stared her reflection down in the coffee shop's massive windows, the sidewalks were bustling with all sorts of gamers, a melting pot of Arcade goodness. She cocked an eyebrow and felt her heart jolt in floored surprise, the sweet sound of Turbo actually picking up her call.

"...Your highness?" Turbo pressed in a lilt of nervous inquisition.

"So, let's pretend you're in line at Sugarbucks, and the barista at the counter goes..." Berri changed the lilt in her voice to a bit of a high pitch and carried on, "'What can I make for you today?' ... What do you order?"

Turbo was silent on the other end, though Berri furrowed her brows in solid disbelief as the sound of, what she could swear was, a stifled chuckle on the other end of the line.

"I-I've never been to Sugarbucks," Turbo staggered, almost desperate not to reveal that he wanted to laugh.

"That's a bold-face lie," Berri stabbed with a wide smile, she shook her head and furrowed her brow, "I very specifically have a childhood memory of my dad holding two orders of Sugarbucks, and he turned to me and said 'I'm taking this to Turbo, listen to your mother and go take a shower.'"

"Your highness," Turbo now failed at making clear that he was stifling laughter; Berri almost was mad that she couldn't be there to see Turbo smiling, strictly for the fact that she was certain he didn't have the facial muscles for it.

"You're holding up the line," Berri staggered in playful irritation, though after a few moments of contemplative silence, on Turbo's end, he finally grumbled a deep, reverberating noise from the back of his throat, as if he wanted to be irritated, though somehow couldn't even pretend he was.

"I get an Americano," Turbo eased in defeat, "...Black."

"You are so boring," Berri blurt, she deepened her voice and now full-on imitated Turbo as she carried on, she sarcastically bobbed her head for emphasis, "My name is Turbo Black. I want a black Americano. BLACK. Don't you dare put anything sweet in it. I know it's called Sugarbucks, and we're in Sugar Rush, but if you reach for the sugar, I will delete you."

Turbo blurt a hard chuckle, something Berri was certain wasn't real, though her smile only widened with the sound of him so desperately trying to stifle it, pull the phone away, anything. She gestured her hand and eased him a cute giggle as she returned her voice to normality.

"Y'gotta add a little sweetness to your life, there, Mr. Black, c'mon, get something fun! Y'wanna hear my complicated order?" Berri rushed in a girly squeeze, to which she didn't let Turbo reply, "I get an obnoxious venti iced coffee with three pumps of white mocha, one blonde shot, almond milk, and those cute little red and white sprinkles, what are they called...? Holiday sprinkles!"

"Would it make you feel better if I got an Americano with cream?" Turbo's deep voice muttered, and although his tone sounded entirely unenthused, Berri could practically hear him beaming ear to ear.

"Not really," Berri remained stubborn, he heaved a sigh and was unsuccessful in stifling another chuckle.

"Okay, you can add sugar to it," Turbo's smiling tone held true.

"Don't make me order you a pumpkin spice latte," Berri muttered, she practically felt her heart jolt straight out of her chest in whole success, the sound of Turbo's gentle laughter was now something she was certain was going to be the thing she would forever strive for.

"Fine then, surprise me," Turbo stated in kind defeat.

"Oh, that's not wise, don't give me that kind of power," Berri mumbled, she bugged her eyes and beamed a cheeky smile, though Turbo groaned a noise of annoyance, she was floored with just how much he had already come out of his shell, though she was certain it was strictly because they were in a phone call, and not face to face; something he massively struggled with.

"Where are you, anyways?" Turbo's voice lilted in a gentle depth of nervous playfulness, though Berri cocked an eyebrow and peered up to the infamous green logo, high above her head.

"Oh, y'know, I'm just... At the library," Berri shook her head and gestured her hand, "I'm at Sugarbucks! What the heck kinda question is that? I'm not just asking for your order for no reason, dude. Loudly going on about Americanos and crap."

"I-I meant which one," Turbo now loudly staggered gentle laughter.

"Oh, the one on Monroe," Berri chimed in soft conclusion, she gently hoisted herself off of Chester's side, gave Chester one final pat, and began to head towards the front doors of Sugarbucks, "Y'said you'd be home all day... Everyday. Painfully stuck in the clouds."

"My little cloud nine, your highness," Turbo grumbled, she could still hear that beaming smile of his.

"I'll be at the tower in ten, sound good?" Berri chimed in girly cuteness, she swung the heavy glass door open and soaked into the easy, cool atmosphere of the bustling coffee shop.

"I'll be here," Turbo chimed in mild, still smiling annoyance.

"Ohhh, where else?" Berri volleyed in a greater deal of cheeky annoyance.

In the gentle drum of a short exchange of 'goodbye's', Berri sagged her phone into her back pocket, heaved a sigh of success, held her head high and proudly marched to the area of the cafe where she could order. Much to her delight, she was floored that the crew here wasn't just strictly excited to see her because she was Sugar Rush's princess; this crew knew her by name, by order, and genuinely enjoyed her presence, every time she showed up.

"Berri!" Stated the barista at the front registers; he was a cute little guy, a green-skinned candy creature with long antennas atop his head and short, pointy ears on the sides of his skull. He struggled with a few heavy things of powdered sugar, and although he looked like he was previously on a mission to taking said packs to their backroom, he lofted them to the counter behind him, eased to the register and perked his ears and antennas in whole excitement, "Been awhile!"

"Hey, Bug, I know, I started at Game Central Academy!" Berri chimed, she leaned her arm on the higher ledge, one that jut out into the cafe a little, it safely stationed the cafe's three noisy espresso machines.

"How's that going?" Bug prod, his tender brown eyes held tight to Berri's in loving delight, though Berri grit her teeth and muttered her response.

"I got suspended," Berri staggered, though she flinched as Bug blurt out in soft laughter and dusted his hands on his green apron.

"Ho, man, Bear... How'd that happen?" Bug pressed through the stagger of laughter, though Berri rolled her eyes in smiling, scheming delight and waved him off.

"Bah, it's not important, I go back after New Year's... It's whatever," Berri sighed in tender, cute conclusion.

"Y'gettin' your usual?" Bug prod in soft kindness, he eagerly clicked the cap of his marker, grappled for a large cup, made for iced drinks, and began to eagerly scribble the drink code of Berri's drink onto the cup.

"Yes, sir," Berri prod, though she cheekily looked off and felt her heart begin to pound in nervous reveal, she watched as Bug wrote Berri's name at the top of her cup, "I also am going to be ordering something for my friend."

"A friend of Berri's is a friend of mine," Bug chimed as he pointed, he moved to set Berri's cup onto the bar, so that the employee making the drinks could begin preparing her delicious, icy beverage, "What're they having?"

"He'll get an Americano, with cream and sugar," Berri rattled off; she knew, full well, she could likely surprise Turbo with an obnoxious drink, though she figured giving him at least the base of his staple drink was wise, for now.

"Standard, but still delicious," Bug confirmed with a nod, he held the cup to his being as he finished off the drink code, though he hovered the marker at the top of the cup and peered his cute eyes to Berri's in anticipated wait, "What's his name?"

Berri held her breath and felt her pupils practically tighten; she knew this was it, this was a second rush of now bewildered stares, nervous questions, she could so easily let panic ensue, though she dared to utter his name.

"Turbo," Berri pressed in forced confidence, though just as Bug pressed the marker to the top of the cup, he flattened his ears in a spike of apprehension, cocked an eyebrow and peered to Berri in nervous question.

"Turbo? Y-You mean like..." Bug staggered a soft laugh and shrugged, he assumed she simply meant another being so coincidentally named Turbo, "You must mean like... Someone that isn't THE Turbo, right? Not like... 'Go Turbo' ahhh everyone run!"

Berri huffed a soft laugh, looked off, bit her lip and strangely relaxed in Bug's rapidly rising anxiety-ridden aura.

"No, I definitely mean THE Turbo," Berri bobbed a nod and held her eyes tight to Bug's, though she shook her head and lovingly smiled, "Everyone thinks he's dead, but... He's been safely running the whole of Orion City for the entirety of this city's lifetime."

Bug furrowed his brow in a drown of fear and sagged the cup, he shook his head and looked as if he wanted to also remain confident that Berri wasn't absolutely nuts. He narrowed his gaze and leaned in a little.

"Y-You... You're not just playing?" Bug prod in a slope of soft seriousness, Berri giggled and shook her head in blushing surprise.

"No, I'm not kidding, I'm on my way to his house right now," Berri blurt harder laughter, as if she, too, was in entire disbelief that this was her reality, as well, "He's owned up to the mistakes he's made... He actually helped save Sugar Rush, and helped my mom and dad put it all back together. He's been here all along."

"H-He's not like... Mean? Evil?" Bug prod, Berri was glad that he at least seemed open to this idea, "I mean, you hear the name Turbo, and it's like... Nightmares, y'know?"

"I know," Berri levelled with him, she smiled and shrugged, "I'm just recently getting to know him, actually. He's a really great guy. PAINFULLY shy, doesn't ever leave Orion Tower... It's annoying."

"I guess I'll have to see it to believe it, your highness," Bug now flattened his ears and gave Berri a playful, wrinkled-nose smirk, "But, for now, we got one Americano with cream and sugar, for Mr. Turbo."

"That'll do it," Berri bobbed a nod and began to scour for her wallet; she was grateful the crew here understood her urgent plight to pay full price for her order.

"...No, but really, would he ever come into our shop?" Bug worried in tender quietness, he looked as if underneath all that apprehension was a bout of curious excitement.

"Maybe one day," Berri encouraged as she handed Bug the full amount of cash, his clawed hands tenderly received it, "It'll be a huge milestone, for him, so... I guess, when it does happen, tell everyone not to panic. He's absolutely harmless... Just terrified to be out in public."

"Can't say I blame him," Bug chuckled as his register popped open, he gently handed Berri her change, "Guess I'll spread the word... Be cool to actually meet that guy, in person. Holy User, I can't believe he still exists."

"He loves to pretend that he doesn't," Berri rolled her eyes, she was grateful Bug had taken this so well, it was something that made her confident to push this adventure of hers forward, "He'll come out of his shell eventually, if I have any say in it."

"Hopefully we're your guys' first stop, then," Bug encouraged, and although Berri was certain that it'd likely be elsewhere, previously, she furrowed her brows and wondered if the safety of this crew's friendship would actually be a good ice breaker, anyhow.

"I'll make sure of it," Berri sweetly affirmed.


	41. Chapter 41

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Of course she's telling more people, she wants Turbo's name to be viewed in a different light. and, LOL yeah Chester's the only weird quadruple-hybrid bat dragon lyktata chameleon creature on the road! xD

 **CHICKENM4N :** Aww wow ;-; that means a lot, I'm really glad you like it that much! Thank you!

 **Burgie :** AW I'm glad you think so! :D Thank you!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Think About Us by Jake Miller**

* * *

 ***Chapter 41***

Although Berri had previously used Turbo's main teleportation pad, she successfully lead Chester up to the span of Orion Tower and furrowed her brow in a lull of tender confusion. She sagged a little as Chester tenderly eased his way into a trot onto the span of the massive, sprawling sidewalk, the incredible stoop up to the tower, he drummed to a halt as she scratched the back of her head and peered to the large entrance, the rows of revolving doors. Orion Tower was incredible, a gleaming white tower of sun kissed beauty, the driving force behind Turbo's entire operation. Business men and women, of all sorts, filed in and out of the building, loitered about and everything in between. Although there were lofts on the higher floors, the lower half of the sky scraper was dedicated to business. Berri was well aware she couldn't just waltz in and reach Turbo's perch; no one could.

 _Blue : Uhhh... Well, I'm at the entrance of the tower. I forgot that no one can just, well... simply take an elevator to your floor._

Berri thumbed the sides of her phone and looked off to the traffic nearby. All sorts of different vehicles, creatures and beings alike swarmed the city in organized chaos. Car horns were abundant, the wet, snowy atmosphere had easily half-melted with Sugar Rush's beaming, early afternoon sun. She sagged on Chester's spine a little and flinched once her phone vibrated.

 _Black : If you can, drive to the back of the building. Let me know once you're back there._

Berri furrowed her brow, let her eyes follow the beautiful candy tree laced sidewalks and noticed a few streets that sprawled all the way to the back of the building, a proper city block away. In a gentle trot, Chester remained on the sidewalk, and after a few minutes, she finally eased around the back of the building and began to melt into a quieter, darker alley way. Although it typically was probably a much darker and scarier place to be, after dark, it was still sunlit and harmless during the day. Chester kept his ears perked in nervous readiness, his now hesitant trot was a little bit more skittish and alert, though Berri softly reached down and pat the side of his neck to reassure him that she wouldn't let anything bad happen to him. Just as Berri was about to pull out her phone and let Turbo know her whereabouts, it started to methodically vibrate, insinuating a phone call; she raised her eyebrows in floored surprise, she knew she shouldn't be taken aback that he was calling her, though she wondered if anything he'd do, from here on out, would ever not be a surprise.

"Hello?" Berri chimed in tenderness; she smiled, knowing full well it was Turbo, though she figured she probably already freaked him out enough for one day.

"Your highness. I figured this'd be easier," Turbo staggered, it was clear that the closer that Berri was to his tower, the more his shelled exterior became more apparent, "You, uh... You see the dumpsters that line the neighboring building? To your right?"

"Yeah," Berri eased, Chester continued to trot forward.

"Okay, once you've passed the fourth one, you'll see an alcove to your left," Turbo instructed; Berri silently counted just how many dumpsters she had passed, which were two. She pressed forward, came to the fourth, and was delighted to see said alcove. She chimed him a tender noise of affirmation as he softly continued, "Park in the alcove. I'll take care of the rest."

"Okay," Berri eased, she smirked to herself and understood that Turbo assumed she was driving either a bike or a car, neither of which she owned. She hoped Chester wouldn't be so much of a surprise to him. Berri gingerly steered Chester into the darker alcove, his now faltering, nervous paws so hesitantly eased into his new surroundings, his ears were perked high on his head. Once he was entirely in the cave-like alcove, she bobbed a nod and sat up as she held the phone closer to her ear, "Okay, I'm in."

Both Berri and Chester flinched in a roll of surprise as the entire floor, every square inch of the alcove came alive with the gentle glow of hot red coding, a swarm of honeycombs that eagerly grappled the soles of Chester's paws, and before the mixture of their coding could swarm the pad, Berri and Chester were immediately teleported to what Berri quickly assumed was Turbo's garage. With the stark change in lighting, Berri and Chester froze in solid surprise as they took in their surroundings. Inside a low-ceilinged, white walled garage, as crisp and clean as could be, Chester stood confidently next to Turbo's motorcycle. Berri sagged her phone away from her head, inhaled a shaky breath and allowed her coding to come back to her being, and with such, she felt her heart jolt at the sight of Turbo hanging near the wall of his garage's side door.

"...Oh, wow, I-I thought you were riding a bike or something," Turbo staggered, and although Berri was worried he'd likely be mad, she was delighted to see that his eager eyes held to Chester's whole being in a slew of boyish curiosity.

"My ride is a dragon," Berri giggled, she hung up the still-live phone call with Turbo, sagged her phone into her back pocket and prepared to dismount Chester's being. She sagged to the matte, concrete tiles of Turbo's garage and remained close to Chester in a rise of now impending bashfulness, "I... I hope that's okay? Sorry, I didn't even ask."

"It's okay, your highness," Turbo eased with a nod, he dared to give her the smallest smile, a reserved show of continued nervousness she wondered just when he would come out of, "He, uh... Does he talk? Is he like the other flyers?"

"No, Chester is actually blind AND mute," Berri explained in a slump of tender sorrow, and as she rubbed Chester's snout, she shrugged and gave Turbo a look of encouragement, "He still has a ton of personality, though. We get around via exterior swap. He can see the grid, that way."

"That's incredible," Turbo eased, he finally stepped out of his garage's side door, it hung ajar as he tenderly approached. He wore a proper pair of lightly loved, faded black jeans, a white t-shirt and a kept head of hair, in which he also neatly trimmed his beard; Berri eyed him in teasing suspicion, this time he had cleaned up and prepared for company. He held his creepy, glowing eyes tight to Chester's demeanor and held his hand out, as if to show that he wanted to introduce himself to Chester, though also make clear that he was a friendly being that was approaching, "I-Is he, well... Friendly? For lack of better words."

"Of course, just let him smell you, first, he's a big teddy bear," Berri shrugged, she rubbed the side of Chester's neck as Turbo very gently eased into their presence.

Chester held his ears tight to the top of his head, honed his blind eyes straight into Turbo's soul and allowed his snout to wrinkle in the cute huff of snifflings that ensued. As he eagerly inspected Turbo's soft, outstretched hand, his dark orange snout finally made it's way to Turbo's arm in curious inspection. The second he started sniffling Turbo's chest did Berri beam a smile, cross her arms and eagerly watch this situation unfold.

"Sold," Berri blurt a small laugh, she curiously held her eyes tight to Turbo's demeanor as a bashful smile sprawled his face. His gentle, masculine hands began to so softly pet the top of Chester's head, though it eventually turned into loving scratches behind his ears. Chester lulled his eyes closed, sagged his wings and firmly began to nuzzle his whole snout and head into Turbo's center, in which Turbo's figure shook the shreds of a bashful, surprised laugh, "Oh, User, you hit jackpot. Good luck getting him to leave you alone, now."

"His fur is really soft," Turbo bobbed a nod, he firmly scratched behind Chester's ear with a little more gust and, although Berri was still reeling from the past of her nightmares, she still flinched once Turbo volleyed her his creepy, golden gaze, "You, uh... Still have the drinks, your highness?"

"Yeah, I'm really going to forget my favorite drink, as well as the one I ordered for you," Berri lulled in cute sarcasm, she reached into her other back pocket and pulled out her thin, sleek materializer. She waggled it about and side-eyed Turbo with a kind, girly smile, "I know what's good for me."

"C'mon," Turbo's warm voice eased, a lilt of gentlemanly depth that Berri could feel every single last pixels latch on to, "It's cold out here. You... Enjoying the first snow?"

"I am," Berri chimed as Turbo tenderly eased out of her's and Chester's presence. They both followed Turbo to his garage's side door, though not without Berri stealing a long, curious, ogling glance at Turbo's incredible, futuristic bike. It was beautiful; she bit her lip and tried her damndest not to imagine herself on the back of it, "All the flyers were out in the field, this morning, just rolling in it."

"Living the life," Turbo concluded with a nod.

As Turbo stood aside and politely let both Berri and Chester into his home, Berri furrowed her brows in turned around confusion and beamed a delighted smile to find that they had entered through a rather subtle and secretive door just outside of Turbo's dining area, on the neighboring wall that was shared with his front door. She scoffed a small laugh of surprise, eased her moseying footsteps to his dining room table and softly set her phone down. Once Chester's whole body was inside, Chester eased into his typical, polite indoor-rules he always adhered to. He grabbed a wall, softly buckled his joints and tenderly laid down on the tiles. He rested his head in his paws and simply was still, patiently powered down in wait to be cued to, in the near future. Berri beamed her companion a loving smile, and as Turbo gently pushed past his dining room and to his kitchen, Berri followed, but not without giving Chester's side a firm, loving few pats of gratitude.

"He's so well-mannered," Turbo complimented with a gesture, he peered to Chester over his shoulder, eased his way across the gap and finally came to his kitchen island.

In a slow pace, she finally reached his island, as well, took off her goggles and hoped she wasn't potentially insinuating that she was due to setting up camp; she kept her shoes on, for the sake of avoiding said insinuation.

"Yeah, he's my good boy," Berri nodded as they both peered back to Chester; although he laid with his head in his paws, his face read entire puppy-dog delight, his ears perked high, his blind eyes honed tight to the direction of their voices.

"Alright, I'm scared to see just what you've brought me," Turbo grumbled, he crossed his arms, cocked an eyebrow and gave Berri a coy look.

Berri nearly reeled; due to not seeing nearly this much emotive power from Turbo yesterday, she almost felt as if she was having an out of body experience. She peered to Turbo's face for a moment before snapping back to reality, she shook her head and furrowed her eyebrows in rushing, girly cuteness as she finally swiped out her materializer, once more.

"Aw, well... I-I guess you may either be delighted or disappointed when I tell youuuu," Berri dragged, she set her materializer on the kitchen island's counter, pressed the center and successfully cued her two drinks, the coding of it all safely stored and preserved inside. Turbo's medium sized hot cup appeared before him, as did Berri's icy beverage, his curious eyes peered down to it with a small look of dewy apprehension, "I got you what you originally wanted... THOUGH, I did have them add cream and sugar."

"...You could've surprised me, and I wouldn't have been mad," Turbo stammered through desperately wanting to smile, he resorted to furrowing his brow and lightly holding his drink on the countertop, "Do I give off that vibe? Evil bad guy gets pissed, his whole order is wrong."

"I wasn't scared you'd get mad," Berri blurt a hard laugh and narrowed her gaze, she felt her heart so desperately itch for more glimpses of Turbo's real personality, his quirks, his jokes, anything, "I-I was just trying to be nice. I've probably done a number on your whole 'introvert for life' plans."

"Introvert for life," Turbo repeated in a tender, teasing whisper. He shook his head, lulled his eyes closed, brought the drink to his mouth and took a healthy swig. Upon release, he bobbed a nod and peered his boyish, grateful gaze into hers, "Oh wow, this IS good with cream and sugar."

"Welcome to Sugar Rush, Turbo," Berri shook her head and furrowed her eyebrows in a rise of impending teasing, "You've been here for User knows how long and are only just NOW enjoying all of its sweet sides."

"Yeah, it's... It's been a wild ride," Turbo raised his eyebrows, bugged his eyes in aimless irritation down to his drink, though Berri was floored that he took another hearty sip. Upon second release, his golden eyes nervously stabbed to the side of the cup. His grey finger pointed to his name, legibly written in confidence, "You, uh... Please tell me you wrote this, here."

Berri bit her bottom lip in cheeky, girly sheepishness, she finally beamed him an apologetic smile and shrugged as he sagged his shoulders and lulled his eyes closed.

"I-I'm friends with all the baristas there," Berri staggered with a laugh, she was floored to see him smile, shake his head, step away from the island and take another sip, as if to teasingly walk away from their conversation, "Oh, come on. H-He was nervous at first, but he actually wanted to meet you."

"Why, so he could kill me on sight?" Turbo lightly joked, Berri flinched and felt her heart sink; she quickly realized this wouldn't be an easy venture.

"No, dude, he was excited, actually," Berri crossed her arms, eased to the other side of the island and now shared the kitchen area with Turbo. He moseyed over to his other countertop, across from his island, "Look, I... I know that's probably hard to hear, but, at least everyone was positive about it. Isn't that a good sign?"

"Yes, your highness," Turbo's tone now drummed to the same ol' politeness he usually retained when speaking to either Tessa or Zed; Berri slumped her shoulders and tried not to be way too effected by his now curt tone, clearly intended for strict politeness.

"Well, I have your charger, and, uh... You can have your hoodie back," Berri pressed; she knew, full well, that she somehow needed to condition Turbo out of the default he'd strictly zip back to, the eyes-down, yes man he had morphed into, she knew playing it all back at Turbo had him quickly realizing that he didn't want to be treated the same way that he had potentially been treating others, "Throttle discovered that I had your charger, by the way... I know your brothers really miss you."

"Please, please... Keep my hoodie, it's cold out there," Turbo staggered as he reeled from the moseyed amount of distance he had put between him and Berri, he bashfully set his drink on the island, shook his head and stammered on his words in a secret show of nervous desperation, "I-It's snowing outside... I don't want you to ride all the way home in the cold, it's really okay, I don't really... Need my hoodies, right now, anyways."

Berri raised her eyebrows, peered hard into his eyes with plucked seriousness, she so desperately held onto his eye contact and was entirely relieved that he broke it first.

"Thank you," Berri sighed with a small nod, she gently rummaged for his charger, inside the hoodie's front pocket, and once she laid it on the counter, she gently eased her body posture in a sway away from the island, and in a directional movement to insinuate she were to be cueing to Chester, "Well... I hope you enjoy your drink, Turbo."

"I-I really appreciate it, you didn't... Have to do that for me," Turbo staggered, Berri shrugged and looked off in now aimless, tender defeat.

"It's the friendly thing to do," Berri cued, she lightly cocked an eyebrow, gave Turbo a small smile of continued defeat and wrinkled her fingers, "I'll be seeing you."

Turbo inhaled a sharp, silent breath through his nose, furrowed his eyebrows and practically had to halt himself from stepping forward. He held his hand out a little, grit his teeth him a show of sorrow and felt his heart sink at the sight of Berri's blue hair softly splayed across her back, the distance she now put between them, her back turned as she approached Chester. His heart raced with terrified uncertainty; he knew all he wanted was his solitude, everything he could've ever hoped for, right here in this loft of his, though for some reason, he now couldn't stand the thought of his loft excluding the lightly littered mess of her shoes, her phone, her drink, herself. He shook his head in a spike of leaping off the cliff, he finally shut his eyes tight and broke from his strict norm.

"Berri?" Turbo's gentlemanly voice eased in a lilt of vulnerability, and it was in this small act of bravery did his heart nearly stop at the sight of Berri freezing dead in her tracks.

Berri honed her eyes tight to Chester's face, and although he was laid on the floor, he had finally lifted his head and perked his ears high in alertness, he could tell that something tense was happening. Berri felt a roll of chills fall down her skin, she furrowed her brows and peered hard into Chester's eyes, the reverberating echo of her name easing from his own voice, for the first time, had her rocked to her core. Not realizing even how important that would be to her, she furrowed her brows in a lilt of inquisitive surprise, softly turned around in the peer over her shoulder, and locked her eyes on Turbo's now entirely fragile, vulnerable disposition. She slowly beamed him a small, cheeky, curious smile, crossed her arms and side-eyed him in a womanly, authoritative way.

"I-It's... It's what a friend would do," Turbo corrected tenderly, his voice just barely shook, the show of tender exposure, a tiny shred of his soul, was surely something to behold; Berri smiled, kept her arms crossed tight, she looked down to her riding boots and shrugged, though he stuttered to carry on, "P-Please... Forgive me."

"For what?" Berri pressed tenderly, she tried her hardest to just simply be still, to receive this fragile moment, to make clear to him that even though this was likely really hard for him, she was a safe landing spot for him.

"For... THIS," Turbo gestured to himself, and Berri, back and forth, "I-I... I don't remember the last time I had a genuine friend. Sure, th-the guys at the palace are friendly with me, and they're technically my 'friends', but... I-I just... D-Don't really know how to... Well..."

"Be in a friendship with someone?" Berri concluded, she finally beamed a wide smile and retracted her sorrowful stroll away from him, her positive body language filled their gap, once and for all. She got within half a dozen feet of him, drummed to a small stop, shrugged and leaned the side of her hip to his kitchen island. In teasing cheekiness, she grappled her drink, raised it just barely, in a lazy fashion, and shrugged, "Well, you're in luck. I just so happen to be the BEST at being a friend. I can make a best friend out of a friend in just days."

Turbo tried to hide a becoming smile, he eyed her in tender curiosity as she took a long sip of her icy drink.

"That is... If the other party is willing?" Berri wondered in a further show of tender security, she shrugged and gave him a curious look of solidification, "I understand you've had an extremely rough past, hundreds of people used to hate you, you lost and gained trust and lost and gained social status amongst royalty... You're on a roller coaster. I get it."

"I swore to myself that I wouldn't really let anyone in," Turbo shrugged, his sorrowful gaze hooked tight to Berri's, and although she had a decent streak going, she continuously had to keep glancing away from his haunting gaze, "I was okay not having friends... But..."

"I'm just too awesome, I mean, really, I get it," Berri only teased as she flicked her hair over her shoulder, and it was with the hard scoff of a laugh that Turbo finally emit did Berri soak up the show of the wide, genuine smile on his face; she sneakily held her breath and felt victorious. One wall down.

"You win, your h-..." Turbo raised his eyebrows in plucked surprise, lofted his now confused and boyish gaze of smiling apology to Berri's and wondered just where she'd go with his small slip up.

"Okay... You are NOT allowed to call me 'your highness' EVER again," Berri firmly pointed a finger at him and heaved a soft, girly laugh. He covered his mouth a little, looked off to the side and did everything he could to hide the further reveal of more smiles he had been saving up, "My name is BERRI. You can call me Blue, Bear, Bee, BERRI, ANY of those!"

"I-I can't help it," Turbo rubbed the back of his head, leaned the side of his hip to the counter and finally beamed the widest smile down to his feet. He crossed his arms in bumbling, tender agitation and shrugged, "I-I'm forever grateful to Tessa and Zed, for helping me, and for trusting me, it's... Extremely hard not to be polite to their own kin."

"I mean, please, by all means, be polite," Berri shrugged, though she shook her head and gave him a look of mild, teasing annoyance, "I'm not a robot. I may be royalty, but we're friends, right? Wren and Theo don't call me that... Well... Wren does, when he's making fun of me."

"Yes ma'am," Turbo stifled more laughter, though it was at this point he couldn't hide his smile.

"Speaking of Wren," Berri fingered her lip, narrowed her gaze and peered to Turbo in girly cheekiness, "He, uh... REALLY wants to come over and hang out with us. And Theo. Is that too much to ask of you?"

Turbo raised his eyebrows, inhaled a reviving breath and showed a wash of gentle renewal, as if this was exactly what his fragile soul needed. He rolled his eyes, blurt another chuckle, tossed his hands up and slumped them back to his sides in whole defeat.

"I mean yeah, but who am I to halt this train, then, I guess," Turbo barked a laugh and shook his head, "It's what I get for secretly wanting friends."

"Aww, you always secretly wanted friends?" Berri cooed, though Turbo rolled his eyes once more and was beginning to show more signs of a boyish, rugged, moody individual; a small show of his smiling, mischievously devious personality.

"I also was secretly hoping you'd bring me something inanely disgustingly sweet, from Sugarbucks, as long as we're being honest," Turbo's voice lilted into an ease of sweet and spicy snips, he rubbed his face and lulled his eyes closed.

"We can go tomorrow!" Berri prod in a rise of now whole entire excitement, to which Turbo now covered his face with both his hands and blurt an even further irritated laugh into his palms, "It'll be FUN! Come on, don't be a party pooper, you've been one for your whole life, y'gotta stop the facade."

"I'll let you get me something different tomorrow," Turbo tenderly finalized as he crossed his arms, peered his now dewy, smiling expression to his kitchen island.

"You can come with me!" Berri egged, knowing he wasn't going to cave.

"I'm not going with you," Turbo argued with a stagger of more laughter.

"You'll come with me eventually," Berri nodded, as if to be absolutely sure of her findings, though Turbo lulled his eyes closed, once more.

"What have I gotten myself into," Turbo muttered in smiling, grimacing dismay.

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 **A/N :** **Hey guys! Just quickly wanted to let you know that I am about 12 chapters ahead of you guys, which is awesome, but in writing it, I figured I'd just warn you guys. These next handful of chapters seemingly go by a little slower, the progression of the week (in my opinion) is beginning to feel long, but I'm doing my best to lay really thick ground work for Berri's and Turbo's new friendship... Because shortly here, there are certain elements and other 'happenings' that will heavily challenge their friendship and create obstacles. So yeah, just a warning, that these next 12 or so chapters may seem to 'drag' or like the day or week never ends. I'm just diligently laying ground work, cause after Berri goes back to Academy, the whole plot gets exciting with a crap to of stuff that happens, and the group is thrust into quick-paced situations and the like. Just a fair warning! Lots of gooey fluff to come in the slow times, for now. Hope you guys are enjoying so far! :)**


	42. Chapter 42

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** I'm really glad you feel that way! Turbo's definitely the game's biggest hermit.

 **CHICKENM4N :** IDK what that means, but I'm glad either way haha

 **Snake557 :** I'm thankful you think that! I agree. I just love building upon relationships and etc., clearly, so I figured I'd just warn you guys that I lowkey went ham LOL!

 **Romantic Sapp :** Hey! In Chapter 124 of Defying Code, Zed tried to give Oliver his light bike, like promised, but Oliver kindly refused. Instead, he asked Zed to program him something similar later on. Everyone on the lot has their own mode of transportation, though with the entire lot of characters I have to keep up with, certain tiny details, like such, that aren't detrimental to the plot, fall through the cracks. Not something I'm entirely proud of, but in order to keep my stories under a 500 chapter count mark, I have to snip where I can afford LOL. I hope that helps! I really appreciate your support, as well :) And yes, the kids technically have racing coding in them, though Theo and Berri stick more towards their glitching powers and Wren has his heels dug into his swordsmanship, as well as the trio's music. Although they all have their own powers/hobbies, it's Turbo's powers which are eventually tightly honed in on, for certain reasons. Wren, Berri and Theo all have a mode of transportation - Wren and Theo's bikes are actually expanded on and in use in Chapter 44, coming up, when Wren and Theo visit Turbo's home for the very first time.

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 ***Chapter 42***

"Aww? You went to Sugarbucks and didn't get me anything?" Beaux blurt as him and Mara strolled into Berri's music studio; she was gently and methodically programming a few different things to Wren's high-tech keyboard, the slew of buttons and knobs on it was disorienting.

"Sorry, Beaux," Berri giggled, she wore a lazy black tank top, comfortable blue sweats, her long hair was tucked in a high messy bun atop her head, "It was like hours ago, surely anything I would've gotten for you would've melted, or gone bad, by now."

"Can we go tomorrow?" Beaux wondered, he grunted a hard noise as he flopped down to the massive, lazy bean bag chair hanging near the gape of the large swinging door, which lead from the sound studio to the glass-seperated technical side of the larger room.

Berri furrowed her brow and felt her heart surge in a strange sensation. She pretended to be concentrating hard on the few things she typed into the holographic display, successfully linked to Wren's keyboard. Although what she was typing was just mind-numbing routine, she bit her lip and eagerly wondered just what tomorrow would bring. She knew that her and Turbo had agreed to hang out tomorrow, a further venture of Sugarbucks orders and a blossoming new friendship that would then eventually include Wren and Theo, later in the evening, she knew full well that Turbo would likely draw the line when it came to inviting two additional people to his secured little loft. Berri felt honored that Turbo was lenient in letting her into the still closed off foyer of his heart, though with this tiny shred of trust, she knew Turbo's ultimate wants and desires, when it came to company; she jostled up a white lie, as quickly as she could.

"I think tomorrow, after Throttle's lessons, I was going to try and take Chester throughout the whole of Orion City, really get his muscles going," Berri shrugged in apologetic nonchalance, "I'll probably be out all day, but remind me, maybe I'll snag something for you on my way home."

"Yes please!" Beaux stated with a wide, gap-toothed grin of boyish excitement, "I want one of those blended, chocolatey drinks. With the chocolate drizzle on top?"

"You're lying," Mara's sweet voice tenderly delivered in scheming, mean delight, a tone so fragile and cute that Berri had to back track her words; she jolted her whole attention to her young niece, who sat on one of Berri's stools, something she sat on when she played her guitar.

"...Sorry?" Berri prod, her face began to show a visible, blush, and although Mara didn't know of her own User powers, Berri was absolutely certain Mara at least had some sort of an inkling about something special, and was now due to using it against everyone.

"Your face is all red, you're avoiding eye contact," Mara eased in plain, visible facts. She shrugged and glanced in Beaux's direction, "If you don't want to get Beaux a drink, just say so."

Berri put her hand on her hip, cocked an eyebrow, glowered Beaux down and gaped a little, as if to silently ask Beaux just what had crawled up Mara's butt. Beaux sagged into himself, shrugged and gave her a typical, boyish look of neutrality, as if he didn't know what was going on.

"I... I do, Mara, I just have to tend to Chester's needs, is all," Berri challenged in tenderness, she knew not to just jump all over her fragile niece, though the amount of times Mara had tested Berri's patience was now pushing a dozen, in the past few weeks, "I can grab the both of you something on my way home... If you two are still awake, that is."

Due to Berri insinuating that the two younglings have a much tighter curfew than she did, Mara pursed her lips and looked off in stewing, silent defeat, something Berri cued to. Berri secretly shot her a bugged look of whole, girly irritation, shook her head in annoyance and tucked a few loose strands of her blue hair behind her ears.

"We still waiting on Wren and Theo, then?" Beaux diverted; he knew that both girls have been in a bit of a rocky spot, as of late.

"Yeah, they should be back from Academy any minute, now," Berri's soft voice eased, she finally stood from her now finished product, stepped over to her acoustic guitar, lulled the strap over her shoulder and softly tapped the mic, it eagerly reverberated the noise through the speakers all around the room, "Wish we could get a few drinks, here, or something... All three of us aren't old enough, annnd... Looks like going to Tapper's, or anything, is out of the question."

"Yeah, what's going on with that?" Beaux wondered in now plucked annoyance.

"User, I don't know," Berri stated in gentle defeat, she shook her head and lulled her eyes closed in sagged annoyance, though her fingers began to delicately strum at her guitar, a pretty, dainty little tune of sweet serenity, "All I know is, we won't be able to go to any of EZ Living's beaches..."

"Makes waiting for summer all the more worth it, I guess?" Beaux shrugged his masculine shoulders, he rubbed the top of his head, ruffled his messy, straight white hair and closed his eyes as he sagged harder into the bean bag chair, "Mom and dad told us that Sugar Rush winters are extremely brutal."

"Yeah, I vaguely remember the tail end of this last winter," Berri bugged her eyes open and gave Beaux a loving smile, and though she began to carry on, Wren and Theo suddenly burst into the music studio.

"What the heck? Why did karaoke night get bumped up two hours?" Wren blurt in entire agitation. Beaux grunted in an attempt to swat at Wren's hand on the way in, though Wren nonchalantly waved him off and pressed closer to Berri. In a hard thud, he sagged his heavy book bag to the studio's soft, carpeted floor, "I thought you were going to be at Turbo's all day?"

Berri clenched her teeth tight in her skull and could practically feel Mara's inescapable, scary, icy blue stare, and though Theo fist bumped Beaux on the way in, a loud show of bickering and chattering, like a typical show of what brothers would do, Berri felt as if Mara's gravity was consuming the whole room, like a black hole.

"No, not all day," Berri furrowed her eyebrows and gave Wren a knowing glower, "I-I was just dropping off his charger, that was all."

"Y'probably got him Sugarbucks?" Mara teased in girly, scheming delight, she began to meticulously tidy her hair, though Berri furrowed her brow and now shot her niece a look of detest.

"Yeah, I grabbed him something, I was on my way to his house," Berri defended, though it was here that Berri was absolutely irritated that Wren wasn't getting the bug-eyed signal cues to shut up.

"So when you say 'take Chester around Orion City' tomorrow, you really mean you'll be taking the fastest route to Orion Tower?" Mara snipped, it was here that she finally stood, from Berri's stool, straightened her cute, short skirt, her dark stockings covered her bare feet, she eloquently began to find the studio's exit, as if to be triumphant, "Thought I smelled a lie, in there, somewhere."

The studio fell silent, sans Beaux's and Theo's quiet, boyish conversation, though as the studio door slammed behind Mara's vanished figure, Berri sagged her shoulders in whole irritation, grappled Wren's upper arms and shook him. The material of his coat, on his lower arms, brushed against the strings of Berri's beautiful, acoustic guitar, creating a chaotic sound of haphazard noise.

"BUG-EYES MEANS SHUT UP," Berri stabbed to Wren, she finally unhanded him, rubbed her forehead and began to mosey away from him, across the stretch of the studio, away from Wren.

"Oh, whoops... You and Mara fighting?" Wren inquired nervously as Theo and Beaux wormed their way tighter into the studio, they hovered near Wren and now included themselves in on Wren's and Berri's conversing.

"When are we ever NOT?" Berri stabbed, she wildly flailed her arm and shook her head and Beaux in tender apology, "Beaux, look, I'm sorry... I WILL get you a drink on my way home, tomorrow. I didn't mention Turbo, because... Well..."

Wren crossed his arms, cocked an eyebrow, beamed her an anticipatory smile and so desperately hovered in wait, for her to continue, though everyone flinched the second the studio door popped open in a chime of new, bubbling excitement; Libby, Nox, Koko, Oliver, Tessa and even Throttle came casually and haphazardly filing in.

"I'M FIRST!" Nox blurt loudly as his hand flew up; Theo, Wren, Beaux and Berri all peered towards the door in a mix of nervousness and excitement, this was something that only really Libby cued to, due to the fact that one of her children was missing from this line-up.

"Where's Mara?" Libby prod, her girly, excited smile sagged as she could sense the energy of the small group of four, "Y'guys okay?"

"They will be soon!" Nox blurt, he grappled for the mic, clumsily unhooked it from the stand and pushed it to his face in a whole show of cheeky excitement, his deep voice lowered for the boom of the mic, though the room reverberated with the drum of his voice in the speakers, "Cause I have arrived."

"Nox, you literally just told Oliver that he could be first," Tessa blurt a hard laugh as she crossed her arms, though Oliver hung on the other side of the glass and waved his larger hand in annoyance.

"No, glowy-eyes can have it, I don't care," Oliver stabbed, he only pretended to be massively insulted. He sat down in one of the studio chairs and wildly shrugged a few times, his deep voice was wholly cut flat, due to the glass, though he could still be heard, "It's fine! I'm FINE! GO AHEAD NOX."

"Oliver's just jealous," Nox stated in nonchalance, into the mic, though he lowered it and peered to Berri in cute, boyish delight as he softly continued on, sans mic, "Did we interrupt a pre-karaoke pow-wow or something, Bear?"

Berri literally reeled; she was well aware she had been in Throttle's presence, post hanging out with Turbo, though her heart thud in whole confusion as she gently peered to Nox. Although she didn't know what Lash looked like, Nox was the one that looked almost exactly like Turbo, in the face. Although he had a much brighter, boyish demeanor, a ball of energy that was always due to overload the room with fireworks, Berri felt it so strange to be looking right into the face of Turbo's little brother, nearly a shorter and a little bit more smaller twin. She shook her head and inhaled a faltered breath, the crowd of her family in the studio, she knew this was not the time and place to discuss Turbo, whatsoever.

"Oh, we're fine, just... Worried about Mara, is all," Berri shrugged, she frowned and shook her head, "I guess I said something to hurt her feelings... I didn't mean to."

"What happened?" Tessa stated in sorrow as her and Koko sat down on the studio's couch, comfortably stationed on the instrumental side of the studio. A pillowy yellow couch, cute and only really fit for two or three people.

"Berri bought Turbo Sugarbucks today and Mara assumed that Berri wouldn't get me, or her, a Sugarbucks tomorrow," Beaux stated in nonchalance, and although Beaux wasn't technically too far from the truth, everyone furrowed their brows in a show of entire surprise and shot their delighted, curious gazes to Berri.

"Thanks, Beaux, that's..." Berri gestured her hand to her nephew, who scrunched his shoulders in innocent concern, "Thanks."

"Wai-wai-wait," Nox flagged his hand, with such, the whipping wind was amplified from the sensitive mic he still held, "YOU. Bought TURBO. Sugarbucks. And brought it TO him? Like, you went to his loft... He let you... Into his loft..."

"How many of the dragons did you have with you?" Oliver yelled through the glass; Koko and Libby burst out in laughter.

"Poor Bear," Throttle grumbled as he hung in the studio's smaller archway, which essentially led to the studio's exit; he crossed his arms and only vowed to observed the fun, and not join in.

"'Bout time hermit-man hung out with someone," Libby blurt as she waggled her hand; although Tessa's and Koko's little love seat could hardly handle it, Libby managed to plop down with them in a cuddling squeeze.

"Oooh, la-la," Koko so gently teased, she waggled her eyebrows, "Mysterious Mr. Turbo, letting a sweet, unsuspecting, beautiful princess into his secretive bad-guy-lair."

"I think it's nice," Theo cooed warmly, he gave Berri a supportive look, he could easily tell she was becoming embarrassed.

"Guys, guys," Berri stabbed in annoyance, and although she shot Theo a look of gratitude, she furrowed her brow and held her arms out. The look she gave Koko, Libby, Oliver and Nox was something Tessa cued to, something that made clear that she was about to start handing people their asses if they weren't careful, "I went over one night cause I had questions about his past, due to me being suspended and blowing his cover, I accidentally took his phone charger, I went to his house earlier today to drop it off. A, B, C."

"D, E, F, G, alllll the way to Z," Nox teasingly continued, and although Oliver blurt a laugh, Nox's smiling demeanor was met with the wall of sass Berri's glower delivered.

"It's fine if you're friends with him, Bear, no one's gunna crucify you for it," Tessa reassured, to which Libby and Koko lovingly nodded, as if they, too, could now sense Berri's frustration, "If anything, it's probably a good thing you're hanging out with him. Not only does it give him a little bit of a social life, but you could also learn a thing or two, from the guy. He's grandfathered Sugar Rush's code room for nearly the entirety of her life."

"Yeah, he certainly knows what he's doing," Throttle's deep voice encouraged with a small nod, and with this, Nox finally lightened up.

"Y'think he'll be coming to your birthday party, this Sunday?" Nox wondered with a hopeful smile, yet another gleaming opportunity to see his big brother.

"O-Oh, well... I could invite him," Berri bobbed an excited nod and smiled.

"He RSVP'd to Penny's wedding, in three weeks," Tessa added with an encouraging nod.

"He'll definitely be around, more often, if we just... Keep creating events he's invited to," Throttle breathed a chuckle, and although he kept his shy demeanor to himself, a more reserved show of tenderness, he finally budged into the room and joined the group.

"Or, if he keeps giving Berri items to then return the next day," Wren mumbled, he waggled his eyebrows and gave her a knowing look.

"I'll do what I can, guys," Berri sighed in defeat; she knew, as well as everyone else, that she had a side mission to get Turbo to become more comfortable in crowds, at events, and hopefully one day, out in public, though for now, she almost began to feel protective of Orion City's keeper. She knew he was fragile, and somehow was excited to go about this venture at Turbo's pace and his pace only, an intimate, silent agreement that only Berri and Turbo had, "It's not an overnight thing, y'know."

"It's all good, Bear, we're just glad he will hopefully come around more often," Tessa concluded with a nod, she finally stood, called checkmate on the conversation and knew that Berri was at the end of her rope. She easily segued away from the topic at hand, and while Berri gave her a soft look of kind gratitude, Tessa returned Berri the favor and gave her a small, knowing wink, "So, let's just let Nox and Oliver battle it out... Whose going first?"

"Why don't they both go at the same time?" Theo blurt, he gestured to his dad and, although he gave Oliver a wide smile, he loudly continued on, so Oliver could hear him through the glass, "Have you ever heard of SHARING, DAD?"

"No! I'm related to Tessa! I don't know what that means!" Oliver returned in a volley of sarcasm, and although the group was in great spirits, and Berri began to switch her amps and everything over to her favorite, lime green electric guitar, she almost was certain the topic of Orion City's lone wolf was never going to leave her mind.

* * *

After a long evening of singing their hearts out, Wren, Theo and Berri so excitedly getting to stretch their creative muscles and explore new songs and beats they were unfamiliar with, amidst karaoke night, everyone finally decide to retreat to their own homes relatively early, due to it being a school night. With clumsy, lazy footsteps, Berri climbed her spiral staircase. In a gentle push, she eased into her bedroom, something she hadn't seen all day long. She smiled in remembrance, her beckoning bed called to her, the haphazard sheets and downs just oozed with comfort, and with a gentle slump to the center of her bed, she lulled her eyes closed and snuggled her cozy blankets. As she took a deep inhale, she furrowed her brows, amidst her closed eyes, and was hit with that same, familiar scent, once again. The lovely, now becoming familiar scent of Turbo's hoodie.

With eyes still closed, she sighed in annoyance at herself, stretched her arm out a little further, grappled for just where she had left Turbo's hoodie, which was haphazardly splayed near her pillow. With a further annoyed tug, she yanked his hoodie up and over her whole head and upper body, and as she relished in the familiar scent once more, she drowned in the secretive, innocent little crush of admiration she had towards Orion City's biggest bad guy. She knew that this phase was likely to just fade out the more her, as well as Wren and Theo, got comfortable around Turbo. She was well aware that Turbo was just the shiny new object that was thrusted into her life, and upon a settle, she was looking forward to having a potential best friend out of him. Until then, however, she shoved the thick cloth of Turbo's hoodie harder into her face and beamed a secretive smile of girly glee.

With a sharp buzz, her phone chimed a few times. Such messages in rapid-fire succession only meant one thing; Wren was messaging her. She heaved a hard sigh, rolled over, sat up, slumped cross-legged, with Turbo's hoodie in her lap, and gently unlocked her phone through the squint of her screen's brightness. Berri held her breath and had somehow missed the previous messages in her's, Wren's and Theo's three-way group chat. They eagerly inquired about Turbo, and pressed her for information about when they'd be able to come see his home and to properly interact with him, though amidst all the banter, they lightly began to tease her, for practically setting this whole thing up, and for seemingly being the gate-keeper to Turbo's trust; Berri angrily sent the group a rather harsh message, lobbed her phone over her shoulder, was thrilled it simply bounced on her bed, and flopped forward, face first, into her pillows. She huffed a decent-decible yell into her pillow, wholly muffled for no one to hear but her.

After about five minutes of tender, though boiling solitude to herself, she could suddenly hear her mother's and father's front door of a teleportation pad buzz with life. Berri nervously sat up a little, peered to her closed bedroom door and held her breath in a spike of nervous intuition. Although Tessa's and Zed's teleportation pad was a private one, and was to be treated like a front door, Berri's immediately family had access to this pad, only a select few individuals on the lot had coded permission to waltz in whenever they would want, inside appropriate times; similar to having a spare key. The second Berri began to hear a pair of light footsteps heading up her spiral staircase, she slumped her shoulders, glowered at her door, and knew exactly just who was going to come barging in, in two seconds flat.

"Alright, your majesty," Wren barked quietly; he was well aware Tessa and Zed were still awake and watching a show in the living room, though it was still past quiet hours, "Let's uh... Let's maybe discuss your sass levels? Cause they're over nine thousand."

"Guys, go away," Berri muttered as she shoved Turbo's whole, now haphazardly crumpled hoodie to her face. She laid back into the middle of her bed and pretended to suffocate herself.

"No, I think this deserves on encore, really, I mean, wow," Wren sassed, Theo finally budged into the room and tenderly closed Berri's bedroom door behind him. Although Wren and Theo were both here to make sure the three were in good standing, never going to sleep in the middle of a fight, Theo was a little more nonchalant about it all; he eagerly made this clear by approaching Berri's bed and flopping onto it, next to her. He tucked his larger hands behind his head, grunted, scoot into her side in an obnoxious manner and got comfortable. Berri only huffed an entirely irritated groan into Turbo's hoodie as Wren sarcastically continued on, "I think you've been hanging out with me, too much, because that last message you sent was just... Phew!"

"Sassafras," Theo blurt, he cheesed a small, giggling laugh to himself, at his own joke.

"Mkay, so, I said... 'Berri, just let us know if Turbo is willing to have us over'," Wren sat on Berri's other side, though he obnoxiously sat cross legged and smooshed his criss-crossed legs into Berri's side. She grunted an annoyed noise and now covered her face with her hands, ultimately shoving Turbo's hoodie harder into her face, "YOU decided to say-"

"That I was tired of this bullshit, Turbo hesitantly agreed to you guys coming over, but I'm well aware you're just going to probably be loud and make him even MORE uncomfortable than he already is," Berri rushed in a hard stagger through Turbo's hoodie, her voice was muffled.

"...You left out a HEFTY amount of obscenities," Wren furrowed his brow and reread Berri's message, though he finally sagged his hand to his lap and peered down to Berri and Theo, who laid next to each other, "You REALLY don't want us there? We're not going to be loud and make his life hell. We understand how sensitive this is."

"I just am so on edge, you guys," Berri muttered, "I reveal to the whole of Arcade that Turbo exists, I get suspended from Academy, I BARGE IN to Turbo's home whilst he was trying to have a nice evening, and... Sure... We've maybe become friends, but now I'm just praying he doesn't feel like he's trapped with us... I-I only JUST gained his friendship, and-"

"Wait, was it like really hard or something?" Theo wondered as he cocked an eyebrow and peered to Berri, she heaved a hard sigh and finally sat up, ultimately yanking the hoodie off of her face and causing Wren to flinch a few times.

"I just... Don't want to blow it. He's been calling me 'your highness' since the beginning of time," Berri stated in a lilt of soft sorrow, she shook her head and lulled her eyes closed, and even though she smiled in tenderness, she still felt a gentle sag hit her soul, almost of gentle nostalgia, "He finally called me by my first name, today. It was such a tiny milestone, but... I mean, am I just overthinking all of this? I mean, we play our cards right... We could be good friends with Turbo. THE Turbo."

"It is much," Theo agreed as he, too, finally sat up and grunted, so to get comfortable on Berri's bed, next to her and Wren.

"It's just something we have to be so careful with," Berri instructed, she deperately peered to Wren's eyes, and it was in this was she glad she had both boys' attention, "This isn't something we can just screw around with, he's had an incredibly complicated past. One of so much pain and turmoil, he lost so many people's trust, and vice-versa."

"Berri, I hope you understand that you're not alone in this," Wren shrugged and looked off, his deep voice lilted to that of a further show of softness, something he wasn't caught doing often, "I mean... I see how Throttle and Nox so desperately want him around. If us three are the ones to warm him back up to people, warm him back up to society, then... Berri, you know we're not going to do anything to jeopardize the hard work you've already put in."

All three beings were quiet, Berri looked down to her lap and exhaled a long sigh through her nose, one of final relaxation and acceptance. She fiddled with the drawstring of Turbo's hoodie, it was a faded orange. She furrowed her brow and let her gaze get lost in the lightly torn strings, she knew that Wren and Theo were pretty loud, outgoing individuals, though she felt bad for dismissing their ability to reign it in and cater to another new, fragile being, one of which Berri was now committed to taking under her wing. She finally glossed her eyes to both Wren and Theo, loving boys that peered to her in an entire brotherly show of tender loving care.

"I'm sorry, guys... I just... Wish the Arcade saw what I saw," Berri shrugged, "He's really nice, unlike any of the horrible stories I've heard, thus far."

"Maybe they will, one day," Wren stated in concluding confidence, he nodded and glanced to Theo for assurance, "I mean... We just gotta keep bringing him around family functions. Maybe try and get him to go places with us in Orion City."

"Y'think he'd go for that?" Theo's deep voice glossed over Berri and Wren, to which Berri wrinkled her nose and firmly shook her head.

"Not immediately, no... All the baristas at Sugarbucks, on Monroe, now know of him, though," Berri stated in an uplift of encouragement, "I mean, even Bug seemed as if he'd be willing to meet Turbo."

"So, maybe that's our first landing spot, in the city?" Wren shrugged, "All the employees know it's something that's a possibility... The hard part is just convincing him to actually, well... DO it."

"I think we can make it happen," Theo rubbed the back of his head and gave Berri a smile of encouragement, "On his terms, of course, but... In due time."

"In the meantime, stop WORRYING," Wren gripped Berri's upper arm and softly jostled her, "I thought Ace was the worrier in the family, my User."

"You do stress out a ton, about this, Bear," Theo cooed in a depth of nervous understanding. He, too, placed his larger hand to Berri's upper back, "It'll be fine. You can meet up with Turbo tomorrow and hang out with him for a few hours, Wren and I will just message you once we're out of Academy and inside Sugar Rush. Gives Turbo time to acclimate and, I don't know... Prepare?"

"Even gives him a chance to back out, if he decides," Wren stated with a sigh, he eyed Berri with a cheeky smile, "We weren't going to pull a Berri, after all... Neither me, nor Theo, are brave enough to just go knocking on his door on any random given evening."

"...Yeah I guess the worst of Turbo's nightmares are over," Berri sagged as Wren and Theo softly laughed at her words, "Nothing is worse than me ruining his lazy, rainy day nap."


	43. Chapter 43

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** She's got a big heart, for sure!

 **CHICKENM4N :** You're telling me. I just finished writing chapter 54. It's really weird looking back on these chapters, now.

 **Snake557 :** Hey, thanks for understanding! It's not something I enjoy doing, I have nearly unending energy for this story... I say nearly. If i were to write out every single little minuet detail, I mean, I'd go nuts, and any energy I had for the actual plot of each story would just be sapped, and I'd likely stop/slow down writing. Not something I want to do! I try and listen to what people genuinely enjoy, and try hard to squeeze suggestions in where I can, but I have to write the story the way I intend. I'm too much of a people pleaser and I've already spent a huge majority of my life letting people steer my craft in their own direction. Thanks for you support, friend. It means a lot!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Born to be Yours by Kygo Imagine Dragons**

* * *

 ***Chapter 43***

In routine, Berri eased off of Throttle's stoop alongside Beaux and Mara. This time, their little study group excluded Chester. Berri was thrilled that Chester was eating up the fun times to be had, with his pack, amidst the palace grounds, now thrusted with a hefty blanket of snow. Berri shivered, as she was certain both Beaux and Mara did as well. Although Sugar Rush's proud sunshine gleamed down on the palace lot, Berri wrinkled her nose and softly glanced up to it, as much as she could, a mild irritation that its heat could hardly be felt. In the tender drum of pleasantries, the crunch of their hefty snow boots that sagged into the snow, Beaux knew to keep conversation light, due to the two girls, that he was with, in a constant, simmering state of feuding. Although he wondered when the two would settle their differences, he knew it was likely only something time and maturity could eventually solve.

In the gentle part of both parties, Beaux and Mara began to make their way to the outer reaches of the western corridor, a long stretch of a smaller, outdoor arch of a corridor that almost cut the palace lot in half. It stretched from the palace's main heart of a kitchen to the direction of the recreational hall, the pool, and eventually Tessa's and Zed's abode. Berri's fogged breath issued her niece and nephew a small farewell, as well as a promise to the two that she would bring them back something tasty from Orion City. Once officially parted, she bit her lip in a drum of excitement, hurried her footsteps across the lot and pushed closer to her's, Tessa's and Zed's cozy tower, tucked into the safety of the flyer's enclosure. She knew her mother was long gone for a busy day at Academy, as was nearly everyone else, either attending Academy or game day, though her excited, sneaky smile knew there was one being that had ultimately set himself up for near-constant availability; Orion City's hidden gem.

As she teleported from the pad in her tower's small gathering room, to the teleportation pad inside her home's lovely, open corridor, Berri immediately booked it for her spiral staircase and bedroom. She felt her heart jolt in a sudden surge of remembrance; she held her breath and wondered if her father was home. As she urgently pushed into her room, ripped her hefty winter coat off, grappled for Turbo's hoodie and began to tidy the cerulean blue messy bun atop her head, she wondered just how many times she could sneak away to Turbo's little loft in the cloud without her own father becoming suspicious. She knew Zed and Turbo were on good terms, due to them being a team, in helping keep the game and the city afloat, though she had to wonder just what Zed thought about Berri crossing the line, from professional to casual. She furrowed her brow and knew she shouldn't waste time thinking about the what-ifs. She bit her lip in excitement, eased down her spiral staircase and knew she would just deal with the repercussions later, if said topic were to be a debate or not.

Now wearing loved, tan canvas shoes, Turbo's hoodie, her favorite pair of ripped, grey skinny jeans and a casual dark brown Dead Zed t-shirt that she loved, she had her phone gripped in her hand, her eyes scanned her's and Turbo's conversation for a further amount of clarity. She knew that Turbo had reassured her that she could use his personal teleportation pad, outside the front door of his loft, after her school session with Throttle, though she reread his message at least a million times, almost as if she didn't believe it. Having barged in on him a few nights ago, she hoped this all wasn't a dream, and that his words still held true. She finally reached Tessa's and Zed's front door of a teleportation pad, stood in the center of it and patiently waited for the holographic display to provide her with a list of way-points she could go to, from here. A lot similar to the palace's main teleportation hub, it sectioned in three different tiers of privacy each reachable pad was labelled as such. She eagerly lobbed her pointer finger into Turbo's, awaited to be whisked away and was thrilled upon the electrifying, coded delivery.

Relieved that Turbo hadn't changed the way-points of his pad, or even the impossible task of relocating his tower, she eased into his lovely foyer, silent and crisp. She beamed an excited smile, one of gratitude, though as she stepped off the teleportation pad, she furrowed her brow in a sudden roll of delighted surprise. As she eased her nervous footsteps off of Turbo's semi-private teleportation pad, she peered to her right, where Turbo's walled alcove of a secretive front door usually was, only to find that his front door was wide open. Berri cocked an eyebrow, tucked her phone into her back pocket, and dared to lean in a little and have a curious, secretive peak inside. She furrowed her brows in a roll of continued, girly apprehension, though she found entire warmth and solace in the fact that Turbo was stationed at his kitchen island, the television in his sprawl of a living room drummed a commercial, he was busy typing away on a dimly lit, red holographic display. Berri bit her lip in a wider, knowing smile, finally stepped inside with as much silence and grace as she could, though she stopped her footwork the second Turbo's creepy, golden gaze stabbed to hers.

"Y'know... You leaving your front door open is just asking for someone to rob you," Berri eased in a lilt of cute knowing, she shrugged and peered about Turbo's lovely, sunkissed bachelor pad, she carried on in a playful tone and purposefully annunciated her words to match, "Y'got a lot of nice tings in your tower."

"Good morning, princess," Turbo's deep voice lilted in soft politeness as he barely eased a knowing, almost annoyed smile. He was entirely delighted to see Berri begin to make herself comfortable in the act of taking her shoes off, near his front door, though he felt his heart practically stop the second she slumped her arms to her sides in whole dismay, stared off into space and let her bare feet stand firm on his cold, grey tiles. He dart his eyes about her in a spike of rememberance and shook his head in whole, flustered dismay, "Oh, COME ON. 'Princess' is even off the table?"

"BERRI, like the little fruit you can eat? They're BLUE?" Berri urgently gestured to her hair, and although Turbo looked off in whole, frustrated dismay, he very clearly was failing at not letting his face crack open wide a huge smile, "See, okay... Here... Let's try this again."

Berri's bare feet slapped out of his home and eased into the crisp, white foyer just outside of the gape of his massive front door. She hovered outside for a moment before she finally came strolling back in. With a cute wave, she halted half a dozen feet inside his home, shrugged a little and gave him a smile, as if to pretend this was the very first interaction with him, today.

"Hey, Turbo," Berri chimed in delight, she froze and awaited his response.

"Hello," Turbo staggered in now shy, barely smiling confusion. He finally huffed a stifled laugh and urgently peered to her once she dropped her hand, slumped her shoulders and gave him a dull, teasing look of dismay, "I seriously can't say 'hello' either?"

"You sound like it's painful, you're like a robot! Loosen up, C'mon. Let's try again," Berri grunted, and although she left Turbo's home, once more, she only hovered in the foyer for maybe a second before her bare feet came strolling back in. She perked up, again, as if this was their first interaction, once more, "Hey, Turbo!"

"Hey," Turbo stiffly breathed, he bobbed her a nod and this time, didn't look up from his holographic display; Berri slumped, again, in a new breed of irritation.

"Okay, at least pretend we're friends. Can you just ACT like you like me?" Berri waved her hand and softly left once more. Turbo snuck a sweet smile in her direction and secretly watched her leave, though once she was gone, he heaved a hard sigh and gave up on his work. He leaned the side of his hip against the counter and cocked an eyebrow as he anticipated her to welcome herself back into his home, once more. She strolled in, looking more and more defeated, though still, she smiled, "Hey, Turbo!"

"'Sa, dude," Turbo's deep voice eased in a nonchalant, lazy tone, he bobbed his head in a nod of a greeting and sagged one hand into his black jean's side pockets. Berri cocked an eyebrow and was now frozen with just how well he played that off. She finally blurt a hard laugh of surprise, though he slumped his shoulders, waggled his hands and finally returned back to his work, on his kitchen island, "There, happy? Hi Berri, good morning, Berri. Berri, Berri, BERRI."

"Don't forget it," Berri snipped with a smile as she finally crossed her arms and now eased closer to Turbo's kitchen island; he rubbed his temple, and although he was strictly falling into a comfortable norm with her, she knew he still had good intentions behind his annoyed notions.

"Hooo, I won't be able to," Turbo grumbled, and although Berri was now discovering a rather thorny individual, inside an even thornier shell, she could see the warmth in Turbo's eyes, he was always stuck in a furrowed look of almost desperately trying not to smile, and often failing.

"How's your morning been so far?" Berri pressed tenderly; although his television was on, it wasn't loud enough to overbear their conversing. She eased to the opposite side of his kitchen island, the side where three black bar stools sat stationed. As she sat down, her back to his sunkissed living room and the incredible view of Orion City, she sagged her chin into her hands and peered to Turbo over the tops of his holographic display, "You don't get to see the snow, from up here, do you."

"Not really," Turbo stated through a sigh, his eyes scanned his work, and although he was now catering to Berri's presence, he didn't seem bothered, at least much, "The clouds are often too high, but on occasion, I'll see a good rain or snow storm. It's weird being right inside the clouds, when it's happening... My morning's been fine, by the way."

"That must be weird, can you feel the tower like... Swaying?" Berri gestured, her eyes lit up, as if she was now even further excited to be friends with Turbo, so to be able to experience these kinds of things otherwise likely not possible.

"Yes, it's terrifying," Turbo staggered, yet another smile forced back; Berri felt it mildly frustrating, every day was nearly a redo, a square one peg, and towards the end of the few hours of their hang out, he'd be on the brink of full fledged smiles and laughs. She knew he likely just needed a typical warm up period, a being that was so foreign to social interactions, she was well aware all he needed was patience. Turbo curled a gentle, half-smile on the edge of his mouth and glossed his powerful, intense, haunting gaze across the span of his sunny home, "I know it's safe up here, but still. On particularly windy days, I always hope for a palace meeting I have to attend."

"Well, y'know, my dad is building me, Wren and Theo a tower on the palace lot, near the pool and the rec hall, after my birthday," Berri shrugged, she was entirely aware this was a long shot, though she took it anyhow and bashfully looked down to her hands, "Once it's built, you're more than welcome to come over if your tower starts to... Well... Dance."

"Thank you," Turbo finally eased a normal, knowing smile, bobbed a nod, glanced into Berri's eyes and shied away; she felt the recoil of his gaze leave hers, he typically held tight eye contact and wasn't afraid to let his scary gaze pierce the soul of whoever dared, though somehow, she felt as if his avoidance of eye contact was now for her benefit. She knew she'd eventually muster the courage to bring it up, though Turbo's deep, gentle, raspy voice pushed on, "How was your morning?"

"Oh, good," Berri sighed with a nod as she pulled out her phone and aimlessly thumbed through it, "Since I'm suspended, I go to Throttle's homeschooling sessions with my niece and nephew, Mara an Beaux."

"Oh yeah, Throttle was telling me about that, a little," Turbo cocked an eyebrow and gave Berri a glance of a suspicious, near-smiling side-eye, "He also told me how a certain someone spilled the beans about our little hang outs."

"Well, it's kind of hard to go much of anywhere, wearing your hoodie," Berri threw up her hands, which were heavily cloaked in Turbo's cozy, dark grey hoodie, his name splashed across the left sleeve, "I keep coming over just to give it back, but, for User's sake, you won't take it."

"Throttle literally called it your badge of honor, whatever that means," Turbo rolled his eyes, though once he eased his eyes to Berri's, he gave her a sweet smile, however much he had to push it out of his own soul. He heaved a raspy sigh, minimized his holographic displays, jostled the small projector that was issuing said holographic display and waved it around a little bit, "C'mon... I'm heading down to the compass, I have a few more things left to do before I can put my work on pause, for the time afternoon."

"I-I hope I didn't interrupt anything," Berri worried, though she stiffened and quickly got off of her stool the second Turbo gently began to slowly press in the direction of said long, dark hallway, that eventually forked. He kindly gestured for her to follow as she continued on, "I mean, I guess I did warn you when I'd be coming over."

"Hence, why I left my front door open, oops... Speaking of which," Turbo halted his footsteps, which had Berri coming to a quick stop a few feet from him, though as they cued their attention to Turbo's front door, he diligently pushed a secretive button underneath the slab of counter, of his kitchen island. His front door quickly slid closed, securing the two inside officially. Berri cocked an eyebrow and froze in a gentle slump of awe, though he casually gestured for her to tag along, "Follow me."

Berri bobbed a nod and kept tight on Turbo's heels, her eyes lit up in further curiosity as they both soaked into the long, dark, secretive hallway. Berri cocked an eyebrow and, although the hallway tenderly forked into two directions, she peered down the left fork and noticed, what seemed to be, Turbo's bedroom. A very tall floor to ceiling dark wooden door hung ajar, and to avoid seeming like she was trying to take a peek inside, the only thing she could see was the edge of what looked to be a dark dresser, at the far end of the bedroom, also shroud in sunlight. She strictly followed Turbo down the right avenue of the fork, though said avenue also came to another much smaller fork. Turbo turned down the second right and glanced over his shoulder, in hopes that Berri was still following, his golden gaze was now what illuminated the dark hallway.

Berri felt comfort in the glow of his gaze, as long as it wasn't piercing into her soul, like it usually was. She was glad it was a light source, in a dark room, though she bit her lip and was hoping that said memory of Turbo, from the other night, when he kindly brought her back to her bedroom, was something that would diligently stick. She furrowed her brow in a spike of further curiosity, halted her footwork and turned around, in curiosity. Although Turbo was headed to what looked to simply be a dead end of a dark hallway, she peered her curious gaze to the sunny avenue on the other end. It lead to a sleek, tight, spiral staircase, and upon reveal, Berri's eyes soaked upwards and noticed the glass ceiling and Sugar Rush's gorgeous, minty blue sky. She furrowed her eyebrows in a spike of surprise, pointed in gentle curiosity, and although she knew full well that this was the stairwell that lead to Turbo's secretive loft, she still played dumb and volleyed her gaze back to him.

"I-If you don't mind me asking, but... Where does that staircase lead?" Berri prod confidently, though she flinched as Turbo turned around, soaked into the wall of the dead end and let his bare feet ease onto a sneakily hidden teleportation pad at the end of said small hallway.

"My loft," Turbo volleyed, a short and sweet answer, though somehow his curt, gentle tone lead Berri to believe that maybe said loft, much like his bedroom, was still off limits to a brand new friend hot off the heels of being promoted from the title of 'stranger'.

"Oh," Berri quipped with a small nod, she cued to his tone and was well aware everything Turbo was allowing to her was strictly on his timing, something he had to be comfortable with. She smiled a little, and although she was certain the piles of billowing, secretive frustration was bound to make her itchy, she knew that his gained trust, whenever it'd be presented, would be something so rare and beautiful, something she now quietly strived for.

"Your highness," Turbo's deep voice eased, the sweetest of honey, though he shut his eyes tight, grappled the sides of his head with his hands and grunted a noise of whole frustration towards himself, "Gah, I meant 'Berri'! Dammit!"

"Okay, it may be annoying, but don't beat yourself up over it," Berri choked a laugh and, although he had previously gestured for her to come close and stand on the teleportation pad with him, she hesitated and waited for his invitation, once more.

"I-I'm sorry, that's going to be a hard habit to break," Turbo staggered bashfully, he frowned and kept his glowing eyes shut, the hallway was void of golden light in this act, and flickered every time he blinked; he warmly gestured for her to come closer, another time.

Berri eased him another, cooing notion of forgiveness and softly assured to him that it'd be okay, though as she did, she carefully sagged onto the smaller teleportation pad in a squeeze next to him and felt the coding in her system spike in a jolt of a new vein of girly curiosity. As her upper arm gingerly sagged into the lower part of his upper arm, he carefully angled his upper body so that they weren't so confined. Although this eliminated the smoosh of their arms, Turbo kindly rested his masculine hand to the dip of Berri's back, as politely as he could, so to give her a little more breathing room. Berri ironically held her breath, glossed her eyes in Turbo's close proximity and felt her heart do a weird dance, the glow of his eyes that casted across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, she felt a bashful amount of now sweaty palms and a racing heart overcome her. As their own coding eagerly grappled its way up their bodies, they were easily transported one floor down, to Turbo's secretive shred of a code room.

In the pop of a much heftier amount of sudden sunlight, Berri squinted her eyes, lofted her curious gaze across the stretch of a massive room they were in and raised her eyebrows in plucked, startled surprise. With some arranging Turbo had done, his little hub of a code room was now entirely a glass room one floor underneath his main home. A stretch of a round, glass-walled room, Turbo had an entire three hundred and sixty degree view of, not only Orion City, but the gorgeous mountain scape behind his tower, a spectacle Berri had yet to see, from this high up. She gasped in unadulterated delight, the snowscape that littered the view about the city, the practically glowing palace on the horizon, Berri nearly forgot she was practically glued into Turbo's warm side and presence.

"Holy User," Berri hissed in whole delight, and although she wanted to continue remaining glued to Turbo's presence, she took a small moseying step out into this span of a gorgeous space.

Glossed with clean slabs of massive, white tiles, it was so faintly pressed with the stain of a huge digital compass, only seen due to the ever so tender white glow it gave off. It was the size of the room in its entirety, though hardly seen. A glowing white pad, about two feet across, hung in the center of the room, clearly a point of interest for all of Turbo's work, likely where he cued to everything his little dollop of a code room was made of. The sunlight glinted into the Eastern side of the tower, a clean cut of sun that pushed into the code room with eagerness, the whole place was alive with the winter sun's desperate sprawl of warmth. In a slow, moseying turn, Berri's eyes finally caught with the incredible mountain scenery that couldn't be seen from Turbo's living room. She caught Turbo standing on said teleportation pad, unmoved, his eyes kindly hooked to Berri's aura, his hands in his pockets in a show of washed contentment.

"How do you get ANY work done?" Berri finally blurt a laugh, she casually strolled past Turbo and was thrilled he slowly began to follow wherever her feet took her, in a mosey of camaraderie.

"It's tough," Turbo stated, he wrinkled a small smile and bobbed a nod, "Hope you understand, now, why it's so difficult to want to be anywhere else..."

Berri sagged her shoulders, glossed her eyes to the crisp, snowy mountains in the distance and furrowed her brow. She eased her eyes to the ground, the massive W on the ground, that signified they were nearly facing West, and finally to Turbo's bare feet. In a gentle tug of proverbial understanding, Berri finally eased her eyes up into Turbo's, once and for all. Although she felt a twinge of fear, and she noticed him scan her cheeks, as if to potentially show that he was due to avoid eye contact with her due to his secretive understanding, she still held tight to him and forced herself to be brave. She shook her head and eased a bashful, womanly smile, a gentle show of her teeth amidst the cute, faint freckles that lined her cheeks.

"I'm starting to get it," Berri bobbed a nod of agreeing, she felt her heart continue to warm at the thought of finding solace in the one place she never would thought she'd ever find herself; she lost her bout of bravery and gently looked away with a hard, silent swallow, though she felt her heart jump in embarrassment the second she could see Turbo gently furrow his brow, narrow his gaze and tilt his head a little, as if to hopefully inquire about gaining Berri's beautiful, blue eye contact, once more.

"I-If I may... Can I ask you why you avoid eye contact with me?" Turbo wondered as gently as he could, and it was with this did Berri shut her eyes, heave a sigh of defeat through her nose, look down to her hands and bob a nod, as if to assure to him that he caught her red handed. He chuckled and shook his head, "Y-You don't seem like the insecure type, where eye contact with everyone is difficult. I understand my gaze is a little weird and creepy. Is there something I can do to make it easier on you?"

"No, it's... It's not you," Berri started, though Turbo sagged his shoulders in playful defeat and frowned.

"...The whole 'it's not you, it's me' bit, I get it," Turbo muttered in a teasingly sad tone, though he came out of it the second Berri blurt a loud laugh of revival.

"Seriously! I-I'm not just saying that, it's true," Berri staggered with a wide smile, though she softened and shook her head, "Long story short... I adopted one of my mom's old memories of Whiplash, I believe... He was standing over her bloodied body, in Sugar Rush's code room... I only just was told that it was a memory, and not just a nasty, reoccurring nightmare."

"...Yikes," Turbo huffed in apology, he rubbed the back of his head, looked off and shook his head, "Childhood trauma... Don't know if there's anything I can do to reverse that, unfortunately."

"Well, you already have, at least a little," Berri stated in cuteness with a shrug, though upon Turbo's gentle eye contact once more, the reality that she now was revealing to him a shred of her bashful, crushing heart, she felt her face heat up in a fierce show of a blush. She staggered on, which caused Turbo to furrow his brow in delighted confusion, "Y-You, uh... Wh-when you returned me to my room, the other night... I-I sort of woke up when you laid me down, I think. Cause I now have a memory of, well, YOU, instead of Whiplash."

"Oh, reversing the damage and I didn't even know it," Turbo chuckled, and it was here did he unknowingly let a wide, genuine smile sprawl his face, unreserved. He shook his head and peered to Berri in apology, "Well... Can't promise that happening again, I-I mean... Unless you fall asleep here."

Berri froze and peered up into Turbo's eyes, a spike of surprise, and it was only until he realized just what he was insinuating did he scrunch his face, shrug his shoulders and finally reveal his hand from his pocket, just to gesture in embarrassment.

"I-I... Wow, that came out wrong," Turbo muttered, though the second Berri blurt a laugh of understanding, he peered to her in a bashful show of smiling humility, "I-I'm terrible with words, sorry. You know what I mean."

"I get it," Berri assured with a nod, "I think the only thing that will help, is time. It's not as difficult with Throttle, but Nox looks a lot like you... Still, I grew up with him on the palace lot, so it's become a lot easier, with him."

"You'll go back to Academy and all our hard work will be eradicated," Turbo chuckled, almost a twinge of sorrow, his golden eyes glossed across his code room and to his vast city below, "Guess we can do whatever we can in the three weeks you have."

"...I can always still come over, after Academy," Berri tenderly pressed, hoping she wasn't overstepping a boundary, "I'll probably be tailed by Wren and Theo, if that doesn't bother you, but... I-I mean... Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I thought we were friends?"

Turbo raised his eyebrows and softly peered into Berri's eyes. He reversed his tactic and stuck with her word, hoping that time, indeed, would heal all wounds. He remained quiet in her Queenly presence, the mature look of softness on her face, he knew mellowing out was likely something she struggled with, though when it happened, it was like a silent symphony to the heart. He relished in her sweet, empathetic stillness and allowed her warm words to finally coat his rigid, scared heart. He long blinked, he gratefully gave her a look of returned softness, and although she had stolen his friendship, he hesitantly allowed yet another wall to come down; he finally, and graciously, received her friendship, in return.

"We are," Turbo assured in a lilt of tender charm, a closed-mouth smile he now couldn't force back, any longer.

"Good, cause I'll need a study buddy," Berri bobbed a nod, Turbo choked a small chuckle and looked down to their bare feet, "Wren and Theo are too distracting."

"I'll help in any way that I can, Berri," Turbo assured, once more, and with the final lilt of her name that eased from his deep, raspy voice with pressed confidence, Berri gently held out her hand and extended her pinky to him, she felt almost desperate to physically seal the deal.

"Promise?" Berri prod in a smiling side-eye, and although Turbo curiously peered to her pinky and nearly forgot just what a pinky promise even looked like, he choked a silent chuckle and tenderly obliged as he wrapped his larger pinky around hers.

"Promise."


	44. Chapter 44

**Reviews :**

 **CHICKENM4N :** I'm actually really glad you said something, because I was going to do a special 50 chapter thing where you guys can vote which chapter gets put into comic form :D I'll probably be announcing that further with my next chapter. YAY!

 **Snake557 :** Hahaha! Thank you so much, I'm so glad you're enjoying the cuteness and such :)

 **Burgie :** T'is true! It's a neverending process for him, Berri continuously keeps throwing him curve balls throughout the whole story xD Thank you friend! I'll have proper illustrations, for Turbo's tower and etc., up soon... I have them all sketched out, I just need to detail them.

 **Jay Sketchin :** It's okay, I'm assuming all my friends are still reading, cause my view count for each chapter hasn't wavered, but I do indeed love hearing your guys' opinions and etc.! Thank you friend!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **All This Time by Fox Stevenson**

* * *

 ***Chapter 700***

 _ **^ that's not a joke. Holy crap.**_

"Shut up, I don't know, I DON'T KNOW," Wren stabbed in a flustered way, he shook his head and tried his hardest to bury his face into his text conversation with Berri. Him and Theo nonchalantly eased into the Sugarbucks on Monroe, just ten minutes from Orion Tower; Berri had proper instructions on not only grabbing her and Turbo a coffee, but also following instructions on just how to get to the secretive teleportation pad just behind Orion Tower. Wren and Theo stepped off to the side, Sugarbucks had a decent amount of people in it, though it was clear they were prepping for their 'closed Arcade' hours, when business really picks up. Wren waggled his hand in Theo's face, to shoo him away, "I literally can't concentrate with your face in my LIFE, THEO."

"But you love me," Theo mumbled in a sorrowful tone of teasing cuteness, he furrowed his thick, dark green brows and desperately tried to read the conversation Wren was vigorously having with Berri, "For User's sake, is she sending you the damn Declaration of Independence or something? What even is that?"

"Instructions to Turbo's, you're distracting me," Wren pleaded in a rile of nervousness. He sharply puffed his long, razor-sharp like white hair out of his eyes and shook his head, "Go order your drink, I won't be far behind."

"Wren! Theo!" Bug chimed from behind his work area, across the store. He waved his little arm in a spike of delight, and with such, a few of the other baristas called their kind 'hello's and were eager to see their two palace-ridden friends.

"Fine, I have people that actually WANT to talk to me," Theo playfully snipped in Wren's ear, he nudged Wren's arm in a brotherly shove and quickly made his way to the counter.

"Yeah, yeah, the whole motley crew at Sugarbucks, hope you're proud of your accomplishments in life," Wren muttered as he shook his head and peered harder into his and Berri's conversation; although he was being an extra amount of sassy to Theo, he huffed a nervous sigh and had good reason, his nervousness to be welcomed into the big, bad Turbo's territory now had his stomach churning in anxious anticipation.

 _Songbird : Berri, your instructions literally make me want to game over. Are you actually kidding me? Holy User, Ace and everything Holy._

 _Blue : Just call me when you're at the tower lol_

 _Blue : Actually, Turbo's suggesting we can just teleport you from Sugarbucks. It'll cause a scene but it's either I rattle off confusing directions to you or you'll be the center of attention for 3 seconds. As opposed to your whole entire life._

 _Songbird : Is he holding you hostage there or something?_

 _Songbird : Text me what you're wearing if you need me to call Tessa_

 _Berri : I'll tell you what I'm wearing if you tell me what YOU'RE wearing FIRST ;) ;) ;)_

Wren heaved a long, silent groan of a sigh, slumped his whole arm to his side, looked off to the counter, where Theo stood, and felt his blood begin to boil, a feat that was not hard to achieve for Wren. He stewed, shook his head and finally locked his phone, his tattered, dark grey converse finally clunked on the glossy tiles of the store, and as he approached the counter, next to Theo, the three baristas, that were chatting with Theo, eagerly stated their kind hello's to Wren. Wren kindly obliged in defeat, a smile of softness he knew to convey no matter how frustrated he got, though his phone began to buzz in a few rapid-fire messages, knowing full well Berri was now spamming him.

"Wren, you look like you're worried about something, what's going on?" Bug pressed, and although Theo had briefly revealed their plans for the day, the three baristas at the counter still eagerly held their eyes to the son of Sugar Rush's first Knight.

"Well, I have an ass-ton of prep-work, for the start of the next semester, I worry day in and day out about the day that Gunner Ko starts at our Academy, Orph asked me to be one of his groomsmen in their wedding next week, which is hard cause Penny decided it was a great idea to have a lackadaisical dress code for her big day, and NOW," Wren gestured his arm to Theo in annoyance, Theo flinched and stifled a hard laugh, "My crazy niece and nephew, four thousand times removed, want to get Sugarbucks and, y'know, nonchalantly bring it to Turbo's house. TURBO."

"You wanted this too, don't make it seem like Berri, Turbo and I are the only ones," Theo and Bug choked a laugh; the other two baristas loitered nearby, though still tended to their job.

"Berri was in here yesterday, ordering his drink," Bug shrugged, "It's still hard to believe, but now that the three of you are going to go hang out with... T-Turbo..."

"It was a fun idea thinking about it, but now I'm way nervous," Wren's thumbs nervously tapped the sides of his phone, his screen was lit up with new, unread messages from Berri, "I'm literally so... So..."

"Shook," Theo exaggerated as he raised his hand and was now clearly making fun of Wren's typical lingo; Bug laughed, though Wren pointed a finger at Theo and cocked an eyebrow.

"You're not allowed to use my words," Wren muttered, though Bug heaved another small laugh, grabbed his marker and a cup that was meant for Berri's typical drink.

"I'm assuming all four of you are getting something, then?" Bug pressed kindly, he successfully scribbled down the entirety of Berri's drink, wrote her name at the top, handed the cup off and then reached for a medium sized hot cup, meant for Turbo. He cocked and eyebrow and softly smiled to Wren, "I'm going to also assume that Turbo is getting the same thing that he had yesterday? Grande Americano, cream and sugar?"

Wren furrowed his brow, peered down to his and Berri's conversation and finally bobbed a small nod of surprise, "...Yeah, exactly. Thanks, Bug."

"I'll write him a little message," Bug chimed sweetly, he shook his head and sighed, "I still find it hard to believe you guys are ACTUALLY hanging out with THE Turbo, but... Maybe one day he'll come down and visit us."

"It'll take an entire army," Theo grumbled, he shrugged and looked up to Sugarbucks' glorious, beamed ceilings, "Maybe one day... Supposedly, Berri's been able to get a drastic amount of interaction out of him, in the span of just a few days. Who knows what a few months would hold."

"We will hold our breath," Bug assured, he smiled to Wren as he handed off Turbo's cup and gestured a little, "Y'gettin' your usual, Wren?"

"Yes please... Forgive me, Bug, I'm out of sorts," Wren shook his head, softly began to step aside and began to diligently chip away at his and Berri's conversation.

"I definitely don't blame you," Bug kindly assured as Wren softly peeled himself from their conversation and situated himself near the hand-out counter, where finished drinks were rested for customers to retrieve.

 _Songbird : Berri, seriously, I was actually really excited for this but now I'm low-key freaking out. What are we to expect here? Is it like a dark and creepy villain lair? What is he even LIKE?_

Wren huffed a hard sigh, softly glanced over his shoulder and took note of his and Theo's motorcycles outside of Sugarbucks, a busy, snowy street side with pedestrians and peddlers alike. Although his eyes hooked to his and Theo's bikes, just outside his peripheral, Orion Tower hovered over the swathe of other smaller buildings and sky scrapers below. A glistening, gorgeous, glassy white tower, Wren cocked his eyebrow and peered to the tippy-top of it. He knew he was just riled over the rest of his responsibilities, though somehow escaping to the top of the world, everyday, didn't seem like such a bad thing.

 _Blue : Wren, it's pretty scary, not gunna lie... it's like a dungeon in here. Seriously, black out curtains everywhere, weaponry lines the walls, I even think he has a prison cell in his garage. I can hear the screams lol_

 _Songbird : I SAID SERIOUSLY!_

 _Blue : Wren, the view is to die for, my own mother designed this loft for Turbo. It's like anything you'd find at the palace, just... Super cozy with a view that you absolutely can't beat. Just get here. You'll be surprised._

"Alright, got drinks for Berri, Wren, Theo, annnd... Turbo," The older barista, on the bar, rattled off as she gently set each drink down. She eyed Turbo's cup, messily splayed with a cute message from Bug, though she gently smiled to Wren and Theo, "Tell that old baddy not to be a stranger, now."

"Kinda hard when he's still considered a stranger, to us," Wren mumbled in nervousness as he tucked his phone into his cozy black winter coat.

He shook his head, softly reached for his steamy, frothy hot drink and took a decent sized sip before arranging the four drinks close to each other. He set down his materializer, pressed the center of it and successfully secured the mainframe of all four drinks into his small device. Theo finally strolled up, after finally paying Bug and stepping out of the way of another customer that had gotten in line, though he jostled his bike helmet underneath his arm and stood in tender conclusion alongside Wren. Theo peered down into Wren's eyes, a playfully hurt look of cheeky sass was what Theo successfully delivered, though Wren rolled his eyes and heaved a hard sigh.

"Look, I'm sorry, Theo, I don't know why I'm so nervous," Wren muttered, Theo shrugged as him and Wren began to peel from the counter and head to the cafe's exit.

"I get it, we've only ever seen Turbo maybe twice in our lives, and we were children," Theo grumbled, though both men peered over their shoulders, waved goodbye to their friends and thanked them for their service, though as Sugar Rush's cold, sweet winter wind hit them dead on, they both scrunched their shoulders and grimaced in a hurried hustle to their bikes. Theo staggered to carry on, his breath fogged before him as he shot Wren a knowing smile, "I mean, I guess we're good friends with Throttle and Nox... Maybe Turbo is similar to them? They are brothers, after all."

"Good point," Wren bobbed a nod, grabbed his helmet and peered down to his own bike. As Theo gently situated his helmet over his head and mounted his bike, Wren gestured to Turbo's tower, a handful of city blocks off, "Just follow me... Berri said to tell her once we were at his tower. I guess there's a secret entrance that Turbo uses, I think it's one of the only ways to get to his place."

"Cool," Theo staggered with a boyish smile behind the tinted guard of his helmet, he bobbed a nod and gently illuminated his gloved hand with his own emerald green coding. His bike loudly roared with life as Wren also turned the ignition to his bike, though Theo loudly called over the now fog of a rumbling mess their beautifully crafted bikes created, "To Turbo's!"

"Say it louder, Theo, the people in Game Central Station didn't hear you," Wren loudly snipped over the idle grumbles of their bikes, though as Theo let out a hearty laugh, both boys softly eased into traffic and began to route to their dreaded destination.

* * *

"Wren's literally more of a wreck than the wrecking abilities my coding even harbors," Berri muttered down to her phone.

"Why, what's going on?" Turbo wondered in tender nonchalance; both him and Berri sat comfortably on his larger couch, and although they were a decent distance apart for sprawling, comfortable purposes, they still had their elbows dug into the same, large couch pillow, of about four, that lined Turbo's luxurious, red, cotton-soft couch.

"He thinks he's going to walk into a villain's lair, or something," Berri muttered as she shook her head, Turbo's lazy arm and hand only flexed to push the up-arrow button on his remote, he thumbed through a few channels on his decent-sized flat screen television, it hung on a mount and was angled in the direction of the couch; Berri flinched the second a blurt of a chuckle escaped Turbo's figure, something that was still foreign for her to hear.

"I should draw the blinds and turn all the lights off," Turbo rushed in muttering, scheming delight; Berri peered up from her phone and cued to his barely blossoming, boyish personality, and as she peaked a cute, girly smile, she hung in anticipated wait as he carried on, "Standing in the corner, wearing a black cloak, just maniacally laughing."

"... I'd literally pay you to make that happen," Berri easily beamed a wide smile, held her eyes tight to Turbo's figure and was thrilled to seem him at least ease up, he opened up nicely, as if he most certainly had it in him, though doing so was difficult, "Just hang upside down from the ceiling."

"I could pretend to delete you as they walk in," Turbo bobbed a nod and stabbed his creepy, unwavering gaze straight into her soul, and it was here did she flinch in the familair squeeze of panic.

"Y-You... You can delete people?" Berri staggered as she furrowed her brow and tried to lilt her voice in a show of playfulness, though she peered hard into Turbo's near-villainous gaze, the stark cut of sunshine, they now sat in, muted any amount of golden glow his eyes had to offer, showing a more stark, matte yellow that harbored the void of creepy, black, square pupils, an unnatural gaze she begged herself to stop being scared of.

"... Yes, your mother and father entrusted me with nearly the whole of code room administrator abilities," Turbo's honest words and voice now wavered in a cheeky show of fear, as if he maybe revealed too much, though he inhaled a shaky breath and knew to hold his eyes tight to Berri, an agreement they came to, so to help squeeze the fear out of her, for good, "Can I delete people? Yes. Will I? No."

"Comforting," Berri bobbed a sarcastic nod and bravely held to Turbo's gaze, though he finally was the one to look away as he continued to mindlessly thumb through channels, "They must reaaaallly like you, to give you that power."

"It's power they know I won't abuse," Turbo shrugged his masculine shoulders, though he flinched as Berri's phone began to tinker a cute tune, a sign that she was getting a phone call.

"Hey," Berri eased softly after she tucked her phone to her ear. Her beautiful eyes aimlessly glossed across Turbo's living room as Wren's voice could be heard telling Berri that him and Theo were finally stationed inside the alcove, at the back of the tower; with this, Turbo grunted, softly got up and began to cross his home. Berri tensed to get up and join him, their bare feet eased up his carpeted steps, into his dining room, and to the secretive garage door that was so hidden and flush with his white walls, it was nearly invisible. Berri huffed a small chuckle, amidst Wren's ramblings and interrupted him, "Y-You're in the right spot, just hold on, stay there."

Turbo gently tapped once, on the wall, next to the larger garage side-door, and upon doing so, a faint, red holographic display appeared. Berri gingerly tabbed her phone, to end her's and Wren's call, and as she eagerly watched Turbo's hand work it's magic, she noticed the intelligent, massive teleportation pad, on the ground floor, had successfully read just who was on his pad, what kind of vehicles they were on, as well as a reading on Wren's and Theo's coded vitals. Berri huffed a small chuckle as Turbo gestured to Wren's heart rate, which was through the roof.

"A Mr. Wren Eddie Fluggerbutter, died at the age of one," Turbo muttered with a sneaky smile over his shoulder, his eyes glanced down into Berri's with a knowing smirk and a shake of his head, "Cause of death?"

"Heart attack," Both him and Berri concluded, and as they shared a tender bout of sweet laughter, Berri bit her lip and was floored with how easy this all seemed; she prayed that the second Wren's and Theo's presences were added to her's and Turbo's dynamic, that it'd only get better, from here.

Turbo's strong hand firmly tabbed at a few holographic options, and as he hit a very definitive 'teleport' button, he gently shooed away the digital display and opened his garage's side door. Upon opening the door, and the whole concrete flooring, of his garage, came to life with the red glow of Turbo's coding, the garage's luminescent overhead lights flickered on. In the short seconds of a headlong gaze, Berri had yet another good, long, ogling glance at Turbo's incredible motorcycle, at the far end of the otherwise empty garage, her vision was suddenly cloud with Wren's orange and Theo's olive green coding. As their figures, as well as their loudly rumbling bikes came into being, Berri bit her lip in anticipation as her and Turbo now leaned in his garage's side door, on respective door frames. Turbo crossed his arms and peered to the two as they shuffled to turn off their bikes and remove their helmets, and though Berri was absolutely certain Turbo would shy away from this instance, he breathed a nervous chuckle and shook his head.

"ONE of you guys is as cool as a cucumber, whilst the other one has a spike in heart rate that I don't think I've ever witnessed," Turbo gently joked, though Theo beamed a wide smile and ruffled his lovely, though now fluffy and wrinkled dark green hair.

"Am I the cucumber in this equation?" Theo's deep voice grumbled, his smile practically matched Ralph's to a T.

"Your hair color proves to be so," Berri giggled, though Wren finally took off his helmet and nervously peered straight into Turbo's soul, as if it was absolutely mind blowing that he was now in this situation.

"Forgive me, it's just much," Wren spat, and although he was entirely agitated, he blurt a chuckle as both him and Theo dismounted their powered off, parked bikes, "Y'got secret teleportation pads, y'got everyone in Sugarbucks giving looks of like, ohh... Turbo... Wow, hope you survive."

"Oh, that's not even true," Theo barked, he sagged his helmet to the seat of his bike and began to take of his thick riding jacket. He slumped his gear over the top of his helmet, straightened his shirt and began to softly approach both Turbo and Berri, "More like... When's that guy gunna come down here and order a coffee for himself?"

"Don't hold your breath," Turbo muttered with a smile as Theo confidently approached, his larger wrecking hand was extended for a proper handshake.

"Theo. Though... We've probably already met, I was likely three-fourths my height now, and was probably, well..." Theo trailed off as Turbo firmly shook hands, though they held in suspended, hand-holding stillness as Theo looked off and searched for what he was going to say next, "I don't know... Upset that my bedtime was seven o'clock."

"Turbo," His deep voice eased as they finally unhanded each other, he smiled to Theo and bobbed a nod, "Stuff of nightmares, professional game jumper, Arcade's biggest recluse... Y'know."

"Here for it," Theo confirmed with a nod and a smile as Turbo warmly stepped aside and allowed Theo to ease through the garage's side door; Theo and Berri began to softly bicker in cute quips of sarcastic, sibling-like greetings.

In the struggle to unzip his jacket, loft it over his helmet and the seat of his bike, Wren finally straightened out his cream colored shirt. He wore faded and lightly torn blue jeans and had a look that nearly washed him clean of any blood in his face. He cleared his throat, tapped both his back pockets for his phone and materializer and softly approached both Turbo and Berri as Theo hovered softly behind them. Turbo inhaled a deep breath, rested his back to his opened garage's side door, cocked an eyebrow and gave Wren an almost knowing smile, as if he was very well aware that Wren was likely scared, though with the slew of cheeky eye contact lofted his way, from Berri, Turbo and now Theo, Wren rolled his eyes, looked off and brushed his chest a little, an anxious show of straightening his already straightened out t-shirt.

"...C'mon, I don't bite," Turbo pressed with a smile he was beginning to want to reserve, though as Wren's almost dominant, nervous, dark blue gaze hooked to Turbo's, Berri blurt a small laugh and gently pat her knees.

"Cmon, boy! C'meeeere," Berri cooed softly, she began to make quiet, obnoxious kissy noises at him; Turbo cocked an eyebrow and peered to her out of the corner of his eye in a roll of teasing surprise. Berri finally stopped what she was doing and beamed Wren a soft, excited smile, "You got my regular, right?"

"Yeah, and I'm about to dump it all over you, quite frankly," Wren stabbed with a widening smile as he finally eased into their gravity, and with a tender show of submission, Turbo outreached his hand for a brotherly handshake.

"Turbo," He introduced; he knew he, of all people, really didn't need an introduction, and the fact that he's likely met Wren and Theo maybe once or twice in their childhood, though he still was thrilled that Wren jumped aboard and tenderly gripped Turbo's hand in a proper handshake.

"Wren," Wren breathed in a conclusive sigh, he finally sagged his shoulders and glanced to Berri's and Theo's patiently giddy demeanors, stood next to and behind Turbo, "Thanks for having us over... Hope it's not too much trouble."

"If it was honestly too much trouble, I wouldn't be allowing this," Turbo assured, and although he looked to be entirely nervous to have a new crew of brand new friends in his private domain, it was becoming clear to Berri that his reasoning might be due to the fact that they were fresh new faces, and not the faces of people who have seen his struggles, have seen his worst sides. She wondered just what this would eventually look like, knowing full well that any normal, solid friendship wasn't just all smiles and laughs. Berri crossed her arms and softly eyed Turbo with a smile as him and Wren finally eased out of their handshake, Turbo's gentle, rasp of a voice carried on, "Wanna see my villainous lair? Complete with booby traps?"

"Oh, yes, please put me out of my misery," Wren muttered as he clutched his chest, shot Berri an annoyed, almost smiling look of anticipation.


	45. Chapter 45

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** You're entirely right on most fronts, though both Berri and Wren shape up to be Chaotic Good/Neutral for sure xD And, thank you! I'm really glad the dynamic is shining through and everyone is enjoying it for what it is, and hopefully what it will become! Yeah, Theo is very much like Oliver, very doughy and sweet and sensitive, though like Emery, he can get rather bitey and snarky. Wren is probably the sassiest character I've ever written for, which s saying something against Taffyta and Penny. Berri is pretty naive and dewy, though eventually shapes up to be a bit more street smart, and then you have Turbo, a hoard of baggage of a past life, diving headlong into a NEW life with an almost DGAF attitude xD

 **Snake557 :** LOL! No, that's with my entire saga's chapters combined. So, Wrecking Limits was 200, Defying Code was 166, Rectifying Origin was 290 and then my last chapter, 44, made the whole saga at a staggering 700 chapters. Insane! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter, I hope this one is equally as enjoyable :D

 **CHICKENM4N :** Y'all will be able to cast your votes here soon! Something is telling me that everyone will also be itching to see chapter 46 drawn, though ;)

 **Romantic Sapp :** Yes! Wren very quickly warms up to Turbo, he's just skeptical and wary about a lot, it's just Wren's nature. And, I'm glad you remembered! Turbo accidentally reveals his powers to Berri in a later chapter ;]

 **Burgie :** Yeah he'd never trust them ever again xD Thank you!

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Out There by Fox Stevenson**

 **Wait For You by Jake Miller**

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 ***Chapter 45***

"Holy User Batman and everything TurboTime-tastic," Wren huffed in a gawk of a whisper as he crossed his arms, he held his mouth and his chin in one of his hands and shook his head, his eyes peered out to the breath taking scenery before him.

"Oh hey, I can see my house from here," Theo mumbled, he and Wren stood side by side in front of Turbo's incredible, two story wall of glass, the palace on the horizon looked an inch tall. Theo gently nudged Wren's arm, pointed and lofted his vivid green eyes tight to Wren's in boyish delight, "Look, even the glass of the code room can be seen."

"...Yeah... I see it," Wren huffed in a sarcastic tone of cheeriness, he bugged his eyes, gave Theo his stab of eye contact, "Four billion miles over the city, Theo, I SEE IT."

"You can't see Orion Tower anywhere on the lot except for Vanellope's perch," Berri stated in tender knowing, she bobbed a nod, a matter of fact tone of cute kindness; her and Turbo eased their presences next to Wren's and Theo's.

"You've checked," Wren cocked an eyebrow and shot Berri a knowing smile; she immediately furrowed her eyebrows in tender, confused dismay.

"Yeah, suddenly sixty-four floors seems like six hundred," Turbo stated in a mumbling tone of nervousness, he smiled nonetheless and heaved a long sigh as he turned away from the window and began to head to his kitchen, "It's home... But that view never gets old."

"I'll say," Theo choked, he also began to turn and lazily follow Turbo through his living room and to the kitchen, as well, "Got room for all of us to move in? We'll be quiet."

"I mean, technically, yes," Turbo shrugged, he breathed a small chuckle as, one by one, everyone gently pressed up the few steps into the tiled level of Turbo's home, shared with his kitchen, entry way and dining area. Turbo sagged to the side of his kitchen island that let him face his incredible view and living room, he sagged his masculine hands to the cold counter, "The living room, the loft, and... Technically an entire empty floor underneath my code room."

"...You have your own CODE ROOM?" Wren gawked in whole annoyance, though as Berri was the last one to ease up the stairs and onto the tiles, she slowly tucked her hair behind her ears and tried not to let her eyes trail down the mysterious, dark hallway to her left. She was aware that she had previously been down said hallway once, though Turbo lead her on a strict route that was anywhere but his bedroom and his loft. She bit her lip in a spike of bravery; she knew he had to have a bathroom somewhere, an excuse to secretly get a glimpse further into Turbo's life. Wren stood on the opposite side of the island, from Turbo, and gestured his arm, "Okay, good User. No wonder you never come around. You have enough big-dick-energy for the entirety of every single guy on the palace lot."

"Y'got the pad," Theo listed, Wren cocked an eyebrow as they teasingly continued to volley back and forth.

"The bike," Wren pressed, Theo peered his cheeky, playful gaze to Turbo, who stood frozen in annoyed, smiling delight.

"The code room," Theo continued.

"The mysterious vibe," Wren waggled his fingers, though Turbo now choked a boyish laugh and firmly gestured his hand out to his glorious city below.

"The LOOK," Theo blurt, though Turbo rushed to wave his hands in smiling, almost grimacing and disagreeing delight.

"Oh, yeah, I mean... Just HOARDS of women on my doorstep, guys," Turbo then lazily gestured to himself, his smile was in a full-fledged bashful show of boyish banter, "I really don't know what to do with myself."

"I mean... It may not be a whole hoard of women, but..." Wren trailed off, looked up to the ceiling, and with a cheeky smile, Wren and Theo eagerly lofted their gaze to Sugar Rush's princess, who only just now made her way to the island, easily lost in thought on just how to go about asking Turbo if she could use his bathroom; she finally mustered the courage.

"May I please use the bathroom, Turbo?" Berri chimed in cute tenderness as she scrunched her shoulders, and as all of the guys' eyes landed on her, she finally came to the conversation in a show of plucked delight, an innocent show of blatant fact that she wasn't listening to their bickering.

"... Yes, ma'am," Turbo eased in a stagger of now tender nervousness, he softly leaned over a little, gestured to his dark hallway and finally hooked his eyes to Berri's, "It's, uh... In my bedroom. The only bathroom in the house. So, just go down this hallway and take a left. Y-You'll see it, once you step inside."

"Thank you," Berri eased in nonchalant kindness, though as she turned her back, her eyes honed tight to Turbo's dim hallway with a beaming look of childish delight, as if she were simply about to enter a candy store with all the money in the world.

"You only have one bathroom?" Wren muttered as he cocked an eyebrow, crossed his arms and then finally eased Turbo a side-eye of smiling discovery, "Ahhh, I see what you did, there."

"What?" Turbo huffed in smiling annoyance, his more boyish, cheeky demeanor shining through a little more in a group of guys.

"You put the bathroom in your bedroom so that whenever you had a girl over, she gets a gooooood long look at your bedroom, of what's to come," Wren bobbed a nod, him and Theo locked eyes in teasing delight, "We should take notes, Theo. That's good."

"Or, maybe, Tessa designed this loft with one individual being in mind," Turbo choked as he waggled his hand, though as everyone continued to bicker, Berri was long gone, "What, I'm not allowed to have a bathroom in my bedroom? That's standard for any master bedroom in the entirety of the palace. I have to cross my entire house to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night?"

"He has a point, Wren," Theo muttered, Wren cocked an eyebrow and glanced to him in annoyance.

"I'm not the man to come to for romantic advice, anyways, guys," Turbo chuckled, he sagged into Wren's and Theo's welcoming, friendly vibe, he leaned against his counter and fully relaxed, "I've only ever had one girlfriend in my entire life. I'm almost forty Arcade years old. That doesn't bode well for me."

With the bite of her lower lip, Berri held her breath and so softly pushed into Turbo's bedroom. She raised her eyebrows in girly delight and felt her heart begin to thump in nervousness, though she was entirely delighted as to just what she was graced with. Turbo's bedroom, unlike the rest of his house that which faced Northeast, had a whole wall of windows facing the West. With the incredible view of the mountains that Berri had seen in his code room, earlier in the day, she was stunned to see Sugar Rush's orange, vivid sunset do everything it could to warm the cold land beneath it. She cocked an eyebrow and stepped inside, the waft of his familiar, intoxicating human scent practically hit her head on, and it was here did she finally sag to a gentle mosey. His heavy door creaked to an almost close behind her, giving her privacy to really get a lesson in looking.

Although the wall of windows allowed an entire gloss of gorgeous setting sunshine, from the right, the two conjoined walls, to her left, were a muted, dark grey, almost a lovely green. His massive bed was a dark almost black cherry wood of a four-poster bed, thick posts, a masculine show of entire comfort. His bed was unmade, just swathed in creamy downs and pillows, smooshed and used from his slumber the night prior. He had two nightstands on either side, a long dresser a little farther down the wall, to her right, which also met with the wall of glass, a matching set of gorgeous furniture that looked loved. With a few drawers, on his dresser, just barely ajar, Berri did absolutely everything to assess every single detail. Just as she finally peeled her eyes from his gorgeous, heavenly looking bed of near-clouds, she finally glossed her eyes across the massive span of a windowed-wall and landed her eyes on the bathroom door, though in a jolt of noticing something, she halted dead in her footsteps and peered a hard, surprised gaze straight for the side of Turbo's bed frame, once more.

In the jolt of her halt, her bare feet on the shared matte grey tiles, she raised her eyebrows in hard surprise and noticed none other than a beautiful acoustic guitar. She barely gaped in surprise, a sudden spike of intrigue hit her soul, and before she could potentially write it off as something maybe every guy just typically had, a hobby that he potentially so desperately wanted to be learned but never did, she glossed Turbo's nightstand, which was deeper in his room; said nightstand was littered with scribbles of sheet music, hand-written chicken scratch of lyrics, a few guitar picks, a tuner and a capo. Berri huffed a surprised breath, clutched her chest in a fit of not knowing how to handle all the information being lofted at her. She shook her head and practically had to force herself not to rush over and see just what Turbo had potentially written down, an extremely deep look into Turbo's heart, almost equivalent to peering into a girl's diary, she shook her head and pushed closer to the bathroom, knowing full well that was disrespectful; she sagged into his bathroom and now began to mull over just how to tell him that they ironically shared a very specific common interest.

As Berri eased into his bathroom, she held her breath even harder and glossed her eyes around. She was floored to find that the same window the one single wall of his bedroom was made up of, also was shared with the bathroom. The whole wall, now to her left, was entirely glass and still held that incredible glow from Sugar Rush's nearing sunset. As she spanned Turbo's bathroom, she was delighted to find that it wasn't outrageous. A simple, modern, sleek layout of continued grey tiles, a decent sized walk-in shower and closet to the left, the same black cherry wood cabinets and a slab of dark marble for his counter top. A single sink, a gloss of stainless steel knobs and a few toiletries near the mirror, it was only a light bit of a mess. As she closed and locked the door, she did absolutely everything she could to not go nosing through his simple selection and display of shower, hair and skin-care products about the floor of his shower. As much as she wanted to burst out of his room and loudly proclaim that she, too, was a musician, she bit her lip and knew she should hold off until they were alone again. She was well aware Wren and Theo would likely jump all over him, for said discovery, and anything she could do to further protect his much-desired privacy was now her number one priority. Something she enjoyed was in her caring hands.

Once Berri was finished, she eased out of Turbo's room as quickly as she could, to hopefully portray to Turbo that she wasn't just simply lingering in his even more private domain, his bedroom of all places. Upon the clack of Turbo's bedroom door, she furrowed her brow and now could tell that all three boys had moved to the garage, due to their loud voices, their cackles of laughter, an echo of far away conversation that she couldn't make out. As she crossed Turbo's silent home, bare feet slapping to his cold grey tiles, she peered her diligent gaze to Turbo's garage side door, which was gently hung open, just barely ajar. As she came into the doorway, she peeked inside the garage and was absolutely delighted to see Turbo, Wren and Theo eagerly discussing all three of their bikes, comparing it to Turbo's, inquiring the specs and everything wonderful about it. They laughed and smiled in boyish banter, a cute dynamic that unfolded, and it was here did Berri cross her arms, lean against the doorframe and smile in a longing show of whole endearment, she knew that Wren and Theo were friendly, charismatic guys, though she was floored with how well it meshed with Turbo's otherwise painfully introverted soul.

Although the crew of four spent the majority of the rest of the evening with each other, Berri, Wren and Theo left after sundown due to all three having some form of school in the morning. After having a full day of socializing, the group part ways, and although Berri was well aware the four would likely reconvene and hang out again sometime soon, she knew that tomorrow was her birthday, and her mother and father had a whole day planned for it. Accepting the fact that her birthday was likely not a day she'd be hanging out with Turbo, due to spending it with her family, she wasn't successful in fully being distracted from thinking too hard on escaping to Turbo's loft. In fleeting moments throughout her special day, she would soak her eyes in aimless thought and ponder the rushing feeling of being on top of the world, a new found friendship she absolutely craved, she couldn't wait to return, to hopefully inquire to Turbo about his guitar.

As her birthday came, the following morning, everyone was thrilled that the beginning of Sugar Rush's snowy season had laid off for this one day. Tessa diligently skipped a day at Academy, Zed dropped all plans for the day, and alongside Ace, Libby, Beaux and Mara, the lot spent a good portion of the day in Orion City, going to whatever restaurant or shopping plaza Berri wanted to go, an extraordinarily fun day of easy socializing, a few stops to say hello and love on Sugar Rush's residents, an entire day filled with Orion City's sweet sights. Although there were an endless amount of things to do, and her mind was almost constantly preoccupied with her mother, father, brother, sister in law, niece and nephew, she absolutely couldn't help but allow her eyes to gloss in the direction of Orion City's highest tower. She could swear the tower was a beacon, just begging her to stop by, say hello to its keeper, just two minutes to spare. She tore her eyes from it whenever she felt the urge to reach for her phone and message Turbo, she knew she needed to not be so pushy with Sugar Rush's number one recluse, lest she push him away and make him shy to the idea of further hang outs.

After an exciting day of celebration, delicious food and the wonderful company of her family, the night came to a quick close due to Sugar Rush's setting sun now leaving the sky a lot earlier in the day. Although Berri wanted to continue celebrating, she knew that she had an actual birthday party planned for the closed Arcade day the Sunday to follow, strictly so anyone with a game day, like all of her uncles in Dead Zed, could come over and celebrate Sugar Rush's princess' very first birthday. She knew this was the day she'd likely get presents from her mother and father, though she also knew this was a party where everyone was invited; including Orion City's keeper. The rushing thought of trying to keep up with just who was invited and hoping to User she didn't forget anyone, she felt her heart sag in sorrow over the whole fact that she had kept forgetting to invite Turbo, whilst she was face to face with him. In a sigh of defeat, she smiled nonetheless and said her kind goodnight's to her parents, they doted on her and made sure she knew she was special on her very first birthday, the one to officially welcome her into adulthood.

Berri wrinkled her nose in silent, giggling dismay as she gently began to peel confetti from her long blue hair. Having had a full morning of pampering with her mother, Berri was treated to an expensive new hair cut. With cute bangs that daintily hung over her forehead, her waist-length blue hair was razored and layered to perfection, a crisp collection of cerulean goodness. She wrinkled her nose and ran her fingers through her healthy hair, finding all sorts of different bits of confetti in tucked away spots. With a final sigh of smiling exhaustion, she closed her bedroom door and changed into a comfortable pair of white sweats that scrunched at the ankles, a comfortable dark grey spaghetti strap, she began to tightly braid her long blue hair for the night, in hopes of having lovely waves for the morning and next day. She sagged into her bed in a final draw of exhaustion after she turned her main bedroom light off, a gorgeous chandelier that hung in the middle of her bedroom. As her eyes soaked to just her cute, peach-colored fairy lights that lined her dainty canopy bed, she inched under her covers, rested her head on her pillow and, much to her surprise, her face soaked to a sorrowful frown of mild disappointment.

Her mind easily soaked back to her new friend, she closed her eyes and slowly inhaled in a draw of remembrance, vivid images of the view of Orion City, from Turbo's loft, flood her mind with desire. She furrowed her eyebrows, scrunched her eyes tighter and allowed herself to dream, to desire going back, to ease deeper into her new friendship with such a mysterious new person, someone so taboo to the whole of Arcade, she found entire delight in befriending such an underdog, standing by his side and defending him for everything he was worth, she now began to feel sorrow for the whole fact that Turbo hadn't messaged her once today; she knew she had told him, at least once or twice, that her birthday was Thursday, which was now about fifteen minutes from turning into Friday. She finally heaved a long sigh through her nose and cuddled deeper into her blankets, a gentle sting of defeat, she knew she had likely gotten too invested into their friendship too quickly; that is until her phone gently began to tinker a cute tune, all lit up in confidence that she was, indeed, receiving a phone call.

Berri's eyes popped open in unadulterated confusion, she urgently sat up in a jolt of surprise, and as her hand quickly fumbled for her phone amidst the other trinkets, half-empty glass of water, used bobby pins and hair ties strewn about her nightstand, she yanked her phone off of the charging base it was on and felt her pupils tighten in a strict scrunch as the blinding light of her screen confidently continued to prove that someone was calling her. As if certain this was simply a dream, that there was no way the universe was this invested in her thoughts, she urgently sat up in a roll of entire, unadulterated surprise and reread the name of the individual that was calling her, over and over, as if she was totally certain this wasn't real. In a rush of girly, smiling disbelief, her thumb quickly tapped the screen, to answer the call, the screen immediately dimmed as she slowly brought the phone to her ear in a roll of bashful uncertainty.

"...Turbo?" Berri wondered quietly.

"Berri... Hey," Turbo staggered, he finally eased a nervous chuckle and seemed as if he had likely been busy doing something hectic, up until now. This was clear due to the sound of him shuffling around, the muffled noise of him opening and closing kitchen drawers once or twice.

"Hey," Berri lilted in still smiling curiosity, though somehow her tone held a twinge of sassy authority, as if to convey, just in the pitch of her tone, that it was nearly too late to simply just wish her happy birthday, if that's what this was.

"Hey, sorry, don't mean to bother you," Turbo huffed, though it was clear he was a smiling mess. Berri narrowed her gaze in whole confusion and urgently listened to him, "Y-You, uh... You left something at my house. I'm currently in the middle of dealing with some city work in my code room, is there any way you can stop by real quick and pick it up?"

Berri furrowed her eyebrows in now almost annoyed confusion, though she had to wonder if this was a dainty white lie. She knew Turbo was not a man of spontaneity, though as she glossed her eyes across her bedroom, she held her breath and revisited her previous conversation with Throttle. She was heavily warned that Turbo was a man of schemes, of jokes and laughs, a wild side that somehow rivaled Nox's, and it was in this instance did she finally understand that she absolutely had judged a book by its cover. She huffed a small, confused, nervous giggle and began to swipe away her heavy downs, so to begin crawling out of bed. Her heart began to pound in anticipation, she had absolutely no clue what to expect here, a new friend she was still desperately trying to get a feel for, she beamed ear to ear and knew diving head long into these kinds of situations was now what she was best at, and Turbo knew it.

"Oh, uh... Sure, I'll be right over," Berri chimed, she desperately tried to seem unassuming and nonchalant in her tone, which was massively overcompensated in the huge, goofy smile she now could not wipe from her face.

"Door's open, gotta be quick," Turbo quietly urged, his deep voice lilted a trail of a chuckle, something Berri cued to, and it was in this instance was she absolutely sure she had no idea just what was potentially up Turbo's sleeve, if anything at all; with her thoughts practically back-flipping, it took every single last ounce of her will-power not to tear down her spiral staircase and straight for her home's teleport pad.


	46. Chapter 46

**Reviews :**

 **Romantic Sapp :** Haha thank you SO much! Yeah it was weird to see, for sure. In order to get to 1000 chapters, either OOTB would have to be well over 300 chapters, orrrr we're just gunna have to wait until the 5th story. Ah well.

 **CHICKENM4N :** Oh man this is only the beginning xD

 **Snake557 :** Yes! I hope you all agree. If not, it's okay, I can maybe just draw some snippets from it, then, but who knows. You'll see why I love it so much :D Thank you friend! I'm glad you're enjoying it.

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Longer Than I Thought by Loote**

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 ***Chapter 46***

With silver coding that swarmed Turbo's teleportation pad, Berri gently stepped off of the gentle glow of it all and flinched in sleepy realization. She furrowed her brow and peered about Turbo's crisp, white foyer, the matte grey tiles that lined it like usual. Although it all was familiar, all the lights in said foyer were on a night setting, a much dimmer and calmer touch of light coat the place, she quickly realized that even though she had now been to Turbo's home a handful of times, she's never been here this late in the night. Seeing everything in a night setting was something she now realized she was welcomed to, her heart jumped at the thought of someone so reclusive and so stand offish simply inviting her to come over, this late in the night, so last minute. She bit her lip and relished in the thought, though as she eased into Turbo's open front door, she was nearly knocked off her feet at the sight of Orion City, across his home, the view from his glass living room, she could swear she had never seen anything like it.

As she so slowly eased about five feet into Turbo's opened front door, her eyes were just lost in the gorgeous view of Orion City, every single sky scraper and building was lit up in a gloss of unending life, like the fourth of July, she shook her head and was certain her eyes had never seen a more incredible sight; even the palace, off in the distance, glowed with pride, the strange thought that she was just previously there, not seconds ago. Before she could get too lost in his dim, lovely abode and the magnificent sights that it heavily included, she eagerly glossed her eyes across Turbo's kitchen and began to push off, to quickly march down his hallway and to his other much smaller teleportation pad, knowing full well he was in his code room. In simply one or two quick steps of a long stride, she suddenly came to an abrupt halt and met eyes with Turbo, he stood poised at his kitchen island, facing Berri. Berri choked a small noise of an inquiry, though before she could open her mouth and inquire just what the hell was going on, she noticed that his eyes were not the only thing giving off a golden glow.

In Turbo's hand was a cute cupcake with a gloss of delicious blue frosting on top. Speckled with pink confetti sprinkles, confidently poked out the top of it was a single white candle, which was lit and unwavering. Berri raised her eyebrows in a tender pluck of delight, she held her hands cupped to her chest in a cute show of surprise and peered her whole attention to Turbo. She wondered just exactly how much courage he had to have mustered for this little, itty-bitty surprise, the fact that he either made her cupcakes or did whatever he could to obtain them without leaving his high perch, she sagged her shoulders in a show of defeated, smiling gratitude as Turbo's golden eyes softly peered down to the little flame of the candle. He scoffed a small, nervous chuckle and shook his head.

"I'm so glad you're smiling, you have no clue the lengths I went just to get this single cupcake," Turbo blurt a full laugh, he beamed Berri a genuine, unreserved smile, something that was becoming much easier; she figured it helped that she smiled along with him, hopefully to encourage him.

"Y-You really didn't have to," Berri eased with a kind giggle as she eased closer, though she furrowed her brow and peered to the adorable, decent sized cupcake; it looked professionally made, it was practically a work of art.

"I swear to User, Beard Papa was entirely done with my bullshit," Turbo heaved another shaky chuckle as Berri approached, though she gave Turbo an inquisitive smile and crossed her arms in patient, beaming listening, as if she was entirely ready to hear his story about this, "I-I... I wanted to place an order at the factory for just a single, blue frosted cupcake. Easy, right? I can do that."

"One phone call away, no?" Berri shrugged, she cutely agreed with Turbo as he grimaced and shrugged along with her, a cute rhythm they now fell into, with each other.

"Yeah, yeah, you'd think," Turbo's voice pitched higher in a lilt of cute annoyance, he grimaced and shrugged, though his adorable, unfolding, cheeky personality was now about to be in full bloom, right before her eyes, "No one knows I exist, at the factory, so I have to call and pretend I'm someone else... Do you know the sheer volume of business that factory does on the daily? The wait time for a single cup cake as an average Joe?"

"Clearly right up until midnight?" Berri blurt a harder laugh, Turbo bugged his eyes and side-eyed her in a further show of beaming, teasingly-annoyed cheek.

"Clearly right up until midnight!" Turbo stabbed with a wider smile, Berri covered her forehead and felt her heart race, somehow the idea of his energy levels now reaching or even surpassing Nox's didn't seem so unrealistic; she wondered just when she'd be able to see it, though as he cheekily carried on, she wondered if it would be here and now. Turbo deepened his voice, stiffened his spine and sarcastically bobbed his head from side to side, as if to make fun of the individual, at the factory, that he was dealing with, "'Oh, sure, one single cupcake Mr. Average Joe, we'll have it finished and ready for you by eleven tonight.' ELEVEN!"

"For User's sake, you REALLY didn't have to," Berri choked a harder laugh and now rested the side of her hip against the counter, though Turbo shook his head and now jostled the cute cupcake, the flame flickered a little though remained confidently lit.

"Then I had to teleport over there and pick it up... Here I am, wearing a cloaked hoodie, a pair of sunglasses at eleven at night, I look like an asshole picking up a single cupcake like I'm about to rob the place," Turbo joked, he flagged his hand out, and although it seemed as if he had gone through hell and back to get Berri this one little treat, she was well aware he was only teasing, due to the widening, handsome, bashful beam of a smile goofily plastered to his cheeks, "At this point, I'm wondering if I should've like levitated up on a dark cloud like, 'I'M TURBO. THE GREATEST RACER EVER. GIVE ME THE DAMN CUPCAKE.'"

Berri was now lost in laughter, she clutched her stomach and bent over as she narrowed her gaze and did everything to at least try and stay upright. Turbo easily joined her laughter and continued to carefully cradle the cute cupcake in his masculine hands.

"Is that why you told me to get here quickly?" Berri wheezed as she wiped tears of laughter from the edges of her eyes, "I was in bed for a reset."

"I almost don't care, I want you to have the stupid cupcake before your first birthday is over, for User's sake," Turbo stabbed with a blurt of a playful laugh, to which Berri easily joined in on.

"That's incredibly nice of you," Berri huffed through soft laughter as she finally was successful in beginning to compose herself. She tucked her beautiful blue hair behind her ears, her new hair cut made it so some strands were too short to go behind her ears, and into her long braid, anymore, though she bat her lashes in girly delight, glanced down to the cute cupcake and heaved a long, smiling sigh, "You really didn't need to go through all that trouble, but... I'm glad you did. I was beginning to think you maybe forgot."

"No, there's no way I could've forgotten, I've been mustering up the energy to even CALL the factory ever since our first hang out," Turbo sighed with a smile and shrugged, "You said your birthday was Thursday... I'm sure you had many more delicious things to eat, today, but... Figured I'd... At least show that I, well... Care."

Berri eased her smiling, illuminated blue eyes tight to Turbo's golden gaze in a crushing sting of fervor, she felt her heart jump with delight, she desperately tried to reign in these feelings she was beginning to have, and as much as she wanted to convince herself that Turbo was the kind of man that would never even dream of reciprocating said flirty feelings, she furrowed her eyebrows and let reality hit her head on. Turbo's figure stood confidently before her, the look of dewy renewal in Turbo's eyes, as if he had simply just been so hulled away, inside himself, for so incredibly long, the raw fact that he now had a brand new soul to confide in, a new friendship to sink into, Berri could swear her heart was in her throat at the thought of Turbo actually and genuinely having the potential to reciprocate those buzzing feelings. For the whole week she had convinced herself it was one sided, impossible for him to ever look at her in a fleeting 'new crush' kind of a light, though he long blinked in a sigh of relief, the trouble he had gone through, the fact that he made it before the day was over, she was now incredibly worried she'd immediately get way too ahead of herself, here... She further pondered if he potentially would, as well.

"That's... So nice of you, Turbo," Berri stated with a kiss of tender, womanly maturity on her smiling, blushing cheeks. She shrugged her bare shoulders and finally peered up into Turbo's golden eyes, the flinch of fear she usually felt was almost entirely long gone, the urge to gaze deeper, to really see what was behind it all, she could practically hear her heart thumping in her ears, "Thank you so much... You really didn't have to do this, just for me."

"Yes I did, Berri," Turbo's deep voice lilted through a sigh of tender, masculine politeness as he bobbed a nod and gave her a grateful smirk of delight, "You've... You've done quite a lot for me, these past few days. It's, well... A lot to unpack, but, I just wanted to let you know that... I'm really grateful for you. And I hope your birthday was amazing."

"It was," Berri chimed gently, though she sagged and bashfully looked off, she felt her knees almost begin to shake as she felt herself become brave, "I caught myself always looking for your tower, today, wherever we were, in Orion City."

"Can't say I blame yah," Turbo sighed, he sagged his shoulders and finally melted into a soft, tender bubble of blooming flirtation, though he knew he was absolutely not the one to leap out and make the first move here; he secretly wondered if he could even afford it, at this point, so he carried on down a more nonchalant avenue in conclusion, "The tower is a nice escape. Above the city, y'have everything you need, you can teleport to the palace if you absolutely must. I'm glad someone understands just why it's so hard to break away."

Berri gently eyed him in girly, scheming delight, that fragile, brand new touch of maturity on her face, in her tone and laced about her words, she was floored that Turbo was the one and only lucky witness before for, while she tried it all on for size.

"... It's not the tower that has me coming back," Berri braved, as softly and as coyly as she could; she knew this was probably too soon, though she also knew she was absolutely itching to make some new, adult decisions.

Turbo was frozen, although his eyes were previously honed to the gentle flame in aimless, cute contentment, he suddenly cocked an eyebrow and, without further moving a single muscle, his daring, surprised, golden eyes hooked tight to hers in a show of unsure, boyish stun. They held now smoldering eye contact, Turbo could swear this was all a dream, every word coming out of her mouth was fake, and although he was previously peeved her presence was over-abundant, he suddenly felt her wreck another one of those high, sturdy walls around his heart. Although he was absolutely not looking for a fling, a romance, a flirty friendship, anything, he held his breath and suddenly wondered just exactly what this all was, before him. A bit of fun, a flirtatious spark that could just potentially simmer to a solid friendship, whatever it was, he had absolutely no idea, though he knew he'd be wholly kidding himself if he said he now wasn't secretly itching to find out.

"Is it the view?" Turbo's voice lilted to a softer show of a teasing climb, he was well aware that he could easily play this little game back at her.

"Ohh, you can just keep telling yourself that, I guess," Berri shrugged her bare shoulders, she bashfully smiled down to her feet, though her eyes eventually came back to the cupcake, the candle's wax now eased down the base of the little candle.

"I guess I will until you tell me otherwise," Turbo bobbed a nod and now was floored to play dumb; he was well aware Berri was a woman of a daring nature, someone who didn't reserve her thoughts, something he had the potential to go absolutely bonkers for, though strictly didn't allow himself. He gently jostled the cupcake and sweetly smiled into her eyes, a loving, whispering conclusion eased from the depths of his heart, "Make a wish..."

Berri narrowed her cheeky, smiling gaze at him and dropped the tender, flirtatious banter they had stumbled into. Something she thought was concluded for now, she humbly peered down at the cute cupcake, lulled her eyes closed, and let her thoughts run wild. It didn't take long for a single wish to come to her, and upon the small prayer for it to hopefully come true, she reopened her eyes, leaned in a little and tenderly huffed the candle out. It began to gently smoke as Turbo held it out for her, though they finally met eyes in smiling delight. She could practically taste the words that were about to come out of his mouth, so she waited for her prediction to come true.

"Want to know what I wished for?" Turbo blurt quietly with a chuckle.

Berri jolted in a flinch of surprise that her prediction, in fact, did not come true, and it was here did she now fully understand that Turbo was not as cut and dry as he lead on, the cover of his book was vastly more plain than the whole incredible saga that was on the inside, and as if she could've absolutely bet money on the fact that she thought for certain he was simply going to ask her what she had wished for, instead of the odd reversal he laid out before her, she grinned in a furrowed look of stunned, cocky delight.

"...What, what exactly did YOU wish for? On MY birthday candle?" Berri stabbed with a choke of a laugh, Turbo's whole demeanor glowed, the unfold of his so tightly creased origami heart, he narrowed his cheeky gaze and just barely shook his head through the daring stab of his precise, golden eyes.

"For you to tell me what exactly is bringing you back to this tower every day," Turbo revisited, though Berri rolled her eyes in beaming annoyance, sagged her shoulders and looked off to the view of his living room and the glorious city beyond it.

"I wished that you wouldn't ask," Berri fibbed in cocky delight as she continued to hold her eyes across his home, she crossed her arms and finally gave him a smiling look of girly sass.

"Fair," Turbo shrugged, though he tenderly set her cupcake on the small, white saucer of a plate that was previously provided on the island. He sneakily licked his pointer finger and thumb free of blue icing, gave her a coy look of delight and softly began to step over to his fridge, "Your wish didn't come true, cause I DID ask."

"Neither did yours, cause I'm not tellin' yah," Berri chimed, the cute, sarcastic delight in her voice had him now itching for more fun banter, the hard-to-get attitude she delivered was something he had entirely forgotten that his soul craved.

"I'll ask again later," Turbo mumbled, though as he opened his fridge, he halted and gave Berri a now kind smile, outside of their playful banter, "I... Well... The cupcake wasn't the only surprise."

"You've really done enough, Bo, it's fine," Berri mumbled as she gently picked up her delicious looking cupcake and took a small bite.

"I'm really glad you were at that palace meeting, last week, because... You'd know that going to Tapper's wasn't possible, right now, due to, well... Self programmed gamers being randomly deleted," Turbo stated in a lilt of tenderness that now coat him, a serious topic he knew to not just take lightly, and as he bent over and dug into his fridge, Berri raised her eyebrows in plucked, soft surprise and swallowed the current bite of cupcake she had taken. With ease, Turbo came from the whole of his fridge and stepped back over to the island with a large glass jar of none other than Tapper's delicious, frothy, dangerous root beer. Berri gaped as Turbo firmly pat the jar with a wide, proud smile, "I figured if we can't go to Tapper's... I'd bring Tapper's to us."

"H-How... When...?" Berri staggered as she set the cupcake down, he shrugged and looked down to the frosty jug, almost a gallon's worth, "Y-You... I mean, I know you said to come to you for all my Tapper's needs, but, I honestly thought you were bluffing."

Turbo furrowed his brow and felt purpose come back to his skin, he cocked an eyebrow and gave her a look as if to say that he, too, had a reserve of cocky, flirty confidence he was ready to utilize, "I'm not a bluffer, love. I play my cards right every time."

Berri gingerly lofted her now curious, bashful and girly gaze tight to his, it was here that her stomach began to clench in weird fit of tension that was swiftly dipping from playful flirtation to a squishy dig of coy, innocent, intimate delight. Berri felt almost beat by her own game, she wondered if she was now in on this weird, cute bout of tension strictly to see if she could possibly one-up Turbo, if there was a definitive end to his fuse. She was certain his reclusive, introverted nature could hardly afford anymore, though she was now beginning to wonder if said reclusive, introverted nature was not apart of his nature at all, and rather a part of a defense mechanism he had diligently built for himself. She wondered just why someone so fun loving and daring would possibly restrict themselves like such, though she also recalled his past. She wondered if there was more to the story, and was certain she'd find out in due time, though for now, she was excited to stare down the business end of a tall pint of Tapper's root beer.

"Well, then, cassanova, why don't we bust this thing open and see just what you're made of, then?" Berri chimed in delight as she, too, pat the side of the frosty glass. She then flung her arm up into the air, and with near half-hearted, exhausted delight, she lulled her eyes closed and acted as if her next statement maybe wasn't as huge of a deal as she thought it'd be, "Cause I'm an ADULT."

"Welcome, it sucks," Turbo muttered as he bobbed a lazy nod and quickly began to unscrew the tight cap of the jar. As he set the lid down and stepped away to get them two proper drinking pints, he cocked an eyebrow, eyed his front door, subtly leaned in and tabbed the switch underneath his island's counter top. Berri raised her eyebrows in surprise and softly lofted her gaze over her shoulder, she watched him seal the two inside his warm home, her heart began to start thudding, once more, as Turbo continued, "And I can guarantee that."

"Why? Y'get to stay up however late you want, you don't have to answer to anyone," Berri shrugged and grasped for more positive sides of adulthood, "There's more to do, you can say what you want, romance, code swapping, Tapper's, LIFE."

"Guess it's easy to be happy when your life would just consist of things like swapping and Tapper's," Turbo blurt a laugh and softly eased two proper beer pints on the island, before the two, "In my almost forty years, I can tell you it's been anything but those things... But go off."

"I guess I still have a lot to learn," Berri bobbed a humble nod, peered down to Turbo's hands and eased a tender smile on her womanly face, "Hope I'm not... Digging at wounds, here. You have the entire Arcade's lifetime worth of years under your belt. I guess I'm not one to talk, having little to no life experience, whatsoever."

"Well, I told you a little bit of my backstory, mine isn't well rounded or anything," Turbo muttered softly, he began to pour the two a frothy, decent helping of the delicious, intoxicating root beer, "I maybe had a normal life for only a few years before it all went down the shitter. I've been trapped inside Sugar Rush for the past almost thirty some odd years, the majority of it I've either been by myself or with Lash. Neither of which included any of the things you listed."

"So, guess we're both stepping into a new chapter of life, then, yeah?" Berri chimed in cuteness as she bravely lifted her full pint, held it out before her and awaited for Turbo's to cheers her, "I'm just a silly youngin' and you're an old fart with a new lease on life."

"Okay, ow," Turbo scoffed as he clutched his chest, over his heart; Berri blurt a loud laugh and sagged her arm a little, he knew she was just playing as the two finally smiled into each other's eyes, "Who am I kidding, you're not wrong."

"We make an interesting duo, I'd say? What would you call this?" Berri wrinkled her nose and looked off, knowing full well they were just friends, though the dynamic, the timing, everything about it was delightfully, perfectly odd, and everyone knew it.

"...Potential," Turbo stated bravely, his warm, handsome closed-mouth smile said it all, a million and one hopes and wishes he so cutely managed to secure into the powerful punch of one word, one insinuation, and it was with this did Berri stand up a little straighter and lift her glass in another wave of bashful confidence.

"I'll drink to that," Berri eased with a smile, and as the two tenderly chimed the rims of their frosty, frothy pints of Tapper's root beer, it was here did they immediately understand that their night was, indeed, very young.

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 **A/N :** HEY GUYS! Soooo, we're coming up on chapter 50, soon, hopefully you guys remember what that means. But, this time, I am thinking of switching it up.

Although the 50-chapter-sketchdumps have been a wonderful way for me to get quick doodles out, of certain scenes in the story, I have actually decided that, with each 50 chapters, I will let you guys vote on just which ONE chapter you'd like to see... In a fully fleshed out, colored and detailed COMIC! Yes, one single entire chapter in comic form! If I had a choice, I'd personally pick this chapter, 46, to draw in comic form, strictly because of the mood and potential for tons of facial expressions and cute flirting between the two, (as well as a nighttime setting of Turbo's lovely loft) but I will let you guys decide! Which ever chapter gets the MOST votes will be in comic form! Full color and dialog, EVERYTHING!

So, you can start casting now if you would like, but I won't start counting the votes until chapter 50! I'll remind everyone when chapter 50 is live. Be sure to keep an eye on my deviantART, as well as my ArtStation accounts for when pages to said comic go up! (I'll make sure to keep everyone posted of such thing, as well) So be thinking about which chapter you'd like to see drawn! Thanks guys! :D


	47. Chapter 47

**Reviews :**

 **Romantic Sapp :** Thank you SO much! :D I'm glad you liked my picture! Also, I'll be sure to squeeze in an update picture of the flyers, I've really dropped the ball on that one.

 **Burgie :** Aw thank you! :D

 **Snake557 :** Thanks friend! And, I've heard Berbo the most haha. I like it!

 **SamanthaR1987 :** I think it's shaping up to be that way! Guess we'll see, but the lot of you want chapter 46. I'm genuinely surprised, I thought I'd be the only one that was itching to draw 46.

 **CHICKENM4N :** LMAO! Sorry, friend haha. Thanks for the love!

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Affection ft. Jack Newsome by Said the Sky Origami**

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 **A/N : WOW. So, when it comes to the comic pages I was speaking about previously, Chapter 46 has 8 votes, as of right now. Soooo... Dare I say we have a winner, but I will wait until Chapter 50 to solidify that. You guys are so funny LOL! I'm SO glad you guys enjoyed reading that chapter just as much as I did writing it :D**

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 ***Chapter 47***

In a sharp, silent inhale of a reflex, Turbo felt his eyes dryly come unglued from the back of his skull. Laid on his back, shirtless, he froze and peered his groggy, exhausted eyes up to the deck of his loft, as well as the glassy ceiling, a whole two stories up. In a pang of hurdles of foggy remembrance that came practically somersaulting back to his brain, he felt his heart begin to eagerly throb in a spike of fear as he could hear tender, quiet footsteps in his kitchen, as well as the dainty rummaging of ice cubes that tinkered into a glass, via the hub of a small spout smoothly bevelled into his modern, stainless steel fridge. He grimaced as he furrowed his eyebrows, just stabs of cheery memories that came rocketing back to his brain, memories that did not cooperate with the intense splitting headache he was now enduring. In bits of pieces, he now remembered that he had safely harbored Sugar Rush's princess for the night, a night to definitely be remembered, an ice breaker of belly laughs, new inside jokes, and an ember of a solid, and rather flirtatious friendship, Turbo knew he had to somehow garner the energy to sit up, lest he rot away in the insane hangover he was about ready to let consume his whole skull via migraine.

In the silent jostle to sit up, he desperately tried to peer his foggy gaze across his home. He rested on his elbows and let his brain catch up with him, the splitting headache that made everything impossible and every single light as bright as a thousand suns, he cocked an eyebrow and groggily peered up to his wall of windows; it was in this instance he gave past-Turbo a massive, silent thank you, the sheer fact that he had switched his windows to a fogged white tint before he fell asleep, knowing full well the rising sun would beam into his living room and make enduring this morning impossible, otherwise. He smiled to himself and finally allowed his cleared gaze to peer into his kitchen, from his comfortable couch, where he had slept the whole night. He long blinked in the picturesque moment at his island, the sight he didn't know his brain needed, he couldn't even barely remember the last instance he woke up in the morning, a beautiful woman in his comfortable presence, and even though him and Berri were just friends, he secretly held onto the dregs of this fleeting feeling.

Berri stood in Turbo's kitchen, her back was to him. It was clear she was sipping on the glass of water Turbo had kindly left her, on his own nightstand, the night prior. Due to her falling asleep on his recliner, once again, he bravely made the executive decision to just let her sleep in his bed, all to herself. He was well aware her waking up there might've been a shock, though with her seemingly peaceful demeanor, he sagged his bare chest, as he rested his upper body and elbows sharply into the cushions of his couch; he knew he should at least attempt to get up. In the struggle to remain silent all while reserving the urge to let loose a loud, grumbling groan of pain, he was successful in not cueing Berri's attention. He cocked an eyebrow and further assessed her, as he sat up. He ruffled his messy, chaotic, dusty grey hair and allowed how ever much time he had to just soak in her silent, tender, half awake presence. He had absolutely no idea just when he'd ever be allowed to this fragile moment, ever again. He tried not to feel sore over it, the majority of anything good in his life was so easily a fleeting memory of swift arrival and departure; he soaked in her incredible beauty, knowing full well this was, indeed, likely one of those very fleeting memories.

Berri's beautiful, cerulean blue hair had managed to work it's way out of the tidy braid she previously had it in. Although her hair was predominantly straight, the braid caused a beautiful set of sleepy waves that cascaded down her shoulders and back in a tender, almost-frizzy show of cute bedhead. He lovingly smiled in her direction, a secret show of walls that were beginning to crumple, and although he tried to diligently repair them in full-force, as quick as he could, he was well aware the walls she already had destroyed were irreparable. He looked down to his conjoined hands, his elbows rested on his spread knees, his rear now on the edge of the cushion of his comfortable couch, he dared to want to hang his head, though he knew he'd have to come back up, something his neck and hangover couldn't afford. In a grimace of endurance, he finally squinted his eyes, reached for his A-shirt and clumsily began to try and swipe it over his body. Upon finally standing, the couch croaked a little with the release of his weight, and with such, Berri perked up and peered her inquisitive gaze to his figure, as he approached.

Without words, the two simply smiled the sleepiest, smallest smiles of acknowledgement their hangovers could painfully produce, and with this, Berri gently lifted her glass of water, as if to silently further her non-verbal 'good morning' and thank him for the glass of water, all in one motion. Turbo scrunched his tired face, squinted his eyes, tenderly bobbed a nod of a 'you're welcome' and slowly eased up the few steps from his carpeted living room, into his cold, tiled kitchen, where Berri remained stationed. Turbo huffed a soft groan, rubbed his forehead and looked a delightful mess. Berri barely huffed a scoff of a breathy giggle, she looked Turbo over and noticed that he had successfully put his shirt on backwards. His thick, faded red sweats, however, had her glossing over his toned, lower figure in a blushing, hap-hazardous slew of bashful thoughts, the blatant obvious that left her with at least a decent amount to the imagination. She eagerly looked off and finally scrunched her eyes tight, as if to hope she wasn't caught looking, and to also silently scold herself for the same thing.

"So, maybe next time, I won't... Have Nox get me that much, from Tapper's," Turbo's voice was definitely a few octaves deeper than usual, a grumbling, raspy settle of reverberating, masculine bass his rib cage did everything to produce, it was something that made Berri's ears prickle with the sensation of said comforting, grumbling tone.

"Yeah, we... Went ham," Berri groaned, she barely emit an exhausted giggle as the two lofted their eyes to the glass jug, one that was once filled to the brim, though only now contained maybe two or three sips of leftover root beer at the bottom.

"Are you doing okay?" Turbo wondered through narrowed, exhausted eyes, though with the peel of formalities and awkward, bumbling niceties, the two stumbled through the night and came out of it on the other side, clean and with a new appreciation for each other and their new, solid friendship.

"I'll live," Berri giggled, she took another swig of her ice water, set the cup on the counter and ran her hand through her messy blue mane. She shook her head and shot Turbo an almost annoyed, sleepy smile, "Scared the shit out of me, by the way..."

"Why?" Turbo frowned in squinting, tender confusion.

"I woke up in your bed, only able to recall certain aspects of the night prior," Berri choked, she finally eased more into a wider awake being, something Turbo only barely followed suit, "Can you, uh... Brief me? A-Are we, well... W-We didn't... Like..."

"I have to admit something, Berri," Turbo stated in a suspension of seriousness, and it was here did Berri freeze and hold her breath in a strike of girly terror. Turbo finally lofted her his full gaze and bobbed a sorrowful nod of teasing regret, "I'm pregnant."

Berri was frozen in the reel of information that hit her brain, though just as Turbo beamed a cheeky, sleepy smile, rubbed his eye and began to make his way around the whole of his kitchen island, Berri rolled her eyes, lulled them closed, slapped her arm to her side in annoyed relief and shook her head, a further roll of exhaustion soaked over her migraine.

"Don't scare me like thaaaat," Berri drawled, she shook her head amidst the tight scrunch of her eyes.

"I'm not that much of an asshole. Like I told you, I may not have had any action since about thirty years ago, but it's, well... Not really in my nature to take advantage of a brand new adult whilst she's not even sober," Turbo shot her a cheeky side eye and smiled, though with his comfortable words and choice of topic, Berri reeled. She almost felt bad for it, she narrowed her gaze in confusion and now began to wonder if Turbo had potentially opened up to her the night prior, about very specific things in his life, and it was now stuff she couldn't remember. She held her breath and didn't dare ask him to repeat himself, due to now being embarrassed for such topic and to avoid looking like a total ditz. Turbo raised his eyebrows in a sleepy drag as he finally eased to his fridge, and upon opening it and leaning inside, he muttered a boyish conclusion, "Not like you'd want to consent to a piece of THIS 'old fart' anyways."

"... Are you really going to hold on to that?" Berri stabbed in now painful annoyance as she gripped her forehead and grimaced, Turbo came out of his fridge with a bottle of water and gently bobbed a small nod, alongside a sleepy, cheeky close-mouthed smile.

"Yes, ma'am," Turbo concluded, continued smile and all.

"The dustiest old fart of all," Berri continued, though she finally gave Turbo a side-eye and a small smile, to insinuate she was only playing.

"Proud of it," Turbo near whispered, he finally took a few hard gulps of water.

With his head tilted back, Berri eagerly kept her eyes to his figure and allowed one more gloss, one more look over, something her new, adult, girly coding was having a hayday over. She cocked an eyebrow and held her breath. Although Turbo wasn't technically ripped or built on a mainframe of nothing but muscle, he still was toned in certain areas, lean and careful about his figure. His prominent adam's apple glossed up and down his jugular as he eagerly drank, small escaped beads of water making his dark, matte grey skin glossy, and as he finally came up for air, he lulled his eyes closed in relief and sagged his shoulders, amidst closed eyes. Berri blurt a small giggle and finally faced him, they sat stationed on the same side of the island, in the area between said island and his row of cabinets, stove and fridge, appropriately placed. Berri finally smiled down to her half empty glass and felt her heart swell with gratitude. She knew that Turbo most definitely didn't have to do anything that he did, last night, though he still put himself out there and made the night memorable; however figuratively it was, in hindsight.

"I-I want to thank you, Turbo," Berri tenderly pressed, she sighed in contentment and finally delivered her sweet, grateful blue eyes to his golden gaze.

"For what?" Turbo wondered, and as he slowly began to mosey to the island, so to stand closer to her, he furrowed his eyebrows in agitation as he peered down to his shirt. With a skillful move of bent arms and grappled cloth, he rearranged his shirt, over his body, so it wasn't backwards, any longer. Berri blurt a small laugh at his clean efforts and peered up to him as he bashfully continued on, "For giving you a single cupcake and an entire vat of alcohol that your body was absolutely not ready for? Nor mine, for that matter?"

"For caring about me," Berri blurt another small laugh and tried not to allow the sting of her headache to ruin the moment. She set her glass down and heaved a long sigh, "I-I... I was catered to all day long, I loved every second of it, I had such a blast with my family, but... The whole day was totally complete with last night. I had a lot of fun... E-Even if I don't really remember much of what happened at the end, there."

"I do, don't worry," Turbo bobbed a small, reassuring nod and lulled his eyes closed. He breathed a small chuckle amidst the memory and wrinkled his nose, "You MAY or may not have danced on my coffee table and played the sickest air guitar I've ever seen in my life."

"Nooo, nooo, cause that'd mean you'd have to kill me," Berri grumbled as she covered her whole face with her hands, hung her head and continued to groan silent obscenities to herself in whole entire embarrassment.

"It was really funny," Turbo assured with a laugh, it was contagious enough to get a few giggles out of Berri's scrunched, hiding figure, "Speaking of which. I also, am, well... Really floored that we speak the same language."

Berri furrowed her brows in a tender pluck of reviving confusion, she finally peered out from behind her hands, dropped her shoulders and peered up into Turbo's eyes in a draw of gentle camaraderie. It was here did she feel absolutely relieved that Turbo was the one to bring this up, the topic of their shared interest, and it was here did Berri feel purpose begin to rush her veins.

"Which?" Berri pressed; she knew he wasn't insinuating their speaking language, though instead, something more universal.

"Music," Turbo bashfully eased, and it was here did Berri realize that he was nervously opening another fold of his soul, for only her to see, something that was likely very difficult. He heaved a shaky sigh and gave her a small, knowing look, "I... I can only assume you saw the guitar and haphazard mess of lyrics and sheet music, in my room."

"I... I WAS going to say something, but," Berri shrugged, she felt a whole sweep of tighter camaraderie begin to glue her and Turbo together, "I know how sensitive that is. From one musician to another, I'm not about to go prying at your sheet music and ask you to play me something."

"I genuinely appreciate that," Turbo chuckled as he bobbed a nod and closed his eyes, "M-Maybe, sometime, we can... Well..."

"Y-You don't have to do that, Bo," Berri assured in tender, solidified confidence as she barely shook her head at him, though it was in the sweep of careful action was she absolutely surprised to see Turbo so warmly reach out and ease his strong, masculine right hand into her left hand.

"I want to," Turbo quietly assured, almost as if it were a secret, "I can show you some of my stuff, you can show me some of yours. Maybe we can even bounce ideas off each other. I-I've never had another person to practice with."

Berri gripped Turbo's hand in a spike of warm surprise, she peered up into his eyes in anticipation, in an endless slew of patience, she furrowed her brow in the ache of her heart, how sore she was becoming over the fact that Turbo wasn't this big, scary and reclusive individual nearly everyone had made him out to be. He just needed a friend. Someone who rivaled his solitude, someone who easily competed with, and won, the battle over his own reserves, his own desire to be just with himself. It was here did she understand that it wasn't just anyone that Turbo wanted to welcome into the dark, deep end of his heart, it was someone who would meet him where he was at, and understand the fragility of it all. Berri felt absolutely honored, she smiled and was grateful her hard work, her likely annoying persistence, was now something that had won her a fragile, magical and solid friendship with Arcade's most feared bad guy.

"I'd love that," Berri quietly assured, her hand continued to squeeze in his, physical touch was not something Turbo was ever caught doing. Although this was something that mildly frustrated Berri, due to her being a hugger and a being of physical affection, she again knew that these milestones were on his watch, were all in his fragile time. She immediately felt as if she'd give this creature an endless supply of her patience, no matter what that meant, and it was here did Berri feel the need to reward all of Turbo's incredible bravery, all the instances he barreled down the walls of his comfort zones in her name. She barely revisited Turbo's previous words, the evening of their first shared palace meeting, she hoped it resonated with him, "Just name a time and place... Okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," Turbo nodded, and although Berri didn't want it to end, whatsoever, Turbo lovingly gave her hand one more strong squeeze and tenderly released. Turbo finally heaved a soft sigh, bobbed a nod and eased out of her gravity, he began to look as if he was going to head into his living room, so to tidy the mess of pillows and a throw blanket he had created. Although he had removed himself from the vicinity, he held on to the conversation, "I'll just follow your example and show up on your doorstep at dinner time... HERE AND NOW."

"Oh, come off it," Berri blurt a gentle laugh and regret it, she grimaced and held her forehead, "Ohhh wow, yeah this sucks. If this is what results in drinking Tapper's root beer, I don't think I want to do it again."

"You had nothing but a cupcake in your stomach, Bear... And no matter my persuasive convincing, I COULD NOT, for the life of me, encourage you to eat anything else, or drink water," Turbo grumbled as his figure slunk down the steps and into his living room. He flailed his hands a little and pitched his voice higher, to now teasingly make fun of Berri, his back was turned, "'No, Bo, I'm fine. No, Bo, I'm hydrated. No, Bo. No, Bo. NO, BO."

"Well at least you took my answer to heart," Berri muttered as she bugged her eyes, insinuating something further, as well.

In the gentle stagger of laughter that Turbo emit, a cue that he was going to carry on with potentially teasing Berri, Turbo's entire loft suddenly began to shake with the pounding of a hard fist on Turbo's front door, a bang that rocked the core of the entire game a total of five angry times. Turbo and Berri both froze in a prickle of now bug-eyed, confused terror, the two reeled, as if they now had to piece together the rest of Sugar Rush in rememebrance that everything outside of Turbo's loft existed, and it was here that Berri felt her stomach drop in a roll of terror. Not only had she slept over at Turbo's house without telling anyone, she immediately realized that she likely had successfully missed a good half of her home schooling with Throttle, in which she was instructed to attend, on top of wholly misjudging the status of her phone's battery, and now her entire coded being - dead.


	48. Chapter 48

**Reviews :**

 **ProfessorEon :** LOL! Welcome! Thanks so much for catching up and for being so diligent in reading! I hope you're enjoying everything so far! And yes, Turbo is dead meat, but only for like 1 minute lol

 **CHICKENM4N :** He's not as dead as anyone would think, actually! But yes, the first fourth of this chapter, he is lowkey dead xD

 **Snake557 :** haha yeah, typical xD

 **Burgie :** Thank you!

 **Romantic Sapp :** Aw, well thank you for understanding. About once a year, I'll reread my entire saga, just for continuity's sake, and to refresh my love for older characters and couples. It helps! Cause I don't have a ghost writer, or underwriter or any of that nonsense... So keeping up with continuity and all the tiny little details of the nearly 3 dozen characters I have is EXTREMELY hard. So I always feel bad when someone's favorite couple or character has sort of slipped through the cracks, cause I do everything I can to keep the story balanced... But there's only so much one single person can do. I'm just glad everyone seems to be loving the ride, thus far. I mean, 6 years into it, I'd say we're still holding strong. It's all thanks to you guys :D

* * *

 **A/N :** Hey guys, real quick. For those of you that followed me on Instagram, you'll know that I took about a 2 month hiatus. I deleted the app and didn't touch it once, but I recently decided to slowly come back, I got rid of the people on IG that were really bothering me and making me feel miserable, and it's been a delightful experience thus far. I have more WIPS to upload and new art that will come soon (including the comic!) But I ALSO wanted to let everyone know thaaaat... We got a new car, and named him Royal! So now we have Lickity and Royal! :D Royal is a cute, white Honda hybrid, which is so extremely fitting, like idk how we got so lucky. We just needed a more fuel efficient car, and it just so happened to be an adorable, white hybrid... Like Royal, in my story LOL! I posted an interior picture of him - it's technically my fiancé's car, so I didn't want to show the outside of it, due to Cory's privacy, but I thought it was still fun to share. I hope to one day collect more cars, to name them after my creatures. We're relieved and couldn't be happier! YAY! **(IG Username is Vyntastic)**

 **ALSO!** I WILL be attending Phoenix Comicon (I refuse to call it fan fusion wtf) this May! I still am 10 chapters ahead of you guys (I just finished writing chapter 59, actually) - so, hopefully by the time my week off rolls around, I can still keep uploading throughout my vacation. I hope this every other day speed is alright for you guys! I appreciate your guys' support!

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 ***Chapter 48***

In a squeeze of cold terror, both Berri and Turbo now began to urgently rush towards his front door, and in the gentle sag of said white slab of an indestructible wall, Berri and Turbo stood a few feet apart, peering hard out the reveal of his gently lit foyer. As if they were certain said white slab of a wall was entirely indestructible, the powerful, seething being that was now confidently stood on the other side of it was someone they were certain that, given the right swing of anger, could barrel down the door with no issue. The King of Sugar Rush, although a typical softy on a day to day basis, everyone on the lot knew that Zed was absolutely the last person to be trifled with. Both Berri and Turbo froze in a roll of continued horror, just exactly what this terrible situation really looked like on the outside looking in, Turbo held his breath and knew he was absolutely screwed.

"Good morning, hope you two slept well," Zed's voice clipped in a tone of tender, sarcastic delight, as if he had somehow almost steamrolled over a gold mine, the look of entire authoritative, searing ironic heat sat sharp and heavy in his icy blue eyes. Zed stabbed a look of rivaled dominance into Turbo's now greying gaze, the fierce gold glow he typically had only ever faded due to fear or sadness. Zed finally furrowed his brow, assessed his young daughter and pointed a firm, fatherly finger at her, "You're two hours late to your class with Throttle. I'm sure you two had a long, busy night, but it's no excuse to snooze alarms."

"D-Dad, this is not what it looks l-"

"I need you to save your excuses. One more word and you're palace bound, grown-ass adult or not," Zed stabbed as he pointed said firm finger now behind him, to Turbo's gape of a front door, "We'll talk later."

In a successful wipe of whole authority, Berri immediately crumpled to Zed's word. Although he was typically the more laid back parent, whenever he got angry, everyone knew he meant business, and talking back was detrimental to whether or not you had your head ripped from your body. In a gentle, quick few steps, Berri's bare feet eased out of Turbo's warm, forgiving home, hooked a tight left and sagged onto the still glowing teleportation pad. In a buzz of silver coding, the sound of Berri being teleported away echoed throughout Turbo's home, via his opened front door. Turbo peered out the exit of his home in heart-pounding terror, and as his eyes now lost the entirety of his precious, lively golden glow, he sagged his nervous gaze straight for Sugar Rush's King, his boss, and ultimately, the man who held the princess's heart. Zed inhaled a deep breath, held his tight, unwavering gaze into Turbo's eyes and now silently made clear that this was a man's conversation. In a tender gesture of his hand, Zed bobbed a nod to Turbo's island and immediately held Turbo's territory as his own.

"Please, sit," Zed eased, his words were soft and kind, though Turbo knew his tone absolutely meant business.

Turbo felt his veins do a weird wiggle, he tried his hardest to swallow and have it not be audible, and as his head now began to pound with the splitting migraine that only began to multiply, Turbo's shaking coding eased him to his island's bar stools. As he nervously and slowly sat down, Zed stood on the opposite side of the island. With a further show of whole authority, as to just who technically owned this loft, Zed nonchalantly reached his hand underneath the slab of the island's counter, pressed the secretive button to close Turbo's front door and, as if a show of arms, Turbo's door began to sag shut, sealing both men in, something Turbo now grew even more fearful of. With a shaky inhale, Turbo knew full well he was absolutely in the clear, he had coded proof that he didn't lay a hand on the King's daughter, though his heart began to throb with uncertainty, the whole fact that Berri's father, the one in charge of the entire game, now assumed the two were up to no good; not a wise move for one of the game's other leaders.

"So, Turbo, why don't you tell me a little bit about what happened between you and Berri last night?" Zed stated in a chime of sweetness, though Turbo knew full well it was just dripping in raging sarcasm, a bob of a nod Zed delivered, the icy glower of suspicion, Turbo was well aware that absolutely anything he'd have to offer Zed would just make him mad, no matter what. Zed inhaled a deep breath, he wore a dark zip up, his left arm was properly clad with his own family name, Kalivar practically beamed into Turbo's eyes, reminding absolutely everyone who was boss. Zed furrowed his brow and peered into Turbo's soul, an entirely unwavering gaze that only one being wasn't even an ounce afraid of delivering, "Y'wanna give me a play by play or do you want me to hold this whole loft hostage until I pry it out of you?"

"I-I can give you a play by play," Turbo agreed to softly, though he began to feel his stomach clench with a further draw of terror as said Tapper's jug, which was once full, was now entirely empty on his kitchen island, near Zed's figure. Turbo tried his hardest to sit straight, any ounce of dignity he had desperately tried to build up within the last week was just as easily fleeting as a house of cards in the wind, "I... Under disguise, ordered Berri one of Beard Papa's limited edition blueberry cupcakes. It took the entirety of Berri's birthday to finally get. I also had Nox bring me some of Tapper's root beer, so her and I could enjoy. I know she can't leave the game, due to the weird deletions of faux codes going on... I knew she'd be safe here. It just all came together so last minute because my order at the factory was first in first out, thus... Being ready at eleven last night."

Zed furrowed his eyebrows, though it was here that Turbo was stunned that he still had the floor to explain himself, as well as the fact that his head was still connected to his shoulders; he hesitantly carried on.

"W-We... We got drunk, had some laughs, talked a bunch, and she fell asleep on that recliner," Turbo tenderly explained as he pointed back to his red recliner, near his gape of now white-tinted windows. Turbo was thankful the recliner was still popped in its splayed position, he eyed Zed and rested his hands on the island's cold counter, "I moved her to my bed, so she could get a decent night's rest, and I, quite obviously, slept on the couch."

Zed and Turbo were silent as Zed's angry eyes softly lofted to Turbo's living room, it was clear with the mess of a single blanket and pillow that Turbo was either telling a very well put-together, elaborate lie, or the whole truth. Zed finally furrowed his eyebrows and peered hard into Turbo's eyes, which were surprisingly beginning to return said golden glow, as slowly as it was possible. Turbo cocked an eyebrow and gently upped the ante, he wondered just how much give he had here, just how much push back he was allowed when it came to dominance, to reserving any last shred of his dignity.

"...You want to go rummaging through my coding's terminal?" Turbo's dark, deep voice lofted at Zed, a stab he was hoping resonated.

"No, man, I just need you to know that this is the second time you've gone after one of my daughters," Zed barked in a wheeze of now unadulterated, nearly annoyed desperation, his masculine hands held flat to Turbo's cold counter top, "I know that you know, FULL well, that when you leapt up and kissed Libby all that time ago, with Ace as a witness, that that was likely one of the hardest things Ace ever had to just sit and endure, right?"

Turbo frowned and now reeled, he now understood that he had to climb to Zed's level of billowing frustration, what seemed like a light hearted night with his friend was now becoming a little bit too real for anyone's speed.

"I hope you understand that it was like stones in my heart, as well," Zed huffed a hard sigh, his angry eyes now began to show a shred of sorrow, something Turbo now was intent on cueing to, "To see you just jump up and sweep Libby into your arms, begin to claim her as yours again... I understand that was a weird situation, and you had no clue she was happily taken, and an entirely different being, but... I raised Libby. I consider her a daughter."

Turbo heaved a long sigh through his nose and now looked down to his kitchen island in a sag of understanding. He long blinked and allowed Zed's frustration to now coat him entirely, instead of trying to rival or fight him.

"I was mildly scarred by the fact that you had interfered, however unknowingly... These girls are my princesses, they're two of a handful of women I'd lay my life on the line for, no questions asked," Zed shook his head and narrowed his gaze, "As much as Ace is my son, and their predicament is not average, I still made sure Ace was a good fit for my surrogate daughter. Ace still had to go through me for her heart."

"Your majesty, as wonderful and incredible as Berri is, I have no interest in... Courting her," Turbo admitted tenderly, he shook his head and softly peered to Zed's eyes in a slew of tender apology, though he wondered if this maybe gave Zed relief, "If that's what you're worried about, then, this is all for not, cause... We're just friends. We had a fun night of stupid jokes and great conversation. I didn't lay a single hand on your daughter, sir. She's just a friend."

Zed exhaled a long sigh through his nose, the final dregs of any anger he came flying up here with, and as Zed finally looked away, Turbo suddenly felt his heart begin to squeeze with a feeling of mild regret. He furrowed his eyebrows and began to feel his heart thud with knowing, as if maybe his words were true on the surface, though he bashfully, and nervously, peered to Zed once more as both men caught eyes in a string of tender, secretive understanding.

"Turbo... You don't just jump so far out of your comfort zone to go all the way to Beard Papa's, get a limited edition item, have Nox go all the way to Tapper's, and treat Sugar Rush's princess to a fun sleep over with just the two of you, drinks and laughs and all that jazz... If you viewed her as just a friend," Zed muttered, he shook his head, and although a sneaky smile began to sprawl Zed's face, Turbo now began to wonder if maybe he was doing certain things without even realizing, if his heart was so happily getting ahead of his thoughts, like falling back into the rhythm of being friendly and flirting and courting was just in his coding all along, and the neon lights along the way were now something he couldn't even read due to how separated from society Turbo had been. Zed chuckled and looked across Turbo's lovely, sunny home, even amidst the white tint of his massive walled-window, "At least, not in the way of anything Turbo Black would be caught doing, for a 'friend'... You didn't do any of this for Wren's birthday, Theo's, nor mine, Tessa's, anyone's that has passed, this whole year."

Turbo reeled and felt as if Zed was reading him blind, he nervously looked down to his counter and heaved a shaky breath, as if he had to sit and now rethink just what was going on with him, just the kind of tornado-like week he's had.

"Not that anyone's upset about it, that's not what I'm saying," Zed shrugged, he eyed Turbo and heaved a gentle sigh, "It's unlike you. It's clear there's something here. She's been in and out of this loft more times this week than anyone on the palace lot has been in the entirety of Orion City's establishment. She wears your hoodie everywhere she goes, her nose is buried in her phone any chance she gets, I'm certain to message you..."

Turbo felt a wiggle of now nervous delight come to his veins. He furrowed his brow and began to soak into thought. He put himself in the position that Zed most certainly thought he was stepping into, that of being someone who was more than just friends with Berri. Although he was quite enjoying the innocent flirtation, he almost felt the urge to chuckle brim at the back of his throat. Not only was he absolutely certain that Berri was so far out of his league, he was well aware she'd likely find some other catch at Academy, some other man she could properly do life with, he knew for a fact that a relationship with the biggest, baddest Arcade nightmare was likely something to be just a dead end street, a mess of conflicting wants and desires. He now almost felt bad, as if Zed came here angry and ready to blow down Turbo's house, though now that Turbo was expressing a thin surfaced layer of strict romantic disinterest in Berri, it's almost as if Zed now secretly wanted the opposite of Turbo's unsure words. Little did Zed know, Turbo was doing absolutely everything and anything to keep his fragile, potentially crush-esque feelings on a strict down low.

"She's pretty great," Turbo tenderly admitted as he looked down to his hands in a swift swing of defeat; he immediately scolded himself in an inward show of clenched teeth. He wondered just when he'd grown so soft, since when has his paranoid inhibitions melted into a gooey vat of assurance, he long blinked in soft confusion towards himself, the swelling hug his heart was now engulfed in, it was here and now did he understand that he maybe needed to stop kidding himself.

"Turbo... As much as you're mine and Tessa's partner, in this mess," Zed shook his head and finally allowed their riled, angry, manly demeanors to melt into something a bit more soft and brotherly, "You're still my friend... If there's anyone to make even the meanest, scariest, ugliest creature on this green Earth feel loved and included, it's definitely Berri."

Turbo heaved a shaky breath and felt his mind flip flop in confusion. The desperation to hold onto the fact that he was strictly friends with Berri, the desperation to hold onto his comfortable life of solitude, the desperation to make everyone believe he was just a jaded good guy with a bad guy past, he lulled his eyes closed and sagged into Zed's now gentle care, words of wisdom. A man of experience, a vaster and more complicated dollop of life experience he had over Turbo, he was well aware Zed's advice was like gold. As odd as it was receiving almost fatherly care from someone who was basically thirty Arcade years younger than he, Turbo still relished in the feeling of someone finally wanting to potentially take him underneath their wing. A crave for camaraderie, for friendship, it wasn't until Berri's warm soul touched his did he realize that it was something he's been wanting all along.

"I'm sorry to come at you strong, like that... Y-You have to understand, that one instance with Libby really took a dig at my heart, too," Zed bobbed a nod, and although the circumstance was already laid out, and Zed didn't lose any sleep over it, he still was grasping on the hard thought that he would one day have to let another one of his precious princesses fly the coop and make adult decisions with her life, "This particular situation just looked really bad. Berri literally just turned one, and amidst her fumble with Academy and everything, I didn't want her to get too cozy, here, in this loft."

"Wren and Theo were over yesterday," Turbo stated in tender defeat as he nodded once more, though Zed knew to just let the topic lay, he was well aware that Berri was doing a very good job at bringing Turbo out of his shell, as opposed to Turbo doing a very good job at extinguishing the flame that Berri was.

"Turbo, just... Hear me out," Zed started with a small smile, and as Turbo's tender eyes volleyed to Zed's dominant gaze, Zed finally side-eyed Turbo and snuck a gentle look of assured knowing, "You're welcome to my daughter... If that's something you think you'd eventually desire, you're welcome to her, given her permission and agreeing, of course."

Turbo raised his eyebrows in plucked surprise and now was absolutely certain Zed was now blatantly reading him like a book. As much as Turbo so desperately tried to remain a closed book, his golden eyes confidently glossed Zed's eyes in a dewy pluck of boyish nervousness. He felt it odd that his hands began to sweat, he felt as if the room had suddenly gotten brighter, and it was here did Turbo feel his heart begin to sag with a heavier feeling of warmth, itchy flutters of nervous, crushing anticipation, though he slowed his roll the second Zed held up his hand a little.

"I just hope, that with my word, you understand just what that all entails," Zed pressed in dominant continuation, "It's an understanding that you'd be prepared to treat Berri's heart as if it were a glass bubble on a gold cushion. It's an understanding that courting Sugar Rush's princess means that you could potentially be Sugar Rush's future King... It's an understanding that you are to go through me, if you want to chase that desire."

Turbo felt his skin prickle, he almost reeled at the weird sensation that rippled through him. It were as if Zed was potentially challenging him to this flicker of a desire, a spark against the flint, something Turbo was certain that, given the right conditions, could just explode like wild fire, and in a strange squeeze of confidence, Turbo felt floored at the raw fact that not once in this whole week-long escapade had he thought of that King's crown. He felt his shoulder sag, the realization that he knew Berri was a princess, though he had successfully taken her royal status, and just what that could selfishly mean for him, entirely out of the equation. He knew, somewhere deep down, he had a heart of gold, though he softly smiled down to the counter in a gentle sweep of relief that said heart of gold was still alive and well, he was thrilled that this little baby-step of crushing delight at least had solid, good intentions.

"...An understanding that this entire 'bad guy' label you've been wallowing in has you on thin ice," Zed's tone began to turn a little bit cold, he eyed Turbo down and raised his eyebrows in a rise of further authority, "An understanding that if you were to break her heart... You'd answer to the entire palace lot."

Turbo felt as if any fleeting inch of confidence he had in this fragile situation was now trying to keep its head above water. He bobbed a gentle nod of understanding, looked down to his hands, heaved a shaky sigh through his nose and felt exhausted. He knew Zed was incredibly intuitive, a King with his hand in everything and eyes on the back of his head, Turbo allowed himself to wallow in Zed's fatherly care, fatherly sternness he's never experienced in his life. He felt it nice, a strange mixture of support and intimidation Turbo knew he needed, if he were to begin to melt into the gang's crew of new royals.

"Yes, sir," Turbo's deep, raspy voice eased in confident, though nervous conclusion, and as Zed finally inhaled a long, heavy breath of revival, he bobbed a nod of gentle approval and lulled his eyes closed.

"Thank you for taking care of Berri, last night," Zed said, his tone was soft and gentle, he hooked his eyes into Turbo's now confidently glowing gaze and smiled, "I hope she hasn't turned your whole world upside down, or anything."

"Oh, she most certainly has," Turbo grumbled, though he looked off, smiled in nervous knowing and nodded in tender conclusion, "Though, strangely enough, I can't complain."


	49. Chapter 49

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** Aww lol! Yeah Zed's dad anger is a mood. Thanks friend!

 **Snake557 :** It's very true! Though, they don't really know any different, y'know? :)

 **Burgie :** Zed figures Berri dates either someone HE knows well enough, someone who knows Sugar Rush like the back of his hand, orrrrr... Some rando from Academy that Zed doesn't know xD Thanks for your support! :D

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Running with the Boys by Lights**

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 ***Chapter 49***

With fuzzy grey socks, a soak of baggy black sweats, a lazy hot blue spaghetti strap and bare shoulders cozily draped in Turbo's hoodie, Berri did everything she could to softly ease down her spiral staircase. Having attended the last half of Throttle's class, politely declined to hang out with Wren and Theo, and sticking to the confines of her room, Berri felt a whole gloss of embarrassment practically hold her captive in her own skin. She mulled around her room, tidied everything, cleaned out old drawers of clothes she didn't fit into anymore, she could practically see the look of fear, on Turbo's face, when her father pushed into their lovely morning bubble; it was practically burned in her retinas, something she so wished maybe a good night's sleep would rid of, and although she was due for bed anytime soon, she worried over the fact that Turbo hadn't reached out to her, all day.

With the clack of her bedroom door finally opening, for the first time in hours, Berri wondered if she could potentially brave her father's presence. She felt her coding begin to wiggle in nervousness, she wondered just how hard she'd have to defend herself, how she'd have to beg and promise that her and Turbo were most definitely not doing anything in the way of intimate themes, she worried that her father had potentially did his absolute best at chasing Turbo away. An undo of all her hard work, a massive foot to the fragile, delicate little blossom of their budding friendship, she held her breath as her silent, sock-covered feet rounded the dim, main corridor of her's, Tessa's and Zed's home. She prayed that her father was somewhere near, hopefully simmered from the entire, terrifying amount of anger he exuded, she knew he was the last one to get that mad. With Zed's fuse being nearly the longest of anyone on the lot, Berri felt her heart climb in her throat as she pushed into the kitchen, knowing full well she'd have to fully explain herself, though she bashfully peeked into the main room, their massive kitchen and living room conjoined, only to see her mother at the island.

"There's my Blue," Tessa eased warmly, she sat hunched over the kitchen island, after a long day at Academy and an even longer day running the kingdom, she dutifully sat with a splay of holographic displays, notes, homework and text books alike; she had made clear to everyone that this time around, she'd ace every single one of her classes, no questions asked.

"Hi, mom," Berri mumbled nervously, she sagged into Tessa's studious presence and eyed all of her mother's incredibly difficult looking work, "Uh... Where's dad?"

"He's in the code room," Tessa eased through a content sigh, she wore a pair of cute, black prescription glasses, her eyes were honed to what she was diligently writing down in her notes, though she finally cocked an eyebrow and glossed her cheeky, hazel eyes for her daughter's wavering orbs, "You have a good birthday, huh?"

"Please, mom, not you too," Berri muttered as she volleyed dreaded, defeated eye contact to her mother, though she was surprised to see Tessa's face slope to genuine, prickled sorrow.

"Bear, I'm not picking at you, I'm genuinely wondering," Tessa set her pencil down and sagged her shoulders of her strict, studying posture, "Your father told me everything that happened... I'm really glad you got to enjoy some of Tapper's, we felt really bad that we couldn't take you, due to the, well... Random self-program deletion happening."

"...You're not mad?" Berri wondered in a girly uplift of so desperately trying to drag herself from the slump of sorrow she's been in all day.

"Why would I be mad, Bear. So, you had a fun night of drinking with one of your friends," Tessa shrugged, "On your birthday, no less. You're an adult now. Whatever choices you make, we have to just trust it'll be the right ones... We're always here to guide you."

Berri raised her eyebrows in prickled surprise, she now began to wonder just exactly what Zed had told Tessa, and it was here did she begin to feel more confidence come back to her. She crossed her arms, furrowed her eyebrows, looked around in confusion and finally shot her eyes back to her mother's in near smiling, cheeky delight.

"...What exactly did dad tell you?" Berri prod, though Tessa heaved a long sigh through her nose and cocked an eyebrow.

"He said he went into full-dad mode, nearly barreled down Turbo's door and scared the piss out of you guys for no reason other than your phone died, and you spent the night at Turbo's," Tessa heaved a small giggle and shook her head, "After this whole week of you traipsing around in his hoodie and coming and going from his loft, your dad was absolutely certain Turbo whisked you away and didn't let you enjoy a single day of innocent adulthood without sneaking your own coding right out of your system. I mean, he was PISSED."

"I know, I had a front row seat to the first minute of it," Berri bugged her eyes and shook her head, and although her face heated up, she sneakily smiled at her mother and sighed, "Nothing happened, mom. We're just friends. I literally just started hanging out with him on Monday. It's Friday, for User's sake."

"Had I not been at Academy, I would've been able to ease your father's worries," Tessa sighed, she looked down to her work and shook her head, wondering just where all the time went, "I remember my first birthday..."

"What happened?" Berri prod with a curious smile.

"Well... Not even before my first birthday was over, your father and I had our first kiss... He whisked me away on the back of his bike and we made out. It was awesome," Tessa smiled in reminiscing, she cutely looked up to the higher ceilings and grinned amidst the doughiness, "That's something you have over me. I had my first kiss not twenty two hours into my first day of being a fully grown gamer. Unless you and Turbo actually DID-"

"MOM he's a friend, for User's sake, how many times do I have to convince people that he's just a friend," Berri rushed in a hard giggle, though Tessa gave her a cheeky side-eye and shrugged again.

"I guess, however many times you have to convince YOURSELF that he's just a friend, as well," Tessa concluded cutely, and it was here did Berri freeze and feel the blood leave her face. Before Berri could even scrunch her face and attempt to come back with a retort, Tessa inhaled a deep breath through her nose and began to diligently busy herself in her notes, "You're so funny, Bear. No one's going to crucify you for garnering a liking for Mr. Black."

"So, what if I DID say that I liked him, more than just a friend, what would that solve? Would everyone get off my case? Would you guys just harass Turbo and make it harder for him to hang out with me?" Berri pressed, almost as if to instigate, as if her words were just rhetorical, though Tessa was well aware this was strictly so Berri could log this information for a rainy day.

"Welp... We'd probably question Turbo a little, what his intentions were with you," Tessa shrugged, she eyed Berri a little and smiled, "He's a User made gamer, babe. You're a self-programmed gamer. If anything were to go beyond just simple, flirty hand holding, then you and I would have to have a little pow-wow, then, my dude."

"... See, I didn't even put any of that together, I didn't even THINK about that," Berri staggered, she furrowed her eyebrows and smiled amidst red cheeks, so desperately trying to convince herself, and everyone around her, that this wasn't anything to be concerned with, "Nothing to worry about, mom."

"Well, you know where to find me," Tessa shrugged, she knew this was a serious topic, though she also knew that even with Berri's protesting, Turbo was far more of a reserved being than to just willingly throw his coding at another woman, after the fiasco his last code swapping event caused for the Arcade, "It's not so much him I'm worried about, anyways. Poor guy is probably not looking for a serious commitment again."

"...Again?" Berri wondered in a strike of now concerned girliness, though Tessa cocked an eyebrow and dragged her eyes from her work in a slope of genuine, incredulous softness.

"J-Just... Please be safe," Tessa concluded in a motherly tone, and with such, she tenderly began to shoo Berri away, "Go chat with your father, Bear. He's in the main code room."

Berri furrowed her brow and recalled a certain dollop of information from earlier this morning, the mention of Turbo's extended conversation from the night prior, Berri began to feel absolutely irritated with the fact that she didn't remember any of it. She was well aware asking Turbo to repeat himself was indeed warranted, though still embarrassing. She shook her head, softly stated a warm chirp of almost annoyed gratitude and began to make her way to their main teleportation pad, just down the long, open-aired main corridor of their home. In the tender steps of her tidy, fuzzy grey socks, she eased onto the teleport pad, cued to the holographic silver options that hovered near the wall and held her breath. Although her finger nearly wanted to stab firmly into Turbo's name, to whisk away and be in his mysterious, addicting presence, she heaved a hot, long sigh through her nose, closed her eyes, and let her finger lazily tab to Sugar Rush's main code room; something only a very few select individuals had access to.

In the grip of silver coding that eagerly began to grapple at her legs, torso, arms and whole body, she was quickly downloaded to Sugar Rush's glorious code room. A dome that now had a cute settlement of a thin, snowy layer, Berri allowed her eyes to ease into the massive code room's gorgeous span of a thousand and one code boxes. An impressive web that Zed diligently stood at the center of, Berri held her breath and sorrowfully peered to the back of her father's head. Amidst the buzz, Zed only gently looked over his shoulder, knowing full well that the person behind him could only a specific few certain individuals, though upon seeing Berri's splash of blue hair, he halted everything he was doing and took a tender double take on her figure; he could've sworn she'd likely never want to be in his presence ever again.

"Your highness," Zed so warmly eased, his tone was low, it was clear he was trying his very hardest to be approachable, a warm spot of love she could always run to, no matter the circumstance. As Berri slowly crossed the stretch from the code room's teleport pad to the center of the game, she frowned and looked down to her hands. Zed huffed a gentle chuckle and eyed her, the confidence it must've taken to come into this conversation wearing Turbo's hoodie. It was here that Zed was certain that she was here to stand her ground, and upon now being given the whole story, from Turbo's side, Zed sagged and gave her a loving, knowing smile, "Surprised to see you comin' around so soon, love."

"Dad, I'm really sorry," Berri mumbled in bashful regret, she heaved a long sigh, gestured her hands a little, which were easily lost in the gape of Turbo's hoodie's sleeves, "I shouldn't have scared you like that, or had been so careless... I'm glad Throttle wasn't mad at me for being so late to his lecture..."

Zed gently remained still and faced his young daughter. He narrowed his gaze and really got a good look at her; gorgeous, fluffy blue waves of prolonged bed head cascaded down her beautiful figure, her dewy blue lashes were long and looked as if they had potentially been curled and mildly stuck together, due to previous tears that were shed. The little kiss of childish freckles on her mature, womanly face, the innocent gloss of wild blue her eyes were coat with, Zed was certain he had never seen a more adorable, beautiful creature. All day he had been attempting to wrap his mind around the potential of Turbo even beginning to attempt to court this being of unleashed wildfire, untamed and unnamed, Zed finally scoffed a silent chuckle and felt pride sweep his being. He looked down to his bare feet in conclusion; any man that could successfully win, and keep up with this incredible firecracker would most definitely have earned it, tenfold.

"I'm the one who should be apologizing, Bear," Zed grumbled, he shook his head and eased his eyes into her now gingerly surprised ones, "I... I reacted as a father to an adolescent. I didn't really treat you like an adult, there, and... I'm sorry. I just freaked out cause your phone was going straight to voicemail, and your location, from code room waypoints, was in Turbo's house. I wasn't worried that Turbo had hurt you, o-or if you two had done anything, I just... Was more mad that, if... If you two HAD done anything, he had the balls not to consult me first."

"It's okay, dad, you really don't have to worry about that," Berri grumbled as she rubbed her eye and looked off in bashful dismay, and although Zed wanted to prod and assure her that he potentially might, he knew to drop it and lay the trust right at her feet.

"Yes ma'am," Zed heaved in tender conclusion, though in a gentle sweep of not being able to help it, Zed so warmly eased his masculine hand to Berri's left cheek. He cupped her beautiful face and felt his heart just ache the second she gave him her loving, unsure eye contact. Zed felt his heart squeeze harder, the urge to well up brimmed at the back of his throat, how much love he had for his very own little princess, he shook his head and felt safe showing his tears in front of his daughter. He welled up and gave her a nearly trembling, closed-mouth smile as he tenderly pressed on, "You're so beautiful, Berri... I just want the best for you. I want you to find someone who would agree."

"It doesn't have to be Turbo, dad, I promise, you don't have to get upset over it, we're just friends," Berri cooed in a tender lilt of now girly, soft concern, though Zed shut his eyes tight, shook his head and breathed a shaky scoff of a chuckle.

"I'm... Not concerned about Turbo, Bear," Zed revealed, the whole day of mulling the pros and cons of this tiny little ember of flirtatious fun had him understanding that, even though Berri was unaware of it, the pros massively outweighed the cons. Zed so warmly stroked her cheek, just underneath her eye, with his thumb, "No matter your stance... Just know that Turbo is a great man. You both have a whole entire Academy's worth to learn from each other. You hold on to that friendship, Bear... Cause it's promising."

Berri raised her eyebrows and allowed the warm feeling of her father's hand, on her face, to finally soak into her being. She peered hard up into Zed's eyes and froze amidst his tender, revealing insinuation, something that made her heart flutter, an oh so secretive way for Zed to encourage this daring venture of hers, to befriend a traumatized, hurting and lonely being, to stand next to the one she has come to cherish the most, Berri almost melted at the King's final word. In a smile that wormed across Berri's face, she shut her eyes tight, sagged her left hand into Zed's, eased it tighter to her face and softly tilted her head, so to lean into her father's caring touch. With this tender transition, Zed warmly slid his hand to her shoulder, cupped it, tugged her closer to him and was thrilled the second she so easily sagged into his strong chest.

Berri smiled into Zed's fatherly shoulder, gripped her arms about his upper back, and with said grip, she sank deeper into Zed's caring warmth as his arms came tight about the backs and tops of her dainty shoulders. In a tight squeeze, he furrowed his eyebrows, buried his face into the top and side of her incredible blue hair, he desperately tried to hold back tears, the sheer fact that his baby girl was no longer such, the blink of an eye and she's a whole adult, he held his breath and wished that he could stop time. The center of the game practically sang, the tender lull and bob of the thousands of code boxes that hung all about them in a bowing web of glistening colors, everything was in perfect harmony with itself, the glow of Sugar Rush's past, present and future, worn like a badge of honor, glowed into the cold, icy night. Berri furrowed her brow a little and could feel Zed's rib cage exhale a tremble of a breath, as if to attempt to clear his throat, though she gently wormed her head away to hopefully peer up into his eyes.

"Daaaad," Berri cooed with a small, nervous giggle, she tenderly reached up and began to lightly pet away the few tears that escaped Zed's now glassy eyes, they sagged their way to his dark blue five o'clock shadow, "What's with the waterworks? I'm not going anywhere, dad."

"It only really just hit me that you're not a little girl any longer," Zed staggered, his voice crackled a little, and as he composed himself a little, he furrowed his eyebrows and softly helped Berri swipe away his few tears.

"Dad, I'll ALWAYS be your little girl," Berri begged with a cute, sorrowful and apologetic smile, "Just because I turned one doesn't mean I'm never going to be the same. I'm still the dweeby blue haired girl you raised, dad, no danger there."

"Good... Don't ever change," Zed instructed, he pointed a finger and gave her a teasingly stern look, "Not even for a boy, y'hear?"

"I promise," Berri blurt a small giggle and scrunched her shoulders, "If some guy comes along and you start seeing me act all different, I give you full permission to give me a kick in the pants, okay? Will that make you feel better?"

"Yes, it does, thank you," Zed muttered as he rubbed his forehead and lulled his glassy eyes shut, "I will utilize your offer in whatever way I can, I can promise you that."

"You're so weird," Berri heaved a small giggle, though as they firmly hugged once more, Berri furrowed her eyebrows and felt a wave of confidence come over her, "Dad, you didn't like... Beat Turbo to a pulp, did you? We had some drinks and talked and laughed a bunch. Literally nothing more."

"I know, Turbo told me everything," Zed sighed as the two gently pulled apart, "He even gave me permission to nose through his coding terminal... I didn't, but, I mean... Takes guts to give someone permission to that."

"Yeah, wow," Berri raised her eyebrows and looked off as the information hit her brain like a gooey hug, she smiled and was even further assured that Turbo handled her like a gentleman, even when no one was watching; a mark of honor. She sighed and shook her head, "I'm sure you scared the pants off him, though. I wanted him to come to my birthday party on Sunday, and now I'm sure he's too scared to come anywhere near me in fear of you barreling down his door, again."

"He mentioned that," Zed chuckled, though it was in this did Berri freeze and bug her eyes a little.

"...Wait, he IS planning on coming?" Berri staggered in girly confusion, "I mean, I've been forgetting to invite him now, I didn't think he knew about it?"

"Well, as we were parting, I told him he was invited, and, well... He said he'd think about it," Zed shrugged, and as Berri deflated, Zed gave her an apologetic smile, "Aw, babe... You have to understand, the Sugar Rush racers and him don't really see eye to eye. I know you want him to come out of his shell a little more, but it might be too much for him to attend a party full of racers that don't really enjoy his presence. Especially in the span of only five or six days."

"WHY, why is everyone so weird about him, everything he did was so long ago, and he's been here keeping Sugar Rush safe for a whole entire year now," Berri hurried to argue, she flung her arm out in solid annoyance and now was fully prepared to go to bat for him, "Seriously, who do I have to talk to about this? Do I need to sit them ALL down and make clear that he's a great guy and they don't need to be so mean?"

"Berri, you're so sweet," Zed blurt a small chuckle and warmly gripped her shoulder, "It's just... Bad blood. They obviously trust that Turbo's not going to go AWOL on everyone, but, it's just hard feelings... Turbo has never stood before them and rectified anything, made clear his intentions. He's not ever around enough to show those racers the side that you see of him, now."

"I could try and bring him around more?" Berri pressed in a lilt of now eager girliness, to which Zed nodded in whole agreeing to; anything so that she wasn't hulled up in his loft for the rest of time.

"That'd be great," Zed encouraged, "I know his brothers would appreciate that, too."

"As would you? Get in his face if he so much as looks at me wrong?" Berri wrinkled her nose and cheekily side-eyed her father, to which he rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"Caught me, I guess," Zed teasingly grumbled.


	50. Chapter 50

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Thank you! :D

 **Jay Sketchin :** Aww thank you, friend. It is weird, huh. I go back and reread on occasion and sometimes it makes me well up. Time flies!

 **Burgie : CONGRATS!** **You're my 200th reviewer! THANK YOU! - **Turbo definitely gets some convincing. It's not from Berri, but definitely derives from her!

 **CHICKENM4N :** I don't really understand your review but I'm assuming it's a good thing xD

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Worst Nites by Foster the People**

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 ***Chapter 50***

The next evening, Wren, Berri and Theo hulled themselves in their music studio, a sweep of familiar comfort they were now used to, and as their skill progressed, they did everything in their power to begin the very fragile, rudimentary steps to creating their first skeleton of an album. After hours of toiling, the three parted ways for the evening, a gentle agreeing that the next day to follow, the Arcade's only closed day of the week, Sunday, was going to be full of a never-ending birthday party, for Berri, that everyone was excited for. Although yawning and prepared to head home for resets, Wren was successfully roped into hanging out with Nox and Throttle, due to Nox lallygagging in the palace's kitchen and snagging Wren on the way out.

Due to Berri joining Throttle's lectures every day, her small group of boys had become fast friends with Turbo's brothers. In Wren's half-hearted attempt to go home, Nox knew full well that there was only one person in this entire Arcade that was going to spill the beans about Berri's and Turbo's innocent escapades, and he was prepared to squeeze every last ounce of information out of him, whatever Wren could afford both Throttle and Nox. Due to Turbo being extremely shelled and not one to give out personal details of his private life, just the glimpses of his old self behind closed doors, Nox almost felt bad for prying at Wren's gossipy self, though he knew it also gave Nox and Throttle more potential to hang with their other more secretive brother, anyhow; any opportunity to ease deeper into Turbo's new, secretive life was now something the lot of everyone had in mind.

"I keep telling her that if we have music prepared, we can join the battle of the bands that Academy is holding," Wren mumbled as him and Nox's coding finally settled, as they came off of Throttle's teleportation pad. Nox's golden eyes glowed on Throttle's dimly lit front porch, all ladened with piercingly white snow, glinted from Sugar Rush's full moon from above, "Would be cool to maybe catch Gunner's eye, but, I guess... I'm pretty sure every single musician at Game Central Academy has that same thought. I mean, I know Gunner is only down a guitarist and a drummer... I can play the part of band manager or something stupid."

"And just give up your music? Keys? All your mixing and stuff you do?" Nox worried gently, Wren furrowed his brow and gave Nox's eye contact a nervous look of now pondering inquisition, "I mean, don't just shove it away for a chance of being on Gunner's whole touring team..."

"...Do you hear yourself?" Wren muttered, Nox bobbed a nod and shrugged a little.

"Yeah, it sounded weird saying it, too," Nox agreed in a quip, "Would be cool to be rich and famous, I guess."

"WOULD be?" Wren grunted, "Shit, I don't care if I'm literally the band's cheerleader off on the sidelines, I'll manager the crap out of their little shindig if that's what Gunner wanted."

"Get'chu a pair of pom poms," Nox muttered with a snort of a laugh, he gently grappled for Throttle's front door knob and tenderly opened it, so to let him and Wren inside, "I guess keep us posted, on all of it... Surely you, Berri and Theo have something in the works?"

"Oh, yeah, we got a few solid pieces," Wren sighed, both him and Nox stepped inside Throttle's lovely, homey abode, the freezing wind whisked about their hair, scarves and jackets for a second before settling, upon closing Throttle's heavy front door, "It's just a matter of, well... Snipping loose ends and making everything cohesive."

"Hey, guys," Throttle eased from across his home, he hovered in his darker hallway, one that lead to a secluded area of his home, his own bedroom. He adjusted his thermostat, he wore a black t-shirt ladened with a faded, retro logo of TurboTime, grey jeans that had holes in the knees, his glowing white eyes hooked tight to what he was doing. His longer black hair was tossed in a small, messy bun higher on his head, he cleared his throat and finally strolled into the main part of his house, a mosey through his cozy living room and up into his white tiled kitchen, "What're you guys up to?"

"I just snagged Wren on the way over, hope that's cool," Nox mumbled as he came into Throttle's kitchen, as well, and as Wren was busy taking off his shoes in Throttle's mudroom, Wren finally stood up straighter and flattened out the wrinkles, of his cream colored t-shirt, over his body.

"Yeah, it's fine," Throttle pressed gently, he lofted his gaze over to Wren, though as Wren came into the warm, inviting light of the kitchen, Throttle raised his eyebrows in spiked surprise and felt his heart stop. Wren was now properly sporting a solid gash, which looked about a day fresh, right above his left eye, and as Wren nonchalantly eased into the kitchen and rubbed the back of his head, Throttle urgently shook his head and gestured to Wren in whole dismay, "Wren, what the heck? How did you get that awful gash? Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm great," Wren bobbed a nod and smiled to Throttle in cheeky, boyish delight, though Throttle reeled in stun and darted a glance to Nox, who eagerly rolled his golden, glowing eyes and sagged to Throttle's island counter.

"Y-Y...Y'know you can have Tessa or Zed, o-or Ace or Vanellope to, well... Fix that for you, in the code room," Throttle pressed, though Wren scoffed a small chuckle and shrugged.

"I know, I kinda like it, though," Wren chuckled, his deep voice glossed over Throttle's worried demeanor in a weird switch up of coy delight, though Throttle still shot Nox a confused look.

"For User's sake... 'I like it, it looks sexy, I think I look like a baddy now'," Nox mocked in a voice and tone that imitated Wren, almost to a T; Throttle blurt a small, curious laugh, crossed his arms and now eyed Wren in softness, "I guess I can't blame you. Battle scars are cool."

"How'd you get it?" Throttle wondered as he froze and sarcastically peered to Wren down the bridge of his nose, as if to wonder if the story of the gash was equally as cool.

"Chester... Went chasing after a ball that Berri saturated in her exterior coding, he turned too quick and the spike on his jaw caught me right in the head," Wren muttered as he now crossed his arms and looked off, though Nox and Throttle now blurt hard laughter.

"Y-You could just tell all the boys at Academy that you got into an epic fight with Chester, and that he nearly clawed your eyes out," Nox shrugged, he pulled out his communicator and began to thumb through his messages nonchalantly.

"Don't worry, I think it's cool," Throttle bobbed a nod, narrowed his gaze and gave Wren a cheeky look of cuteness, though Wren shook his head and tried not to smile down to his feet.

"Yeah, guys, I need this, it's the only thing I have going for me, just let me have it," Wren choked a laugh as he sat down one bar stool away from Nox.

"I said it was cool... But you certainly don't need it," Throttle stated in warmth, though as the words left his mouth, he held his breath and could swear every single last ounce of blood now rushed to his face, the second Wren's bashful, though innocently curious and almost dumbfounded eyes darted straight for his, Throttle cleared his throat in a stagger of rushed nervousness and scratched the back of his head. He desperately scrounged for another topic to stab into, "Y-Y'guys hear about what happened with Berri and Turbo?"

"WHAT?" Nox wondered in smiling, eager delight, his golden eyes hooked tight to Throttle's, "Oh please tell me, please. What happened."

"For User's sake," Wren rolled his eyes and sagged his upper body onto Throttle's island in groaning annoyance.

"I guess Berri spent the night at Turbo's on her birthday," Throttle shrugged, though Nox's eyes bugged in almost horror, anger, delight, a whole slew of emotion.

"WHAT?!" Nox barked, both Wren and Throttle flinched in whole surprise.

"NOTHING happened, seriously, Berri was almost mad at me about it, earlier," Wren rushed to conclude, he waggled his hand and rolled his eyes, once more, "She's SUPER sensitive about it."

"He nearly refuses to let his own brothers over but invites a girl to stay?!" Nox urged in whole annoyance, and although Throttle felt the sting too, Throttle sagged his shoulders and gave Nox a dumbfounded look of disbelief.

"I mean, really, Nox... The guy hasn't had any form of intimacy in decades, do you really blame him?" Throttle grumbled in defense of his other younger brother, though Nox cocked an eyebrow and side-eyed Throttle in teasing, grumbling delight.

"Well, neither have you, but you still hang out with me," Nox delivered; Throttle felt that sear of heat return to his face.

"We're not talking about me, right now," Throttle stabbed, he desperately tried not to smile, though Nox shook his head in whole annoyance and urgently began to swipe through his contacts.

"Here, I'm going to end this. Let's call a reclusive Mr. Turbo Black and ask if we can come over right now," Nox chimed in scheming delight, "I'm going to bet one hundred million dollars he won't let us."

"Y'might as well bet that he won't even pick up the phone," Throttle grumbled as he crossed his arms and looked off in defeated dismay, though Wren waggled his finger and shook his head at the two boys.

"I wouldn't write that all off so quickly, guys," Wren smiled in a cheeky side-eye, "He's been pretty social, with us, all week..."

"Bet," Nox blurt as he tabbed the phone icon, on Turbo's contact information, and as he put his phone on speaker phone and allowed it to ring once or twice, he cleared his throat and awaited for Turbo to pick up, or not.

"Hey bud, what's up," Turbo's deep voice relayed in tender, casual nonchalance, and although Nox and Throttle looked absolutely beside themselves, Wren cocked an eyebrow and looked off, as if to silently say 'I told you so'.

"O-Oh my User, you ACTUALLY picked up your phone," Nox loudly stabbed with a hard laugh, Wren and Throttle tried their hardest to stifle laughter, so not to make obvious that Turbo was on speaker.

"It's not that deep," Turbo grumbled, he huffed a small chuckle, the sound of his bathroom cabinet clacking closed could be heard, "What's up, y'okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine, I just was hanging out with Throttle, we heard a lot about how Berri, Wren and Theo were coming and going from your loft all week and we just thought we'd see if we could come hang with you, too," Nox wondered gently, he shrugged as Throttle nodded, Wren shook his head and slumped; both boys had differing opinions on just what should be said to Sugar Rush's biggest shy guy.

"Yeah, I'm... Slowly trying to be more social, it's hard for me, y'know how that goes," Turbo sighed, and it was with this did Wren quite enjoy secretly seeing a very relaxed, nonchalant side of Turbo, something that wasn't fully on display for Wren and Theo, just yet.

"It's fine, we just miss you, it's Saturday night and you're just at your loft all alone," Nox tip toed around it, "Sure, we're not nearly as great as maybe a certain, single, no-longer-an-adolescent, beautiful, blue haired princess, but, c'mon. We're still great."

"Stop it, it's not like that," Turbo muttered, though it was clear he was beaming, he breathed an annoyed chuckle, the shuffling on his end was softly apparent, as if he maybe was tidying up his loft, or something along those lines.

"So can we come over?" Nox wondered in cheeky, smiling delight as him, Wren and Throttle all held their breath.

"Whose 'we'?" Turbo wondered dully, as if he was slowly accepting the desire to socialize more, though he still wanted to keep tabs on just who was invited into his personal space.

"It's just me, Throttle and Wren," Nox wheezed, though Wren grit his teeth in a clench of nervous anticipation, the three boys fell silent and prayed Turbo would have a positive reaction to this.

"...Fine, door's open," Turbo stated through a soft sigh, Turbo's massive front door could be heard beveling from the wall and, indeed, opening.

As the sound of Turbo's massive, now opening front door continued to gently eke through the speakers of Nox's phone, all three boys sat in frozen, stunned silence. They dart their eyes straight for each other's gazes of whole disbelief, though as if the whole entire game was set on slow motion, all three boys immediately began to tear out of Throttle's kitchen in a flurry of unadulterated surprise. As Nox eagerly hung up the call with Turbo, all three boys shoved into Throttle's dimly lit foyer, they all clamored for the door handle in a show of grunting, laughing irritation towards each other being in the way of one another, and in the final swing of Throttle's front door, as well as the slam of it, all three boys pushed and shoved to get onto Throttle's smaller teleport pad. The holographic display slowly illuminated near Throttle's right arm, he began to fumble at the pad. All three boys stood scrunched up against each other, the mess of Throttle's and Nox's glowing eyes cascaded all over each other's chest and arms, though Wren urgently grappled Throttle's free arm and jostled him in the crazed rush all three boys were now in.

"HURRY BEFORE HE CLOSES HIS DOOR," Wren stabbed, their panting and sporadic breath heavily fogged the frigid air they stood in.

"I can't do crap with you jerking me around like that!" Throttle argued with a blurt of a loud chuckle, though Nox largely rolled his eyes and looked off.

"Oh my USER you guys are so incredibly subtle," Nox stabbed, though before Wren or Throttle could press the strange inquiry that left Nox's figure, all three boys were eagerly whisked away in a mess of red, orange and berry-crimson coding.

As Wren, Throttle and Nox eased onto Turbo's teleportation pad, they arrived just in time to see Turbo's massive, sliding door ever so slowly come to an entire open. Although they were previously in a jolting, frantic sugar rush, they finally eased off of Turbo's teleportation pad and now approached his home with slow, silent hesitancy. Nox was the first one to ease inside, with Throttle and Wren slinking inside after him. In a slow crawl of wandering eyes, bubbling demeanors of disbelief, neither three of the boys had so easily been welcomed into the lion's den, like such. Just as the three eased deeper into his opened front foyer area, Turbo came slowly sauntering from his dim hallway. He was shirtless, the glow of his eyes were angled down as he trudged out of his hallway. As his bare feet stepped into the light, it was clear he had just been working out due to the sweat that dripped from the crown of his head to his bare upper body, he wore his favorite, lazy pair of faded red sweats that cuffed at his grey ankles. Alongside the drape of a small white towel on the left side of his broad, masculine collar and shoulder, he finally cocked an eyebrow at Nox and nearly tried not to look to annoyed; Nox dramatically bent his knees a little, spread his hands out and spoke in a deep, narrative voice of full-on teasing.

"The ever so elusive Turbo Black... Perched at the top of the world, untouched by even his own flesh and blood," Nox's voice dragged, though Throttle and Wren finally sagged to a stop and eagerly watched the show unfold. Nox obnoxiously carried on as Turbo cocked an eyebrow, eyed Nox in full, teasing dismay, brushed past him and lazily slunk to his larger fridge, about a half a dozen feet from Nox's still theatrical pose and narrative gestures, "We're here in the wild Sugar Rush blue, never before seen footage of Arcade's most mysterious shadow of a bad guy, from lore to reality... Just what will he do now..."

"Drink water," Turbo muttered, his deep voice practically croaked it, and as he came out of his fridge with a frosty, glass bottle of water, he finally shot Nox a gentle, annoyed smile, shook his head and began to eagerly glug-down water.

"Then... What's THIS?" Nox hissed dramatically, his golden eyes bugged to a nearly-scary show of glowing delight, though Turbo flinched, he furrowed his eyebrows and peered hard into his little brother's eyes, as if to wonder when he'd drop the act, "Would you look at that... A rare, blue haired beauty... Finds herself inching closer and closer to the hole of Turbo's dark, mysterious den..."

"Don't... Do this," Turbo huffed in now entire irritation as he rolled his eyes and began to ease closer to his island, though he set his bottle down and moved into his living room with purpose. Nox eagerly shoved his hands to the cold counter of Turbo's kitchen island as Throttle and Wren sagged into its vicinity, as well; both boys watched the show unfold with stifled laughter.

"She strolls in... Will she come back out unscathed?" Nox gasped and clapped his hands to the sides of his head, "Will she be eaten? Tortured? Or... Maybe... Just maybe..."

Turbo cocked an eyebrow, bent over, grappled his television's remote, and in a gentle click, he shut the whole of it off. He slumped his remote to his couch, and as he stood still and defeated in the living room, he just accepted that Nox wasn't going to shut up. He barely eased a smile, how much he truly loved his brothers, especially Nox's funny antics, he knew he couldn't stay irritated at him for long. It was in this instance of whole brotherly camaraderie, even from Wren's new presence, did Turbo secretly feel happy that he allowed them to come over.

"She'll be whisked away for a secret night of PASSION," Nox urged as he grappled his own upper arms, he twisted a little and threw his head back in a dramatic show, now something to which Throttle and Wren eagerly laughed at, having not done nearly the same thing to Berri a few days prior. Nox continued on in a lilt of excitement, "Innocent palace princess gets a glimpse of the dark side whilst our spiraling lone wolf finally gets his. Turns out... Red was a killer strike all those years ago, but... Blue looks good on you, my friend."

"You've lost your mind, dude," Turbo grumbled as he finally sagged up the few steps of his living room and joined all three boys in the kitchen, once more. To further conclude his warm findings, he gently eased his hand underneath the island's counter and hit said secretive button to close his front door, "Berri and I are just friends... Did you rehearse all that or something? What the heck."

"You can thank me hanging out with Wren," Nox mumbled as he rubbed his forehead and now wrinkled his nose in irritation towards himself; said poses and stances now put a weird crick in his neck.

"I'm Wren," Wren mumbled as he lifted his hand a little, though as Turbo glossed his eyes to his new friend, he furrowed his brow in whole surprise and gently motioned to the gash above Wren's left eye.

"Dude, you get in a fight with a weed whacker, or something?" Turbo staggered a small laugh, though Wren largely rolled his eyes as Throttle and Nox burst into hard laughter.

"WHY. Why can't anyone assume I did something cool?" Wren stabbed, "I was sword fighting with my dad."

"You... Literally, the FIRST thing you told us was that you dared Orph to let his whip fly as close to your face as he could, without scathing you," Throttle rushed, though Nox waggled his hand and shook his head in further irritation.

"You THEN said that Chester's jaw spike caught you when Berri threw his ball," Nox barked, though Turbo crossed his masculine arms and cocked a suspecting eyebrow at Wren.

"Y'all'll never know," Wren garbled in whole cheek, he lulled his eyes closed and beamed a sassy closed-mouth grin.

"My money's on the Chester story," Throttle mumbled, though Nox shook his head and eyed Wren in annoyance.

"I'd be willing to bet that NONE of those stories are true," Nox barked, though Turbo finally eased a small, caring smile towards Wren and disregarded his brother's banter.

"Would you like me to fix it in my code room, Wren?" Turbo pressed warmly, to which Wren eased and softened his stance.

"No, thank you, I... I like it," Wren bobbed a nod, to which Turbo nodded in agreeing and huffed a small chuckle.

"Battle scars, I understand," Turbo agreed in tender conclusion, though Wren perked up and now shot his even sassier jolt of eye contact to Throttle and Nox, as if to express that he was floored he had camaraderie, for once.

"SEE? Turbo gets me," Wren stabbed, to which Turbo continued to nod.

"Y'trying to impress a guy at Academy or something?" Turbo pressed in sincere cheekiness, he figured if he could get the heat off of the topic that revolved around him and Berri, he'd do whatever he could.

"No, not anyone in particular," Wren shrugged, "Just makes me feel cool."

"In a sea of average Joes, y'have BATTLE WREN," Nox stated dramatically, though just as he jolted to get into another dramatic pose, he immediately winced and dropped the act as he grappled the back of his neck, "Wow, yeah, not doing that anymore. Ow."

"You're diverting," Throttle grumbled to Turbo, with a cheeky smile; his still disposition was wise and teasing, his eyes held tight to Turbo's in hot knowing, as the eldest brother, he easily claimed reign over the younger men in the group.

"...From?" Turbo played dumb, his tone returned to dull, bashful annoyance.

"We heard about how Berri stayed the night here, on her birthday," Throttle eased with a now sneaky, smiling side-eye, "I'm genuinely surprised she's not here, right now, anyways."

"Wonder where you heard that from," Turbo grumbled, he dragged his eyes to Wren in teasing knowing, and although he desperately wanted to hold onto annoyance, he tried his very hardest not to be too hard on these guys before him; he was well aware they loved him, and had his best interest at heart.

"Yeah, I wonder, maybe her best friend?" Wren stabbed with a wide grin, furrowed brows, he gestured to his chest and volleyed the sass right back to Turbo, "Y'better get used to it, my dude. Berri's like a sister to me."

"Really, though, what's going on?" Nox now pressed in a slope of wanting to divert the tone to a more tender approach, he could easily tell that Turbo was becoming agitated, the stiffness of his posture made clear that he was nearly about to shell away for good, thus making the press of the topic moot, "I'm not trying to tease you, I just... Want to know so I can congratulate you? Or?"

"We're just friends, guys. She came over for some drinks, we had a few good laughs, and she fell asleep on my recliner," Turbo gestured to the very recliner she fell asleep on, two days prior, "Zed came over the next morning and NEARLY deleted my ass."

"What!" Nox stabbed with a hearty laugh, though Wren bugged his eyes and bobbed a hard nod.

"Berri told me all about it... He nearly barelled down your front door," Wren now beamed, to which Throttle and Nox urgently peered to Turbo in a rise of entire excitement.

"It's really not that big of a deal. It was just misunderstanding and miscommunication," Turbo shook his head, and although his words were flat and nonchalant, Throttle eyed his younger brother in tender suspicion and could see a whole world of conflicting, bubbling, brewing storm clouds inside his head. Turbo heaved a sharp sigh and gently gripped the towel on his shoulder, and as he swiped it off of his body, he eyed the group in tender defeat, "It's... Just kind of one of those things. Moths that chase flames always get burned."

"...What if Berri's not a flame?" Throttle so tenderly interjected after a few moments of silence between the four men, it was here did Turbo freeze and peer his nervous, curious eyes tight to his older brother, someone who had been such a valuable teacher in his life, even if it did ultimately cultivate the demise of TurboTime. Throttle shrugged, looked off and knew that he needed to revisit said coaching lessons, and although the switch from racing to life lessons was a weird gear to shift into, he still managed to do so with grace. He smiled into Turbo's eyes, his deep voice glossed over Turbo's soul in warm knowing, "What if Berri's a light? A beautiful lantern encased in glass... Something that won't hurt you?"

Wren and Nox softly peered to Throttle in soft understanding that he was here to gloss Turbo with knowledge even a little past Turbo's speed, Throttle smiled down to Turbo's counter and shook his head, he knew this was likely to be difficult for Turbo to swallow with three pairs of eyes tight to his lonely figure.

"You've been single, alone... For SO long, Turbo," Throttle's deep voice croaked in tender desperation, "Loosen up. Stop holding good things at arms length. Stop kidding yourself. So you and Berri have a... THING. Whatever that thing is, there is absolutely no shame."

"You must've said 'we're just friends' like three times, now," Wren's gentle voice glossed, "It's okay if you don't believe those words, because no one inside Sugar Rush believes it, either."

"It's something Berri keeps adamantly demanding, as well," Throttle chuckled, to which Nox bobbed a firm nod and eyed his older brother in a gentle slew of rising, boyish delight, as if this was good news for Turbo.

"Guys... I... Really don't want to talk about this," Turbo staggered, though he looked as if he desperately did want to speak on it. He nervously gestured to Wren and opened his mouth to continue, though Wren held his hands up in tender honesty and diligently cut him off.

"Hey, I understand this is a man's conversation..." Wren dropped every last ounce of sass, for this instance. He shook his head and eyed Turbo tenderly, "None of this will get back to Berri. I may not have brothers, but I understand this is serious. I promise I won't say anything."

All four men now hung in suspended silence; Turbo peered hard into Wren's eyes, as if to waver on the balancing line of wondering if he could trust Wren or not. After a few moments, Turbo finally exhaled a long sigh through his nose, looked down, bobbed a nod and allowed defeat to hit his skin. He long blinked down to his kitchen island and gently peeled back another fold of his heart, for others to see, something he was absolutely terrified to do, though he knew he was simply beating a dead horse, here. He bashfully glanced to Throttle, Nox and then Wren, and in a further show of delightful defeat, he shrugged and barely looked as if he wanted to smile.

"I... I guess I just don't know where to start," Turbo admitted in warmth, something that glossed his entire tower in relief; in the near physical sag of all three boys that honed their whole attention to Turbo, they glanced their knowing gazes to each other and now were excited to hopefully guide Turbo through this weirdly delightful predicament.

"...You could start by going to her birthday party, tomorrow," Wren shrugged, the air at the island was serious, still and patient; a brotherly show of support.

Turbo frowned and felt his heart begin to thud in apprehension, for multitudinous different reasons. He looked down to his hands and, although he so desperately wanted to shake his head and immediately deny that he'd be there, he froze and knew these three boys likely wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Yeah, Turbo, I can sense your wariness... The entire lot of Sugar Rush racers will be there... Dead Zed's racers will be there, Calhoun, Felix, Ralph, literally EVERYONE will be there," Throttle's deep voice eased, he crossed his arms and looked down to Turbo's kitchen island, though he cocked an eyebrow and was thrilled to finally garner Turbo's eye contact, which was now beginning to glow with a gentle prickle of new purpose, "But, so will we... And so will Berri. You want to celebrate her, don't you?"

"You went above and beyond for the last fifteen minutes of her actual birthday," Wren shrugged, "Show up... Turbo, I PROMISE you... That will make her entire night."

"Year," Nox blurt with a smile.

"Life," Throttle one-upped, everyone chuckled in knowing as Turbo heaved a shaky sigh and bobbed another nervous nod. Throttle smiled to his brother, "Y'gotta come out of the shadows, eventually... You want to be that moth in the dark, chasing that light that you want? Y'gotta come out of your hiding spot. It's the only way."

Turbo bobbed a gentle nod of final, nearly terrified agreeing, and it was here did everyone begin to liven with coos of excited assurance, towards him.

"How about I come over before the party... I can make sure you look solid, and we can arrive together," Nox shrugged, to which Turbo bobbed another hesitant nod of agreeing, "That way you don't have to show up alone."

"I'd... I'd appreciate that," Turbo staggered in nervousness as he softly lofted his eyes to Wren, who, again, held his hand to his heart and softly nodded in honesty.

"I won't say a word," Wren promised, "I would join Nox, but... I promised Tessa I'd help set up."

"Me, as well," Throttle agreed gently, though he gave Turbo a knowing smile and shrugged, "Good things happen to those who step out of their comfort zone, Bo... I know it seems impossible, and it seems like the whole of Arcade is against you, but... I don't think you understand just how lucky you are, in this situation."

"...Why?" Turbo pressed softly.

"You have Wreck-It Ralph's granddaughter as an advocate, Sugar Rush's princess, and not to mention, Tessa's daughter," Throttle cleared his throat and cocked an eyebrow, "Which, need I remind you, has successfully scored herself a position in Game Central Academy's administrative team."

"She did?" Turbo wondered in a gentle spark of new energy, he shook his head in now smiling surprise and felt bad that he wasn't aware, "Wh-why isn't it more obvious?"

"Because it happened right before Berri's birthday," Throttle shrugged, "I'm positive she doesn't want to steal Berri's thunder. It'll be hyped about probably closer to Christmas or New Years."

"Wow," Turbo staggered, and although Throttle's words glossed him in confidence, he softly looked down in continued heart-thudding anticipation.

"Berri unknowingly has her hands in nearly every avenue of Arcade," Throttle concluded gently, "She's adamant about you segueing back in to Arcade life as easily as she can, I'd catch that train, my friend... You could easily do it yourself, but the mental cost and the time would be far greater."

"She really cares about you, dude," Wren stated in seriousness, to which Turbo bobbed another nod and finally smiled down to his kitchen island.

"I care about her, too," Turbo warmly admitted in the softest tone of fragile secrecy, though Nox firmly pat Turbo's upper arm and cocked an eyebrow.

"Then I'll be over to make sure you don't get cold feet," Nox chuckled, everyone finally smiled amidst his teasing warmth, and before Turbo could even think about an excuse to get out of such a tense situation, he caved and knew no one would even allow it.

"I'll be here," Turbo mumbled, though he held his breath and knew that statement only set him up for failure; he shut his eyes tight and knew as such the second he saw Wren cock an eyebrow in his peripheral.

"Ohhh where else?" Wren blurt, and as everyone eased into knowing laughter, Turbo could swear his coding was about to crawl right out of his pores with anxiety-ridden anticipation.

* * *

 **A/N :**

 **Alright guys, it's that time again... Chapter 50!**

 **And as I said prior, instead of a 50 chapter sketch dump, I will be allowing my readers to submit their votes for ONE chapter to be entirely put into comic form, fully colored, shading, dialog, the whole shebang! So far, Chapter 46 has the most votes (the chapter where Turbo surprises Berri with the cupcake) - I'll be counting votes still, if anyone wants to see another chapter drawn. But like I said, so far 46 is winning with 9 votes, so it's looking as if that may very well be the chapter that will be drawn. BUT I'd still like to give everyone a chance to have their voice heard!**

* * *

 ***BELOW THIS LINE I WILL BE PUTTING SPOILERS AND THINGS TO ANTICIPATE COMING UP***

* * *

 ***DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED***

 *****SPOILERS*****

 _ *****SPOILERS*****_

 _ **\- Turbo writes Berri a song**_

 _ **\- Turbo gets a New Year's 'kiss'! First one in literal decades**_

 _ **\- Berri bumps into Gunner at Academy and he delightfully gets dragged onto palace grounds, and due to the hype, Berri cancels her plans to hang out with Turbo, much to Turbo's dismay/he mopes and tries distances himself from Berri cause he's never had to deal with something like this before**_

 _ **\- Turbo gets to upstage the whole lot of Sugar Rush racers with all of his car and racing knowledge due to a malfunction before game day**_

 ** _\- Berri, Wren and Theo come in and out of EZ Living far too many times for anyone's comfort, due to faux-code deletion - Gunner proposes a plan to keep them safe._**

 _ **\- Turbo finally goes to Sugarbucks with everyone! Baby steps to try and win Berri over. I've drawn fanart for this scene, titled 'I'm With the Band' on my deviantART. I'll reannounce said fanart once that chapter is live, in the future.**_

 **\- Berri eventually juggles a weird, forbidden, triangular romance with both Turbo and Gunner. Only one special boi will win the heart of the princess. :]**


	51. Chapter 51

**Reviews :**

 **CHICKENM4N :** Thank you! :D

 **Burgie :** Thank you so much. I'll expand on Wren and Throttle for sure, I'm almost nervous to, though, cause there's a lot of people that don't agree with homosexual relationships... I just don't want to offend anyone.

 **Snake557 :** Thank you friend :)

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Falling by Yoe Mase**

* * *

 ***Chapter 51***

"Just tell me you love her," Nox stated in a lilt of sarcastic, ironic nonchalance, he shrugged as he lofted Turbo his glowing eyes.

"I'm not saying that," Turbo muttered in annoyance; he stood a few feet from his body mirror, he nervously began to tidy his collar, he was nearly miffed at the fact that he was spending so much time on himself, in the mirror, and Nox was just lazily lounged on the lovely, comfortable lounge chair in Turbo's bedroom.

"I won't tell a soul," Nox hissed quietly, almost begging, Turbo finally lulled his eyes closed and halted his meticulous work on tidying his shirt's collar, still loosely encompassed by his untied tie.

"Nitro," Turbo's authoritative voice now glossed over Nox's soul, in which he sat up straighter into Turbo's chair and furrowed his brow in tender cheek.

"Fine... Then I'LL say that I love her," Nox now teased, the glow of Turbo's reopened eyes finally surfaced against the dark wood that encompassed his glorious, hefty body mirror, "Y'jealous?"

"No, Nox," Turbo now blurt a hard chuckle and shook his head with great cheek, he lofted Nox a glancing side eye, over his shoulder, and nervously fumbled with his own collar, even still, "I wouldn't be jealous, but I'd definitely be scared for you. Koko would have your head."

"...Dude, are you going to be okay?" Nox staggered a laugh, though it was here did Nox understand that Turbo wasn't simply being lazy or apathetic towards his tie, he seemed to be becoming out of sorts, and it was here did Nox sit up and allow his fleeting, sarcastic jokes eagerly come to a halt. He stood, approached Turbo and was almost thrilled to see Turbo ruffle his collar in frustration, sag his arms and hands to his side and lull his eyes close in whole entire defeat. Nox blurt a small laugh and now carefully approached his big brother, "There's no shame in asking for help, Turbo."

"I need help," Turbo staggered, he reopened his eyes and gently faced Nox.

In the tender reach of Nox's hands to his messy tie and collar, Turbo aimlessly glossed his eyes past Nox's shoulder and allowed his golden, glowing eyes to just get absolutely hazed in nervous thought. Dressed in a nice cream colored button down shirt, it had ever so faint red pinstripes that eased down his chest and body in very thin vertical lines. A sweet detail that only really could be noticed up close, though it was a nice touch, red to signify his old racing gear from TurboTime. A handsome pop of a dark red tie sealed the look, as well as an almost casual pair of faded black racing jeans. His longsleeve button up was tidily rolled to his elbows and untucked from his pants, Turbo knew this was a semi-formal event, though he held tight to any aspect of his more rugged, rough around the edges bad-boy look he eked on a day to day basis. With a clean shave and hair styled to compliment his naturally shorter, wavy hair, he looked incredibly handsome.

"I don't even recall the last time I wore a tie," Turbo's voice almost shook, he closed his eyes in nervous dismay as Nox's methodical hands tenderly tugged Turbo's collar and tie to correction, and in speed Turbo was certain Nox had from experience, Nox began to properly tie Turbo's thick, red tie. Turbo wrinkled his nose and so desperately tried to remember ancient memories of him and Libby Swirlz, all those decades ago, "I-I... I'm certain Libby probably invited me to something formal, when we were dating."

"It's really weird to hear you say that," Nox mumbled with a smile as he eased the finishing knot. He warmly tugged it, ran his hand down the whole of the tie, down Turbo's chest, straightened everything and took a step or two back. He smiled and shrugged in a cute, boyish fashion, "There. Perfect."

"Thank you," Turbo staggered quietly, he looked entirely lost in thought, just swamped with a million different worries, and it was here did Nox realize that both boys were now ready to head to the party; fashionably late, per Turbo's request.

"You're welcome," Nox eased; he, too, was wearing a handsome button down, though his was a stark black. He had his sleeves unrolled and tidily buttoned at his wrists, Nox stood about half a foot shorter than Turbo, though his stature and positive posture exuded all the confidence in the world, something Turbo so wished he had. Nox furrowed his brow and shook his head tenderly, "Bo, y'really that hung up about this party?"

"It's... It's the fact of the dozens of pairs of eyes that will be on me," Turbo hurried to explain, he shook his head and finally turned to his mirror, and as he assessed Nox's job well done, he straightened out his shirt for the hundredth time and finally eased into his opened bathroom, the light from both the bathroom and his bedroom lazily cascaded in different directions, though as Turbo got lost in the walk in closet, inside his bathroom, Nox remained out in Turbo's bedroom and continued to listen to Turbo's plight, "Over the course of this year, all it's been is just... Mean glowers, side-eyes, even people whispering. I can tell it's all aimed at me, those racers don't want me nearby..."

"Well, this time is different," Nox shrugged, he raised his voice only a little, just so Turbo could properly hear him, from deep inside his own walk in closet, "You have Berri... Not to mention Wren and Theo."

Turbo heaved a hard sigh, came back out of his bathroom with a nice pair of black shoes, and as he eased closer to his messy, unmade bed, so he could sit and put his shoes on, Nox turned and tenderly continued on.

"And, if you haven't forgotten, you also have me and Throttle," Nox shrugged and gestured his hand to his own chest, he shook his head and finally gave Turbo a cute smile, "I know you're in good with Tessa and Zed... The racers just don't know you well enough."

"Hopefully tonight changes that, a little," Turbo pressed in forced positivity, he knew he was going to get absolutely nowhere without it.

"C'mon... Let's not waste anymore time, we're already almost twenty minutes late," Nox stated with a gentle sigh, he bobbed a nod and smiled as Turbo's strong heels steadily hit the matte tiles underneath him, and in simple urgency, both men eased out of Turbo's room. Turbo heaved a shaky breath, gently tightened the knot of his tie a little, due to Nox's careful hands not tightening it too tight, and as they rounded into Turbo's kitchen, Turbo's hand swiped at the button underneath the counter's island; the front door began to drum in the soft, mechanical whirl of it sliding opening. Nox rubbed the back of his head and aimlessly peered across Turbo's now dimly lit home in confusion, "...Why DID you want to show up late, anyways?"

"I'm punctual, but when it comes to parties, Nox, you don't ever arrive first," Turbo muttered as he cued to the digital display near the gape of his now opened door, just on the wall next to it. He began to quickly turn off more lights in his home, and as his and Nox's glowing eyes were now practically the only light source, Turbo gestured to his opened door and allowed Nox out first, "I'm not trying to show up to a party any earlier than fifteen minutes after it's started... Also, I'd so much rather just slip in on the teleportation pad in the back of the rec hall."

"...Why the BACK?" Nox now staggered, he was well aware the party was being held at the recreational hall, on the palace lot, due to it being the largest building to accommodate a huge party, as such, though he practically had to scour his brain for just exactly where the rec hall's second teleportation pad was, "I mean... I-I guess I understand why you don't want to show up at the one at the very front entrance of the rec hall, but... I guess I'm just forgetting where the second teleportation pad is. Weird."

"I know all side and back exits to any building on the palace lot," Turbo mumbled as the both of them softly stepped out of Turbo's home and into his seemingly small, dead end front door's foyer, also dimly lit. As they were about to turn to their left and head for the powered off teleportation pad just outside his now closing front door, Nox cocked an eyebrow and peered his prominently glowing gaze tight to Turbo's in cheeky bewilderment.

"You have WAY too much alone time, dude," Nox blurt a small laugh, and as both boys softly sagged onto the teleportation pad, the holographic display of way-points and other pad's markers gently flickered on in a gentle jolt of red electricity. Turbo heaved a long, shaky sigh and peered hard at the holographic display, though Nox noticed it was an aimless gaze of now rising terror. Nox heaved a small chuckle and lovingly gripped Turbo's lower arm in a show of tender care, "Turbo... You're going to be FINE. We'll just go, you and I can mosey around, and I'll help you find Berri... Unless she finds you first."

"I-I have no idea what I'm even going to say," Turbo staggered in now visible show of boyish anxiousness, the both of them hovered in the now awake teleport pad, and as the silence of Turbo's smaller, low ceiling foyer encompassed both boys in the reality of this moment, Nox heaved a patient sigh through his nose and relaxed in his big brother's now much tighter presence, his fear was absolutely palpable, "I-I... Now that we're standing on this pad, I'm realizing I'm way more worried about Berri's reaction than anyone else's."

"...Well, User, your whole issue is solved, then," Nox blurt a gentle laugh, to which Turbo's innocently nervous eyes finally drew to Nox in soft curiosity, "You don't even care about anyone else. Because no one else matters... And I can tell you right now, Berri will probably do eight back flips and then glitch hop all the way to the moon, upon seeing you. Especially dressed like this."

"I don't think she'll be THAT excited," Turbo grumbled as he inhaled a deep breath, and as his finger finally hovered over the small, red holographic button that clearly stated one of the two teleportation pads of the recreational hall, and as he nervously eyed Nox, he tried not to look too scared, "Y'ready?"

"Are YOU?" Nox chuckled as he sagged his hands into his pant's pockets, and as Turbo's masculine chest rose with the deep, shaky inhale of preparation, he cocked an eyebrow and barely shook his head.

"Not even a little," Turbo dully eased; nonetheless, his finger gently sagged into the button that awaited their fate.

As Turbo scrunched his eyes shut tight and inhaled a deep breath, the comfort of his teleportation pad eagerly whisked him and Nox away to a pad that they hardly ever frequent. In the rush of electricity whizzing them clear across the entirety of Orion City, both boys were tenderly brought to the much larger teleportation pad hidden a little deeper in the recreational hall's warm, homey, high ceilinged walls and pillars. With a sharp inhale through his nose, Turbo's nervous eyes were now graced with an entirely different scene, the insanely stark difference from his homey little foyer to the sudden, fully lit high arched ceilings of honey gold, pillars that lined this area of the recreational hall, and the one thing he was dreading the most, all sorts of different palace members, racers and gamers were practically everywhere. With Nox's brotherly presence, his kind, anticipatory eyes glanced up to Turbo's trembling disposition, and in warmth, he nudged Turbo's arm to somehow silently persuade him off of the teleportation pad.

As if Turbo could hardly feel his knees, his wary footsteps eased off of the pad, alongside Nox's, and although his exterior was typically an extremely calm and collected version of a typical bad boy that didn't give two craps what anyone thought, his interior was doughy and warm to the touch. He nervously sagged his hands into his pant's front two pockets, he kept tight to himself, and with his worst nightmare coming true, he could see all sorts of tossed glances his way, mumbling whispers from familiar faces to other more familiar faces, the whole of it was a blur. Turbo was thrilled Nox was tightly cued to his big brother, and was strict in making clear he wasn't about to leave his side. Turbo knew eventually he'd be okay with Nox wavering from his presence, though Turbo almost felt relieved that the crowd was lively, the music droned on in the background, it was a way he could go without hearing the muttering, nervous whispers he usually would.

Although his heart just sagged and sagged, he was thrilled to see very familiar faces eagerly wave to him and show tender thrill that he was here, beings like Felix and Calhoun, as well as Penny, Libby and Koko. He knew he'd eventually have to come out of his shell if he were to be palling around with Sugar Rush's new leaflets of this incredibly crazy family tree, and although the mixture of glee and detest was weird to grapple at, he was hoping he'd spot a particular blue-haired beauty sometime soon, thus eradicating all of his worries. As him and Nox moseyed down the hall, Nox successfully was able to trail Koko alongside the two, an even safer bout of camaraderie that Turbo was grateful for. Koko had so kindly given Turbo a little bit of small talk and was well in the loop of his nervous nature for even coming to this party, Turbo knew that Nox had likely filled Koko in on everything. Turbo was grateful for the swap mate that Nox had picked in life, Koko sweetly made sure that Turbo was at ease, and like dipping into scalding hot water, Koko finally gave Turbo a cheeky smile and side-eyed him in whole knowing.

"We're really glad you were able to make it," Koko bobbed a nod, her and Nox caught eyes in a slew of tender, smiling knowing, "Though, I'm sure you're looking for the birthday girl."

"I am," Turbo admitted quietly with a small nod, he kept his eyes tight to Koko's, he finally eased a nervous smile as Koko bobbed another nod of understanding, lifted her pointer finger and now stood on tip toes, her eager eyes began to gloss the crowd of people, noisy party goers, everyone causally hung out in the massive recreational hall, the chatter and music filled the game with a symphony of good times, something Turbo now desperately was eager to melt into; he was well aware currently was sticking out like a sore thumb.

"I saw her with a few other people near the pool tables, a little bit ago. C'mon, let's go see," Koko instructed kindly; she was wearing a cute, formal top and nice skinny jeans, her chocolate brown hair draped her shoulders and chest in waves that glistened under the warm house lights of the party. Koko gestured for both Turbo and Nox to follow her, she perked up and skipped a step as she glanced over her shoulder, "Follow me."

In the single filed line Koko lead, Turbo kept his eyes down and bashfully followed tight behind Nox. As if desperate to at least look normal, desperate to blend in, he causally looked up and inhaled a nervous, silent breath as he allowed his glowing, golden eyes to gloss the hall they strolled down. The recreational hall was a hefty building with a main room, it consisted of a massive lounging area, alongside a proper dining area and a swooping kitchen space with a gorgeous span of never-ending counter tops and a solid island to host a vast amount of people. Although this was all on one single room, under one section of the gorgeous arches and beams of the high ceilings, the recreational hall eventually sagged into a longer corridor, a miniature great hall that not only lead to a cozy, inviting billiard hall, but also a separate upstairs area that housed a few massive bedrooms, suited for sleepovers. The hall glowed, every being inside of it was alive with excitement, with chatter and celebration, a proper way to segue into the end of the year.

As Koko, Nox and Turbo reached the entrance area of the miniature great hall, it forked into two open-aired, lazy avenues. The way to the left was the introductory splay of glossy tiles that lead into the kitchen, and eventually the living quarters of the space. To the right was a small, arched alcove that lead into the billiards hall, lined with glass windows that looked into the flyer's gorgeous, jungle-foliage enclosure. Although it was dark, due to it being way past sundown, little glimpses of the leaves and trees could see seen strictly from the indoor lights that eked through said glass. Although he could still practically feel the eyes on him, the very vibration of the whispers he was likely certain was being spread about him, the shock of his presence even so much as being here was quite a sight to behold, he desperately held onto the notion that finding Berri would help this venture; he tried not to use said notion as a handicap, though he knew this whole ordeal of coming out of his cave would eventually get easier.

"I don't know, she was JUST in there, I swear," Koko huffed with a small giggle of flustered dismay, she shook her head and, although her and Nox began to look around, Turbo sagged his shoulders and knew he had to fight the itch to step away.

He was certain the walls were now closing in around him, he took a small step back and began to feel his heart just sag with the impending roll of judgy side eyes he was certain he was receiving, and in the second gentle roll of his back step, his back softly eased into the last pillar of the hall they were in, the crossroads to the three different sections of the recreational hall. Turbo flinched a little, heaved a shaky sigh through his nose and now took this opportunity to assess his whole surroundings. He furrowed his eyebrows in itching terror, he could see the Sugar Rush racers in different friend groups, everyone loudly chattered in mixed groups and mixed games, and although Turbo was certain that upon arrival, all eyes were on him, he was somewhat delighted to see that the party had moved on and mostly everyone had continued just doing what they were doing. Turbo sagged in a smaller bout of tender revival as Nox and Koko did their best to look around the billiard area, though with a small gloss of Turbo's eyes into the neighboring, opened living and kitchen area to his left did his heart stop mid beat, the catch of the familiar, cerulean blue he had been itching to find.

Turbo raised his eyebrows in prickled surprise as his grey skin raised with goosebumps, he kept his hands tight in his front pockets as he finally landed eyes on Berri. She stood, loudly and happily chatting with Wren, they both stood facing each other, hips leaned against the hall's massive sprawl of a kitchen island and counter, gorgeous splashes of marbles lined the place. Turbo long-blinked in whole disbelief; through the weave of the moseying crowd, Berri stood proud and tall, she wore an adorable little grey coat of a shawl that had short sleeves and barely poofed at her upper arms, a beautiful white tank that was long and flowy, black, slick skinny jeans and a gorgeous, solid pair of heels, she was an absolute vision. Her vivid, long blue hair was straightened and laced like silk down her back in a flair of razored, precise layers, a sleek gloss of health that glistened underneath the glow of the hall's warm lights over head. Turbo cocked an eyebrow and absolutely could not help but eye her in whole admiration, her curvy figure was absolutely beautiful, the subtle show of just a little bit of cleavage had Turbo super thankful he was over two dozen feet from her. He practically sagged into a daydream, he was entirely certain that every single body about them was just perspective blur, and she was the single and most important line on the horizon.

"He like... WANTS to fly, I've seen him glide before, it IS possible," Berri argued with a wide, annoyed smile, her eyes hooked tight to Wren's as he bobbed a nod, furrowed his brow and intently listened to her story; Chester comfortably sat on his hind quarters near the island, alongside Berri and Wren. The noise about the party was way too noisy for him to simply go moseying about by himself, so wherever Berri went, Chester went, "He was perched on top of the palace's outer wall, and then he glided all the way to Throttle's home, from Ace's tower... Silly thing thought I didn't see."

"Maybe there's a way you can like... Map the world from up in the air, through the exterior swap?" Wren grasped at straws, he shook his head and shrugged, as if to wonder if it was maybe a lost cause, "Certainly you can have your mom or Ace or someone do something, maybe... There's gotta be some form of a code room trick."

"Mom has been battling his eye sight coding for the entirety of his life... Chester turns one in three months," Berri shrugged, "Who knows... I'll see if Ace can maybe muster something up, we'll see, I guess."

"It may very well just have to be a trust exercise, between you and Chester," Wren breathed a hard chuckle and shrugged, he finally peered to Chester with a smile and loved how happy-go-lucky Chester's demeanor was, his turquoise tongue drooped out of his mouth in a soft, satisfied pant, like an overgrown puppy, "He seems happy, no matter what, though... You have eyes, maybe he'll one day trust that you won't steer him wrong... Literally."

"I've been successful in getting him out and about the game, via exterior swap... He does just fine in Orion City, but..." Berri droned in defeat, she heaved a hard sigh, she glossed her eyes to her right in a lazy fashion of a simple glance around, and although she inhaled a long breath to conclude this topic with Wren, she took a sharp double take on the being that stood almost twenty feet off.

Berri froze in a jolt of searing stun, and as her eyes hooked tight to Turbo's familiar, glowing, golden orbs from far across the stretch, she felt as if every single pixel in her body had suddenly raised in the desire to glitch in a haphazard show of bewilderment, though she was somehow shocked she kept it all together. With raised eyebrows, a small gape of whole surprise, an entirely frozen demeanor, a few people softly walked in and out of her's and Turbo's solid, unwavering string of molten eye contact, and it was here that she simply felt as if she couldn't get her feet to agree with her body. She huffed a sharp, surprised breath of entire disbelief, Turbo stood with his vision eagle-eyed on her, an adorable, knowing smolder of a smirk on his face, simply as if he was a predator that had been waiting in the shadows to strike, only to give his prey the honor of discovering him first, ultimately allowing her to win this round of hide and seek. Berri finally scoffed a breath of a bemused chuckle of continued disbelief, she felt the world's noise blur to a background drum of nonsense, and as her feet finally cooperated with her brain, her whole being made an unmoving, unwavering bee-line straight for the one and only person missing from this lovely evening.

In a rush of a tender, skillful push of agility through the crowd, Berri kept her eyes tightly hooked to Turbo's as she gently launched away from her's and Wren's conversation; with quick footwork, she managed to easily step around people, a bob and weave of skill she developed strictly through learning how to glitch hop from Tessa and Vanellope. She made absolutely certain to keep her gaze tight to Turbo's as she rapidly approached his frozen, almost delightfully haunting figure, the itch to shove right into Turbo's bubble and melt into the hard fact that witnesses would now understand just how wonderful Turbo actually was, she could practically hear the clack of her black stilettos echo in a reverberating, dominant ricochet throughout the entire hall. As she reached half a dozen feet from Turbo, she felt a weird sensation come over her, the urge to dive right into his arms was way too strong to even think about reeling and halting production of said physical contact that Turbo would probably only begrudgingly agree too. As she peered hard into his eyes, she was entirely encouraged to see Turbo's masculine chest rise with a readied inhale, he removed his hands from his pockets with positive, anticipatory glee, and it was here did Berri delightfully respond to each of his cues; she was floored that there were no questions asked.

As a small, sweet smile of still persistent disbelief sprawled Berri's cute face, she finally huffed a bashful giggle and bravely pushed into Turbo's still, patiently waiting gravity. With ease, she quickly slid her arms tight about Turbo's neck and, with a push and a small choke of yet another bashful giggle, she successfully glued herself to Turbo, the sink of her body tight against his broad, warm chest, she scrunched her eyes and hugged him as tightly and as happily as she could. Berri was floored to feel Turbo hold strong, he was gleefully anticipating her push of a hug, as if to make silently clear that he was equally as prepared to give her the biggest hug he could, he was an unmoving wall of warmth and support. As the sides of their heads sagged together in the squeeze, Berri felt her heart practically do a backflip the second Turbo's chest reverberated a warm, loving chuckle, hovered right near her ear, the feel of his strong, supportive arms warmly weaved about her middle and upper back, she scrunched her eyes tighter and beamed the widest, girliest, most excited smile she could.

Turbo grinned down into Berri's little shoulder, she had a little bit more height to her, due to her heels, though he felt his coding wiggle with reignited glee. He forgot just what this all entailed, the feeling of a woman he cared for safely encompassed in his strong, protective embrace, he lulled his eyes closed and dared to squeeze her tighter, almost in a lift right off of her feet. He knew not to cause any more of a scene than the two likely already were causing, though he swore to himself that he'd hold this special hug of theirs for as long as she would allow. After what seemed to be almost fifteen seconds of a hug, Turbo finally blurt a gentle chuckle as Berri only squeezed him tighter and just barely swayed her upper body, as if to express that she was entirely floored that he was here with her, in this raw and fragile predicament, as if letting go would make it so he'd vanish. Turbo finally blurt yet another chuckle as she squeezed just a notch tighter and emit a struggle of a giggle of whole delight onto his strong, broad shoulder. Turbo dared to rub her upper back in tenderness, as if to silently convey to her that he wasn't going to run away the second she let go.

In the slow draw of a final though still snuggly release, Berri hovered tight to his gravity, peered hard up into his eyes and looked entirely glossed with a dewy, glowing spirit, as if this was just the thing to make her party perfect, she dared to keep her hands gripped to the strong, inner bed of Turbo's lower arms. The two peered hard into each other's eyes, and though they still hovered tight in each other's personal space, Berri was thrilled Turbo didn't shy from it, or act as if it was maybe something that was way too uncomfortable for him to be displaying, in front of the lot of his peers. Turbo beamed a small, sneaky smile, as if he was comfortable showing Berri a whole smile, though with the very certain amount of now curious onlookers, he only was able to push forth a delightfully nervous, closed-mouth smile, as if to silently promise her that he'd be back to his comfortable self the next time they were alone. Berri shook her head in still continued disbelief and gazed her cute, innocent, and bashfully shocked eyes of smiling warmth straight into his soul, like an arrow from cupid, bulls-eyed on his heart.

"I can't believe you came," Berri eased in a breath of warmth and quiet tenderness, she long blinked in endearing uncertainty and smiled as she continued on, "I'm sure this is one of the hardest things you've had to do, as of late..."

"It definitely was," Turbo declared gently, and as the background blur of nonsense finally came back to his peripheral, he was now floored to feel that the amount of gawking onlookers wasn't something that terrified him, it wasn't something that made him feel shy or embarrassed; he began to feel alive, his soul relished in the shocked roll of potential naysayers, he held the dip of Berri's small waist and now was entirely ready to boast this beautiful woman before him. He wondered just exactly what came over him the second he held her waist a little tighter, he gave her a gentle, humbled smolder of a smile as he eased a warm conclusion down to her, "But, you're worth it."


	52. Chapter 52

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Hey, thanks friend, I REALLY appreciate your kind words and support, there. I likely will just give warnings, then. Seems like that would be the best thing to do, huh. Best of both worlds.

 **Romantic Sapp :** So sorry about that! Maybe next time, instead of a 5 chapter warning, I'll go ahead and do it 10 chapters out, so to give everyone enough time. This story will likely be well over 150 chapters long, so no danger in not being able to vote for the next few chapter comics I do! Thank you friend!

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Out My Mind ft. Riley Clemmons [Shaun Frank Remix] by Tritonal**

 **Also, the same song, but the Giiants Remix (for the end of the chapter)**

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 **A/N :** **Hey guys, sorry this chapter is so massive. I didn't feel like halving or prolonging Berri's birthday party any more, so I figured I'd give you one gooey chapter of fun. The plot will begin to pick up here shortly. I also have an important upload announcement at the end of this chapter, so be sure to check that out!**

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 ***Chapter 52***

"Annnd, never mind. We didn't have to find her, she came finding her way RIGHT to you," Koko chimed in gentle sweetness as her and Nox finally eased into Berri's and Turbo's bubble.

"The entirety of our friendship," Berri eased in girly, sarcastic delight as she rolled her eyes, though she gave Turbo a warm smile as if to insinuate she was only pulling his leg.

"What the heck man?" Theo suddenly blurt in whole excitement, and it was with Theo's gentle outburst did Turbo broaden his bubble beyond him and Berri; he was entirely floored to see that a lazy gathering of curious onlookers had gathered, some of which happily began to push their way to the adorable scene. Turbo blurt a nervous laugh as Theo came up, and with a firm high five that morphed into a brotherly handshake, Theo pat Turbo's upper arm and shook his head, his gap-tooth smile was wide in boyish disbelief, "I had no clue you were coming, I would've never guessed in a million years you'd show up here!"

Turbo smiled and suddenly felt a wash of realization come over him, something that he so dutifully noted, and it was with Theo's words did Turbo gloss his eyes past Theo and straight into Wren's sly, approaching, knowing demeanor. Wren cocked an eyebrow, teasing looked up, sagged his masculine hands into the front pockets of his nice slacks and shrugged his shoulders through his handsome, dark blue button up and cute, white bowtie of an accent. Turbo huffed a grateful chuckle, looked down to his feet for a moment and was now entirely certain that alongside gaining Berri's trust and friendship, he was floored to see that Wren's promising amount of loyalty was something that could go far with Turbo, as well. He gave Wren a knowing smile, and before he could open his mouth and thank Wren, Wren gently gestured to himself and sagged into their bubble.

"I may have a bit of a loud mouth on me, but..." Wren softened and softly glanced to Berri, "I know how to keep a secret."

"I appreciate it," Turbo concluded with a nod, though Berri furrowed her brow and pointed to Wren in a stagger of now girly authority.

"Wait a second... You knew Turbo was going to be coming to my party all along?" Berri pressed, Wren bobbed a nod and gave Berri a cheeky smile, as if to insinuate that even though he was successful in keeping all of her secrets, he could easily do it for another promising friend.

"YOU KNEW?" Theo barked in annoyance, to which Wren wildly flinched and secured his palm tight about Theo's much larger wrist.

"Okay... How many drinks have you had so far?" Wren urged in whole annoyance; Berri, Nox, Koko and Turbo were lost in laughter.

"Turbo, welcome to the fun," Vanellope stated in a lilt of cute happiness as she passed by, closely tailed by Taffyta and Orph; all three waved as they passed by, clearly en route to a different area of the party.

"Hey, guys," Turbo eased, though it was very clear he was incredibly nervous for the amount of volleyed glances through the curious crowd, smiles and whispers and gentle notions of surprise were abundant, though he desperately kept his attention tight to his friend's little circle, before him.

"C'mon, I'm sure you're in need of a drink," Berri chimed to Turbo, she gave him a knowing, girly smile and shook her head, "You're probably out of sorts, right now. Liking all eyes on you?"

"Not even for a second," Turbo muttered, though as Berri eased another giggle, he felt the barriers of continued curious glances just beam down from the blinding light Berri was emitting, her whole figure just shone like the sun, it was something Turbo was genuinely curious about, his eyes couldn't help but continue to be drawn back to her; like a moth to a light.

Before Turbo could just blindly agree to anything she suggested, anything she wanted, he huffed a stagger of a breath and felt the dusty cogs in his brain desperately try to turn the second Berri's warm hand slipped into his. With a gentle pull, as if to try and lead the ever-so-stubborn and elusive Orion City keeper, Berri gingerly tugged him in the direction of the kitchen and peered her innocent, curious and dewy blue eyes over her shoulder. In the lock of their gaze, Turbo felt as if his coding was now running wild, he was entirely uncertain of just where his sanity went, everything about this whole entire ordeal was something he simultaneously craved and hated, all in one fell swoop. The splay of Berri's gorgeous, long blue hair cascading down her back as she turned to correction, softness like velvet that draped over their conjoined hands and wrists, Turbo held his breath and easily followed her lead, he knew he would do so blindly, at this point. She could be headed straight for a sheer cliff and he knew it'd be the best damn free fall he'd ever endure.

"Is Chester like the bar keeper or something?" Nox blurt a hard laugh as their entire little group finally melted into the massive kitchen; with a huge, curved counter that hugged the interior of the kitchen and eventually acted as a kitchen island, multiple people loitered about the area in casual, excitable conversation, half empty drinks in hand, spirits were lively and the music was just loud enough to easily hear the murmur of chatter over.

"Guess so," Wren shrugged, though as they approached the blunt end of the nearly two dozen foot long counter and island, everyone noticed that Chester's whole demeanor and perked-ear attention was eagle-eyed for Turbo, as if to show interest in him, simply as if he was dutifully reminded just what happened the last time Chester was in Turbo's presence.

"Bud, y'remember Turbo, right?" Berri blurt a small chuckle as she finally released Turbo's warm hand and sagged into the vicinity of Chester's much taller figure, due to him sitting upright on his hindquarters.

Just as Turbo was prepared to nervously hold his hand out, everyone jolted in surprise as Chester urgently leaned forward, huffed a few urgent sniffles in Turbo's gravity, and after merely a split second of confident assessment of Turbo, Chester firmly nuzzled his whole head and snout into Turbo's center. Turbo blurt a gentle laugh, wobbled, rolled his eyes and lovingly began to scratch behind Chester's ears. After a moment, Chester's whole posture and spine sagged in dreamy relief, the wrists of his tucked wings suddenly thud to the tiles underneath, and as Chester lulled his eyes closed, he relaxed tight into Turbo's code-numbing ear and skull scratches.

"Ohhh I think it's clear that he remembers Turbo," Koko blurt a giggle as Berri eagerly watched the cuteness unfold, she crossed her arms and was floored Chester had grown so fond of someone so quickly; especially a full blown stranger.

"Who could forget someone like Turbo?" Nox encouraged in a gentle mutter, nearly only for Turbo's ears, and as Turbo raised his eyebrows, he shot his little brother a grateful look as Nox lovingly nudged Turbo's arm, "See'yah 'round, bro."

"Thanks, Nox," Turbo eased with the utmost show of gratitude and humility, and as Nox gently winked and hooked his arm about Koko's waist, the two strolled away, so to return to the previous friend group she was chatting with on the other side of the hall.

"Acts as if he hasn't had head scratches, ever," Turbo blurt a chuckle as Chester finally accepted the fact that Turbo's hands were slowing down. Turbo firmly rubbed and pat Chester's head, and in typical dog fashion, Chester finally stood up straight and tenderly began to sniffle at Turbo's jaw and cheek. Turbo scrunched his face and just barely backed his head away as Chester softly lapped at his jaw in a show of cute gratitude. Turbo laughed and warmly pat Chester's broad chest as he eased off of Turbo, once and for all, "I'm pretty positive he's not deprived, right?"

"No, not at all... He just really likes you," Berri shrugged, "It's a good thing. You don't want to be on Chester's bad side."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Wren muttered, though Berri long blinked in annoyance and gestured to the gash above Wren's left eye.

"Wren, he swiped you on accident, Chester wasn't angry with you," Berri blurt a laugh, though Turbo raised his eyebrows in now readied teasing, and as him and Wren caught eyes, Turbo crossed his arms and tilted his head in cocky dismay.

"Okay, so now I know the true story," Turbo joked with a smile, Wren rolled his eyes and tidied his hair in an annoyed fashion.

"Yeah, yeah, tell the media," Wren muttered as he looked off.

"Look alive," Tessa's voice suddenly chimed in tender cuteness, and as the small group eagerly peered down the long swoop of a counter top and kitchen island, Tessa had successfully slid two frothy glasses brimmed with Tapper's root beer, one for Turbo and one for Berri. With quick reflexes, they each caught their own glasses as they came sliding to a gentle halt, and with Berri's and Turbo's loft of cute, knowing eye contact, Tessa winked at the two, waved her fingers and softly turned to continue chatting with her small friend group, which consisted of Tammy, Emery, Swizzle and Penny, "Behave, you two."

Berri huffed a small, bashful giggle, raised her glass just a little, in a silent thank you to her mother, and finally drew back to Turbo's surprised expression. He finally choked a small laugh as Wren and Theo eagerly grappled for their own half empty glasses, and as they each raised their spirit, Berri cleared her throat and prepared a small toast.

"To, uh... To avoiding hangovers!" Berri blurt a giggle as she raised her glass a little higher; all three boys bobbed nods of nervous agreeing, and raised their glasses as well.

"To avoiding hangovers," All three boys eased, though Turbo only mumbled his in whole, cheeky awareness, knowing full well she was referring to the night the two had gotten drunk together.

In tender delight, the four clinked their glasses together in a dainty show of cheers, and upon Turbo's and Berri's first sips, Wren and Theo were already half way done with their share, due to them having their drinks a little longer. Berri bugged her eyes in nervous surprise and then finally scrunched in a show of impending regret, she shook her head and heaved a gentle giggle, and as her and Turbo locked eyes in apprehensive, teasing knowing, Turbo bobbed a nod in her direction and gestured his glass to her, gently.

"I'm serious, Berri, if I don't see you eat something or drink water at least once tonight, I will have to cut you off," Turbo eased in boyish delight, something that had Berri totally taken aback, how quickly he was able to feel comfortable in this massive group of people.

"I don't know, you didn't cut me off the other night," Berri shrugged, though Wren and Theo raised their eyebrows in collected surprise and now began to sip their drinks as if to be watching a show unfold; Berri could see Turbo nearly always on the brink of being check mated with all eyes on him, though she was surprised to see him inhale a deep breath, look off and mutter his conclusion into the rim of his frothy, ice cold beverage.

"Oh I definitely tried," Turbo mumbled, he took a gentle sip and gently lofted his creepy gaze right into hers, a dark, masculine, cheeky look that stabbed straight into her heart, "Who am I to say no to the birthday girl."

"It's easy, watch," Wren stabbed with a small chuckle, he flattened his hand and pointed it in Berri's direction, "NO. DOWN. Y'BAD."

"You're just jealous you missed out," Berri sneered, though Theo looked down in a teasing show of moping and bobbed a lazy, sullen nod.

"Yeah," He sighed hard, though Wren swat his arm as all three boys blurt out in laughter.

"You guys can come over next time I get a thing of Tapper's," Turbo warmly encouraged, the glow from his eyes was a sure fire sign that he was already having the time of his life, "It'll be great."

"Do my eyes deceive me?" Came a booming voice from across the entirety of the hall, and it was here did Turbo scrunch his shoulders, peer off in an aimless remembrance of startled fear and freeze, as if he had now switched from a big, bad predator to meek, helpless prey.

Berri, Wren and Theo eagerly lofted their eyes off to the other, more secluded area of the hall, the long corridor in which Turbo had arrived from, said open-aired corridor included a different section of a more lower-ceilinged room that held a few billiards tables, another bar, a lounging area and an incredible outdoor deck that was covered in untouched, piercingly white snow. Ralph stood with Zed, Rancis, Finn, Calhoun and Throttle, all five of them held onto pool cues and easily hovered about a single pool table that had the different variety of colored balls haphazardly splayed about, clearly mid-game. Although Ralph's booming voice called for Turbo's attention, he knew not to push it any further, only simply hoping he'd get Berri's attention, alongside the ever so elusive TurboTime boy that no one ever saw.

"You're okay, Bo," Berri eased warmly, her gentle hand soaked to the outside of his upper arm in a small show of comfort, though as they caught eyes, Berri was floored to find the mysterious golden glow, in his eyes, had basically vanished. What was now a wash of shy, matte grey that matched his skin tone, dull and lacked any glow, Berri gave him a warm, apologetic smile and leaned in a little closer, so to give him a tighter bout of one-on-one assurance, "It's just papa-Ralph, no one else is looking except for the small group he's with."

"I-I... I'm way out of my element," Turbo staggered with a bashful, unsure chuckle, he visibly swallowed hard, tugged on his collar a little and cocked an eyebrow, so to slowly turn heel and peer across the hall, in the direction of Ralph and his small group.

"It's all good, we won't leave y'hangin'," Wren assured with a nod as he waved to Ralph's group, though he grit his teeth in a nervous smile as he noticed Ralph calmly wave the four over, as if to show that he wanted to further love on the fact that Turbo bravely came to a social event.

"You alright? We can go over there for a second and just say hi, but we don't have to if you don't want to," Berri warmly suggested, she was encouraged to see the faint glow finally return to Turbo's nervous, unsure eyes and demeanor.

"Yeah, my dad and Zed are over there," Wren concluded with a nod, knowing full well that of any other people attending this party, Zed and Rancis were likely the only other two people Turbo was in tight contact with on an almost daily basis, seeing as Turbo shared Sugar Rush responsibilities with them.

"Sure, it's okay," Turbo concluded deeply with a nod, though it took Berri, Wren and Theo softly stepping out for Turbo to finally un-anchor his feet from the ground; Chester diligently followed suit.

In the slow mosey through the crowd, Turbo gently trailed behind Theo, Wren and Berri, he could swear his heart was due to pounding its way out of his chest in entire anxiety, a roll of angry storm clouds that shroud his heart, he furrowed his brow and felt a whole slew of conflicting feelings hit him. The amount of still lofted glances of surprised attention, he nearly felt as if he was parting the crowd, though in the same instance this feeling hit his heart, he glossed his eyes over the three individuals he diligently followed. It was clear that the birthday girl was the one dutifully parting the crowd, she was the center of attention tonight, the true feeling of the beginning trickles of acceptance finally began to dig into Turbo's skin with hot knowing. The glow of smiling, happy faces in the gentle lighting of their destination, he lulled his eyes closed in a long blink and felt decade-old memories just gloss over his heart.

Turbo could swear he could still hear the old Sweet Streets crew excitedly welcoming him to parties they'd throw, formals and fun events the game would hold, just years of dusty memories, sealed away, something he could've sworn he'd never get the chance to revisit, in real life. Like flushing said memories down a coded drain, he almost forgot about his past life, his life prior to losing Libby of Sweet Streets, his life prior to becoming an entire nightmare with Lash tight by his side, he felt as if he was having an out of body experience, as if he was absolutely certain he'd never be allowed to these feelings, ever again. As his eyes eased past the group they still approached, he furrowed his brow in a strike of whole realization as he peered to the back of Berri's head; all the things she had now dutifully reminded him that he was allowed to, the whole fact that second and third and fourth chances were real, unlimited forgiveness was something he was entirely grateful that she harbored, even having the dreadful information she had.

"I'm floored you're here, dude," Ralph grumbled with a knowing smile, he side-eyed Turbo as the four approached, and as Ralph gently reached his massive hand out and pat the whole of Turbo's upper back, he shook his head and continued to give Turbo a knowing look, "I know coming here was probably very hard for you... Takes guts, man."

"Yeah, we're glad you made it," Zed stated in whole kindness, a look of knowing care was written all over his face.

"I-It was hard," Turbo nodded in humility, he looked down and eased a bashful smirk, "I-I... I'm not one to miss a friend's birthday party. No matter what."

"You missed my birthday," Theo mumbled, which caused Zed and Rancis to blurt into laughter.

"Yeah, and mine," Wren gently swat Turbo's arm, and in such, Turbo flinched and finally beamed Wren a sneaky, widening smile of playfulness, "Aren't we friends? Come on. You can trust me with secrets, surely you could show up to my birthday."

"We weren't friends yet, over your birthday," Turbo choked a laugh, he slowly began to open up a little bit more, and with such, Ralph, Zed, Rancis, Finn, Throttle and Calhoun finally eased away from the small group of four and began to see about continuing with their unfinished game of pool.

"It's okay, maybe we can throw a separate party for us four, make up for mine and Theo's birthdays," Wren shrugged as him and Turbo relaxed in each other's presence; Theo and Berri eased to the other side of the table and began to quietly bicker with Throttle, in a playful manner. Once Berri was out of earshot, and the crew began to softly converse in gentle quips of banter, Wren cocked an eyebrow and finally side-eyed Turbo in a knowing way, "Dude, I don't think I've ever seen her ditch a conversation with me faster, in my entire life."

"What do you mean?" Turbo wondered gently, he furrowed his brow, crossed his arms and hovered tight to Wren's brotherly presence.

"I mean, the second she saw you, she dropped absolutely everything she was doing," Wren eased quietly as he gestured a little, their tender conversation drummed quiet enough underneath the main group's much louder, playful conversation, "She really cares about you, man. Hopefully this isn't a one and done kind of thing? You, uh... You think you can afford three new friends?"

"I've already afforded myself such things," Turbo eased deeply with a nod, and as him and Wren softly caught eyes, Turbo shrugged and felt his exterior walls crumple just a little more, "Yeah, it's been... Really weird, and really hard, but... I'm grateful. You guys are welcome over at my house any time."

"I'm so glad you said that, cause I'm pretty sure us three would've just attacked your teleport pad daily, anyhow," Wren choked a laugh and shook his head, causing Turbo to beam a small smile and gloss his eyes to the ground in cute knowing. Wren softened a little more, he was well aware Berri likely had a much softer approach to Turbo, with much more influence due to their flirtatious friendship, though he still wondered if he could budge his way into Turbo's heart from a different angle, a new perspective, a brother that could potentially deliver a much cleaner cut of advice and critique on this path to introducing Turbo back into society, "Well... I at least know Berri would, every day, but... I-I guess, you just say the word and we can leave you be."

"No, I don't want that," Turbo sighed, he shook his head and glanced his eyes into Wren's caring dark blue orbs, "I enjoy your guys' company. Really, I do."

"Well, us for you, as well," Wren nodded, "Hopefully things will get easier for you, now, don't you think?"

Turbo inhaled a deep breath, cocked an eyebrow and softly volleyed his eyes across the dimmer room; Theo was awkwardly holding a pool cue, angled at the pool table, and there beside him, with her arms gently angled about his lower arms, stood Berri, teasingly trying to show Theo just how to hold a pool cue. Throttle and Rancis stood near, absolutely lost in laughter, Berri volleyed teasing notions at Theo and purposefully tried to make him uncomfortable, a light, loving banter she radiated, even in teasing, Turbo could see the wholesome intent in her loving eyes, her contagious smile, Turbo nearly caught a breath and bobbed a small nod as his eyes got lost in her beauty.

"Definitely," Turbo staggered through a shaky sigh as he tried not to make it too obvious that he was longingly peering in her direction; he was well aware Wren had likely caught on, though he knew at this point that even his poor attempt at hiding his feelings was likely futile from here on out.

After about an hour of the small group loudly playing different rounds of pool, changing teams, bodies swayed about the table, Berri finally eased her cue into the tiles underneath and bobbed a small nod to her grandfather. She gestured to him, cocked an eyebrow and finally gripped Zed's upper arm in a further show of impending, teasing banter.

"Alright, grandpa, I think you and dad should definitely NOT be on the same team, anymore," Berri blurt a laugh, though Zed frowned and shot Berri an annoyed, sullen look of defeat.

"Nooo, we're winning," Zed complained, which had Rancis loudly laughing and flagging his hand towards Zed in further irritation.

"EXACTLY! Be on my team, this time," Rancis quipped as he playfully grappled Zed's other upper arm and jostled him.

"NO that's not fair, what about me and Wren?" Theo urged in annoyance.

"Guys, remember grandpa needs a teammate," Berri eased with a girly giggle as she gestured towards Ralph, though as her eyes glossed the group, she felt her heart immediately sink in hot knowing; Turbo was nowhere to be found. Berri inhaled a sharp, silent breath, sagged her shoulders and looked about in now cold urgency, though just as she was about to start scouring the whole rest of the party and drop everything she was doing, Throttle lovingly held his hand to her upper back in tender support and leaned closer to her.

"He's still here, he just went upstairs for a few minutes, just to take a mental breather," Throttle quietly assured to her, Ralph, Zed, Theo and Rancis loudly bickered over the top of Berri's and Throttle's much quieter conversation. Berri heaved a sigh of relief, bobbed a nod and sagged her shoulders, though Throttle shrugged a little and tilted his head towards the gaping exit of the massive, sprawling room they were in, "Why don't you go check on him? He's been gone for almost ten minutes now. He may need some encouragement to come back to the party."

"Thank you, Throttle," Berri eased to him in kind, girly quietness, she peered to him in cute politeness, bobbed him a nod of gratitude, softly handed him her pool cue, and slipped out of the group successfully unseen.

With heels that continued to quickly clack their way through her own birthday party, she noticed the chaos of the party wasn't subsiding, something she was elated about, though as she moved through the noise, she began to feel a pang of sorrow hit her skin. She knew this must've been extremely hard for Turbo to do, to come to such a lively party with nearly every single one of his peers. She felt gratitude hit her heart, as well as a whole swathe of girly knowing; she was thrilled she could now ease her calm spirit upstairs and have a few minutes alone with Turbo. She knew it was this instance where she was excited to privately tell Turbo just how much she valued his show of bravery. As quickly as she could, without seeming to be in too much of a rush, she found the private alcove of a staircase, near the recreational hall's back teleportation pad, and softly head up the stairs in pursuit of Sugar Rush's still number one recluse, something no one could properly rival.

Although the upstairs was much smaller than the hall's first floor, it still held a hefty amount of space; it had yet another lounge area with a few bigger bedrooms, fully furnished. It was a nice place to escape for parties and sleepovers, and although the upstairs was a section of the hall, it was dead quiet due to all the fun being downstairs. The party could still be heard, though as Berri came to the final landing of the second story, she eased her shoulders and now was finally realizing how grateful she was to slip away, as well, a gentle recharge she didn't know she needed. Berri knew she could also learn a thing or two from Turbo, in this fragile ordeal. Upon the landing was a small entrance to a little hub of a sky room, a little domed room that was entirely glass, a dark sitting area that proudly showed Sugar Rush's starry night, as well as it's tender flits of falling snow. Berri merely glanced into the darker dome of a room, and just as she was about to write off the fact that Turbo wasn't in said hull of a room, she double-took as she saw a dark figure faced away from her, the glow of gold cascaded against a small section of the glass dome; she halted her footwork and tenderly peered inside.

Turbo stood with his head tilted up, he quietly peered to the stars and recharged his very limited supply of mental, socializing power. His hands were casually in his front two pockets, he stood almost frozen still. Berri inhaled a quiet, readied breath, and as slowly and quietly as she could, she eased into the darker room and tucked her hands behind her back in presuming, girly delight. Her eyes gently glossed the incredible show of Sugar Rush stars, through the snowy clouds that littered the sky in a gorgeous show of white cotton candy. As her heels ever so tenderly and slowly clacked onto the marble tiles of the miniature sky room, she felt her heart leap as Turbo's figure just softly stiffened, came back to reality, and almost nervously glanced over his shoulder to see just who was approaching. The second he glossed the gentle glow of his eyes in Berri's entire direction, he peaked a bashful smile and sagged his shoulders in relief.

"I-I... I had to come up here and be alone, for a second," Turbo quietly rushed to justify himself, "I was hoping you didn't think I left, but I-I figured someone would tell you that I just slipped away for a second."

"No harm done, I really don't blame you," Berri heaved a soft sigh, bobbed a nod and finally stood next to Turbo, the gap of about two or three feet. She smiled and looked up to the gorgeous, dark sky overhead, "The party is fun, but it's nice to break away for a second. Good idea."

"Thank you," Turbo faltered as he eyed her gently, though he followed her idea and peered up to the stars and dark, lovely sky, once more, "This party is a lot of fun... I-I'm... I'm really glad I came."

"I am too, honestly," Berri smiled, and as Turbo could tell that her voice was now directly easing into his skin, he long blinked in tender understanding and volleyed his glowing gaze into hers. He finally postured himself so he was facing her a little more, she bashfully continued on, "Turbo, can I be honest with you?"

"... Of course," Turbo's deep voice volleyed in tender, loving quietness as he narrowed his gaze in now peaked curiosity, though he desperately tried to conceal it.

"I just wanted to let you know that..." Berri trailed off, looked down to her twiddling fingers, and shrugged her cute shoulders. After a moment of trying to build up courage, she finally sagged her shoulders in the reveal of her tender feelings as she gave Turbo a knowing, bashful look of humble understanding, "The candle I blew out at your house the other night, on my birthday? I... Well... I wished that you would make it to my party."

Turbo raised his eyebrows in cute surprise and did everything he could to not beam her a wide smile of hot knowing. He was successful in concealing it to a tender smirk of conclusion, he bobbed a nod in understanding and, with his hands now politely and lazily tucked behind his back, he looked off and down to the gorgeous splay of marble tiles, his golden eyes casted an eternity of warmth across the ground. Berri blurt a gentle, shaky giggle and shrugged, and as Turbo casted his glowing gaze back to hers in a gentle spike of confidence, he was entirely floored to see her almost begin to crumple with a swathe of girly, adoring shyness she didn't even know what to do with. He honed tight to her being and felt his heart swell, the gentle tremble of her hands she was unsuccessful in hiding, the cute quake in her girly voice, he was wholly floored to see her navigate this new wave of emotions coming at her, from all angles.

"You made it so my wish came true, and... I really appreciate this," Berri smiled with a nod, to which Turbo also volleyed in return, "I'm sure it took absolutely everything in you, and I just need you to know how much this means to me. Thank you..."

"You're more than welcome," Turbo chimed in sweetness; somehow the show of her crumpling, bashful spirit was enough to give him that kiss of confidence, an ironic twist of now feeling as if he was here to save her rushing thoughts and feelings, he was entirely floored to accept this responsibility. He was well aware her little notions were going in a certain direction, though he tried his very hardest to somehow silently convey that she owed him absolutely nothing, "You've given me that nudge I didn't know I needed. It's about time I stop being such a recluse and make some friends, see some new faces."

"It's big of you, for how convoluted and crazy of a past that you've had," Berri nodded as she nervously looked down to her hands, once more. She inhaled a shaky breath and now kept her eyes down, a cute show of vulnerability she hoped was safe in Turbo's hands, "Because you made my wish come true, I figured I'd return the favor... You made a wish on that candle, as well."

"Berri, you really don't... Have to," Turbo staggered as he narrowed his gaze and peered to her in a show of gentlemanly understanding, he knew he had teased her on the night of her birthday, though he hoped that she didn't feel obliged to return the heavy favor.

"You wished I'd tell you why I kept coming back to your tower, and I'm sure it's probably obvious by now but..." Berri smiled in a cute show of teeth, her eyes smiled alongside it, and with their gentle pluck of hot eye contact, Berri warmly concluded her fragile feelings and tried not to get too overcome with trembling, rushing emotion, "You're the reason I keep coming back."

Turbo raised his eyebrows and could swear that he was never going to hear her say these words, only in the secretive mull of his own little day dreams, he was entirely floored to hear it all come out of her figure in truth, something tangible he could hold onto, and it was here did he understand that their little ember of a friendship was due to blossom into something different, something tender and secretive, a slow burn of hot coals, he felt his heart thud in confusion. He was absolutely certain he'd never feel the clench of his stomach be entirely agitated with butterflies, ever again, the fleeting feelings of admiration and adoration were feelings he was absolutely certain he had muted so long ago. The fact that his brain began to dust off lost files of heartfelt tugs, the beat of his heart was a thud of thunder over his whole being, he felt his skin prickle and get hot with the entire thought of this incredible woman before him, just barely confessing the adorable, dainty and fragile beginnings of whatever spectrum of friendship this was.

"There's... There's something about your friendship that I now can't really imagine being without, and I just want you to know that... I really care about you," The shake in Berri's womanly voice began to ever so slowly dwindle into a cute show of mature confidence, a bashful ease of honey that Turbo was almost desperate to drown in, desperate to hear in his ears for the rest of time, and as she continued on, they held tight and loving eye contact, almost too heavy to continue to hold, "I went to Academy expecting to make friends there, to find a best friend outside of my family, but... Little did I know, I got suspended for defending a best friend I didn't even know I had yet."

Turbo now felt his mouth ease a beam of a smile as he glossed her womanly face. He felt the cogs in his heart begin to crank and turn, the cobwebs tore off of the thudding of his now racing heart, the dust began to stir with emotion, he lulled his glowing eyes closed and could swear that if he could muster just a few more ounces of bravery, he'd lean in and ease a kiss of gratitude to her cheek, though he scolded himself and knew he could hardly afford such things, right now. He heaved a hot sigh through his nose, bobbed a nod and sagged his glowing eyes down her arm and to her left hand. He finally inhaled a reviving breath, and although he was well aware there were a few different notions of affection he couldn't afford right now, he knew there were tiny little steps he most definitely could afford, something he now nervously sought to properly convey.

"It stirred up some things, but... I'm really glad to have someone who is willing to loudly defend me, someone who is so important to not only the hierarchy of Sugar Rush, but also to me," Turbo narrowed his gaze and, with a confident show of warmth, he lovingly slipped his right hand into her left one and held on tight. He squeezed and further squinted his narrowed gaze in bittersweet understanding, "You defended me without even knowing me... Without knowing anything about my past... And even after I told you everything, your thoughts on me didn't waver one bit. I owe you a lot, Berri. Really, I do."

Berri gently looked off and shook her head with a smile, as if to silently convey that it was nothing, though just as she was about to open her mouth and tenderly conclude this bubbling topic, she cocked an eyebrow and barely flinched as Turbo so carefully bowed his head lower than hers. She held her breath and felt her heart nearly jolt straight out of her chest the second he warmly filled the gap, lifted her left hand to his face and placed the softest, warmest kiss to the back of her hand, a show of the utmost respect. Berri held her free hand to her collar and chest in floored, girly surprise and hung in his gentlemanly presence, the feel of his stubble against the fragile skin on the back of her hand, she could swear the feel of his hot breath, that slowly splayed on her wrist, was something she was likely going to relive for a long while to come. She nearly choked to catch her breath, her insides did a dance of bashful glee, and as his warm lips gently concluded the pucker of a confident kiss to her hand, he slowly eased his posture to correction and was thrilled to feel her grip his hand in a needy show of whole delight.

"I care about you, as well," Turbo's warm voice almost held a tremble, though his confidence glossed over her in such a way that assured her he most certainly wasn't just keeping face, the rare show of Turbo's warm and gooey side was something she was still entirely floored she earned a front row seat to. Turbo smiled into her blue eyes, the string of glossed enchantment between the two was beyond palpable. He huffed a shaky chuckle and bobbed a nod, as if to insinuate she didn't really truly know just how much he appreciated her, though he concluded his notions of such, nonetheless, "A lot."

In a whole slew of cute bashfulness Berri had absolutely no idea how to contain, she breathed a gentle, silent breath of a giggle, tucked the back of her free hand to her mouth and looked off in blushing madness. She looked off in a flutter of new feelings, she heaved a silent, shaky breath and tried her hardest to relax and remain composed in front of Turbo, though he lovingly squeezed her hand a little harder, tilted his head and in a small show of smiling sweetness, he tried to gain eye contact with her. Once he finally received it, he apologetically wrinkled his nose and narrowed his gaze in boyish, cheeky delight.

"...Too much?" Turbo's deep voice warmly pressed, and before Berri could whole heartidly disagree and loudly proclaim that it maybe wasn't enough, she wholly contained herself and confidently shook her head.

"No, you're fine," Berri lovingly assured, she sagged her shoulders, sighed in contentment and looked down to their conjoined hands. She shook her head and furrowed her eyebrows in gentle, reeling realization, "I... I just realized that I probably made you pretty uncomfortable by hugging you, in front of everyone, like that."

"Oh, when I first arrived?" Turbo nonchalantly pressed, Berri nervously peered up into his eyes and grit her teeth in an apologetic smile of a grimace. Turbo blurt a small chuckle and shook his head in affirmation, "User, no. You didn't make me uncomfortable. I'm a hugger... No one would know that about me, though."

"Well, I'm glad I do, now," Berri bobbed a nod and relaxed, once more, "Cause, clearly, I'm a hugger too."

"With a running start," Turbo teased, he scrunched his shoulders and beamed a boyish smile as he endured a gentle swat to his upper arm, via the flat of Berri's fingers.

"You surprised me, I had no words," Berri muttered in smiling embarrassment.

"Rare, for you," Turbo continued to tease, though Berri gaped as Turbo further scrunched his shoulders in a tighter roll of an even deeper blossom of a very boyish, teasing and mischievously playful side.

"That is rude, after you were just so nice to me," Berri blurt, though Turbo shook his head amidst their laughter and made sure to squeeze her hand in a tighter show of just simply bantering love.

"I tease because I love," Turbo revealed softly, Berri's eyes hooked to his in tender wonder, the creases of an age-old love letter bravely beginning to unfold, burned at the edges and torn at the seams, Berri froze and was thrilled this rollercoaster of emotion wasn't due to halting anytime soon. Turbo's lovely, raspy, deep voice continued on in a gentlemanly display of secrecy, "It's been awhile since I've had a best friend... Try thirty whole years."

"Well, I'm honored," Berri bobbed a nod of assurance, the two soaked underneath the loving glow of Sugar Rush's winter stars, a promise that this new year to come would definitely hold all sorts of fireworks, "I've always wanted a bad guy best friend."

"Careful what you wish for," Turbo coyly pressed, the recoil of his statement rung true for the evening, one of which was a universal response to her wishing heart, something he now was confident in fulfilling to the best of his shy and reclusive ability.

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 **A/N : Hey guys! Real quick - due to this chapter's extreme length, I think I'm going to hold off uploading for a minute. Also, I have this whole next week off from my art classes that I'm taking, and I'm wondering if I should take the week to hold off on uploading just so I can really get a good load of chapters written, and so I can focus on the comic pages for chapter 46! I am currently about 9 chapters ahead of you guys, so I could easily keep uploading, but my goal is to be a solid 20-25 chapters ahead of the game, just to have content to fall back on when I'm busy or etc. I'll be going to Phoenix Comicon in 3 weeks, and then my mother will be visiting me for a week in July, so instead of one vacation this summer, I will be taking two! Even though one is technically a staycation lol.**

 **ALL to say, I think I will be taking a very mini week-long break from uploading so to write, draw and really unwind. These past 2 weeks has been INCREDIBLY exhausting, and I'm running on fumes. In one week, I put $1,500 worth of fixes in Lickity, we had to sell Hank (Cory's beloved truck, which he is still grieving over), we got Royal, our new hybrid, annnnd on top of that, I was given a 150cc sport scooter as a second mode of transportation, which is hot red and in which I promptly named Orion. I've had to very quickly learn how to drive on a two wheel 60mph firecracker, navigate what that looks like for me in the thick of Tallahassee's unforgiving traffic, get a helmet and gear, all whilst on about 4 hours of sleep a night, waking up at 4-5am for my job, going to class, keeping up with my social/romantic life and attempting to grasp at any sanity I have left. IT'S BEEN A WEEK.**

 **I need a breather, and I hope you guys understand. Chapter 53 will be uploaded on Sunday May 12th, and from there, I will continue on with my every other day uploading format. Thanks for understanding, guys! I know it seems like the whole Turbo-Berri budding friendship climb is taking forever, but I think it's either Chapter 57 or 58 is where things start to really pick up and twist and add suspense and excitement. In more or less words, that's when Gunner is introduced. Thanks for bearing with me! I don't want to rush my writing, and I hope you guys understand.**

 **Thanks again, guys, you're the best :)**

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 **ALSO -** The first drawn comic page of chapter 46 is up on my deviantART, username Vyntresser. Go check it out ;)


	53. Chapter 53

**Reviews :**

 **Romantic Sapp :** LOL Probably xD I know I would, for sure. And, thank you! Much oh,

 **Snake557 :** Thank you friend! I'm grateful for your support, seriously!

 **Burgie :** Thank you so much. This break has definitely been needed, that is for sure! And, I appreciate your included advice, here. I may just have to put a warning at the beginning of any chapter that has even a shred of WrenxThrottle. I got a small amount of backlash for including them in my tier of couples, but I guess that's to be expected! It's no issue on my end, I appreciate everyone else being understanding :)

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 **A/N : Hey guys! I want to thank everyone for being patient with me through the break. If my chapter view count isn't lying, then the lot of you haven't lost interest in my story, but I do sometimes worry when I see friends and reviewers come and go. I certainly miss a lot of you, and I hope everyone is doing okay! I wish FF made it easier to chat or communicate with my readers and reviewers. I do what I can through replying to reviews. **

**Although my week hiatus was meant for catching up on writing and powering through really stocking up on chapters, I only wrote one chapter... xD I've noticed that, with my every other day upload schedule, THAT keeps me pumping out chapters. So, although I went into this bare week thinking I was going to bust out chapters, I actually took an ENTIRE writing break and was able to catch up on other projects (like the comic), as well as sleep... I ALSO was able to take a proper step away from the story and really fine-tune the plot. I know it seems as if it just WON'T thicken, and there won't be twists or turns or suspense, or anything broadened past Berri's new little shindig with Turbo, but I promise it is coming. I love slowly building onto characters and relationships, really building a ground work. I believe in deep-rooted investments, in characters, and I really hope that doesn't discourage some of you.**

 **I understand the story is a behemoth. Time and time again I get reviewers that message me and say they want to read my story but are intimidated by the entire heap of it and are scared to touch it, and then don't. I get it, I'd probably feel the same way. I just want to DEEPLY thank any of you that have been here since day one. Each chapter of mine gets a good few hundred views, and as the years go on, I wonder just how many of those people are ones that have been reading since the first upload of Wrecking Limits. I also REALLY applaud anyone that's able to get through the entirety of it in one fell swoop, like some of my more recent reviewers, and I'm absolutely grateful for the little community I've garnered and the friends I've made. It's humbling... And I hope that everyone... EVERYONE knows how appreciated they are.**

 **Even though the saga has spiraled away from the couple that started it all, I hope it encourages you guys to know that the 5th story will skillfully segue RIGHT back into RalphxVanellope territory. I appreciate everyone letting me allow my imagination to just run wild, and have been enjoying it** **thus far! It makes my heart soar, fuels my creativity, and I never thought some silly little ramblings in a blank computer notepad would eventually just erupt into something so incredibly massive, something so incredibly dear to me.**

 **THANK YOU. I can't say it enough. I will never be able to say it enough.**

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 ***Chapter 53***

Although the next week had come and gone, as well as Christmas Day, Sugar Rush's days and nights sped by, the atmosphere filled with easy escapes to Orion City's highest tower, the tops of piercingly white snow clouds, lazy days that included indulging in hours of lounging and near-wasting away as the end of the year finally crept upon everyone. Somehow, homework, house chores, game duties, the whole slew of work seemed to just continue to be put off until the last minute, those lazy five days after Christmas and in between New Years was a void of comfortable nothingness; Berri was thrilled that Theo, Wren and Turbo all felt the same. High up in Turbo's cozy loft, the four splayed haphazardly about his living room. His tv softly droned a game show they watched in cozy stillness with each other, and although Wren and Theo lightly bickered, Turbo softly puffed a cigarette and did some work on his main digital pad, whilst Berri did everything she could to stay awake, a very late morning nap she nearly couldn't resist, melted in Turbo's comfortable downs on his squishy couch.

Alongside Turbo's gentle, non-intrusive smoking, he made sure to keep his ceiling fan on high and to vent the air in his tower, so to make everyone happy, and although he was certain that Berri, Wren and Theo were simply indifferent about the lovely smell of his delicious cinnamon tobacco cigarettes, Turbo would occasionally catch Berri's ribcage expanding in deep breaths, every single time he exhaled a puff of smoke, and no matter how he tried to blow it in the opposite direction from his friends, he couldn't help but smile. He was well aware she was drawn to the familiarity of it all, and although it was unspoken, he still felt it to be a sweet gesture, on her part. With Berri sagged into the bend of Turbo's L shaped couch, Turbo comfortably splayed on the opposite side, and Wren and Theo entirely couched out in both of Turbo's recliners, the four were well aware this was the third day in a row that they just wasted away in Turbo's loft; eating up said void of a week between Christmas and New Years, where absolutely nothing counted.

"This is a rerun," Theo mumbled in whole dismay, he swiped his larger hand over his face and lulled his eyes closed. He finally eased a croaking groan as he sagged deeper into Turbo's comfortable recliner.

"You're just now realizing this?" Wren's voice loudly croaked as he waved his hand, the four were lost in laziness.

"Guys, Berri's asleep," Turbo pressed quietly, as if to signal his two friends to keep the bickering to a minimum, so to let their princess sleep, though he cocked an eyebrow and lofted his curious gaze to sweet Berri, across the couch, to his left.

"I'm awake," Berri just barely grumbled, though she laid still with her eyes closed. She wore none other than Turbo's hoodie and her favorite white sweat pants with the grey racing stripes down the legs. She wore her new favorite beanie, in which Ace got her for Christmas; a brown and white striped boyish, baggy beanie. Although she laid still, drowned in Turbo's comfortable down comforter, in which he grabbed from his bed and graciously let her utilize, she finally grappled the forehead of her beanie and sagged it over her face in a further show of sleepiness, "I'm sort of... Going in and out."

"That's what she said," Wren muttered in a dead-pan tone, Theo blurt a loud laugh as Turbo inhaled a deep breath of his cigarette.

"SHE?" Turbo huffed a small laugh, smoke billowed out of his being.

"Real mature," Berri muttered, she threw the covers over the top of her head and attempted to now completely lay back, as if to properly insinuate she may very well take a nap, like insinuated.

"I forgot how much tv sucked during the day," Theo mumbled, he scratched his chest and lofted his gaze to Turbo's in curious banter, "We're at school all day, and then when we come home, THAT'S when the good stuff is on."

"Yeah, can we change the channel?" Wren eased in mild irritation, Turbo bobbed a nod and grunted to sit up.

"Yeah, I don't think Game Over is going to be airing anytime soon, so of course everything seems like it sucks," Turbo muttered, though just as he grappled the remote, Theo uttered a noise of urgency, as if to beg Turbo to hold off changing the channel just yet.

"Oh my User have you guys seen this commercial?" Theo blurt a hard laugh as he gestured to the tv; everyone froze, though Berri curiously peered out from the downs she was drowning in.

"I HATE this commercial," Wren barked as he flagged his hand, though Berri sat up a little as a cheesy drawl of music began to play, simple, fleeting, lightly romantic scenes began to slideshow as an introductory to said commercial, "I have it memorized. That's how many times I've seen it."

"What even is it?" Berri staggered a laugh, though as a logo swirled on the screen, it was now blatantly obvious that this was some form of a gamer dating site, deep inside the reaches of the internet; a commercial showcasing it's success rates, testimonies, and everything in between.

"It's a weird dating site, some of the testimonies are different people, though, I hope this is the one with the guy that like... Hated this chick when they first met," Wren blurt a hard laugh as he sat up in mild eagerness, though Theo urgently pointed as both boys now howled with laughter, "YES! This is it! Oh my User, listen, he like hates her. Watch watch watch."

"When I first met Thelka, man... I had no clue what to do with her," Stated the guy in the commercial; he was a crusty-looking individual, clearly a background baddy in some high-tech game on the internet, and although he looked unapproachable, he still had some handsome qualities, including his smile.

" 'She just kept, I don't know... Popping up everywhere I went, even so much as coming over unannounced,' " Theo confidently recited, alongside the commercial, as he pretended to be the guy in the equation. Theo dramatically put on a show and held his hand to his broad chest, amidst his lazy black tank, " 'I seriously thought I was going to go insane, all I wanted to do was be alone!' "

" 'I guess it was just my persistence,' " Wren now recited, in loo of the girls' lines. He pitched his voice higher, scrunched his shoulders and teasingly bat his lashes in Theo's direction; Turbo blurt a hard laugh and eagerly watched the show unfold, how cleanly Theo and Wren recited this commercial, word for word, without missing a single beat.

" 'We were both on GamerSocial, but I figured it'd be useless... How could someone like ME find someone like HER?' " Theo gasped dramatically and now clutched the chest of his shirt, though Wren wrinkled his nose and continued to play the part.

" 'We became fast friends, due to my perseverance,' " Wren ogled, he continued to eye Theo in a playful manner, " 'I figured he finally caved and just was forced to enjoy my presence.' "

" 'Oh, it runs much deeper than that,' " Theo deepened his voice and tilted his head down, he cocked an eyebrow and playfully lofted his gaze to Wren, " 'One day I just... Looked over at her, and it was like... Magic.' "

" 'Aw, you mean that?' " Wren ogled in high pitched delight, the look of endearing surprise hung on his face, both continued the dramatic display of hilarity that ensued.

" 'Course I do... It's not every day you find yourself falling in love with your best friend,' " Theo grumbled, every single lilt in his and Wren's voice matched the commercial to a T.

" 'Are you lonely? Do you wish you had someone to hold, someone to cherish and love? Even in the deepest, darkest reaches of the internet?' " Turbo now eased in a deep voice as he mocked the narrator of the commercial; he struggled to continue on as Wren, Theo and now Berri blurt out into hard laughter, " 'Look no further... Love could be right in front of you...' "

"Marry me, Theo!" Wren shouted, everyone was now lost in laughter.

"Wow, what a ride," Berri choked as she fiddled with the thick, cozy fabric of her now favorite beanie.

"Yeah, that one is, by far, the funniest," Turbo staggered with a wide smile, he heaved a hot sigh and sat up a little, and once he finally grappled for the tv remote, he successfully clicked away and began to scan channels for something else to watch.

"I've never even seen the other ones," Berri giggled as she crossed her arms and remained cozily sagged in Turbo's blankets, though she poked her bare feet out the edges of said blankets.

"You're not missing much, that one tops them all," Turbo lofted her a cute smile, grunted in a gentle stand and croaked a hard groan as he stretched his arms over his head. He finally heaved a hard sigh, slumped his shoulders and began to slowly make his way between the couch and the coffee table, a gentle mosey to his kitchen, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry. Y'guys want me to order a pizza again?"

"Can I be the one to pick it up in the lobby this time?" Theo begged in cute, boyish delight as he sat up a little straighter.

"Dude, you're literally the coolest, I am never leaving," Wren grumbled honestly as he urgently typed away in his phone, and as Turbo brushed past him, Turbo lovingly shoved on Wren's shoulder, Wren retaliated by flagging his hand upwards and catching Turbo in a hard backhand to his lower arm. Turbo furrowed his brow and firmly ruffled Wren's hair, though just as Wren sharply sat up to retaliate, Turbo grit his teeth in a cheeky smile, scrunched his shoulders and urgently tip toed away at a quick pace. Wren glowered over his shoulder in a molten death stare of now brotherly hatred, "Turbo... I swear to User..."

"Betcha take back what you just said, huh," Turbo mumbled with a hard laugh as he eased up his tiled steps and sagged into his kitchen.

"Entirely," Wren choked as he wrinkled his nose and began to urgently tidy his straight, sleek white hair.

"Do you guys know when Game Over airs again?" Theo wondered as he eagerly watched Wren and Turbo's bickering, it was far more physically and playfully aggressive, something that both Theo and Berri were thrilled over; they knew Wren was due for some older brother treatment, anyhow.

"Yeah, they uh... Well they just accepted their contestants," Turbo stated in a knowing, mumbling tone, and it was here did Berri slowly crawl out of the comfortable downs and get off of the couch. She slowly moseyed into the kitchen, so to join Turbo as he diligently continued on, "Twelve contestants were picked over the summer, they'll start filming it all come the turn of the year."

"You know a lot about this, Bo," Berri stated in girly nonchalance, Turbo soaked to the other side of his glorious kitchen island, ladened with the gang's devices, coats, chargers, drinks and the like. Berri smiled in his direction, took off Turbo's hoodie, as well as her beanie, and gently laid it to the cold counter, she wore a cute grey tank top underneath it, one that hugged her figure nicely. She heaved a soft, sleepy sigh and began to methodically throw her hair up into a high messy bun, her cute bangs draped her forehead, "For someone who lives on top of the world, away from society, you sure know the ins and outs of Game Over."

"Oh, well... I was actually picked, as one of those twelve contestants," Turbo revealed in ironic nonchalance, though before he could softly carry on, a tender conversation that now was too quiet for Wren and Theo to hear over the television, Berri froze and peered a look of unadulterated terror in Turbo's eyes.

"Y-You... You what?" Berri huffed in a cold breath of building fear; Turbo halted his footwork, cocked an eyebrow and now nervously gave her his golden eye contact.

"Y-Yeah, I... I signed up earlier in the spring," Turbo gestured his hand behind him, as if to insinuate months that had passed, he began to now feel a roll of dread crawl over his skin, he was well aware he had some explaining to do, though with the now building look of sheer terror in Berri's eyes, he hoped he could get the words out fast enough, words he knew would immediately quell her worries.

"Turbo, you... You're one of the twelve contestants on Game Over?" Berri staggered in a scared, trembling tone of whole worry, Wren and Theo loudly began to chatter in the living room, leaving Berri to curtly stop Turbo dead in his tracks in gentle privacy, "You know that... ELEVEN of those contestants don't come out of that mess alive, right?"

"I-I know Berri, I have a ticket, but it doesn't mean-" Turbo was gently interrupted.

"So, you're... You're going to leave next week and we just... Lose the hope of ever seeing you ever again?" Berri staggered in horror, though her tone began to dribble to a hurt vibe of defensiveness, as if maybe their new and budding friendship was maybe something Turbo was ready to throw away.

"Berri," Turbo eased with a nonchalant smile as he lulled his eyes closed, and although he went to reach his hand out to lovingly hold her upper arm and calm her down, he flinched in whole surprise as she ripped her body language about a foot or two away from him. Turbo halted his movement, peered to her in a roll of now whole uncertainty and raised his eyebrows in boyish, dewy bewilderment. He shook his head just barely and softened as much as he could, "Berri, please let me explain."

Just as Berri opened her mouth to continue blindly arguing Turbo, she flinched in surprise as her phone, in her pocket, began to chime a cute tune to signify that she was getting a phone call. Berri shoved her hand into her pocket, peered down to her phone in confusion and, before Turbo could politely ask who it was, she slid her thumb on the display and swiftly tucked the phone to her ear.

"Hi dad," Berri eased in a neutral tone as she looked off, though Turbo froze and held his breath as she basically put their now heated conversation on pause.

"Hey, babe, surprise... Your mother and I are done with your guys' tower!" Zed stated in cute delight, he warmly carried on, "We were thinking that maybe you, Wren and Theo could meet up near the recreational hall in about an hour or two... You guys up for it?"

"Oh, yeah, I... I actually am at Turbo's right now, but I was just leaving," Berri stated in a side-swipe of a stab at Turbo, an inadvertent show of dominance she held over Turbo, an unfair advantage; Turbo furrowed his eyebrows in a spike of now being cut right at the knees, he shook his head and frowned at her with a gesture to his own broad chest, as if to express that he wanted to explain himself before she just up and left.

"Oh, okay, well tell Wren and Theo to meet up with us later, then," Zed eased kindly, "It's whatever you guys want to do... Sorry it's so late after Christmas, AND your birthday."

"It's okay, dad, thank you," Berri eased in a loving tone as she finally pushed forth a gentle smile down to her feet, "I'll be home soon. Love you."

"Love you, Bear," Zed concluded with great warmth, though Berri's nervous gaze and demeanor finally came back to the surface of her icy eyes as she hung up the call with Zed.

"I guess I'll be heading out now," Berri instructed, and although Turbo now wanted to jump up on his island and obnoxiously state that he wanted to desperately explain himself, he felt eons of old memories come back to him, memories of when him and Libby would get into spats, memories of just how he would wrangle in such a wild, untamed beauty, how he could possibly ease calm into her soul; he tenderly reached his hand out, so to attempt to hold her arm once more.

"Berriiii," Turbo eased in a lilt of conclusive knowing as he dared to give her an apologetic smile, though he flinched once more the second she ripped her body language away from him, once again. He now entirely froze his movements and was well aware his third strike would likely result in a louder backlash due to Berri potentially feeling backed into a corner. He largely flinched the second she leaned in, slid her hand underneath his island's counter and cued Turbo's front door. As Turbo turned around and peered his attention towards his now opening front door, this cued both Wren's and Theo's now startled and curious attention. Turbo huffed a nervous noise and turned back to face Berri, though he flinched in whole confusion as she had successfully wormed around him and marched towards his front door. Turbo whirled around in hot surprise, held his arms out and shook his head in now desperate confusion, "You're really not going to let me explain myself?"

"There's nothing left to explain, what's done is done," Berri mumbled in concise irritation as she continued to keep her back turned to him, and just before she slipped out his front door, she shot him a look of dejected sorrow over her shoulder and shook her head, "I'll talk to you later, Turbo."

Turbo huffed a staggered breath, a falter of desperately trying to scrounge up words to keep her from leaving, though once her figure vanished out of his massive, gaping entrance, the sound of the zipping, electrifying buzz of the teleportation pad could easily be heard just seconds after. Turbo slapped his arms to his sides, shook his head and now urgently peered into the living room. Wren was now up and urgently making his way into the kitchen, with Theo now grunting to get to a stand so to follow Wren's idea.

"What the heck just happened?" Wren blurt in confusion, though Turbo sagged his shoulders and eyed both boys in a spike of nervousness; he knew he had a good explanation to this mess, though he was further worried that the last two tangible beings of his friends would quickly turn heel, as well.

"I literally was trying to explain myself and she wouldn't even let me talk," Turbo blurt in frustration; it was here did Wren cock an eyebrow and peer to Turbo in a rise of curiosity. Wren knew, full well, that every single TurboTime boy had not only the magical touch of a gentle glow of eyesight, though the mild set back of a proverbial moodring said eyes harbored, a glimpse of just what each boy was feeling without even having to ask. Wren could see Turbo begin to get worked up, he wondered if he'd get the chance to see just what Turbo's eyes did, in this instance. Still glowing a bright gold, Turbo shook his head and furrowed his brow in further agitation as he flung his arm towards the gape of his front door, "I-I... I made the mistake of signing up for a one-way trip to game-over-ville, a long time ago, and before I could tell Berri that I'm not ATTENDING any longer, she stormed out."

"Berri," Theo huffed with a knowing chuckle, he shook his head and gave Turbo an apologetic smile, "Something you should know about my baby cousin is... She's still working out a few kinks in her mainframe. She is, simultaneously, one of the most understanding individuals I know, though... Also, the most stubborn."

"The poor girl is coded with Ralph's AND Tessa's coding," Wren shook his head and crossed his arms, and it was here did he feel disappointed with the downswing of Turbo's eventual anger, it very swiftly eased right into defeat, golden eyes and all. Wren wondered just exactly what would make Turbo molten red mad, if anything; he carried on, nonetheless, "She has a bad habit of drawing her own conclusions and shutting out new information... Just give her a few hours, she'll be approachable shortly."

"She'll realize she maybe tapped out too quick and come back all puppy-dog eyed, like... 'sorry I ran off, please take me back'," Theo teasingly mocked in a high pitch voice as he cupped his hands together and bat his eyes.

"What... One-way trip to game-over-ville are you even talking about, anyways?" Wren tenderly wondered as he narrowed his gaze and side-eyed Turbo in a brotherly show of care and mild authority, Turbo heaved a hard sigh through his nose and looked down to his matte grey tiles.

"Just that... Game Over," Turbo muttered, to which Wren and Theo raised their eyebrows in a prickle of nervous surprise; Theo bobbed a nod and smiled down to his hands in understanding.

"She doesn't want to lose you," Theo's deep voice lovingly finalized, he gave Turbo a knowing smile and eased another nod of further understanding, his gaze narrowed to sweet delight, "Leave her be for now, but... Don't let her stay away for too long. As odd as it seems, this is her weird way of saying that she really cares about you."

"This is her way of wanting you to chase after her and show her that YOU care, too, and blah blah blah," Wren waggled his hands and rolled his eyes, as if he had experience with this brash side of Berri, "You'll go back and say sorry and she'll fall all over you and apologize as well, and she'll want an explanation and say she maybe overreacted, yada yada."

"How many times have you gone through this?" Turbo wondered with a gentle chuckle of mild relief as he sagged his large, masculine hands to the cold, dark marble of his island's counter.

"Bo, we grew up with Sugar Rush's most fiery princess, the fieriest to ever grace the Arcade. Theo and I have been through her notions enough times to make more than solid wingmen, my dude," Wren's deep voice encouraged as he crossed his arms, and as him and Turbo lofted a slew of unwavering, brotherly eye contact of understanding, Turbo bobbed a nod and logged said information away for a rainy day; dutifully noted.


	54. Chapter 54

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Hey friend! I know, I GREATLY appreciate it! It really means the world to me. I wish more people came out of the woodwork tho :( I wish I had more people to chat with about it. Thank you, you're the best.

 **Burgie :** Oh that's reassuring! Thank you SO much. I'm glad to hear you guys like the details and the pace, that makes me feel better.

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Afterglow by All Time Low**

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 ***Chapter 54***

In the day-long excitement that Berri, Wren and Theo had gotten swept up into, due to the unveiling of their brand new tower and abode, the three spent the rest of the entire day moving in to said new home. With the occasional stop to ogle their futuristic, flawless, brand new white tower, the three nearly had no clue what to do with themselves. A proper, four storied tower, the ground floor was a common room for the three residents, a similar sharing experience that the majority of the towers, on the lot, had, with more private floors and bedrooms higher up. With Berri's, Wren's and Theo's new tower stationed just to the right of the recreational hall, they not only had the social and gorgeous view of the palace's pool, they also were slightly tucked into the flyer's enclosure for a more secretive, private aspect of it all, as well.

A gleaming white tower to match the rest of the palace's architecture, their pad had a proper front, outdoor foyer of a porch, and dead in the center of said glossy, white, covered foyer was a proper, round teleportation pad, just five or six feet from their much larger, round front door, a thick slab of white, marshmallow-birch wood. Upon entering into their abode, it eased into an exact replica of their outdoor foyer, a round and glossy entrance with dim, comfortable wall lights, though it had gorgeous matte grey tiles that stepped up into their home, something Zed and Tessa hoped Berri would secretly appreciate, having it all slightly match Turbo's loft. From the few steps up the grey-tiled foyer, and down a dozen foot, high ceilinged corridor, it opened into a lovely, spacious kitchen and living area, with high-vaulted ceilings and a far, slanted wall that was all thick glass windows. Although it was clear said slanted windows could be opened, to reveal the sweet sounds and scents of the flyer's jungle enclosure, everything was sealed due to the rain and snow storm happening outside.

With the incredible show of potential sunshine that could cast in from said all-windowed green house like slanted ceiling, upon stepping out from the foyer's smaller corridor, a long, comfortable, swooping bench hugged said entire wall of windows, with a curved and seemingly never-ending counter and kitchen island that hugged said benches, as well. With bar stools on the opposite side, it was a perfect, massive sprawl of a workspace so all three students could easily do their Academy studies together, without feeling crowded. Farther to the right hooked a lovely white kitchen, with tall floor to nearly-ceiling cabinets, a glow of cozy wall lights, and gorgeous, sparkling new amenities, the gang felt as if they had likely been spoiled a little too rotten. With personal touches of entire coziness, a place of peace and serenity, the palace's brand new tower just boasted every last ounce of relaxation, a place the three could escape and unwind after long, tiring days in their studio or at school.

Tucked to the left of said cozy living area was another short corridor that lead directly to Berri's, Wren's and Theo's original music studio; with Zed's code room skill, he managed to copy-paste the entirety of their studio and attach it to their abode, so they could easily access it whenever they wanted, without having to cross the entirety of the lot and play frogger with the teleportation pads. The music studio's interior stayed the same, though Zed and Tessa made sure to further sound proof the entirety of it, so to have a safe hub for maximum loudness, without disturbing others. Just to the right of the corridor that lead to their music studio, was a lovely, glass door that lead out into the flyer's enclosure, and more specifically, to Chester's riding stable, which Zed also diligently moved closer to the tower, for Berri's easy access. The whole lot of it was a perfect dollop of clean sophistication, a project that certainly had Tessa and Zed itching to upgrade the rest of the palace's interior, exterior and architecture alike.

In the spike of new excitement this day brought, the evening came to a drum of tender quiet. Although Berri had a few code boxes that still hung aglow and blankly hovering in her brand new bedroom, waiting to be unpacked, stuffed to the coded brim with her furniture, clothes and everything in between, she ignored her responsibilities for the time being and hung out downstairs, in their common room and kitchen. Sat with her back to the vaulted wall of glass over her head, she was dressed in a faded t-shirt, clad with cutesy Sugar Rush logos and themes. Her beautiful blue hair swirled down her pink-covered shoulders, like the tastiest of cotton candy, she wore those favorite white sweats, with the grey-blue stripes down the legs, though her sad blue eyes scanned the large work table and stretch of a kitchen island she sat at. Before her was yet another prep list for Academy, something Tessa had brought home to her. She knew she'd be starting back up at Academy next week, though somehow it didn't feel real. She knew coming home and simply doing homework and having jam sessions with Wren and Theo wasn't the only thing she wanted on her agenda, though she felt tears sting her eyes the second she imagined Turbo throwing himself headlong into his inevitable death, a game show with many losers, and only one winner; the prize ultimately being the privilege of keeping your life.

In a proper school planner, laced with her cutesy handwriting, she heaved a shaky sigh, shook her head and desperately tried to focus. She wrote down new assignment due dates, test dates and made sure her class schedule was still as it were when she left it. The sound of gentle patter, on the gorgeous, massive sprawling span of slanted glass, above her head, made for an even calmer environment, and although Wren and Theo came and went, from their bedrooms, in meandering breaks from setting up their own rooms, Berri was alone in the common room; Chester soundly snoozed in the dim front foyer, just down the corridor from Berri's position. As she rested the side of her head into her hand, with her elbow on the glossy white counter, she cocked an eyebrow and dared to gloss her eyes to her dark phone's screen. With a tender tap to the responsive screen, it lit up, only to reveal the time, the date, the weather, and absolutely nothing more. She heaved a raspy sigh through her becoming-clogged nose and shook her head, she knew full well she abandoned Turbo in a heated moment of him rightfully wanting to explain himself, she figured she should at least reach out to him an apologize, bridge the gap, and let him say what he needed to say.

After almost an hour of solitude, of fighting her own inner demons for dominance, of trying to let the gentle patter of cold rain ease her rushing thoughts, she finally shook her head, sat up a bit, tucked her knees in a blunt sag into the counter's edge, she sat bent and curled with her back smooshed cozily into the bench's clean padding. She huffed a nasally sigh, opened her phone, tabbed to hers and Turbos text conversation, and diligently began typing him a near-novel of worries. Almost half way into her spiel, the teleportation pad, safely tucked into a domed, high-arched nook in the corner of the kitchen, eagerly buzzed. Unlike any of the other teleportation pads on the palace lot, this pad was only designed to transport the three to their respective bedrooms and back to the kitchen, ultimately nowhere else. Wren and Theo both stepped off the larger pad, they gently bickered about a few ground rules, now that the three were technically roommates, just what sort of boundaries were necessary. They had been in and out of the kitchen a few times now, this was the second time they didn't acknowledge Berri's presence, simply because she was previously busy with her work.

Although Berri heard Wren and Theo softly chuckling to themselves, organizing the kitchen a little more, and even pondering about what the three should do for dinner, Berri was successful in keeping her whole speech going, inside the now quaking text box, as if sending it would probably crack her phone screen in half. She furrowed her eyebrows and, amidst Wren's and Theo's soft, calming bout of deep voices and cute banter she grew to love, she felt another strange sound hit her skin. The sound of faint whining, a whisper of whimpering, could be heard from the foyer of their front door area. Through the dim corridor, Berri peered straight into the gape of the foyer, across their common room, and was surprised to see Chester now pacing in whole agitation, at their massive, round front door. His ears were perked high, his clumsy paws gently scuffed at the base board and bottom of the thick, huge wooden door, his snout sniffled hard, curious inhales at the door's seams and hinges, and it was here did Berri sit up in tender confusion and finally speak up.

"Chessy, c'mere bud, whatsamatter?" Berri cooed in a stark difference of Wren's and Theo's drumming, gentle masculine voices; both boys froze, perked up, peered their curious attention to Berri, across the room, and finally peeled from the kitchen in a saunter of further curiosity towards the corridor that lead to the front door. Berri shook her head and gestured, "Maybe he wants to go outside?"

"Odd, cause... This whole evening he'd paw at the back door, if he wanted to go out," Theo grumbled in tenderness as he rubbed the back of his head, though just as both boys eased into the gaping entrance of the arched corridor, there was suddenly three tender, though confident knocks on their front door; everyone froze, including Chester.

Everyone softly peered nervous, curious gazes to each other, and although they were sure that certain family members, or friends, would want to come over and see their new pad, they were sure no one would be arriving this late in the evening. Before anyone could move into action, Chester suddenly barked a raspy whine, cutely crouched his upper body a little lower, and began to claw at the tiles near the lip of the front door. As if to dig himself a tunnel, his incredibly strong, sturdy cleat-like claws loudly began to clack against the durable tiles, and it was here did everyone finally jolt into action and head towards their dim foyer, which housed their gorgeous, round front door. As Wren eased down the steps, with Berri and Theo hanging back to observe, Wren struggled to get past Chester's eager stance, so to even open the front door.

"Bud, I... I gotta open the damn thing, watch out," Wren grunted with a hard chuckle as he reached for the door's glossy black handle, though Chester shoved his whole head and snout into Wren's hand and arm. Wren blurt a laugh and angled his body, so that Chester couldn't interfere, "Chester...!"

Once Wren finally had the door even so much as cracked, Chester urgently shoved past Wren, sagged his wings into the gape of the open front door and now dominated over the whole situation. Wren wobbled backwards, and although now everyone was certain Chester was doing this in a show of protection, the potential that maybe he was due to showing some sorry soul just what he was made of, everyone froze in hard surprise as Chester nearly barreled, face first, into Turbo's center. He blurt a hard chuckle, untucked his hands from his hoodie pockets, the one that Berri had successfully stolen and then forgot at Turbo's house. He held Chester's head, underneath his jaws, and shut his eyes tight in beaming delight as Chester eagerly sniffled him and lapped his turquoise tongue all over his neck, jaw and face. The feathers and fur on Chester's neck poofed in riled excitement, his tail wagged in puppy-dog delight, and as everyone watched the seconds of the endearing scene, their perspective broadened to find that Turbo was indeed, not alone, and properly tailed by his two brothers.

"Hey! Sorry I didn't write you back, we've been unpacking," Wren stated in tender sincerity, he easily stepped aside and was due to letting everyone inside.

"No, it's fine, I just... I figured I'd stop by," Turbo grunted a soft laugh as Chester so eagerly sniffled at Turbo's hands, as if to beg for another one of his infamous head and ear scratches, "I-I, uh... We brought a house warming gift."

"Hope it's not too late for us to be coming over," Throttle pressed nervously, he lofted his gaze across the snowy lot; his own abode sat about five hundred feet from Berri's, Wren's and Theo's new home.

"No, not at all," Wren encouraged as Chester finally began to show signs of letting up, though only because Turbo began to encourage Chester to step inside, like everyone was. Wren chuckled as everyone easily filed inside, the front foyer was more than large enough for the lot of them, though with Chester's bumbling paws and wings, it was beginning to feel cramped, "Sorry we don't have much going on right now, our rooms are still a chaotic mess... Really the only rooms that are 'finished' is the common room, which was easy, and... Well, the studio, which Zed only had to copy-paste everything over."

"The outside is incredible," Nox encouraged with a firm nod, his, Turbo's and Throttle's eyes visibly glowed, and added a touch of light, to the dimly lit and cozy foyer, a warmth of a glow that brought an easy feeling of further serenity to their new abode, "I can only assume the inside is even prettier."

"Yeah, my favorite is the common room, it has this whole vaulted ceiling of windows, on one side," Theo encouraged with a nod; Turbo continued to firmly pet and scratch the top of Chester's head, he was practically glued to Turbo's side in an unwavering show of puppy-dog delight, flattened ears and a cute, submissive demeanor about himself, "During the day, it's so pretty. It has a whole view of the jungle... I'm sure it'll look a lot prettier in the summer and spring, when all the leaves are, well... Happier."

"It smells good in here," Turbo complimented with a small nod, and as his eyes tenderly hooked up into Berri's eyes, from the few steps of height she had over him, he gave her a warm smile and softened as Wren volleyed him a cute retort.

"Blame Berri," Wren smiled, he lofted his grateful gaze to his second cousin and rubbed his hands together in eagerness, "She's making a batch of her secret recipe cinnamon rolls."

"Ohhh please tell me there's enough," Nox pleaded quietly with a look of smiling, boyish desperation, and as Turbo, Nox and Throttle began to take off their shoes in the lower alcove of the foyer, Berri bobbed a nod and gave Turbo a secretive, almost authoritative look of gentle, impending hurt, though she quipped the group a kind notion of girly tenderness.

"Definitely," Berri concluded, and as she finally tore her eyes from Turbo's, she began to softly wander down the corridor, to the much brighter interior of their common room and kitchen.

"So, what's the housewarming gift?" Theo prod as politely as he could; Berri lead the group down the corridor in a lazy splay of bare feet and socks, a cozy conclusion to their night, a perfect mixture of company to properly christen their lovely new tower.

"Well... I-I guess it's something out of the ordinary," Turbo pressed, and as the group softly eased into the high, vaulted ceiling of the kitchen and common room, Turbo, Nox and Throttle ogled the splay of windows, ones of which were soaked with dripping, trickling rain. With crispy white walls and cabinets, cozy splashes of greens and creams in the way of accented plants and the bench's cushions, as well as a fluffy area rug that was positioned underneath the desk-like sprawl of a swooping counter. As Turbo's feet drummed to a halt, and everyone continued on in an ease to find a seat or a place to stand and lean, Turbo inhaled a shaky breath and reached for his back pocket. Rolled vertically was a hefty bundle of paper work, one that awkwardly jut from his back pocket, though as he pulled it out and softly waved it to the side a little, he looked down to it and continued on with a soft sigh, "I... I guess I could say this particular house warming gift is for Berri, though it spans to everyone else in this room, too."

"Yeah, bud, what's this about, then?" Throttle pressed as he and Nox sat down at the barstools of the swooping counter. Berri successfully sat on the other side of them, where she was previously sitting, with all of her school stuff splayed out.

"Wait, you mean, this is like a gathering?" Wren wondered in cheeky delight as he took a seat near Berri, he leaned back against the bench's cushion, lofted both his masculine arms alongside the tops of said cushions and was successful in easing his arm behind Berri's vicinity, as they sat close, "Are we going to get a rare house-christening speech from none other than THE TURBO?"

"Yeah, all he told us was that he had something important to tell you guys, and, well... Me and Nox needed to be included, as well," Throttle shrugged as Turbo eased to the rounded end of the counter, and as Theo sat next to Nox, everyone honed their eyes to the only being now left standing, which was Turbo, at the head of the group. He nervously unrolled the thick stack of papers, peered down to the secrecy of them and heaved a shaky sigh as Throttle warmly pressed on, "I guess... Turbo and Berri got into a tiff today, and, he wanted to come and correct it, but somehow Nox and I are involved, too."

"Yeah, and now that I'm here, I'm reminded how much I hate public speaking," Turbo muttered, his deep voice was now glossed in a fragile, cute tremble. He swallowed hard and only glanced in Berri's direction, somehow hoping she'd show some shred of understanding; he was delighted to see her furrow her brow in soft concern, the look of love and understanding held true in her eyes, as if no matter what they argued about, she'd still show him care. He heaved another shaky breath and nervously began to look down at the thick stack of papers before him. He bravely started off, though it was very apparent that he was struggling, "It's... It's nothing detrimental, but... I may have accidentally revealed some sensitive information, to Berri, earlier, and... She was pretty upset about it."

Everyone softly lofted their curious gazes to Berri, which had her almost sitting up straighter in solidarity, though she nervously eyed all the men in the group around her. She heaved a hot sigh through her nose and was glad to catch eyes with Turbo, once more. The look of apologetic cuteness on his face, she wondered just where this all was going, and why.

"I haven't been honest with you, Nox and Throttle... All those times, in the beginning of this year, where you'd message me and ask me to hang out, ask if I was okay, I'd... I'd fib and say I was busy, I'd tell you I was totally fine, when I really wasn't," Turbo pressed sorrowfully, he shook his head and peered his honest gaze to his brothers, and it was here did Wren, Berri and Theo now understand that this opened interior, of Turbo's, was entirely normal, a cute show of ultimate comfort and assurance he had in the small group he was currently in, unafraid to show his true self and his true colors. It had everyone's whole attention entirely undivided and glued to Turbo's being, "I... I just want to apologize that, not only has it taken me this long to come back around and come out of my funk, but... All your effort may have seemed to fall on deaf ears, now that, well... Someone else has successfully pried me from said funk, in the matter of days."

In the second time of lofted gazes at Sugar Rush's princess, this time she felt a hard blush angrily swarm her cheeks, and instead of sitting up straighter in solidarity, she bashfully shrank, looked down to her school work, tried her hardest not to smile and fiddled the edges of her planner's neatly trimmed papers with her thumbs. Wren huffed a warm chuckle and so softly allowed his hand and arm, which was laid on the cushion behind her, to gingerly scratch her upper back in loving, brotherly knowing.

"It's because Berri's far prettier than either me or Throttle will ever dream of being," Nox blurt with a sarcastic grimace of impending tears; everyone blurt out in laughter.

"I-It's true, sorry... N-Not that that was the only reason, but, y-y'just... Well, what I mean is," Turbo now largely staggered on his words, which had Theo beaming a doughy, eager smile up in Turbo's direction, Wren simply cocked an eyebrow and froze in baited wait. Turbo rushed to carry on, the thick stack of papers ruffled with his now nervous, jerky hand movements of desperation, "Sh-she's pretty, but she's also someone I never really knew before, a-and it's... Well difficult when it's your family, cause-"

"You're only here for Berri and all of us dudes are chopped liver cause she can provide you things that we can't, we GET IT," Theo blurt as he teasingly jumped on the same bandwagon Nox was on, a fake, teasing show of grimacing, impending tears, "Just... Break our hearts more, OKAY?"

"For User's sake," Turbo huffed as he sagged his shoulders and aimlessly looked up to the high, vaulted glass above the lot of them.

"Glad I could help," Berri snipped in definitive cuteness, though her tone was still curt and distant as she now sorrowfully peered down to her school papers.

"... This past Winter, I signed up for Game Over," Turbo nervously revealed after a few moments of silence, between the group of six; everyone's face lit up in dire, terrified urgency, excluding Berri's, which remained sorrowfully glued to her school work.

"Y-You... You didn't like..." Nox gestured his fingers nervously, though in this stark realization, he eyed the thick stack of papers in Turbo's now trembling hands.

"I... I was accepted as one of the twelve contestants," Turbo staggered, and it was here did everyone's playful demeanors drop in whole horror, still excluding Berri, who now looked bitter and frustrated.

"T-Turbo, you can't, please," Nox now nervously begged, and just as he was about to quickly stand up and rush his big brother, Turbo lulled his eyes closed, shook his head, and lovingly gestured his hands for Nox to ease his worries and sit back down.

"I was... I was going to attend, I was," Turbo bobbed a nod of genuine honesty, he heaved a raspy sigh and peered down to the paperwork in his hands, clean and crisp, filled out and ready to go. He lulled his eyes closed, shook his head and gripped the papers, "I know this conversation sucks, and everything I'm about to say may hurt, but... It's my truth, it's how I felt... I never wanted to feel this way, but, it's true."

"Our effort wasn't good enough," Throttle drummed in a knowing tone, though somehow, he didn't seem offended by it; more as if he wondered if there were more they could've done.

"I mean for months we tried to come hang with you," Nox begged, though Turbo gestured his hand, once more, and shook his head.

"It's... It's not any one individuals fault. It was strictly for the fact that... I wanted attention," Turbo nervously revealed, a guilty show of sorrow plastered his face as he opened up his heart, just a little more, "I was selfish and... In signing up for Game Over, I wanted everyone to feel sad that I was leaving, potentially for good. I wanted to feel, well..."

"Wanted," Wren completed as Turbo trailed off, he shrugged and softly lofted his gaze to Nox and Throttle, "I guess... It wasn't something anyone could've provided you. At least, anyone close to you. From the people that already knew and loved you, it could potentially seem like pity."

"But... Coming from an outside source," Theo trailed in warmth, and as he softly pointed a lazy finger in Berri's direction, the room's air grew thick with knowing.

"It felt genuine, no strings attached," Turbo exhaled, he so hoped his brothers weren't offended by this, and as he nervously eased his golden gaze to his two brothers, he was delighted to see them hold their curious eyes tight to his. Turbo shook his head and narrowed his gaze in bittersweet sorrow, "There's... There's no way I would've stepped into that stadium feeling like a man, feeling proud or full of honor... I'd feel like a selfish jerk, only interested in attention I was so eagerly ready to go to such drastic lengths for, when instead, I could've just... Opened up."

Everyone fell silent and hung in baited wait, and although Turbo explaining all of this helped Berri feel a little better, she still bashfully cocked an eyebrow and held her eyes tight to the dreaded paperwork in Turbo's masculine hands. She frowned, her eyes scanned his figure, the way his familiar hoodie hugged his arms and chest in such a different way than when she wore it, which was droopy and something she basically swam in, however comfortably. She felt tears sting her eyes as they continued to gloss the batch of the papers Turbo held, and in a solid dare she had with herself, she nervously lofted her now entirely glassy, teary eyes straight into Turbo's, she was floored to find that he was already staring back at her.

"I was selfish, and stupid, and childish... And, it took Berri literally coming over, unannounced, unnamed and entirely unknown, by me, to shake me out of my rut of a mindset," Turbo warmly explained, he gave her a nervous smile, as if to somehow beg to find truce here, with her. He shook his head and carried on, "You went to Academy and heard just horrible things about me, yet you still treated me fairly. I never thought I'd ever see the day where I felt wholly accepted by anyone other than my brothers and my two bosses."

Berri inhaled a trembling breath, bobbed a nod of nervous understanding and allowed her angry walls to come down. She twiddled her fingers, longblinked a few tears to the counter underneath her, and was glad Wren kept his loving hand to her upper back in a soothing, soft rub of comfort.

"You bought me coffee, you told everyone at Sugarbucks how nice I am, and... I know my brothers could vouche for me all day long, and it'd still mean the world, but..." Turbo shook his head and lofted Nox and Throttle an apologetic, sorrowful smile, in which they equally returned the cheeky favor of understanding, "Really, the word of the whole crew of TurboTime certainly wouldn't go nearly as far as Sugar Rush's princess."

"You're able to cover a lot of ground, with that title, my love," Throttle's deep, grumbly voice eased to Berri in cute, soft knowing, something to which she finally smiled about, however small and bashful it may be; she kept her eyes down and nodded once more, "I speak for both my brothers when I say... We're grateful."

"I'm done shutting people out, and... I'm sorry, to Nox and Throttle, for keeping you two at bay all this time," Turbo shook his head and heaved a long sigh. He gestured to his papers, once more, and looked off in disappointment, at himself, "The only reason I did that was because... I hoped it'd soften the blow, when I left. So much time had passed, it was like... you guys didn't know me that well, anyways... It would be an easier cut."

"Dude, you already have successfully made one of us cry, are you hoping to have us all in tears by the end of this or something?" Nox staggered in whole, grumbling annoyance as he finally sagged his whole face into his hands, though not quickly after, he grappled the neck hole of his t-shirt and also smushed the cloth into his whole face, specifically pushed into his now closed and teary eyes.

"It was extremely selfish of me, and... I hope that I can get your guys' forgiveness," Turbo bobbed a nod, heaved a hard sigh and peered down to the thick stack of papers in his hands.

He scanned over all the detrimental words, all the warning stamps, all the lines where he signed and initialed, he finally smiled down to it, lulled his eyes closed in a silent goodbye to his old way of thinking, and began to gently dig into his pocket. In the soft sag of his thick paper work, he lofted his gaze in Berri's direction and continued to feel his heart sag, the gorgeous, glassy show of cerulean blue that her eyes pierced into his soul, a whole look of despair, he finally bobbed her a small nod, and in a warm, hefty loft of his thick stack of detrimental papers, he peaked a humble smile and, with a waft of a thud, he successfully laid the packet of papers in front of her, directly over her school work. She raised her eyebrows in prickled surprise and further flinched as he also lofted his black, worn and loved cigarette lighter on top of said papers.

"If you'd do the honors, Ms. Kalivar," Turbo's deep, sweet voice glossed over Berri's soul in knowing conclusion, he stood to correction and politely tucked his hands behind his back, his unzipped hoodie further revealed the lazy black tank he was wearing underneath, the expansion of his strong, masculine chest and the peak of his thick collar bones.

Berri, in a continuous show of girly surprise, eased her glassy eye contact straight to Turbo's, as if she could hardly believe what he was insinuating here. Without missing another second of these silly papers even so much as existing in front of her, she furrowed her eyebrows tight into her eyes, grit her teeth behind her closed-mouth, straight-lined facial expression of whole determination, and in a quick, hard spark, she grappled the thick papers in a clumsy, messy array and eagerly clicked Turbo's lighter in a gentle blaze. Although the flame was little, everyone flinched in whole surprise as she eagerly swarmed the papers, and the lighter, in an electric blaze of her dominant silver coding, and like wildfire to dead brush, the whole stack of papers immediately went up in flames; she only barely contained it in a safe, small, silver-coded bubble of preservation, simply so that the fire still had oxygen, though the smoke tidily gathered in the bubble, so to preserve their new home's lovely air and the cleanliness of their countertops.

Everyone sagged back in whole surprise as the silver coded bubble properly contained a bright, angry blaze of electricity and fire, though everyone further flinched as Berri suddenly stood up, shoved her palm to the glass above her, popped open the gape of the vaulted window and, with a grunt of whole entire irritation and dismay, and a palm wholly alive with her angry silver coding, she firmly lofted the coded ball of now smoke and ash outside of their home. Everyone froze and watched her not only get rid of Turbo's papers, but sentence it all to hell and then some. The silver coded ball of protection easily dissipated, causing the hot ashes to now carry into the Sugar Rush's cold, wet, rainy atmosphere. Through an angry, still teary and furrowed expression, she yanked the window shut in a slam, locked it, and firmly sat back down to her seat in a huff. With all the men now frozen in prickled fear of Berri's secretive, hidden angry side, Berri panted through her nose and held an ironically angry and grateful, teary glower tight to Turbo's eyes.

"What a mood," Wren blurt with a gentle laugh and a bob of a nod, as if to agree with Berri's whole entire silent spiel of detest, he lofted his kind gaze to Turbo as if to also express that he would've done the same exact thing to said papers, if he could; Nox, Throttle and Theo blurt out into laughter, both at Berri's actions and Wren's tender pluck of words.

"Now I'm REALLY not going, damn," Turbo blurt a nervous, trembling laugh; having only thought she'd simply light the stack of papers ablaze and watch it slowly burn, he was totally floored at how aggressive she was about it all.

"Y'all haven't seen Berri wholly pissed off, that was nothing," Theo muttered in grimacing nervousness, though everyone dragged their gazes to Berri, who continued to angrily glower down the untouched school work before her, she continuously lit Turbo's lighter over and over, as if in whole contemplation, like she maybe was still holding on to dregs of anger and was preparing to light other things on fire.

"Ohhhkay, why don't you give me this?" Wren chimed in a cute tone as he tenderly plucked the lighter from Berri's hand, he then grunted to slide out from the confines of the cozy, swooping bench, and as he stood next to Turbo, he rolled his eyes and eagerly lofted a gesture of his arm and hand in Turbo's direction, "Alright, c'mon, don't be a sour patch kid, give Turbo a hug, let's all say our sorries, kiss and makeup, c'mon now."

As if she maybe didn't want to, she inhale a hard breath through her nose, shook her head and still followed Wren's direction. She quickly scoot out from the confines of the benches, as well, and once she was in a stand, she held on tight to Turbo's diligent word, the words he reminded her of on the night of her birthday party; the fact that he was, indeed, a hugger. With no reserve, she grimaced into a small hiccup of a cry and filled the gap, in an eager sag into his welcoming arms, she gripped her tight embrace about his chest and upper body. He jolted at her fervor, and with an understanding chuckle, he did absolutely everything to welcome her into his warm embrace. With Turbo's strong, masculine arms draped tight about the back of her head and her upper shoulders, he smiled and shut his eyes amidst their squeeze of an embrace. He dared to sag his head and face into the side of her lovely hair, his gentle hand so softly rubbed the back of her shoulder with a further show of care.

"Alright, we let the lovebirds have their moment, let's all pile in, now, c'mon," Theo barked in a dull tone as he waved his finger in the air, he got to his feet and gestured for Nox and Throttle to join, who wasted no time in heeding his word, "We're all a team, here, group hug."

With an eager glom, Nox glued himself to Turbo's side and obnoxiously wrapped his arms about Turbo and Berri. Turbo jolted his eyes opened, peered down to Nox in his peripheral and blurt a soft laugh, though they jolted, once more, as Throttle came around the other side and did the same. It wasn't until Theo firmly latched on to the entirety of them did everyone finally start laughing, Berri's soft voice only emit a bashful few giggles of the slow of her tears, and it wasn't complete until Theo's large hand firmly swiped at Wren's shoulder, ultimately dragging him into the group hug as well. Wren rolled his eyes and succumbed to the nonsense, the massive, tight and loving group hug everyone sat in, now a quiet, laughing mess.

"Hope you know how loved you are now, dude," Nox grumbled into the back of Turbo's upper arm, in which his face was smooshed against.

"Okay, so next year, for the NEXT round of contestants, if you sign up, I swear to User," Theo muttered as he eyed Turbo, as much as he could, amidst their group hugs.

"I won't allow it," Berri stated firmly into Turbo's broad, warm chest. She closed her eyes and relished in the secrecy of their tight embrace, something they dutifully got away with due to the now glom of extra arms around them. She snuck a bashful smile into his chest, inhaled his intoxicating scent and relished in the feel of his strong arms still woven tight about her upper body. She was thrilled he caught on to their little secretive display of further snuggling, the way his arms drew tighter around her, the way she could feel his hot breath on her shoulder, the goosebumps she got due to the feeling of his mouth hovering right by her ear. Berri heaved a hot sigh of relief into Turbo's chest and squeezed him a little harder, her tears successfully being dried by his shirt. She carried on in a teasing show of authority, "As Sugar Rush's future Queen... You're forbidden from applying to Game Over, ever again."

The lot of the group hug began to coo loud and obnoxious notions about how Turbo just was thwarted, due to Berri playing her stature card, something she didn't do very often, though Turbo snuck a sneaky smile into the side of Berri's head, lulled his eyes closed and allowed the noise to drown out his soft and tender words to her, and only her.

"...Yes, your majesty," Turbo's deep voice so softly eased into her skull, shook her mainframe, had her heart in a chokehold and did everything it could to gloss an entire lifetime's worth of coy, loving insinuations into her brain, in the span of just two seconds.

Berri felt a hard shiver want to just cascade down her body, and as much as she was sure it happened, she felt numb, entirely on cloud nine. She heaved yet another sigh of relief into Turbo's chest, and in sly, secretive movement, she lulled her eyes closed, relaxed against Turbo's chest and successfully nuzzled her face into the nook of his neck, under his jaw. The feel of his stubble against her soft skin, the drape of his arms about her, she so wished she could just halt time, she prayed there was a way to just freeze everything about this moment, for she knew there likely wouldn't be another just like it. She relished in the tightness of the group hug, surrounded by everyone she loved, she was well aware there was no where else any of these gamers would rather be, than in this center of love, the game's very pinpoint of a gravitational pull, one coated in all of the love they could ever want.


	55. Chapter 55

**Reviews :**

 **Romantic Sapp :** That is so sweet :( Thank you so very much. I'm really glad!

 **Snake557 :** Baw, shucks. Thank you friend! I sometimes get carried away with details that I'm certain the majority of you could care less about xD But thank you!

 **Burgie :** This is true! I love group hugs haha

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Break My Heart Again by Finneas**

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 ***Chapter 55***

After a few hours well into Sugar Rush's cold, early morning, stomachs full of Berri's delicious cinnamon rolls, laughs and smiles filled every single pixel of Berri's, Wren's and Theo's brand new tower. Although Throttle and Nox left for a long-overdue reset, and Wren and Theo agreed to just simply unpack their belongings the next day, Berri and Turbo were left at a curious impasse. In a toss up of wondering if they should just split for the night, and left with the flicker of potential to further hang out, Berri kindly agreed to allow Turbo up to her bedroom, so to help her unpack. She was well aware that, after this whole Game Over fiasco, that their budding friendship had only continued to blossom into a bigger bloom of curious love. She knew now that being alone with Turbo would eventually lead into dangerous territory, and although she was certain she wouldn't mind, she almost was thankful that neither of the two would be brave enough to get anything done behind closed doors, anyhow.

In the tender smoosh of Berri, Turbo and Chester's whole, cumbersome body onto the hub of a domed teleportation pad room, in the nook of the flawless, white kitchen, the three were teleported to Berri's room. Fit for a princess, the highest floor with the best view, Turbo's eyes adjusted to their now dim surroundings. A large, rectangular room with crisp, white walls, he was delighted to see that her teleportation hub eased out into a lower ceiling, half of the room was crowned with said grey wood of a lower ceiling, one that finally bowed in a tender, soft slope, as opposed to a hard edge that a ceiling that met a wall would usually have. It was clear to Turbo that said section of low ceiling, that spanned the entire length of her bedroom, would eventually house her glorious bed. Said area, where her bed would eventually lay, had a gorgeous splay of sleek, thin ceiling lights, ones that clearly were color changing, though they held solid at a dim, warm glow of white.

Turbo sagged his shoulders in delightful, curious looking as his eyes swooped about. Although they were welcomed into a cozy, large span of an area with the lower ceiling, it eventually arched to a much higher span of a white ceiling, of which was also eventually met with one massive wall of windows. Said windows looked out onto the flyer's enclosure, a beautiful show of peaceful nature. Berri's brand new bedroom was gorgeous, kissed with a futuristic touch of glossy, white girliness, though it was starkly empty. A few silver code boxes hovered just off to the right, near a beautiful archway of a mini, no-door corridor that clearly lead off to her bathroom and closet. Chester huffed a long, sleepy sigh and pushed past the two in a clumsy, claw-clacking mosey, amidst her gorgeous matte-grey tiles. He finally sagged his body to the floor, near the window, and rested his head on his paws, so to insinuate he'd likely be snoozing soon. Turbo put his hands on his hips and looked about the lovely, dimly lit room, the glow of his golden eyes also gently aided in lighting up the place.

"Not bad at all," Turbo kindly droned on as he nodded, as if to be entirely pleased. Berri smiled, nodded as well, and softly pushed closer to the wall near the arch of her small corridor, a silver digital pad so softly illuminated as she neared, "It may not be the 64th floor up, but still... You got yourself a fantastic view, as well."

"Yeah, I'm pretty pleased with it," Berri encouraged, she bobbed a nod in Turbo's direction with a kind smile, though as she pressed a few options on the silver digital pad, the whole entire glass wall of a window suddenly began to methodically hum in a draw of a solid white, black out curtain. It was so sleek and flat, it almost looked like a wall covering the entirety of the glass. She lofted Turbo a knowing smile and blurt a small chuckle, "So... The windows are one way windows, but I still feel weird having these windows wide opened at night."

"I don't blame you," Turbo shook his head and shrugged, though as he began to finally mosey off of the teleportation pad, he heaved a sigh and put his hands in his black jean's pockets; his hand came into contact with his materializer, something that harbored a secretive little surprise he purposefully brought over, just for Berri.

"Oh, and look... I thought this was a nice little touch," Berri pointed behind Turbo, he turned around and was surprised to see a three foot wide floor to ceiling sliver of a window, just near the hub of her teleportation pad. It showed the opposite side of the palace lot, which included the whole dome of the code room. Berri wrinkled her nose in a cute way, and as the two approached the window, she pointed to something just beyond the glass of the code room's flawless dome, "If you look closely... I have a perfect view of your tower. See it?"

"Holy User, yeah, I see it," Turbo gawked in surprise, he rubbed the back of his head in smiling cuteness, somehow the sight of his tiny little tower, off in the distance, had him reeling, the whole fact that he was so incredibly far from the safety of his perch, yet he had never felt more comfortable being away from home, in his entire life, until this instance.

"Well... I think maybe we should start with my furniture, huh?" Berri sighed in nonchalance as she pulled from the window, she eased across her bedroom and sagged into the vicinity of the dimly glowing, softly bobbing and hovering silver code boxes; untitled and hung in anticipated wait, "I can do the rest on my own, I'm sure you don't want to see the chaos that my bedroom consists of."

"It's not a problem," Turbo eased warmly, he followed her to the code boxes and gave her room to open one of the said boxes. His eyes scanned the few tiers of information that sprawled from the code box, little pockets of organized chaos, "It's up to you. Whatever you're comfortable with."

"Well... I guess we can start with my bed," Berri pressed nonchalantly, she shrugged and, with her silver coding present on the pinpoint of her finger tip, she dragged the small tier of information out and hovered it out before her. With a sudden spark of information across the room, her bed appeared in a simple, dimly lit, holographic state, making clear that it wouldn't be a tangible thing until she cued it to be. She bit her lip in concentration and, as she centered it with the bow of the lower ceiling, eased into correction, she finally tabbed for the bed to eke into existence. With a gentle thud, her gorgeous, white canopy bed settled on the grey tiles, "I... I want to thank my mother and father for code room abilities, this would suck without the easiness of a code room."

"You're telling me," Turbo muttered, he casted her a sweet smile and still held his hands tight in his pockets, his hand clutched his materializer. She so softly eased two littler tiers of information in front of Turbo and kindly gave him a look of friendly, impending curiosity.

"Would you mind placing my night stands on either side? I'll go ahead and find a spot for my desk," Berri pressed warmly, Turbo bobbed a nod of whole agreeing and did as she said, and whilst the two successfully placed her furniture in all the places it all should go, Berri wrinkled her nose and continuously kept resetting the position of her desk, which was along the opposite wall of windows, deep in the nook of the lower ceiling area of her room, just near her bed, "I really have no clue where I'd rather do school work... Either up here, or downstairs in the kitchen."

"The spot in the kitchen is beautiful, and peaceful," Turbo shrugged with a nod, "Maybe on rainy days, where the rain hits the vaulted glass, y'know?"

"True, I guess I don't need a definitive spot," Berri agreed tenderly; Turbo softly glanced to her, in his peripheral, and felt bravery soak his golden eyes.

"You also always have a safe spot in my loft... The one that overlooks my living room," Turbo pressed, they finally caught eyes, he felt his heart so desperately want to unravel to her, he felt his hands do everything they could to just reel it all in, though somehow his words persisted, almost without his permission, "My... My loft is, well... More an escape, to me. My workstation is up there... But, you're more than welcome to utilize it, as well."

"... That's so nice, thank you," Berri nodded with humility, she peered to him in sweet surrender, she shook her head and finally gave him a knowing smile, "You know, you CAN say no. Just because we're friends, and I'm Sugar Rush's princess, doesn't mean you need to cater to me outside of your comfort zones."

"It's nothing, honest," Turbo nodded, he wondered just why he had suddenly felt so light headed, the secretive display of nervousness now coat his being, something Berri eagerly cued to.

"A-Are you okay?" Berri wondered, now in a lilt of nervousness. She shook her head as Turbo's nervous, sock-covered footsteps began to wander away from her still hovering, waiting code boxes. Berri closed the mess of them and was now interested in seeing a little deeper into Turbo's reserved eyes, "I mean, really, I DID sort of just erupt all over your life and shake everything up. Somehow we became friends out of it, but... Please, tell me if I'm becoming too overbearing, or... If our hang outs are maybe, well... Too much-"

"It's never too much, I'm being honest with you," Turbo assured as he finally turned and smiled into her eyes, he heaved a shaky sigh and shook his head, though in doing so, he so softly pulled his own materializer from his pocket and held it out before him. He held his breath and peered down to it, "Berri, I... I need to tell you something."

Berri froze and now peered to Turbo in whole, nervous confusion. She furrowed her brow and glanced down to his materializer, his golden gaze was fixated on it, as if he was nearly scared as to just what was inside of it. She felt as if the blood had left her face, her stomach clenched in a sag of nervousness, though she somehow held onto hope the second a bashful smile sprawled from Turbo's face.

"I, well... I came over here to assure you that I wasn't going to be attending Game Over, but..." Turbo trailed off, he heaved a shaky sigh and softly waved his materializer around a little, as if opening another creased, stiff fold of his fragile, origami heart was painful, yet he still continued on, "I have something else I wanted to show you. I-It's... It's something I thought I lost touch with, but, I just need you to know that meeting you has helped me get back in touch with myself."

Berri crossed her arms, eyed his materializer and allowed a gentle, curious, cheeky smile sprawl her face. She shook her head a little, narrowed her gaze and knew what this was all about. Somehow Turbo had forgotten that having guests over to his house would include them needing to eventually visit the bathroom, somehow he had forgotten to sweep his true self under the rug for visitors, the image of Turbo's beautiful, glossy acoustic guitar, rested against his bed, amidst the mess of sheet music, flashed before Berri's memory like a hot poker through her skull, an almost delightful punch of knowing. She felt her heart begin to throb, the whole fact that Turbo was opening up his heart, just for her, someone so scared to show trust, someone so terrified to open up, now someone nearly in full bloom right before her eyes. She remained still, knowing full well, this was his fragile timing, and his timing alone.

"You, uh... You already discovered that I'm also a musician," Turbo pressed bashfully, he didn't dare look up from his materializer, almost as if looking up would erase this incredibly fragile moment. Berri smiled and patiently waited for him to reveal that he simply brought over his guitar, though her heart began to thud in further girly anxiety as he pressed on, in a much deeper, different direction than she ever thought was possible, " I... I wanted to let you know that I wrote you a song."

Berri raised her eyebrows in whole entire surprise, so much so that she nearly scoffed a soft, silent laugh of disbelief. She bashfully tucked her hair behind her ears and felt her stomach do a weird dance. She felt all the blood rush to her face, the thud of her heart now began to just pound and pound on her ribcage. She sagged her shoulders in a lull of tenderness, allowed the honesty of Turbo's fragile heart nearly unwillingly open up to her. Simply as if he wrote this song in the whole secrecy of his soul, and swore to himself he'd never let her hear it. Somehow, he seemed at war with himself, the long blink of his gaze had her truly believing that he was trying his hardest to wrap his mind around this unfolding instance. Berri smiled in whole sweetness and knew, full well, he'd need some hand holding, here. As confident as he was to come out and reveal he had written her a full-blown song, she knew, in order to bridge the gaps, she'd have to be the one to ease his trembling soul over the scary rapids.

"Y-You... You wrote me a song?" Berri's tender voice lilted in bashful curiosity, she glanced back to her bed and immediately knew that'd likely be their landing spot, for said escapade, something that made her insides clench in whole entire shyness, "That's... That's SO sweet, Turbo, you... You really didn't have to."

"I didn't have a choice," Turbo blurt with a bashful laugh as he gestured his sleek, black materializer, about the size of his phone. Berri warmly began to step over to him, and in doing so, she gestured to the edge of her bed, though as Turbo caught on and bashfully followed her lead, his deep voice glossed her bedroom in a drum of romantic knowing, "It just... Was itching to get out, you know how that goes."

"Boy, do I," Berri agreed warmly, and as she sat down on the edge of her bed, she gently pat the bed next to her; her cozy mattress was void of sheets or blankets, lacked in pillows and downs, somehow the metaphor of the rawness was palpable as Turbo nervously sat down next to her, closest to her nightstand.

"I-I just need to preface that... I don't have this song memorized, so, i-if you wouldn't mind, well," Turbo staggered his words, his hands began to tremble, Berri just absolutely relished in the cute show of tremors he was just wrought with. His materializer gently illuminated, and in doing so, he successfully pulled out a few pages of worn and torn sheet music, scribbled with his chicken scratch, as neatly as he could've afforded. Turbo continued on, his hand so nervously handed her his raw sheet music, "M-maybe, can you please hold it out for me? So I can read the notes while I play."

"Oh, sure," Berri prod easily, she so desperately tried to keep her brimming excitement on the downlow, she knew overflowing him with excitement would likely make him more nervous. Her eyes warmly glanced down to his sheet music, so methodically strung with pencil and pen marks, musical notes neatly clad inside the lines of treble and bass clef, her heart began to throb with the oddness of it all, the universal language of music they were both fluent in. Her eyes just barely glossed down the sheet, and as her heart continued to throb, she noticed said sheet music was definitely complete with lyrics. She held her breath and wondered if he'd open up far enough to sing for her, though she narrowed her gaze and tossed it to him in cute knowing, assured that he probably has already run out of all his bravery. Berri inhaled a shaky breath and watched as Turbo so carefully unravelled his gorgeous, acoustic guitar from his materializer, "I-Is this... Well... A more fast piece or slow?"

"Oh, well... I guess you could very easily give it a good beat, y'know? Something fast and exciting," Turbo shrugged, he cleared his throat and nervously glossed his eyes to his own sheet music, in Berri's capable hands, though it was here did Berri notice the confident, golden glow in his eyes was nearly gone, a matte grey show of bashful terror he was now wrought with; his apprehensive tone so carefully carried on, "Th-this is more an acoustic version, I guess... Slower and sweeter. But, i-if you think you, Wren and Theo could add an awesome beat to it, then, I mean... By all means."

"Don't be scared," Berri bravely assured in whole warmth, and it was here did her tender hand finally find his lower right arm, whilst his left arm cradled and gripped the neck of his beautiful guitar. His grey eyes glossed to hers in soft, nervous knowing, an almost frown of fear, a desperate show of the persistence of her encouraging words, Berri smiled into his scared eyes and shook her head, "I'm not going to judge you, or laugh, or anything... I'm sure it's going to be great... I'm just floored you actually wrote me a song, like... No one has ever done that for me."

"T-Trust me, I've never done it for anyone, either," Turbo bobbed a nod and gave her a grateful smile of conclusion, he shook his head and heaved a shaky sigh, "I just figured I'd show you... It's nothing heavy, just... A song to further thank you for everything you've done for me."

"It was nothing," Berri eased in a sweet whisper of cute knowing as she lulled her eyes closed, wrinkled her nose and gave him a cute smile.

Amidst the softness, Turbo finally situated himself, glossed his dark eyes to the sheet music she now correctly held out before him, and with a brave moment of frozen silence, both beings melted into a single wavelength, a single beat of their hearts, a silent symphony of understanding that this was a secretive unfold of their friendship, an entirely off limits topic of their blossoming attraction, something they now silently swore to only potentially talk about through song, an understanding that plain conversation was just too much to afford, right now. With the tender plucks of his guitar that now filled her room with the sweet sound of warm, major notes, an adorable little tune of near bittersweet reveal, Berri narrowed her gaze and read his sheet music in following, eased tight into his rhythm.

Although this song definitely had words, she was now certain he wasn't about to reveal too much of himself in one go, the tight-lip look he had as his dark eyes scanned his sheet music, his fingers intelligently strummed and plucked at the right notes, an almost staccato reverberation of cuteness, Berri felt a weird wiggle fall over her soul. He came upon the second line of a gentle melody of his introduction, the words of his song so easily brimmed upon the two, and it was here did Berri now wonder if she could volley a loft of bravery his way, a silent show of gratitude, she wondered if singing his lyrics would be just what he needed to feel whole. She could feel every single ounce of her musical knowledge now sap into their budding, secretive romance, the words to his music now swelled upon them in a tender crescendo of new beginnings, Berri inhaled a readied breath and allowed her soft, sweet and tender voice to sing his heart's words.

" _Keeping a hold of passing glances, advances... And further shame_ ," Berri's voice sang in perfect pitch, the tender pluck of her added care to his song had Turbo nearly reeling in a flinch of surprise, something she caught in her peripheral. His nervous fingers almost rushed to carry on, as if he was absolutely floored that she invited herself to jump on board. He huffed a silent breath of entire shock, Berri inhaled a deep breath and sang from her diaphragm, her hand confidently held the sheet music out for both of them to read, " _The tabs of tally marks to my name... And like dusty umbrellas, deep breaths that shield the rain..._ "

" _Lost eyes cast in the wild, wild blue, somehow I'm warmed from death,_ " Berri's confident voice pressed, though she allowed herself to stay soft for the not-so-confident volume of Turbo's intelligent strumming, though as her eyes peered harder into his sheet music, she nearly beamed a wider smile as she could see the sheet music reflect the returning glow of Turbo's golden eyes, a gentle wash of love and returned confidence that came back. Berri tried to carry on without giggling, the widest smile plastered to her face, she could practically hear Turbo smiling as well, " _Somehow I'm new..._ "

As Turbo's strumming only just barely picked up in confidence, she smiled and could feel him straighten his spine, as if he was only just now ready to really give this song everything he got, the rush of her cute confidence now saturated his soul like gasoline over a flicker of a flame. Berri inhaled a deep breath and sat up a little straighter, as well, the two eagerly carried on in rhythm.

" _A cold fire of blue, keeping me from feeling true..._ _An upside down void of nonsensical burning stars,_ " Berri's voice carried the chorus with that touch Turbo was absolutely certain this song was missing, he shook his head amidst their goofy, dewy smiles and felt that burning fire rush back to his heart, something he knew he couldn't tame, any longer, the sweet sound of Berri's singing voice carried on in a rush of squeezed love, vocals that nearly shook the entirety of the game, something Turbo was sure would take her very far, " _As if it's only blue, keeping me from holding you, e_ _radicated scars, fresh beat of lonely hearts..._ _Somehow I'm new._ "

" _Oily swipes of persistence, a molt long overdue, t_ _he fade of tally marks to my name,_ " Berri pressed into the second verse, she breathed a soft giggle amidst her singing as she continued to turn pages in a chaotic flutter of trying to keep them in rhythm; Turbo's deep voice emit a soft chuckle, as well, they continued to beam knowing smiles, a particularly new, proverbial cloud nine they had eagerly caught together, the glow of Turbo's golden eyes nearly lit the sheet music on fire as her now powerful voice carried the love and emotion in his art, his strumming now pressed in a greater show of confidence, " _A welcome of tectonic tremors, a feeling I once knew..._ _New eyes honed tight to a glowing beacon._ "

" _Somehow I'm warmed from death,_ " Berri's voice dipped for the dramatic slow of said verse, Turbo's tender strumming filled the room with negative space, a sweet kiss of balance, Berri's ribcage inhaled a proper breath as she pressed on, the words of his heart now deeply resonating with her, simply fueling her craft, from here, " _Somehow I'm new..._ "

" _A cold fire of blue, keeping me from feeling true..._ _An upside down void of nonsensical burning stars,_ " Berri confidently pressed, the proper amount of glow easily had come back to Turbo's eyes, his meticulous hands pressed into the neck of his guitar with fervor as they both now catapulted into a new, silent realm of swirling feelings they were only just now trying to come to grips with, Berri felt a pang of girly delight hit her heart as she sang the few differing words in this strain of the chorus, " _As if it's only blue, keeping me from loving you, e_ _radicated scars, fresh beat of lonely hearts..._ "

Berri inhaled a deep breath and felt all the blood rush to her face, her heart pounded with excitement, she was absolutely certain that here and now, they both were very painfully aware of their interest in each other, however deep that all was, Berri was unsure. She shook her head as Turbo's powerful strumming of confidence now sagged to a tender, dainty pluck of the song's insinuated end, she warmly exhaled the final words of his song and felt like an entirely different person, " _Somehow... I'm new._ "

As the final, gentle strum of the last note of the song so tenderly soaked into the mainframe of Berri's bedroom, their eyes, glossed in enchanted wonder, finally honed back to their surroundings. As if thrusted into an alternate reality, and then thrusted back to their point and time on the grid, Berri inhaled a shaky breath, sagged the sheet music and now bashfully peered into Turbo's vividly glowing eyes. They held, a show of unadulterated surprise, somehow they both hadn't given each other enough credit and maybe secretly didn't expect much, though the second Turbo clutched his chest and blurt a shaky, boyish chuckle, alongside an adorable, renewed smile, he shook his head and eased his grateful, floored eye contact back into her shy blue eyes.

"H-Holy, User," Turbo staggered with a more confident laugh as she finally scrunched her shoulders and blurt a giggle down to the hands in her laps, "I-I mean, you said you were a musician but I had no clue you could sing like that. So, you play AND sing?"

"Yeah, I'm... I'm lead singer and guitarist, Wren's on keyboard and Theo's on drums," Berri bobbed a confident nod, somehow she could've sworn Turbo knew about their little jam sessions, their musically inclined talents, though he shook his head in floored surprise and continued to peer into her now raw, opened soul with whole adoration.

"Berri, that was incredible, I mean, wow..." Turbo scoffed, he shook his head and aimlessly looked across Berri's bedroom, as if to be entirely beside himself, "That song sounds a million times better with your voice added to it, mine just made it sound all mopey and raspy."

"Wait... You sing too?" Berri now prod in whole, girly excitement, she could tell Turbo was now regretting revealing such things as he bashfully rubbed the back of his head.

"I-I'm not nearly as good as you, I mean, you've never heard this song in your life and somehow you hit every single note and read every pause, like... Wow," Turbo was still clearly flabbergasted, Berri shrugged.

"I can sight read, I guess I shouldn't have assumed you weren't going to sing the lyrics," Berri cutely smiled to him and now relaxed in their more raw, opened friendship, "I got excited, the tune was so pretty, I couldn't resist."

"Damn, that was wild," Turbo choked a laugh, as did Berri, though as she sagged her soft hand to his lower forearm, they both eased their stirring and locked eyes.

"Thank you... That was so beautiful, and so meaningful," Berri's soft voice eased, she eyed him in warm curiosity and felt her heart pound in further excitement, "Would you mind if I maybe, well... Borrowed this sheet music? I'd love to learn this song... Maybe one day, I can play it for YOU and YOU can sing it for ME."

"Oh, User, you'd, well... It'd take convincing," Turbo staggered, it was here that Berri was absolutely floored to see Turbo's face turn red, something that she never had seen before, due to his darker, sweeter complexion. She narrowed her gaze and watched the cute sight unfold, the way he now finally allowed himself to become visibly bashful and shy, "I-I mean, j-just... Playing this, without singing, with someone listening, was... Well... Extremely hard."

"But you were incredible," Berri encouraged, she shook her head and eyed him in suspicious knowing, "And, it took absolutely no convincing at all..."

Turbo sagged his shoulders and knew he was now doomed, the slippery slope he had finally caught himself in, he lulled his glowing eyes closed and heaved a soft chuckle through his nose. Once he finally reopened his eyes and glossed his gaze across her beautiful bedroom, he finally peered back into her eyes and felt renewed bravery flood him, a hit of new feels, something he felt confident to finally dip his toes into.

"Guess you have that effect on me," Turbo politely revealed, the hidden smolder of truth in his sweet eyes, he knew there was no escape from these feelings now.


	56. Chapter 56

**Reviews :**

 **Romantic Sapp :** Aww THANK YOU! Yeah that piece is one of my favorites, as well. I was a blubbering mess through the entire production of it haha.

 **Burgie :** I'm glad you feel that way! Yeah, they are - they're both just way too shy to do anything about it right now haha

 **CHICKENM4N :** Aww that's sweet~

 **Snake557 :** I agree! I wish it was like that in RL haha. Thank you!

 **Jay Sketchin :** AW Thanks friend! :)

* * *

 ***Chapter 56***

"So, what I could do here is put the whole thing into the system, and maybe see if Wren can add a pretty piano melody to it, maybe?" Berri wondered in a cute shrug of girliness; she sat hunched over her stool, pressed up to Wren's splay of mixers and keyboards, Turbo's lovely scribbles of lyrics and sheet music in the forefront of her vision. Her phone was laid next to the mess, the screen was black, though her call with Turbo was on speakerphone, pushing the hour mark. She carried on with a small chuckle of impending cheek, "Y'think we could turn it into a metal version or something?"

"For User's sake, we should just make a screamo version of it," Turbo blurt in sarcasm, he heaved a hard laugh into his phone. Berri breathed a happy giggle and hugged her lovely, cherry-wood acoustic guitar closer to her body, she was comfortably draped in Turbo's familiar hoodie.

"That'd be hilarious," Berri agreed as she gently sifted through his sheet music, she had successfully added a sheet, or two, of her own scribblings to Turbo's lovely song, one of which he titled 'Blue'. Berri held her hand up to her mouth, eyed the sheet music and and nibbled on her finger tip in further contemplation, "Turbo, how would you feel if I maybe added a pre-chorus and a bridge to this song? I-Is that maybe something you'd want to do together?"

"I'm sure whatever you add to it will only make it better," Turbo's sweet voice eased from her phone, they both knew they had a very obvious spark of flirtatious interest in each other, and although sweet and tender volleys of compliments and chimes, here and there, was all they could afford, it was becoming rapidly clear that the slippery slope was now definitely upon them, "What were you thinking?"

"Well... I guess I'm not entirely positive right now, we can obviously pick up the pace of it after all the lyrics are added," Berri shrugged, she began to scribble down some notes onto her own pieces of paper, of which she added to Turbo's sheet music, "Sort of have like... A radio mix version, and then a softer acoustic version, like what you played last night."

"Yes, ma'am," Turbo agreed warmly.

"I'm not bothering you from your work, am I?" Berri pressed nervously as she looked across her studio; Chester laid at her feet, soundly snoozing, and although the studio door hung open ajar, with sunlight from their kitchen and common room flooding the corridor to the studio, she felt the stillness of their abode due to Wren and Theo being out.

"No, not at all," Turbo stated through a small, content sigh. He fell silent for a moment, Berri could hear his fingertips tapping away at his work. Although he was now always down for hang-outs and phone calls, Berri knew she needed to respect the fact that he was, indeed, Sugar Rush's Knight, with proper duties as such, ones of which Tessa and Zed were relying on Turbo for. Although Turbo was silent for a moment, he picked back up, the sheer sound of him smiling was apparent, "You guys still down to come over tonight, for the new year's countdown? Or are your parents planning something?"

"Oh, no, I'm sure mom and dad will probably be asleep before the turn of the new year, unfortunately... Cause tomorrow's a work day," Berri shrugged, the benefit of the Arcade being closed Sunday unfortunately had New Year's Eve falling on said Sunday, "I'll text Wren and see when they're getting back from Dead Zed... If they don't come, I know I'll definitely be over tonight. If that's okay."

"Door's always open for you, friend," Turbo assured warmly, Berri beamed a wide, blushing smile, something she was glad she could get away with due to the simplicity of their phone call, though she jolted as she could suddenly hear their abode's front door slide open, the abundance of multiple voices.

"Oh, crap," In a nervous stagger of papers and her guitar, she fumbled on her words and bashfully tucked her hair behind her ears, "O-Oh, they're home... I-I'll text you in a bit and let you know what's going on."

"Okay, sounds good," Turbo lightly said.

"Alright," Berri eased, though she nervously began to collect Turbo's sheet music, her hands grappled for her materializer, so neither Wren nor Theo would accidentally stumble upon Turbo's musings, a secret little song Berri was absolutely ready to keep just that; a secret.

"Okay," Turbo retort kindly, though Berri furrowed her eyebrows and beamed an annoyed smile down to her phone.

"Sure," Berri included.

"Same," Turbo volleyed.

"FINE," Berri urged through an annoyed giggle.

"No, YOU hang up," Turbo's deep voice chimed through a grumbling chuckle, Berri largely rolled her eyes, sat up straight and tossed her head back in whole, beaming, blushing annoyance. Turbo pressed on through cheeky, boyish laughter, "Alright, let's hang up on three... One-"

"Three," Berri stabbed with a hard laugh, she gently tabbed the red 'end call' button, on her phone, though not before she caught Turbo in the midst of an adorable, teasing fit of laughter. Berri beamed, shook her head and heaved a long, wistful sigh, though upon doing so, Chester perked his ears and huffed a hard, raspy, whisper, as if to insinuate their light-hearted flirting was now getting out of hand, in the realm of being delightfully annoying.

Through yet another wistful sigh, something she nearly couldn't get under control, she gently stood and was careful not to step on Chester's paws or snout. As she tenderly rested her guitar against the base of the station Wren's wonderful splay of keyboards and mixers were at, she quickly eased Turbo's sheet music into her materializer, shoved it into the back pocket of her grey skinny jeans, tucked her beautiful blue hair behind her ears and straightened Turbo's hoodie over her body. As she finally eased out of the studio, down the sunlit corridor and into the other end of their gorgeous, even further sunlit kitchen and common room, she was delighted to see that Wren and Theo were happily joined by Penny and Orph. Berri beamed an excited smile and chimed them a kind greeting, she knew today was an exciting day, she could see it written all over Penny's face; this was the day that Orph and Penny had returned from their honeymoon, one of which consisted of their detrimental opposed code swap. Berri beamed Penny a wide smile, as did Penny, they both squealed in girly delight and raveled into a huge, near-twirling embrace.

"You're alive!" Berri teased through a loud laugh as her much taller figure wrapped her arms about Penny's head; Penny eased a giggle into Berri's shoulder and squeezed her about her middle, though as Berri lofted her eyes across the kitchen, Orph teasingly leaned against their kitchen island's swooping counter top, cocked an eyebrow, and looked down to his fingernails.

"Juuust barely," Orph grumbled as both girls pulled apart, though Penny shot Orph an annoyed smile and shook her head.

"No, please, I don't want details," Wren covered his face in whole agitation, Theo wildly wrinkled his nose and firmly shook his head in agreeing.

"Just barely," Penny repeated in teasing detest as she shook her head and rolled her eyes, "It's not something that's so complicated, after all... I mean I was nervous, but Tessa has gone over this drama a million times."

"Yeah what with the lot of us pairing off with faux-codes and user-made gamers," Orph huffed a long, hard, exhausted sigh, though he sagged his elbows to the counter and got a good look about Wren's, Berri's and Theo's lovely home.

"It's not as scary as you thought it'd be? The opposed code swap?" Berri wondered in girly, blushing curiosity, though she immediately began to reel in her pressing demeanor as to just what this could potentially insinuate, and like clockwork, Wren opened his mouth.

"She needs ALL the information she can get, Pens, she's not gunna go to Tessa for this, can you imagine?" Wren staggered a gentle laugh, he knew teasing Berri about her little situation with Turbo was off limits, though somehow, he knew he could push the envelope in rare instances.

"Wait, what?" Penny gawked in gentle surprise, she cocked an eyebrow and peered her gorgeous, dark blue eyes tight into Berri's, her cute, blonde hair glistened in the afternoon sunlight, the blushed look of now whole maturity soaked her demeanor, the raw fact that her and Orph now successfully shared codes. Penny beamed the same, sneaky smile and side-eye she always was crowned with, though due to the soak of Orph's coding, her mischievous, cheekiness levels had nearly tripled, "You have a secret User-made boyfriend you're not telling us about, there, Bear?"

"No," Berri snipped in now deflated annoyance, a look of mild, sorrowful defeat hit her skin in the show of a frown, though she sagged over to her uncle, nonetheless, and as she approached Orph, he stood up straighter and opened his arm for a hug. She easily sunk into his much taller figure and heaved a hard, annoyed sigh straight into the center of his chest. Orph blurt a small laugh and hugged his arms about Berri's shoulders, she mumbled him a small greeting, "Hi, Uncle Orph..."

"Hi, why're you suddenly peeved about that? DO you really have a User-made boyfriend you wanna tell me about so I can kick his butt?" Orph rushed in a stagger of a small laugh, which had Wren and Theo now gritting their teeth and very nervously laughing, the sheer idea of Orph going toe-to-toe with the big, bad Turbo had both boys reeling in confusion, a sudden prickle of wariness to discourage Orph's notions.

"I-I don't know if that'd be wise," Wren and Theo finally blurt out in full laughter, still held in nervous glances between each other and Penny.

"I don't care who it is, they'd be Sugar Rush's future King," Orph confidently continued on, he gently jostled Berri about, still tightly gripped in his arms, "Not to mention, this is my precious baby niece we're talking about. Only the best for a princess."

"Who is it?!" Penny now squealed in whole, girly excitement as she rushed Orph and Berri, who were still entangled in a hug.

"Whose hoodie is she wearing?" Theo blurt in smiling annoyance as he firmly gestured his much larger wrecking hand to Berri's left arm, which was still tightly grappled about Orph's middle.

"I can't see it," Orph grunted as he awkwardly shifted and tried to strain his neck, so to see Berri's arm, though she grappled her hug tighter about her uncle and now loudly grunted a very annoyed groan into the broad of Orph's chest; everyone froze in anticipation as Penny sharply gasped and pointed at Berri's arm.

"TURBO?!" Penny squealed, though Orph's face now washed into a slope of vanished confidence, an awkward smile of humbled dewiness now sprawled his cheeks.

"Yeahhhh I'm not man enough to challenge Turbo, of all people, to a fight, you kidding me? He has my delete button," Orph blurt a hard laugh, as did everyone else, excluding Berri. Orph pushed a firm kiss to the top of Berri's head before giving her shoulders one last squeeze, "Sorry, my babe, you're on your own, with that one."

"He's NOT my BOYFRIEND," Berri stabbed, though somehow, a bashful giggle escaped her figure, she eased out of Orph's gravity and covered her face with her hands, which were lost in the soft sleeves of Turbo's loved hoodie.

"MHMM, I see, okay, sure," Penny garbled, all three boys knew that if there were anyone to even so much as rival Wren's sass levels, it was Penny; they eagerly watched the show as Penny lovingly gripped the loose wrist of Turbo's hoodie and jostled it about. This caused Berri's hands to come loose from her face, revealing a very pink blush amidst the freckles on her cute cheeks, "You're just, oh I don't know, wearing his hoodie for no reason then?"

"Turbo subconsciously gave up the title of 'friend' and segued RIGHT into 'love interest' upon giving up that hoodie, Bear," Orph eased through the chuckling all three men were doing. Orph finally furrowed his eyebrows and gestured his hand to Berri in whole confusion, "ALSO, I can't believe you're hanging out with Turbo? Since when does that guy even leave his loft?"

"He doesn't, we go to him," Wren mumbled, though he knew full well no one was complaining.

"You guys go hang out with him too?" Penny wondered in now whole curiosity, Berri continued to remain silent on the subject matter.

"Yeah, he's actually a pretty funny dude, very similar to Nox," Theo bobbed a nod and shrugged, "He just needed some friends."

"Fresh faces," Orph encouraged, he finally dropped the teasing act and gave his niece a small, loving smile, "I'm glad you guys are becoming close... That guy need some love, especially from all the crap he's been through. He deserves it."

"I'm trying," Berri nodded, she looked down to her bare feet in bashfulness, and it was here did Penny now understand that anymore picking at their fragile niece would result in wrecking anger, sooner or later.

"... I know it's awkward, but... If it's too hard to go to your mom for opposed-code swapping advice, you know where to find me, okay? Auntie Penny's got your back," Penny eased softly as she lovingly reached out and slipped her hand into Berri's a little bit larger wrecking hand, though upon this, Berri softened and eased her wavering, nervous eye contact straight into Penny's.

She was well aware that everyone in this room, everyone in this game, everyone on this planet was intrigued with Berri's and Turbo's new, fragile bloom of a friendship, and the fact that it was very slowly inching towards something different. Berri held her breath and knew she was crushing hardcore, the fleeting feeling of new desires and new avenues of adulthood had her head swimming in now almost bubbling, drowning confusion. She hooked her eyes tight to Penny's eyes and knew accepting Penny's adorable proposition would further insinuate that Berri had been thinking about said opposed-code swapping escapades, with Turbo, though she knew blurting out further, empty words of denial, of said blossoming flirtation, would only just dig herself a deeper hole. She knew she needed to at least accept the fact that these feelings were valid, and further accept that her family was here to support her, no matter what it all looked like. Berri finally bit the bullet, lulled her eyes closed and bobbed a gentle nod.

"I will," Berri assured gently, to which Penny's smile broadened, though with Berri's fragile little affirmation that her heart was in said avenue of thinking, all three boys knew to further halt any teasing, due to their wonderings now slowly becoming a very tender reality, right before their eyes.

"SO. What are you guys doing for New Years Eve, then?" Penny inquired, Berri felt her heart surge in further annoyance, she knew that Penny had successfully did everything she could to segue away from the topic of Turbo, though in doing so, she landed right back on it without even being aware of the fact; it was here that Berri wondered if she could be brave.

"...Going to Turbo's," Berri blurt, she smiled a wide, bashful smile, and it was here that Wren, Theo and Orph took their cues, from Berri, and were welcomed back to light hearted teasing.

"Gunna get that New Year's kiss?" Orph wondered sweetly, though Wren raised his eyebrows in whole surprise and gestured his hand to Berri.

"I forgot that that's a thing people do!" Wren gasped, he then urgently gestured to Berri and shook his head, "No, no, you go to Turbo's alone, me and Theo will be here, you just let us know what happens."

"I'M NOT GOING TO KISS HIM," Berri stabbed in a spike of now entire annoyance, though she still somehow managed to raise her voice with a smile plastered to her face; everyone blurt into hard laughter.

"Fine, whatever. Yeah, we're all going to Turbo's," Wren muttered in now whole annoyance, somehow the duty of playing match-maker very quickly began to overtake him, no matter how hard Berri was now adamant to thwart his plans.

"It'll be fun," Theo nodded, he eyed Berri and nearly began to see steam coming out of her ears, "Turbo said that the fireworks across the city, from the view of his loft, is amazing... So, we'll probably just cheers at midnight, and hang out a little afterwards. We can't stay too late after, because we all have school tomorrow."

"I'm actually joining Tessa at the end of the day, she wants me to join her in a Game Central Academy Council meeting they're having," Penny stated, and all whilst finishing her statement, she pointed her finger towards Berri in a waggle and remembered an important detail, "OH, I nearly forgot to tell you... I don't know if your mom let you know yet, or not, but I THINK she wanted you to tag along, as well."

"...Me?" Berri gestured to her chest in soft surprise.

"Yeah, y'know... You're only Sugar Rush's princess, love," Penny eyed her niece and shook her head, "I think the meeting is after Academy hours, so she'll probably want you to meet up with us then."

"Yeah, I can," Berri confidently nodded with a smile, almost an eager show of delight that she'd be allowed back into Academy a week before she were to pick it back up, again.

"Oh, Berri! That means you can check out the music room, when you go," Wren encouraged, Theo bobbed an equally as eager nod as Wren gently continued on, the glimmer of excitement in his eyes, "We can meet you there... Just bring your spare guitar, there are secure rooms where we can keep some of our instruments, for class."

"I can do that," The touch of confidence came back to Berri's voice, she now eagerly nodded and began to show a further show of confidence, "I-I'll see if I can pick up my new schedule, as well. I'm certain we all have that music class together, right?"

"With your mom on the board? It's guaranteed," Penny stated in a dull tone and a nod of further affirmation, though both girls held eye contact in a tight show of fervor, a girly spike of remembrance, "Hopefully a certain, lonely musician has that same hour with you...!"

Berri sharply furrowed her eyebrows and immediately thought of Turbo. Due to no one knowing that he was also a musician, she felt her brain suddenly back flip in confusion, "Wait... Who?"

"She's trapped in Turbo land, she forgot all about her future husband," Wren muttered into his hands as he rubbed his face in grunted agitation, Orph blurt a hard laugh as Berri shook her head, the whole fact that a simple, celebrity crush was now something that was way off of her mind.

"Oh, Gunner?" Berri breezed nonchalantly as she lulled her eyes closed and shook her head, "I totally forgot about that... Would be cool if we were in that class with him, but I highly doubt it."

"Yeah, it's probably not even likely that we'll even get to see him," Penny shook her head and shrugged, "Whatever... Guess we can just wave to the hoard of girls that he'll likely be followed by. It's something, right?"

"It's all we'll ever get," Wren whimpered in a teasing show of fake tears.

"It's all we'll need," Berri rolled her eyes with a smile, a cute dollop of maturity that hit her skin, she knew fawning over a celebrity, so far out of reach, wasn't something she was interested in anymore, "His music is cool, hopefully soon he'll find some band mates and they'll switch thing up."

"Yeah, but once he does that, then he won't be attending Academy anymore," Penny complained.

"Why are you concerned, you're literally MARRIED," Orph now barked with a hard laugh as he grappled Penny's little hand, jostled it around and urgently pointed to the gorgeous wedding ring on her left ring finger; everyone was lost in laughter.

"My priority has shifted! I'm not like in LOVE with him or anything!" Penny firmly argued, she tried not to laugh as she pressed on, "I'm allowed to like someone's music, sue me!"

"It's okay, while you three are trapped in relationship-land, Theo and I can do all the gawking, okay?" Wren mumbled as he waggled his hand, though Theo wrinkled his nose in whole annoyance and shook his head.

"No, I don't swing that way," Theo reminded with a blurt of a laugh, which had everyone still in stitches, "I'll gawk at the music."

"Anyone whose anyone loves Gunner Ko," Wren stated in a matter-of-fact tone, "You get face to face with that guy, and you'll immediately fall in love."

"Try me," Berri staggered plainly as she rolled her eyes.

* * *

 **A/N : Hey all, sorry for the delay. Although I had a TON of chapters I was previously sitting on, I'm now down to only having 3, unfortunately. I'm beginning to realize why May is literally the busiest month, and one of the months of the year where reviews heavily drop off - cause everyone is so busy, now including me. I had car troubles, work like crazy, art classes, and now that I've thrown the comic into the mix, it's been harder to pump out chapters. I have 3 more chapters to deliver here, whilst I'm so busy, so below I'll provide the dates in which I'll be uploading the next 3 chapters. I know you guys understand, I just like to reiterate for my own sanity. So, below will be the upload schedule for the next 3 chapters :**

 **Friday May 24th -** **Chapter 57**

 **Wednesday May 29th -** **Chapter 58**

 **Sunday June 2nd -** **Chapter 59**

 **After the 2nd of June, I'm pretty sure I'll be back to my regular upload schedule of every other day. Sorry it has to be like this, guys. I tried to plan ahead, by giving myself that week off of uploading, previously, and although it was so nice to sort of take a step back and take a break from uploading, I didn't write anything on my little staycation and I fucked myself over. So, I'm never doing that again, cause I did myself a massive disservice here xD**

 **I'll be back to it shortly - Thanks for understanding guys! See you on the 24th!**


	57. Chapter 57

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Oh thank you for that! That's definitely reassuring. Yeah, somehow May and like November are my absolute worst months for numbers. Which is fine, it's just a slum of being mildly discouraged and wondering if people are still reading xD But yeah, thank you for that!

 **Burgie :** As alwayyyys xD You'll find she's the master at hindsight haha. Thank you friend! I appreciate your support.

 **Romantic Sapp :** haha its true xD thank you so much!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Goodnight and Go by Imogen Heap**

* * *

 ***Chapter 57***

"Somehow, I can see this very first New Years Eve celebration, of ours, going so well, that we will never want to spend New Years Eve anywhere else," Wren stated with a heavy nod of whole entire gawking appreciation; he stood at the gape of Turbo's incredible two-storied floor to ceiling wall of window, in his living room, the view of Orion City was other-worldly.

"I'm not complaining," Theo stated confidently, his bare feet casually lead him across Turbo's tiles, down the small steps and onto the plush white carpet of Turbo's living room.

The gang of four lounged in comfortable clothes, no shoes, and spirits aplenty. It was a perfect, clear night over Orion City, Sugar Rush's incredible palace just glistened on the horizon, like a North Star just aglow with pride. In a slow mosey, followed by Turbo, Berri joined Wren and Theo at the window. Although midnight was merely five minutes away, and the four were ready to toast, Berri couldn't help but think back to what her Uncle Orph had kindly stated to her earlier in the day. The idea of a New Years kiss, the explosion of fireworks once midnight hits, she fantasized about how awesome it'd be to be swept into a romantic kiss, something to start the new year out right, though she heaved a gentle sigh and approached Turbo's gloss of windows. She was well aware her and Turbo weren't well acquainted enough for kissing, let alone any deeper form of romance, like such. She knew the idea of it was all something she now was just mildly dreaming about in her head, and she was okay with keeping it that way, for now.

"Then, let's make a tradition of it, hm?" Turbo's warm, masculine voice eased into their souls, his kind, glowing eyes tenderly glistened against the glass the four stood upon, though he heaved a long sigh, sagged his hands into the lazy, gaping side pockets of his favorite, faded, red sweats, his shoulders sagged as he adorned a nearly-nostalgic smile, "Shame none of us will be partaking in a New Years kiss, or anything."

Berri froze, she remained absolutely frigid, her heart nearly jolted in a whole shiver of stunned surprise. She was entirely certain the idea wouldn't even be touched on, though with the searing hot topic now melting into her skull, she could suddenly feel the sinking, freezing cold touch of dread now hit her skin. The very idea that Wren was majorly cued in to this very topic, something she now was sort of dreading to expand on, she cued her whole mental attention to Wren and just simply waited for him to slaughter her with teasing notions. Before she could feel way too surprised, Theo was the one to speak first, Wren's gentle, polite hesitation had Berri understanding that maybe he was now due to being a bit more sensitive towards Turbo's and Berri's lightly weird predicament.

"I'll kiss yah," Theo stated in a nonchalant chime of cuteness, alongside a shrug; all four individuals held their frothy, delicious drinks to their being, they avoided taking a sip due to waiting to cheers right at midnight; Berri beamed at Theo's cute suggestion, though Turbo scoffed a nearly annoyed noise and shook his head.

"Uh, absolutely not," Turbo grumbled in mild annoyance, Wren blurt a laugh and elbowed Theo with a cheeky grin.

"Keep your mouth to yourself, there will be no kissing," Wren stated confidently, "We will CHEERS. NOTHING more."

"Maybe we should all keep a ten foot distance from one another," Turbo blurt a hard laugh and took a gentle step away from the group, although Berri was wrapped up in the light hearted banter, she was beginning to feel nervous that no one was segueing away from this sensitive topic.

"All four of us should just get our first kisses over with, right here, right now," Theo demanded as he pointed down to the ground in fervor, though Berri furrowed her eyebrows and gave Theo a teasing smile of disbelief, though her ears prickled as Turbo's voice grumbled the three a knowing notion.

"I've already had my first kiss, but you guys aren't stealing any more, from me," Turbo choked a small laugh and hovered at a playful now five foot distance from the rest of the group; Berri raised her eyebrows in cold surprise and tried not to nearly whirl her whole entire shocked expression right for Turbo's soul.

"Y-You... You've previously..." Berri staggered, though she felt like a fish out of water, she knew she was stumbling over her words and choosing the avenue of it all poorly. She knew this by the way Turbo's confident demeanor began to sag, as if he was now potentially worried that maybe she wasn't important enough to gift him his very first kiss, something taken so long ago.

"Yeah, Bear, I... I told you all about it?" Turbo now felt a weird wiggle fall over his spine, he raised his eyebrows in dewy nervousness and felt Wren's, Theo's, and most importantly, Berri's eyes honed tight to his. He swallowed hard and rubbed the back of his head in a bashful manner, and although he knew he for sure told Berri all about his and Libby's previous relationship, complete with swapped codes, he recalled that said conversation happened on the night of her birthday. A night in where she wound up very drunk, "I-I... I'm now recalling that I probably told you everything on the night of your birthday."

"A night I hardly even remember," Berri blurt a small laugh and shook her head, she almost held authoritative eye contact to Turbo's figure, though she knew she had absolutely no right.

"You were pretty drunk," Turbo mumbled with a gentle chuckle, to which Berri heaved an annoyed sigh and glossed her eyes out of Turbo's glorious windows, to the incredible view. Turbo frowned and shook his head, he knew, full well, he'd likely have to repeat everything he told her, though he prayed it wasn't in this moment, "I-I can retell you everything later. It's just... A lot to swallow, I guess. But, yeah... A few years after we were plugged into Litwak's, I had a girlfriend."

Berri bobbed a nod and felt strange. She latched on to the fact that said girlfriend was someone who existed so long ago, though her skin crawled with a million different questions. It was clear that his previous girlfriend wasn't in existence anymore, due to Turbo never mentioning her, someone so far removed from his life now, she knew she didn't even have the right to be feeling mildly defensive over the fact that he had a previous relationship. She comforted herself over the fact that Turbo was nearly four whole decades worth of Arcade time older than her, his past was so strange and convoluted, Berri was well aware this was a learning opportunity. She also dutifully noted the fact that he was now at least a seasoned boyfriend, someone who knew what he was doing. She was glad Turbo's house was dim, cause she was certain the blush across her face was dipping close to a color resembling purple.

"So JUST cheers, then," Theo mumbled in whole dismay, he bobbed a nod and sagged his shoulders, "I want a girlfriend."

"I don't," Wren wrinkled his nose in annoyance, and although Berri tried to force a gentle chuckle to hopefully prove she now wasn't feeling too weird about this all, she was at least thrilled to see Turbo open up, a brave notion of warm, exposed feelings he knew he was safe revealing.

"I do too," Turbo kindly eased, in agreeing to Theo's previous statement. Turbo shrugged and almost bashfully lofted Berri his glowing eye contact, "It's got it's ups and downs, but overall, it's pretty fun spoiling someone."

Berri eased him a kind smile, though it was here did she almost feel tortured. She knew Turbo was just stating previous experiences, and what that all entailed, though she nearly began to feel jealous of the empty spaces in his arms, between his fingers. She wondered why she felt that itch to be the one to fill the void, some terrific force just yanking her closer and closer, she tried so hard not to get way too ahead of herself. Berri warmly caught eyes with Turbo, and it was in his strong eye contact, held only with her, did she begin to feel that giddy, joyous spark of hopeful desire come back to her heart. It smashed any sense of unwarranted jealousy to bits, the way his confident smile held unwavering, just for her, she could almost just simply hear Turbo asking her to be his, just with his body language alone. Berri huffed a faltered breath and finally peeled her eyes from him in a show of girly bashfulness; she was entirely thankful both Wren and Theo seemed oblivious to any of this.

"I like being spoiled," Wren stated plainly with a shrug, "Turbo, you know of any guys readily available for said spoilings?"

Turbo furrowed his brow, looked off, and thought a moment. Turbo knew that Throttle had never come out with his own orientation, to him, though Turbo was still well aware of the fact. He finally peaked a cute curl of a toothy smile and narrowed his gaze, "Yeah, I know a guy."

"You do? Who?" Wren staggered in now serious confusion, he lowered his drink and peeled his eyes from the city's view, and straight into Turbo's cute, cheeky smile.

"Yeah, my older brother," Turbo assured cutely, though Berri raised her eyebrows in poised cuteness and now volleyed Wren a look of entire sass, as if she was now more than ready to begin teasing Wren over the very thing Wren had been teasing her for, ever since they all met Turbo.

"Th-Throttle?" Wren stumbled, he cleared his throat and shrugged, a forced wall of nonchalance, he knew he couldn't ever be caught with his guard down, "He's cool, huh."

"I'd say," Turbo blurt a laugh and shrugged, "He's one of the coolest guys I know."

"Aww, how sweet! You and a TurboTime guy," Berri so eagerly volleyed, oh the sweet revenge she was beyond floored to deploy all over her now frozen in fear uncle.

"Yeah, yeah, great minds think alike, don't you think, Bear?" Wren stabbed as he kept his teeth clenched, he bugged his eyes at Berri and gave her a mean, teasing look of taunting delight, as if to clearly state that he wouldn't be beat at his own game.

"Whatever," Berri now muttered, a quick fold she knew she had to afford due to the fact that her own said TurboTime guy was currently present.

"Whoa guys, one minute left," Theo blurt with an excited, beaming smile. He jostled his drink, waggled his eyebrows and gestured to himself, as well as the three before him, "Y'sure none of you want a New Years kiss from me?"

"THEO. All of us, but Turbo, are RELATED to you," Berri choked a hard laugh and came out of her gentle slope of shyness, though Turbo groaned and covered his face.

"Can I PRETEND I'm related to him? For literally two seconds?" Turbo mumbled into his hand as everyone eased into excited laughter.

"NO ONE KISS ANYONE," Wren suddenly staggered in a loud tone as he scrunched his shoulders and nearly dropped his drink, he shook his head in a flurry and bulged his eyes, "No kisses. We'll cheers! No one touch anyone!"

"A very hands-off New Years," Berri grumbled as she rolled her eyes, she shot Turbo a cheeky smile and shook her head, "Is this the New Year's tradition as well?"

"Should we all pick a corner?" Turbo beamed a wide smile and softly lofted his gaze across his home, as if to contemplate his idea in its entirety.

"We have twenty seconds," Theo urged in whole excitement, though everyone suddenly flinched the second a loud bang could be heard from down below, near a neighboring sky scraper; someone, on the ground, had set off a few fireworks prematurely. Theo pointed as Wren and Berri blurt into louder laughter, "That's not fair! They didn't wait!"

"Maybe our clocks are off," Turbo tried hard to collect his laughter, how easily it wanted to just wildly run away from him, he clutched his stomach and almost was successful in reigning it all in, though the second Berri's adorable, contagious laughter hit his ears, he knew he was doomed.

"Get ready, guys," Wren stated as he bounced on the balls of his feet in boyish excitement, everyone eagerly peered out to the city, the tender display of a few fireworks before them fizzled into bright, lovely colors before fogging into the wind over the massive, twinkling city.

"Five," Theo started loudly, a methodical count in time, and although everyone had quickly swore not to stand close to one another, they resisted and huddled tight into each other's gravity, drinks at the ready; all four loudly continued with the countdown in impending excitement, "Four, three, two, ONE!"

"Happy new year!" Berri shouted, as did everyone, in excitement as Berri gently flung her arm upwards, and in a whole, reverberating show of bass, massive sections of the city immediately erupted in fireworks. In whole surprise, even some were sent off from the palace lot, the whole city was illuminated with the explosion of awesome, huge fireworks, something they had an incredible seat for, a near birds-eye view.

In a gentle swoop of smiles and excited notions, all four eagerly clinked their glasses together in a proper cheers, they made sure to let their glasses touch each and every other person's glasses, and in unison, all four fell silent to take a hearty swig of their delicious, frothy drinks. In beaming, renewed smiles, only three people lowered their glasses and came up for air, the other continued to down their drink with huge, deep gulps; Theo was nearly bottoms-up, at this point.

"Chug! Chug! Chug!" Wren suddenly began to loudly chant, though Berri blurt a laugh and covered her mouth in whole surprise, Theo surprisingly made his entire drink vanish in one single go.

"Ohhh, dude," Turbo muttered in a hard grimace, as if to entirely state that Theo was going to regret that.

"Theodore Trey Von Schweetz...!" Berri stated in a gasp of exasperated surprise as she clutched her bare sternum, she shook her head and went absolutely wide eyed at her cousin, Theo wiped his mouth with his larger hand and gave all three of his friends a wide, doughy smile of cuteness, he simply was a puppy dog still growing into his paws, a boy just asking for trouble. Berri finally heaved a hard laugh and covered her face, she shook her head as now everyone was lost in laughter, "You are going to HATE yourself shortly."

"Oh, man, that was sooo good," Theo shook his head, he inhaled a deep breath, jostled his empty cup a little and now eyed the kitchen in a fervor that everyone was now beginning to cheekily fear, "Can I have more?"

"Theo, maybe you should like... Eat something, or sleep, o-or... NOT," Wren encouraged with a hard laugh as he shrugged and peered back to Berri and Turbo, they stood frozen in a strange show of smiling, impending fear, though they all jolted as Theo quickly launched from their little gathering and began to basically claim Turbo's kitchen as his own. Wren flinched and urgently began to scramble after him, "No, no, no, THEO! NO! No more!"

Berri eased a gentle laugh and watched the two stroll away, her feet quickly began to work to move her in the direction of her two family members, though as she got maybe halfway to the kitchen, she slowed her roll, furrowed her eyebrows and froze. She sagged her shoulders and peered into the kitchen, she watched as Wren and Theo were now loudly chattering and bickering back and forth, clearly lost in their own predicament, it was here that her heart began to pound in tenderness. She long blinked in the roll of so softly looking over her shoulder, the sight she saw simultaneously made her heart swell and her eyes threaten to billow with tears, the adorably bittersweet vision before her was nearly too much for her retinas to take in.

Stood facing his own city, Turbo's dark figure peered out to the splay of incredible fireworks, the amazing blur of lights and the reverberating bass of the explosions, the proverbial unfold of what this new year entailed, Berri held her breath and felt realization hit her skin. The realization that, this was the very first New Years Turbo was able to actually celebrate with friends, in likely what had been well over thirty New Years. Berri furrowed her eyebrows and so badly wanted to just weep at the thought of such a rare, fragile and loving creature even remotely feeling lonely, she could hardly imagine just how difficult this all was for him, and with her heart now pounding with purpose, she knew this was the marker to switch it all up, to wholly remind him that this was a new leaf being turned over. This near year was going to be grand, and she was well aware she needed to do something to remind him of such.

With silent, skillful footwork, she ever so carefully came back to Turbo's gravity. She was glad she could still hear Wren and Theo loudly laughing and bickering from the other room, because as she pushed into Turbo's tighter vicinity, she allowed bravery to soak into their small orbit of secrecy, even though they weren't totally hidden. As she came upon Turbo's left side, she skillfully held her drink in her left hand and so warmly inched her right hand and arm in between the sag of Turbo's left arm and around the middle of his back. Grateful that she didn't startle him, she did everything she could to sink herself into the warmth of his side, like two right puzzle pieces, and as she lulled her eyes closed and stood up on her bare tip toes, she hugged her arm about his lightly-muscular back, lulled her eyes closed and eased a firm, warm kiss into the squish of Turbo's cheek.

She tightly hugged him in their snuggly side hug, she was well aware she had caught him off guard the second Turbo went to flinch but then held still for her prolonged kiss to his stubbly cheek, though as she slowly eased off of him, and her warm, plump lips finally peeled from his cheek, she was floored to feel him tighten the ravel of his left arm and hand about her body. She reopened her eyes, slowly sagged back to the flat of her feet and fluttered her eyes open in a bashful show of a small smile, girly eyes that glistened in the glow of his surprised, glowing, golden eyes. He raised his eyebrows and peered down to her in whole, adoring surprise, his hand lovingly held tight to the dip of her waist, he daringly held her to him, amidst their little side hug, though it was clear by the look of near-dumbfounded delight, on his face, that he was rocked from the face of Arcade. He finally, and just barely, huffed a shaky chuckle and long-blinked in almost dizzy confusion, his demeanor looked so taken aback, as if this little notion of love, from Berri, was something he was entirely not expecting, though wholly appreciated.

"If you haven't noticed by now, I don't like playing by the rules," Berri mumbled with a gentle giggle, and although the blush across her cheeks was apparent, Turbo was floored that she seemed confident in her actions, the way she remained warmly glued into their snuggly side hug. Turbo scoffed a gentle laugh and didn't dare take his eyes from the beauty he so badly just wanted to ravel into a complete, romantic embrace, though he refrained, for a number of reasons. Berri continued on and shrugged her cute, bare shoulders, "Rules were meant for breaking. I wanted that New Years kiss... N-no matter what form."

"Thank you," Turbo's deep voice pressed in gentlemanly gratitude, he bobbed a small nod and held eyes with her in a show of daring cheek, almost as if to secretly warn her that if she were to keep up any more of these pressing, nagging, romantic notions, that she'd eventually have poked the bear hard enough to wake him from his hibernation.

"Happy New Year, Bo," Berri warmly encouraged in a gentle nod of cute conclusion, their eyes nearly twinkled into each others, a string of understanding, both knowing full well this year was entirely due to be exciting, no matter what that looked like.

"Happy New Year, Bear," Turbo exhaled in a sigh of warm contentment.


	58. Chapter 58

**Reviews :**

 **Romantic Sapp :** aww thank you! I'm not animating a chapter, I'm making a chapter into a comic. i've already uploaded the first two pages to my deviant art :)

 **Jay Sketchin :** aww thank you so mich ;_; I mean its okay, it helps me but I know everyone is busy.

 **Burgie :** Well you're not wrong xD

 **Snake557 :** thank you!

* * *

 ***Chapter 58***

With blue eyes that eased past the same, vivid blue strands of hair that gently draped past her forehead, Berri gently fiddled with the gape of Turbo's hoodie sleeves. With the zipper zipped nearly all the way up, and the collar near her nose, she relished in his strong, intoxicating scent; she knew that if she ever told anyone just how crazy she was about Turbo's lovely, masculine scent, she'd likely be done for. Although her mind so badly wanted to wander to the safety of Turbo's loft, the promise she had texted him that she'd be over as soon as she was back from the meeting she was attending, simply a shadow with her mother and her aunt, Berri still did everything she could to stay tuned to Tessa's, Penny's and Mr. Kelta's conversing. Although Berri was simply just a shadow, she knew that eventually she'd get roped into the informative conversation she was intently listening to.

"We've narrowed it down to a few options," Mr. Kelta eased in tenderness, he sat at his big, intimidating desk, and although Tessa was stood next to him and was peering down onto his desk in a show of wanting to help get to the bottom of this deletion problem, it was still clear that Mr. Kelta was in charge of everything. Berri and Penny sat in big, cozy office seats just across from Mr. Kelta's desk, as he continued on, "It's, fortunately, why Academy has been untouched... Why ALL Academies have been untouched. Really, gamers are safest either in their home game, or inside Academy. Which is good for us, cause that means, well... The Academies stay afloat."

"It's because of the power-muter, on the way in, huh," Tessa mumbled with a nod, and it was here did Berri furrow her eyebrows and remember that her glitching and wrecking powers were useless whilst at Academy. She glanced down to her fingers, and in a nervous push, she felt her heart surge in wariness as she tried, and failed, to cue her glitching abilities. Berri stabbed her eyes to her mother in a gentle fit of girly terror, though she still remained still. She wondered how she could ever forget said notion, though with the nearly three weeks she had been away from Academy, and the world of changes that had happened to her life, in that span of time, she almost reeled at how weird it was to even be here. Tessa's gentle voice carried on, "So, whatever is deleting faux-codes, CAN'T come into Academy... Because their powers are stripped."

"We assume as such... We're beginning to think this is potentially an internet anti-virus just gone rogue," Mr. Kelta stated in nervousness, he sifted through a few papers and heaved a raspy sigh as his deep voice continued on, "It's either that, or... A massive, intricate web of gamers that are just... Mindlessly going around deleting faux-codes."

"But... HOW? They're invisible, and typically, if someone is killed, pixels fall to the ground, the body lingers a bit, there's some sort of blood or evidence, the whole nine-yards," Tessa explained, as if this was something she had endured, and it was here did Berri furrow her eyebrows and peer her continuously nervous gaze to her mother; Penny side-eyed Berri, upon seeing her young nieces' reaction, and crossed her arms amidst her own cute, yellow coat, "Certainly, if it's a group of people, they have technology beyond anything Arcade has seen, at least Litwak's..."

"It's the internet, so many different beings come and go, from all around the world," Mr. Kelta sighed, he shook his head and only barely lofted his gaze to Penny and Berri, "Typically, the security on Litwak's router would be able to deny access to rogue baddies looking to cause just heaps of trouble for an innocent Arcade, but... I mean, Mr. Litwak could've very easily gotten a router that maybe isn't up to standard, maybe isn't up to par with the scary things lurking all over the internet."

"What do we do, then?" Tessa eased, and although she had a few ideas, she furrowed her eyebrows and now nervously glanced to her young daughter. She was well aware Berri was extremely sharp, though she was also aware that Berri didn't know the extent of Tessa's whole past, the detrimental things that had previously gone down, she knew Berri would learn about everything in due time, though Tessa felt brave and pushed on, with her notions, anyhow, "M-My... My husband has a lightdisc, from Tron..."

"... He DOES?" Mr. Kelta exclaimed in shock, he reeled and peered up to Tessa, who now grit her teeth and huffed a gentle giggle.

"Yeahhh... Don't mean to dump a load of information on you, all at once, but... Zed and I left the Arcade, a few years ago, through Tron," Tessa rushed through the grit of her teeth; Penny now sagged her face into her little hand and blurt an incredulous laugh, the sheer look of terror on Mr. Kelta's face was priceless.

"Don't tell him about Ace, that might be too much to handle, right now," Penny muttered to Tessa as she cocked an eyebrow and peered to her Queen; as Tessa's right hand woman, she knew when to step in and at least try to help Tessa dodge bullets.

"I mean, worst comes to worst, we can, well... See about leaving," Tessa shrugged, though Mr. Kelta looked still completely rocked from the face of the planet. Tessa blurt a small laugh and stood up straighter, though Berri beamed a curious smile and sat up in riled, impending excitement, "Zed and I met Mr. Litwak, once upon a time... We could try and see what we could do, to unplug the internet, or... I don't know... Run security checks. We live here too, dammit."

"Go mom," Berri encouraged in a quip of cuteness, though Mr. Kelta waved his hand in whole agitation and shook his head.

"Y-You mean to tell me... You were HUMANS?" Mr. Kelta nearly almost stood up out of his chair in surprise.

"We were, Mr. Kelta, I-I know it's hard to believe, but... Tron exists, we've been there," Tessa encouraged, she breathed a small giggle as Penny was still entirely lost in laughter; Berri eagerly readjusted herself in her seat.

"So, you mean to tell me, in order to solve this whole self-programmed deletion problem, you're just gunna... LEAVE the Arcade," Mr. Kelta barked with a hard chuckle, as if to be in entire disbelief, and although all three women, in the office, were trying their damndest to keep Ace's identity under wraps, Berri cleared her throat and wondered if she could potentially steer the touchy conversation away.

"I... Well... Have an idea," Berri prod, and as everyone in the room fell silent, Berri tenderly inhaled a deep breath and so slowly stood out of her seat, as if to hopefully garner the confidence upon fully standing. Like she thought would happen, said confidence was entirely obtained the second her height was now over all three beings in the room, with both Penny and Mr. Kelta sat down, and Tessa hunched over Mr. Kelta's desk, Berri skillfully took off Turbo's loose zip-up, lofted it on her chair and put her hands on her hips. She wore her favorite, dark grey skinny jeans and a cute, yellow tank top. Her vivid blue eyes gently pierced into her mother's, as well as Mr. Kelta's, in a spike of authority, she wondered if she could try her royalty on for size, "Much like Academy and our home games are safe... Is there any way we can put such a technology over the entire station? The entire power strip? Surely it's possible..."

Tessa raised her eyebrows and peered to her daughter in humbled surprise. Although Berri was Sugar Rush's princess, and was the one to be next in line for the Queen's crown, due to Ace and Libby respectfully declining such duties, Tessa felt somehow surprised by Berri's authoritative stance. Although Tessa was certain Berri likely wouldn't be interested in shadowing Tessa for Queenly duties and affairs, anytime soon, due to starting up Academy and being a fresh, budding youngling in life, she was almost floored to find that Berri had that look in her eye, one of being a go-getter, a look of promising leader. Tessa warmly smiled, and in the same movement, both Tessa and Mr. Kelta slowly averted their gazes to each other, and although Mr. Kelta's look was of near dumb-founded surprise, Tessa only gave him a knowing smirk and bobbed a proud nod.

"She's my successor," Tessa eased with continued pride, everyone lofted their gentle, kind gazes to Berri and smiled, "I didn't even think of that, Bear... Really good idea."

"I mean, if it's shared technology everywhere, then that gets rid of the problem right at the root," Berri shrugged, she cautiously pressed closer to Mr. Kelta's desk; she knew, full well, that she only had a shred of authority here, and any amount all three higher-ups were affording her were strictly so that Berri could state her peace, "Turbo even suggested that we itemize said power... What if each and every single faux-code was able to wear said power, like a shield? Then we can go anywhere and be safe."

"I-I forgot all about the fact that you know Turbo," Mr. Kelta staggered in horrific remembrance, though Tessa bobbed him a nod and gave him a sneaky smile.

"Turbo Black oversees a very decent sized chunk of Sugar Rush's code room... We'd be wise to listen to his ideas, as well, due to just how long he's been inside this Arcade," Tessa pressed in warm confidence, she bobbed Berri a nod a smiled, "Him and my daughter are very good friends. I can see, here, that Berri has been asking him all the right questions."

"Well, is there any way we can, maybe... Erm... Get Mr. Black in here for a proper meeting, then?" Mr. Kelta stated in wavering sureness, though it was here did all of Berri's confidence sag to tender uncertainty.

"H-He, well... Turbo refuses to leave the security of Sugar Rush," Tessa grit her teeth in a grimace and, in the swooping look of regret she gave Mr. Kelta, she lofted Berri a frown, as well, "I was talking to his two brothers about it, the other day... The two come and go from Sugar Rush with ease, no one really pesters them, but... Turbo definitely is stubborn on the fact, he's absolutely certain that the second he steps out of Sugar Rush is the second an entire mob of angry gamers come at him with torches and pitchforks."

"Understandable," Mr. Kelta shrugged, though his tone was neutral. He eyed Berri with a twinkling look in his eye and narrowed his gaze, "There would be absolutely no way to get him out of the game and into the security of Academy? Surely it's just a bounce over, from Sugar Rush, into Academy's doors."

"I actually haven't even attempted, although... I've tried a few times to even so much as get him to come into the public of Orion City with us, and he absolutely refuses. Not even a 'maybe' or a thought of it," Berri shrugged and shook her head, and it was in this conversation did she begin to find Turbo's stubbornness of it all mildly frustrating; especially including the fact that Nox and Throttle were entirely left alone by society, upon exiting Sugar Rush, "I can definitely mention it to him, though I can almost promise you the answer would be no."

"You're always welcome to come into Sugar Rush and meet with Turbo," Tessa sighed, she gave Mr. Kelta an apologetic smile, "He'll go anywhere inside palace grounds. We can easily have the meeting in our code room or office."

"With the other heads of the council?" Mr. Kelta wondered towards Tessa in tenderness, a polite way of wondering just how many bodies were allowed into Tessa's royal domain.

"Certainly, there's enough room," Tessa shrugged.

Just as Berri opened her mouth to hopefully press the stretch of her wings, a future sight of potentially one day measuring up to Tessa's ability as Queen, everyone flinched as Academy's bell suddenly rang. Berri furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, she knew full well that the last bell had already rung about an hour ago, though she quickly remembered that this very prolonged bell, well after Academy was over, as simply an elective bell. Gamers could choose to have a longer day to squeeze in one last hour of a class, an elective of their choice, not something that a lot of gamers typically did. Just as Berri came to all this realization in her mind, she was reset from wanting to push her future-Queenly suggestions over the three, Tessa stood up straight and gently gestured to Berri, and then to her spare electric guitar, which was leaned up against the seat Berri was previously sitting in.

"Oh, Bear, you're going to go meet up with Wren and Theo in the music hall, yeah?" Tessa eased quietly, to which Berri bobbed a nod of renewed purpose and sagged out of the vicinity of Mr. Kelta's desk. She gently lofted Turbo's hoodie over the bend of her inner arm, eased her electric guitar's strap over her shoulder and across her body, and softly peered back to the three higher-ups, who hung in gentle, kind suspension.

"Nearly forgot," Berri breathed with a small giggle, to which Tessa wrinkled her a knowing smile and bobbed a nod.

"Great suggestions, Bear," Tessa encouraged in loving conclusion as Berri back-stepped towards Mr. Kelta's massive, closed office door, "You and I can discuss this topic further, later tonight, if you want."

"Yeah, I'd love that," Berri pressed with a show of girly excitement, and as she said her goodbyes to the three, she heaved a sigh of content and softly sagged Mr. Kelta's door shut behind her.

With a confident strut, Berri beamed a cheeky smile, eyed the long hallway she now was due to conquering and felt a new wave of feelings hit her. She knew, full well, she was next in line for Sugar Rush's crown, though the idea of it now being something tangible was something that made the blood in her veins become hot. Although the idea of being Queen was way off, and something she'd literally have to battle Tessa to the death for, she relished in the idea that it would eventually be her future. The challenge of leading an entire game, with a Kingly teammate, she wondered just how cool it'd all feel. With said segue into just who she would potentially pick as her King, she cocked an eyebrow and almost dared to allow her brain to stop right on the name of the very person she was previously discussing. As if to somehow force herself to believe that she had quickly dropped those thoughts, she shook her head in girly bashfulness and pulled her phone out of her pocket. As if her brain was now subconsciously telling her that said thoughts were, indeed, not segued away from, she immediately thumbed to the text conversation of said Kingly bachelor; Turbo Black.

 _Blue : Hey! So, the meeting I was shadowing is over. I'm just meeting up with Wren and Theo to drop my guitar off in the music hall. We should be back in Sugar Rush in the next half an hour or so. I'll text you once we're back at the palace. We're still cool to come over, yeah?_

With a shaky inhale and a smiling, fluttering heart, Berri sent Turbo said message. She bit her lip and now dared to type out a second, more secretive and boldly intimate message to Turbo, a fresh, daring new side she was now hoping to deploy, right within this single text message, though before she could even so much as type the first word of her next message, she reeled in whole surprise as she suddenly collided with something, or someone. In a fluster of a few steps back, she held her phone tight to her chest, raised her eyebrows in apologetic surprise and peered forward in stark, apologetic girliness, though as her eyes suddenly came right into view with the person she had bumped into, she felt every single last pixel in her coding practically delete itself in embarrassed horror. Like sat in a dream, an alternate reality, simply a fantasy her much younger self would've been caught thinking about, she was both horrified and floored to be face to face with her past celebrity crush; the very Gunner Ko.

"Oh, User, I'm so sorry," Gunner eased, his deep voice glossed over Berri like she was in Heaven, the sweetest honey that drowned her soul, the singing voice of a god right in her ear holes, she shook her head in unadulterated terror, blinked in rapid fire and huffed a shaky exhale of unmitigated terror.

"I-I... I-I... Am..." Berri staggered in whole entire embarrassment, the way Gunner's lovely, soft brown eyes so warmly peered into hers, his gentle hand held her lower arm for support, he stood unwavering and finally allowed a cheeky, cute smile to ease across his handsome face. His narrow eyes grew even tighter amidst a warm, toothy smile, Berri froze and was entirely certain this wasn't even real. She immediately kept her mouth shut, due to being totally sure that something stupid would come flying out of her mouth.

"Are you okay?" Gunner wondered softly, it was here did Berri wonder if she should likely say something, a response, a chill demeanor of nonchalance forced, she wondered if it was even possible here, a fire of girly, crushing fantasies immediately came rushing right back to her maturing heart, she felt like a giddy school girl all over again.

"I-I'm fine, m-my... I-I wasn't... Looking," Berri's voice pitched higher in whole terror, she heaved a shaky breath, bashfully tucked her vivid blue hair behind her ears and scrunched her shoulders amidst a cute, cheeky smile, "F-Forgive me, I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Gunner's voice pressed in a further show of inquisition, his lovely brown eyes hooked tighter to hers, his cute, toothy smile was still peaked in further curiosity, and although Berri was absolutely certain she'd do everything to hang in this moment, she bobbed a nod of departure and knew to get out while she was still standing.

"Excuse me," Berri mumbled as she looked down and quickly began to ease out of Gunner's presence, simply as if she wasn't even worthy of it, though as she pressed about five feet away from his tall, slender figure, she held her breath and bit her lip in a further press of girly terror with the whole fact that Gunner now jolted a few steps to catch up with her.

"Hey, hey, wait," Gunner urged kindly, though Berri raised her eyebrows in now terrified, girly surprise and peered back to Gunner in a show of whole uncertainty. Gunner chuckled, gestured to the beautiful guitar slung over her whole backside and furrowed his eyebrows in even further, boyish curiosity, "Y-You... You play?"

"Yeah, I do," Berri smiled, she still felt that wiggle of terror hold on tight to her coding, though she wondered how long she could afford to be in Gunner's presence without making obvious that she was a huge fan of his.

"That's awesome," Gunner eased, he put his hands on his hips gently, his chest broadened, he leaned on one leg a little bit more and, although he was in a stance of whole entire authority, he kindly kept his eyes to Berri's, as if to somehow insinuate that he, too, was a musician, though didn't want to be too cocky about the fact that he was a full blown celebrity. Before Berri could gently press on and include the fact that her, Wren and Theo were in a small garage band, Berri's gentle shlep of confidence immediately dwindled the second two much bigger security guys eased behind Gunner's presence. They looked mildly concerned, though they kept respectful distance, due to knowing full well that Gunner could handle himself in the presence of just one person, one potential fan. Gunner softly glanced to his two body-guard like security men and gave Berri a pressing, eager smile, "I-I... I was just about to take a small tour of Academy, really get a feel for this place. Any chance you'd like to tag along?"

"O-Oh, I... I really shouldn't, I..." Berri staggered on her words, she could swear her heart was in her throat, she knew not to intrude on Gunner's much higher presence, his whole reputation at stake, she shook her head and knew to keep every single ounce of fan girling to herself, she knew she'd likely never get any chance like this, ever again, in her whole life. She wondered just how long she could ride this train, how long Gunner was actually willing to be in her presence, she was entirely certain that ten seconds into this, he'd immediately scour for something better to do, someone better to talk to. Berri knew to see herself out as soon as possible, so to avoid causing a scene in Academy's back offices of winding hallways and glorious, open conference rooms, "I don't want to intrude on your tour. I was just headed to the music hall to meet up with my two cousins."

"C'mon, it's not intruding," Gunner started with a warm smile, he gently gestured to his chest, the look of tender humility in his eyes had Berri desperately trying to crawl further out of the denial she was in.

"I've already done enough by full-on running into you," Berri now blurt a giggle and continued to gently step away, though with each step, she very quickly understood that playing hard to get, here, was now visibly driving Gunner up a wall. She immediately felt a light bulb burn bright above her head, the sudden swirl of girly emotion, a fantasy that only every single fan of Archived Chaos could even begin to dream up, she wondered just how it could all be at her fingertips right here and right now. As the angel on her right shoulder now eagerly prod its harp into Berri's neck, begging her to snap out of it and stay out of the shallow end, Berri shook her head and knew this was no ordinary encounter. She bashfully shrugged her shoulders in a cute show of coy tease, she looked down and shook her head, "You don't want someone as clumsy as me showing you around."

"Please, hear me," Gunner's voice now faltered as Berri full on turned around and pressed away a few steps, though she slowed her roll with the twinge of defeat in Gunner's voice. Berri peered down the hallway in whole entire disbelief, every single last ounce of her girly, preteen fantasies now becoming fully realized and matured right before her, she slowly peered over her shoulder and long blinked in entire bewilderment, the whole reality that this situation was, indeed, real; the onlook of two body guards and what looked to be a band manager, all rolled into one tight, delightful situation of peculiar timing. Gunner shrugged his hands to his sides, looked off, shook his head and now almost bashfully gave Berri a mildly embarrassed frown, "It's... It's hard making friends here, you understand. If you could just maybe show me to the music hall, and I'll... Get out of your hair."

Berri frowned and peered to Gunner in gentle sorrow. She raised her eyebrows and held onto this glimmering moment. She knew somehow, somewhere, Penny was now probably twitching. She drew back to her aunt's words, just what Penny would likely be screaming at her to do, and that was most certainly taking Gunner up on his offer. She knew it wasn't just everyday a full blown celebrity was in a territory that made him feel way out of his element, the suspect of not knowing a single soul, of feeling lost and nervous to be trusting of anyone, Berri felt that tug on her heart. She could've sworn said sympathetic tug would've stopped right at Turbo, Arcade's most feared, hated bad guy, though the fact that it sailed right into the new realm of lonely, lost celebrity that had no friends, she crossed her arms and now wondered if she were becoming a cornerstone of support for lost and lonely souls. She relished in the idea of helping others, though she began to worry if this slope would very quickly become slippery. As good as her intentions were, she shoved away any consequence and felt her knees grow weak at the cute, honey-glossed glow of love Gunner's eyes were just easily sapped in, as if he had practiced it.

"It's... No issue, I-I can show you around," Berri finally agreed, and although, two months ago, she likely would've immediately agreed upon said notion, filled with happy, ugly crying, she wrinkled her nose and immediately discovered a very coy, flirtatious and hard to get side of her; she was well aware said act was something Turbo so successfully deployed on her, she wondered if she could easily turn this around so to have her cake and eat it too. Berri finally fully turned around and eased a step or two closer to Gunner, "I just don't want to cramp your style. I'm no celebrity chauffeur, it's not really something I'm, erm... Well versed in."

"I'm a gamer just like everyone, at the core of it," Gunner chuckled, he opened up once more, the light in his eyes returned, he looked hopeful as the two slowly filled the gap, as did his hovering security, "I'm Gunner... I-I... Well, start class next Monday."

"I do too, actually," Berri smiled, though she gently flinched in surprise as Gunner warmly held out his hand for a handshake. In a weird wiggle of proverbial confusion, Berri felt as if she was simply having an out-of-body experience. She inhaled a silent, shaky breath and went to fill the gap, their hands softly met in a tender grip, one that he kept solid but soft, and with such, Berri politely locked eyes with him in a forced show of girly confidence and bobbed a small nod, "I'm Berri."

"You start Monday as well?" Gunner pressed, his whole entire being exuded friendliness, and it was here that Berri was actually shocked he hadn't already made friends here. They concluded their gentle handshake and now took one more step into a personal show of fresh camaraderie, one of crossed arms and gentle leans, a casual show of cute conversing, Berri was surprised at how easy this all was, as well as the surprising fact that her shell-shocked disposition very swiftly came and went.

"Yeah, I... I actually started two weeks ago but, well... Got suspended," Berri stated through the grit of her teeth, she immediately regret revealing such information, though she flinched the second Gunner cocked an eyebrow and beamed her an entirely curious smile, one of whole intrigue, as if it was nearly music to his ears.

"Ahhh, causing trouble first thing, eh?" Gunner's deep voice coat her ears, she could hear every single last one of his songs, that she had memorized, just gloss her whole brain like numbing gel. She fluttered her eyes and continued to run away with this hard-to-get bad-girl-esque front; she could tell he was fueled by it.

"I do what I can," Berri shrugged, and although she skillfully looked off and lifted her head, as if to simply pretend that Academy couldn't contain her, she began to immediately regret further revealing her suspension; she could practically hear the question buzzing around in Gunner's brain before he opened his mouth and let it out.

"What'd you get suspended for?" Gunner pressed, to which Berri immediately scoured her brain for an answer.

"Well..." Berri looked down in concern. She knew that lying about the reason of her suspension was bad news, due to the entirety of her last hour class knowing exactly which baddy she was defending. Berri was absolutely certain word got around the school, and instead of fumbling to cover a lie later down the road, she figured she should be honest, "I, well... My last hour teacher was talking crap about someone inside our hierarchy of my game, and I defended him."

"Oh, y-you... You're a part of a hierarchy?" Gunner wondered in patient learning, he shook his head softly and narrowed his eyes in continued curiosity, "Who were you defending?"

"Yeah, my mother is the Queen of Sugar Rush... I-I was defending Turbo," Berri stated in nervousness, she could practically see every single last being here, to protect Gunner, practically tense in agitation, the sheer sound of Turbo's name set people on edge. Gunner raised his eyebrows in whole entire surprise as Berri rushed to carry on, "H-He's a good guy, really, I promise... He's just misunderstood."

"Y-You know THE Turbo personally?" Gunner beamed a wider, now even more curious smile, and it was here did Berri understand that she should now start digging herself a hole of lies, so to protect Turbo, as well as their now very close friendship.

"N-No, no, not at all, I've never said a word to the guy," Berri eagerly fibbed, a skillful swoop of forced confidence that Gunner bought, "He's just very helpful to the game, but we don't ever see him. I just defended him cause he keeps our game running in tip-top condition."

"Wow... I thought that guy was dead," Gunner shook his head and furrowed his brow, though Berri was grateful he breezed past her lies, Gunner shrugged in smiling nonchalance, "Well, any friend of Berri's is a friend of mine. I'm sure he's a great guy."

"He's wonderful," Berri stated in a sigh, almost under her breath; she furrowed her eyebrows and now felt a really weird tug at two corners of her heart, the angel on her shoulder was now angrily strumming haphazard sounds of chaotic urgency in her ear, anything to get her attention.

"Welp... Why don't we head to the music hall, then," Gunner gently gestured down the hallway of offices, a gentlemanly show of his extended hand, as if to politely express the notion of 'ladies first', "We can chat along the way. Y-You said your mother is the Queen of Sugar Rush?"

"Yeah, I'm Sugar Rush's princess," Berri eased in an ironic show of nonchalance, though with her words, she was now starkly aware that said stature was practically leveled, if not over, Gunner's incredible celebrity status; something he eagerly cued to in the form of a teasing smile and a tender nudge to Berri's elbow.

"Wow... Your highness, may I have your autograph?" Gunner only lovingly played, though Berri shot him a nearly annoyed grin and was thrilled his gentle banter was as light and as sweet as could be, something she could easily relate to.

"Hey, I didn't ask you for YOUR autograph, did I?" Berri bit back, she was thrilled that Gunner beamed her a now confident, happy smile, one of escalating, coy cuteness, it was clear he was ready to volley the banter right back at her, though he bobbed a nod in defeat and let her have this one.

"No, ma'am," Gunner's voice lilted in surprise, simply as if he had yet to meet a woman who was not only a stranger and a brand new friend, though a woman who wasn't afraid to put someone of his stature right in his place; Berri was aware he was relishing in it, she was nervous this notion was something that was potentially due to let her emotions get way ahead of herself.


	59. Chapter 59

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** That means a lot, friend, thank you so much ;_; LOL And Berri definitely has to learn a juggling act, right about NOW.

 **CHICKENM4N :** Hooo believe me, in due time, my friend.

 **Burgie :** Quite literally! xD

 **Snake557 :** Wise words! She learns this the hard way, unfortunately.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Must Be Love by Christina Grimmie**

* * *

 ***Chapter 59***

 _Blue : Okay, so... Don't freak out or anything. Please promise me you won't freak out. I'm like actually begging you, do not freak out._

Berri continued to ride on the high of the out-of-body experience she was enduring, the way hers and Gunners footsteps fell into rhythm, with the trail of the few security guards behind them, her fingers tapped away on her phone in tender nonchalance; she was hoping Gunner wasn't cued to the raw fact that she was, indeed, sending out a beacon of a warning to Wren and Theo. Berri merely glanced up at Gunner as he politely pressed on about the vast, wide variety of different self-programmed gamers that attended Academy, the fact that he was excited to bury his head into some text books and really ground himself, and just as Berri could sense Gunner on the verge of potentially revealing just the reason of the falling out he had with his previous band mates, he skillfully segued into a different topic. Berri was sure that although he seemed like an open book, he probably had some skeletons in his closet.

 _Songbird : I promise you I absolutely will freak out. Why am I going to freak out._

 _Blue : Gunner Ko and I are headed to the music hall, together. This isn't a joke. This isn't a drill. I swear it on my life, THE Gunner Ko is literally walking right next to me as I type all of this and we're on our way. Warn Theo, too._

Berri only idly lulled her phone into her hand and sagged it by her side, so to further convince Gunner that she was wholly paying attention to his gentle words. The rhythm in his words, the cadence of his speech, the gentle gesture of his masculine hands, and although the softness of his honey-brown eyes was a whispering squint of tenderness, she could see those piercing glints of gold, a fiery swathe of golden goodness hidden behind a warm, friendly exterior. Berri swallowed hard and glossed him in a full glance, uncertain this was even a pressing reality, the way Gunner continued to glance to her as they walked, his easy conversation pushed on.

"Certainly you understand, I mean... Being a princess and all, surely you're recognized everywhere you go?" Gunner wondered, having previously state that he was nervous to be in such a large place due to everyone here knowing exactly who he was; Berri shrugged and bobbed a nod.

"I'm not so much known outside of Sugar Rush... If I'm inside Sugar Rush's biggest metropolis, Orion City, then yeah, everyone knows my name, knows who I am... Most certainly knows my mom and dad," Berri eased a nervous giggle, the two began to cross into the outdoor corridor that lead to the music hall. A stretch of gorgeous grass its stoney walls hugged, a massive quad of a field, said gathering spot was so large that the students on the other side looked like mere peanuts, "But... Inside Academy, no one really knows me. I just have royal stature. I'm no celebrity, or anything."

"But, you play, don't you? You're not known for your music, back home?" Gunner wondered, his fingertips so gently tapped to the bottom of Berri's gorgeous electric guitar, the bottom of it poked over her shoulder as it safely remained slung over her backside.

"User, no, I mean... Me and my cousins have a silly garage band, and a studio and everything, but," Berri dragged on in a tender slump of nonchalance, "We've never played live or anything. If you exclude family, or anything like that. No stages involved. Just a recording studio."

"You should play me something," Gunner smiled to her, and although she peered to him in a warm slump of almost begging not to be pitied, the look of genuine excitement, in Gunner's eyes, remained true, "I am down band members, after all."

"There's no way in hell we're good enough to reform Archived Chaos, that's funny," Berri spat with a laugh as she shook her head, her heart didn't even have the courage to get excited or worked up over the idea, because she knew, full well, that'd be a pipe dream.

"If you insist," Gunner chimed in a lilt of tease, a sarcastic, sorrowful show of raised eyebrows, eyes down and a shrug of his hands into his expensive black jeans, perfectly torn at the knees. Berri furrowed her brow and now felt annoyed; she could've sworn she was here to now be the one playing hard to get.

"Now, wait a minute, I didn't say we weren't good," Berri pointed a finger at him and blurt a small laugh, to which he shrugged and gave her an equally as coy, teasing smile.

"I think maybe it's a good thing you have your guitar with you, then," Gunner rushed gently, he waggled his eyebrows in a further show of cute, boyish tease, though just as he opened his mouth to continue on with their gentle climb of flirtatious banter, a crowd of maybe half a dozen girls loudly gasped and began to hurriedly and nervously rush over; Berri was well aware, due to their stifled squealing and high-pitched murmurs of Gunner's name, that these girls were excited to see Gunner, though as the two rolled to a gentle stop, Berri was legitimately surprised to see Gunner hover tight to Berri's presence, as if she was potentially in on this nonsense, no questions asked.

"Hey, ladies," Gunner eased in politeness, they loosely hovered before him in a swathe of entire, girly bounces, giddy, fanning swoons of fangirling in full force, Berri almost felt a weird wash come over her, as if she was simply a fly on the wall.

"We're huge fans," One girl urged, she nearly looked as if she was about to burst into tears, her trembling hands began to hesitantly hand Gunner her notepad for an autograph.

"I can't believe you're actually attending GCA," Another girl pressed in blushing excitement, and although they were strictly here to see Gunner, Berri was continuously floored that he stood tight to Berri's side, an inclusive show of fresh camaraderie.

"It'll be great, huh," Gunner glossed his autograph across a few of their opened notebooks with a black marker he had in his pocket, a squiggled result of likely being written thousands of times, "Maybe we'll have some classes together?"

The girls immediately blurt out with excited notions, each one of them began to ramble off their busy school schedule, somehow hoping Gunner was potentially in any single one of their classes. Berri stood frozen in discombobulation; she was absolutely certain she was simply just a fly on the wall, in this instance. She wondered just exactly when she segued from fangirling dweeb right into a proud, fresh new friend of the very epicenter of said potential fangirling. She narrowed her gaze and looked off in whole entire confusion, towards herself, she wondered just how on User's pixeled Arcade did she ever find herself in this rare situation, and it wasn't until one of the girls in front of her gingerly eased her notepad into Berri's vicinity did Berri wonder if she was swiftly being gifted the opportunity to wear yet another hat, added to her now growing collection of titles. Fellow Sugar Rush heir, lykata runner, guitarist and lead singer of a private garage band, a turbo-charged killer of a best friend, and now, celebrity in training.

"A-Are you Gunner's new guitarist?" The girl with the trembling notepad wondered in wavering, dewy, bright-eyed excitement; the answer floated through Berri's head as if it were entirely unreal, she had absolutely no clue where to even begin with this.

"I-I... Well..." Berri staggered; she knew that if she were to answer these girls questions without Gunner's given permission, they'd take absolutely anything said here and spread the news like wild fire. She felt her face heat up the second Gunner warmly, and casually, wrapped his arm about the tops of Berri's shoulders and kept her close, simply as if to insinuate that she had a voice here, though she should probably tread lightly, for his and media's sake.

"Ladies, this is Berri," Gunner smiled and gestured to Berri, he looked down to her in a smidge of currently growing pride, a twinge of adoration that hung in his tone, Berri glossed her blue eyes up to him in unadulterated surprise and held frozen in his side embrace, "We're currently headed to the music hall to have a small chat. Who knows what will happen... But I'd be lucky to have this beauty on stage with me, don't you guys think?"

"Aww," All the girls cooed and fawned, they peered to the two, and it was here did Berri immediately see every single last one of them pair the two off, a ship that immediately set sail in their eyes, Berri swallowed hard and finally began to feel her heart get the memo; a hearty, hefty pound began to just soak her veins and circuits in girly, blushing terror.

"I appreciate it," Berri eased cooly, though she exhaled a shaky breath and gave Gunner a bashful smile of appreciation; it was here did all the girls immediately begin to push their notepads in Berri's direction, and it was with this rush of further given admiration did Berri now deem herself doomed, "Maybe my feet will find the stage. My best friend told me that I play the sickest air guitar he's ever seen, so... I probably am killer on the actual instrument itself."

"I'd be willing to bet," Gunner's soft voice eased down to her, he lightly kept Berri in his gentle side embrace, though in a smooth segue, he eased the two forward in a push of a departure away from the group of girls, "Thanks, ladies. Be seeing you!"

All of the girls in the now swooning and cooing group eagerly stated their excited goodbyes, and that they'd save him a seat at lunch, they'd see him in the halls, anything to be anywhere close to him, Berri felt it absolutely odd that she, of all girls, was the single one still tightly saddled next to him, in his loose and lazy side embrace. She cocked an eyebrow and peered forward, and after a moment, Gunner finally unhanded her and eased out of her gravity. The gentle nudge of their knuckles bumped as their hands swayed in walking motion, Berri swallowed hard and now began to feel as if every single rushing, girly emotion finally caught up with her brain and was eagerly reminded of just what the hell was going on, in this raw instance.

 _Songbird : I'm literally going to go back to Sugar Rush, you can't say things like that to me and expect that I know what the hell to do with information like that._

 _Songbird : You can't be serious._

 _Songbird : I KNOW you're not serious._

"I'm sorry if that was difficult for you," Berri eased as her eyes glossed Wren's now trembling messages, she shook her head and just barely felt a nervous giggle brim at the back of her throat, the very idea that Wren and Theo were about to be absolutely knocked right on their asses, "I'm sure your fans are just wondering when you'll be making more music. I know they wouldn't even begin to feel your pain, about your band members leaving, but... I'm positive it's all too fresh to even begin thinking about gaining new band members."

"It's... Sticky, that's for sure," Gunner staggered as he grimaced, looked off and shrugged, though his honey-brown eyes glossed Berri's with care, "But, it's okay... I've had about a month to heal, and I have an awesome team of people that are looking out for me. I won't be down and out forever."

Berri bobbed a nod and knew to seal that door shut right at the seams, she figured this topic was dropped, though she cocked an eyebrow and noticed Gunner inhale a deep breath, in her peripheral, his eyes honed tight to her figure in almost secretive, adoring glee.

"I didn't think I'd be bumping into an awesome, blue-haired musician today, though, so I really don't know what's ahead," Gunner huffed softly, their conversation was at a decent volume, and Berri began to grow bashful with the amount of silent demeanors that hovered behind them in the form of security guards, like the moon to Earth's gravity, Berri held her breath and felt the blood leave her face as Gunner warmly carried on, the tenderness in his voice was unmatched, "Guess it's for the better they left, and I'm stuck here... Who knows what's to come of this new life, of mine."

"Already making friends," Berri only playfully sneered, as if to somehow insinuate that she could potentially be one of said friends, as awesome as that'd be, though as the words left her mouth, she understood that it was very rapidly becoming true, the way the two casually strolled in warm, soft steps, a moseying pace of strange camaraderie, Berri raised her eyebrows in plucked surprise as Gunner bobbed her a nod of agreeing.

"I do appreciate the fact that you were so buried in your phone that you literally ran right into me," Gunner blurt a small chuckle, and it was here did Berri roll her eyes and dare to nudge Gunner's lower arm in a show of teasing annoyance.

"It was an important text message, okay? It's not like I wasn't doing something valid," Berri argued with a widening smile, though she felt her brain somersault at the small predicament she had just placed herself in, yet again.

"Ah, importantly future-Queenly duties? Maybe messaging a boyfriend, or something?" Gunner prod; Berri knew exactly why he'd ask such a side-stepping question.

"No, no boyfriend," Berri immediately aired, though she reeled and now wondered if that was wise or not; she furrowed her brow, looked off and felt confusion hit her skin, dead on, "I-I, well... No, I was just messaging my best friend. Just reiterating plans we made yesterday, after I get back from Academy."

"Oh, she doesn't go to Academy?" Gunner pressed, just what Berri was dreading, she wondered when she'd stop digging herself a hole.

"Uh... No, HE is a User made gamer," Berri stated proudly, though it was here that she was certain her shovel was now touching the Earth's molten core.

"What I'd give," Gunner mumbled, and it was here did Berri's heart begin to crawl up into her throat, "How cool would it be to be made my Users? I mean... I'm grateful for my parents, well... Y'know... But still. Must be empowering to have a game day and to be a part of something bigger than yourself."

Berri furrowed her brow, glossed her eyes to the glorious, cascading arches of the glowing music hall they tenderly eased into. Almost similar in structure to Game Central Station, the hall was silent, a symphony of electric hum that just barely coat the place in a tender bass of reverberating warmth. As her beautiful blue eyes twinkled under the hall's extraordinarily high ceiling lights, she thought back to her mother. Someone of incredible, near-invincible stature, someone with the entirety of Sugar Rush in her hand, someone who had done great things to protect her kingdom, yet was still a self-programmed gamer. Berri shrugged, she relished in the rebellious aspect of having a mild disadvantage and still doing fantastic, unbelievable things.

"Eh, I'm cool with it," Berri disagreed lightly, and although Berri was certain starting off a brand new friendship with a wavering celebrity, of wary trust, was probably not wise to be throwing disagreeable comments at, she stood her ground anyhow; she knew it had gotten her this far, anyways, "My grandmother has a game day... I see how exhausted she is, and how eager they are for Sunday to come around. It has its pros and cons."

"Whose your grandmother?" Gunner wondered with a smile, the two, including Gunner's small mob of guards, eased down the stretch of the hall and came to a specific class room, in which Wren and Theo were patiently waiting inside.

"Vanellope Von Schweetz," Berri eased cooly, though Gunner raised his eyebrows in solid surprise.

"What? THE Vanellope Von Schweetz?" Gunner gawked, it was here did Berri fully understand that she maybe had more Arcade leverage than she realized; she decided to take it two steps further.

"My grandfather is Wreck-It Ralph," Berri chimed sweetly, a braggy exterior she was now confident in wearing, especially when it came to her fantastic family members, "And, I'm sure you've already guessed it by now, due to my blue hair, but... My dad is Zed, of Dead Zed."

"Holy User, how many big-time gamers are in your family, anyhow?" Gunner scoffed a hard laugh and peered to her with a wide-eyed look of kind humility.

"Well, my uncle is Fix-It Felix, my aunt is Sergeant Calhoun of Hero's Duty," Berri listed, she teasingly looked off and shrugged, "My Aunt Koko is swap mates with Turbo's littlest brother, Nox, annnnd... Turbo's old racing coach and oldest brother, Throttle, currently gives me lectures, while I'm suspended. He used to teach at End of Line Academy."

"Alright... Maybe YOU should be the one walking around with the security guards," Gunner stabbed with a harder laugh, he jolted a step forward to grapple the large, long door handle of the heavy classroom door, and with a gentle, though hefty tug, he politely allowed Berri inside.

"Maybe I should," Berri snipped, the twinkle in her eye glossed Gunner's figure in a proverbial checkmate, the Queen held the board hostage, her lovely blue hair wafted after her figure in a smooth glide into the music room, and as her confidence continued to sky rocket, she knew she had Gunner's googly-eyed, dewy friendship in the bag.

As Berri stepped into the colder, air conditioned music room, her eyes glossed the place in tender remembrance. She knew, before she officially had started Academy about a month ago, she got a proper tour of this room, though now the fact that she was due to be welcomed back made her feel a sweep of ownership. She inhaled a deep breath, the gorgeous room had a loft of massive steps to her right, a hugged mini amphitheater styled standing and seating area, a place to potentially put chairs and have a proper orchestra. To her left was a wall of chalk and white boards, glass windows that peered into separate recording studios, a massive grand piano and instruments lined the room, it was a musicians heaven. The cherry on top was the gorgeous arch of a domed, glass ceiling, all lined with gold beams of structure, she tried not to get way too lost in thought; she knew, full well, she was now due to knocking both Wren and Theo off of their feet. Just as she thought this, she directed her attention to one of the white, glowing, secluded recording studios to her left, where Wren and Theo now cautiously staggered out of the fling of the heavy door, to said separate recording studio.

"Berri, y-you can't... Tell me to... N-Not freak out," Wren staggered, his deep voice crackled in giddy terror, he held his hands to his broad chest in a show of entire uncertainty and locked his eyes tight to Gunner's figure, as well as the handful of guards that filed into the empty room behind them, Wren continued on in a pitch of soprano that Berri was actually shocked he could squeak to reach, "C-Can I freak out now?"

"If you want to hold on to your dignity, then, no," Berri blurt a small laugh and crossed her arms, though Gunner's confidence and ease with fans had his feet pushing closer to Wren and Theo, who stood frozen in the archway of the door they hung out of.

"Hey, guys," Gunner pressed with a warm smile, he outreached his hand to Wren, as he neared, and bobbed a causal nod, "You must be Berri's cousins."

Wren was entirely frozen, Berri was certain he had turned to stone, though as Wren held out his trembling hand, Gunner shook it with further confidence, to which Wren's arm nearly turned into a noodle. Theo choked a small laugh, and although he was beside himself, as well, he wasn't nearly as far gone as Wren currently was.

"I'm Theo," Theo clarified as he reached out his larger hand, to which Gunner almost hesitantly shook, "Stone-cold, here, is Wren... I-I'm shocked you're here, actually... Y-You must've bumped into Berri, or something?"

"Literally," Gunner blurt a chuckle, sagged a few steps away from both men and casually sank his hands into his pockets, "Your hands are huge... I'm going to assume Wreck-It Ralph is also your grandfather?"

"Oh, yeah, he's mine and Berri's grandfather," Theo rubbed the back of his head and beamed Gunner a bashful smile, "I got more of the physical wrecking gene, than Berri."

"I didn't escape it, though," Berri muttered, she looked down to her larger wrecking hands; although not as large as Tessa's, and not nearly as large as Oliver's or Theo's, she still grimaced a little and was successful in hiding the fact that it was a mild insecurity of hers.

"You guys have gamer powers?" Gunner pressed in excitement, and although conversation spiked from excitement to a quick sag of casual easiness, Wren was still frozen solid, a look of dumbfounded, unadulterated shock still hung tight to his near-gaping facial expression.

"M-Me and Theo do," Berri now blurt a giggle, eased closer to Wren and so softly rested her hand on Wren's shoulder, "Wren? You, uh... You gunna be okay?"

"I-I'm fine," Wren mumbled as he shook his head and long-blinked, "I-I need to sit down."

"Guess I did sort of just... Wrangle you guys into my afternoon," Gunner stated sheepishly, he tugged his collar a little and almost gave Berri an apologetic smile, "I've made five attempts at making friends... Sort of trying to cling to any form of genuine friends I can get, here.. Hard to come by, in my situation, y'know..."

"Well, you're safe with us," Berri eased genuinely with a shrug, to which Theo nodded an encouraging nod, though Wren huffed a shaky breath and sagged back into the smaller recording studio that Wren and Theo were previously stationed inside. Everyone burst out into laughter as Wren's quaking figure finally found one of the studio's comfortable swivel chairs and plopped down in still-frozen terror, "This is Wren, forgive his silence, uh... I've probably done a decent job at concealing it, but... Truth be told, all three of us are huge fans of Archived Chaos."

"It's no biggie, I appreciate the support," Gunner heaved a small chuckle, and as the group began to softly melt into the brightly lit recording studio, Gunner found a tall stool to sit on, and did just that. Theo eased to the swivel chair near Wren's still frozen figure and Berri crossed her arms and opted to stand near Gunner, due to previously been sitting through hers, Tessa's, Penny's and Mr. Kelta's council meeting.

"I'm sure you're used to all of this clamoring attention, yeah?" Theo nonchalantly eased, it was clear that he was definitely the most even-keel, level headed individual among this mess, amidst any mess, though Berri could still see the shock in his vivid, emerald eyes, "Have you had any issue getting around campus?"

"Well, to be honest with you, my first day here will be next Monday," Gunner eased softly, he looked down to his hands and heaved an already exhausted sigh, "Even being here after hours has proven to be mildly difficult. I-I guess I just need a proper friend group to pal around with, a bit more of a buffer than what I have. It's nice having my guards and my manager here on the regular, but... I just stick out like a sore thumb, due to it."

"No one comes near us, so I guess there's no danger in hanging out with our little group of misfits," Berri shrugged, she lofted Theo a giggle, to which he beamed and cued to with joined laughter.

"That'll probably be changing VERY quickly, soon here," Theo grumbled teasingly as his laughter trailed into a wistful, nervous sigh. He eyed Wren, both him and Berri noticed that he was as stiff as a log, a look of terrified glee still glued to his face, which was lacking any amount of blood, "Alright, Wren, why don't you finally muster the courage to introduce yourself, then?"

"C'mon, dude, I won't bite, seriously," Gunner breathed a soft laugh, his sweet, loving eyes honed tight to Wren's nervous figure, he contemplated standing and making his way over to Wren to ease the situation, "Berri told me you guys are in a band, and have your own studio and everything... Y'guys maybe mind playing me something?"

It was here did Wren scoff a shaky noise of almost undeserving disbelief, he bugged his eyes, shook his head and trailed his trembling blue orbs to Berri's.

"...Welp, Theo and I would be happy to show you something, but I can tell you now that Wren will likely be sitting this one out," Berri blurt a laugh, to which Gunner and Theo joined in on.

"I understand entirely, I mean... No pressure at all," Gunner shook his head and beamed an eager smile, "I'd just love to have some friends to jam with, y'know? I haven't picked up the microphone since Archived Chaos fell apart..."

"We gotcha covered," Berri encouraged with a bob of a nod and a smile, though as Theo grunted to a stand, so to approach the one of many music hall's drum sets, Berri felt her insides do a weird dance as her hands also reached for her electric guitar. The very idea of the incredible Gunner Ko holding undivided attention to Sugar Rush's palace garage band was something she was entirely uncertain she was even ready for.


	60. Chapter 60

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Aww, it's true! Pretty strange how it all sort of has unfolded to where it is now :)

 **Jay Sketchin :** Hahaha way too true! And, thank you so much ;_; You don't know what that means to me.

 **Snake557 :** LOL! Exactly xD

* * *

 ***Chapter 60***

"I'm still surprised you guys have never even played, I-I don't know... Even at a pub downtown, or something! Anything!" Gunner exclaimed with an easy, beaming, handsome smile; he slouched his upper body, arms and elbows over the top of one of the few studio chairs, in Berri's, Wren's and Theo's tower studio. Somehow, they had successfully snuck themselves, Gunner and single body guard clear across Sugar Rush's palace lot without anyone noticing. Gunner heaved a soft sigh of near relief, lulled his eyes closed and shook his head, "You guys are incredible... And I don't say that lightly."

"Y'haven't even heard Wren's side of the nonsense, yet," Theo grumbled as he, too, lay slouched in one of the comfortable, modern, swivel studio chairs, clad in thick, luxurious black and white fabric. Theo ran his larger fingers through his dark, nearly jet-black, dark green hair, the deep waves began to show a bit more definition due to the strange sweep of humidity the game was garnering, "Maybe once he, I don't know... SAYS SOMETHING."

"It's been like an hour, Wren, I mean, really," Berri blurt a soft laugh as she crossed her arms and shook her head, she cocked an eyebrow and noticed Gunner's eyes tenderly land on her, as if every word she was about to speak was beginning to be something he could hardly wait to hear; this was only briefly interrupted due to Wren's chest cavity finally expanding to take a readied breath.

"Wren," Wren finally meeped in tender cuteness, a shy aura that he was absolutely never seen with, he still looked absolutely star struck when Berri and Theo had nearly lost said fame-glow a hot minute back.

"WOW, congratulations man, you did it," Theo choked as he grappled the sides of his head and bugged his eyes in playfulness.

"Gunner," Gunner pressed with a soft chuckle of understanding, and as Wren held out his still trembling hand, for a proper handshake, Gunner kindly filled the gap and shook Wren's hand, "Nice to meet you, finally."

"L-Likewise," Wren staggered as both boys shook hands Wren heaved a shaky sigh and shook his head at Berri once they released each other's handshake.

"Not so hard, my dude," Berri breathed a soft giggle and shook her head back at Wren's still wavering, giddy disposition.

"Don't let Penny in here," Theo grumbled as he rubbed his face in impending agitation, he rolled his eyes and sagged a little.

"Whose Penny?" Gunner prod softly as he sat back and got comfortable, once more.

"P-Penny's my older sister," Wren staggered on, he did everything he could to at least try to act normal, "Sh-she... She's your biggest fan."

"It's not an exaggeration, that girl is your HUGEST fan," Berri blurt a soft giggle and crossed her arms in relaxation; she stood near the studio's shut and locked door, the air inside the studio was loose and comfortable, a group of new friends that sagged into each other's light and kind dispositions with the utmost of ease, sans Wren.

"We should surprise her, then," Gunner bobbed a nod, his kind, honey brown eyes hooked tight to Berri's, the look of confident, excited, boyish glee held tight to him, "I-I mean... We'll all hang out again, right? This isn't just a one-off, is it?"

"User, I mean, that's entirely up to you, Gunner," Berri choked yet another giggle and shook her head in nearly forlorn disbelief, "You're Mr. Celebrity, here... I'm surprised we're even worthy of your time, I mean, really."

"I-I... I could easily say the same thing about you guys," Gunner stated, his twinkling, excitable demeanor quickly collected into a reserved show of now near-nostalgic sorrow. He looked down and across the studio in aimless thought, furrowed his brow and shook his head, "The second my band mates sort of bailed out on me, I had to quickly assess just what I had been doing wrong, inside the friendships in my life. Guess it's easy for me to just jump into a new friend group, but... I hope I don't do anything to chase you guys away."

Berri furrowed her brow in tenderness and peered to Gunner, a forgiving amount of warmth seemed to radiate off of him, as if he had maybe been wronged, but was prepared to just let it go, to not hold the pain against anyone. The sweet, likable demeanor he radiated was entirely palpable, irresistible, Berri could feel her heart fluttering with the continued, renewed feelings of crushy, ogling, butterfly-filled gooeyness she was now uncertain how to navigate. The second Theo warmly began to reassure Gunner that his new pack of friends were loyal to the bone, with Wren nervously, yet cutely following suit, Berri felt a startling jolt shoot through her heart as the feeling of the vibrate of her phone, in her back pocket, immediately brought her back to Earth. With her phone on silent, she furrowed her eyebrows in entire confusion, slyly pulled her phone from the back pocket of her jeans, and felt her pupils tighten with the cold, heart-sinking remembrance that came slamming back to her brain.

The very name of the person now metaphorically reminding her to keep her head, plastered confidently on her screen with the continuation of silent vibrations, the cue that she was receiving a phone call, a very patient Turbo Black awaiting her to pick up her phone. Berri huffed a silent noise, bit her lip in a now tug of war her mind was having, and with a nonchalant jostle of her phone, she warmly cued to all the boys that she had a phone call to take and swiftly saw herself out of the sound proof music studio. With a heavy thud of the large, floor to ceiling door, she grit her teeth in whole dread, apologetic sorrow, and as her finger slid onto her touch screen, she answered Turbo's phone call and now wondered just how in the hell she was going to tell Turbo just what was going on. She scrunched her eyes shut, inhaled a long, dreaded breath through her nose, wrinkled her face in detest towards herself and brought her phone to her ear in anticipation to tread lightly around her's and Turbo's new found... Whatever they had secretly decided to call it.

"Turbo," Berri chimed quietly; she was well aware that no sound was going to come out of the studio, as well as any sound would get in, though she still nervously glanced back to the closed door of the studio and stood in the stillness of the short corridor of their tower, connected to said music studio.

"Bear, what's up?" Turbo's warm, friendly voice soaked her head with a spike of now whole entire conflicting, remembrance of just what other kind of guy was awaiting her return, the other side of the coin.

"Hey, I'm... SO sorry I ghosted you, there, I didn't mean to," Berri pleaded with a sheepish, terrified grin out to the sunny, glowing corridor, her vivid blue eyes peered into the kitchen, in which she had a good look into.

"Y'back in Sugar Rush? I-I know you said you, Wren and Theo were going to come over, but..." Turbo staggered on his words, as if he was about to prepare himself to be brave. He inhaled a shaky breath, let it out with an equally as shaky, blossoming chuckle and took a daring first step in a direction he knew both him and Berri would likely enjoy taking, "I-I'll be honest with you... Can you possibly bring no one but yourself and your guitar? I'd love that more than anything."

Berri raised her eyebrows and now felt her stomach do all sorts of weird twists and turns, and with such, she sagged her larger hand into her forehead in a blue-bangs scrunched kind of motion, a wave of now whole exhaustion just coat her being, the bravery that single sentence must've taken for Turbo to even so much as dream up, she knew she needed to reward him. She huffed a faltered noise, as if prepared to immediately bend to his cute, now forwardly flirty request, her eyes nervously peered back to said closed studio door in a build up of dread and was well aware she was at a weird, detrimental cross-roads. She bit her bottom lip in contemplation, she was well aware Turbo wasn't going aware, the whole fact that she had a full-blown celebrity in her very own music studio was what made her sag her shoulders, roll her eyes at herself, and lull her head back in the full understanding that she'd very easily be letting Turbo down, with the extremely difficult decision she was due to making.

"That's so sweet," Berri started, though before she could allow Turbo to continue on, she blurt an exhausted chuckle and held her forehead, once more, "I-I would, but... Y-You're never going to believe this... I bumped into Gunner Ko at Academy today."

"...Whoa, WHAT? Really?" Turbo staggered with a laugh of boyish surprise, his now vulnerable and loving interior left wide open for Berri to graciously receive had her feeling now terrible about her next few notions.

"Yeah, can you believe it? Turbo, he's literally hanging out with me, Wren and Theo in our music studio, right now," Berri choked a small laugh of disbelief and began to wander down the corridor, closer to the kitchen; she could immediately feel the proverbial air between her and Turbo grow thick with distance.

"...Wait, he's in Sugar Rush?" Turbo wondered, the boyish, cute glee in his voice now very slowly began to dribble to very greatly reserved dread, "Y-You... You guys actually got Gunner to come into Sugar Rush with you guys?"

"Yeah, h-he... I-I guess he's looking for some musicians to jam with, due to his band mates bailing out on him," Berri now knew she was blindly walking through a field just filled to the brim with land mines. She grit her teeth and knew she was letting Turbo down, here, likely making his life a little harder, though she inhaled a revived breath and knew now to swoop in with reassuring ideas, "B-But, we're just showing him our studio and hanging out a bit, I-I'm sure we won't be way too much longer. I-I'd be happy to still come over later, with my guitar. Should I just text you?"

"Oh, well... Sure, Bear, I-I don't want to take away from this awesome opportunity you have," Turbo now was very audibly trying to reserve the entire disappointment in his tone, though he still pushed through with warmth and gentle kindness, "I-I mean... It's not every day someone of Gunner's stature wants to jam with musicians he simply just bumped into... Y-You'd be wise to get your talent out there, Bear..."

"Thank you, Bo," Berri sighed in disappointed conclusion, clear disappointment to herself, she furrowed her brow and felt terrible; she knew prolonging plans with Turbo, someone already so incredibly fragile, for another guy, likely wasn't wise. She was glad he seemed to be taking it on the chin, and knew she'd make it up to him later in the evening, "I-I didn't mean to not text you... W-We had to sort of escort Gunner across teleport pads without anyone seeing... Lemme rephrase that, without PENNY seeing, so... We got preoccupied, but I take full blame."

"It's no biggie, Berri, just... Message me once you're finished doing what you're doing," Hope came back to Turbo's tone, he heaved a nervous, shaky sigh and sounded as if he was pacing, "W-We can jam out tonight, then, yeah?"

"I'd love that," Berri sighed with a revived smile, "I'll text you the second I'm free."

"Y'better," Turbo teased in gentle banter, his masculine voice dipped to that of a flirty, coy depth of enticement, something Berri eagerly cued too.

"See you," Berri trailed in great warmth, and as the two hung up the call, she furrowed her brow in revived sorrow, shook her head at herself and allowed herself to remain still in her now confused thoughts.

Berri sagged her phone into her chest in a lazy, dreaded manner, her eyes soaked up to the large, slanted glass ceiling of their incredibly beautiful kitchen and common room. The entire place was sun kissed in a magical stillness, a small greenhouse of warmth amidst the frigid winter air, outside. She lulled her eyes closed, heaved a long sigh of dread through her nose and knew this was something tricky to navigate. She knew, full well, that her and Gunner were strictly within the first five hours of a friendship, and although there was flirty notions and the sneak of subtle, longing glances, she was well aware it didn't hold a candle to whatever her and Turbo had. Berri reopened her eyes and felt her insides twist in apprehension and stress, she knew that keeping Turbo a secret, his own requests, was going to be difficult, all while trying her very best to now balance Academy, Gunner-jam sessions and time with Turbo. Just before she could allow the beginning tingles of stress to turn into bitey nips of irreversible dread, she flinched in a jolt of glitching, silver-coded surprise as the studio door heavily swung open.

"I mean, there are currently six dragons on the lot, but Chester hangs out with us the most," Theo confidently stated as him, Wren, Gunner and Gunner's silently observing security guard trailed out of the studio's warm entrance and corridor. Theo's eyes lit up as everyone peered to Berri, they approached her as she held her phone out, as if to pretend to busy herself, "Bear, we were just talking about how we should introduce Gunner to Chester!"

"O-Oh, sure," Berri bobbed a nod and now had to very quickly come back to the boy's light hearted reality, hers was so easily sapped in conflicting, two tiered dilemmas, one of which that could so easily get away from her.

"He's probably in his stable, he loves to hang out there," Theo bobbed a nod of assurance, and as all three boys, including Gunner's now more hands-off, moseying security guard, Berri inhaled a nervous breath and now allowed her brain to come back to the situation at hand.

"Silly thing, it's so cold out," Wren chirped, confidence began to slowly come back to him.

"Theo was just telling me all about your family's dragon-army," Gunner blurt a soft laugh, and one by one, everyone pressed out the glass back door, into the gorgeous, covered outdoor corridor, of their tower, a two dozen foot trail that lead to Chester's outdoor riding stable, "Full of bats and chameleons and... Hybrids of all kinds."

"Yes, it's a zoo out here, seriously," Berri choked a small giggle, she sagged her phone back into her pocket and was now eagerly counting down the minutes to where she could be alone with Turbo, the refreshing sound of his voice now had her confident that she could play this balancing act with ease.

"D-Do they bite? They're friendly, right?" Gunner now worried, his golden brown eyes nervously peered back to Berri for assurance, a cute show of unreserved apprehension, Berri now felt her heart beat in a jolt of endearment.

"Chester's really friendly," Berri bobbed a nod, she recalled his and Turbo's cute little bond, how puppy-dog like he'd become at Turbo's gentle hands, Berri smiled with reassurance and, as they came upon Chester's stable, they slowed their roll and only tenderly welcomed themselves inside his open-aired stable, a larger abode made available for any flyer to come and go, though it simply was a safe haven for Chester, as well as all his riding gear. Berri perked up and felt her heart swell at her adorable lykata hybrid, a majestic beast still growing into his paws, he was laid comfortably on his side, though he perked up in readied attention the second Berri's voice soaked his ears, "Hey Chessy-boy, c'mere! There's someone I'd like you to meet."

Wren, Theo and Gunner's security guard slowed to a stop while Gunner and Berri pushed on, though as they came within maybe twenty feet of Chester, Berri furrowed her eyebrows and felt a wash of uncertainty come over her. Chester eagerly got to all four paws, perked his ears high and kept a blind, tight-lipped eagle-eyed stare down on Gunner's presence, one of which Chester couldn't even physically see. Berri inhaled a nervous breath and warmly grabbed Gunner's upper arm, as if to eagerly warn him to slow down, to prove that she knew Chester better than anyone, and he was now acting particularly strange. Chester's nose wrinkled a few sniffles, his gorgeous wings were held tight to his body, his powerful body stood in readied apprehension, his whole being exuded the sheer strength and power of instinct, ones of which Chester was eager to rely on, first and foremost.

"Bubba, c'mere, don't be shy," Berri encouraged, she was thrilled his ears sagged for just a minute, as well as his shoulders, though as he took an apprehensive step or two closer to her and Gunner, he returned to his tight-lipped look of almost hunting diligence, his blind eyes held tight to Gunner, his ears were perked high in whole dominance, it was here did Berri understand that they'd likely have to encourage Chester to come to them. This whole time, she was surprised to find that she had continued to hold onto Gunner's strong arm, her warm voice eased into Gunner's gravity as she kept her eyes tight to her dragon, "Just... Maybe ready your hand, or something. Chester is both blind and mute, so he has to rely on scent and, well... Touch. Maybe let him smell you first, then you can maybe pet his snout. He's typically a love, but it's not often he meets new people, so who knows."

"Didn't you say he did just fine with Turbo, though?" Wren wondered blindly, unaware that the very notion of Turbo being their good friend was under wraps; Berri grit her teeth and held her breath.

"I forgot you guys knew Turbo," Gunner staggered with a gentle laugh, and although Chester was now cautiously looking like he was due to taking a few more steps closer to Gunner and Berri, he still held a dominant, tight-lipped look about himself, something that he wasn't known to holding onto for very long. Berri furrowed her eyebrows in rising nervousness and felt her heart sink the second Gunner naively took a step forward, his hand outstretched, his gentle voice carried on, "Hey, bud... He's so beautiful."

"Uh, Gunner," Berri worried as Gunner now took a few solid, slow and easy steps closer to Chester, though before she could get more words out, Berri felt her pupils tighten in a spike of sudden fear the second Chester's snout wrinkled into a full show of his incredibly sharp and strong fangs.

As if sat in an alternate reality, Berri was entirely floored to hear a wholly unfamiliar sound soak her ears, the sound of a full-blown snarl now reverberated against the walls of Chester's stable. A deep, prominent, growling snarl came confidently rumbling from the depths of Chester's throat, a proper guttural of a warning, and with said warning, Gunner's footsteps halted a little too late. Although Gunner's presence had come to a very nervous, prominent stop, Chester opened his mouth in a further show of dominant warning, and with a much louder snarl in Gunner's direction, everyone was entirely surprised to see Chester jolt forward a little and sharply snap his fangs towards Gunner's extended hand and warm. Gunner huffed a nervous noise, stepped backwards a few times, as did Berri, which thankfully had Chester's disposition gratefully showing signs of cutting the act of now recoiling. Berri huffed an almost authoritative noise of disbelief at him and shook her head.

"CHESTER," Berri now eagerly scolded, though she held her eyes to her incredible flyer and felt a weird mixture of frustration and glee brim in her heart. The fact that he wasn't playing nice so quickly was eradicated by the whole proof that his voice box was now finally showing signs of developing, of finally showing use. Berri blurt a laugh of disbelief, shook her head and was brave enough to now firmly approach him, "Chester, you play nice, whatsamatter with you!"

"Holy crap, d-did he just...?" Wren pointed his finger and shook his head with a bug-eyed look of disbelief.

"Uh-yeah!" Berri scoffed a harder laugh, and as she bravely soaked into Chester's gravity, she firmly pet his chest and was thrilled he so easily caved to her presence; he sagged his shoulders, lowered his head and ears, cut the snarling and nervously eased into her presence, in a needy fashion, "Th-this means he can eventually talk! I-I mean, I'm sorry it was sort of at your expense, Gunner, but... Wow, he has NEVER made a sound in his life."

"Glad I could help," Gunner muttered with a teasing smile of sorrowful disappointment, to which Theo and Wren eagerly laughed at. All three boys cued into laughter with each other, though Gunner rubbed the back of his head and longingly peered to Berri and Chester, as if to hope he'd be given another chance to make their introduction right, "I-I didn't mean to make him upset."

"N-No, he's just... Maybe caught by surprise," Berri encouraged, though she peered to Chester and furrowed her eyebrows, as if even she didn't really wholly believe the words coming out of her mouth; she knew, full well, that Chester never just lashed out at anyone to this, or any degree. She firmly rubbed the back of his neck, all through his lovely, fluffy orange fur and shook her head, "H-He maybe needs some time to adjust, I don't think he's ever met anyone that wasn't apart of Sugar Rush."

"Very unlike him," Theo mumbled as he crossed his arms, him and Wren caught eyes in a gentle slew of confusion.


	61. Chapter 61

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** I'm glad you guys caught on to that... Animals alllllways know ;)

 **Burgie :** He's a sweet dude, for sure... But Chester seems to think otherwise.

 **Jay Sketchin :** Thank you friend! And, you're not wrong lol

 **CHICKENM4N :** Absolutely.

* * *

 ***Chapter 61***

In a spike of blurry confusion, Berri inhaled a sharp, startled breath and jolted out of her slumber. Her eyes peeled open in a sticky pop, dilated pupils immediately tightened upon the shine of Sugar Rush's glorious morning sunshine, and although Berri knew she was safe and sound, she still felt the rush of fear soak her circuits at the sheer fact that she wasn't in her own bed, let alone her own bedroom. As Berri's circuit lines began to gently glow a heightened silver all down her throat, arms and temples, she panted, sat up straight, clutched the center of her chest and did absolutely everything to get her bearings. She quickly understood that she was in Sugar Rush's main palace kitchen, a massive, sunny hub that typically was bustling with life on any given day; today was different for an odd reason.

Upon the noise that startled her awake, she could hear the vicious rumbling of the Sugar Rush racer's incredible race cars, just down the well-lit corridor of the garage across the kitchen. With jumbled, haphazard thoughts, she desperately tried to recollect everything that had happened the night prior. Upon giving Gunner a proper tour of Sugar Rush's palace, whilst introducing him to literally every soul on palace grounds, Berri finally remembered that her and her grandmother Vanellope had sat down after dinner time to gab about boys and the happenings about Arcade, Academy and Sugar Rush. She felt a twinge of confusion continue to seep into her still faintly glowing circuits, a motherboard of subconscious protection, a glitchy, haphazard fight or flight mechanism engrained in her very being by the one, dirty haired brat she called grandmother. She rubbed her eye as her heart rate finally began to settle from the extreme spike, though as more memories of the night prior came back to her, she felt her heart immediately throb in guilt and sorrow.

Once Berri's surroundings became a bit clearer, she glossed the gorgeous marble island she was previously slouched over, sat on one of the cushiony bar stools. Her phone lay next to where her head had rested, Turbo's familiar, lovely smelling hoodie was splayed underneath where she had been sleeping. She wondered if she had maybe given someone a promise that she was just resting her eyes, and it very quickly turned into a full-blown nights sleep. She bit her lip in terror, grappled her phone and was absolutely certain she'd be greet with all sorts of missed calls and texts from Turbo; upon laying a finger to her home screen, she flinched in confusion to see simply no notifications from Turbo, whatsoever. She furrowed her brow, froze, and felt the dread and guilt very quickly segue to confusion and mild hurt. She knew she had accidentally fallen asleep on her plans with Turbo, though she was now mildly sore over the fact that he didn't attempt to reach out to her to finalize if she was truly coming over, or not. She sagged, knowing full well he likely wasn't gong to extend his neck any further than he already had; she was entirely aware that she'd have to be doing the asserting for the next while.

Although up for the task, she still rolled her eyes in whole, groggy, grouchy annoyance, lazily grappled her phone, tried to get her bones to a stand and grimaced at the very action of it all. Having gone an entire night's sleep slouched at the kitchen island, she was aware it'd call for a whole day of aches and pains. She gently put on Turbo's zip up, sagged her phone into her now wrinkled jean's back pocket, and tapped her other pocket for her materializer. Although the angry sound of grumbling race cars was still abundant in her ears, she furrowed her brows in confusion as every single racer cut their engines, as opposed to said engines simply just fading away in the distance, only to return after a successful racing day at Litwak's Arcade. All at once, urgent voices could be heard, echoey nonsense Berri couldn't quite make out, though as the urgency grew, she changed her line of direction from the main teleportation pad, straight to the corridor that lead to the garage.

Upon a lazy set of still sleepy glitch-hopping, Berri came to the gape of the garage's corridor entrance. She peered inside, a well lit concrete room that easily was a fifth the size of the palace lot. Across the whole stretch, everyone's race cars had previously been in line to exit the garage's long exit, a tunnel that let out on the side of the nearly-jagged hill side the palace sat on; everyone's race car, except Gloyd's. Upon further inspection, as Berri's apprehensive demeanor only lingered on the outskirts of the situation, Gloyd had the hood popped, nearly every racer loudly contemplated the issue with Gloyd's car, all whilst Gloyd grunted and poked about his own engine bay. Berri landed eyes on her grandmother, a gorgeous, slender being, a curvy figure that looked incredible in her new racing gear, everyone looked sharp. She sagged her racing goggles onto the crown of her head, approached Gloyd and tenderly instructed Gloyd a few notions, her level headed demeanor and disposition still held and carried as royalty; once a Queen, always a Queen. Something Berri greatly admired.

After a few minutes of tense conversing, Gloyd's hands now covered in the oily, dirty leftovers of his engine bay, Berri flinched as the teleportation pad eagerly came alive with a silver glow; Sugar Rush's King and Queen quickly stepped off the pad and approached the situation. Berri sagged a little and raised her eyebrows, she knew that she was now being treated to a master class of problem solving, a detrimental issue at hand, the very idea that quarter alerts were at stake. Tessa and Zed pushed into the group with ease, and although they radiated a welcoming aura, it was stunning to Berri at just how the gravity in the room shifted. The bubble of dominance both beings sapped over the place, a sense of calm, yet a stern sense of urgency, it wasn't long until a majority of the racers now settled, backed away and allowed Tessa, Zed, Vanellope and Gloyd to commandeer the situation at hand. Above the gentle murmurs from the group of antsy racers, Berri overheard her mother's and father's conversing, and with such awesome presences in this group, she felt bravery sink back to her royal, silver circuits.

"I-I practically built this thing from the ground up, it kills me when I say... I-I have no clue what's wrong," Gloyd complained, his sweet tone and lovingly soft disposition was rarely ever bristled, like such. He sagged the back of his wrist to his now sweaty forehead, the look of forlorn concern in his warm eyes sagged to Zed's, as if to beg for guidance here, "She started up just fine, but the second I shifted to drive and pressed the gas, she shut off."

"Couldn't be a leak in a vacuum line somewhere?" Someone in the group tenderly wondered.

"When's the last time you ran a smoke test on this thing, Gloyd?" Vanellope gently prod, her words were laced with care, as Tessa and Zed pressed closer to Gloyd's engine bay, Zed swiped out his main digital pad and brought up nearly the whole lot of the code room's remote power. A holographic display simply hovered above the pad, and as Zed thumbed through the options, Vanellope shrugged as all eyes honed tight to just what Zed was doing, "Did it sputter and hesitate as you pushed the gas?"

"No, it just... Went dead," Gloyd worried, and as the fear of missed quarter alerts quickly began to brim upon everyone, Gloyd began to grow sarcastic and frantic in his tone and words, "The car's maintenance is entirely up to date, I literally just did a zillion-point inspection yesterday."

"Easy, easy... It'll be okay, it's probably something with the computer of the car, I'll just run a few tests real quick," Zed instructed calmly, a fatherly presence he easily laid upon the entirety of Sugar Rush, the same warmth he'd give his own children.

"I really need to brush up on these car's computer errors," Tessa grimaced, as if she was absolutely certain some form of an error code would come up, and upon said code reveal, she was then worried she wouldn't know exactly what to do, "These things are vastly different than a code room... Y'think they'd go hand in hand."

"One's a vehicle with precise, working parts that all absolutely have to cooperate," Vanellope mumbled in full understanding, "The other? Nearly a sentient orb full of information that'll keep on kicking whether it's missing pieces or not."

"Learned from experience," Tessa muttered through a tired sigh as she rubbed her forehead.

"Shit," Zed hissed through his teeth in a lazy huff of a noise, he shook his head and gently showed Gloyd, Vanellope and Tessa the holographic screen before him, which was eagerly targeted and pinpointed on the coding of Gloyd's race car, the incredible, glossy exterior only visually beat by the incredible engine and machinery under the hood, "Yeah...Got an error code I don't know how to begin to tackle."

"What do we do?" Rancis worried from the other side of Gloyd's car, the group began to lazily reform about the hot topic at hand, nervous eyes of uncertainty landed to their King and Queen, as well as Sugar Rush's light-footed princess, unbeknownst to Tessa and Zed, "I-If YOU don't know what to do, then..."

"I know what to do, it's just... It's an error code with, well... Other error codes packed inside of it, or behind it, rather," Zed muttered, he shook his head and glossed his eyes into the incredible engine bay of Gloyd's car, "To put it into extremely simple terms, the cylinders locked up. I've noticed a bit of a sticky transmission with these cars, the second the computer thinks there's a slip or a catch in the clutch or teeth of the transmission, the whole thing locks up and refuses to let go."

"How do we get it to ease up, then?" Vanellope wondered, and it was here that Berri was close enough for both Tessa and Vanellope to notice. Berri furrowed her eyebrows, gently looked into the engine bay, felt the loft of confused eyes gloss her way but was thrilled that Vanellope pressed on, no matter how strange it was to see Berri's presence about the garage at this time of the morning, "Certainly it's just some sort of reset."

"I-It should be, but... I have no clue how long it's going to take," Zed worried, he glossed his eyes to Gloyd in a show of nervousness and shook his head, "Gloyd, you can take one of the back ups to race in today, but... I-I worry about you being picked by a human. Those back up cars are just dummy cars that don't represent any of you guys."

"It'll suffice, I-I'm sure no one will notice," Taffyta nervously suggested, she shrugged and glanced to Rancis, as well as Vanellope.

It was here did the group about Berri, Tessa, Zed and Vanellope begin to bicker and loudly worry about impending quarter alerts, literally minutes away. Berri raised her eyebrows and softly peered to her father's holographic display; something similar she had seen in Turbo's code room. She urgently furrowed her brows and felt a sharp idea hit her brain. She knew that Turbo had built his own bike from the ground up, with nothing but Zed's tools and the brain in his skull. She urgently glossed her almost aimless attention down to the engine bay and let her mind run away with her, she knew Turbo had so many years of Arcade and racing knowledge under his belt, though she had to wonder if he'd know how to solve this riddle. With a confident inhale, and judgement that was still foggy from only previously waking up from a rough night's sleep slouched on the kitchen island, she gently raised her hand and dared to play her royalty card in a crowd of superiors, once more.

"I-I know someone who can fix it," Berri eased confidently, although her words brought literally everyone to a drum of stunned silence, she breathed a shy giggle, scrunched her shoulders, rolled her eyes and looked up, "I-I mean... My great uncle Felix, probably, but... H-He's probably preparing for quarter alerts."

"Like we should be," Minty snapped as she crossed her arms, everyone urgently began to agree, an on edge demeanor, though the second Zed raised his eyebrows and glossed his dominant eye contact across the rowdy group, everyone shrank back to their normal, quiet selves.

"Who, Bear?" Tessa pressed in genuine question, though as Berri grappled her phone, from her back pocket, she waved it about a little and rode the brave train.

"Turbo," Berri stated confidently, though she flinched the second a few individuals scoffed annoyed noises of whole detest.

"Y'kidding, the guy would likely cut wires without us looking," Snowanna snipped from the group, a few other voices called out in further agitation.

"I don't think he'd come out of his hiding spot for us, aren't we like... Low-lifes to him?" Swizzle wondered, and although he was irritated, he seemed more neutral on the matter.

"Turbo can fix it, don't you dare say one more cross thing about him," Berri suddenly stabbed, the swell of confidence she was previously grappling at now came flooding her veins without questions asked; everyone fell silent and held tight to her now stern demeanor, however haggard she looked, "Turbo's been around longer than each and every single one of us... If there's anyone who would have a shred of knowledge, here, it's him."

"I guess I didn't even think about that," Zed mumbled kindly, he eyed Berri with a smile and shrugged, "He's usually our nocturnal code-room helper... I don't think to contact Turbo this early in the morning."

"He takes care of nightly routines, with Rancis," Tessa bobbed a knowing nod, Rancis was beginning to press closer to the center of the group, it was clear he was prepared to defend Turbo, if need be, as well, "That's a good idea Berri... I was so focused on just getting this fixed that I didn't even consider Turbo."

"He would know what to do, surely," Berri nodded, her eyes glossed the group in an outward show of dominance and tender upset; although the group simply didn't know just how close Berri and Turbo were, she was prepared to make it clear to them if she had to.

With a quick few tabs, Berri urgently pressed the call button on the little drop down menu of Turbo's name, in her phone's contact list. It was only until she brought the phone to her ear did she feel her insides clench with a squeeze of terror. The sheer fact that she was now about to be on a phone call with Turbo Black, in front of every single last important individual to Sugar Rush's name, she wondered just how she could possibly thrust herself into such a situation. She heaved a shaky sigh, and upon further indication that this maybe wasn't such a wise idea, she very quickly remembered that the last time she had talked to Turbo was when she was promising him that she'd come see him the night prior; a promise she failed to keep. She clenched her teeth, looked down as the phone continued to ring, though in a flurry of muffled swipes, Turbo finally answered his phone; the sheer amount of hesitation, exhaustion and confusion in his voice was beyond palpable.

"Hello?" The deep grumble of Turbo's voice was scratchy and raspy by tenfold, it was clear she had woken him up.

"Turbo, I'm... I'm SO sorry to wake you up like this, but we have a situation here, in the racer's garage," Berri eased softly, the tender sorrow in her tone was something Tessa cued to; Tessa cocked an eyebrow and beamed her daughter a knowing smile, clearly the tone of apology, the potential for currently feuding lovers, something Tessa knew well.

"What's going on?" Turbo grunted in a deeper spike of more awakened concern, Berri could clearly hear him huff a noise upon getting out of bed, further shuffling indicated he was prepared to be on his way; a duty he swore to uphold, to be on his toes and ready for action at the drop of a hat.

"Gloyd's car crapped out on him, dad ran a test to see what was up and it's a few error codes that we're not sure we can figure out immediately," Berri quickly rattled off, she put her hand on her hip and peered down into Gloyd's engine bay, "I hate to... Do this to you, but... I knew you'd have the answer to this issue, and quarter alerts are literally upon us. Is there any way you can-"

With the angry buzz of the garage's teleportation pad, it very quickly came to life with the swarm of Turbo's hot red coding, ancient honeycombs that popped with so much fervor, it practically climbed a nearby wall. Everyone whirled around in hot, solid surprise as Turbo's figure urgently began to pace across the stretch of the garage. Berri raised her eyebrows in entire, madly blushing surprise. Having just woken up, Turbo was proudly shirtless. He wore his favorite, faded red sweats, which sagged on his lower hips. Hugged tight further up his hip bones was a show of the thick band of his black boxers, Turbo looked disheveled in the most delightful way. Berri sagged her phone from her head and realized that Turbo had hung up on her, due to using the teleport pad, and although she wanted to immediately be overjoyed, throw herself into an excitable hug with Arcade's most misunderstood soul, she felt her whole demeanor sag with confused tension; the whole idea that Turbo's disposition read entire unwelcome, he looked mad, and although his eyes still held a confident yellow glow, Berri wondered if she'd see his angry red side, here.

"Your majesty," Turbo grunted with a nod, he gave Zed an apologetic look, as if to be sorry for showing up nearly entirely indecent, though he knew the game couldn't afford to wait for Turbo to simply brush his hair and put on a shirt. Zed lovingly gave Turbo's shoulder and upper back a firm pat as he neared, though it was extremely clear that Turbo was just as aggravated to be in this group as much as Sugar Rush's racers were. Turbo huffed an irritated sigh of silence, lofted his creepy, square-pupil gaze about the group of nay-sayers and finally hooked his eyes to Zed's, "Cylinders locked? Y'got the packaged error codes, didn't you."

"...Yeah, you familiar?" Zed faltered with a small, incredulous laugh, he easily handed the master digital pad over to Turbo, something he knew he wouldn't question for a second, though was fairly certain every racer around him was now holding their breath in terror.

"Boy, am I," Turbo grumbled in mild irritation at said notion, as if he had maybe dealt with this a thousand times.

Berri held her breath, took a few steps away from Gloyd's engine bay, and now felt every single last ounce of her confidence leave her system. She tucked her hands to her chest in girly uncertainty, she looked over Turbo's masculine figure and just about had a hay-day. The sculpt of a suggestion of abs on Turbo's torso, his strong arms, the veins in his able, handsome hands, she bit her lip and froze in a rile of now entirely lofted confusion. Berri held her breath and was well aware this was a very tall order to ask of Turbo, especially coming off of carelessly forgetting plans with him the night prior and falling asleep on promises, Berri frowned and wondered just where they'd go from here. The tension in the room was beyond palpable, the nervous steps away a few racers took, though Berri was at least thrilled they held their curious eyes tight to his point on the grid. She knew she needed to keep up with this situation, a situation she vowed she'd hold fast to Turbo's side for. She flinched as Turbo cleared his throat, tried to straighten his hair, and thumbed through Zed's digital pad.

"Yep, yep... Tons of fun," Turbo grunted, a few flashing error codes suddenly popped up in front of the drop down menu that he had cued to, he shook his head and wrinkled his nose in boyish irritation, "Yeah, yeah, I get it, trapped air, I know, I know."

Berri dared to huff a small giggle. She crossed her arms and eased up, she knew that no one else would if she didn't, excluding her mother, father and grandmother. She was delighted to see the edges of Turbo's lips just barely curl a secretive smile, something she had the entire privilege to see blossom into a full fledged show of teeth and laughter. Berri studied Turbo's every move, she knew she had seen him in this particular group of people before, but now that they were in such a raw scenario, she wondered just how he'd handle the heat. With a flinch, Turbo heaved a gentle sigh, set Zed's pad down in a safe landing inside Gloyd's engine bay, and quickly made his way to the driver's side door. A few of the racers gently shifted to ease out of Turbo's way, and as Turbo leaned into Gloyd's driver side seat, the gentle crank of the emergency brake was heard; what came next was the clear noise of Turbo shifting the car into neutral.

"These cars are amazing, they're fast, reliable, and can take a beating," Turbo grunted as he stood to correction, came back to the engine bay, swiped up Zed's pad and began to eagerly thumb through a few options, "What absolutely blows about them is the fact that... You could so much as look at the engine block wrong, and the whole thing seizes up. Good move going with Tobikomi, for the make of these cars, but... Still think we should stick with the models from the 90's."

Turbo sagged the pad a little, lofted his gaze to Zed and Tessa, and much to Berri's surprise, his lazy, exhausted gaze came back to hers, he dared to give her a soft, understanding smile.

"What do I know, I'm just an old dog... Can't teach me new tricks," Turbo grumbled, he raised his eyebrows, inhaled a deep breath and began to prod through a few things, specifically honing in on the holographic infrastructure of Gloyd's car. He leaned closer to Zed and Tessa, knowing they'd be the ones who needed this lesson in looking, "See, here? The whole thing froze mid combustion. It's either gasoline still in the cylinders, or air. Nothing will turn back on until you release it."

"And putting it in neutral?" Zed prod as he locked eyes with Turbo.

"That's the secret," Turbo grumbled, "A secret that I nearly learned too late, once upon a time. Almost decided to total a car I was fixing up because of this issue."

"Was that when you ruled Sugar Rush?" Torvald muttered in gentle annoyance, and although her tone wasn't technically too snotty, it still held an underlying tone of bitterness.

"As a matter of fact, yeah, it was," Turbo dared, his voice pressed to an upset, loud volume that was entirely foreign to Berri. Turbo inhaled a deep breath through his nose, his strong, lightly muscular chest expanded, he shook his head and peered back down to the digital pad with Zed, "In order to get everything to loosen, y'put the thing in neutral... Now you have to go in and tediously release and unhinge every single last coded spring and trap and valve and whatever the crap, inside each cylinder. I would sit and patiently show you, but it's clear that we-"

All at once, the game eagerly began to announce the sheer fact that Litwak's Arcade was open. Turbo bobbed an nod, huffed a sarcastic chuckle, and before he could say any other words, his fingers worked like lightning on the coding before him. His incredible eyes dart back and forth in his detrimental task, and as he eagerly unlocked every single last problem in Gloyd's engine, he pressed a firm finger into the refresh button. The coding of Gloyd's car eagerly glitched in a flicker of the code room's coding of a silver glow, and with a thud, the car came back to the grid of the garage. Turbo gently handed Zed his digital pad, pressed into the driver side door of Gloyd's car, and with a crank of the ignition, the car loudly roared to life. Everyone eagerly beamed excited, shocked, and bewildered looks of entire disbelief. Berri covered the sides of her head with an equally as surprised look, and as Turbo came around the front of the car, his strong hands and arms eagerly lowered the hood of Gloyd's car. With a slam of the closed hood, Turbo dusted his hands, cocked an eyebrow, and lofted his creepy gaze straight into Gloyd's soul.

"You're good to go," Turbo coldly volleyed, "Easy on the shifting... These cars won't play nice if you don't."

"Th-Thank you, Turbo," Gloyd staggered as his lightly shaking hand reached out for a handshake, and as both men shook hands in a firm swipe of manly understanding, Turbo, Tessa, Zed and Berri eagerly took a few steps away as every racer jumped into their cars.

With the loud roars of each engine, as loud and eruptive as it all was, it very quickly came rumbling to the tender reverberation of echoes. As the final car could be heard leaving the garage, the four heads were left in the dust of silence, the gentle, sunny warmth of the well lit garage, it was here did Berri understand that they now had yet another problem to solve. Although Berri was floored that Turbo was a master at solving engine problems, she knew full well that when it came to feuding, he wasn't one to solve, but rather one to run or shove it under the rug. Berri cocked an eyebrow and dared to gloss her eyes to Turbo's face, he stood confidently next to her, between her and her parents. Zed finally heaved a long, exhausted sigh and gently reached out to Turbo for a handshake.

"Dude, you saved my ass," Zed blurt a chuckle, and with this, Turbo's strong shoulders sagged in understanding, his warm smile finally came back to him, and as Tessa rested her hand lovingly to Turbo's upper arm, Berri held her breath and remained silent to watch this sticky situation conclude.

"I-It was nothing," Turbo stated, warmth finally began to come back to his voice, it was clear he proudly showed his cold front amongst strangers, especially strangers that mildly detested him.

"We can go over that properly, after game day," Zed bobbed a nod, to which Turbo followed suit, "I don't want to have to keep bothering you this early in the morning, if that happens again."

"Sorry we had to wake you up," Tessa eased in a sorrowful mumble, and although Berri was certain Turbo would have some form of a begrudging remark, she was delighted to see him shake his head in tender protest.

"You guys gave me a second chance at life," Turbo's deep voice eased over the group with love, he long blinked in sleepy exhaustion, however, and tried to keep face in the mix of lack of sleep and being thrusted into a group of people that hated him. He inhaled a deep breath and confidently carried on, nonetheless, "I'm not going to squander it by sleeping through times of need."

"Good man," Zed agreed with gratitude, though as they held solid in their handshake, Zed firmly pat Turbo's upper arm, heaved a tired sigh and began to remove himself from Turbo's and Berri's tight presences; Tessa began to follow suit, "Alright, go back to sleep, we can handle it from here. Bear, y'meeting up with Throttle?"

"Yeah, dad," Berri chimed with a small nod, "Class is in an hour."

"Don't forget," Zed pointed to her, his voice was stern in a teasing show of cuteness, though he winked at her upon him and Tessa slowly turning their backs and heading towards the garage's teleportation pad; once the two were gone in a flit of lovely silver coding, Berri held her breath and now realized she was entirely alone with Turbo.

Turbo heaved a long, hot, tired sigh through his nose, sagged his shoulders farther and allowed all his walls and guards to come down. He raised his eyebrows in boyish, dewy concern and softly lofted his eyes to Berri's. She raised her eyebrows, locked eyes with him and still felt that sting of creepiness fall over her. She was now understanding that it would probably be something she was never entirely over, though the itch to pound that fear to a pulp only drove her to be near Turbo even more. She felt the remembrance of guilt sweep her system, and just as she went to open her mouth to let out a whole slew of apologies, Turbo lulled his eyes closed, shook his head and grimaced in mild annoyance.

"It's fine, Bear, it's fine..." Turbo grumbled, Berri sagged her arms to her sides and shook her head.

"I-I fell asleep in the palace's main kitchen, I-I don't know what happened," Berri gently begged, Turbo peeled his exhausted eyes open and finally peaked a gentle, knowing, irritated smile at her, "I was woken up by the racer's turning on their cars, and then... I heard something was wrong, and, when I came to investigate, I knew it was a job for you."

"...Thank you," Turbo bobbed a nod, he finally scoffed a small laugh and rubbed the back of his head, he expanded his masculine chest and lulled his eyes closed in sleepy desire as his arm raised high enough to peak his nearly black armpit hair, "I-It's not every day I get to show off my knowledge to the people that think I'm worth nothing."

"I knew we could count on you," Berri further assured, though she began to feel confusion fall over her; how eagerly she'd inadvertently grovel at Turbo's feet, how badly she wanted his approval, how far she'd go to see his heart melting smile lofted in her direction, "Turbo, I'm... Really sorry about yesterday, honestly. It was a whirl wind of chaos and I guess it just wiped me."

"I'm pissed at you," Turbo finally scoffed at the dregs of his silently whining, grunting stretch, arms high above his head.

"Oh, shut up, it's not even that big of a deal," Berri now stabbed in playful defense, to which Turbo lulled his eyes closed and rubbed the back of his head in exhaustion that now soaked over the need to be alert and at the ready.

"It's probably something we should fight about at my place," Turbo stated in a serious tone, though Berri could tell that by the choice of his words, he was simply bantering.

"Did I really screw up that badly?" Berri prod in a teasing show of defense, to which Turbo raised his eyebrows, put his hands on his hips and bobbed a nod of disappointment.

"I mean, yeah, I don't know how we're going to get through this," Turbo played, his voice remained stern, the gentle banter between them now crumpled amidst knowing smiles they couldn't contain any longer. Turbo rolled his eyes and shrugged, "Whatever, Bear, let's just... Get this over with."

"Yikes, I don't think we'll see this one through," Berri mumbled as the two began to gently saunter closer to the garage's teleportation pad; the grumbling irritation in Turbo's voice was entirely apparent, though Berri wondered if she could somehow troubleshoot her way through the tricky maze of emotions a Mr. Turbo Black was very secretly wonderful at deploying; she knew full well that she was the lucky duck that had the treasure map, the winding, thorny path directly to his heart.


	62. Chapter 62

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Indeed!

 **Burgie :** True! It does definitely help :)

 **Jay Sketchin :** Aw, thanks friend! No issue! :D And yes, Turbo deserves all the luffs!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Walk Me Home by P!nk**

* * *

 ***Chapter 61***

"I loved the look on Gloyd's face," Berri stated with a soft giggle, she shook her head and beamed Turbo a small, sheepish smile; she knew she had to walk on eggshells, for multitudinous reasons.

"Why?" Turbo volleyed curtly, the two sank into the still warmth of his silent loft, still merely left untouched from the slumber Turbo was suddenly rushed from.

"Because, he was like, whoa. Turbo actually helped me," Berri sarcastically gasped and cupped her cheeks, as if to be surprised. She shook her head and lofted her eyes to Turbo's back, though in a sharp, blushing double take, she noticed a whole entire slew of gorgeous, faded tattoos splayed down the broad of Turbo's upper back. She raised her eyebrows in surprise, though before she could sharply switch gears and inquire about the incredible artwork, Turbo grappled another one of his hoodies from his couch and began to urgently yank it over his body. The gears began to angrily turn and crank in confusion, though she shook her head and staggered to get words out, "Y-You're cold?"

"No, I'm going out on my balcony," Turbo muttered, although he was in a bad mood from having been woken up abruptly, not to mention the slew of eyes that were previously on him, he tried his very hardest not to take his bad mood out on Berri.

"Oh, how come? It's freezing out there," Berri furrowed her eyebrows in a splash of now further confusion, she gazed across Turbo's lovely, familiar home, Sugar Rush's massive metropolis sprawled underneath their point in the clouds, a cold, colorful, sky scraper wonderland.

"I'm going to have a smoke," Turbo mumbled as he straightened his dark brown hoodie to correction, and as he inhaled a raspy, deep breath, he grappled for the pack of cinnamon-scent cigarettes on his kitchen island, which was easily clad with a few other messy items.

"...How many hoodies do you have that have your name on it?" Berri blurt into a soft laugh, one that didn't seem to pushy, she desperately tried to pry normal conversation from him; having to learn how to navigate Turbo's now irritated, sleepy moodiness was something she was unfamiliar with.

"It's all I got, Bear, no one else is going to wear my merch," Turbo stabbed with a half hearted, sarcastic laugh, he grappled the chest of his hoodie and pressed on in a now sassy, forced tone of advertising, "Link in bio!"

"Uh, do you SEE ME?" Berri volleyed with an even louder laugh as she grappled the chest of the zip up hoodie she was wearing, of which had Turbo's name proudly down her left arm. Turbo sagged his shoulders, stayed still in his stance across the island, from Berri, and nearly went to roll his eyes as she continued on, "I'll rep your merch any day of the week, dude, hello."

"Yeah, cause you're the only person in this whole Arcade that actually likes me," Turbo huffed, the still look of rising irritation strangely began to mix with cute, coy stubbornness.

"I may even LIKE-like you," Berri pressed, though her tone held a playful twinge as she waggled her eyebrows; although the two were very well aware Berri's words were most definitely true, Turbo still did everything he could to lull his head back, fully roll his eyes, and let out an entirely irritated groan. Berri slumped her shoulders and now began to grow irritated alongside Turbo, "Oh, COME ON. You upstaged every single smarty on Sugar Rush's roster, you should be so thrilled right now!"

"Ask me in an hour," Turbo muttered as he swiftly began to cross his home, towards his lovely balcony doors, which were sealed safely shut.

"Why an hour?" Berri wondered as she jolted to move her sock covered feet about the island, she quickly shuffled after him and was well aware she'd have to keep up with his moody demeanor.

"I'll be fully awake by then," Turbo curtly responded, and as he came to his balcony doors, he gently slide the door to the left and began to clumsily step outside.

Berri raised her eyebrows and was at least thrilled to see Turbo leave the door open for her. Turbo's balcony opened up to a Northeast facing sprawl of grey outdoor tiles, a secured balcony over hang and railing, as well as a cozy set of outdoor couches and chairs, safely hugging a smaller outdoor coffee table. Turbo sat down in a huff, as if it were his tytpical hang out spot for when he smoked. An ash tray hung on his edge of the coffee table, at the ready, and although Berri had seen this balcony before, she furrowed her eyebrows and felt her heart sink at the sight of a whole slew more cigarette butts inside the tray, more than what she has previously seen in the past few days. In another turn of realization, she lofted her glancing gaze back to Turbo's kitchen island and noticed at least half a dozen opened, empty beer bottles. She slowed her roll and felt her skin prickle in tender confusion. She knew slacking on plans with Turbo, last night, wasn't the coolest thing to do, though she now wondered if he had taken it harder than she had maybe thought.

With a new air of understanding and tenderness, she knew she needed to show Turbo a bit more support. She hoped that she could softly ease him out of his bad habits, though as he lit up his cigarette, she felt the urge to lean over and pluck it straight from his fingers. She resisted, knowing that'd only make him more mad, though as if poking a sleeping lion, she wondered just how angry he'd have to get in order to show that vivid, glowing red eye contact only Nox has ever told stories about. With a brave heart, a deep inhale of Sugar Rush's cool air, she stepped out onto the balcony with Turbo and rounded the couch. She knew not to sit way too close to him, though she wondered if pushing her loving, bubbling personality on him would potentially just reverse his bad mood. Berri figured it'd make it much worse, though she shrugged to herself and knew there was simply only one way to find out. With a plop, she sat down next to Turbo as he exhaled a long, fogged breath of his smoke; he kindly blew it opposite of Berri's direction.

"Bo, I know you're upset about last night," Berri stated in tenderness, she wriggled out of Turbo's hoodie and laid it in her lap. Turbo cocked an eyebrow and gave her a gentle show of eye contact, one of which had the potential to softening, "I'm really sorry. It was shitty of me to come back to Sugar Rush and forget to text you... And then to promise you that I'd come over later, and then fall asleep."

"It's fine, Bear, I already said," Turbo sighed after a long inhale of his quickly dwindling cigarette, smoke eased out his nose like a dragon. He lulled his eyes closed and shook his head, "You don't need to keep apologizing."

"Yes I do," Berri bobbed a nod, she knew she needed to be frank, here, "I earned your trust, and stunts like what I pulled only chip away at it. I know you're not one to easily hand out trust to the first person that lands on your door step."

Turbo fell silent and gently gave her now unyielding eye contact, one of understanding and final softness. He sagged his shoulders and bobbed a gentle nod, as if to make clear to her that she was forgiven, and although it maybe was a much bigger deal than he lead on, he still made sure not to make her feel too bad.

"It's not everyday anyone becomes Turbo Black's best friend," Berri's warmth soaked over Turbo's shivering soul, she side-eyed him in a wrinkle of a cute smile, as if to potentially state that they were lucky to have each other, here, "I'm not going to squander it... I hope you can give me a second chance to redeem myself."

"No questions asked, Bear, it was never not an option," Turbo blurt the softest, shyest chuckle, he shook his head and lulled his eyes closed, once more, "I-I'm just scared to get too close to anyone... Last night really hindered my trust, but... I also trust you're not one to just willingly hurt people. I know it was an accident. And it's not that big of a deal... I-I don't blame you, quite frankly. You were hanging out with Gunner. Isn't he like your biggest celebrity crush, or something?"

"I mean, yeah, when I was growing up," Berri shrugged, she tried not to seem too obvious over the fact that said young-years crush came immediately flooding back to her girly circuits, "Still no excuse to shit on plans with my best friend."

Turbo looked off into Sugar Rush's glorious, sunny distance, he narrowed his eyes in smiling disbelief and finally gave Berri a loving stab of bewildered, curious eye contact.

"...You really like me that much?" Turbo wondered quietly, his tone lowered to a tenderness of bashful reveal, as if his hard, hearty and cold exterior was something he'd only briefly shed for Berri's eyes only.

"Didn't I just make that clear?" Berri barked softly as she shook her head; she was thrilled Turbo's wall came down so she could shove his own medicine down his throat; Turbo flinched and finally smiled in irritation that began to rush back to him. Berri eagerly jostled the hoodie in her lap and garbled her voice to a funny pitch of goofiness, "BUY MY MERCH!"

"Oh, shut up," Turbo choked a laugh he desperately tried to hold back, he shook his head and inhaled yet another deep breath of his cigarette.

"Yes, I like you, get used to it," Berri stabbed in tender, smiling, blushing annoyance; as much as they both so desperately wanted to reveal tender, romantic feelings to each other, they both somehow met in a grey area of hovering wait and nervous anticipation, as if maybe it were too soon. Berri heaved a sigh and shooed away said thoughts for the time being, she began to pull out her materializer and knew just how to get a smile out of Turbo, "Besides... Just because I missed jamming out with you last night doesn't mean I can't make up for it right now."

"...You SERIOUSLY brought your guitar over? NOW?" Turbo barked in climbing annoyance, though as Berri began to pull out her favorite lime green electric guitar from her glossy materializer, Turbo groaned a louder noise of whole irritation and looked off into the distance, "Hooo man, you seriously brought your guitar over."

"I know just the thing to make you wake up," Berri prod with a cheesy smile; Turbo so desperately held back smiles and laughter, and was successful.

"Thank User you don't have your amp with you," Turbo muttered as he glossed his eyes all about Berri's person, hoping somehow she didn't forget to unveil a pocket amp, or something of the like.

"I can still make it work," Berri argued, she shook her head and began to lay her guitar across her lap, her fingers prepared to grapple the bridge of her guitar in readiness, "May sound flat, but whatever."

"Kill me," Turbo muttered, as much as he desperately wanted to remain annoyed, he could feel that warmth creeping back into his soul; after a night of feeling lonely and unwanted, his whole body craved Berri's warmth next to him.

" _Annnd there she was, out of the blue, bright as the sky, Sugar-Rushin' sweeeeet_... BAM!" Berri blurt in sing-song, she strummed her guitar in vigorous playfulness; it strung in weird tunes of dullness strictly for the fact that it wasn't plugged into an amp.

"Annoying as all get-out," Turbo muttered, as if to finish the verse. He slumped over his knees a little more and let his irritated, pixel-cubed gaze gloss over Orion City. It boasted the morning sun with all of it's magnificence, though just as he was about to take another inhale of his cigarette, he flinched as Berri suddenly strummed her guitar a little harder and leaned into Turbo's side.

" _ANNOYINNNNG as all get-out_ ," Berri retort, she wrinkled her nose at him in dry annoyance and noticed him go for said puff of his bad habit, though she lulled the guitar in her lap and gingerly plucked the cigarette from his hand.

"Ah- HEY, HEY!" Turbo grunted in high pitched annoyance as Berri flicked the cigarette off of his massive sixty-fourth floor drop. Turbo grappled the railing of his balcony and peered down to the loud city life far below, though he slowly came back to the couch the two were comfortably lounged on. He inhaled a slow, seething breath and desperately tried to contain the thought of rocketing her guitar over the edge, in retaliation. Berri cocked an eyebrow and gave him a stern look of full-blown girly sass, though he glared her down, "Don't you have to meet up with Throttle or something? Some other poor soul to torture?"

"In forty-five minutes," She muttered as she remained still and peered to him with a dull smile, though her eyes twinkled with all the energy and excitement in the world.

"Forty-five minutes, huh... You could go sit in Game Central Academy's Library and, oh I don't know... Hear silence for once," Turbo huffed as he crossed his arms, though he couldn't help but let a wide, annoyed smile plaster his face as he noticed Berri get ready to excitedly strum at her guitar once more. Turbo jolted to sit up, he uttered a hard noise of grimacing annoyance and grappled the neck of her guitar, "DON'T... Make a song about it, for User's sakes."

"You're no fun," Berri prod with a small giggle as the two slowly relaxed from the tense actions of grapples and stiff movements.

"I honestly have never heard that about me, before," Turbo stated in dark sarcasm as he sat back and began to clumsily fumble with his pack of cigarettes.

"I actually realized I haven't used the bathroom since before I fell asleep last night," Berri slumped out of her playfulness and began to put her guitar back into her materializer; the air between them shifted from obnoxious push and pull of irritation to a slump of gentle, poised seriousness. Berri tucked her hair behind her ears and prepared to get up out of her comfortable spot next to Turbo, "May I please use your bathroom?"

"Yes, ma'am," Turbo's deep voice reverberated in his chest, a polite show of tender annoyance as he cast her a simple glance of warm uncertainty, though as she left the balcony, Turbo sagged and knew he needed to potentially wake up a lot faster than he was used to, due to likely being at the very tail end of Berri's tolerance for putting up with his bad attitude.

Turbo knew it was no secret, the sheer fact that he subtly would watch Berri leave, he cocked an eyebrow and bashfully let his golden eyes admire her figure as she left, though once she was gone, he heaved a hard, irritated sigh, to no one but himself, and sagged deeper into his couch. His confidently glowing, golden eyes aimlessly peered down to the new, lit cigarette in his hand, he knew full well that he was enjoying every single last second of this nonsense. Every second he had with Berri even so much as being the most annoying person in the entire Arcade, he swore he'd take it, over being alone, in a heartbeat. He smiled as his eyes aimlessly noticed the little embers inside his cigarette, the warm smoke that so tenderly billowed from the end, he felt his heart swell to bigger degrees he wasn't certain was real.

Turbo finally lofted his gaze across this great, vast land underneath him. A glowing city under his reign, it twinkled with the sunshine that lovingly cast down upon it, like rays that fed a field of flowers, Turbo sighed a hefty sigh and allowed his mind to wander into territories he had desperately tried to avoid. He dared to remember the exciting, new feelings of love he had felt when him and Libby Swirlz first met. The rushing anticipation of skin, of kisses, of hand holding, of date nights, he squeezed his eyes shut and allowed himself to feel the feelings he had shut away for so long, the thirty years he endured being trapped with Libby's coding, he peeled his eyes open in a dreaded stick of coming upon a hurdle to climb over, a hurdle that now included a brand new woman, a feeling he was absolutely certain his heart wouldn't have the strength to feel, ever again. His heart began to pound with realization that was just underneath his nose, the plain realization that he knew was right in front of him, this entire time, though even still he held it at bay.

After about ten minutes of desperately keeping the L word clear from his mind, he shook his head, put out his now dwindled cigarette and began to make his way back inside. He lazily began to tidy his hair, from previously, though as his bare feet gently eased inside, he jolted to a halt at the sight in his living room. With a sharp furrow of his eyebrows, he noticed Berri layed curled on the big bend of his comfortable red couch, she was draped in one of the cozy blankets Turbo kept on his couch for comfort; she was fast asleep. Turbo huffed a faltered breath of uncertainty, though he quickly let out a silent chuckle of annoyance, as if he was sure that whatever kind of a night she had last night, it must've been exhausting. Turbo finally released the bitter feelings of being forgotten and allowed it to slide off of his back for good; he knew Berri meant no harm, the startling jolt of being abruptly woken up and thrusted into a whole pack of peers that detested him only made his attitude sour, he swallowed his pride and knew to stop taking his bad mood out on Sugar Rush's beautiful princess.

As he neared Berri's snoozing figure, he cocked an eyebrow and noticed her phone was still unlocked. He furrowed his eyebrows, leaned down to get a good look as to what was displayed, and was delighted to see that she had only just set a few alarms for herself, not two minutes ago. One for fifteen minutes before her class with Throttle, and one five minutes before. Turbo sagged his shoulders and glanced to Berri's soundly snoozing face, she was entirely lost in exhausted sleep. Turbo shook his head, heaved a long sigh through his nose and tenderly reached his finger down to the touch screen of her phone. He silently disabled her alarms, locked her phone and stood up straight in a slow swell of understanding. He knew that in this instance, he'd now have to text Throttle and let him simply know that Berri wouldn't be making it to her class, all while simultaneously hoping Zed didn't notice her waypoints in the game, which would now remain stationed at Turbo's for the day. Prepared to deal with the backlash, Turbo cheekily smiled and, as carefully as he could, he sat down a few feet from Berri's sleeping figure, on the couch, and pulled his phone from his pocket.

The television quietly drummed on in the background, a tender white noise of commercials and boring, day time tv. Turbo sagged into the couch with a small, cheeky smile, he glanced in Berri's direction and was glad she'd now get a full nap in, as opposed to maybe a half an hour of sleep that would do her no good. He was glad she viewed his home as a safe spot for all her needs, it was very slowly becoming all he wanted, and more, out of their friendship, simply a safety net of trust, an equal amount of give and take they could rely on. Turbo tabbed to Throttle's name, in his own phone, and began to diligently type a message to his big brother. He furrowed his eyebrows into his screen and picked his words wisely, he knew Throttle would likely just attempt to pick the situation apart if he weren't careful. Although Turbo was en route to hoping to avoid said conversation, somewhere, in the back of his mind, he was secretly hoping it'd arise; any excuse to potentially talk about his feelings without bombarding an unfortunate soul that didn't ask.

 _Black : Hey man, just wanted to quickly message you and let you know that Berri fell asleep at the palace's kitchen island last night. She came over to my loft, just now, to hang out before your class, but she fell asleep on my couch. I don't have the heart to wake her up._

 _Tee : You mean, you have the heart to NOT wake her up._

Turbo looked off and felt his veins wiggle in a show of annoyance, though with said wiggle of annoyance, it very easily shook the last dregs of stubborn irritation away. He sagged his shoulders, looked down into his phone and finally began to feel his heart pound in unfolding anticipation. He inhaled a trembling breath through his nose and only hovered his thumbs over the digital keyboard on his own touch screen, he wondered why he could feel every single last ounce of blood in his body just pulse in a shedding anticipation, as if he was somehow going through a proverbial molt and Throttle was now due to being witness to it, no matter through text or in person. Turbo finally exhaled an equally as trembling breath and cocked an eyebrow in bashful boyishness.

 _Black : Guess that sounds more like me._

 _Tee : It does. It's no problem, my lectures for Beaux and Mara are a bit rudimentary and I can tell Berri gets a little bored, towards the end of class. She IS Tessa's daughter, after all._

 _Black : Smart girl._

Before Turbo could lock his phone and just call the conversation over for good, he sharply furrowed his eyebrows in whole annoyance at the somehow unending, annoying television commercial that began to obnoxiously play. Although the volume of the tv was low, the words could still be heard; Turbo grunted a noise to attempt to sit up, so to grapple for the television remote to change the channel.

"When I first met Thelka, man... I had no clue what to do with her," Stated the guy in the commercial, the very commercial that Turbo, Wren and Theo were obnoxiously making fun a week or two prior. Turbo furrowed his brow in further annoyance and tried to continue to grapple for the tv remote as the guy, on screen, softly carried on, "She just kept, I don't know... Popping up everywhere I went, even so much as coming over unannounced. I seriously thought I was going to go insane, all I wanted to do was be alone."

"I guess it was just my persistence," Thelka lovingly chimed, a cute couple amidst a white backdrop, as if to be interviewed for this proper commercial.

"We were both on GamerSocial, but I figured it'd be useless... How could someone like ME find someone like HER?" The guy, on screen, tenderly continued, though as Turbo finally had the remote in hand, he felt that pinprickled feeling of warmth finally coat his soul, once and for all, as if to whisper to him to take it easy, to accept these feelings, a hug of reassurance, that falling head over heels would be okay, that falling in deep would be both terrifying and amazing.

"We became fast friends, due to my perseverance," Thelka pressed, Turbo honed his eyes tight to the commercial and felt as if his flat screen had begun to glow, every single beam of sunshine turned into a ray brighter than anything the universe had ever seen, "I figured he finally caved and just was forced to enjoy my presence."

"Oh, it runs much deeper than that," The gentleman deeply pressed, the way the two looked at each other was sapped in love and appreciation, "One day I just... Looked over at her, and it was like... Magic."

Turbo huffed a shaky, faltered breath and, as if it was slowly against his own will, he long blinked in almost dumbfounded surprise and tenderly peered his wavering, golden gaze tight to Berri's figure, just to his left. He felt as if the pulse in his jugular was bound to come shooting out of him, his heart throbbed in a renewed pound of undefeated feelings, as if he now could hardly reign it in, even if he wanted to, even if he programmed his brain to do something different, his eyes glossed Berri's adorable face and felt entirely doomed, in this raw instance of now whole realization.

"Aw, you mean that?" Thelka's gentle voice chimed, Turbo raised his eyebrows in a forlorn show of bewilderment towards himself, as if he could swear his heart would simply not allow this feeling ever again, how foreign it all finally felt.

"Course I do... It's not every day you find yourself falling in love with your best friend."

Berri's innocently snoozing figure continued to methodically inhale and exhale air, as she slept. The tender gape of her pink lips, the adorable curl of her blue eye lashes, the sunkissed freckles on her creamy white skin, Turbo almost felt as if the oxygen in the room was now molasses, and he was delightfully drowning in the whole feelings that now rolled over him in a full force of finalization. He knew it was coming, though he shook his head and was certain it all would dissipate before flirting turned into feelings. Turbo felt his pulse continue to pound on the undersides of his skin, begging him to wake up already, to understand that lost love, from decades ago, didn't simply go extinct. The awakened, refreshed, new feeling of love that now coat over his very honeycombs felt as if he was from a brand new game that just got plugged in. As difficult as it was to finally dip his toes back into romance, he dared to allow his heart to finally ease from the shallow end of flirty banter, to slowly and successfully soak right into the deeper end of it all, to finally fall in love.

Turbo huffed a shaky breath, as if to be beside himself, as if all the distance between him and Berri was now a million miles, and all he ever wanted to do was be glued to her side. He shook his head in disbelief and began to silently scold his heart, as if to angrily warn it just what happened the last time he fell in love, the way his whole life and nearly the entirety of Arcade fell apart due to it. He continued to shake his head and kept his eyes tight to Berri's adorably snoozing figure, her arm almost haphazardly tucked underneath her chin and head for support, the way her legs were curled for comfort, he squeezed his eyes shut and finally sagged his elbows to his knees, he firmly held the sides of his head and scrunched in terror, as if these feelings were about to come crashing down on top of him and there was nothing to save him now. As if the feelings did, indeed, crash on top of him, he warily accepted it, took it like a man, he reopened his eyes and peered down to his bare feet and carpet, knowing full well he was doomed; there was no weaseling his way out of this one. In a shaky swipe, he grappled for his phone and felt a renewed heat under his skin, a new sense of purpose and defeat, all in one.

 _Black : By the way... Can I talk to you about something? It's nothing detrimental, I just... Need a shoulder. You're my big brother. I just need an ear. I just am a little apprehensive and don't know how to handle the situation I'm in._

 _Tee : Course, Bo, what's going on?_

Turbo breathed a silent, shaky sigh, sat up a little straighter and landed his eye contact to Berri's soundly snoozing figure, once more, eye contact that grew more and more confident as the seconds pressed on. Turbo shook his head in continued disbelief and began to warily type the words he was absolutely certain he'd never be typing in his entire life.

 _Black : I think I've fallen in love with Berri._

* * *

 **A/N :** I drew artwork for this chapter, a whopping TWO YEARS ago. That is insane. The artwork already came with dialog, in which I also wrote two years ago. Seriously wild.

It's titled **Blue-Berri Jam** on my deviantART, username **Vyntresser** :)


	63. Chapter 63

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Haha, Turbo gets away with it. Zed has eased off now that Berri's an adult.

 **Romantic Sapp :** Aww thank you! Yes, 2 year old artwork xD Insane how that happens!

 **Burgie :** Thank you! ;_; I'm glad you think so!

 **chuckiboo :** Hey! I meant to reply to you in my last chapter. Thanks for keeping up, hope you're well!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Walk Me Home by P!nk**

* * *

 ***Chapter 63***

"Hey, man," Turbo eased to Throttle in a soft tone of almost mild dejection; he softly shuffled into Throttle's warm home, both men escaped Sugar Rush's bitter, cold, snowy nightfall. As Throttle closed his larger, wooden front door with a clack, sealing them away in warmth for good, Turbo heaved a sigh of relief and began to take off his dark red zip up hoodie, "Thanks for letting me come over so late... Berri and company kept stopping by, and I had no excuse to stop them from coming."

"I understand," Throttle said through a small laugh, he firmly pat Turbo's back as he passed him in his dimly lit foyer, and as they both eased deeper into Throttle's home, they sagged into his lower-leveled living room and found spots amidst Throttle's comfortable living room chairs and couches to sit. Throttle raised his eyebrows, once he sat down, and tenderly brought his steaming cup of frothy, milky coffee up to his mouth, "Night owls unite."

"Amen," Turbo huffed sarcastically, he sat down onto Throttle's comfortable white couch in a slump and raised his eyebrows in cute, dewy surprise, the fact that Throttle had preemptively made him a cup of hot coffee, as well. Turbo froze in his actions before gently reaching for the handle of the glossy brown mug on Throttle's glass coffee table, "For me?"

"For you," Throttle assured with a nod, and though he knew to tread as lightly as humanely possible, he still cocked an eyebrow at his younger brother and bobbed another nod of whole understanding, "Figured you'd need it... With a text like that, I was sure we'd be here awhile, so... I prepared."

"Thank you," Turbo sighed as he sagged back into the couch with his hot, delicious cup of coffee. His grey pointer finger idly ran around the rim of the cup as he aimlessly gazed into the steamy liquid, "I... I appreciate it, a lot. Sorry I sort of came at you, like that, I just... It hit me like a wall, and I had no clue who to message. All I knew is I needed to message someone."

"Your secrets are safe with me," Throttle assured, once more, a stoic, unmoving wall of love and protection, something Turbo had so greatly missed.

"Safest, probably," Turbo shrugged in a soft bob of a nod, he shot his cheeky, kind, glowing yellow eyes tight to his big brother's line of sight, both boys erupted in gentle chuckling, "I-I could easily tell Nox all this as well, but... I always went to you for advice."

"Nox is actually probably a better fit for a conversation like this, to be honest, but..." Throttle shrugged and lofted his left ankle over his right knee in a lazy crossed position, he sagged deeper into his comfortable, light brown recliner and sighed Turbo his conclusion, "I'm honored, either way."

"Guess I could still run it by him," Turbo furrowed his brow and looked off, it was here did Throttle understand that he'd probably have to take the reigns with this conversation, the way Turbo grew nervous and faltered in words, a bashful show of a typically walled off, secluded individual; proof to Throttle that Turbo was, indeed, harboring a mass of warm, new feelings.

"Tell me what's going on, then? Where did this all come from?" Throttle prod softly, he knew he'd hit harder questions later.

"Entirely out of the blue," Turbo sighed, a sweet smile sprawled his face, he looked illuminated with love, though his eyes still held a very real amount of apprehension and terror, "You know that stupid Gamer Social commercial that plays literally any chance it gets?"

"Oh, the one where the girl was so persistent and annoying that the secluded guy finally just caved and fell in love with his best friend?" Throttle rushed in a lazy show of redundancy, though as he replayed the words in his head, and Turbo's eyes held tight to Throttle's in baited wait, Throttle raised his eyebrows in a slow spike of now brimming laughter. Both men were rocketed into a warm bout of chuckling, whole understanding as to just where Turbo was coming from, "Ahhh, I see, I see... The commercial must've hit you square between the eyes."

"It was like the room was on fire," Turbo sighed, he set his coffee down on the table, after taking a sip. He rested his elbows on his knees, shook his head and looked off in aimless thought, "I mean... Berri and I have sort of developed this flirty, banter-like friendship, over the last month and a half we've been together, but... I-I don't know. I walled off, I made certain that it stayed that way. It's almost not fair, it's like I don't have any control over this feeling."

"So, you DON'T want to be in love with her?" Throttle dared, stickier questions began to slowly come to the surface, and it was with Turbo's prolonged silence did both men hold eyes in a string of nervous anticipation.

"I do," Turbo's voice lilted in a depth of sweet, masculine, pin-prickled cuteness. He narrowed his eyes in a soft smile and barely shook his head as both men caught eyes, "That's what scares me... I vowed to never allow myself to feel this way, ever again. Look where it got me last time..."

"That was LAST time," Throttle urged gently, he knew this topic would quickly segue to Turbo's and Libby's past relationship, "There's so much, in this situation, that is different. So much. It's night and day."

"HOW is it different, Tee, I mean really," Turbo shook his head and lulled his eyes closed, "Libby Swirlz was bratty, played the guitar, she was a firecracker of nonsense. Tell me how that is different from Berri, please."

"That's just the kind of women you go for, that's your TYPE," Throttle encouraged with a shrug, "So what? Doesn't mean HISTORY will repeat itself. Just because you found a rebirth of new love, doesn't mean that you're going to swap codes with Berri, the game will get unplugged, Lash will sweep you away to another racing game, and you'll be trapped with Berri's coding for another thirty years."

"...If Sugar Rush gets unplugged, I'm going down with the ship, because you can't pay me enough to leave the game," Turbo rushed with a soft laugh, to which Throttle joined and gestured his arm out.

"See? It's a different situation. Sugar Rush is established, it's not going anywhere, and... If I'm being honest with you, you're treating this time around, with Berri, a lot more responsibly than you ever did with Libby Von Swirlz," Throttle assured, though he cocked an eyebrow and gave his little brother a stern look, "You remember how that all went..."

"It was thirty years ago, Throttle, I mean, really," Turbo grumbled in a gentle sting of despair, "I don't even remember HOW to properly code swap, let alone do ANYTHING that pertains to romance, anymore... That's how long it's been."

"You and Libby literally dove head first into your relationship, Bo," Throttle interrupted with a hard chuckle, he waved Turbo off and shook his head in further irritation, "I remember the day we met Libby... You immediately fell head over heels, and the second we all got upgraded with them, I mean, wow... It was either that night, or the next night, that you guys shared codes. Neither of you wasted ANY time."

Turbo raised his eyebrows in gentle remembrance and thought hard on Throttle's words, he heaved a long sigh through his nose, looked down to his conjoined hands and hung in Throttle's wise notions.

"You both were high score racers, at the absolute top of your game... It was no surprise you two rushed away with each other's coding, none of us were surprised," Throttle smiled a warm smile into Turbo's eyes, one of love and understanding. He narrowed his eyes, side-eyed Turbo and continued on in a deeper tone of tenderness, "I can see the growth in you, Turbo... It's taken thirty years of turmoil and hatred, but... You've come out of the other side of all of your hardships a much better man. You're patient, you're cautious, I mean, hell, lookit you. You've fallen in love with your best friend, and you look absolutely mortified about it."

"I am!" Turbo blurt, both boys immediately burst out into knowing laughter, a warmth that filled Throttle's home to the brim.

"Thirty years ago, you'd have grabbed Berri by the hand and whisked her away for a whole night of code swapping. You would've wasted absolutely no time, you wouldn't have asked questions, you wouldn't text me that you needed a shoulder," Throttle listed, his sweet voice hovered over Turbo's soul like a warm embrace, "This situation is entirely different... And I think you should most definitely welcome it into your life, with open arms."

Turbo raised his eyebrows and continued to soak in Throttle's loving words of finalization, he held eyes with his big brother and now was entirely relieved he had reached out to Throttle. Turbo bobbed a nod of gentle agreeing, looked down to his hands, once more, and felt his heart just continue to pound with these lovely, new feelings. Feelings that latched onto his soul for good and now refused to let go. He long blinked in nervousness, more questions and worries that continued to pop up in his coding, he was hoping Throttle had allotted a solid amount of time for this conversation.

"There's just... So much to unpack," Turbo sighed in defeat, he urgently peered to Throttle and was prepared to nervously lay it all out before him, "I-I mean, like... What do I even tell Libby? Wh-what do I tell Zed? What do I even tell BERRI? She's a self-programmed gamer, for User's sakes, I don't have experience with that!"

"Yeah, I was gunna bring that up," Throttle blurt a hard chuckle, and was successful in getting the same reaction out of Turbo, though worry quickly flood Turbo's demeanor, once more.

"There's so much at stake, it's... It's like she showed up on my doorstep, that one day, hexed me, and now I'm just doomed," Turbo staggered, Throttle blurt another chuckle and shook his head.

"Okay, one person at a time... You have no reason to be worried about Libby," Throttle kindly reassured with a nod, he gave Turbo a loving smile the second his wavering, scared yellow orbs sagged to his own, "Libby is happily married to Ace, with two children... Although she's not simply the SAME Libby Swirlz, she still has all those memories of you and her. She's in an entirely different headspace. She would WANT you to be happy, I know that for a fact."

"But, Berri's basically her little sister," Turbo worried, he grappled his head and shut his eyes tight, "It's just... SO convoluted. Not to mention, Ace would probably delete my ass in one keystroke if he found out."

"Found out what! You simply feel LOVE!" Throttle loudly argued, he continued to chuckle at just how worried and worked up Turbo was getting, "Man, I mean I KNEW these last thirty years have not been kind to you, but you've become the hugest worry wart."

"And then Zed? You understand what falling for Berri really means, in the long run," Turbo shook his head and looked off. He narrowed his gaze and strangely felt a weird urge to weep just brim at the back of his throat, "It's... It's all Lash ever wanted for either one of us... And now that it's strangely right at my fingertips..."

"...To be King?" Throttle sweetly pressed, he knew he needed to get Turbo to see all of this in a new light, "There's a huge difference here, Turbo. You're not rushing in and stealing the crown. You're not robbing unborn code boxes, you're not brainwashing unfortunate souls from other games, you're not wrangling in everyone's insecurities and getting inside peoples heads, just to be in charge..."

Turbo finally dragged a forlorn look of crumpling understanding into his big brother's eyes, and although he had been successful in not allowing this overwhelming swell of new feelings to swallow him whole, a gentle, glassy layer of tears brimmed in Turbo's confidently glowing, glistening eyes. Throttle shook his head, sat forward, set his cup of coffee on his table and eased a little tighter into Turbo's gravity.

"You would have earned it, Turbo," Throttle's voice eased above a whisper, he continued to peer to Turbo in a narrowed gaze of understanding warmth and love, "This is how it's supposed to go... If you live life with your hands in a fist, there's no room for anything good to be placed into them. You've let go of your desire for power, and with such... It strangely found its way right back to you, in a rebirth of humility and purpose."

"I-I don't need the crown, it's not even what I'd want out of this situation," Turbo staggered as a few tears finally slipped down his matte grey skin, he long blinked and held vulnerable eye contact with Throttle, "She could be a simple Orion City commoner, for all I care... I don't care her stature, I just..."

Throttle softly smiled and remained silent for Turbo to continue to reveal his feelings, to show his bare heart, to finally prove that he could find sheer strength in being entirely vulnerable. Turbo shook his head and, after a moment of aimlessly peering into his coffee mug, he finally gave Throttle his glassy eyes, once more.

"I want her to be mine," Turbo patiently revealed, he inhaled a shaky breath and shrugged, "I've... I've never felt so sure about anything. Just when I thought I was successful at keeping all my feelings at bay, all it took was a STUPID television commercial to bring me right to my knees."

Throttle blurt out into hard laughter, which finally had Turbo's teeth showing in a full fledged grin. He wiped his cheeks in a flustered way, sat up a little straighter and finally joined in, officially, to Throttle's continued laughter.

"And right in time for her to befriend none-other than Gunner Ko," Turbo staggered in a final huff of sighing annoyance, Throttle eased his laughter and wiped his eyes free of tears of laughter.

"O-Oh, for User's sakes, it's just a crush, you know how those go," Throttle continued to chuckle.

"I know it's so soon, but... I just hope I'm not too late, already," Turbo sighed from their laughing fit, he gave Throttle a nervous look and shrugged.

"It's not so soon, Bo... And it's most definitely not too late," Throttle shook his head in assurance, "It's been a little over a month. Sure, it's too soon to maybe throw all your feelings onto Berri and get extremely serious with her, but... I don't think it'd hurt to just tell her how you are beginning to feel. Maybe ask her out on a date?"

"I can't do that," Turbo grumbled, Throttle furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Why not?" Throttle prod.

"I don't want to go into Orion City, you know how I am about being seen," Turbo grumbled, though he flinched the second Throttle heavily rolled his eyes and heaved a loud, annoyed sigh.

"Bo, do you want me to tell you how many times Nox and I have been in and out of the palace? Let alone Sugar Rush?" Throttle rushed to carry on, though Turbo loudly interrupted him.

"Yeah! You guys aren't me! You guys aren't hated worldwide!" Turbo barked with an annoyed laugh, "I can't go out without being crucified. I can't ask Berri out on a date because I'm positive she'd want to go somewhere inside the city. I'm not cut out for this whole... Dating nonsense. Why can't I just have her over to my loft?"

"Because you guys are there all the time," Throttle argued, "If you want to move forward with her, you're going to have to come out of your comfort zones. You're going to have to go into the city, you're going to have to EVENTUALLY leave Sugar Rush, Bo..."

"I'm never leaving Sugar Rush, Tee, I'm sorry," Turbo argued stubbornly, "Berri already knows this about me."

"And I'm sure it's killing her," Throttle volleyed back, both boys began to get heated, "I'm sure she doesn't show it, but I'm sure all those previous, fun trips to Dead Zed were included with her wishing you were there. I can almost guarantee she tells Wren and Theo those words."

"I already promised her I'd think about going into the city, I don't want to be pushed too hard too fast," Turbo retort firmly, he shook his head and held his forehead, "I... I just... I'm terrified that I have no control over these feelings. I don't have a choice but to just allow this to soak over me. I need to have some control SOMEWHERE."

"It's fine, Bo, just... I can see that being a roadblock, in the future," Throttle backed off, he sighed in slight annoyance and shook his head, "I mean, she's now good friends with Gunner. What if, by some keystroke of User, she lands a spot next to him on stage? Wouldn't you want to go see her shows?"

Turbo raised his eyebrows in dumbfounded surprise, as if he hadn't even thought of that possibility. He heaved a long, annoyed sigh and shook his head with his eyes shut tight.

"... Course I would," Turbo assured, though he frowned and continued to stubbornly hold onto his worries, "But I can't. I don't want to risk my life. I know she'd understand."

"I hear you," Throttle bobbed a nod of gentle defeat, he knew Turbo was extremely stubborn when it came to his own well being, though he found it frustrating that Turbo's nose was pushed up against the painting, "Just... Promise me you'll at least keep it all at the forefront of your thoughts."

"I will," Turbo curtly agreed, Throttle knew it was simply to get both boys further away from the conversation, and although Throttle wanted to keep arguing, he knew to just let it rest, for now.

"... I often wonder what Lash would think of how everything unfolded, here inside Sugar Rush," Throttle tenderly pressed after a few moments of warm silence between both boys, and although Turbo inhaled a deep breath and looked as if he had a thousand things he'd like to say, he huffed a long, hard sigh and seemed defeated, all in one breath, "Y'think he'd change his mind about everything? Be content by not being in charge? Sugar Rush is doing better than ever."

"I think he'd eventually come around," Turbo looked down, "That's another reason I would be worried to, well..."

"... Be King?" Throttle concluded, he was well aware this was likely a lot for Turbo to take in.

"I'd be King," Turbo finally hissed in disbelief as he narrowed his eyes and shook his head, "I-I mean, that is if Berri even agreed to, well... Being with me."

"I'm certain she would," Throttle grumbled out of kindness.

"I'd be worried to unbubble Lash, then... I can almost hear him now," Turbo muttered, as if to slowly have a very real amount of distasted for all of Lash's previous antics, " 'I told you you couldn't stay away from chasing after that crown. Addicting huh?' "

"Lash is... A confused child," Throttle huffed a sigh and looked off to the side.

"He'd just view Berri as a trophy I earned," Turbo mumbled in disheartened defeat, "I guess it doesn't matter what others think, but... This all just looks REALLY bad."

"Why do you think so?" Throttle genuinely prod.

"I held Sugar Rush in a death grip for so long, with Lash... One year after Sugar Rush's princess is now of age, I decide to fancy her? Out of the hundreds of thousands of other women in this User forsaken Arcade, I choose Sugar Rush's princess," Turbo cocked an eyebrow and gave Throttle a knowing look, to which he grit his teeth in understanding.

"Yeahhh... I mean, to an outsider, it might look extremely sticky, but," Throttle shrugged and gave Turbo a kind look of understanding, "Everyone that knows you and Berri knows that's absolutely not the case. Hell, even Tess and Zed really like you, I'm sure getting their approval would be no issue."

"It wouldn't," Turbo agreed with a sigh and a shrug, "I've actually already talked to Zed about this, briefly... The night of Berri's birthday."

"Ohh yeah, where she slept over at your place," Throttle grit his teeth and blurt a chuckle, "Yikes."

"Yeah, he was livid," Turbo choked a laugh and shook his head, he gave Throttle a warm smile, "It was misunderstanding, and we quickly got on the same page... He actually said I was welcome to Berri, given consent and the like... Can you believe it?"

"Really? He gave you his word?" Throttle ogled in confusion, though Turbo half shrugged and looked off.

"I mean, I think it was more like... 'If you ever want to think about being with my daughter, I'm open to TALKING about it', kind of thing," Turbo rushed, he rubbed his temples in exhaustion and lulled his eyes closed, "I'm pretty sure he'd still give me a stern talking to, a whole slew of ideas of just what would happen if I were to break her heart."

"All the wreckers on the lot would break your face," Throttle volleyed, though Turbo smiled at said fact, simply due that he was well aware he'd never do anything to break Berri's heart.

"Rightfully so," Turbo agreed in warm conclusion, though both men fell silent in a slew of tender warmth.

Turbo now rubbed his eyes in sleepiness, Throttle assessed his little brother. A sweet, kindred soul of entire misunderstanding, a rare breed of a bitey individual wrapped up in a thick padding of past trauma, Throttle knew that the only reason he had come out of his shell, as of late, was due to Berri's contagious, loving soul. Throttle narrowed his eyes and easily could see his little brother properly taking care of not only Sugar Rush, but Sugar Rush's sweet, blue haired princess, with great success. Throttle could feel his heart swell with emotion, a warm, loving smile sprawled his cheeks, he knew he'd be honored to call Turbo King, one day, given everything in Turbo's path panned out to his liking.

"Turbo, I'm going to give you one last bit of racing advice," Throttle finally revealed, he looked down to his hands and felt Turbo's confused, curiously glowing eye contact land right onto his soul, "There's one last thing I forgot to teach you."

"... Racing advice," Turbo repeated, his eyes looked off in aimless back tracking, years and years of memories came flooding back to him, all those times Throttle would urge Turbo to be faster, to be sharper, Turbo furrowed his brow in a spike of hot confusion and wondered just where Throttle's previous racing advice could come in handy, here.

"Forget everything I taught you, all that time ago," Throttle warmly concluded as both men held tight, knowing eye contact. Throttle bobbed a nod, long blinked in understanding and gave Turbo a cute smile of humility, "Ease on the brakes and find the cruise control, my friend. Slow and steady wins the race."

Turbo held his breath and felt a wave of new warmth come over him, a soak of rising from the ashes of this entire situation, he finally beamed a gentle smile down to his hands and bobbed a nod of cute understanding. As Throttle's new words soaked tight into his brain, and held glued there in permanence, Turbo inhaled a readied breath and knew this was a situation he had to handle with the greatest care. As his racing coach, Turbo knew to take his word seriously, no matter what that advice looked like. Turbo finally gave Throttle his eye contact, once more, a thick layer of understanding sapped the room, their string of endearment held unwavering and solid.

"Thank you," Turbo's deep voice revealed in whole gratitude, he bobbed a small nod and furrowed his brow for emphasis, "I won't let you down."

Throttle smiled, he breathed a small, content sigh of conclusion, "You never have."


	64. Chapter 64

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** YES LOL! I'm glad you guys got a kick out of that. It's one of my favorite things to do, to sprinkle the title of the story in random places, or break the 4th wall lol.

 **Nikki Firesong :** Nikki! HI! I certainly missed having you around. Congratulations on your blossoming relationship with Emma, I'm positive things are going great, that's wonderful! Thank you so much for all your support and kind words. Also a huge congrats on getting your degree, I'm sure that must DEFINITELY feel nice! You've earned it, so great work! You're most definitely right on your theories about Turbo. He's good at hiding it, but Berri definitely gets an accidental and nasty view of his bad past. She learns quick why he is the way he is, but it only really deepens their (secretive) love for each other. So, although it's a massive struggle through the story, it's all for the greater good, a learning process! Reality just hits Berri square in the face, so it's a lot to overcome for everyone. Also, the Twilight books came out when I was in middle/high school... Your girl definitely was at every single one of the book releases right at midnight lol! It's extremely cheesy to me now, but it'll always be my guilty pleasure, and brings back fond memories of my angsty teenage years haha. Thanks again, hope to see you around more! You're the best!

 **Romantic Sapp :** LOL You're not wrong! Nox is a bit more rambunctious and flighty, when it comes to romantic advice - though I'd be lying to you if I said that Turbo didn't allow Nox to weigh in, due to Berri's firecracker nature haha.

 **Burgie :** VERY TRUE. I'm glad everyone's sort of catching on. Turbo goes into panic-tastic mode the second Gunner swoops in haha

 **Snake557 :** Thanks friend! Hope you're well!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Cross My Mind (Writing Demo) by ARIZONA (this is a 'seamless' song! It's perfect to write or read to, if left on repeat! FYI)**

* * *

 ***Chapter 64***

In a flicker of her refreshed, giddy silver circuits, Berri's bare feet gently came off of Turbo's teleportation pad. Amidst a late, Sunday morning, Arcade's only closed day, Berri and Turbo had agreed to have a redo on their little hangout. Per Turbo's previously daring and flirty request of her only bringing herself and her guitar, Berri dutifully took note of it and told no one where she would be laying off to. With Turbo kindly, and secretly, giving Berri access to his teleportation pad via the one in her bedroom, she was thrilled that they were practically next door neighbors, in this aspect. Berri wore a comfortable pair of slick, black leggings that hugged all the way down to her ankles, as well as a lazy, faded blue Dead Zed t-shirt. With her hair long, straight and clean down her back, from her previous morning shower, she was fully prepared to spend a comfortable day tucked away in Turbo's loft, the day before she were to officially start back at Academy.

Amidst her and Turbo getting a little bit more comfortable with trust inside their blossoming friendship, Turbo had kindly offered Berri an equivalent of a key to his loft. With a shred of nervousness, Berri approached the sleek wall that so secretly hid Turbo's massive front door. She looked up to his door, right up until the crease of the ceiling, and with a readied inhale, she allowed her silver coding to illuminate her palm. With a tender push, she eased her hand to the center of the wall, and with a beaming smile of pure glee, she flinched as the door gently grumbled in it's shifting and softly slid open, secret access for no one but herself. She inhaled a shaky breath and felt her heart flutter, though as she gently stepped inside, she slowly furrowed her eyebrows in a reel of very slow realization that hit her retinas. Just as her brain tried desperately to keep up and try to understand just what was different, her footwork came to a gentle halt as Turbo's door slowly sealed shut behind her.

Berri crossed her arms, froze amidst the quiet and let her eyes scan the area. As if playing a 'spot the difference' game, she beamed a curious smile and very quickly understood that Turbo had done a very real amount of cleaning up, as well as rearranging. Turbo's whole kitchen, though usually just stationed to the left of his entrance, was now much larger and expanded inside the dimensions of his old format of a kitchen, and now extended into the dining area of his lofty home, just near the sleek, hidden garage side door. His dining room table had shifted to the center of the massive, sprawling tiles, and it looked like it had nearly doubled in size. A much more welcoming sight to be seen, she gawked a little and lazily began to mosey about his new, gorgeous kitchen. Outfitted with now two islands, similar to the palace's main kitchen, she smiled and let her eyes gloss his dark marbled counter tops. So neatly clad with his espresso machine, his spices, all sorts of different, elegant looking bottles of alcohol, though she almost rolled her eyes at the fact that one of his kitchen islands was very typically complete with an ash tray.

She inhaled a deep, refreshed breath and let her eyes flutter. His home was airy and fresh, the scent of a warm, cinnamon apple smell filled the space in a light and dainty way, as if maybe somewhere there was a candle burning. Just as the idea of Turbo owning candles danced about her brain, she stopped dead in her tracks, let her bare feet scuff to a halt and now felt confusion hit her. She was absolutely certain that before any real amount of the two hanging out, Turbo was the biggest recluse, never having anyone in his home. It was clear, here, that in this dainty show of cleaning up, of expanding and potentially peeking his head out of his shell, Turbo was very quickly overcoming his social anxiety. Unbeknownst to Berri, he was finally coming to grips with a very old, husk of a shell of himself, a very lively and excitable individual who loved gatherings, who loved socializing. As much as he tried to reign it in and prove to everyone that he was a mysterious and secretive individual, Berri knew that he couldn't keep it inside himself any longer, at least as far as Berri, Wren and Theo were concerned.

Berri narrowed her eyes and felt her heart race in question, the fact that Turbo maybe had begun becoming broody and potentially precautionary towards the simple likeness of a certain, blue-haired princess, a cozy home fit for royalty, the sprucing up of his home to entice and garner Berri's closer attention, she continued to very aimlessly mosey about Turbo's kitchen, lost in thought. As her eyes glossed the still-breathtaking scene of Orion City, from his massive floor to ceiling windows, she finally allowed her thought bubbles to come back to reality, the idea to seek Turbo out now had her feet moving. She breathed a small, giddy giggle and tenderly began to move down the dimmer hallway that not only lead to Turbo's share of Sugar Rush's code room, but also his bedroom, and his very secretive, narrow spiral staircase that lead to the upper level of his loft, still a place she had yet to set eyes on. Figuring he'd be cleaning his bedroom, or doing something of the like, she gingerly knocked her knuckles to the gorgeous grey wood of his floor to ceiling bedroom door, and with a warm chime of her voice, she patiently waited outside, so to give him due privacy.

"Bohhh," Berri pressed in great warmth, a softness that filled his home with an added touch of sweetness, she very slowly turned the handle, pushed the door and knocked once more, "Hey, it's just me. Y'in here?"

Berri raised her eyebrows and lazily gaped in baited anticipation, though as she received no response, and the room before her remained still in emptiness, she dared to peek in. Just as she was about to tense her back so to search in other avenues of his home, she double took Turbo's gorgeous, comfortable, dim bedroom and cocked an eyebrow. Although she was entirely certain the strict cleanliness of his home would stop right at the threshold of his bedroom, she was floored to find that every single last pixel of his bedroom was in perfect order. Tidied, cleaned and straightened to perfection, it looked like something straight out of a home decor catalog. Berri furrowed her brows in now brimming confusion and stood up straight in the now open gape of his bedroom door. Not only had she noticed his fluffy, dark bed downs and sheets made to entire, pristine cleanliness, but she found the source of the deliciously inviting smell. On his seemingly recently glossed and cleaned dresser sat a big red candle, confidently ablaze. With just the very slow and simple turn of her heels, she furrowed her eyebrows in continuously brimming confusion and now slowly began to saunter out of his bedroom. She knew if she were to have peeked into his bathroom, it'd probably be too clean to even so much as lay eyes on.

In a confused mosey of bare feet, the hum of Turbo's central air and heater was a comforting noise, a very tender white-noise like drum of ambience that made Berri feel at ease. She finally dipped into the other avenue of his dim hallway and began to press towards the seemingly dead-end side of it, where his gently glowing teleport pad lay, the only way to his own share of the code room one floor below. As she pressed five feet from the pad, she suddenly heard Turbo clear his throat in a grumbly way, in the opposite direction of where she was headed. It was clear that he was oblivious to the extra soul in his home, due to the distance of the sound of his shuffling presence. She halted her footwork, wretched her line of sight for the beckoning spiral stairwell a dozen feet behind her and bit her lip in contemplation. As she quickly turned around and let her hands find the sleek, black rails, she put one foot on the first step, froze and tried her hardest to decipher if she should encroach on new territory, or simply call up to Turbo and let him come down from his secret little hide away.

With a brave inhale, Berri took only a few seconds to decide that she should maybe see just what Turbo had to say about her pressing into a rather closed off aspect of his home. She figured since he was on a cleaning spree, maybe new eyes were welcomed to a brand new territory. Without making too much noise, she slowly climbed his solid spiral staircase, came about a few times and finally soaked onto the final landing. In pinpricked surprise, Berri raised her eyebrows in entire, unadulterated delight. With the entire dome of a ceiling being purely glass, Berri felt as if she now was officially on top of the world. Soaked inside Sugar Rush's fluffy, white, cotton candy winter clouds, she tucked her hands to her chest in cute surprise and allowed her eyes to gloss the gorgeous, sunkissed space in whole entire delight. A soft, white, plush carpet lined the entire area, it about half the size of Turbo's kitchen and living room below them, and even with a splay of an incredible work station, outfitted with big work monitors, the space still held a very real amount of clean minimalism.

Although Berri's eyes had easily glossed the entire loft, which included a very cozy, two sided, heavily cushioned bench for likely stargazing, she still couldn't find Turbo. Berri raised her eyebrows in now pinpricked confusion, she stepped deeper into his lovely loft. As she came right up to the railing of the second story loft, she bit her lip in contemplation, grappled the metal railing of the otherwise glass divide and peered down into Turbo's cozy living room, from above. She stood back up to correction, scratched the back of her head and turned to face the whole of the loft, as well as the entrance, from far across the stretch. She long blinked in confusion and figured that there were still a few places left, in his loft, that she hadn't looked, though just as she was due to quickly cross the stretch of his loft, she jumped in surprise as a door, just across the landing of his spiral staircase, suddenly popped open. Turbo, in a scrunch of trying to keep his body heat to himself, came inside and swiftly shut the door behind him, leaving an extremely cold draft of high altitude, Sugar Rush's winter air to busy about his loft in a dance of confusion before settling. Berri raised her eyebrows in pinprickled surprise as her long, blue hair whirled about her body, which easily caught Turbo's eye.

"Holy User Almighty," Turbo jumped in a sharp flinch of real fear, though he sagged and clutched his chest, as if to settle himself from the near-jump scare. Berri blurt an apologetic laugh and covered her mouth as Turbo peered to her in a forlorn look of near-smiling, dumfounded glee, "You scared the shit out of me."

"I was about to go search the garage for you," Berri blurt a bigger laugh and began to make her way over to Turbo. He was comfortably dressed in a lazy tank top and his favorite red sweats, yet again, though much to Berri's continued surprise, Turbo was clean shaven, his hair looked incredibly tidy, everything about every little pixel of Turbo's possessions and being read correction and perfection, something that Berri was now eagerly cued to. She furrowed her brow, crossed her arms and gave him a sly, knowing smile, "I'm sorry if you didn't want any visitors up in your loft, or not, but... The place was so incredibly clean and put together that I just... Couldn't help myself."

"You're not simply just a visitor, Bear," Turbo staggered, and as Berri neared, she was further confused to see his eyes hone tight to her, as if she was a beacon and he was a ship lost at sea. He began to look nervous, a fluttery show of not even knowing what to do with his hands or body language.

"It looks AWESOME in here, I mean wow," Berri choked a cute giggle, she tucked her blue hair behind her ears and now softened. She took cues from Turbo's almost reservedly giddy and shy demeanor, she began to curiously wonder just what was going on, "Your loft is amazing, by the way... I'm sure the view of the stars, up here, is to die for."

"I-It is," Turbo bobbed a nod, and as if he was well aware he had been discovered giving off a strange, new vibe, he sagged his hands into the gape of his pant's pockets and tried to relax in her presence. It was as if she was a gorgeous, sky-blue planet, and he was simply a lonely grey moon that was about to collide face-first into her addicting gravitational pull. He inwardly scolded himself, and begged to just keep it together, he knew that he had extremely old, dusty files of experience here, though with how little said experience was helping him in this instance, he figured he was doomed, "Y-You like what I did with the kitchen?"

"I do! Wow, it's a breath of fresh air," Berri encouraged; she eagerly took note of Turbo's ruffled demeanor, and although she wasn't entirely sure what was up, she figured she'd just be a safe landing spot for him, a haven of unconditional love, no matter what was busy buzzing around in his thoughts, "You change it for any specific reason?"

"Oh, well... No reason, really, I mean..." Turbo shrugged and looked off, though not without noticing Berri's cozy, casual attire, "You, Wren and Theo are around a lot... Hell, even Nox and Throttle come by often, as well. Figured I'd make the place a little bit more comfortable for more than just me."

Berri softly crossed her arms, tilted her head up and curiously peered to Turbo through the pierce of her vivid blue eyes. She curled a gentle gape of a smile, as if to secretly convey to Turbo that she was definitely on to his squirrely demeanor, though she couldn't pinpoint just what was going on. It was here did Turbo heave a very faltered sigh, as if something was weighing heavy on his chest, he looked almost defeated by thoughts, an open wound he almost proudly wore right on his sleeve. It wasn't until his bashful eyes caught with Berri's did she realizing something detrimental. The glow in his eye wasn't its typical gold, any longer.

"I-I mean, you do technically have a coded password into my home," Turbo shrugged, and it was here did he feel as if he had been discovered, the direct eye contact nearly revealing his emotions, something he now felt was a curse; he felt his heart begin to just pound the second Berri beamed him a curious smile, amidst furrowed brows, her lovely figure pressed closer to him without any form of hesitation.

"Bo, what's going on with... Your eyes?" Berri gently fumbled on her words in a dainty, girly show of now bashful cuteness; the glow of an almost peachy color held tight to the color of Turbo's eyes, almost as if to reveal a peachy blush on a typically fair-skinned individual.

"What? What's going on?" Turbo pressed in a show of now whole, nervous confusion. He held his hands out before his face, so that the glow of his eyes could be directed onto his open palms, and as the peachy color plastered all over his fingertips, he yanked his hands away and stood up a little straighter, as if to be certain that he was now discovered, "O-Oh, I-I... Just..."

"I've discovered that if you LOSE the glow in your eyes, it means you're nervous, in a bad way, or scared," Berri listed on her fingers; Turbo remained frozen, the peachy glow only intensifying, "If you're angry, they glow crimson, of which I've... never seen before, but Nox has filled me in on that one... Annnnd... I guess a peachy sort of glow means...?"

"Y-you just startled me, but it was a nice surprise, to see you there, that's all," Turbo rushed with a nearly annoyed grin of bashfulness, he rubbed his jaw and shyly looked off, his deep, raspy voice certainly only mixed in with the peachy glow, the sighing demeanor, it all encompassed a busied, agitated mind, "I-I have a lot on my brain lately. Forgive me..."

"It's okay, I didn't mean to startle you," Berri eased gently, "Sorry you sort of have a mood ring that blatantly states what mood you're in."

"Your face turns bright red, sometimes, is that similar?" Turbo pressed, the innocence in his tone and words lead Berri to believe that he was simply curious, though with the way he beamed her a sly, cute and retaliated smile made Berri raise her eyebrows in bashful stun.

"Hey! That's not fair," Berri blurt, she gently swat her hand out to Turbo's chest, to which he scrunched his shoulders, took a dodging step away and blurt a cute laugh of victory.

"Look, it's happening right now," Turbo staggered through soft laughter as he lazily gestured to Berri's face, in which was very promptly turning bright red.

"Oh, shut up," Berri muttered as she covered her cheeks with her larger hands and began to hurriedly step over to the incredibly comfortable, swooping bench amidst Turbo's sprawling loft. With a plop, she sat down and tucked her knees to her chest, "Okay, we're even."

"Welp, I'm glad your coding works to unlock my home," Turbo stated through a grunt of a sigh as he lovingly sat down next to her. The cushion poofed with his added weight, to which Berri jostled. Their shoulders gently sagged into each other's, though Berri bashfully peered to him with a small smile and a nod, "I had to tinker with that, in the code room... Tessa and Zed are really the only other ones that have, well... Coded permission to literally tear my home to the ground. But other than that...!"

"I feel special," Berri squeed in cuteness as she shrugged and lofted her head back, so to look up to the glorious, sunny morning sky, "I'm the only smarty in the entirety of Arcade that hangs out with the big bad Turbo... And has a key!"

"What an honor," Turbo muttered in dismay towards himself as he rolled his eyes, the tender, golden glow began to come back to normality.

"It is an honor," Berri sighed up to the ceiling, high over her head. Turbo cocked an eyebrow and assessed her patiently, she warmly continued on in a show of sincere nervousness, "I hope tomorrow goes well..."

"Well... I appreciate you sticking up for me, but maybe just... Let the mean comments slide off your back, this time," Turbo shrugged, he heaved a small chuckle and looked down to his hands, "Can't say I'm not grateful that you stuck up for me, just... Don't let me come between you and your education."

"I had no choice but to defend you, dude," Berri mumbled, she now closed her eyes and relaxed, her head still lofted back against the comfortable bend of a head cushion, "You're Sugar Rush's Knight... And, furthermore, you're my best friend. I'd be expelled before I allow anyone to say anything cross about you."

Turbo raised his eyebrows in a tender loft of sweet disbelief, and as he volleyed his appreciative eye contact back to Berri's sweet, sunkissed face, he narrowed his gaze and felt his heart just grow incredibly sore. Sore with love, sore with desire, sore with sorrow, he wasn't sure which one to fully embrace. He heaved a long, hot sigh through his nose, huffed a chuckle of gratitude and shook his head as he returned his appreciative gaze back to the hands in his lap.

"... Does Gunner know about me?" Turbo nervously pressed; he was well aware Berri and Gunner had become fast friends, he was certain their friend circles would eventually cross.

"He does, but I just pretended that you simply exist. I told him that you help my mom and dad out, but I just left it at that," Berri shrugged, she opened her eyes, tilted her head back to correction and now also peered to Turbo's hands, in his own lap. She long blinked in cute tenderness and, as her gorgeous blue hair slid in a cascade down her dainty shoulders, she exhaled a calm, content sigh and readjusted her legs to get comfortable, "He asks who I text so much, and... I tell him that it's just my best friend Bo."

"... He really hasn't put the two together?" Turbo eased a soft, incredulous laugh, the two caught eyes in a whirl of cute, shared laughter, a disbelief that maybe Gunner wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.

"No, I just say I have a best friend named Bo whose under house arrest inside Orion City," Berri's laughter grew, a contagious show of real friendship, the way Turbo clutched his stomach, the two filled Turbo's loft with the sweet sound of audible warmth, "Your identity is secure, and you two don't ever have to cross paths. Easy!"

"Quick thinking, on your part," Turbo bobbed a small nod of impress and exhaled a conclusive chuckle out into the air. He sighed, looked up to Sugar Rush's glorious sky and felt relief hit his skin. Just how far Berri would go to not only protect Turbo's identity, but how quick she heldfast to defending his very name, he continued to drown in all of his rushing thoughts, the endless amounts of sighs he had filled his home to the brim with, he wondered just what it would feel like to be in a brimming, slow state of falling in love; now that he was eagerly delivered said feelings on a golden platter, plopped right next to him, he shook his head and wondered now just what to do with all of it. He lulled his eyes closed and allowed himself to grow more and more vulnerable, he knew he needed to be real with Berri, someone who would move mountains for him, "Berri, I... I want to thank you. For standing by me, and, well... For giving me a chance."

"Anytime, my dude," Berri stated nonchalantly, though she still sweetly smiled to him and bravely reached her hand down to pat his lower arm, "I'm Sugar Rush's princess. All inclusive!"

"I... I guess I have something else I need to tell you," Turbo staggered, he frowned and knew this next notion wouldn't be easy, though on top of the very real and heavy feelings now soaking his soul with warmth and neediness, he wondered if he could potentially get away with just barely letting the brimming, overflowing feelings ease over the edge, if just a smidge, "I guess... I'm just nervous that... You're going to be swept up into Academy friends, that I'll be sort of forgotten about."

Berri frowned and quickly peered to him in a tender show of incredulous disbelief, a sweet look of endearing forlorn hung tight to her demeanor, as if she was wanting to immediately rush to his aid and secure the firm foundation of their friendship, she held her tongue and was well aware by the way Turbo inhaled a deep breath, that he had more to say.

"I-I mean... I can't very easily leave the game and come hang out with you at Academy, to get to know your new friends," Turbo staggered, he shook his head and now realized that he was potentially on his way to saying too much, though with how little experience he had here, he could feel it all just want to spill out, "I guess... I'm just worried that... You'll stop coming around. I'm sorry I'm sort of limiting us by, well... Sticking to safe spots, inside Sugar Rush, strictly... I-I just-"

"Here, gimme your phone," Berri lazily instructed; Turbo cocked an eyebrow and peered to her in confusion, though after a moment of tender silence, he reached for his phone, in his pocket, unlocked it and warily handed it to Berri. She diligently began to tab into the options of his phone, and of his contacts, and with a few tabs, she finally reached for her phone and began to do the same few things inside her own settings, "Here... I've set it so that we're in each other's favorites. Any time of the day, anywhere, rest assured, if you message me, I'll hear it. No matter what."

Berri beamed him a gentle smile, eased Turbo's phone back into his hand and gave him a conclusive, small nod.

"I may have homework, and sure, I'll... Potentially make new friends, and hang out with them outside of Sugar Rush, but, you're different," Berri encouraged, she gingerly tapped her fingers to the powered off display of Turbo's phone and hovered tight to his gravity in a show of unconditional love and warmth, "Because you're my favorite friend. And I'll always make time for you, no matter what... And vice versa. Capeesh?"

Turbo huffed a small, shaky chuckle and looked down to his phone. He eased a gentle smile of relief, shook his head a little and now felt bad for even mentioning his worries. He knew Berri was due to being overloaded with school work, on top of now being friends with a celebrity, though the sheer fact that she still relentlessly held Turbo above everyone spoke volumes. He knew he still had a million and one worries and thoughts, though with this little show of reassurance, Turbo knew it'd tide him over for the time being. He gave Berri a loving smile and a gentle nod of whole gratitude.

"Thank you, Berri," Turbo pressed tenderly, they held eyes in a string of assurance, a solid foundation of a beautiful friendship to unfold, he felt sure that it was absolutely no where but up, from here.


	65. Chapter 65

**Review s :**

 **Nikki Firesong :** Aww, thank you SO much. I put my whole heart and soul into my writing, so hearing that really means a lot. Thank you! And yes, you're definitely right about Berri and Gunner. Much to Turbo's dismay lol. And, yes! I was wanting to really round out the beginnings of Turbo's and Berri's.. erm... 'thing' before I dove into Wren and Throttle, but it'll definitely be coming up shortly!

 **Jay Sketchin :** LMAO! Aww. Poor Gunner! ...You're not wrong tho lol.

 **Burgie :** That's exactly what I was going for, so I'm glad that came across :D Thank you!

 **Snake557 :** Yes! In a sort of embarrassed or 'blushy' kind of way.

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 ***Chapter 65***

"Mom, is there anything in my teeth?" Berri muttered just barely under her breath.

Tessa flinched in a gentle reel of discombobulation the second Berri grappled her upper arm, bared her teeth in a clenched grit and patiently awaited her mother's approval for no trace of lunch left in her pearly whites. Tessa quickly blinked a few times, and as she assessed Berri's mouth, hovered nearly above her in their tight proximity, she finally breathed a giggle at just how dorky Berri looked in this secretive instance. Although Tessa and crew already got a bit of attention, due to being royalty, the second Gunner was kindly invited to their little Academy lunch shindig was the second the attention upped by tenfold. Hovered about the table was groups of excited fans, of Gunner's, though his security made it so they had a very generous twenty feet of breathing room, to properly eat lunch and go about relaxing before the bell rang.

"No, you're good," Tessa eased gently to her slightly taller daughter, though in this instance, Berri hovered over her like a newborn giraffe; she wore her favorite pair of heels, and although they were not a crazy height, Tessa slumped her shoulders and began to feel like a dwarf amongst Berri, Gunner, Theo and even Wren. Tessa finally cocked an eyebrow, tucked her wavy auburn hair behind her ears, subtly glanced to where Gunner was sitting and dragged her curious eyes back to Berri, "You, uh... You doing okay?"

"Mom, Gunner just suggested us going to EZ Living later to see his mansion," Berri huffed a tender whisper, she bugged her eyes and shook her head, "H-He may want us to play for his team... I-If they like us enough, we could easily reform Archived Chaos. Sound too good to be true? I shouldn't get too excited, should I."

"Slow down," Tessa blurt a small giggle and shook her head, she warmly held Berri's lower arm and began to give her a stern look, "First off, I don't want you going into EZ Living without proper protection."

Berri wildly furrowed her eyebrows in whole embarrassment. She huffed a shaky breath of faltered words, shook her head and gave her mom a floored look of disbelief.

"M-Mom, Gunner and I a-aren't... I-I mean, wow, I don't think that's on the agenda yet," Berri staggered in now trembling, girly fear, the look of doughy inexperience in her eyes was absolutely real, though Tessa wildly wrinkled her nose in whole confusion, shut her eyes tight and shook her head.

"... I'm not talking about sex, Berri, I'm talking about being full blown deleted," Tessa stabbed with a gentle laugh, and although Tessa's lunch table of older, more experienced Academy students were hovering in listening wait, of which consisted of Oliver, Emery, Penny, Tammy and Otto, they made sure not to show that they were eagerly cued in, "Remember? Faux-codes being deleted? Weird Arcade virus? Uh, you're on the MENU?"

"O-Oh, oh, wow, sorry," Berri huffed nervously, she hugged her arms about her body in a tight, physical show of whole embarrassment as she gave her mother a very blushy, bashful grin, "I-I know mom, but Gunner has a whole team of security. His mansion is on Keppel Crest... Keppel Crest, mom!"

"Hooo boy," Tessa huffed a gentle laugh, looked off and beamed a cheeky smile. She narrowed her gaze and wondered if she could further discourage Berri from this dangerous idea, "I remember Keppel Crest."

"...You've been?" Berri furrowed her brows in whole surprise as she sagged her shoulders.

"Been? I was conceived there," Tessa urged, Berri wrinkled her nose in disgust and shook her head.

"Mom, okay, TMI," Berri uttered nervously, though as she opened her mouth to potentially beg Tessa to be let into EZ Living, just this once, her phone gently chimed a cute little tune of a text notification. She halted her words, pulled her phone from her back pocket and donned a cute, easier smile of content, "Aw, Bo... Poor thing is so bored."

"My head is spinning, okay, you go sit and finish your lunch," Tessa urged in now whole annoyance, "Why don't you ask Turbo about what we talked to Mr. Kelta about... I'll need to set up a meeting with all of them, like discussed. Remember your little idea of itemized deletion protection, going in and out of certain games?"

"Oh I forgot," Berri's eyes lit up in whole delight as she thumbed to Turbo's conversation, "Oh, Turbo will totally know what to do."

"Okay, you go ahead and message Turbo, and we'll talk about it tonight," Tessa huffed in gentle, teasing, motherly agitation, and as she softly shooed Berri away, she continued on, inaudible to Berri's now distanced figure, "Go... Live in boy-land, you weirdo."

"Alright, so let's weigh the pros and cons," Tammy staggered, Tessa's entire mature group now came into focus of Tessa's and Berri's not so secretive conversation. Tammy cocked an eyebrow, took a huge swig of her soda, through the straw, and eagerly caught eyes with Oliver. She heaved a satisfied noise as she set her cup back on the table, and as she continued on, with sassy hand gestures to boot, Oliver, Koko, Penny, Emery and Otto all began to brim with laughter held behind their beaming, knowing grins, "So, the crown of Sugar Rush's future King gets handed toooo... Wise, old gentleman that knows Sugar Rush inside and out, currently runs a third of the code room, has the utmost respect for the royal family, is CLEARLY bonkers for Blueberry, here."

"...OR," Oliver grunted with a teasing smile.

In the roll of Oliver's stab of an insinuation, everyone softly lofted their gazes to Berri's lunch table. Gunner sat with a wide, goofy smile on his face. He had his head tilted back in a show of the useless talent of being able to balance the bridge of two spoons on his nose. Wren and Theo were lost in laughter and boyish encouragement as Berri continued to stroll back over to them; her attention was buried inside her's and Turbo's text conversation. Tessa's table finally brought their hovering, eager, anticipatory grins back to each other, and in the roll of whole knowing, everyone burst out in hard laughter.

"Oh, but he's soooo cute," Penny giggled as she sagged her fists into her cheeks and dreamily peered across the way, still in disbelief that Gunner was now a part of their social group, "Can you imagine? King Gunner Ko... Wow."

"King Turbo Black sounds a lot better to me," Tammy grunted in detesting annoyance, simply a becomingly sassy aunt-like figure for Berri.

"Okay, let's stay hovered on King Zedian Kalivar for a moment, please?" Tessa shoved her fingers into her temples, lulled her eyes closed amidts an eye roll, and had a hard time wrapping her mind around the idea of Berri pairing off with a boyfriend, just in of itself, "I'm still trying to get completely over the hurdle of the idea that Berri is becoming romantically interested in boys."

"Now you know how your mother felt," Tammy muttered with her mouth full as everyone began to slowly return picking at their food.

"I was interested in ONE boy," Tessa defended with a gentle laugh, "That ONE boy is currently King. And you'll have to pry that crown from Zed's cold, dead fingers."

"You mean TURBO will have to pry that crown from Zed's cold, dead fingers," Otto chimed with flattened ears and a fang-filled smile of cute cheekiness.

"Look, we all know Turbo's capable of stealing crowns," Tammy gestured with a cocky look of sweetness, it was clear, here, that their notions were strictly becoming playful, empty words of fun, "Clearly the man for the job. Y'all know who my money is stacked on."

"Okay, let's just..." Tessa inhaled a deep, long breath through her nose, lulled her eyes closed, and desperately tried not to get upset in this instance. In the flash of merely a split second, she could've sworn she saw Berri's whole childhood just flash right before her. Coming to grips with the eventual task of Berri picking a suitor for Sugar Rush's Prince, and future King, was way too daunting of a task to even begin thinking about. She finally peeled her eyes open and was delighted to see that everyone had halted eating, speaking and socializing, at her table. All eyes were held to their Queen, in due diligence, an apologetic show of gentle understanding. Tessa exhaled a revived breath and shook her head, "Just... Let Berri be. She's still got a lot of maturing to do. We just need to let her have her fun all while focusing on her studies. She'll find even ground, in the way of finding a man, eventually. She just turned one not a month ago, we need to ease up."

"Yeah, but when you turned one," Tammy trailed off, cocked an eyebrow and softly lofted her gaze to Oliver the second he cleared his throat in an attention-grabbing kind of way, he bugged his eyes, shook his head and began to pick at his food. Tammy slumped her shoulders, "Oh, what, now, we're really going to forget Tessa's first day at Academy? You ran off into Dead Zed and got lost... Not to mention, the night prior when Zed whisked you away to the Flip Side and you made out all night."

Tessa grumbled an annoyed notion and covered her face with her palms, as her elbows sagged into the hard table they sat at, though just as she was about to perk up and defend her stance, the bell suddenly began to chime, causing everyone to flinch in a jolt of surprise.

"Just say the word, my lady," Penny mumbled kindly to Tessa, the two girls sat close. Penny beamed a cheeky grin and, with her pointer finger, she firmly dug a slicing motion at her throat, something that finally got a chuckle out of Tessa.

"It's fine... I know it's nothing out of malice," Tessa eased to Penny, as the rest of the group continued to bicker and chatter with each other. Tessa and Penny slowly stood, as well, though as Tessa's worried eyes softly glossed in the direction of her second born, and the rest of their small band. They were now casually inching their way closer to the groups of fans and students that ever so patiently waited and hovered, anything to be closer to Gunner, anything to get his autograph. Tessa rubbed her forehead in gentle agitation and shook her head, "I just... I want Berri to have a normal time at Academy, similar to us. I didn't get the chance to see Ace off to school, so... I just hope that this whole Gunner thing doesn't go right to her head."

"Well, that's what her whole family, at the palace, is for," Penny shrugged, she began to gather her things, on top of helping Tessa as well, her idle wrecking hands fumbled, making it clear she was now wholly lost in thought. Penny blurt a small giggle and jolted to catch Tessa's drink, in which Tessa bumped, before it fell over, "... Tess, y'okay? It's gunna be alright, look... I know Tammy can get a bit..."

"Ahead of herself?" Tessa finished with a choke of a laugh, she finally lugged her sling bag over her shoulder and patiently waited for Penny to be ready to head to class.

She thanked Penny for handing her the rest of her drink, though her hazel eyes softly looked back to where Berri and crew were disappearing to. Although they had made headway, all three Sugar Rush kin, and Gunner, were easily loving on Gunner's fans, fans of which were now very rapidly associating Wren, Theo and Berri with Gunner and his fragmented, waiting-to-be-put-back-together band. Tessa got one final glimpse of Berri before she was too lost in the crowd, the vision of her in her stylish clothes, her lithe and gorgeous figure, her cute heels and makeup to boot, Tessa knew she'd definitely fit right in to said lifestyle. Although it was becoming hard to come to grips with, she knew to leave Berri be, to let her find her own path, whether that be buried in school books, or buried in sheet music.

"Excited?" Penny added tenderly, both girls began to softly head across the sunkissed, grassy school quad, they began to catch up with the rest of their lunch pack, whom of which were prepared to part ways for their last few classes, "You know Tammy, always itching for the next thing... You can't tell me you're not excited that Berri has literally predicted her own potential future. Remember her original first day? Before the turn of the year?"

"She asked me how I felt about Gunner Ko being the next King of Sugar Rush," Tessa barked with an incredulous laugh, she shook her head and gave Penny a furrowed, beaming look of disbelief, "I mean, I like the kid, but... He probably doesn't know the FIRST thing about running a whole entire kingdom. Like hell Zed would hand over the code room to Gunner Ko."

"At least outside of a HEFTY amount of code room training," Penny shrugged, though it was here that Tessa began to feel her heart tug in a different direction, for Berri; she sighed and looked off in a very mild form of disappointment that was beginning to engulf her thoughts.

"Turbo wouldn't need any training, whatsoever," Tessa muttered in sore, conclusive dismay.

* * *

As the bell to segue into last hour's class chimed through the school, Wren, Theo and Berri walked with each other in the corridors for as long as they could, before being forced to part ways. Although neither of them were proper celebrities, since they were seen palling around with Gunner, it was now becoming impossible to at least not be stopped a few times along the way, sans Gunner, by fans with burning questions, who wanted autographs, pictures and memories. Berri felt it odd at first, though the more the day went on, the more she felt she craved it. Every time she was stopped, she felt the universe about her just glow. The sweet compliments given, the array of questions pertaining to Gunner and Archived Chaos, she could feel the uplift of very quickly being swept away with this lifestyle. She hoped it'd never die down, with every corner she rounded, she found herself eagerly anticipating a new wave of pressing individuals, all strangely now here for her.

After a few moments of loving on a few of Gunner's fans outside her last hour class, whom of which very eagerly became her fans as well, she pushed towards the large arch of her last hour's closed classroom door, and it was here, in her firm stride, did she feel her pupils tighten. The door seemingly stretched in a draw of being sucked into another dimension, she could swear the walls began to vibrate, she held her breath and very quickly felt all her cute, dainty, celebrity-esque thoughts come to a screeching halt. The very class she was previously suspended in, a class typically geared towards third year students, she knew that her original teacher would be inside, awaiting her, though the thought of facing her classmates with the hard facts, that she was Turbo's best friend, made her absolutely certain that she'd quickly be alienated. Still holding her breath, she nervously turned the handle of the large, black door, trimmed in glorious golds and beiges, she pushed the door open and assuredly prepared for the worst.

Upon the gentle swing, she was relieved to see her classmates littered about the room, the atmosphere in her familiar classroom was just how it was, peaceful, sunny and airy. Everyone was in good spirits, the drumming volume of voices about each desk was a calm murmur of sweetness, she felt at ease with these notions. Although Berri's original seat was closer to the front of the class, like the dewy-eyed, first day at Academy noob she previously was, she felt a weird wave of life experience quickly hit her behind the knees, and assure her that sitting near the back was wiser; out of sight, out of mind. In a gentle scoot, her vivid eyes scanned the back of the class for an opened seat, and upon finding one, she tenderly made her way to it, trying not to make too much quick movement, so to be easier spotted. As she passed the few rows of desks, everyone very slowly began to drum their conversations to a curious halt, their eyes held tight to Berri's demeanor in whole bewilderment, Berri held her breath even harder as she sat down, knowing full well all eyes were on her, now. After a moment, she busied herself in her bag, looking for nothing but an escape, though it wasn't until a presence hovered near the vicinity of her desk did she bashfully peer up, once and for all.

"A Ms. Berri Schweetz Kalivar," A deep, wise tone of sweetness glossed over her soul, and with the raise of Berri's blue eyebrows, she finally was able to meet her official teacher, as opposed to that horrible substitute, Coral, she was previously met with.

"I-I am," Berri staggered in a slump of lost confidence, not something that ever really happened; her teacher was a shorter, wider, narrow-eyed old man with long white hair so neatly pulled into a low pony-tail down his back. He peaked a cute smile and side-eyed Berri all whilst holding up his pointer finger.

"Boy, do I have questions for you," He eased in continued, soft sweetness, the easiest tone of warmth that Berri could ever imagine, as if he simply was a grandfather figure to anyone and everyone, "I'm Mr. Yuang... I do apologize for not being present, on your first day at our lovely Academy."

"Y-You didn't know," Berri warmly assured in a shooing gesture of continued anxiousness, she felt her soul desperately claw at any shred of confidence she could muster, though it was fruitless.

"And if it weren't for that lousy substitute, you wouldn't have been suspended," Mr. Yuang's voice raised to a decibel that made clear he was now speaking to the broad of the class, and just as everyone eagerly began to softly spout notions and chuckles of whole agreeing, Berri finally took a brave look about the room; everyone was peering to her in whole kindness, whole assurance, as if maybe they all were completely on her side, through that whole debacle, "We've been waiting a whole month for your arrival, Ms. Sugar Rush. It'll be interesting to hear the stories you have about a Mr. Turbo Black, hm?"

"Turbo," Berri breathed in easiness, she finally beamed a genuine, bashful smile down to her desk and heaved a gentle chuckle, "H-He's... He's wonderful. He's my best friend."

"Really," Mr. Yuang hissed in whole bewilderment, he narrowed his eyes further and side-eyed Berri amidst a cute, cheeky grin; everyone in Berri's class held their suspended attention tight to Berri's rare information, as if the whole of Arcade had ears tuned right to this conversation, a valuable audience she knew she needed to take advantage of, for Turbo's sake, "I-Is he... Friendly? Scary? Grumpy?"

"Mean?" Someone genuinely wondered.

"Funny?" Someone else wondered, across the room, and it was here did everyone begin to volley different adjectives in Berri's direction; with the overload, she easily giggled and beamed a wider, more bashful smile.

"H-He's... Wow, he's very reserved, but... Once you get to know him, he's..." Berri looked down to her desk and furrowed her brow, and although she could feel a nagging prod at the bottom of her heart, she could feel said nagging prod suddenly turn into a poked stab of a hole, right at the bottom, as if her soul was very eagerly prepared to fill said gap with molten love. She caught her breath and felt a wash of weirdness fall over her, as everyone held their attention tight to her, "...He's quite possibly the sweetest, most gentlemanly guy I know."

"Who woulda thunk," Mr. Yuang huffed a small chuckle, he shook his head and long blinked in concern, "Two sides to every story... I wonder what previously drove him to madness."

"It's... Convoluted," Berri grinned with a small laugh, the whole class eased in understanding notions and murmurs of warmth.

"Stories for another day," Mr. Yuang tenderly tapped his old, thick and worn knuckles to the edge of Berri's desk and slowly began to saunter back to the front of the class, "We're honored to have you here, Berri. Maybe one day you can get that Turbo fella in here, to teach us a thing or two about coding. Heard he's pretty savvy with a code room."

"Definitely," Berri agreed in warmth, though as Mr. Yuang began to softly go on about their daily schedule, to the whole of the class, Berri sat back in her chair and furrowed her eyebrows in gentle confusion.

She could feel eager, desperate feelings begin to brim at those now loose edges of her heart, though she shut her eyes tight, shook her head a little and forced said feelings away. She inhaled a deep breath, looked forward, and knew that she needed to focus on her studies. The weird, twisting and confusing bout of conflicting feelings began to tug a bit harder at her thoughts, and although Berri desperately sought to keep any flirty or romantic interests tight at bay, whilst she was in her first year at school, she sagged her shoulders as two boys' names firmly plastered themselves right at the forefront of her mind. She frowned and now looked down to her empty hands in her lap, under her desk. The thought of running around with Gunner, her celebrity crush, and now a fast friend and peak of interest, was something she absolutely craved, the rush of it all, the exciting things to take place, the grand music to be had, she knew that luxurious lifestyle would be fruitful and filled to the brim with opportunity.

Berri furrowed her brow and felt a sag of bittersweet sorrow hit her heart as she desperately tried to focus on Gunner's name and Gunner's name alone. Although she put up a great fight, she felt her whole body ease at the very thought of Turbo, their fragile ember of realness, a molten, slow burn of something calm and divine. The image of Turbo's haunting, hypnotizing gaze peering back at her would be something she could never get over, and though she felt as if she was holding herself back from taking the leap, she wondered if it were for good reason. Berri allowed her eyes to loft across her sunny classroom, to the massive, grassy quad just outside. She knew staying cooped inside Turbo's loft, forever, was not something that would be in her best interest, as future Queen of Sugar Rush. She knew he'd fight her on leaving his lovely tower, let alone Sugar Rush in its entirety. In a sag of cold realization that crawled over her, she knew to potentially put a lid on the once flickering embers of newness her and Turbo had, at least until he had the strength to come out of his shell a little further, whenever, and if ever, that would be.


	66. Chapter 66

**Reviews :**

 **CHICKENM4N :** You guys will have to seee~ I'm surprised you guys actually get Selka vibes from Gunner xD But it's all good!

 **Jay Sketchin :** Aww that's so funny. Thank you friend!

 **Nikki Firesong :** Thank you! Unfortunately, I don't really delve into the lives of the characters that are WAY sideline characters, like Otto. I doubt I ever will, that's not where my heart is, for my writing. But I appreciate you showing interest. And yes, Turbo's had a rather easy time of garnering Zed's approval! But he doesn't have it all in the bag, just yet - Berri has her own set of challenges for Turbo to overcome.

 **Snake557 :** Aww, true.

 **Burgie :** And it is one EXPLOSIVE chapter, let me tell you xD

* * *

 ***Chapter 66***

"Berri, you don't have to say it, anymore," Theo mumbled in the beginning stings of mild irritation. In the gentle sag of his bare, wrecking hands to his cheeks, he shook his head and lulled his eyes closed as him, Berri and Wren slowly sauntered into Sugar Rush's glorious, rainbow road entrance. The land was covered in a fresh layer of delicious snow, the cool breeze only made the three push closer to the secretive teleportation hub that hugged the entrance's wall, "I KNOW you want to go into EZ Living... Pretty sure everyone in this game would kill us, if we went into ANY game that we weren't programmed for, without proper deletion protection."

"What did Turbo have to say about it?" Wren eased gently, he eyed his cousin and knew she was antsy, the look of loving plea in Gunner's eyes, before they part ways, was even hard for Wren to say no to. As the three slumped onto the teleportation pad, Berri rolled her eyes and shoved her hands into her cute jacket's side pockets.

"He said that we can all get together, tonight, in his code room, to see what we could do and potentially test out prototypes," Berri mumbled in annoyance, Theo eyed her.

"There, there's our answer," Theo retort with a now becoming-sassy smile, "Maybe you can go into EZ Living, with Gunner, tomorrow."

"I'd be going alone?" Berri suddenly stabbed in whole confusion as she bugged her eyes and shot her gaze tight to Theo's

"Well, no, but... I mean, the way he was asking us to come along, into EZ Living today, after school let out," Theo raised his eyebrows in gentle, unadulterated surprise and blew an exasperated breath through the puff of his cheeks; Wren gently began to tab at the silver holographic screen that dimly appeared, waypoints and a whole slew of palace teleportation pads unveiled in a list of readiness, "He was asking all of us, but the look in his eye was begging YOU and YOU alone to succumb to his pleas."

"I so wish I would've gone," Berri aimlessly looked off in mild regret and shook her head, though before they could get anything else out, the three were whisked away to the teleportation pad securely planted before their tower's front door, on the palace lot.

"You would've run the risk of literally everyone, on this lot, grounding you into an entire oblivion," Wren blurt a gentle chuckle, the air on the palace grounds was a bit less chaotic.

"Only if they found out," Berri muttered darkly, though it was here did Wren and Theo freeze in a certain slump of unknowing, as if they now were entirely stumped on just what to say or do, though before Wren could now apprehensively turn and unlock their tower's massive, round front door, the scamper and thunder of familiar, bumbling paws was suddenly heard plowing through the crunchy, lovely snow that had settled.

With hard pants and breaths that eagerly fogged the crisp, winter air, Chester rounded about the bend of their tower, about fifteen feet out into the field, and perked his ears high in excited listening. The fact that he could so much as hear Berri's, Wren's and Theo's voices was enough to have him tearing from whatever end of their part of the palace lot, straight to their lovely, covered foyer. Although everyone was obviously excited to see Chester, they froze in further excitement the second Chester began to let out hard, raspy whimpers of excited urgency, as if he so badly wanted to bark like a big puppy dog. Berri's dark, scheming eyes immediately lit up in whole surprise, for this instance, and as she tried to push her troubles to the wayside, she physically did the same to Wren and Theo and pushed out into the snow.

"Chester, your voice is becoming so confident and strong!" Berri urgently encouraged as Chester firmly sniffled at her hands, which were extended, and with a few laps to her opened palms and a jolt of excited laps to her cheek and jaw, in which she loudly giggled and flinched from, Chester suddenly huffed a cute noise and began to dart away from her.

She wrinkled her nose and wiped her cheek free of Chester's saliva, which began to grow extremely cold and wet on her skin, due to the winter air, though through her relieved smile, and eyes that softly watched just to where Chester was running off to, she felt her heart sag in sorrow and grow warmth with remembrance, all in one bittersweet hang of confusion. She eased her hands to her chest and shivered, her eyes caught with Turbo's and Throttle's figure, on Throttle's lovely wrap-around porch, just a few hundred feet from Berri's tower. The two men were talking, inaudible to Wren, Theo and Berri from this distance. Chester's bumbling, lithe figure easily tore through the foot of snow and straight for Turbo's still figure, he swarmed Turbo and Throttle with a hyper-extended jolt and lunge of love and excitement, to which both boys easily laughed and gave Chester a few loving pats and rubs on his broad chest, snout and face.

As Chester huffed a whine of a noise and tossed his blind gaze across the stretch of snow, to Berri's tower, both Turbo's and Throttle's glowing gazes followed suit, and caught tight to the three that had finally come home from Academy. Without words to Berri, who had begun trudging across the snowy field to meet up with Throttle and Turbo, Wren and Theo began to quietly chat with each other as they trailed about twenty feet behind Berri. They were thankful she was out of ear shot, though they allowed her walking pace to continue on in a faster speed than theirs, so to buy Wren and Theo time. Their whispers carried on through fogged, nervous confusion that had suddenly began to seep into the group, a pinpoint of stress that Berri was likely beginning to dip her toes into, no matter how deep she assumed said pool of stress would eventually become.

"Berri's acting weird," Theo muttered quietly, both men assessed the back of Berri's head, her beautiful, long blue hair flickered in the cold, Sugar Rush winter wind, "I-I know she wouldn't just... Waltz into EZ Living without deletion protection, right? What are even the odds of BEING deleted? Is it still a thing that's happening?"

"I don't know," Wren mumbled, he cocked an eyebrow and shrugged, "Gunner seemed to immediately respect our decision, but... The only reason us three reached the decision of not going into EZ Living today, was only because, well..."

"Both of us chimed in and suggested it wouldn't be a good idea," Theo mumbled, they were now about half way to Throttle's lovely abode, warm exterior colors easily matched with the twinkling glow of interior lights and a gentle stream of smoke from his chimney, insinuating he had a fire going inside.

"... Berri's not that stupid and naive, is she?" Wren grit his teeth, and although this would typically be a teasing notion full of chuckles and eye rolls, Wren's serious demeanor had Theo easily following suit, the detrimental air of the topic at hand had both boys taking off their proverbial pinwheel hats.

"We've... We've never seen her around a major crush, of hers, before," Theo shrugged and gave Wren a nervous look, "I know Gunner wouldn't take advantage of her, well... 'Newness', but, I'm positive all he'd have to do is ask twice and she'd easily let him whisk her away to EZ Living."

"Now... Whose to say she'd even get deleted?" Wren played devil's advocate, he shrugged and shot his gloriously handsome blue eyes tight to Theo's equally as piercing emerald eyes, both boys were silent in contemplation before Theo heaved a hard sigh.

"But, whose then to say that she WOULDN'T?" Theo urged nervously, "I know she wants to learn more about Gunner and be alone with him, and PLAY for him and hopefully get on the same page as him... They're FAST friends and it's clear they're dying to just hang out with each other, but... At what cost? She's got to know her worth, here, in Sugar Rush. The whole palace would be up in arms if she went traipsing into EZ Living without deletion protection. She's Sugar Rush's future, for crying out loud."

"...Should we warn Tessa and Zed?" Wren wondered gently, although Wren simply didn't view this as telling on Berri, due to Tessa being his older cousin, he reeled for a second and wondered if that'd put him and Berri's trust on the rocks, "I-I just... Wouldn't want to give Berri any reason to think I was working against her, but... I just don't want her falling into a trap and then, she's just gone for good..."

"You'd then regret not telling Aunt Tessa and Uncle Zed," Theo shrugged, "You'd be stuck with the fact that you could've told someone and helped prevent this. I, personally, think we should at least have a chat with Berri."

"If all else fails, then," Wren trailed off as they now grew within twenty feet of Throttle's lovely front porch, as well as the beings that hovered under it's warmth.

"Then we can maybe tell Turbo... Involve Aunt Tessa and Uncle Zed," Theo shrugged nervously, and as him and Wren caught eyes in the last, silent dregs of their conversation, they knew that it wasn't concluded, that they both were still buzzing with questions.

"Hey," Berri so warmly eased in Turbo's direction. Although the three had worn normal school clothes to Academy, upon coming back into Sugar Rush's frigid air, they had donned proper boots and jackets. Berri's snowy footsteps gently splayed Throttle's porch with a light powder, and although Berri had previously battled with her own emotions in her last hour class, somehow being in Turbo's presence eradicated every last notion. It were as if he would win the battle of the both of them staying cooped up in his loft, forever, simply by requesting it of her whilst looking her in the eye. Any other avenue of communication had Berri in grips with her senses, though the second Turbo's golden eye contact was lofted her way, she felt her knees go weak. With this notion, she inwardly scolded herself as she made her silent predicament worse by going in for a hug, "Hopefully Chester wasn't too much of a handful today?"

"Not at all," Turbo's warm, raspy familiar voice so lovingly coat the top of her shoulder as she draped her arms about his neck and shoulders. The two squeezed for a tight hug, though they made sure not to prolong it. As Berri slowly eased out of the ravel of Turbo's strong arms, about her upper back, she kindly lofted Throttle a welcoming smile of a greeting and hovered close to Turbo's gravity, "He's pushing for more vocalizing, did you notice?"

"I did," Berri's eyes lit up, though as Wren and Theo slowly made their way onto Throttle's porch, and out of the way of the tender snowfall, Berri furrowed her brow and noticed Throttle visibly stiffen, as if he was now delightfully uncomfortable. Berri continued on and only briefly just disregarded this notion, "Y-You think we can just teach him how to talk, from here?"

"Well, I'm thinking he's probably going to make any normal sound a typical lykata would make," Turbo pressed, the air fogged before him, and although he took a few steps away, so to allow more room for Wren and Theo to join the conversation, Throttle strangely took the same steps with him. Berri now furrowed her brows in cued attention and, so to secretively try and make it so Throttle didn't stick out like a sore thumb, she tenderly followed their movement and kept close to Turbo as he nonchalantly continued on, "Once he has barking and howling down, and the like... I'm wondering if we maybe have to code his voice box, from there. Certainly makes the process a little easier."

"I'm so excited," Berri cheesed with a giddy smile as she scrunched her shoulders, Turbo gave her a loving smile, a small nod and continued on.

"I am too... I figured I'd give this week a try, get him to bark and howl, and all that jazz, and then I'll meet up with Tessa and Zed and see what to do, from there," Turbo patiently explained; Chester knew, full well, that they were talking about him, so to further ham it up, he flopped into the snow and began to thrash around on his back out of excitement. His wings sprawled, snow splayed up into the air out of pure chaos, he panted in whole hyperness as his tongue flopped about. Everyone burst into laughter as Turbo's warm, smiling eyes soaked to Berri, Wren and Theo in anticipated wait, "How was Academy, today?"

"Berri's first day back," Throttle chimed, though stiffly; Berri lofted her gaze to him, and although his skin was nearly sheet white, like usual, his cheeks held a very strange tint of a nervous shade of red.

"It was so good," Berri eased, she tried not to hold her attention to Throttle in whole confusion, "I was so worried that everyone, in my last hour class, was going to crucify me for simply knowing Turbo, but... They were so supportive, and had so many questions about Turbo. It was really fun."

"Ah yeah?" Turbo's face lit up, as if he wanted to be nervous, though somehow this positive attention received was now something he was beginning to crave, "Wh-what did you say about me?"

"Ah, it's... I just said you were really nice, and all that good stuff," Berri now was the one to crown a very vivid, bashful blush across her face. Although she simply didn't want Turbo to believe that she thought it was unimportant, she gave him a cute smile and shrugged, as if to now express she was too shy to repeat all the nice things she said, "Just... Take my word for it."

"Ooh, la-la," Wren slowly cooed, his voice crackled to a depth of seduction, though he flinched in a beaming grin as Berri sharpened, grit her teeth and gave Wren a playful death glare.

"Well, thank you," Turbo huffed a chuckle and gave Wren an equally as playfully annoyed and irritated look. He sighed and gave Throttle his full eye contact, though it was here that Berri was floored to see Turbo flinch, give a double-take on Throttle, and also now clearly understand that Throttle looked a little uncomfortable, "Y-You guys, uh... Have anything planned for the rest of the day?"

"Well, Wren and I have a shit ton of homework, I doubt Berri has any, on her first day," Theo grumbled, he gestured his hand to Berri and shrugged, as if to wonder if she potentially did, or not.

"I don't," Berri stated with a sheepish smile and a shrug, she gave Turbo a cute smile and fiddled her fingers together in contemplation, "You still down for testing out that deletion protection tonight?"

"Of course, you guys want to meet at my place, at a certain time?" Turbo wondered, to which Theo and Wren caught eyes in nodding, smiling nonchalance.

"Sure, that'd be great," Wren chimed, though oblivious to Throttle's stiffness, he gestured his hand towards Throttle and confidently pressed on, "You want to come too? The more the merrier."

It was here did Throttle raise his eyebrows in pin-prickled, half-heartedly concealed terror. Everyone peered to him in a sweep of cute, tender confusion, and as he huffed a stagger of a breath and uttered an equally as faltering few words of jump-starting a sentence, Turbo now firmly furrowed his eyebrows and peered to his older brother in hot confusion.

"O-Oh, I'd... I'd love that, that'd be fun," Throttle managed to squeak out, he eased a nervous smile, bobbed a nod and now looked down to his gangly long legs and feet, the top of his head nearly gave off steam due to his now visible shyness.

Turbo cocked an eyebrow and held his golden eyes tight to his brother. He knew, full well, that Throttle was not a stammering, nervous type. Although he was quiet, stoic and reserved, said stand-offish front was never shown in the form of a bashful, faltering, staggering mess, like such. Turbo crossed his arms and knew not to simply mention it here and now, due to further traumatizing his brother, though he had to wonder if somehow their little roles were reversed. Not nights ago was Throttle the one easily handing Turbo very valuable romantic advice, it was only until Turbo finally lofted his golden gaze to Wren's vicinity did he fully understand just what this could now be about. He sagged a little in realization, smiled and knew that it was now his turn to offer Throttle some valuable advice, simply about how to even approach a conversation with a potential crush without crumpling like a house of cards. Turbo choked a small laugh, shook his head and caught eyes with Berri, he was floored to see that she had caught on; she was the sharpest of them all.

"Alright, I can make us something good to eat, or maybe I can prepare some hot chocolate before we get to work," Turbo shrugged, he lofted his eyes to Wren, Theo and then to Berri, "Say, let's meet at my loft at around, seven-ish?"

"Sounds great," Wren chimed with a boyish smile.

"I-I'll be there," Throttle nervously staggered, though he was the first to make his way towards his front door, so to escape this situation, one of which he was only making worse for himself, "I-I... I have some laundry to fold, I'll see you guys later."

"See ya," Turbo eased nonchalantly, though he turned back around and gave Berri a knowing look; just as Wren and Theo were about to make their way to Throttle's open teleport pad, so they didn't have to cross the cold, Sugar Rush palace field once more, to get to their tower, Turbo gave Berri a kind smile and shrugged, "Y'wanna come hang with me, until then?"

"I'd love that," Berri eased; she knew being in Turbo's loft, high away from her responsibilities, an escape from her reality on the ground, was the only place she wanted to be. As if her two worlds were now becoming so much more separated and convoluted than prior, she shoved away any blaring warning noises, in her head, and wondered if she ignored them long enough, maybe they'd go away; a notion she was more than willing to test out.


	67. Chapter 67

**Reviews :**

 **Jak Sketchin :** LMAO! omg could you imagine xD Chester does get a proper voice, and it IS from a certain someone! ;D

 **Burgie :** The more Berri falls for Turbo, the more uncomfortable she gets, and the more distance she tries to wedge between the two, but fails miserably LMAO

 **Snake557 :** Unfortunately, Berri is practically the equivalent of a giddy 'of age' school girl that has two really awesome boys she wants to impress and cater to. So, naturally, patience doesn't come easy. Especially for someone as quick-to-leap as Berri lol.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Stuck in the Middle by Mike Posner**

* * *

 ***Chapter 67***

"Okay, so, can I ask a favor or two?" Beri wondered in dry cuteness, she shrugged her shoulders as she confidently strolled into Turbo's warm, cozy loft. Chester happily traipsed after her as Turbo staggered outside his front door, in his dimly lit foyer, though he grunted Berri a kind noise of inquiry and began to set his foyer lights to a more darker afternoon setting.

"Anything," Turbo's warm voice breathed, and as he stepped inside his house, his large front door slid closed with a hefty thud, sealing the three inside for good.

"Could you make me that cup of hot chocolate you promised, now, and then when Theo, Wren and Throttle come over later, can you make me ANOTHER one, too?" Berri rushed in girly delight, she sagged her larger hands to Turbo's kitchen island, the one that was now closest to the garage side door and his lovely, much larger dining room table. The air of confidence radiating off of her was beyond palpable, something that Turbo dutifully noted. Berri gave Turbo her beautiful eye contact, a sheepish smile of pure sweetness, "Just... Pretend I only had one, and not two. Can we just keep it our little secret?"

Turbo cocked an eyebrow and gave her a playfully stern look of tease. He finally exhaled an annoyed, long sigh through his nose, an audible noise of pure tease and bantering the two knew very well, by now. Berri blurt a hard giggle and slumped onto Turbo's island as he silently bowed to her wishes, he knew he'd wait on her every single wish, hand and foot until the day he endured an official game over. His gentle touch began to softly and kindly rummage through his cabinets for the cocoa powder, and once he eased to his glorious, double doored refrigerator, he finally cocked an eyebrow and shot her yet another annoyed look of smiling, cheeky glee, as if to silently make fun of her for wanting more sweets than what was previously suggested.

"Stoppp," Berri whined as she finally sagged her face into her hands, her elbows were firmly planted on his kitchen island. She sat comfortably at the bar stools on the opposite side of the kitchen, from where Turbo was planted.

"Yes, your highness, it'll be our little secret," Turbo mumbled kindly as he finally turned his back to her and began to prepare her a delicious cup of hot chocolate.

His hands worked with his kettle, a gentle, methodical click of his gas stove, and with a spark, the blue flames gently lit underneath his gorgeous, lightly dinged grey kettle. His golden eyes aimlessly gazed down at the flame, it eagerly licked at the bottom edges of the kettle and began to heat the water inside. The metaphor of simple, little secrets now being built upon his and Berri's blossoming friendship had his stomach itching. He furrowed his brows and held his breath, the very idea of building the very base of trust between safely harbored secrets and information, only passed between him and Berri, was something he was dutifully wanting to strengthen. A foundation of solid concrete, something the both of them could rely on. He cocked an eyebrow and just barely peered to her, over his shoulder; she was so sweetly ruffling the fur on Chester's chest, her lovely voice cooed adorable, sweet notions of nothings to him, he was well aware he had made clear to Berri that he was, indeed, not a bluffer, and any card he played was the right one.

"Tell me about your day, Bear," Turbo warmly eased, he finally turned around to face her, rested his lower back to the edge of his kitchen counter, away from the flames on the stove. He crossed his masculine arms and relaxed.

"Oh, it was so good," Berri sighed as she, too, relaxed, she sagged her shoulders and tucked her hair behind her ears the second Chester began to so slowly peel his gravity from her's and straight for Turbo's, "I mean, it was weird, because... In hanging out with Gunner, Wren, Theo and I are now sort of considered celebrities alongside him. I signed a lot of autographs today... For what? I'm not entirely sure. Can't say I complain, though."

"Wow, autographs? That's awesome," Turbo blurt a chuckle as Chester's taller, bumbling body came moseying straight for Turbo, his head was held low, ears sagged flat, the very epitome of humble, loving submission. He hung his turquoise tongue out of his mouth, happily panted and came upon Turbo in search for head and ear scratches. Turbo grunted a noise the second Chester's blind self clumsily bumped into his center, his whole sense of depth was entirely out the window. Turbo blurt a soft laugh and kindly began to bow to Chester's needs, as well, his masculine hands did everything they could to give the backs of Chester's ears a good scratch session, "I'm assuming Gunner is probably taking that as a good sign, huh... Testing the waters, seeing how you three handle fame. Is that why you texted me about the deletion protection, earlier?"

"Yeah, I... Well..." Berri now began to look nervous. She looked down to her hands and shook her head in gentle confusion, "Gunner, well... Invited us to come to EZ Living today. He was going to take us on a tour inside his mansion, on Keppel Crest."

"...Shit, a mansion? On Keppel Crest, no less?" Turbo ogled, he shook his head and honed his eyes to the top of Chester's head, a very secretive, well hid sting of mild jealousy began to brew inside of him, something he was a master at hiding, "Well... I-I'm sorry you had to turn it down. We'll make sure to cover a lot of ground work tonight, on the deletion protection. I-I know your mother wanted all of u to have a meeting with the Academy board... A few important people are actually interested about the technology, so we should probably get on it, anyways."

"Wh-when do you think it'll be able to be finished?" Berri wondered shyly, she shook her head and began to look even more nervous, "I-I mean... Not to rush you."

"It's no issue," Turbo chuckled, he shook his head and curiously peered to her, as if to maybe be confused as to why she had now become so nervous, "I'd say maybe a week or two of perfecting... It's not something to rush, Bear. It's people's lives literally at stake."

"I know," Berri sighed, she looked down to her hands, on Turbo's cold, dark marble counters; she knew patience was definitely not her strong suit.

"We can take a good, hard look at it tonight and see what comes up," Turbo assured warmly, he bobbed a nod and now began to feel almost defeated in reassuring Berri. He continued to firmly scratch at Chester's ears, all while keeping his attention on his kettle, on the stove. Turbo sagged his shoulders and gave Berri a nervous frown, "I know you... You probably really want to go into EZ Living, huh... It's a GREAT opportunity, I mean if Gunner wanted to slap you guys right onto his team? The distance your talent would go? The sheer amount of people you guys would reach?"

"I-I guess I never really thought about my talent being put out in the world, like this, until there was a MASSIVE opportunity right at my fingertips," Berri shrugged, she gave Turbo a soft, apologetic smile and shrugged, "I just... Don't want him to think we're dragging our feet, or like we're not interested. I just... Want to get into his studios and show him, and his team, what I'm made of."

Turbo narrowed his gaze and gave Berri a long and hard look, though before even he could say anything, Chester suddenly grumbled a very audible noise of near annoyance. He flickered his ears, firmly stood, shook himself off in a floppy show of fur and wings, and finally came up for air amidst an equally as annoyed glower, right in Berri's direction. Although Chester was trying to come across clearly as being annoyed at Berri's notions, Berri lit up and scrunched her shoulders.

"Chester, your voice is really becoming stronger and stronger!" Berri encouraged lovingly, almost as if she simply knew Chester was annoyed, and she was now trying to do everything she could to bypass said annoyance with blind, cheery ignorance.

"I mean, if he's your friend, he'd be patient," Turbo shrugged, the kettle on his stove began to loudly complain in the form of whistling. As he moved to take the kettle off the heat, he cocked an eyebrow and began to feel a strange, protective urge come over him. Never before had he felt a strange urge to fiercely protect Berri from one of her friends, before. He knew it was likely due to Gunner simply being a point of interest for Berri, something Turbo also strived to be, though the weird feeling he suddenly got in his gut made him narrow his gaze down to the chocolate powder he was now pouring the scalding hot water into, "You should tell him your plight, Bear... Certainly he'd understand."

"Well, Wren and Theo did, and he DID understand, but..." Berri sighed, shook her head and now began to look as if she was becoming flustered. She breathed a small, nervous giggle and began to wave off the conversation, "It's fine... I'm sure homework will distract me enough and time will go by quickly."

"I know it's tempting, but better safe than sorry," Turbo assured, and as he topped Berri's steamy cup off with a cool splash of delicious, creamy milk, he sprinkled a few mini marshmallows on top and lovingly crossed his kitchen, so to set the delicious cup of hot chocolate before Sugar Rush's princess. He eased a cute smile and gestured his hands, "Tada."

"Thank you, Bo," Berri eased with a warm smile, though before Turbo could walk away, she warmly gripped Turbo's wrist in a small gesture of further thank.

As she slipped her warm grip away, she cupped the steamy mug of hot chocolate, scrunched her shoulders and brought the deliciousness to her face. Turbo cocked an eyebrow and easily breezed past the gesture, though his insides clenched in a rile of being seemingly yanked. He turned back to his fridge to put away the ingredients left over and felt his heart do a weird dance of confusion. As if Berri had both her feet stood on different patches of grass, he had to assume that she only thought they maybe looked greener from different angles and different stances, and choosing was likely impossible, this soon into the season. His heart whirled in confusion, a lovely tug of war, as if Berri was due to playing a cheeky game of 'catch me if you can' without even realizing it, the coy, teasing dance of just which point of interest would eventually win out. He furrowed his eyebrows and replayed his own notions, the notions of warning Berri that he wasn't a bluffer, yet again, and every card played was, indeed, the right one.

"You're welcome," Turbo finally eased through a sigh, the second he leaned into his fridge, he rolled his eyes, scrunched them shut tight and, in pure, lovestruck fashion, he silently mouthed the words 'why me?'

"Anyways," Berri stated through a long, hard sigh. She smacked her lips and smiled down to the hot chocolate in her hands. She furrowed her eyebrows and, as the deliciousness hit her, she reeled and gave Turb an excited, loving smile, "User, this is... REALLY good."

"I may be from Turbotime, but... I've lived my entire life inside Sugar Rush," Turbo tried his very hardest not to gloat, he gave Berri a loving smile and returned to his leaning position against his counter, with his arms crossed. He hoped, at this point, he was wearing any battle scars, badges or awards with pride, as if the extremely tidy house, the providing of delicious food and drink, the eons of experience under his belt, would all make up the wonderful mixture of a perfect mate, in Berri's eyes, "If I didn't know a thing about sweets, by now, well... I'd give you full license to be concerned."

"It's amazing," Berri huffed a gentle breath into the gape of Turbo's loved mug, the entirely intoxicating hot chocolate was nearly frothy, somehow the fluffy, almost powdered chocolate sugar, that Turbo had used for mixture, thickened and frothed with the addition of the hot water. The splash of creamy cold milk, to finish it off, was what had Berri nearly turning the mug upside down from enjoyment.

"I'm glad," Turbo sighed, he looked down and knew that he needed to segue away from the topic of providing to Berri, whether that simply be food and drink or something far greater, in fear of putting his feet in his mouth. He huffed a faltered breath and shook his head a little, "Y'see how weird Throttle got, earlier? I mean, we were just fine talking, him and I, and then you three showed up and... He looked like he suddenly had to take the biggest crap of his life."

"That was hilarious, I know why he was acting that way," Berri nearly choked on her hot chocolate, she set her half-empty cup down and blurt a small giggle, "I think Throttle has a thing for Wren. The past few times we've all hung out, Throttle just increasingly looks more and more uncomfortable to be around Wren... And not in a bad way, it's more like... He doesn't know what to do with the tension, the flirtatious banter, so he just bails out. Or wants to, anyways. It's typical of guys that are extremely, painfully shy. Especially someone like Throttle? So stoic and serious?"

"...Wow, you got ALL that from the way he was acting?" Turbo choked a hard laugh, to which Berri matched with a wide smile.

"I'm a girl! This is my expertise," Berri rattled, she got comfortable and gave Turbo a knowing look, "Y'ever hang out with the two of them and notice one, or the other, is mirroring the other person's stance or mannerisms? Whenever Wren tells a joke, he laughs and immediately looks to Throttle. Throttle is a dead give away, too, cause his skin is so sheet-white that any ounce of blush shows up like neon lights."

"He nearly turned purple, earlier!" Turbo held his stomach as the two were now continuously lost in laughter.

"I'm saying!" Berri loudly included through her giggling, she tucked her long blue hair behind her ears and bashfully looked up, "The poor thing! There's gotta be something we can do so that Throttle is comfortable with this... Y'think it'd be too forward of you to approach him for?"

"No, not at all, considering I went to him-..." Turbo stopped dead in his tracks and felt his heart nearly stop beating. He inhaled a cool breath and desperately tried to recover, the vivid, blue heat of Berri's piercing eyes now latched onto him in whole curiosity, "I went to him, the other day, to see if he was doing alright, I mean... I know he hasn't entirely come out of the closet, so I'm sure pursuing Wren hasn't been the easiest thing, for him to do. If that's even his intention?"

"I'm sure it is, believe it or not, him and Wren text ALL the time," Berri rolled her eyes, Turbo was grateful she breezed past his almost-slip up, though he bugged his eyes in confusion and peered to Berri long and hard.

"They WHAT?" Turbo choked a laugh, Berri urgently nodded, "HOW can they text all day long, and then the second they're physically together, they look like complete strangers?"

"There's something you have to know about Wren... Something you probably actually know about Throttle," Berri giggled as she held up a finger, "Wren is the LAST person to outwardly SHOW that he cares, to outwardly show physical love in the form of hugs or even words of affirmation. I mean, times REALLY have to be tough for him to feel the urgency to extend a full swathe of love, your way... I'm going to say it's safe to assume that Throttle is the same way."

"Yeah. Behind closed doors and nothing less," Turbo rattled quickly, the two shared a knowing laugh.

"I'm thinking that their constant texting is a way to alleviate the tension while at least SORT OF getting something done," Berri sighed, she shook her head and rolled her eyes, "Wren won't open up to me, about it... But, I'm sure if I sit him down, just him and I, he'd cave. He knows anything he says to me is safe, so..."

"Maybe I can do the same, for Throttle, give him some advice," Turbo shrugged, "I mean, Wren's not a stranger, to me, I at least will be able to help Throttle, a little..."

"Did we just tag-team match-making?" Berri side-eyed Turbo with a cheeky, excited smile, to which Turbo clapped his hands together and beamed.

"YES, and I'm here for it," Turbo barked with an equally as excited smile, the two eagerly shared a laugh as Turbo began to now methodically clean up his kitchen, a little more. He had a pep in his step, as if doing any sort of activity, with Berri, was something to rejoice in, "Alright, so... I'll do work on my end, in the way of Throttle, and you see if you can maybe get Wren to soften, on the subject matter. We can report back to each other tomorrow, yeah?"

"I'm already hearing wedding bells, my friend," Berri schemed as she rubbed her hands together, she blurt a giggle as Turbo firmly nodded.

"Will be good for ol' Tee... Poor thing needs some solid companionship," Turbo bobbed a nod and looked off, "I think Wren would add a good dose of excitement to his life."

"If he hasn't, already," Berri muttered with a knowing smile.


	68. Chapter 68

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** LOL YES. So excited.

 **Burgie :** Aw thank you! It only gets worse from here xD

 **Snake557 :** Yyyyep. Chester's whole entire life hahaha

 **Nikki Firesong :** Aww, of course! Thank YOU for your support as well! YES I'm so excited to finally write for Wren and Throttle. They're so cute. And just in time for Pride month!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Together We Map the World (HTTYD score) by John Powell**

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 ***Chapter 68***

Although the day, at Game Central Academy, had been long and full of being late to nearly every single class, Berri, Wren, Theo and Gunner took time to appreciate every single last fan and excited Academy student that approached them. Tucked safely away in their own music studio, inside Academy's glorious music hall, the coordinators and few music teachers very kindly allowed Gunner, and crew, to cover the glass of one of the many recording studios, so they could at least have a private place to escape to. Although the crowds and hoards of excited fans were finally beginning to dwindle, if even a little, it still was becoming something too much for Berri, Wren and Theo to manage, so soon. With Gunner in full understanding, the four comfortably lounged about the small, Academy studio, although not equipped with the latest gear and technology, it still made do and was a wonderful resource to rely on.

Wren and Theo began to bicker at each other as they picked at the drum set available to them. With the seat up too high for Theo's liking, and a few other things out of place, the two were hunched over with their faces deep into their chore. They laughed and picked on each other, in true brotherly fashion, as Berri and Gunner stood on the other end of the studio, which was separated by a wide window and a door that hung ajar. Gunner's meticulous fingers worked at the mix board, with a pair of silver, over-ear headphones lazily slopped over his head. He had one side tightly smushed to his right ear, while the right ear lazily hugged the side of his head and left it so he could hear Berri talking. She quietly explained the amount of homework she was now saddled with, what tests that were coming up and which classes were now ones she was discovering to be the hardest. Whilst she gently chatted, her larger fingers tuned her electric guitar, properly plugged into a mini-amp she had heftily strapped to her hip.

Gunner cocked an eyebrow and continued to set the tunes of a few different melodies they were beginning to work on, simply just mess around music, something that Gunner was relieved to be sinking into. Although he was sad that Archived Chaos fell apart, and scheduled tours and shows were now no longer a thing, he was at least thrilled he could sit back for a few weeks and really get back to the heart of his craft. As Berri's sweet and tender voice carried on, he crowned a gentle smile and lofted his narrow, honey-brown gaze to her figure. She stood, her eyes tight to the neck of her gorgeous guitar, she huffed a few strands of her blue bangs out of her eyes and, as her chest cavity shook a cute giggle from her figure, Gunner softened and stopped what he was doing to simply admire. She carried on chatting without a care in the world, her right hand so tenderly plucked at the strings of her guitar, tune she could get right by ear with no problem whatsoever.

"I mean, I know he's not MEANING to teach so fast, but, man," Berri bugged her eyes and peaked a cute, toothy smile from her pink lips. She shook her head and furrowed her brows, "It's like... Slow down, man, my note taking can only fly through so many sheets of paper before I need a new notebook... Y'know?"

Berri finally lofted her gaze up and to Gunner's figure, and it was here did he flinch in a startled roll of being discovered in staring. He huffed a faltered noise and quickly shot his eye down to the mix board in a fluster of bashful awareness, he bobbed a hefty nod, bit his bottom lip and quipped her a short note of agreeing. Berri cocked an eyebrow and softly assessed him; his straight, nearly perfect black hair was smushed by the heavy headphones he donned, his clean, tidily pressed dark blue shirt, with the thin, light blue pinstripes down his chest, only elongated his tall, slender figure. He nervously shifted on his feet, the holes in his cool, rugged black jeans peaked his knees as he tried to situate himself in agitation. He shrugged and cooly came out of his embarrassment with a coy, sweet smile lofted in her direction.

"You're kin of the greatest racers in this Arcade," Gunner volleyed warmly, they finally locked eyes in a sweet string of understanding, of getting to know each other more. He shrugged his broad shoulders and, with his widening smile, his eyes narrowed even further, "Surely keeping up is no problem for you. You're fast, anyhow. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Thank you," Berri chirped with a small nod, to insinuate he definitely wasn't wrong, though she blurt a small laugh and continued on, "Doesn't mean my brain isn't goo after leaving that class, though."

"Oh, I don't doubt it," Gunner blurt, he shook his head in agreeing as the two shared a laugh, "My third hour teacher is the same way. I'm not a good note taker, though, so... It's always difficult for me, no matter what."

"I LOVE taking notes," Berri pressed as she returned her attention back down to her guitar, "Explains why I go crazy over sheet music, I guess."

"True," Gunner nodded, though he finally heaved a sigh of contentment and took off the hefty headphones, in which Academy provided for their studios. He sagged his hand to the counter in nonchalance, faced Berri and eagerly watched her finish tuning her guitar, "Hey, Bear, um... I know it was sort of a point of contention yesterday, but... If you change your mind on coming over to my place... Just let me know."

Berri sagged her shoulders a little and felt that itching, nasty tug on her heart. How badly she wanted to traipse into EZ Living, see Gunner's mansion, hopefully play for his team, she wondered if she could possibly get away with it. She contemplated the pros and cons; she knew if she were to escape to EZ Living, with no one knowing, and come back without anyone being the wiser, she could have her cake and eat it too. Though, she looked off in a slow sag of nervousness, the title she would one day hold, the crown held high with so many sets of responsibilities, and the one main thing her mother so diligently tried to teach her; to avoid being careless. Berri heaved a hard sigh through her nose, and just as she began to give Gunner a nervous, apologetic smile, Gunner gently threw his hands up, as if to assure her that she wasn't hurting his feelings.

"I understand, I get it," Gunner egged warmly, he huffed a chuckle and gave her a sweet smile, "I respect your decision. I know it's difficult..."

"It's just... Dangerous for me, you understand," Berri pressed; she knew that Gunner was aware of faux-codes being deleted, randomly, though she also began to wonder if said fad was dying out. She pondered the last time she had heard about a faux-code being deleted randomly, via this issue. She tried her very hardest not to go back on her word, though somehow, it started to creep up on her, "Maybe... I can come hang out with you on a night where the stations and game entrances aren't so incredibly busy."

"Yeah, where my team can REALLY keep an eye on us, usher us too and from," Gunner nodded in assurance, "I mean... I know it's scary for us faux-codes, I get it. I just... So badly want to introduce you to my manager. She'd love you."

"Yeah?" Berri pressed, she inwardly scolded herself for being such a sap for that amazingly alluring honey-brown gaze of his.

"Yeah, Bedgy is the best," Gunner nodded, he sagged his hands into his pockets and sighed, "Maybe I can see about her coming to Academy, one day, if you decide, once and for all, that coming into EZ Living is a no-go."

"I-I... I don't want to tell you that I'll NEVER go to EZ Living," Berri danced around her words, she knew she had to be careful not to mention Turbo's plan to create a deletion protection, of sorts, "M-My family is slowly working out a way where we can go about Arcade safely, free of harm from random delete attacks... I think it's just scary, right now, because we have no clue what's technically causing these random deletions. Once we have the source, it'll be easier to know when we can come in and out of the safety nets of our games."

"Thinking like a true Queen," Gunner complimented with a small nod, a twinkle in his eye, he finally sighed in defeat and bobbed a nod, "Welp... Noted. You just let me know when you'd like to come over. My door is always open, whenever you're comfortable."

"That's really sweet of you, thank you," Berri assured warmly with a nod.

As she went back to tuning her guitar, she felt a weird sting of annoyance come over her. Although Gunner was being sweet and not pushing her boundaries, Berri felt an itch of urgency to try and win back his pawing neediness for her to join him in EZ Living. She was well aware this was a matter of life or death, though now that he had mildly given up on trying to win her over to his house, easily lofting the ball into her court, she felt irritated that now she was the one to make the next move. She recalled the very thing she was the absolute worst at, being impatient and all, she began to wonder if she could somehow use escaping to EZ Living as her one and only massive act of rebelliousness. She knew every yearling was allowed at least one get-out-of-jail-free-card.

"I give up! I can't do it, I don't know what ham hands wants of me," Wren blurt in whole annoyance; although Wren was still a little bashful and nervous around Gunner, he quickly came out of his shell and acted like his typical self. He threw his hands up and stormed into Berri's and Gunner's side of the studio, to which they both perked up with confused smiles and lofts of darted gazes back to Theo, inside the hull of the studio. He loudly proclaimed something to Wren, though it was only half audible due to the glass being soundproof, "I don't care! Look, I don't know how drum sets work!"

"I'll see what's up," Gunner stated in gentle defeat with a small chuckle, he smoothly slid between Wren and Berri, and before Theo could get too upset, he came into the other side of the studio and began to help Theo with the shared drum set, one that multiple students used throughout the day.

"For User's sake, I have to do everything for that dude, 'my hands are too big'," Wren wrinkled his nose and mocked Theo's deeper voice. He huffed a breath, jerked his head to get his white hair from out of his eyes, and crossed his arms in whole annoyance; Berri cocked an eyebrow at Wren and waggled her fingers.

"Hey, it's not easy being a wrecker, my friend," Berri sassed, though Wren raised his eyebrows and rose to the challenge.

"Oh yeah? I didn't gift that upon you two! Least he could do is be grateful I'm helping him," Wren stabbed; although Wren was making this out to be a big deal, he was known for blowing things out of proportion. With Wren's spiked attitude and odd amount of stress level, for something so tiny and silly, Berri furrowed her brows in prodding contemplation and shook her head as Wren continued on, "I'm sorry, I'm just... GUH."

"You're awfully heated about the height of one measly stool, love," Berri cooed with a giggle, she gingerly eased the strap of her electric guitar off of her body and carefully rested said guitar on a nearby stand, on the ground. As she came back up, she put her hands on her hips and was quick to notice Wren whip out his phone and now nervously begin to stab his thumbs into the screen of the digital keyboard, as if to flurry his frustration at some other poor, unfortunate soul, "Hey, easy, easy... Calm down, Wren, seriously."

"I'm sorry," Wren blurt as Berri's loving hand held onto Wren's wrist, and it was here did Berri get a small glimpse as to just who he was messaging; none other than Throttle. Wren bashfully locked his phone and set it down on the large, sprawling studio desk he was near, "I-I just... I'm... I have a lot of huge and scary tests coming up, and a lot of homework, and I just..."

"Have a lot on your mind, clearly," Berri eased; she was well aware Wren was a closed book, when it came to deeper issues, and though he was hard to pry open, she knew it was indeed possible, with a good dose of tender loving care and meeting Wren just where he was at, "Surely those tests can't be the highlight of your stress, Wren... I mean, midterms are literally two months away, I'm sure you're not panicking about those, just yet."

"No, I just... I promised mom and dad I'd have a perfect GPA, my first year," Wren muttered, he shook his head and now gave Berri an annoyed, sheepish grin, "Probably not the smartest thing to promise, but... I want to make them proud."

"Yeah, don't break your neck over it, Wren," Berri blurt a small giggle, though she knew she clearly didn't want to dance around this hot topic, any longer. She cocked an eyebrow, dart her eyes down to his phone, eased a cool nod and so quietly revealed his heart, bare and open for only her to see, "Texting Throttle, I see..."

Wren froze and now felt a weird shiver crawl over his skin. He knew Berri was a safe place for all things boy related, how much they gabbed about guys they thought were cute, celebrities they gushed over, though he had felt himself fall into the weird predicament of slowly garnering a crush on an individual they both knew personally, something Wren was entirely unsure how to navigate. Because he had no skillset here, no experience navigating these tricky waters, for once in his life, he didn't have a witty comeback for Berri to try and digest. He sagged his shoulders, looked down to the black screen of his phone and, although he hated being vulnerable, he allowed his wall to come down for Berri in this instance, strictly for the fact that Gunner and Theo were entirely out of earshot and preoccupied with something else.

"I am," Wren confessed, his tone was curt and nervous, though held a lilt of warm inquisition. He eyed Berri through a narrowed gaze, sharper than knives, he navigated the waters of this conversation, up ahead, and wondered just where there'd be lurking crocodiles, "What of it?"

"No, nothing, I just... I've been noticing lately that he gets really nervous and stiff whenever you're around," Berri eased seriously, she knew if she didn't sass Wren, or give attitude, that Wren then didn't have any fuel to volley said sass or attitude right back at her. She allowed her walls to further come down first so that Wren knew she was eternally a safe spot, no matter what the case, "I... I think it's sweet. It seems, to me, that he's maybe nervous around you because he likes you? Or maybe... You like him?"

"I don't know," Wren curtly snapped as he crossed his arms and continued to look down to his blank phone, Berri held her eyes to Wren and allowed a gentle, loving smile to sprawl her cheeks.

"Wren... It's okay," Berri assured softly, with the warmth in her voice, the soothing air radiating off of her, Wren dared to peel his nervous eyes from his blank phone and directly into her vivid, piercing blue eyes. She tilted her head in gentle understanding and softened, even further, "I won't tell anyone, Wren... I promise."

Wren held tight eye contact with Berri in shivering nervousness. He knew she was a safe spot for all of his secrets, their sibling relationship never faltered or wavered in any sense, whatsoever. He held his arms tight across his chest in a show of reservedness, though he felt the need to unload, and be real, quickly come back to his veins. He unravelled his arms, tucked his hands into his lazy, dark khaki knee-length shorts and, through a big expansion of his broad chest, he bobbed a gentle nod, alongside a nervous shrug, and looked off.

"Yeah, I... I like him," Wren eased nervously, he still held his eyes aimless across the room, though in a sharp, nervous dart, he brought them right back to Berri's unwavering, loving gaze, "It's just... Complicated, I don't know how to describe it."

"What's complicated about it?" Berri warmly pressed, the lightness in her voice had Wren's shoulders sagging, as if maybe the complication was due to him being so inside his own head.

"I-I mean, it's just... Weird. Isn't it a little weird?" Wren wrinkled his nose and peered to Berri in uncertainty, "H-He's... Well... I guess you and I are sort of in the same boat, in this situation."

"Wait, why?" Berri reeled in tender confusion, though Wren gave Berri a sneaky smile and cocked an eyebrow.

"Because both the boys, that we fancy, are literal Arcade decades older than us," Wren concluded, to which Berri's face quickly turned red.

"Th-that's... Diff-"

"It's not different, and you know it," Wren stabbed with a hearty laugh, to which Berri secretly looked off and tried her hardest to reserve a smile, "Whatever is said in this instance STAYS between us, and I mean it, you hear me?"

"Road goes both ways, Wren," Berri snapped in smiling irritation, though Wren confidently held out his hand, for a handshake, and knew they needed to seal that promise, for good, before more words were exchanged.

"Deal," Wren assured, and as the two quickly and secretively shook hands, they reeled their still reserved postures back to crossed arms or hands deep in jean pockets.

"Th-the way I look at it, is..." Berri danced around her words, Wren raised his eyebrows and awaited her advice, as if it were pure gold, mana from heaven, something they both needed to hear but could now only get from each other. Wren long blinked in tender anticipation and just barely leaned in as Berri continued, nervous hand gestures and all, "Sure, they're older than us, but... The experience?"

"True," Wren bobbed a nod, his tone was short and nervous.

"I-I don't know about Throttle, but I know Turbo has an ex-girlfriend, User knows where she went... It's desirable, I understand. Wanting a guy that has been through the trails of life and love," Berri rattled off gently, to which Wren nervously shrugged, "I don't know, Wren, I'd say... Go with your gut. Throttle is such a gentleman. All the Turbotime boys are... It's like engrained in their coding, or something. I don't think age should be a factor, here. We're all adults, here, can't we like each other, no matter what?"

"I'd like to say," Wren shrugged once more, though a cute smile finally began to sprawl his face, as if he was in desperate need of this conversation.

"I think... Throttle is still just a liiiittle bit deeper in the closet, than you were. Turbo told me that Throttle hasn't even come out to him, yet," Berri grimaced and gave Wren a look of nervous understanding, "I think... This situation may be tricky for him because of the opposite things we're worried about. You're a lot younger than him. Not only that, but he's also never OPENLY come out with it, and I think that makes him nervous... Another thing, your dad is Rancis Fluggerbutter. I mean that's ENOUGH worry, right there."

"Poor Orph," Wren scoffed, he grappled at the collar of his shirt, tugged it and looked off, "Yeah, I guess... I never considered those things. We get on great through our text conversations, but for the past few days, he gets REAL weird whenever we're in person, together. I mean, you saw him last night."

"Yeah he spent the entire night like fifty feet from you, at all times," Berri blurt a gentle laugh; they both kept their eye on Gunner's and Theo's whereabouts, so to know just when to call this conversation quits. Berri sighed, shook her head and crossed her arms, "I think maybe you just... Need to break the ice a little. May suck, but I think you might have to be the one to make the first move. Approach him, touch his arm, say something nice. I think he's just visibly uncomfortable because he has no clue how to act around you without either freaking you out, or freaking the rest of us out."

"Yeah, he mentioned you guys," Wren bobbed a nod and looked back to his phone in tender nervousness, "He didn't want to make you guys feel weird, or anything."

"We wouldn't feel weird, we want you guys to be happy," Berri shrugged, "If being together makes you happy, then... I mean, we can't really complain about that. I think it's sweet."

"Thanks, Bear," Wren stated gently, he still looked mildly uncomfortable, and although he so badly wanted to prod at the idea of Berri still crushing on Turbo, he halted his words and was progressively noticing the twinkling, googoo eyes that Berri was garnering for Gunner. He held his breath and was well aware just which blossom had deeper roots, though he wondered if prodding at Berri, so soon into this game of love triangles, was wise. He dropped it for now and felt the air between them clear a bit, "I-I guess... Maybe should I sit him down, or something?"

"No, that's probably too much, too soon," Berri nonchalantly shrugged, "Just... Be yourself, invite him into the city for a casual date, I don't know. If the issue is being around me, Turbo and Theo, or anyone else, then maybe break the ice on a coffee date in the city, or something. Y'know?"

"Not a bad idea," Wren shrugged with a small nod, he fingered his lip and eyed Berri, "I appreciate your advice... You know if you ever need guy advice, you can come to me, as well... Right?"

"Thanks, I know," Berri assured warmly, though she sighed in mild annoyance, towards herself, and lofted her gaze out the wide window and straight to Gunner's figure, across the way, "I'll let you know when I run into a predicament..."

"...You mean a bigger predicament than what you're currently in? Ms. love triangle?" Wren playfully stabbed, to which Berri furrowed her eyebrows and tried to play dumb.

"Triangle? There is no triangle, I don't know where you're getting that," Berri concluded in curt cuteness as she shrugged her shoulders and gently shook her head; although Wren wanted to fight her on the subject matter, he figured he'd better stop now while he was ahead.


	69. Chapter 69

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Thank you! I am as well, it's definitely different than anything I've ever written for :)

 **Snake557 :** Tough, but not impossible! Odd, but the older someone gets, the less weird it is, I guess. But I do see your point haha.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Worst Nites by Foster the People (first half)**

 **Mines (Star Lumpy) by ConcernedApe (Stardew Valley score - I adore this game and it's soundtrack lol)**

* * *

 ***Chapter 69***

"Holy shit, man, how do you get ANYTHING done?" Nox staggered in whole annoyance, his bare feet lazily lined the round edges of Turbo's incredible glass code room, on top of the world.

Turbo, Nox and Throttle got together, that night, for a hang out in Turbo's loft. Although Turbo had a few things to finish up, work and code room related, Throttle and Nox easily hovered with him and patiently allowed Turbo to do just what he needed to do. Responsibilities, assignments and deadlines he needed to meet for the whole of Sugar Rush, memos and certain files of data he had to then relay to Tessa and Zed. Although he was glad to have a bit more of a bustling social life, he tried his very hardest not to get way too distracted from his important work, in which he was very nobly assigned. His eyes scanned the glorious silver tiers of glowing code files, out before him. He was lightly surrounded by a few code boxes and a few holographic screens, all splayed with information, a chore he was delighted to find Throttle eagerly hovering nearby in kind curiosity.

"It's rough, if I'm being real," Turbo mumbled, he bobbed a nod and donned a kind smile, "It's getting more difficult, now, if I'm being honest."

All three boys were dressed in slouches of comfortable t-shirts and hoodies, lazy pants and sweats, socks and bare feet alike. Nox held a half-empty beer in his hand, the brown bottle sweat a little as Nox just barely twirled it, his golden eyes cast far on the horizon, to Sugar Rush's incredible, glowing palace, seemingly galaxies away. Although Turbo had briefly insinuated that his work was now becoming more difficult due to his new, little social life, he felt his heart begin to thud in a rise of nervousness. He was well aware Throttle was an absolute expert at keeping secrets, the secret of Turbo fancying Berri, though he also knew that he had told Throttle that said secrets would eventually be spilled to Nox, as well; like clockwork, he could hear Throttle huff a knowing chuckle from Turbo's back diagonal, a few feet off. Turbo lulled his eyes closed and simply waited for it, now regretting allowing either of his brothers any alcohol.

"I'd imagine it'd be hard having a beautiful blue-haired princess constantly on your mind, huh," Throttle's words were of pure tease, though his voice held nothing but warmth and kindness; Turbo sagged in defeat the second Nox's neck wretched in surprise, across the way.

"Blue-haired-say-huh?" Nox barked, he eagerly began to mosey back over to where Turbo and Throttle were stood, which was the center of Turbo's code room.

"... I didn't think he heard me, sorry," Throttle mumbled in irritated sincerity.

"It's fine, it was due to come out eventually," Turbo eased back to Throttle in a monotone, as if somehow this revealed news was very quickly something that was past exciting and now just a mild slump of dread. Before Nox could carry on potentially teasing Turbo, he beat Nox right to it, "I'm interested in Berri, it's been rough on me, no she doesn't know, and no, this topic does not leave the three of us."

"'Interested' in Berri?" Throttle huffed in a tone of now entire disbelief, he cocked an eyebrow and gave Nox a knowing look; Turbo rolled his eyes and now bashfully began to bury himself deeper into his standing work.

"In love with, interested in, same difference," Turbo grunted in embarrassed sweetness, and although he was sure Nox was about to run away with this information, he softened for his big brother and gave him a kind smile.

"King Turbo Black," Nox tenderly rattled, he laced his arms behind his back, peered to Turbo down the bridge of his nose and was delighted to see Turbo's bashful, glowing golden eyes peer to Nox in secretive cuteness, over the top of his work, "Has a kickass ring to it, if I do say so myself."

"I'm not after the crown," Turbo volleyed, though he began to don a cute smile he so desperately tried to force away.

"Can't say you wouldn't enjoy the perks of waking up with her blue hair splayed all over your chest, raveled in each other's bare arms," Nox waggled his eyebrows as his masculine hands pressed into his broad chest, and although Turbo could feel his face heat up at the very thought of such a fantasy, he cocked an eyebrow and eyed his little brother; he was well aware Nox had a very real amount of experience with romance, far more than both Throttle and Turbo combined, "Queen Berri Black. I know you hear how cool that all sounds, yeah?"

"Expanding the Black family name," Throttle encouraged with a smile, he eyed Nox tenderly, "When're you going to give Koko our last name, dude?"

"It's been on my mind," Nox complained, he crossed his arms and shook his head, "Proposals can't be rushed."

"It'd be awesome to have a sister," Turbo nodded in encouragement, he was glad the topic was swaying away from him and Berri.

"Yeah, then add Berri to the mix," Nox further pressed in sweetness, as if to be genuine in his words, though no matter the tenderness, Turbo still felt entirely agitated that the topic wasn't letting up, "Berri Black, Koko Black..."

"... Sorry I can't add a third woman to that line-up, there, guys," Throttle mumbled in a discouraged sag of defeat, and although he knew Turbo and Nox genuinely wouldn't be upset at said notion, he still was surprised to see the both of them eagerly loft Throttle looks of support.

"I could always go for another brother, Tee," Nox encouraged, he shook his head as him and Turbo quickly caught eyes in agreeing, "I mean... You and Turbo are enough, and... Lash, if he ever decides to get good, upon being unbubbled... Whenever that'd be."

"Wren can be pretty feminine as it is, Tee, so I wouldn't worry so much about that," Turbo huffed nonchalantly, and although Throttle suddenly stiffened and looked as if he wanted to urgently dispute what Turbo had just insinuated, both Nox and Turbo froze and peered Throttle down in kind, brotherly cheek, as if to firmly and silently state that it'd be a losing battle, and he's genuinely fooling no one.

"... That obvious?" Throttle worried in a sag of a mumble, he bashfully looked down, as if he should potentially be ashamed of it, though it was here did Turbo pause his work and face Throttle, alongside Nox.

"Yeah, it is," Nox choked a small laugh, to which Turbo bobbed a nod of encouragement.

"Pretty ballsy to court someone like Wren, Tee," Turbo lovingly prod, he put his hands on his hips and nodded, "He's more of a firecracker than Berri."

"More opinionated, too," Nox added, Turbo continued to nod in agreeing.

"If you can win over someone like Wren, you got more courage than all of us put together," Turbo rattled, to which Nox bugged his eyes.

"Considering who his father is?" Nox ogled with a nervous chuckle, though he shrugged and gently swat at Turbo's upper arm, "Well... I guess I had to go toe-to-toe with Ralph, and... Y'got King Zed to worry about."

"We're all screwed," Turbo beamed a wide smile and nodded in faked eagerness, to which Nox blurt out into hard laughter; Throttle bashfully smiled into Turbo's eyes as he continued on, "But, at least we can rely on each other. I think it's great that you and Wren got a little somethin' going on. Makes me not feel so alone, in my venture."

"I-I was going to tell you, the other night, but I wanted to make sure we focused on your issue, first," Throttle eased, though Nox furrowed his brow.

"Wait, what issue? Why wasn't I included in on this?" Nox argued, Turbo sagged his shoulders in annoyance and closed his eyes.

"It came out of nowhere, okay, I was already messaging Throttle and I came over later that night," Turbo prod in a huff of a single breath, "I was going to tell you, and come to you for advice, later."

"Throttle's got all the courting advice... I got all the swapping advice," Nox dorkily waggled his eyebrows, cheesed a cocky smile and gestured his thumbs to his broad chest; he choked a laugh of a noise and dropped it all once Turbo stabbed his pointer finger right below Nox's belly button.

"Isn't swapping a part of courting, anyways?" Throttle argued, Turbo shrugged, turned a little and continued to prod at his work as Nox took a decent swig of his beer.

"Swapping's one of the end goals, so I guess so," Turbo shrugged, he shook his head and heaved an already exhausted sigh, "Forget what that's even like."

"Sorry, boys," Nox continued on playfully being cocky, though before he could finish, Turbo shoved his hand over the entirety of Nox's face.

"We get it, you have constant sex with an awesome woman you're due to marrying, CHILL OUT," Turbo barked as he shoved Nox away; Turbo's lovely, glass code room was filled with an audible bounce of warm, brotherly laughter.

"Yeah, Berri's gunna wind up dragging you to your bedroom, literal minutes away from swapping codes, and you're going to be like... 'Oh shit, I should've asked Nox what to do!'," Nox staggered as he wobbled, though he dramatically held the side of his head and looked off, as if to playfully be nervous.

"I haven't forgotten EVERYTHING," Turbo loudly defended, him and Nox shared a hearty laugh.

"I... Don't think any of your advice will work out, for me," Throttle now choked a laugh, to which Turbo eagerly joined in on.

"Yeah, don't go filling Throttle's head with all the do's and don't's of swapping codes with a woman," Turbo egged, he smiled at Throttle and was thrilled he was opening up, a bit more.

"... Wow, I never even thought about that, how would the act of swapping codes work, in your case, anyways?" Nox now wondered in kind, genuine concern, and although Turbo furrowed his brows in a gentle slump of unknowing defeat, both boys lofted their curious gazes to Throttle and were thrilled to see Throttle bashfully look off with a nervous, knowing smile on his face.

"I-I've been doing some research," Throttle assured, though his curt tone lead to suggest that said statement was not only an invitation, but also an abrupt conclusion to the topic at hand.

* * *

In the still of the night, of which had very quickly crept upon midnight, Berri laid on the splay of her comfortable Queen sized bed, on her stomach. She wore a comfortable canary yellow t-shirt and lazy grey leggings, she bobbed her head from side to side, a little, as she quietly jammed out to the fun music blaring into her ears, via the headphones she wore. She patiently scribbled down some notes and made sure to keep her notebooks and binders tidy, and in the midst of finishing up homework and preparing for the next school day, she cocked an eyebrow as her phone, which had been lofted off to her side, gently buzzed a silent few vibrates. Her honed blue eyes unfocused from her writing as her screen lit up, and with a wide smile that bashfully donned her face, she noticed Gunner send her a few messages.

 _Ko : Hey Blue. User, I'm... I'm going over a few things with Bedgy, and I just can't wait for you to meet her._

 _Ko : She said hopefully whatever you guys are working on, for protection against the whole, y'know... deleted faux-codes thing, can get worked out quick, cause she's beginning to contemplate ways to sneak into Academy to come meet you haha_

 _Ko : Y'think this dweeb can pull off being as cool as us self-programmed gamers?_

Berri breathed bashful giggle, and as she sat up, she thumbed further down her messages, with Gunner, and beamed an even wider smile at the fact that Gunner had sent Berri a goofy selfie he had just taken with his manager Bedgy. Although she was rather humanoid, Berri was quick to discover that Bedgy was a gorgeous, cute barn owl creature. She had gorgeous, big grey eyes, a white feathery coat and blue-grey specks of freckles that lined down her forehead to her grey beak. She had one wing loosely hugged about Gunner's neck, as if to playfully choke him, in which Gunner had his eyes closed and was pretending to be dead. Berri blurt a harder laugh and felt her heart just race with excitement. She felt a hard itch to just dive over to EZ Living right this instance, to jump into new shenanigans with new friends, to explore just where these friendships would take her, she wanted nothing more but to just drop everything she was doing and see what the world had to offer. She sagged her shoulders in mild, desperate defeat and finally donned a proper, sorrowful frown.

 _Blue : Man, you have no idea how badly I want to come hang with you guys. Say hi to Bedgy for me! I was planning on killing you tomorrow, but it looks like she already beat me to it!_

 _Ko : Yeah, make me endure Bedgy's terrible death. At least death by Berri would be sweeter, I'm sure. Berri Schweet!_

Berri cocked an eyebrow and sagged back, she sat criss-cross on her bed, slumped her phone and hands into her lap and now looked off in mild, contemplating irritation. She furrowed her brow and held her eyes tight to Chester, who slept comfortably across her glorious, dimly lit bedroom. He laid haphazardly on his back, he began to snore, an audible groan of cuteness Berri was overjoyed to hear, and although she laid eyes to Chester's glorious orange pelt, her mind ran wild, beyond Sugar Rush's entrance. She heaved a long sigh through her nose and peered back down to her phone as it vibrated against her thigh.

 _Ko : ... What if my security met you right at Sugar Rush's outlet?_

Berri raised her eyebrows and now felt her heart do an entire somersault. She knew it wasn't wise, she knew just where her head was turning, she was well aware that if this escapade were to get back to literally anyone important inside Sugar Rush, she'd be dead meat. She shook her head, inhaled a deep breath through her nose and tried her very hardest to think like a Queen, and not like an unruly princess, cooped high away in a tower, guarded by a fire breathing dragon. She scrunched her eyes tight and did absolutely everything to resist temptation, and as soon as she thought she was maybe making headway with herself and was due to very hesitantly denying Gunner's polite request, her phone buzzed once more, eradicating her firm stance entirely.

 _Ko : Surely that princess tiara can be taken off but for one night... Right?_

Berri furrowed her brows and knew this wasn't wise, though with the rush of her racing heart, the shoot of adrenaline through her silver circuits, the desire for adventure and spontaneity, she sat up a little straighter, bit her lip and tried to conceal a bashful, devious smile into the glow of her phone.

 _Blue : Tell your security that I'll meet you at EZ Living's outlet in fifteen. Tell Wren and Theo this is happening and I really WILL kill you._

 _Ko : You're the boss._


	70. Chapter 70

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** LOL way too true xD

 **Nikki Firesong :** Ahaha thank you! I came up with the name Black simply because I NEARLY used the word 'Grey' as their last name... But then realized that may be a bit MUCH, considering 3 of the 4 of them have grey skin. So I just opted for the next coolest color xD

 **Burgie :** Thank you! And yes, so does everyone else... Scary train rides are scary!

 **Jay Sketchin :** Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. About that.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Dance by DNCE**

* * *

 ***Chapter 70***

Although the silence was now becoming a little deafening, Berri had grown accustomed to the tender quiet Gunner's security team had provided her. From the quick collection inside Game Central Station, the uneventful train ride back to End of Line station, the swift scoot to EZ Living's outlet and directly to a secretive, tucked away way-point pad just hidden inside EZ Living's entrance, Berri was certain this all simply couldn't be a real thing happening to her. Like a private investigator on a secret mission, she felt as if she was simply playing the part of an undercover fool by simply wearing plain-as-day commoner clothes. She almost felt bad for not changing out of her comfortable lounge clothes before she came all this way, though she was well aware diving in and out of Sugar Rush's grips didn't come with the luxury of preparation.

In the quick zip of the teleportation like pad, Berri and Gunner's security team was suddenly whisked to the massive, outside lot of Gunner's mansion. Berri blinked in confusion and sagged her shoulders in whole surprise. High up on Keppel Crest's luxurious, high living cliffs, Berri's ears popped with the sudden spike in altitude. She raised her eyebrows in a shoot of surprise, and although she was well attuned to luxurious palace lifestyle, she felt her heart surge in excitement at the raw fact that Gunner's whole lot turned that luxury up a notch, something she was uncertain was possible. A gorgeous, creamy cobble-stoned lot shroud in the tidiest, greenest grass, dot with the prettiest lawn lanterns and a palace like mansion crowned with beams of a warm, inviting glow, Gunner's pristine, modern white house sat across the whole lot, beckoning, begging her to jump on in and live this whole entire thing up; Berri shook her head and was now entirely certain this was a dream.

In a now more relaxed shuffle, Gunner's security team of nearly ten body guards kindly chauffeured her across the lot. Upon easing through the trail of clean, tidy cream cobbles, they happened upon a massive, round fountain that splayed water high up into the air. It dribbled down into the decorative, concrete fountain, a soothing sound of running water. Gunner's round-about driveway had three or four incredibly luxurious cars parked in it, all of them were vivid pops of colors that so easily mirrored the glorious moonlight high over head. Berri huffed a shaky breath and took it all in, she dragged her eyes up to the towering outdoor foyer the group happened upon, and as they climbed the massive, swooping, few-stepped stoop, all lined with gorgeous, tropical EZ Living shrubbery, Berri's ears prickled to the sound of Gunner's massive front door opening. She fixated her eyes on the colossal front door, a modern show of glass and wood, and as Gunner slowly opened his door wide and stepped out, he held his arms up in boyish victory.

"Y'made it!" Gunner eased in cute excitement; he wore a comfortable pair of canary yellow sweats alongside a lazy grey t-shirt, and the second he realized that him and Berri were strangely matching, he dropped his arms, beamed a baffled smile and pointed to Berri. The two loudly began to share happy laughter as Berri slowly approached, "Whoa, wait, did I tell you previously what I was wearing?"

"No! I've had this on ever since I came home from Academy," Berri blurt a hard giggle, and as she came within Gunner's vicinity, she was entirely floored to see him open himself up for a hug, no questions asked.

Berri raised her eyebrows in humbled surprise, and as she gently eased into his tall figure, she felt confusion hit her brain the second she wrapped her arms about his upper middle. Being so used to Turbo's hugs, she felt her mind hit the brakes in further assessment. Although equally as warm and loving, Gunner's hugs were strangely lacking. As he squeezed her into a sweet, quick hug and slowly released, Berri's mind rapidly assessed a thousand different things, and as much as she hated herself for it, she immediately compared it all to Turbo. Where Turbo's hugs were sweeping, full, almost cradling, she found Gunner's to be almost nervous and void of wanting to fill gaps. She knew Gunner had a much thinner, athletic frame than Turbo, so she knew she shouldn't dig her mind too deep into it all. She wrinkled her nose a little and now further inwardly scolded herself for missing the one thing she craved the most, out of Turbo's hugs; his irresistible cinnamon and pipe tobacco scent.

"Me too," Gunner blurt, though Berri felt her heart jump the second Gunner so easily lofted her something that Turbo stubbornly didn't give freely; unreserve for whole, un-agitated emotion. Gunner donned a big, lovable, welcoming smile, right into Berri's heart. Sweet, honey-brown eyes that just begged her to come inside and stay, something that had Berri's mind now doing entire backflips, "Come in... I'm glad you got here safely. The second my team said you guys were on the train, I started to feel really guilty."

"Why?" Berri prod sorrowfully, she tucked her hair behind her ears as Gunner let her inside, his team remained outside as they remained on the job, as full-blown, round the clock security.

"I just... Wouldn't forgive myself if something bad happened to you, along the way," Gunner softened, though Berri eagerly looked about in further surprise.

"Yeah, you'd have my dad to answer to," Berri mumbled teasingly, though she knew her words we absolute.

"As well as everyone inside Sugar Rush," Gunner mumbled in nervousness, and as the two slowly began to walk down a nearby high-ceilinged corridor, they fell into step, a slow and casual stroll, "But... Let's not dwell. I'm glad you're here... I can show you around, if you'd like."

"I'd love that," Berri included, and as they slowly came out the other end of said short corridor, they came into a main common room, which included a wide, open floor plan of a living room, dining room and kitchen.

The sprawl of it was entirely incredible, likely anything you'd see on Sugar Rush's palace lot, any day. Berri felt a sigh brim at the back of her throat, the epitome of comfort, the very feeling of being right at home, the entire hug of feeling right at ease even in a place she had never been before. She felt the odd sensation to set up camp and add another pin to the map, another place to call home. With a lovely living room sprawled to their left, a massive flat screen quietly droned a commercial to nothing but an empty splay of a huge couch and sectionals, all splayed with comfortable, mashed pillows and blankets, as if Gunner and Bedgy had been potentially couched out all day. As Berri's eyes continued to span to the right, her eyes came to his marvelous dining room table, fit to seat at least a dozen. With the incredible, splayed backdrop of a wall full of nothing but windows, it looked out onto the nighttime ocean, the proper view of Keppel Crest. As Berri's smiling eyes finally came into the incredible kitchen, her eyes landed on none-other than Bedgy, who patiently stood at the kitchen island.

"I can't believe you actually made it," Bedgy breathed with a gentle sigh and a warm wrinkle of her gorgeous eyes, a smile she did her best to convey.

Berri huffed a sweet, apologetic noise of gentle glee and grew bashful; she knew this was special, meeting someone so important to Gunner, the one that ran everything behind the scenes. The top of Bedgy's head came to the middle of Berri's upper arm, and although she was only barely humanoid, she still had the solid structure of a gorgeous tyto owl. In true bird form, she fluttered down from a stool she was previously perched on, and in a few lithe bounces, she eased closer to Berri and held out the wrist of her wing for a proper handshake. The beautiful feathers on her neck ruffled in a bristle of excitement, her crystal-clear, beautiful grey-blue eyes honed tight up to Berri's in cute, adoring glee, the size of them was truly something to behold. As Berri tenderly shook the hand and wrist of Bedgy's extraordinarily soft wing, Bedgy shook her head a little and sighed in tender relief.

"I was so worried about you coming all this way," Bedgy's voice pressed in cuteness, though she furrowed her grey, feathery brow and shot Gunner a nearly displeased smile of annoyance, "This one, here, was certain you'd be just fine."

"She is!" Gunner complained, he gestured to Berri, in her wholeness, and looked rather boyish, properly crowned with a bashful blush, "C'mon, no harm no foul."

"I'm Bedgy," She soothingly pressed up to Berri, to which Berri scrunched her shoulders and nodded in cuteness, though Bedgy leaned in a little, held Berri's handshake with now both of her wings and tilted her head, so to insinuate her next statement was due to being secretive, "I make sure THAT one leaves the house with pants on."

"I-I... C'mon, now," Gunner now sheepishly covered the sides of his head and shook his head, "I'm not THAT clueless."

"He is," Bedgy whispered as she narrowed her beautiful eyes and shook Berri's larger hand a few more times, "Berri, I assume. So good to finally meet you. Lead-singer-boy won't shut up about you."

"Bedgy," Gunner staggered now in whole embarrassment, though as Bedgy warmly invited Berri into the kitchen, Gunner was now understanding that inviting a girl over, for Bedgy to dote on and gossip with, was likely not due to work in his favor whatsoever.

"Really now," Berri chimed, she knew this game well; although she didn't have much of a sister figure to pal around with, she definitely made-do with Wren. Now that she had a genuine female to properly chit-chat with, she could feel that beaming smile of hers just widen to the point of no return. She crossed her arms, leaned her hip against the glossy, marble kitchen island and gave Gunner a coy, sweet look of discovery, "What kinds of things are you saying about me, huh?"

"Archived Chaos can reform! She's perfect! You should hear her play! My User, she's beautiful!" Bedgy egged as she flapped her wings, and in a flutter, she found that bar stool once more. She inhaled a deep breath, tilted her head in a sudden cock of tease and now playfully looked at Gunner entirely sideways, "Regretting bringing her over, now, aren't you, lover boy?"

"That's so sweet," Berri cooed warmly as she scrunched her shoulders and gave Gunner a full blown look of desire, a sweet smile of actually hoping this train would continue on, full steam ahead; Gunner shook his head, shrugged and looked off.

"No, I don't regret bringing her over," Gunner stabbed with a now cocky smile in Bedgy's direction, though he playfully mocked her by fully tilting his head to the side, bugging his eyes and batting his eyelids firmly, in rapid succession, "Stop embarrassing me."

"I gotta have fun somewhere," Bedgy grumbled, she lovingly nudged Berri's upper arm with her soft wing, and with a shift in her black, clawed feet, she inhaled a refreshed breath and gave Berri a now softer gaze, "Gunner tells me you play the guitar... Pretty damn well, too. Did you recently pick it up? Or has it always been something you've done?"

"Oh, it's been something I've done ever since I can remember," Berri assured with a nod, she crossed her arms and was now thrilled Bedgy was here, without her, she was certain Berri would have a hard time finding her courage in creating further conversation with Gunner, due to bashfulness, "Wren, Theo and I have our own little garage band... I-I actually sing and song-write, as well."

"The works," Bedgy complimented with a small nod, the feathers around her beak wrinkled as her incredible eyes smiled with glee, "I know you just got here, but... Would you be willing to play something for me? Maybe a snippet of the melody of one of Archived Chaos's previous songs?"

"I-I'd... I'd love to," Berri assured; having been a crazy fan-girl of Archived Chaos for her whole life, she felt entirely confident in her skill here, to replicate one of their songs. She bobbed a nod and, as if they were eagerly waiting for this instant, Gunner jolted in a quick stride across the living space, grappled a nearby guitar on a gorgeous golden stand, and began to straighten the strap, so to give it to Berri. A beautiful, dark wooden acoustic guitar, it was glossed and saddled with a beautiful black strap with cool, neon stripes down the center. As Gunner carefully handed her the guitar, she blurt a small laugh and shook her head, "Man, just like that. Insta-guitar."

"I've lost track of how many guitars we have around the house," Bedgy rolled her eyes and shifted on her clawed feet, of which clacked on the metal bar stool.

"O-Okay, well... Forgive me," Berri huffed tenderly, and as she sagged the strap over her body and adjusted to the new, different guitar, she now grew a little nervous as Gunner's and Bedgy's eyes remained honed tight to her, "I-I mean... I love Archived Chaos's songs, but ever since we sort of started putting together our own music, I haven't played one of your guys' songs in forever."

"I'm sure it'll be great," Gunner encouraged, as if he was cutely impatient, he bounced on the balls of his feet and eagerly glanced to Bedgy.

Berri inhaled a deep breath through her nose, and as she sifted through just which song she should pick from, of Archived Chaos, she finally began to gently pluck a little tune, one of her favorite love songs. As she confidently began to strum the sweet, quick-paced tune, she bashfully laced it with the lyrics, a boast of her beautiful voice, nearly in perfect pitch and tune. She could see Gunner and Bedgy frozen solid in whole listening as Berri continued on, her strumming pressed on farther than she thought they'd patiently listen to. As she came to the end of the chorus, she faltered on her words, turned her strumming from confident sways to now dainty, unsure plucks of staccato, and as she shrugged her shoulders and came to a stop, she bashfully peered to Bedgy and Gunner in hot anticipation; their solid silence was something she now couldn't decipher.

"Bedgy," Gunner gawked at her in whole, boyish annoyance as he firmly gestured to Berri.

"I know, I know, Gunner, shut up, I'm trying to think," Bedgy flagged her wing, causing a beautiful feather to loft from her wing and daintily float down to the kitchen island. Bedgy huffed an annoyed sigh at him and did everything she could to cross her arms, "Look at you, making me lose all my feathers..."

"I mean, that was spot on," Gunner gave Berri a sweet smile and shook his head, "Really incredible... Your playing is just awesome."

"Thank you," Berri eased politely, she carefully hugged Gunner's guitar closer to her chest.

"I mean... This isn't something we've ever done before, Gun," Bedgy worried to Gunner in a drop of now mature apprehension, to which Gunner bobbed a sagging nod of agreeing. Bedgy shrugged and carried on, in Berri's direction, "Y-You know, full well, that Archived Chaos sort of, well... Is in need of musicians. I know it's a tall order, especially since you JUST turned one, and are probably excited to dive face first into your studies, but..."

"Would you be willing to reform Archived Chaos with me?" Gunner blurt, as if he had been so desperately wanting to ask, and this was the instant where he was due to falling apart at the seams; Berri peered up to him in plucked surprise, and although she saw this question coming from a million miles away, the fact that it was now a real question being directed at her, was something she was plainly not prepared for. Gunner shook his head and shut his eyes tight, as if to assure her that the ball was entirely in her courage, "If you don't want to, if it's too much pressure, if it's just... Not the lifestyle you're looking forward to, we COMPLETELY understand..."

Berri sagged her shoulders and bashfully peered to Bedgy. Although Bedgy was the voice of reason in this equation, her eyes still held tight to Berri's in anticipatory glee, as if she, too, was hopeful Berri would jump on board, as if Bedgy was also holding her breath in baited wait. Berri huffed a shaky giggle, shrugged her shoulders, shook her head and knew there simply was only one answer to a question so huge, such as this one.

"There's literally no way I could even let myself say no," Berri stated through a hard giggle, her widening smile grew and grew. She shook her head and continued on as Gunner's and Bedgy's eyes lit up, like the fourth of July, "I-I'd love that. There'd literally be nothing more that I'd want."

"I TOLD YOU," Gunner stabbed to Bedgy with a boyish laugh, he pointed in Bedgy's direction as she shot him an annoyed smile.

"Game on, then," Bedgy shrugged, and in tenderness, she reached her wing back out to Berri, once more, for a solidifying handshake, "Welcome to the team, my girl."

"Thank you," Berri huffed a small giggle and shook the hand and wrist of Bedgy's wing, once more, "That easy, huh?"

"Oh, you're not just anyone," Bedgy chuckled, she shook her head and long blinked her huge eyes in endearing sweetness, "It's not every day Gunner stumbles upon a gem, such as yourself."

"Actually, she stumbled into me, but that's cool," Gunner grumbled, though as she approached Berri, he opened his arms, once more, for another inviting hug. Berri beamed him an excited smile and wrapped her arm around his back; they embraced as easily as they could, whilst she still had Gunner's guitar slouched over her front, "Welcome aboard, love. This is gunna be awesome."

"I can't wait," Berri pressed with a huff of an excited giggle, "So, what does this entail, then? Where does this put Theo and Wren? I can't go on stage without them... They're my start, y'know? My family."

"This is your call, Gunner, I don't know these people as well as you do," Bedgy held up her wings, "If they're anything like Berri, I'd say I have full trust in you, from here."

"... We DO need a drummer," Gunner bobbed a nod and eyed Bedgy.

"What about Wren? He plays keyboard," Berri pressed in a sense of urgency, she knew not to leave her two best friends behind.

"That could definitely work out," Gunner's voice held promise, he continued to nod as he eased a knowing smile in Berri's direction, "I see how cohesive you three are together, in playing... Y'guys got this awesome synergy that could just set the entire stage on fire. This is going to be awesome... I can feel it."

"They're going to freak out," Berri huffed an excited giggle, and it was here did she start to feel the tingle in her skin, the reality of this whole thing finally began to kick in.

"Alright, you guys, we have to lay low, for the next few weeks," Bedgy pressed, she gently began to sift through a few splayed pieces of paperwork, on Gunner's kitchen island, "I have a few legal things to go over, I have to up our management team, once more... I need to talk to Academy about potentially having assignments and lectures sent off for home schooling, while you guys tour."

"...Tour?" Berri gawked, she bugged her eyes and peered to Gunner in whole surprise, though he peered to her as if this was just typical business.

"Yeah, we tour around the Arcade... We'll be gone for weeks at a time. You know that, right? We've had a few shows in Sugar Rush," Gunner nodded, though Berri held her forehead and shook her head.

"Th-that means... Being out of Sugar Rush, for long, extended periods of time," Berri pressed in a stab of now whole nervousness. She shook her head and gave Gunner a nervous grimace, "My family would kill me long before any deletion virus would, you know that, right?"

"Well... Bedgy said we'd need a few weeks to settle everything, and... We need new songs before we can start playing live, anyways," Gunner reassured, "Ths gives your family enough time to come up with that deletion protection, you were telling me about. Would come in handy for both of us, as well as the other self programmed gamers on our team."

"... I guess you're right," Berri nodded in assured gentleness, she looked off and began to feel her nervous veins settle with the soothing assurance of Gunner's words.

"We have a few weeks to really get together, knock out some solid music, and prepare for this whole ordeal," Gunner bobbed a nod, "We can maybe release a single, or two... Get the fans ready for what's to come."

"That'd be so awesome," Berri assured in still-shell shocked excitement, she clenched her fists and shook them a little, in a press of even further excitement, "I can't wait for this, it's... It's a dream come true."

"It'll be awesome," Gunner assured with a nod, his lovely, honey-brown eyes smiled down into her as if she simply was an angel sent down to rescue him.

"Alright, love birds, I've got some work to do, then," Bedgy sighed with a small smile. She fluttered onto the kitchen island, grappled the paper work in her claws and hunched over, in preparation for flight, "Next time you come over, Berri, make sure you bring Wren and Theo with you... We can get all three of you properly on the team, and we'll begin planning from there."

"Thank you, Bedgy," Berri pressed in sweet, whole sincerity, and as Bedgy eased her a gentle, loving reply, she leapt into the air, and amidst silent flight, she easily crossed the house with a simple few flaps of her wings.

In a silent swoosh of her gorgeous feathers, she exited the main room via a small alcove, almost near the stretch of Gunner's high ceilings; an exit made just for her. Gunner heaved a soft sigh, gave Berri his loving eye contact and finally moved closer to her, so to kindly take the guitar off of her hands.

"Y-You sure about this, Gunner?" Berri nervously confided, she shook her head in a now swell of impending stage fright, and as Gunner gently set his guitar aside, he leaned his hip against the counter, crossed his arms and peered deep into Berri's eyes, "I mean... I'm no celebrity, I-I've never endured fame, or have done ANYTHING like this. I just... Don't want to let you down."

"You've been enduring it all week, Bear," Gunner blurt a gentle chuckle, he bashfully looked off and raised his eyebrows, "Quite graciously, if I do say so myself... You're a natural. You just don't realize it."

"I-I mean, I... Guess I have," Berri furrowed her eyebrows and reeled, Gunner was exactly right; their group had been swarmed by fans all week, even given autographs and taking pictures, "It just... Almost turned into second nature, I didn't even realize."

"Just means you're ready," Gunner shrugged, he eased his lovely eyes tighter to hers, and although Berri was absolutely certain this little hang out of theirs would simply remain platonic, she felt her heart begin to thud loudly in her ears the second Gunner so gently began to press closer to her. Berri froze, she felt as if this approach to flirting and romance was now an entirely different breed than what she was used to. It was fast paced, wistful, bubbly and exciting, a definitive rush of a new introduction to love that she was tugged into, and as Gunner warmly neared, he hovered a foot from her and bravely took Berri's left hand in his right one, "I... I know I've thrown a lot on you, tonight. I really hope you don't become discouraged, or anything."

"No, not at all," Berri sighed in the refresh, she warmly peered up into Gunner's lovely, excited, confident eyes and sagged into the squeeze of it all, "I-I'm... I'm honored you think I'm good enough to stand by you, on stage, like that. I mean... Wow."

"I'm the one that's honored, truly," Gunner pressed, and although his eyes held an unimaginable amount of depth, he looked as if he was reserving everything he wanted to say, as if it could potentially be way too soon. He huffed a faltered breath, bashfully looked off and squeezed Berri's hand, as if to silently beg her to bear with him, "I-I... I wanted to, uh... Ask you..."

"Yes?" Berri eased in a lilt of tenderness.

"Since this is going to be a new chapter of our lives, and we'll be with each other a lot, I'd... I'd love to take you out on a date," Gunner confidently pressed, he bobbed a nod and gave Berri a further show of reassurance and lovingly smiled into her eyes, "We can go somewhere inside Sugar Rush... That way, you don't have to worry about the deletion issue. And neither does your family."

"Well... What about you?" Berri worried, though she felt as if a frog was now caught in her throat; being asked to not only be Gunner's band mate, but now a Friday night date, she could swear the room was spinning.

"I'll be fine, I just... Would love to take you out, sit and get to know you better," Gunner nodded, a smooth move in a new, budding direction of electric romance now coming at them full force, "Would you do me the honor?"

"I'd love that," Berri stated in a gentle sigh of assurance, and a nod to boot, "I know Orion City like the back of my hand. I don't know where you'd like to go, but I guarantee you, the city has an insane amount of options."

"You pick your favorite spot, I don't mind where, and money's not an issue," Gunner sighed with relief, he donned a wide smile of renewal, as if asking Berri out on a date was ten times harder than asking her to be next to him on stage, "Just as long as we stick together."

"It's a date," Berri assured with a wide, blushing smile, forgetting any other factors entirely.

As if the stars were only shining for her, Berri and Gunner lazily stood around and chit-chat for another hour or two, well into the early hours of the morning. Although Berri didn't want any of it to end, she knew she needed to sneak back home, lest she risk someone discovering that she wasn't inside Sugar Rush. Grateful that no one had tried to get ahold of her, Gunner and Berri sweetly stated their goodbyes, held onto the promise of seeing each other at Academy the next day, and concluded their secretive night filled with escapes, with dreams and a tender touch of new romance. As if floating on a cloud, Berri was whisked away to EZ Living's entrance, alongside Gunner's security, though as if the whole world was now a peachy, rosy color, she practically skipped away from Gunner's security and felt entirely invincible. In the gentle, silent mosey across the barren End of Line station, Berri, alongside five of Gunner's top security guards, sagged into the train station and awaited the next train. Berri grimaced at the thought of enduring another deafening train ride with Gunner's stoic, unmoving security guards; she furrowed her brow amidst a gentle grimace and peered up to the nearest guard.

"Hey, uh... I-I think I can make it back to Sugar Rush, on my own, from here," Berri warmly assured with a small nod, though it was here did Gunner's security guard give her a bewildered, unwavering look of nervousness, "I-I mean... The stations are empty, I should be just fine getting from Game Central Station's train dock, and into Sugar Rush. It's only like... Three outlets away from the dock, anyhow."

"... I don't think that's wise, your highness," His deep voice mumbled, and although he was wearing sunglasses, Berri could see the wrinkles of nervousness crown his forehead.

"I'll be just fine," Berri cooed in confidence, she gestured to her left palm as she allowed it to come alive with her silver coding, "I'm a glitch... Lightning fast. I'll get home in two seconds flat."

As the train could be heard whirring down the wires of the station's winding tunnels, all five of Gunner's security guards peered to Berri in a roll of frozen decision making. They knew not to simply just leave her vulnerable, though they also weighed her reasoning and glanced to one another in a pin-prickled show of question. Although they didn't want to let Berri go home all by herself, they knew she was going to press the issue further, and to respect her adamant wishes. With a gentle nod, the main security guard nervously scoped the train, as it came quietly easing into the station, and as it sagged to a stop, and it's multitudinous train cab's doors slid open in unison, all five guards could see that literally no one was aboard this train, giving Berri a safe, quiet ride back home.

"...Your highness," The main guard eased, and as Berri overflowed the five with a slew of notions of pure gratitude, she gingerly welcomed herself onboard the last cab of said long, bullet train; each guard nervously watched her ease onto the train, find a seat and quietly sit in a patient show of waiting, and as the doors gently glided shut, safely sealing her in, the train whizzed off into the night, leaving all five guards now stood helpless in a dainty press of nervous defeat.


	71. Chapter 71

**Reviews :**

 **twistee the dark :** ohh no bb what is you doin. LOL

 **Burgie :** Unfortunately, yep... Gunner has eons more outward confidence. SWOOP.

 **Jay Sketchin :** trouble is definitely an understatement, for sure!

 **Snake557 :** You're definitely not wrong to feel that way...

 **TheDoctorDusty :** HEY! Congrats for catching up! Seriously, that's a huge feat. and anyone who does it is super dedicated. Thanks for tagging along! :D And no, she is in no relation to Selka, it was just a coincidence xD Selka doesn't make a reappearance.

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Mines (Star Lumpy) by ConcernedApe (first half, until action picks up)**

 **Colossus by Droptek**

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 ***GORE WARNING***

 **This chapter is pretty gory and violent!**

 **It contains a lot of messy descriptions about bodily fluids and severed appendages. If you are sensitive to** **gore, I'd suggest skipping this chapter. If you PM me, I can give you a clean, gore-free TL;DR version of this chapter, so you can stay updated! I've changed the rating of my story here, just to be safe... All of my other stories had their ratings changed due to a code swap scene, but alas, I'm dipping my toes into some gore, right off the bat. Swapping comes a little later, in which I will also give fair warnings for. Thanks guys!**

 **For those of you here for the gore and blood... Enjoy! ;)**

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 ***Chapter 71***

In the buzz of the sterile, bright blue lights that illuminated the Arcade's train cab, Berri heaved a sigh of relief, allowed her bare feet to sag to the very end of the car and, in a huff of a motion, Berri slumped down to the heavily used train seat nearby. As well as being in the last train cab, on this bullet train, and sat at the very back of said cab, she smiled and looked forward to gazing out the massive window behind her. She knew she always enjoyed seeing Arcade's dark train tunnels vanish behind her, and with the train car all to herself, she was excited to just sit and ogle the spectacle. She crossed her arms and smiled, her mind whirred with the incredible thoughts that raced about, the fact that she was now due to becoming a celebrity, on top of now dating one, she shook her head and beamed nearly ear to ear as her eyes eased down the empty train cab, easily thirty feet long.

Although the train cars were very old, and only refurbished a few times over the years, it was still cleaned and properly taken care of. The outdated seats showed their wear and tear with fraying threads and worn nearly-to-the-metal cushions, though still somehow, she found comfort in the very idea that these train carts probably had a lot of stories to tell, if they could talk. As Berri's mind just easily got lost in every little thought flitting about her brain, her lazy, sleepy and comfortable stare was so tenderly disrupted by the jostle of the train doors sliding shut. She wrinkled her nose and now nervously peered out the large, bay train windows; she could see Gunner's security team hovering in nervous wait, as if they weren't going to leave the station until Sugar Rush's precious princess was no longer in their sights. Berri looked off and tried to avoid eye contact, though a few seconds after the train cart came to a still settlement, her singular train cart gingerly jostled, simply as if extra weight was added inside.

Berri furrowed her brow, she knew the train well, knowing that the jolt and sudden clank of a jostle, that the train usually made, was only present once they had lift off and were prepared to move forward. A typical lurch forward, followed by every other cart in succession, Berri felt her insides do a nervous dance at the raw facts before her, the simple motion of the train cart tilting to once side, releasing pressure and settling, once more. Berri froze, and before she could really assess what said motion could've been, the train now did its typical lurch forward, the electric hum of the train's power now coursing through its rails. In a matter of seconds, the train easily lifted from the train station's dock and was well on its way to sailing straight to Game Central Station. Although the cart flew forward in a tug of succession, and everything was going smoothly, Berri now nervously sagged in her seat and began to feel her heart race, simply as if her body was in tuned with something that her eyes were not.

Berri held her breath and allowed her now eagle-eye like glare to glower down the whole entirety of the train cab. She felt a weird sensation come over her, though now with the raw fact that she was alone, she wondered if maybe she was just hyping herself up. As if the security of Gunner's guards simply just brought her company, and now that she was inside deafening aloneness in totality, she bit her lip and was well aware this was all just her mind playing games with her. Berri shook her head but didn't dare blink. She wondered if her eyes would stay wet enough to remain unblinking for the entirety of the train ride. Although the train sped through Litwak's walls, she felt as if the train was simply going in circles, and Game Central Station was entirely light years away from her point on the grid. Typically a fifteen minute train ride, Berri could swear that this particular ride was in slow motion. As she patiently counted the seconds, she finally reached eight minutes and began to feel her muscles desperately want to un-tense, but to no avail.

Berri finally huffed an agitated sigh and jolted to a stand, as if something had come over her, some other force of gravity was now demanding her to stand her ground and protect herself. She huffed a shaky breath and stared ahead, and although there was absolutely nothing, she could swear she was looking through something, or someone. In the jolt of a stand, the silver circuits on her arms flared, but just faintly. She could see, in her peripheral, that little circuit marks on her temples, eye lids and the bridge of her nose began to so dimly glow, almost as if she was a wild animal backed into a corner, and making herself look intimidating and scary was the only reaction her coding knew to resort to, in this strange instance. She panted through her nose, shook her head and was at least relieved to see that the train cart was remaining empty, like it typically would in this situation. She finally shut her eyes, shook her head and held her temples. She knew she was hyping herself, and as she opened her eyes, she was continuously relieved to see that her nightmares were simply just all in her head.

Through a shaky exhale, she finally turned her back on the entirety of the train cart and allowed her eyes to gloss out the big, bay window at the very back of the cart, where she was stationed. Like she had previously wanted, she gazed out the window, and being the last cart in this long train, she got to enjoy watching the tunnel vanish into the darkness. A few blue lights lined the ceilings of the dark tunnel they rocketed down, and other than being able to just barely see the rails underneath, the tunnel was too dark to see much else. Although her eyes got lost in the darkness, she quickly came to the realization that she was peering through her own reflection, and once she peered deep into her own eyes, she noticed that the little circuit marks, all over her face, were becoming brighter and more vivid, as if now her coding was simply warning her of danger, like it was a sentient being outside of her own skin praying that she seek a safe spot immediately. With literally no options available to her, she shook her head at herself, in her reflection, and now glared herself down.

"Stop, STOP! You're getting worked up for no reason, my User, just stop," Berri stabbed to herself, though it was in this raw instance of hearing her voice did she feel the weight of the lack of an echo, and a reverberation of her voice, down the train cart's long, metal walls and barriers; as if there was a hovering presence behind her.

Berri now felt her fingers and hands begin to shake, against her will. She desperately tried to inhale a faltered breath but failed to do so. The hairs on the back of her neck now began to raise alongside the pixelated goosebumps that snaked up her skin, and it was in this cold, horrific instance did she truly believe and understand that she wasn't alone in this train cart. As if every single day dream of playing her favorite guitar on stage, every fantasy of kissing the cutest lead singer boy, every idea of touring with her best friends, had so cleanly covered the molten hot fact that she was not in a safe zone, and crawling about the Arcade were invisible entities that were ready to delete faux-codes, she only just now realized how careless she had been. Although she wasn't taking in air into her lungs, her heart continued to just pump blood to different parts of her body, as if it was trying its hardest to now operate on no oxygen, no matter what. She narrowed her gaze in the reflection and felt a huff of a hot breath now coat her entire backside, and outside of a true night terror, a mirage of a creature, from directly behind her, very slowly came into view, once and for all.

Through the scratchy, hazy gleam of the reflection, all perfect in it's grungy glory, illuminated train cab lights that glinted down onto the now two beings in this train cart, Berri watched as said creature slowly came into view via gentle flips of small, mirror-like hexagonal discs that covered it's black, slick skin. A creature easily the size of Chester, it simply looked like a goblin creature that came straight from the darkest reaches of the internet, a mash up of every dark, disgusting type of baddy all crammed into one bizarre, nightmare creature. With a hunched figure, long, black gangly arms and a long face and snout, it looked like a mighty creature, full of endless energy, a nearly athletic build that helped it fight and get around, to do it's business without tiring. In a shell shocked stupor, Berri's innocent, naive eyes landed on the creature's long face and strange gaze, vertical, narrow red eyes with equally as vertical, rectangular dark red pupils, it easily gave her a smile, black fangs that looked clean and ready for absolutely anything, as if it was so kindly reassuring her that all it wanted to do here was simply play with its food before it devoured, knowing full well Berri was trapped in this train cart with it.

As if every single muscle in Berri's body was now tightened with purpose, she remained frozen as her brain did everything to simply disregard firing synapses, desperate warning signals sent to her legs and arms and glitching abilities to quite simply get the hell out of there, though before either being could waste anymore time, Berri noticed the creature gently reel in preparation to lunge, and it was here did Berri understand she'd have to channel every single last ounce of not only Tessa's, but Vanellope's incredible glitching powers, so easily gifted to her through the power of their relation, lightning quick powers that all came down to this one raw moment of survival. As the creature inhaled a garbled noise through it's snout, it grunted a noise of release as it easily dove for Berri's back, and although Berri was absolutely certain she was entirely, one hundred percent doomed here, her being nearly evaporated into thin air as she became nothing but hot, liquid, silver-coded energy, and in a sudden jolt of a bounce to her right, she was gone.

With a hard bang, said large creature slammed face first into the back end of the train cart, causing the cab to jolt and lose its lighting for a second. As Berri eagerly glitch-hopped along the wall, allowed her silver coding to kiss the tops of the train's rusty seating, she came back down to the middle of the train cart, came back to her body and whirled around in terror. Although certain a blow like that surely sent said heavy, large creature rocketing out the window and dead onto the tracks below, the train's window only sustained a hefty shattered held together by the sturdy plexiglass. The creature suddenly wailed a haunting sound, a disgruntled howl of a garbled honk, as if it had never had to deal with a situation like such before, as if it most certainly underestimated it's prey, here, and although Berri was now confident in her ability to outrun this creature, she knew she only had this tiny box to bounce around in until, by some miracle of User, the train came to Game Central Station.

In a firm swipe to correction, this creature's long, heavy tail thrashed around as it did everything to get a grip of itself on the slippery train's floor, and in the process of now loudly yelling a defiant battle cry and clawing its way to its feet, its long, heavy tail largely took out a few nearby train seats, causing jagged metal to now protrude upwards from where the seats used to lay. In a lunge of a dive, Berri uttered a call of terror and dove right back into the thick of it all, a bouncing bolt of silver lightning, uncontrolled, untamed and unleashed inside this now hot box of death. As Berri eagerly bounded up the side of the wall, the creature angrily clawed after her, nearly matching her speed. It viciously snapped at the raw bits of her coding, and as she nearly played ping-pong with this creature, all along the train cab, the entirety of it wobbled in a light-flickering, derailing mess of loud scrapes of metal hitting the sides of the tunnel.

As sparks angrily coat the sides of the train cab, the whole place lost its lighting due to Berri accidentally jolting herself straight into the ceiling and bursting the main bulb. In the absolute tearing and destruction of seats, hand rails, windows and nearby barriers and poles, the black goblin beast urgently yelled a defiant noise of now whole frustration as Berri continued to bounce around, like a bolt of lightning. Although doing well for herself, in a single bound of uneducated, messy and exhausted footwork, she accidentally came out of her glitch-hop and sagged her bare heel into the edge of now torn, jagged metal jutting out of the ground. With a hard scream of unadulterated pain, she suddenly tore to the ground, rolled once or twice and scrambled to try and regain composure. Amidst all this chaos, the train cab's emergency lights hesitantly flickered on seconds before Berri could see said creature now in mid-jump, right for her, arms outstretched and mouth agape, its haunting battle cry now seemingly echoing into Berri's ears for the rest of eternity.

Out of sheer fight or flight, Berri's body did everything it could to return back to it's glitch-hopping state, though with the searing pain in her foot, as well as the now loss of blood, her whole body flickered in and out of a tangible state. Although she successfully bounced away from this creature's grippy claws and hands, it still skid to a halt, clawed itself to correction and took another eager, endless bound at her, once more. In the now rushing swipe of desperation, Berri clumsily spilled to her knees, threw her arms out and grappled a nearby, uprooted, haphazard train seat into her incredible silver coding, and with a hard yell and a firm thrust of every last bit of her upper body strength, her coding sent the train seat shooting straight into this creature's midsection. With a hard scream, it soared across the shattered train cab, hit the massive, sliding door of the train and sagged straight onto nearby, torn and jagged metal spokes that now seemingly were everywhere. It howled in whole entire pain, though still, somehow messily began to get back to its feet.

As the very dim, emergency lights lit the place, Berri could easily see that not only was the place now littered in torn apart train seats and rails, but the glossy train tiles were now splayed with both of their blood. The train cab now loudly complained with the commotion, pieces of metal now stuck out of the train window as the train continued forward, full speed, sending a very healthy splay of sparks into the back end of the train cab. Berri heavily panted with her mouth agape, her lovely blue hair sagged to the tiles and easily picked up blood along the way, her esophagus was as dry as a cactus, and although she knew she simply wasn't done here, she began to feel light headed due to the loss of blood, from the gash on her foot. Although she was grateful for the mere split second to assess the situation and desperately attempt to regain composure, she jumped back to her feet, bloody gash and all, and did everything in her coded power to keep her glitching abilities well alive, lest she be deleted. In a last ditch effort, the train's cab doors desperately tried to open amidst the mess of jagged metal, as if it were now trying to go into whole emergency mode, and its duty now was to let passengers out.

Flying like a bullet train down Arcade's wires, Berri felt an idea finally hit her brain. She grit her teeth and merely glanced at the door, as it desperately tried to slide open. She knew it only needed a boost of power to open fully, something she was unsure if her coding could handle, or not. As she finally inhaled a loud rasp of a breath, she cued her coding and eagerly dodged yet another lunge from this creature. Grateful that she was only now getting the hang of successfully dodging this rather bumbling, yet incredibly fast being, she bounced to the opposite side of the train car, from its sliding door. As said creature loudly whooped and growled in now unadulterated frustration, it swiped for correction, took another dive at Berri, opposite the train's door, and lunged to merely rebound off of the wall in which Berri rebounded off of, as well. As Berri came out of her glitching state, she grit her teeth, tucked and rolled towards the door, cued every last ounce of power her coding could offer, straight to her right hand; with a firm slap onto the struggling, sliding door, the whole entirety of it came alive with Berri's powerful coding, and in a lightning quick swipe, the whole of it opened to the tunnel wall they glided merely two feet from.

Moving at well over eighty miles an hour, the tunnel wall, emergency exit corridors and hand rails merely blew by in a whiz of a blur, though as Berri whirled around in a bolt of terror, the creature easily launched itself right for Berri. With a grunt of terror, Berri urgently dove underneath the path of the creature's now mid-air flight, and with the feeling of sheer success came the sound of morbid, daunting realization. As Berri skid to her knees, hugged one of the only railings that was tall enough not to cut her on it's jagged edge, she flinched, whirled around, and watched as said creature now plummeted face first into the open train tunnel. In bone crunching, rigor-mortis-like deformity, said creature was easily swallowed into the stationary wall, alongside the lightning fast exterior of the train cab. Like a pop of a balloon, and one last final cry of defiance, said creature's bones, rib cage, innards and every single last noodle of a tendon was decimated into the wall in a matter of split seconds. The crunch, squish and squeeze of it all, in rapid succession, was something she knew she'd never be able to unsee.

With one hind and one forelimb easily severed and messily chucked into the entrance of the train cab, blood spewed everywhere in a pop of an outward explosion. Much to Berri's whole misfortune, due to how dim the train cab was, blood easily splayed her front, chest and face, spilling into her mouth and over her eyes. Berri choked a startled noise of defiance, urgently hunched over and wildly wrinkled her nose in entire dismay, and before she could even begin to think about what had just taken place, the intense taste of metallic blood coat every single last one of her senses in an oversaturated fit of further fight or flight. Entirely out of her control, she hunched forward even farther, grappled her knees and urgently vomited onto the train's glossy, bloody tiles. She heaved a few raspy, choking retches of entire projection, her body lurched as if it was easily fed poison, though as her fit finally came to a stop, her chest cavity heaved in whole desperation for air, for sanity, for anything but this.

In the mess of her own vomit and the saturation of blood, both in taste, smell and sight, Berri clumsily sat back and loudly panted in pleading whines of terror. As tears streamed her cheeks, she wondered for just how long she had been crying through this ordeal. She heavily panted, her chest rose and fell harder and deeper than she had ever experienced in her whole life, and although the train ride was now silent, dim and still, outside of the occasional clank of loose metal pieces, something near the still gaping train doors caught her eye. Angry, dim red coding flickered all about, on the ground, and in her whole surprise, she noticed that this creature's forearm was still laid on the tiles, the bone messily jut from where its wrist met its forearm. Although the creature had easily been deleted and decimated, Berri was surprised to see that its arm was only slowly being deleted, as if it were simply confused as to where the rest of the body went. In a knee-jerk decision, Berri jolted her body to a clumsy upright, crawled on her hands and knees to get over to said severed arm and, once she reached it, her now shivering glitch abilities encased it in a bubble of her silver coding. She was absolutely floored to see that said encasement had stopped the deletion process, freezing this being's coded DNA in time.

Berri shook her head in disbelief, and although she continued to heavily pant and whine noises of both terror and relief, her trembling, bloody hand grappled for her materializer deep in her back pocket. A quaking mess, she hardly could cue her materializer to work properly, though after a few minutes of grit teeth and struggling, panting noises of urgency, she was able to suck away the encased, silver-coded bubbled limb into her materializer, evidence of something greater she could bring back to the higher ups, in Sugar Rush, that would certainly appreciate the lovely souvenir. As she now was without purpose, once more, she urgently scoot backwards to her safe spot, disregarding the blood or vomit. She sagged into the wall, tucked herself in between a few torn apart seats and continued to heavily pant out of terror. Said heavy pants soon turned into soft, wailing sobs of whole fear, her little, trembling voice begged for the train to arrive in Game Central Station any day now. She hugged her arms tight around her knees and urgently began to sing her's and Turbo's sweet song out to the violently destroyed train cart, strictly to comfort herself; she was entirely off tune, her mumbling voice trembled in the now draining sag of lost adrenaline, she was certain she was due to fainting soon.

As if a gift from User, the train gently began to come to a crawling sag, and as familiar, bright station lights came into view, Berri's trembling gaze met with Game Central Station's glorious, welcoming, golden station. In a clumsy stand of shaking knees, she fumbled on her wounded foot and urgently began to stumble off the destroyed, bloodied train cab. She was entirely grateful no one was around to witness all of this, though with every single last ounce of her power, she set her sights for Sugar Rush's outlet, cued her incredible silver coding one last time, and took off like a bolt of lightning for her one and only safe spot. It was here and now did she understand just why Turbo never wanted to leave the safety of Sugar Rush's sweet, luscious embrace, she knew she was now due to giving herself away, to rat herself out for leaving Sugar Rush, though she was well aware that the evidence she had to bring home would only further their progress, whether that meant she was entirely grid-locked for life or not.


	72. Chapter 72

**Revie ws :**

 **Burgie :** Too true [

 **Nikki Firesong :** LOL if only Berri hadn't have beat him to it! xD

 **Snake557 :** She actually isn't in big trouble! She endured enough, I'd say haha

 **Jay Sketchin :** YeahhhHHHHHHH

 **TheDoctorDusty :** thank you so much! Idk where it comes from, I just like to throw in a little bit of everything into my stories :) I appreciate it!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **The Wolf by SIAMES**

 **They're All Gone by James Newton Howard**

* * *

 ***Chapter 72***

As if entirely running on fumes, at this point, Berri's bare, bloodied feet finally bounced into the grit of Sugar Rush's luscious rainbow road. With wide eyes of teary terror that peered into the frigid distance, Orion City glowed like a beacon of hope, as did the palace, sat cozily on the neighboring cliffside. Berri's chest cavity began to rapidly rise and fall now in the form of a full fledged panic attack. In a stagger of fading eyesight, she began to clumsily stumble closer to the secretive teleportation pad just off to the edges of the waffle cone entrance of Sugar Rush. In said stumbling, her equally as quaking hands did everything to grapple for her phone, in her back left pocket. In the clumsiness, she winced in surprise and, as she pulled her phone out of her pocket, she quickly realized the whole of her phone screen was shattered. She firmly tapped the shattered glass and was frustrated to find the screen was almost entirely unresponsive. It pulled up only speckles and distorted portions of her lock screen's wallpaper, her favorite picture of her and Turbo together, Turbo successfully and cutely hiding his face amidst the tug-down of a beanie he was wearing, while Berri cheesily smiled on.

"Unlock," Berri firmly grunted in a high pitched noise of terrified frustration, she grit her teeth and, as if to now be past panic and well into a downward spiral of crazed horror, she glared down at her phone in urgent desperation and firmly shoved her thumb into the shards of uneven glass, "UNLOCK!"

Berri huffed a fogged breath of nervousness, tears continued to spill down her cheeks, and as the pain of the incredible gash on her foot began to now entirely set in, she felt the world around her desperately begin to fade away. She squinted her eyes, shook her head and did everything to stay conscious, though the second the secret teleportation pad lit up, upon the feel of Berri's nervous coding, the drop down menus, that rapidly began to display before her, might as well have looked like the cockpit of a space shuttle. She lulled her eyes closed, wobbled, and so urgently tried to remain conscious. With such, her trembling hand brought her phone to her mouth, she hoped at least the voice command would work.

"C-call Turbo," Her voice plead in sweet sorrow, her teary gaze peered to the drop down menu, and as she eased to the bottom of it, she could somehow see Turbo's name, pristine in it's little box, like a lighthouse's beam on stormy seas; she was floored to hear her phone's voice activation picked up on her request and swiftly began to call Turbo. With the sweet sound of his voice, she felt an onslaught of more tears burst forth.

"Hey, you," Turbo's soft and lovely voice cooed, entirely unaware of the chaos.

"Turbo, th-the deletion virus, it's... I-I w-was..." Berri began to loudly suck in deep breaths of full-on panic, though as her finger clumsily began to stab at Turbo's name, she clenched her teeth and continued on, "L-let me in, please, I-I'm... C-coming over."

"Where are you? What's going on?" Turbo suddenly stabbed in whole entire concern, with the strange tone and panting of Berri's voice, he immediately knew something was detrimentally wrong. With a sudden bang of background noise, on his end, it was now made very clear that he was suddenly tearing through his house. The heaving, raspy, loud sounds of her deep and chaotic breathing was now the only thing he could hear, which only now induced panic in his coding, "C'mon, babe, stay with me, where are you? Come over, don't say anything else, just come over. Do you need me to teleport you?"

"J-Just... Open your door, I d-don't..." Berri grunted a gentle wail of a cry as she finally sagged her finger into Turbo's highlighted name, and in a very healthy dose of whisked coding that had an entire hayday on Berri's incredibly fragile coding, she came into Turbo's dimly lit foyer and immediately fumbled to her knees, "I-I can't..."

"I'm coming, just stay put, are you safe?" Turbo's voice trembled in a stab of authority, he urgently scrolled through his own portion of the code room's digital pad, and the second he saw Berri's waypoints right at his front door, he raised his eyebrows, lofted the pad to his couch, hung up the call with Berri and shoved his phone into the gape of his favorite red sweat's side pocket.

With the rush of wanting to cue old, ancient glitching powers he used to have, he grit his teeth in frustration and full-on ran to his front door. In a slap of an emergency-open button he's never had to use, his large, hefty front door slid open faster than ever before. As he dart out into his foyer, he urgently peered to his teleportation pad and felt his brain practically turn to goo at the sight before him. He inhaled a choke of a breath, clutched his chest and, in a show of unmitigated horror, he took a clumsy, dizzy step backwards and was entirely uncertain what to even do with the image that was being lofted straight into his retinas, something he was certain was his actual worst nightmare. The haunting show of Berri nearly entirely covered in blood, the horrible gash on her foot and milder wounds all about her arms and hands, the lovely blue of her hair that eventually faded to a morbid dribble of darkening, drying blood, Turbo continued to reel as her shattered phone fell from her hands and she sagged to the tiles of Turbo's lovely foyer.

Although Berri was still barely conscious, Turbo knew not to ask questions. In a jolt of a lunging step, he immediately rushed to her being, scooped her up into his strong arms and was unflinching about the now coat of blood and vomit he had brought upon his own self. He knew the code room would solve all of these problems, the only thing he knew to convey in this instance was the solid, unwavering fact that he was going to go entirely above and beyond to set all of this right, both physically, emotionally and mentally. Sagged in Turbo's strong arms, Berri finally felt release. With a heavy thud, she finally rested her head against the broad of Turbo's chest and collar bone, a sigh of relief, a rest she finally could afford, and as she closed her eyes and soaked in the rushing, soothing motion of Turbo's swift movement, she knew that she would now be in an eternal sweep of entire care, a swathe of lovely overflow she knew she now well deserved, and didn't deserve, all in one go.

Turbo panted in a spike of fear, the golden glow in his eyes was entirely gone, his heart raced at the speed of light and the sheer amount of questions that stabbed the edges of his brain was becoming unbearable. As he tightly cradled Berri's body in his masculine arms, bridal style, he soaked his now lightly bloodied feet onto the teleportation pad at the edges of his dim hallway, the only one that lead to his own section of the code room, one floor down. The second the teleportation pad whisked the two away, Turbo's feet confidently stepped out into his code room. With the lights and code boxes entirely dimmed, due to the nighttime sleep settings, the only light that welcomingly gleamed in was the lights from Orion City below. With Turbo's authoritative presence, however, the bowing, round gridlines on the glossy white floor below gingerly came alive with the dim glow of Turbo's otherwise brightly glowing red coding.

"Cue code box, palace rule," Turbo urgently requested to the now gingerly awakening code room; a glowing red orb, right in the center, hauntingly flared with his vocal cue, and in an instant, a spanned web of every single person's code box, who lived on palace grounds or had high stature in the game, began to gently bob about the two. Turbo's eyes held tight to the orb right at the center as he continued on, "Berri Schweetz Kalivar, Turbo Cassius Black."

As the code room orb gingerly illuminated, once more, as if to politely and quickly respond to Turbo's urgent requests, both Turbo's and Berri's code boxes blipped to correction, a few feet before the both of them. Turbo bobbed a small nod and held Berri a little tighter, as if to lovingly assure to her that the pain would stop here.

"Full reset, internal and external," Turbo firmly commanded, and with an easy flicker of coding, they both immediately blipped back to the code room's safety in a full reboot, like promised.

With the still, lovely hum of the freshly awoken code room, and nothing but the soothing sound of Turbo's now calmly beating heart directly into her right ear, she felt every ounce of pain immediately vanish, like a breath of entire relief. With now pristine clothes, void of any single speck of blood, vomit or debris, she laid in Turbo's unwavering, hefty grip, a true damsel in distress. She could feel Turbo's now grey, still terrified gaze held tight to the crown of her fresh blue hair, his hot breath nervously coat the bridge of her nose, she fluttered her eyes and felt a strange pulsing of bittersweet, emotional hurt still remain in her circuits. She lulled her eyes closed, once more, and swore to herself that she could just lay here, in the safety of Turbo's code room, in the safety of Turbo's arms, for the rest of her life. Her eyes scrunched tight in the onslaught of a grimacing cry that brimmed at the back of her throat, her mind screamed at her to stiffen her upper lip and toughen up, yet her throbbing heart quietly urged her to grieve, to lay in distress, so long as it accompanied the one last shivering soul Arcade could dream up; Turbo Black.

"What the hell happened?" Turbo's voice only barely huffed in a staggering breath of a whisper, a lilt of genuine terror that still coursed through him, he knew full well that he would have an extremely hard time ridding his brain of the sheer sight of Berri's bloodied figure on the floor.

"Th-the deletion virus," Berri's still weak voice staggered as now fresh tears spilled down her dewy, clean cheeks. Turbo furrowed his eyebrows in whole confusion, though as Berri tenderly pressed on, Turbo's strong arms very daintily tilted her and eased her body upwards, and back to her feet. Upon release, his still trembling hands gripped Berri's upper arms, so to prove he was beyond glued to the topic at hand, the peer of his haunting grey gaze tight into her teary orbs was sweet release that only made Berri's grimacing cry spill over the edges. Big tears spilled down her red cheeks, the look of dewy, sweet, naive innocence now entirely wiped from her beautiful eyes, "I-I ran into one of the... Deletion viruses..."

"H-How... Why...?" Turbo huffed in a still falter of words, he narrowed his gaze, shook his head and only gripped Berri's upper arms a little tighter, "You left Sugar Rush? What happened?"

"I-I can't believe I... I l-left," Berri now staggered to get words out through the uproar of crying that her shaking lungs now so desperately wanted to emit. Through grit teeth and a now very glassy gaze, her trembling shoulders made her stance wobble a little as Turbo tried to hold her secure and still, "I-I'm such an idiot, Turbo... D-Don't... P-please don't... Tell my parents."

"Why did you leave?" Turbo worried, and as Berri's head tilted forward a little in the midst of now the sweetest, daintiest cry-hiccups he's ever heard, her beautiful blue hair draped over her eyes and wet cheeks. Turbo tilted his head, leaned down a little and lovingly tucked her blue hair out of the way, a secure tuck behind her cute ears, "Bee, i-if you have information about these deletion viruses, we HAVE to tell Tessa and Zed."

"Not right now, not right now, please," Berri urged as she reopened her glassy eyes and gave Turbo a look of whole desperation, "Please, I just... N-Need you, please... Don't tell them yet."

"I-I won't, I won't," Turbo secured; although the logical part of his brain was running at full speed, the cold desire to immediately tell the people above him was now very slowly being overwritten with a warm sense of care and tenderness; he was well aware Tessa and Zed had stature above him, though as he peered into Berri's eyes, he just barely smirked and understood that she, too, held rank over him, and anything she says, goes.

"Gunner was just... Telling me that he was excited for his b-band manager, Bedgy, to meet me," Berri desperately tried to collect herself, through sniffles and nervous breaks to catch her hiccuping breaths, she shook her head and scrunched her eyes tight, "It was... M-My stupid idea to jump over to EZ Living really quick..."

"Y-You went all the way to EZ Living?" Turbo firmly worried, though he scolded himself and knew not to get way too stern with her, he was well aware she had endured beyond enough.

"I w-went there and back, just fine," Berri complained through a teary whine, she shook her head and allowed her gaze to aimlessly get lost in the lovely, faded light brown, cozy pull-over sweater that Turbo was wearing. It had a grey Sugar Rush logo down the side, equally as faded, a more masculine touch to the game's design, "I-I made the mistake of... Leaving Gunner's security team behind, at End of Line station..."

"Y-You saw... You actually SAW the deletion virus?" Turbo huffed in rising concern, as if all the cogs in his brain were now beginning to run at full speed, just what Berri's fragile information meant for the entirety of Arcade.

"Saw," Berri huffed in a narrowed gaze of further impending tears. She shook her head and shut her eyes tight, "W-we played wall-ball with each other for half the train ride to Game Central Station... Just us, in that tiny train cab..."

Turbo raised his eyebrows in now impressed surprise, the idea of Berri fighting off said virus, in said tiny train cab, for that duration of time, was something he was now trying to wrap his mind around. He cocked an eyebrow and assessed Berri; with just how shaken up she was, and just how bloodied and battered she had come to him, he was certain he had likely underestimated Berri's abilities, and she was potentially telling the whole truth. Berri inhaled a trembling, nasally breath through her mouth and desperately peered into Turbo's eyes.

"I-It was terrifying, a-a... A huge black creature easily the size of Chester," Berri complained, though she now outwardly began to cry in Turbo's gravity, as if explaining all of this was now becoming too difficult, "I-It... It had mirror-like invisibility, a-and fangs, and... The noises it made...!"

"Easy," Turbo tenderly urged, though as Berri's shaking hands firmly covered her face, she now outwardly sobbed into her hands, cueing Turbo to fully understand that he likely should ease up on the prodding questions, for a second.

In an override of protection, he released Berri's upper arms, stood up straight and firmly tugged Berri into his chest and arms. Like the missing puzzle piece he knew she was, she fit square into his body, snug and perfect. The way her quaking arms grappled about his middle, the firm shove of her wet face into the gentle nook between his neck and collar bone, Turbo eagerly welcomed her home, his arms fastened securely about her upper back and shoulders. Turbo's mind reeled; what previously was a very strong, determined young lady, not afraid of anything, was now a trembling shell of stiff terror, the way her skeleton practically latched onto his and was now making very clear that she would likely never let go, Turbo felt his heart sag in defeat. It was here did he understand that Berri was very swiftly handed a solid life lesson, though he shut his eyes tight in dread with the tsunami of emotional trauma that would very heavily follow, for quite awhile.

"Shh-shh," Turbo so softly shushed in her ear as he sagged the side of his head to hers, he furrowed his brows amidst the tight scrunch of his eyes, and with a very tender, lulling sway, he now found that he was nearly holding her upright, almost without her help. Her soft, wailing cries held true in the form of trembling gasps for air, nasally protests of sobs tight into Turbo's chest, as if she was simply pouring her entire heart out for him and him only, he prayed the swaying and sweet nothings, in her ear, would cease the nightmarish sounds of her whole despair. He inhaled a shaky breath as the entirety of it now began to seep into his skin, and as tears finally stung his still grey, horrified gaze, he long blinked in cold realization and peered across his attentive, nervously poised code room. He shook his head and, as his masculine hand held the back of her head, he stared down the palace, far in the glowing distance, in a gentle pin-prickle of dread, "I-I'm here... I'm here."

Although Berri didn't move a single muscle, except to cry, she finally, after about five or ten minutes of Turbo's gentle swaying, began to calm. With the ease of his soothing, whispering words, Berri's soul finally began to succumb to the tenderness of it all, as if she only now finally realized she was safe from harm. As Turbo's gentle hand continued to ease down the back of her head, through her clean, soft and lovely blue hair, he was at least thrilled she had calmed in his gravity. The warm, welcoming hum of Sugar Rush's code room safely secured the two in a bubble of love, and although Berri was likely eons away from any bashful thoughts that could potentially come her way, due to being so intimately close with Turbo, he at least did what he could to comfort her, and remind her of better days and better times. Although outside of Turbo's confidence gage, he inhaled a shaky breath and knew, in times of need, he could muster the courage, to go to the ends of Arcade to comfort the one person that meant the absolute most to him.

As Turbo continued to gently, barely sway the two, he lulled his eyes closed and bravely began to hum the tune of their secret, little love song, to her, and no one but her. On key, right pitch, and sapped with the softest, sweetest hum of rasp, Turbo knew fully singing said song likely contained boasting a little bit more confidence than he could afford right now, though he was absolutely thrilled to feel Berri's shell of a figure warmly come back to life. She inhaled a deep, shaky breath, her tight grip, about his mid-section, lovingly drew up his body in a more confident, warm embrace, as opposed to the cling she was previously grappled in. She bashfully fluttered her wet eyelashes, tilted her head and rested the side of her head, for good, on the center of his broad collar. Turbo warmly smiled through closed lips, and as he tucked his chin to the top of her head, he softly continued to hum. Noticing the warm, golden glow that finally came back to him, via the gentle show of light on the bridge of his own nose, he patiently concluded the tune and allowed the two to sit in warm silence for a few moments.

"...Thank you," Berri's raspy, nasally voice finally croaked in a whisper, to which Turbo stiffly nodded, his chin still tucked over the top of her head.

"Anything," Turbo assured warmly, and although Turbo didn't want it to end, they slowly began to unglue themselves from each other. Turbo raised his eyebrows in a pluck of nervous concern, slid his hands into hers and was floored she stayed hovered half a foot before him, as if to promise that she could potentially need a further swathe of comfort, coming up, "I'm... I'm really proud of you."

"...H-how," Berri huffed, the only word she could even utter, the raw fact that she made likely the stupidest decision on the face of this whole Arcade, she narrowed her still teary gaze and peered hard into Turbo's eyes, full of distraught disbelief.

"Berri... You evaded the deletion virus. The very thing that no one could even put their finger on," Turbo staggered, he dared to give her a small smirk, "That... That's HUGE. And the fact that you can describe it, and know what it looks like."

"I-I... I can do more than just describe what it looks like," Berri muttered, though as Turbo furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, Berri gently reached into her back pocket and pulled out her materializer.

Turbo patiently watched as she thumbed through the holographic display, that emit from her materializer, though as she thumbed to the option of the bubbled, severed creature's hand and half of its forearm, Turbo messily covered his mouth, took a gentle step backwards, shook his head and was floored the second Berri eased it into tangible existence. Hovered secured in a bubble of her silver circuitry, said arm was half way through the process of being deleted, which was clear due to the red coding that was mid-pause, crawling up the length of its arm. Turbo huffed a shaky breath and now nervously brought his terrified attention to Berri before him; her eyes looked dark, a haunting display of amped maturity that now sapped her being, Turbo felt a pain strike his heart, almost as if she'd never be the same, after this. He glanced back and forth between her and her souvenir and gawked.

"Y-You killed it...?" Turbo wondered in a lilt of whole disbelief, though he knew now, at this point, that he had greatly underestimated her. Due to just how torn up she had appeared on his doorstep, he was certain said battle to the death was far greater than anything he could imagine, "Bubbling it kept his arm from deleting?"

"Guess so," Berri shrugged, though her sagged, sorrowful eyes now eased to their bare feet in whole entire distraught; more tears began to well in her eyes at new fears that coat her brain like molten lava, "I-I'll... I'll tell my parents in the morning. There's no way I can just... KEEP this information from them. I'll rat myself out... You don't have to worry about it."

"Berri," Turbo eased, knowing full well she was not wrong, though he also knew that Tessa and Zed would quite simply only be thrilled of one thing; that she was alive. Turbo shook his head and warmly returned his hand's grip to hers, "Sure you... Maybe shouldn't have snuck out, but... You're alive. That's all that counts. I wouldn't be worried about Tessa and Zed."

"I-I don't know what to tell Gunner, I don't know what to tell anyone," Berri mumbled, she shook her head and lulled her eyes closed, "No one's going to believe me, except anyone that sees this severed arm. And like hell mom and dad would let me bring it in for show and tell," she stabbed in now sarcastic, jaded misery; what once was a lighthearted, joking air about herself very swiftly turned into bitter vengeance of darkness.

"Let's... Just try and get some sleep," Turbo sighed, his raspy voice carried on in defeat, "We can worry about what to do afterwards. Nothing is going to get solved right this second, it's three in the morning."

"I-I don't want to sleep alone," Berri blurt in a swell of added fear that sapped any shred of tip toeing and bashful flirting she even had in her system, "P-please, I... Please let me stay with you, please. I'm begging, please."

"Berri, you don't have to beg, you know my answer," Turbo huffed a gentle breath of a laugh as he shook his head and squeezed her hand; he knew, full well, this wasn't an invitation, this wasn't for funsies, this was strictly fear driven and he was well aware he needed to entirely respect that. He bobbed a nod and squeezed her hand a little harder, "We can sleep in my loft. Top of Sugar Rush, away from harm... Sunlight in the morning."

Berri nodded at his quick idea, and although she could feel her heart absolutely begin to harden, she could feel the base of said hard, stone cold heart still hold a bit of gooey warmth, a resting place she now was certain she'd only leave for Turbo. Although the lovely, exciting thoughts of being a potential celebrity, and dating one to boot, was still hovered tight in the back of her mind, the only thing she wanted right now was to be in Turbo's safe embrace. She could feel herself weighing into a very confusing, heart-torn situation, and as if every situation and ordeal also came with its loft of excuses as to just why she was acting the way she was, she turned a blind eye to herself and wondered just when these kinds of torn feelings even became possible. The only thing narrowed down her tunnel vision was simply to curl away with Turbo for the rest of the morning, to pray that her parents would understand, and to somehow hope that Gunner, as well as the whole of Arcade, would simply not be made aware of any of this nasty ordeal.


	73. Chapter 73

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Aww, it's true! :) Thank you so much.

 **Nikki Firesong :** Turbo's the softest boyo. Secret softy lol! And yes, Turbo's middle name is actually a point of contention with him xD He detests it for certain reasons. You'll find out! Thank you so much, friend :)

 **Jay Sketchin :** True! Deployed in times of fire need lmao.

 **Snake557 :** Thanks! Yeahhhh it takes her awhile to bounce back from this one.

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 **A/N :**

 **Hey guys, just wanted to say something really quick. While I was brainstorming with Cory last night, for tying plot points and etc. for Out of the Blue, I noticed my brain beginning to desperately try and cut corners, so to get to the entire plot and deeper love triangle drama faster, but... It hurt my heart. This, I guess, is just a warning to you guys. This story will likely easily be as long as Rectifying Origin. There's just too much I want to add, SOOO much more I want to put in, I'm almost 100 chapters into this beast and already the word count is rivaling both Wrecking Limits and Defying Code. I have a LOT to talk about, a lot I've dreamed up, and even MORE coming for the 5th story. I just wanted to warn you guys, this story is easily going to be likely about the size of Rectifying Origin, either by word count, or chapter count. I don't want to stifle my creativity JUST to see the end of another book. I've never looked back on my books and felt like I rushed - I don't want to feel that way with this, or the next one. Just a fair warning - there's a LOT to come, and I SO appreciate the lot of you that have stuck with me these past 6 years. It's insanity, but it's how I get ALL my creative ideas out, it's how my mind keeps turning, and I'm grateful that you guys are along for the ride.**

 **THANK YOU!**

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 ***Chapter 73***

In an agitated grimace of grumpy sleepiness, the sound of a gentle, sweet, tinkering tune of an alarm buzzed on the cushions a bit away from Turbo's head. He peeled his eyes open in a tight narrow of grogginess, though as his muted, golden gaze splayed all over what was before him, he raised his sleepy eyebrows in surprise and nearly reeled. As if the entirety of last night just came rushing right back to him, he froze and allowed his consciousness to return to his limbs. Snuggled deep into the broad of his chest was Berri, lovingly cocooned, her face pressed lazily into the gentle sag of his jugular and Adam's apple, her limp arms safely fastened about his middle. With the tinkering tune still quietly going off, Turbo dared to unravel his right arm from around Berri's back, so to reach for his phone and quiet his alarm. Upon gently silencing everything, he pulled his phone up above the two squinted into the gentle glare of his screen's light and wholly dreaded the numbers that glowered back at him; six a.m.

Through a groggy exhale, he slumped his phone back to the cushion, above his head, and tightly returned his grip about Berri's upper body. The easy sag back to their little bubble of love was something he was entirely uncertain was even real, the way the both of them vanished into the plumes and billows of his incredibly heavy, comfortable downs, the shared pillows they squished into, the both of them soundly snoozed on the incredible, swooping couch-like seating area in his second story loft. With the glass ceiling high above them, the morning, winter sun only just barely began to show progress of wanting to rise, kissing the pale Sugar Rush sky a very lovely, dim periwinkle, with no sign of clouds. Turbo burrowed his face into the top of Berri's head and inhaled a deep, relaxing breath; the smell of her clean, sweetly scented blue hair sent his now racing heart over the edge, a tight cuddle he knew he could afford right now, though he was well aware he set said dreaded alarm for a reason, to simply catch Zed before anyone else did.

Although entirely positive this wasn't a romantic snuggle session, Turbo's itching arms held her as close as he could, a squeeze of love he was excited that he could sweetly afford, in this instance. In the feel of her hot skin on his face, he lulled his glowing eyes closed and felt bravery continue to soak his rusty, red honeycombs. As if in an agonizing grimace of pure want, he so gently pressed his warm lips to her forehead and held a patient, firm kiss to her skin. Upon release, after a few moments of tender, innocent relishing, he peeled his muted eyes open and curiously peered down at her. Although he was thrilled she was still asleep, he almost wished she'd wake up in this instance, the little boost of bravery he had given himself now had his groggy, half awake circuits certain that if she were peering up at him right now, fully conscious, he'd confess everything to her, right here and now. In the contemplative thought of maybe waking her up, to allow that all to be true, he furrowed his eyes in tender confusion and noticed something dimly glowing along the sides of her temples.

In the form of very tiny slivers of circuit lines, her silver coding so faintly pulsed in a show of her heartbeat, right on her skin. Turbo urgently furrowed his brows and knew this wasn't normal, and as he got a greater look, he felt his heart begin to surge in worry. Although not entirely certain, he quickly gathered that these could simply be stress lines, a nervous overflow her motherboard was now loaded with, from the traumatizing night prior. Turbo shut his eyes tight in a sag, he was well aware he could just lay here, with Berri, all day and night, for the rest of his life, but he knew he had a duty to uphold, and to remain true to the safety of Sugar Rush, as well as the safety of Arcade. With the raw information he was sitting on, he knew he shouldn't waste anymore time in getting the attention of the higher ups. Much to his dismay, he so carefully peeled himself from Berri's warm, inviting arms, and so to not leave her entirely hanging, he yanked off his thick pull over and lovingly draped it on top of her and over her shoulders. As he then tucked the blanket back over her and made sure she was snug, he grabbed his phone and head for the spiral staircase, the exit of his second story loft.

With as much care and litheness that he could afford, he managed to escape the loft in silence. He further pressed down the dark hallway, that lead strictly to his code room's teleportation pad, and once he was quietly whisked away to the code room underneath his feet, he inhaled a deep breath and got a good look about the glorious, three-sixty degree view of Sugar Rush, in its entirety. The gorgeous sunrise, just barely trying to peak its tired, winter rays just beyond the palace, the awakening of Orion City, everything was as it should be, right at peace. He shook his head in further dread and knew that everything beyond Sugar Rush was a sick facade, and if it weren't for Berri's incredible, quick thinking, he shut his eyes tight and was well aware he would've lost his best friend. In an attempt to blink back tears, he urgently panned to his phone and began to thumb for Zed's contact information. He inhaled a shaky, readied breath and hit the 'call' button, knowing full well the lot of them were early risers, and even at this early hour, there was no risk in waking them up.

Turbo held his phone to his ear, he lazily paced his span of a gorgeous, seemingly untouched code room in his favorite red sweats and a worn, black wife-beater. Although it took a second for Zed to pick up, he felt his skin prickle the second Zed's stern, nervous tone was almost knowingly sure that something was wrong, due to just how random a phone call from Turbo was, at this hour of the early morning.

"...Turbo, you're up early," Zed stated nervously, though he huffed a chuckle, as if to somehow beg Turbo that this call was simply a mistake.

"Yeah, I'm... Not too thrilled about it," Turbo eased a nervous chuckle, alongside Zed's, though he shook his head and peered off to Sugar Rush's palace, in the distance, "Hey, uh... Everything's fine, everyone is okay, but... I'm going to need you to come to my code room, ASAP. I, uh... Have something to tell, and show, you."

"We're coming," Zed chirped, although his tone was light, with the stern and firmness of it, as well as the sudden ended call, Turbo raised his eyebrows and was constantly reminded as to just why Zed was King; his attentiveness and willingness to spring into action, no matter what, was what set him apart from the rest.

In a matter of maybe fifteen seconds, the teleportation pad, in Turbo's lovely code room, came alive with Tessa's and Zed's silver coding, and with such arrival, both Tessa and Zed's beings came into fruition. Although they had likely been awake for an hour or so, Zed was dressed in a lazy white t-shirt and grey sweats, in which Tessa donned a very similar attire, though more clean and form fitting. With bare feet, hair undone, relaxing before another typical day of royal duties and Academy galore, they urgently began to cross Turbo's code room, so to meet him in the middle. Turbo raised his eyebrows in a gesture of a small 'hello' and began to approach them, as well.

"Thanks, I'm... Sorry if I'm disrupting your morning," Turbo assured nervously, though Tessa tucked her hair behind her ears, shook her head and gave Turbo a look of tender, attentive apprehension.

"No, you haven't, clearly whatever it is you're going to tell us is so important that you're literally awake before the sun," Tessa rushed with a small, nervous giggle, to which Zed bobbed a nod.

Upon the three reaching each other, Zed gave Turbo's upper back a loving, brotherly pat, his vivid blue eyes held tight to his in undivided wait. The way his sweet, concerned gaze so easily mocked Berri's had Turbo's heart sagging even further, the raw fact that he was the one to deliver this weird and unfortunate news to the two, though just as Turbo was about to maybe attempt to segue into the detrimental topic at hand, his teleportation pad hummed to life, once more, showing a very vivid orange coding along with it. In a stride of nervous confidence, Rancis eased off of his pad and began to make his way to the center of Turbo's code room, where everyone else stood. Turbo raised his eyebrows, though somehow knew he shouldn't be surprised. He was well aware Rancis shared Knightly duties, here, though he began to feel like the odd one out, the sheer fact that everyone seemed to be early risers, around here. Rancis sleepily sauntered up wearing equally as lazy sweats, as the rest of them, and a loose red tank top. His long, golden hair was out of its typical style, of a decent, swooping curl, and was lazily and haphazardly draped about his jaw and neck. He cleared his throat, raised his eyebrows to Tessa and Zed and politely closed his eyes with a small nod.

"Guys," Rancis chimed as a greeting, his voice deeply croaked with sleepiness, which now had Turbo understanding that this segue into detrimental information was likely due to Zed then calling Rancis and waking him up.

"Thanks for coming so quickly," Turbo started gently, and it was here did he feel his hands begin to shake. The detrimental stare down from all three of his peers, two of which held a solid amount of power over him, he suddenly felt a lump gather in his throat. As if wanting to both protect and defend Berri in one go, he felt odd that he was not only giving her away, but also making clear just her impressive act. He inhaled a shaky breath and hooked his gaze tight to Zed's, knowing he was, ultimately, the head honcho, here, "A-At about two or three this morning, I got a phone call from Berri... Sh-she's upstairs, asleep in my loft, safe and sound. Just to clarify, before I continue. She's safe."

"That was my first question," Zed stated sternly with a small, nervous smile and a bob of a nod, and although Turbo wanted to now crawl into a hole with nervousness, he patiently carried on.

"... Berri is terrified to tell you guys that she snuck out last night, to see Gunner, in EZ Living," Turbo eased quietly, though he held up his hand and now grew protective of Berri, "She called me at two or three this morning-"

"Literal hours ago?" Rancis groggily barked, it was clear he was still trying to wake up due to the narrowed look of crankiness on his face, as well as the fact that this was his precious great niece.

"Yes, I... I set an alarm to get up, so I could tell you guys before the whole of Arcade could tell you first," Turbo urged, to which Zed put his hands on his hips and now glowered Turbo down in a rising spike of authority.

"Tell us what," Zed gently demanded, and as Turbo held his own, he inhaled a deep breath through his broadening chest and lulled his eyes closed.

"...She ran into one of the deletion viruses on her way back to Sugar Rush... She called me after, what seemed to be, a pretty graphic battle with the thing," Turbo nervously eased, to which Tessa covered her mouth in horror; this information had Rancis rapidly blinking his eyes, praying he'd wake up further, "She... She arrived on my doorstep pretty badly beaten up, but... I reset her, she's perfectly fine."

"Physically," Rancis barked in whole concern, "Did she say what this creature looked like?"

"How'd she fight it off?" Zed staggered in now shaking concern.

"Certainly she just glitch-hopped away, or something," Tessa rushed in greater concern.

Turbo inhaled a nervous breath through his nose, gestured his hand upwards and quietly cued his main code room orb. In a gentle bob, it was clear it was harboring the bubbled, severed arm that Berri brought home, and upon the orb gently releasing said silver bubble, the three, before Turbo, froze in whole entire horror. Turbo gingerly allowed the silver bubble to hover over his right hand, he was careful that he didn't touch Berri's handiwork, though with the clear image of the size of strictly this creature's hand, wrist and part of its forearm, Tessa now covered her face in whole entire dread and sagged into herself. Zed held his forehead in defeat, shook his head and nervously lofted his worried gaze to Rancis, who easily, yet sleepily, gave it right back.

"This is only a shred of what we're up against," Turbo's voice darkly carried on, "I don't know what kind of a battle that poor girl endured, but... I assure you, with just how she arrived at my doorstep, I mean... I hardly recognized her."

"Did she tell you how she fought it off?" Zed wondered, the sternness in his voice wavered with the onslaught of fear and worry, for his second born.

"No, she... She was an entire wreck, I... I-I've never heard her cry so hard, or so loud," Turbo's voice shook as he looked off, as if the thought of Berri going through such trauma was too much for him to handle. He nervously peered to the morbid, severed arm and wrinkled his nose in whole dismay, "I don't know the whole story, but I'm sure, after she gets some solid sleep, she'd be willing to explain."

Just as Zed opened his mouth to prod and potentially wonder if they could go upstairs and see Berri, his phone, in his sweat's pocket, began to gently ring. Zed furrowed his brows in whole confusion and shot his gaze straight to Tessa, and as him and his Queen held tight, apprehensive, confused eye contact for nearly half of the phone call's ringing duration, Zed finally, and hesitantly, slid his phone out of his pocket. He scoffed a nervous noise down at the screen of his phone and diligently picked up; it was one of the palace guards.

"Hey, Chief," Zed eased gently, and through the stillness of Turbo's code room, the guard's voice could barely be heard.

"Your majesty, Surge is at the palace gates. He needs to speak with you," The guard nervously instructed, "H-He... He says it's extremely urgent, he has something he needs to show you and the Queen."

"Let him in, take him to the main teleportation hub," Zed instructed, and with the polite affirmation of such chore, Zed hung up the call and sagged his phone back into his pocket.

Without word, Zed gently cued Turbo's orb and got to work. Turbo flinched, and although this strictly was his shred of the code room, he was well aware that Zed was in full control of the entirety of it. As the orb eased into Zed's presence, it gingerly turned silver, to signify who it was currently working for, obedience that surpassed Turbo, something that he knew didn't happen too often. He hung tight with Berri's bubble of a souvenir as Zed gently cued to the coding of the teleportation hub, on the palace's main grounds. The four quietly and patiently waited for Surge's presence to show up on the teleportation pad, and the second it did, Zed quickly cued for Surge's presence to then join the four in Turbo's code room. Turbo felt a wash of fear come over him; he was well aware that only a handful of people, outside of the Arcade, genuinely knew of Turbo's existence and had the honor of almost meeting him, in which Surge was one of said people.

"Holy User," Surge staggered with a hearty chuckle, his holographic, light blue state flickered a bit as he appeared on Turbo's teleportation pad, just across the way. He gently began to stroll over to the four, though upon reaching them, he slowed to a nervous halt and eyed not only what Turbo was protecting, but also Turbo as a whole, "W-Wow, w-would you, uh... Lookit that. I-I can't believe it's Turbo. Of Turbotime... My User, it's Turbo."

"Pleasure," Turbo's nervous voice crackled with a bashful chuckle, he barely waved his hand and now gave Tessa an apprehensive look of sheer, boyish uncertainty; she lovingly pat the back of his upper arm and stood with him, to signify that she wouldn't leave him hanging.

"Surge, is everything okay?" Zed stated nervously, though Surge raised his eyebrows and waggled about the shiny object in his hand.

"Welp, I came into Sugar Rush thinking I had some HUGE news to tell you guys, but... Looks like you four must already be aware of, well... What took place a few hours ago," Surge cocked an eyebrow and peered up to Zed in nervous concern, "I can only hope you're daughter is home safely..."

"She's upstairs, sound asleep," Turbo gently affirmed, to which Surge let out a hard, nervous breath of whole entire relief.

"She bumped into one of the deleter viruses," Zed urged, he shook his head as the five stood in a loose circle; Surge gave Zed a stern, terrified look of disbelief and shook his head.

"If by 'bumped into' you mean 'massacred in the train tunnels'," Surge barked in terror, though he finally eased a gentle smile and heaved a hearty laugh in Tessa's direction, "My fine lady, you are due to being one proud mother, I'll tell yah... The glitching abilities, on that girl. Sheesh."

"Massacred?" Zed huffed in terrified disbelief, though Surge waggled about said shiny object, in his hand, one more time.

"Our trains, that go all about Arcade, have security cameras on them... This is because our trains are singlehandedly the largest places for game-overs. This is due to fighting, this is due to being in a confined area with no escape," Surge cocked an eyebrow and so gently handed Zed the small, shiny, blue glowing disc of a code box, "...Poor girl thought she was on that train cab all by herself..."

"Wh-what happened?" Tessa urged quietly, the tremble in her voice made clear that she wasn't prepared for the answer, though Surge gingerly handed over the disc, to Zed, and shook his head in a dismissing hand gesture.

"Th-there's no amount of explaining I could do to properly sum up JUST what that camera caught," Surge sighed in almost proud defeat, he sneakily shot Zed a smile and remained humble before all four higher-ups, of Sugar Rush, "It's... Pretty graphic, but... I know the footage will make you immensely proud. Y'got a fighter, on your hands. That girl does NOT go down without a fight."

Turbo felt his airways tighten, the stillness of the group now also humbled by Surge's words, the way Zed peered down at the disc like a death wish was on it, he swallowed hard and gently cued Turbo's code orb, once more. In doing so, he gently inserted the disc-like box into a specific drop down menu, amidst the holographic display, and with a zip of new information, Turbo's code room eagerly sprawled a decent-sized screen, out before everyone, so they could see the security footage of the train cab Berri was trapped in. On a cue, the footage crackled in all of it's undefined glory, the view of the empty, worn train cart down below, Turbo nervously crossed his arms and felt his pupils tighten the second Berri was then seen getting on the train cab, all by herself. As all five beings held their eyes tight to the screen, Turbo held his breath and now was entirely certain that he wasn't prepared for just what he was about to witness.


	74. Chapter 74

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** I'm dying laughing. Dude Turbo the most, tho. His would be deep fried lmao

 **Burgie :** T'is true! :)

 **Snake557 :** Yeah, I love that the Arcade looks all cheery and sweet on the outside, but there's a lot of dark things that take place.

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Silver Comforts Jim by James Newton Howard**

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 ***GORE WARNING***

 **The first THREE paragraphs of this chapter contains detailed scenes of what Berri went through, on the train. It's not nearly as graphic as the chapter it was previously in, but I still go into detail. Just a fair warning! Just the first three paragraphs, and then it's safe from there. Thanks guys!**

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 ***Chapter 74***

In a loose circle all full of tense shoulders, stern eyes, wavering hearts that held frozen before the code room's medium sized screen, Tessa, Zed, Rancis, Turbo and Surge held their terrified eyes to the horrifying show that was due to unfold, right before them. Surge nervously gestured out to the screen and mumbled something to Zed, likely about how she shouldn't have been traveling alone at this hour, something that certainly everyone had crammed into all of the youngling's heads, though the second Berri suddenly jolted to a stand, in the train cart, everyone froze and silenced their chattering small talk, about the situation at hand. Turbo sagged to the back of the group and held his terrified eyes to the screen, as if he could hardly keep watching, though somehow he couldn't take his eyes away from it. A literal train wreck that he was due to witnessing. The second Berri started trying to calm herself down, in her reflection, did everyone's terrified gazes begin to spot just what was forming behind Berri.

A massive, all black creature that stood hunched, it's spiny back and gangly limbs shifted, as if it were ready to pounce, though the instant that Berri launched off in a zip of electric coding, the security camera's footage blipped in electrical confusion, merely distorting the image to white noise for a moment. The second the creature hit the back wall of the train, the screen angrily went black, alongside a mass of nervous, silver pixels, though once it came back to correction, the creature, as well as Berri, were now dancing about an entirely decimated train cab, made obvious from the high angle of the security camera. Tessa huffed a noise of terror and covered her mouth, amidst a plea of entire dread, and as everyone else held frozen in horrified composure, Turbo began to feel his chest cavity rise and fall at a faster capacity, the very sound of Berri's cries, her grunts, the scream of pain the second her foot sagged to the jagged metal of the train's torn apart seats, Turbo shook his head and clenched his teeth, as if he simply couldn't handle all of this.

In the mess of Berri's coding diving face first into the train cab's ceiling light, the video cut out, due to the cab losing its main source of electricity. After a few moments, the camera's backup power cued for it to roll, and what was displayed was now a much darker train cab, further torn to shreds, a hearty splay of angry sparks now spilling into the back end of the train, and Berri's final bound into the wall opposite the train door. Almost too fast to even see what was going on, the five watched in horror as Berri bounded to the train's door, forced it open with her coding, and successfully dove out of the way, just in time for the massive creature to dive face first into the stationary wall next to the train. Everyone very visibly sagged into themselves in a sharp flinch the second the sound of the horrific bone crunching noise was apparent, and although it was dark on the video, it was clear Berri got an entire face and mouth full of the explosion of the creature's blood and bodily fluid. The second Berri started vomiting was the second that Tessa scoffed a noise of despair and covered her face in its entirety.

Turbo panted through his nose and silently began to freak out, an entirety of a million different emotions coursed through him, and as everyone watched Berri successfully bubble the creature's slowly-deleted arm, his soul wasn't prepared for the heart-breaking scene to unfold next. Through the dim, now quite cab, Berri's cries very slowly turned into trembling singing, she sat hunkered down, her arms tight about her knees, and as she outwardly, and very clumsily, began to sing her's and Turbo's song, Turbo raised his eyebrows in a sharp pinprickle of surprise and now was well aware this was where he drew the line. Turbo scoffed a choke of a noise, grappled the sides of his head and urgently began to storm off, to the edge of his code room, near his teleportation pad.

Although Tessa, Zed, Rancis and Surge urgently peered to Turbo, and took note of his departure, they eagerly peered back at the screen in time to see the cab roll into the station, as well as Berri immediately fleeing the scene via glitch-hopping. As the screen remained still on the train's now empty, frozen cart, Zed heaved a shaky breath, cocked an eyebrow and urgently caught eyes with Rancis in a sting of unadulterated surprise. Rancis held tight with Zed, as well, as if to very clearly insinuate that he had absolutely no clue how to swallow that whole video, as he was certain no one else did, either. Rancis heaved a hard, shaky sigh, shook his head, nervously peered to Tessa and Surge and finally cocked an eyebrow of gentle sassiness.

"Well... NOW I'm awake," Rancis grunted, though Tessa finally came up for air and peered up to the screen, which still hovered on the bloodied, decimated train cab.

"Holy shit," Tessa huffed shakily, she peered up to Zed in a swipe of terror, though before anyone could get anything else out, Surge huffed a small chuckle and shook his head.

"You can say that again," Surge smiled, he shook his head and peered up to Tessa and Zed, "I'm glad she's home safe... I'm positive she won't be leaving the game, anytime soon, after an event like that."

"She won't want to," Zed staggered in humility, he peered down to Surge and pressed on, "A-at least now we know what we're up against."

"It's not much to just reprogram a new train cab... I just wanted to come over here and let you guys know exactly what happened," Surge started out, though before he could carry on, everyone cued to the frustrated noise Turbo suddenly emit, a quiet, raspy, and nasally noise of whole despair, out to the other end of his code room.

Tessa, Zed, Rancis and Surge urgently peered to him in their whole, undivided attention. Turbo stood at the south end of his lovely code room, he had his back turned to the group, his forehead pressed to the glass, as well as his fist. His shoulders were scrunched in a tremble of emotion, and although everyone had an incredibly hard time watching said footage, Tessa, Zed and Rancis now nervously glanced to each other and had to wonder if it was a new level of difficulty for Turbo. Zed exhaled a long sigh and collected himself; he peered back to the screen with a sweep of pride, of terror, of anger, of relief, he knew the only thing that trumped all emotions was the sheer gratitude that Berri came home safely, and all those glitching lessons weren't all for not. Zed finally sagged his shoulders and, with the level head attitude he gingerly laid on the group, he was glad everyone followed suit, excluding Turbo, who was now too far gone. Zed gently gave Surge a knowing look and shook his head.

"We, uh... We clearly have a lot to discuss," Zed instructed, he tenderly looked to Turbo and felt his heart swell with all sorts of emotions, though it was here did Surge quickly catch on to Zed's insinuation.

"...Right. Well, I have a copy of that tape, so you can keep this one, for your records. Consider letting the whole of Arcade know just what happened," Surge encouraged as he gently began to stroll back to the teleportation pad, though he kindly peered back to Zed and Tessa, for assurance, "Just say the word, and I'll give the tape to the news... The faster we spread the word, the faster we can find a solution."

Tessa and Zed nervously peered to each other for guidance, and although the both of them wanted to very quickly agree with Surge's words, they held their tongues and knew they needed to digest all of this, first and foremost. Zed gently lofted Surge a knowing smile, pulled up the commands to allow Surge to head out of Sugar Rush, and bobbed a nod of affirmation.

"I'll be in touch with you later today... We're going to regroup, here, and we can move forward from there," Zed assured, and with Surge's kind reciprocation of said plan, he was gently whisked away to Sugar Rush's entrance, simply so he could fix the train and prepare for a new game day.

Although the code room was now silent and still, Turbo could now be heard shakily muttering things to himself. He shook his head and kept his whole posture frustratingly glued to the glass of his protective code room, and although everyone was hurting over this issue, Zed sagged his shoulders and lofted a knowing look in Tessa's and Rancis's direction. They easily lofted it right back to him, and in unison, all three of them carefully began to press over to Turbo's figure, across the way, with Zed at the lead. Upon the crawl to reaching Turbo, Tessa and Rancis hung back about ten feet from Turbo's back whilst Zed pressed on, to get a more intimate look into Turbo's heart, something that was now failing to stay within the seams of the confined barrier he had successfully put up, for so many years. As Zed quietly approached, it was clear, here, that Turbo was doing absolutely everything he could to keep it together, though tears streamed his cheeks as his forehead messily slumped into his forearm, which was firmly pressed into the glass.

"Turbo," Zed's loving voice eased, and as Zed so warmly placed a fatherly hand to Turbo's upper arm, Turbo finally, and apprehensively, peeled from his hunched position, he bravely revealed his face, which was drenched in tears.

Zed hovered tight to Turbo's gravity, and in the sag of whole realization that came crawling over everyone in the room, Zed allowed all walls to come down, all past judgement and all past troubles to officially fall to the wayside, for good. Although Turbo was entirely distraught, the golden, gleaming glow of his eyes never wavered, here. Zed narrowed his gaze in curiosity and was now certain this was due to overflow of positive emotion, being felt. A tug towards Zed's very own little princess, the urge to protect and defend Berri was now becoming Turbo's first and foremost duty in its entirety, something Zed was eternally grateful for. Zed just barely snuck a small smile into Turbo's eyes, as if to very silently convey that he knew exactly what was up, here, a quiet way of potentially knocking on a closed door and turning the handle, as if to very politely ask Turbo if he could be let inside. Turbo's grey cheeks were sapped with tears, old and new. His chest trembled with the onslaught of more overflow, he grimaced and bashfully looked off through the pain and passion that was coursing through him, though as he opened his mouth to talk, he choked a small cry and gestured his hands in defeat.

"Sh-She sang our song," Turbo's crackling voice broke and staggered amidst more tears, tears that he now allowed to fall freely, he knew he was so far gone with emotion that the whole world was due to knowing just exactly how he felt about Berri. Turbo grimaced a tight scrunch of his shut eyes, shook his head and grappled the hair on the sides of his head, "She s-sang our song... To comfort herself..."

"'Your song'?" Zed repeated patiently and kindly, he could practically feel Tessa and Rancis standing by, nearly beaming.

"I-I wrote a song for Berri, a-and... when I played it for her, she sang along with the sheet music," Turbo staggered, he choked a small noise and now urgently began to wipe his jaws free of tears via his dark, tight shirt, "I-I had no clue she could sing, like that, I just... Was playing it for her and..."

Zed froze as Turbo's daring, golden eyes scanned the floor in aimless searching, as if the pot was now overflowing and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He finally peered his humble, teary gaze into Zed's patient, loving and fatherly eyes, Turbo's crackling voice urgently pressed on in eternal, humble patience.

"A-And... I fell in love with her," Turbo sweetly admitted, he grimaced a small cry and, through his narrowed gaze, he urgently peered to Zed, as if to somehow beg him not to wipe him off the face of Arcade, due to this confession, "I-I'm in love with your daughter, sir. I can't stay quiet about it... Th-that was... Easily the hardest thing I ever had to sit and watch. I already have the vision of her bloodied body on the floor of my teleport pad, outside my front door, th-that was... My User, that was..."

"Double time, for you," Zed stated through a humble sigh and a small nod, his caring hand remained on the back of Turbo's upper arm as he tenderly continued, "You basically relived the event, watching that... Sure, you weren't there, but... It's safe to say you were in the aftermath of it, not even minutes after the fact... Right?"

"Sir," Turbo patiently agreed with a nod, and as the room fell quiet, outside of Turbo's excessive sniffling, Zed cocked an eyebrow and finally lofted a loving, knowing smile in Rancis's and Tessa's direction.

Although exhausted and haunted from the imagery they had just watched, somehow Turbo's lovely confession warmed everyone back from the dead. The sheer look of dewy gratitude amidst Tessa's face, the sweet smile Rancis crowned with his eyes aimlessly down to his own feet, Zed finally returned his gaze to Turbo and felt whole. He had an inkling this would eventually sneak up on everyone, though with the raw fact that Turbo's feelings were now out in the open, Zed felt somehow relieved. Zed peered Turbo down as Turbo's bashful, terrified eyes held aimless at both of their feet, his breathing finally began to slow down, the mighty expansion of his broad chest, he exuded every single last ounce of power and willingness this Arcade had to offer, a renewed flame that was alive and well in him, and somehow, the fact that it was all due to his feelings for Berri, made Zed's eyes sting with impending tears he successfully kept at bay.

"You're a great man, Turbo," Zed declared warmly and softly, finally Turbo's eyes hooked tight to Zed's in a gentle show of humble surprise. Zed bobbed a nod and tilted his head down a gentle peer of further depth that conveyed stronger emotion, Zed finally heaved a sigh of relief and bobbed Turbo a small nod, "You'd make an even greater partner for Berri... Just... Rest assured, that..."

Zed gently slowed his roll and lofted his gaze to Tessa and Rancis for affirmation, and the second their eyes lit up in a tender bout of sweet clarity, amidst two gentle nods of confirmation from the both of them, Zed returned his smile to Turbo and pat the back of his upper arm, once more.

"... We're all rooting for you," Zed insinuated kindly, as if he didn't want to come right out and say the things everyone truly wanted to say, fully understanding that Berri's free will played a massive role, though whatever the outcome, he wanted to make absolutely clear to Turbo that he had the crew's entire support in attempting to win over Berri's heart.

Turbo exhaled a trembling breath and felt an entire world of weight lift off of his shoulders. He knew this was only the beginning, and ultimately telling Berri his true feelings was the end goal. He scrunched his eyes tight in a sweep of dread and excitement and was well aware that said chore would likely be eons off. Turbo shook his head, softly gazed out to the dregs of Orion City, the opposite direction of the palace, and allowed the glow of his golden eyes to glint against the glass as his stare melted into the gorgeous, snowy mountains off in the distance. Although he now felt extremely vulnerable with the raw fact that Sugar Rush's King, Queen and first Knight all knew of his romantic feelings towards their precious princess, he also felt a warm embrace of solace; the transparency Zed held true to, in this situation, made his jumbled feelings easier to navigate, as if he had support, from all angles, that this was a good path to take. Although the group stood silent for a few moments, to soak in just everything that had taken place, Rancis finally crossed his arms and cutely gave Turbo a knowing side-eye.

"...Lookit you. You used to be so hard, so cold," Rancis's still sleepy voice croaked, to which Tessa and Zed eagerly peered to Rancis; having sort of known Turbo, in and out of being tied in with all of Whiplash's drama through the years, they knew Rancis had all sorts of memories and information on Turbo that they didn't, "It's really nice to see you grow so soft and warm, towards someone, for once. It's a different angle for you... Stark and certainly different, but... I like it. You should show it more often."

Turbo nervously lofted his bashful, golden gaze to Rancis and tried to remain still and stoic, though with just how wide open his heart was, in this raw instance, he now knew, for sure, he was fooling no one. He sighed through his nose, bobbed a nod of clarity and looked down to his feet as Rancis tenderly pressed on.

"Wren tells me, all the time, that you're literally all Berri talks about," Rancis choked a small laugh, to which Tessa bobbed an agreeing nod alongside a widening, cute smile, "Her feet seem to be wandering, but... She's a smart girl. She knows where she's needed the most. Don't stop chasing that flame, just because it seems daunting. I can see the dread in your eyes."

"It's a lot of dread, nervousness," Turbo agreed; he knew if there was anyone on this lot that could read any soul, like an open book, it was Rancis. Turbo heaved a shaky breath and only glanced to Tessa and Zed, "It's... Hard to have confidence, after the thirty years I've endured."

"I've seen you around her," Zed tenderly interjected with a small nod, he gave Turbo a reassuring smile and a near-sassy side-eye to boot, "You come almost entirely out of your shell, the second she's around. You have nothing to worry about, you just... Gotta be real. With both her and yourself."

"Real," Turbo repeated in tender confusion, to which Tessa nodded and decided she should give a female perspective, to this.

"What Zed's trying to say, is... Your next step is to just tell her how you feel," Tessa gestured to her upper chest and lovingly smiled up into Turbo's eyes, "Don't dawdle... That girl is faster than lightning. If you sit on these feelings, you don't want that chance to escape you... Now that she clearly is running off to go see what Gunner is up to."

"Th-that's why I've sort of... Slammed on the brakes," Turbo staggered sorrowfully, "I don't want to interfere with what she has going on. I don't want to cause confusion... I-If she wants to chase after someone else, then-"

"Then what, you'll just be HERE?" Rancis barked as he put his hands on his hips, "You'll just sit and wait and not do anything? You just told us that you're in love with her... I know for a FACT that this Gunner dude is nowhere near the intensity of actually being IN LOVE with Berri, like you say you are. Y'gunna go to the literal ends of Arcade for her heart?"

"I-I would... I guess I'm just... I'm just trying to be patient, I'm trying to bide my time," Turbo worried, and although it was sound advice, he felt Throttle's loving words begin to want to slip through his fingers.

"I see where you're coming from... Slow and steady wins the race," Tessa assured warmly, to which Turbo raised his eyebrows to and now gripped onto Tessa's word like a lifeline, "But... There's only so much slowing down, that can be done, before it turns into putting it in park and not moving forward..."

"Or even reversing," Zed eased nervously.

"Who cares if there's another guy involved, steal her back," Rancis blurt, clearly more blatant about this process, though he was well aware Turbo needed the gentle kick in the pants, "You can't win the girl if you just sit still and hope someday she'll come to you. You have to do things out of your comfort zone, you have to meet her where she's at, sometimes. You have to prove that you can keep one step ahead of her, whilst also maybe taking a step back and allowing yourself to be illusive, from time to time."

"Happy medium," Zed lulled his eyes closed and inhaled an exhausted breath, as if to insinuate that courting a woman was on par with rocket science; he jolted and blurt a small laugh the second Tessa gently swat at his muscular front.

"Thank you, guys, I'll... Keep it all in mind," Turbo stated through a nervous sigh as he bashfully peered to all three of his peers, to which Zed warmly pat his shoulder, once more.

"Slow and steady wins the race, but... No one's telling you not to speed around a few corners, from time to time," Tessa shrugged with a small, mischievous smile.

Turbo's broad chest inhaled a revived breath, and as purpose came back to his skin, in the show of a gentle few long-blinks of understanding, he finally gave Tessa a sweet, grateful and equally as mischievous smile, "I'll keep that in mind."


	75. Chapter 75

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** Oh Def. Do you know him to now want to do anything different than to give Berri hugs IMMEDIATELY? lol!

 **Snake557 :** Squee!

 **CHICKENM4N :** Hey! Good to have you back, missed you. And, thank you! I appreciate the reassurance, there.

 **Nikki Firesong :** Aww, thank you. Yeah, Turbo definitely learns, the hard way, that getting what you want means putting in the insane amoutn of effort. Something he's definitely not used to, due to being just carted around by Lash for the past few eons haha. And, sounds awesome! Great work. Sounds like Ralph has found something very similar to EZ Living haha.

 **Burgie :** Some days are definitely better than others, for Turbo, that's for sure!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **You'll Be In My Heart by Glenn Close and Phil Collins**

* * *

 ***Chapter 75***

"She just messaged me, asking where I was," Turbo's quiet voice barely bounced on the dim walls of his hallway, so tenderly illuminated with the barely rising sun.

As him, Zed, Tessa and Rancis slowly made their way to Turbo's spiral staircase that lead to his second story loft, ultimately where Berri rested, Turbo now felt a lump gather in his throat. Mere moments after he confessed to the three individuals that he was in love with Berri, they were then due to seeing the both of them interact. Turbo grimaced an annoyed face at himself, and no one but himself, he shut his eyes tight and now bashfully came up to the landing. He quietly continued on as his golden gaze lofted across the dim loft, straight to where Berri was sitting. She was propped up against the backrest of the massive, swooping couch and ottomans, all piled together to form one massive bed. Her eyes were wet, she looked in Turbo's direction in mild dejection, as if she was worried that maybe she had been left behind, and although Turbo could hear the footsteps of his peers behind him, all of his worry fell to the wayside, the urge to rush to Berri's aid far outweighed the need to be conservative and sheepish to Rancis, Tessa and Zed.

"Where did you go?" Berri's weak voice staggered, she shook her head in a rise of overwhelming apprehension and peered her teary gaze up to Turbo, who warmly and quickly approached, "I-I...I woke up and you were just gone, i-it was dark in here, y-your eyes... Helped."

"It's okay," Turbo warmly soothed as he approached, though upon easing back into Berri's gravity, it was blatantly apparent that their cozy love nest was easily splayed in blankets and pillows for two, something he was now feeling extremely shy over, the raw fact that her mother, father and great uncle were now carefully easing into their little bubble. Turbo cleared his throat and gently lofted his gaze back to Tessa, Zed and Rancis, and then again to Berri, "I... I had to let Tessa and Zed what went on, before the whole of Arcade got to them, first. I-I hope you're not mad..."

"You okay baby?" Tessa worried as she rounded about Turbo and came to Berri's other side. As she sat down on the cushion, off of their pillows and blankets, she was surprised to see Berri's still wet eyes urgently peer into Tessa's in whole dread.

"Mom, please don't be mad, I-I know I shouldn't have left, I know it was stupid," Berri's voice was wavering and unsure, a shaky shell of the woman she used to be, traumatized and lacking sleep, her eyes were sunken in misery. She shook her head and allowed her nearly limp hand to attempt to grip Tessa's, "I-I hope you and dad can forgive me, I-I... I won't do it ever again, I mean... I-I never want to leave Sugar Rush again, mom-"

"Hey, hey," Tessa eased through a small, loving giggle as she grappled Berri's hand and shook it a little. She narrowed her gaze and smiled into Berri's eyes, "Enough. Relax... W-We... We saw what you went through, Bear, and... You've been punished enough."

"Seriously," Rancis huffed as he bugged his eyes and looked down to his feet; Berri looked up to Rancis and Zed in whole confusion.

"H-How...?" Berri's voice wavered, though Turbo raised his eyebrows and looked down to his hands.

"...Surge came into Sugar Rush, just now, and showed us the train's security footage," Turbo mumbled in whole entire dismay, though in a gentle draw of strung, nervous eye contact, both him and Berri sagged their dreaded gazes into each others. Turbo narrowed his gaze, shook his head and huffed a shaky breath, "Probably the hardest thing I've ever had to watch."

"Y-You guys saw what happened?" Berri wondered, she barely perked up, as if she was grateful she didn't have to explain all of it out, for everyone, though Zed heaved a shaky breath and rubbed his forehead, as if to potentially hold back an onslaught of emotion that was just now catching up to everyone.

"Sucked, Bear... But I do know one thing," Zed's deep voice covered the group in impending warmth, and as him and his daughter caught eyes, Zed finally eased her a teary smile, "That was some quick thinking, right in the heat of life or death. You've severely disappointed me, by sneaking out, when you know FULL well what could've become of you, but..."

Berri froze and peered her terrified gaze up to her father, a man of purpose, a man of his word. He inhaled a deep breath through the broaden of his muscular chest, shook his head, lofted a glance in Tessa's direction and finally gave Berri a kind, impressed smile, alongside a small nod of approval.

"You kicked ass, Bear... You held your own in that metal box of death," Zed staggered a small, shaky laugh, and although he had been holding his own this entire time, he finally coughed a noise, covered his eyes, stepped away and so desperately tried to compose himself, "User dammit."

"You were doing so well," Rancis muttered with a teasing laugh as he firmly, yet lovingly, pat Zed's upper back as Zed marched away.

"I'm taking the day off of Academy, as... I'm positive you'll be, as well, huh," Tessa eased to Berri as she continued to hold her hand, Berri limply nodded and lulled her eyes closed in dread, though as Tessa leaned forward to kiss Berri's forehead a few times, she began to stand, and the three now looked as if they were ready to think about leaving Turbo and Berri alone.

"Y-You guys get some more rest, especially you, Bear," Zed instructed, he pointed to Berri firmly, his eyes were wet, as if he maybe was still holding on to a solid amount of disappointment, in Berri, more than Berri imagined would linger. Berri raised her eyebrows in nervous surprise as Zed choked a noise, to clear his throat, and inhaled a hard sniffle, "We have a lot to discuss, afterwards... Surge wants to take that footage to the news, to warn the whole of Arcade."

"Th-the footage of me fighting off the virus?" Berri's trembling voice staggered, though as Zed's stern demeanor began to now spike, everyone began to become heightened with emotion.

"Yes, Berri Schweetz, THAT one," Zed's voice now boomed, which caused Turbo and Berri to flinch in surprise; Turbo now honed his golden eyes tight to Zed's figure and felt his heart surge with confusion. He was well aware Zed was now just going through the motions, heightened feelings of anger and fear and sorrow, on top of pure relief and adrenaline, though another thing Turbo was now battling with was just when it'd be appropriate for him to step in and defend Berri, here. Although his heart now surged in confusion, he was relieved to see Rancis gently ease his hand to Zed's lower arm, as if to silently plea to him to ease up; Zed persisted, "The one where you STUPIDLY left the game in pursuit of a boy that means nothing to me, right now. THAT footage, okay?"

"Y-Yes sir," Berri's voice whimpered in tender, nearly pathetic tone; Turbo frowned and firmly glanced to her, and in his quick volley, he cocked an eyebrow and now shot Zed a look of mild challenge.

"When you returned to Sugar Rush, who was the first person you called?" Zed now loudly argued as he put his hands on his hips and eased away from Rancis's nervous, gentle hold; Berri opened her mouth in a falter and now bashfully glanced her teary eyes to Turbo's, who easily gave her apprehensive, though loving eye contact in return. Zed inhaled a raspy breath and shook his head, "Gunner? Y'call Gunner first?"

"No, sir," Berri grimaced a small hiccup of a cry, and it was here did Tessa gingerly grip Zed's lower arm in a show of now commandeering the conversation.

"Zedian," Tessa curtly urged in the softest tone she could convey disappointment through, as well.

"Wren? Theo? Who was it?" Zed barked as big tears welled in his eyes, once more, and although Berri bashfully glanced to Turbo, she opened her mouth to answer and was uncertain just where this was going.

"Turbo, sir," Berri bashfully huffed through a gentle whimper, to which Zed gently pointed down to Turbo and narrowed his gaze to Berri; Turbo felt his mind suddenly flip flop, the idea of now challenging Zed and protecting Berri very quickly reversed to a feeling of camaraderie with Berri's father.

"You think long and hard on that notion, your highness," Zed stabbed, "Who exactly is going to be there for you when you fall? When you fail? When you make the STUPIDEST decision of your whole entire life? Your family, of course, but, it's clear Turbo was who you immediately placed first in line."

"Yes, sir," Berri murmured through tears that streamed her cheeks, and although Rancis, Tessa and Turbo were previously on edge and about to go to bat for Berri, they all reeled at Zed's reversal and were now frozen in a weird revival of agreeing, with the King's stern words.

"You are to stay in this loft, for the rest of the morning and afternoon while we figure this mess out," Zed sternly directed down to Berri's teary figure, he pointed a firm finger down to the ground and, although his eyes were wet from the rush of emotion, he held his ground and kept his posture and expression strict and stern, "We'll reconvene before Academy is to let out, this afternoon. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, sir," Berri repeated, she knew it was the only thing she could say without Zed's head exploding, though Turbo and Berri both flinched the second Zed now pointed a firm finger in Turbo's direction.

"Knightly duty for the day. Princess locked in a tower for the next eight hours, do not let her leave your sight," Zed stated firmly, and although this was a tender, sweet notion of trust being lofted right Turbo's way, Turbo froze and knew to strictly follow Berri's idea.

"Yes, sir," Turbo's deep voice now meeped, and with this, Tessa heaved a half-hearted chuckle, sagged her face into her hand and shook her head amidst a widening smile.

"Alright, your majesty, c'mon," Tessa muttered in whole annoyance as she firmly pat Zed's upper arm, "Don't blow a fuse, up there, my dude."

"I'm pissed," Zed stabbed as he now ripped away from the group and began to head to Zed's spiral staircase, "I have a million phone calls to make."

"Just call me if you guys need anything," Tessa lovingly reassured to the two, who now sat shoulder to shoulder in pinprickled, bashful, frigid posture.

"Your majesty," Turbo's deep vice finally grumbled with gratitude, amidst a gentle, loving smile.

As Zed continued to mutter a few things to Berri, upon exiting, Tessa and Rancis quietly began to argue with him, little notions of reminding him to calm down and that things will get picked up later, and now was a time of rest and recuperation. Turbo exhaled a shaky chuckle, and as the three left, him and Berri sat side by side, shoulders scrunched together, in the still, dim silence of their pre-sunrise pow-wow. The second his large front door could be heard shutting, from over the balcony of the loft, Turbo finally relaxed his shoulders, heaved a shaky sigh and gently peered his glowing gaze to his right, where Berri sat still frigid and sniffling. He raised his eyebrows and softened, each encounter with her was something new and tender, he could feel his hardened heart finally warm from death, even just barely; something about her that made his stomach line with butterflies, a feeling he once long forgot. He long blinked in tender realization that retrieving said heart of gold, of Berri's, was now solely up to him. Having been given the go ahead from the most important people in her life, he knew now he needed to puff his chest and take Rancis's advice of trying confidence on for size.

"I can't wait to go back to sleep," Turbo grumbled with a small smile; although the traumatizing video he just watched would likely stay with him for a long time, he knew to swallow his feelings, on the subject matter, and focus on comforting Berri. However hard it was to watch, he knew that enduring said traumatizing event was eons harder to deal with. With Turbo's nonchalant, gentle words, Berri furrowed her blue eyebrows in tender surprise and lofted a glance of renewed endearment his way. He hooked his golden eyes into hers and gave her a soft smile, "I know the answer to this question, but... Are you okay?"

Berri froze and held her teary, blue eyes to his, and although they both knew it was entirely redundant to ask this question, she somehow felt the weight of it all. Berri knew he wasn't blatantly asking if she was just simply okay, though more so an extension of his heart, to subtly ask if there was anything he could do for her in her time of need. Berri raised her eyebrows in prickled surprise and locked eyes with Turbo; what used to be a terrifying glower was now a unique gaze of warmth and light, the edges of his interesting, square pupils were sharp and precise, just like his unwavering love towards the very limited amount of people he chose to let in. Berri felt as if her heart was struck down, something she now was almost diligent in not admitting to herself, though in her heart of hearts, she smiled on knowing full well this was just where she was needed. With the rush of positive emotion so desperately attempting to vanquish the negative, it all cancelled out and only caused the rush to turn into more tears. Berri crumpled, a willing grimace of a small choke of a cry, she knew she was safe here with him.

"No, I'm not okay," Berri eased patiently as he covered her face and sagged into herself, and although she hunched as if she maybe would just expect Turbo to rest a hand on her shoulder, she hiccuped a nervous noise of surprise as she suddenly experienced the unexpected, from him.

"Well, then I'm not, either," Turbo's warmth sapped the loft, a drown of honey he knew the sunrise would only sweeten. With ease, his strong, masculine arms began to scoop her smaller body into his broad chest, and in a single sag, he successfully eased both him and Berri back down to the cushions, their heads securely rested on his comfortable pillows. Without being too overbearing, he managed to snuggle her back into the dip of the couch's back rest, simply so he could convey protection. He cleared his throat, sat up for a moment, tugged the covers up to their shoulders and came back down to the pillows. Her bashful, teary eyes gazed up at him in a dewy, pinprickle of blushing, wet cheeks, and as Turbo did absolutely everything he could to keep this roll of confidence going, he gave her a coy smile and long-blinked in sleepiness, "We can just... Be 'not okay' together. It's okay to not be okay... As long as we have someone to lean on."

Berri heaved a shaky breath of gentle relief into Turbo's chest, she gingerly peered up at him and was now starkly aware of their close proximity. Although still in tears, she eased a bashful smile and evaded said tight proximity by gingerly digging her face into the front of Turbo's neck. In a tight snuggle, she was thrilled to feel Turbo warmly tuck his chin to the top of her head and wrap his arms tight about her shoulders. She secretly smiled into his jugular and wormed her arms about his chest, a secretive little bubble of love they both knew not to speak about. She breathed a shaky breath, lulled her eyes closed, and was more than prepared to maybe keep on the touchy subject of just what happened, though as Turbo's deep, lovely voice filled her head with ease, he pushed the envelope and so gently began to just barely comb his fingers through her long hair, an aimless task to do whilst he successfully kept the two off of the dreadful, impending topic.

"What's your favorite thing to do?" Turbo's warm voice nearly whispered, and as the glow of Turbo's eyes hit the orange backrest of his massive, swooping sectional and couch, and eased back into the loved cloth of Turbo's thin, black tank, she sagged deeper into his care and felt her muscles begin to relax.

"...Favorite thing to do?" Berri asked in question, not as if to wonder if she heard him right, though more so wondering just where this was going. She furrowed her brow and now knew she had to sift through the incredibly huge memory files more recently filled with trauma and blood and gore, and somehow scrounge for better times, buried deep in her cerebellum, "Favorite thing to do... I-I... I can't pick just one."

"You don't have to," Turbo assured through a loving whisper, Berri slowly lulled her eyes closed and soaked in all of Turbo's care.

"Well... I-I love taking Chester on runs about the palace lot. I love going to Orion City... I love singing and playing my guitar," Berri warmly and slowly listed, her hot breath coat Turbo's throat, something he was desperately trying not to focus too hard on. She eased a giggle and cutely tightened her grip about Turbo's ribcage, "I love being here, with you... I-I like when Uncle Oliver has those fantastic cookouts in the rec-hall, by the pool... I like campfires, stargazing, rainy days..."

"Rain," Turbo repeated as Berri came to the end of her list, he shook his head, lulled his eyes closed and huffed a soft noise of remembrance, "Man... I forget what rain is like."

"Wait, why?" Berri wrinkled her nose, having recalled at least a hundred rainy days in the last year.

"It doesn't rain, this high up," Turbo stated through a sigh, as if he was potentially bummed about it, but he didn't let it get to him.

"You don't get rain up here? Like... At all?" Berri questions, they remained tightly snuggled into each other.

"Nope... Wish I did, though. I'm sure the game has the capacity for it, I just... Have yet to witness it," Turbo grumbled, he shook his head and breathed a chuckle atop her head, "I'd go crazy with excitement if it ever rained, up here."

"Man, I hope I'm here when that happens," Berri giggled, the simple sound of her happiness, the ease of her smile, how successfully Turbo had gotten her to forget all about her problems, he continued to run his fingers through the dregs of her hair and felt quite proud of himself, "What do you think you'd do?"

"I'd high-tail it to my roof so I could run in it," Turbo eased a louder chuckle, a contagious shake of love that had Berri now grinning, "I'd do something crazy, I know that much. Such a rare event, I'd have to do something drastic to seal the deal."

"User, now I'm always going to be checking the weather," Berri breathed another giggle and felt the simple, loving sweep of sleepiness come back to her. She heaved a hard yawn into Turbo's throat and collar as she drowsily pressed on, "I certainly don't want to miss that showdown."

Turbo smiled and could feel Berri's body weight sag into a state of potentially wanting to attempt to fall back asleep, which cued him to ease off the conversing. He furrowed his eyebrows in gentle contemplation and revisited his words. He knew it was all just for show, though he now began to rack his brain, just exactly the stark act he'd do if it actually did start raining on his loft. He shook his head and rolled his eyes, he knew it was impossible and said crazy act of excitement would never be a thing, though he still somehow felt his heart surge with confused purpose. As he held Berri close amidst the gentle kiss of a sunrise on their shoulders, he closed his eyes and somehow hoped that said event would include Berri. Experiences he was desperate to share with her, and only her, had him itching to keep her in his presence for the rest of time, no matter how selfish the desires of his heart seemed.

* * *

 **A/N :**

 **You guys remember my painting 'Orion City Secret' ?**

 **A whole year and a half's worth of foreshadowing, my dudes. I literally am so close I'm going to explode. UHG.**


	76. Chapter 76

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Yeah, Zed likes to go dad mode when it comes to Berri - she's his princess, he's very protective of her :)

 **Burgie :** YAY **CONGRATS!** You're my **300th reviewer!** THANK YOU! :D And, you're definitely on to something ;)

 **Jay Sketchin :** LOL I'm sorryyyyyy to say that this chapter will probably make you sad again xD

* * *

 ***Chapter 76***

In the warmth of her mother's and father's home, Berri sat lightly slouched at the kitchen island. Although the afternoon's sun cut a ray of warmth into the massive sprawl of Tessa's and Zed's main room, living room and kitchen, Berri still felt as if she was underneath a dark cloud. Her sunken, aimless eyes glossed Tessa's gorgeous marble counters, the gentle drum of Zed's, Rancis's and Ace's masculine voices, off in the dining area of the room, droned on in a patter of concern. Zed paced in a slow mosey of tight rigidness as he hovered on an unending phone call, while Ace and Rancis poked about in a few code room details on Zed's main digital pad. Although Libby so lovingly stood hovered at Berri's side and meticulously braided Berri's long, gorgeous hair, whilst Tessa had Berri hooked up to a few gentle leads, Berri still felt alone, even surrounded by love and care.

With digital leads attached to Berri's left wrist, the left side of her jugular and the slope of her upper chest, over her heart, Tessa patiently scanned through a few options on her own sprawl of digital code room holograms. The pressing issue of Berri's peculiar stress lines, on her temples, was something of concern, and although Tessa was familiar with these markings, due to her burns on her own temples, she was stumped as to why Berri's weren't simply burns, but a physical, moving display of circuit stress, as if maybe the stress could potentially get so bad that they would eventually become burns; something Tessa certainly didn't want for any of her children. After maybe twenty minutes of picking through Berri's coding and mainframe, with meticulous focus, Tessa heaved an exasperated sigh and shook her head.

"For User's sakes," Tessa breathed as she shook her head; Libby perked up and volleyed her gaze from the little blue braids, of Berri's hair, and straight to Tessa's holographic chore. Tessa thumbed through a few tiers of Berri's coding, it gingerly pulsed in flares of marbleized silvers, alongside the gentle drum of Berri's heartbeat, "This is so bizarre... I guess... I never really took into account that your coding can sort of become overload with stress. I can see overloaded with anger, or happiness, but... Stress, a lasting and seemingly dormant emotion... I never even considered it."

"Maybe it'll subside?" Libby's gentle voice wondered in her sweet accent, she shrugged and gave Berri her concerned eyes, though Berri's dead gaze was aimless and in one spot across the kitchen island, "Maybe, like... Once the trauma of it all dies down."

"Could be," Tessa shrugged and furrowed her brows, "I'm seeing here that there's a small stressor point, in Berri's jugular, here, that's beginning to swell. See here?"

"Yeah, I do," Libby prod nervously, and it was here did Berri remain frozen except the lazy drag of her eyes to the display her mom held out before the two girls.

"It's almost like... This ring of a circuit 'artery' is swollen," Tessa urged nervously, "I think that's what's causing the stress lines, cause it could potentially just be an overload, but..."

"You think either Ace or I could do anything to alleviate this?" Libby wondered; although both her and Ace, as well as their two children, were demi-gods in this world, they still fumbled with the incredible powers they wielded; the typical notion of anything outside of an adrenaline rush was a mystery to all of them.

"I think you guys may be able to soothe her circuits, via an exterior swap, but," Tessa shrugged as her eyes remained glossed to her work, and it was here did Berri's gaze sag back to the dull, aimless stare she was previously comfortable in, "It's really something any of us glitchers can do, for her. It would put a band-aid on the problem, but... There'd still be a gaping wound underneath it."

"...What should we do?" Libby tenderly worried, Zed's deep voice escalated a little as he grew stern with the person he was talking to, on the phone, about Berri's situation.

"Well, I may have to consult Turbo, now that I'm really thinking about it," Tessa mumbled, though she could see Berri's aimless eyesight very quickly come back to Arcade and dart about the broad of the island in tender revival, "If there's any person on this planet that knows the real ins and outs of glitching, and circuitry as a whole, it's Turbo."

"...Wait, why Turbo?" Berri prod in whole confusion, knowing full well he was not a glitch, though it was here did Tessa and Libby suddenly fall silent in a gentle wave of dread.

Tessa froze, raised her eyebrows in pin-prickled surprise and now slowly lofted her nervous, anticipatory gaze to Libby's, who equally grit her teeth and wondered just where her and Tessa went from here. In Berri's innocent question, and bashful revival, Tessa inhaled a shaky breath and was now well aware that Turbo maybe hadn't told Berri just who his previous swap mate was, and the raw fact that he was stuck with glitching and code room powers for the last thirty years. Although Tessa had nervously glanced her now wavering gaze into Berri's becoming-stern eyes, she hovered tight to Libby's equally as worrisome gaze and now began to shrug her shoulders in a roll of entire uncertainty.

"Ho, man, wh-where do I... I-I mean, Libs, do you want to, uh... Well..." Tessa nervously staggered on her words, as Libby nervously shook her head and huffed an anxious chuckle, "You wanna do the honors?"

"M-Mom, I... Well... I guess I can, it's just a little..." Libby staggered with a sheepish, nervous smile and a shrug, "Little awkward."

"Okay, am I the bush in this situation? Stop beating around me, OUT with it," Berri demanded, causing the stress lines on her temples to flare in a show of brightened silver circuits; Tessa winced and lovingly held her hand to Berri's shoulder.

"I'm going to assume Turbo has never told you that he previously had a swap mate, all those years ago, did he?" Tessa tip-toed, though with the way Berri's eyes widened and now bashfully stabbed into Tessa's, she assumed maybe Turbo hadn't have gotten that far.

"N-No? What?" Berri huffed in a shaky, almost giggling tone of disbelief, "H-He told me he previously had a girlfriend. He had a whole swap-mate? I-Is red not his original coding color? Where is this chick, anyways?"

Libby sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, froze and raised her eyebrows in a cute show of unmitigated terror. Tessa raised her eyebrows in nervousness, lofted her gaze to Libby, held her breath and knew this was all just going to spill out, without any one of them able to conduct this in a proper, graceful manner. Berri's eyes remained stabbed to Tessa's, though with the silence between both girls, Berri felt further dread and shock hit her skin. In a slow sag of realization, she dragged her molten gaze to her right and sunk her nearly authoritative gaze into Libby's smiling, sheepish, wavering orbs. Libby huffed a bashful chuckle, scrunched her shoulders, cleared her throat, anxiously tucked her hair behind her ears and gave Berri an entirely uncertain smile.

"U-Uh... Well at least I'm not just some rando," Libby chimed in trembling, smiling girliness with a shrug, though Berri narrowed her eyes in disbelief and shook her head.

"Y-YOU'RE Turbo's previous swap mate?!" Berri stabbed, which cued the attention of all three men across the way, in lingering, nervous peers of concern; Tessa gently grabbed Berri's shoulder and knew to interject.

"You remember me telling you that Libby's coding was dug into your father's memory coding, before you and Ace were born? Where Radex dug his own mess of coding in, to have Zed seek me out? Radex being the combination of Lash and Turbo," Tessa quickly went over, though Berri huffed a long noise of disbelief and now stabbed her gaze into Tessa's.

"Yeah, and Libby was manifested from Dead Zed's reset when you guys were outside of the Arcade," Berri pressed, Tessa bobbed a nod and quickly carried on.

"Kaji is a brand new person with the combination of Libby Swirlzs' old coding, and Turbo's. Libby Swirlz was Turbo's girlfriend, she was the Queen of Sweet Streets, Sugar Rush's demo game. Kaji is an entirely different person, in an entirely different life... She just has those memories of her and Turbo, from so long ago," Tessa explained gently, to which Libby began to feel bad for all of this being unloaded onto Berri in her time of need.

"I-I'm very much happy with Ace, and I reversed Turbo's coding," Libby nodded, "He was ecstatic to know that I was alive, because, well... He was trapped with Libby's coding due to Sweet Streets being unplugged."

"Hence why him and Lash ran away with power, why Turbo became so weak, why they teamed up and wreaked havoc on everything and everyone," Tessa furrowed her brows and gave Berri an apologetic look, "I could've sworn I told you all of this, Bear..."

"You conveniently left out the part where Turbo had a whole-ass swap mate, mom, thanks," Berri darkly muttered in now embarrassed dismay, her heart raced with fluttering uncertainty.

"Sorry, baby... I guess I just thought Turbo would've told you, but," Tessa furrowed her eyebrows and knew now that Turbo likely wasn't telling her due to it being mildly irrelevant for their impending relations' sake, "Turbo and Libby are not together, or anything. Libby reversed his coding and they're just friends."

"I'm not even the same person that Turbo previously was in a relationship with... I'm an entirely new person, I just have some of our old memories, is all. I don't even remember the last time Turbo and I talked, to be honest," Libby quickly explained, and although Berri seemed to be upset by all of this, she finally seemed to calm about it, "We've even discussed it, before. After a day or two, of being with me, he very bluntly told me that I was not his type any longer. Cause I'm Kajiksana... Not Libby Swirlz, the girl he previously liked."

"Well, that and Ace would've kicked his ass," Tessa blurt a small laugh as Ace finally moseyed over, after hearing the words 'Turbo' and 'swapmate' one too many times.

"I mean yeah, after he made out with you upon first seeing you," Ace choked, though both Libby and Tessa bugged their eyes at him and grit their teeth, to physically tell him to shut up; though they sagged in annoyance as Berri grew angrier.

"He made out with you?" Berri argued, to which Libby now shot Ace an urgently annoyed glower; Ace froze and shrugged, as if he was uncertain now what he should and shouldn't say.

"I-It was the first time he saw me, after thirty years of thinking I was dead," Libby gently defended, "He just ACTED. He didn't know I was a different person, and had a swap mate of my own."

"Berri, I mean, imagine having a swap mate game over permanently, only to be stuck with their coding for thirty long agonizing years, and then one day, you stumble upon your swap mate, alive and well. You can't tell me you wouldn't rush them and want to give them a hug and a kiss," Ace gently defended, and with Ace's soft disposition, Berri finally sagged at his wise words and looked off in blushing horror.

"I reversed his coding right then and there," Libby sighed, she looked down in guilt that still lingered, to this day, "Probably shouldn't have done it without asking him first, but..."

"He's a much better man, now, because of it. He was just sapped in old coding, without a revival... Pretty brutal, thirty years?" Ace hissed in sorrow and dismay; this had Berri further sagging in understanding.

"We talked it out, and he's much happier with his original coding, obviously," Libby assured to Berri in warmth and sweetness, she was thrilled that Berri let her continue playing with her hair, "His mind is entirely clear, and now he's ready to live out his normal life and make new decisions, with clear and unclouded thoughts."

"Don't be upset, Bear, I'm sorry that sort of was dumped on you," Tessa encouraged gently, she began to take Berri off of the digital leads, still knowing that Turbo was likely the man for this job.

"It's okay," Berri eased in defeat, the wad of information lobbed her way, she knew that everyone had solid points, and Libby was happily married with children, with Berri's big brother, though she still felt a strange sting; the sheer amount of experience Turbo now held over Berri was both frustrating and delighting, all in one go, all information that Berri was uncertain could even fit in her brain of jumbled thoughts, right now.

As Zed and Rancis slowly began to come back to the group, amidst their own concerned chatter about Zed's previous phone call, the teleportation pad, just down the hall, gently hummed with life. Berri sagged her face into her hands, heaved a trembling sigh, tried her hardest to recoil from everything her mind was just saturated with and lulled her now teary eyes shut. As she could hear Wren and Theo urgently file in, she kept her eyes closed and was thrilled to hear them quickly shuffle to Berri's aid. Without words, Libby and Tessa kindly eased out of Wren's and Theo's way, and with a swoop, both men urgently piled into Berri's bubble and grappled her into a mess of a group hug. Berri shut her eyes tight and allowed herself to burrow into Wren's chest, as well as the sag of Theo's other arm. All three sat in a tight embrace, neither Wren nor Theo having been able to see Berri, after this whole fiasco, up until now.

"I'm glad you're safe, we were so worried about you, all day," Wren's serious voice grumbled into the top of Berri's head, and it was here did she grimace a small, silent cry into Wren's chest and grapple her lightly trembling arms about his middle.

"Everyone was," Theo added in nervous assurance, and because his arms were bigger, he held Wren and Berri in the group hug, the strength of it all.

"Were you at least able to get some sleep?" Wren pressed as he finally peeled from Berri, cupped her jaws in his hands and peered down to her in a sweep of brotherly care; she bashfully peered up to him, amidst tears, and nodded.

"Yeah, her father locked her away in the highest tower of Orion City," Tessa muttered with a cheeky smile; although Berri was unaware of it, Turbo had followed Wren and Theo inside. Tessa inhaled a deep breath and watched as Turbo slowly filed into the kitchen, sagged his palms to the counter and bobbed a nod of a greeting to Zed and Rancis, across the way. Tessa peeked a cute smile and narrowed her gaze on Turbo's figure, "Probably one of the safest places in this whole game."

"... Turbo's?" Wren blurt a small chuckle and peered to his older cousin with a cheeky smile, and although Berri still hadn't noticed Turbo's presence, Turbo finally breathed a chuckle and shook his head, alongside a knowing smirk.

"The only reason it's so safe is because no one knows I'm there," Turbo volleyed, which had Berri's eyes darting to his in whole surprise. Turbo raised his eyebrows in pin-prickled cuteness and gave her a loving smile as her surprised, teary eyes hooked tight to his in delightful shock, "Y'doing okay, Blue?"

"...Y-yeah, I'll live," Berri mumbled bashfully, she looked down to her hands and was successful in holding back a smile.

"You think you have the energy to come back to Academy tomorrow, with us?" Theo tenderly wondered, to which Wren shrugged and bobbed a nod.

"I mean, if not, we can bring your homework home," Wren assured, to which Turbo bobbed a nod of gentle agreeing.

"Certainly her teachers understand," Turbo eased, though with the rush of sneakily seeing Berri try and force back a smile, due to his presence, he wondered if he could push the envelope. He huffed a chuckle and knew a certain inside joke, of theirs, would likely do just the trick, "They're not going to bombard you with papers whilst you're at your worst and be like... HERE AND NOW."

A joke that went over everyone's heads, Berri immediately caved and blurt a hard, sudden laugh of whole entire delight. Through the narrow of her grinning eyes, she easily lofted Turbo a whole smile as they both continued to laugh at his outburst. She urgently shook her head and began to wipe her previous tears of sadness, and it was here did everyone very eagerly watch the two cutely interact.

"Don't even," Berri blurt through shaky giggling as she continued to dry her cheeks, though Turbo's smile only broadened with hers.

"You know, yourself, that's how you get to the source of things," Turbo volleyed, to which Berri rolled her eyes and continued to prod at her face for more tears to dry.

"What happened?" Wren blurt an unsure chuckle, as did everyone else, as if they were now eager to understand just what suddenly had Berri in a state of smiling, after nearly fourteen hours of a dreadful, moping sag.

"Oh, when... Berri and I first were friends, I told her that if she wanted to know my past, she can name a time and place, and I'd tell her," Turbo breathed a chuckle and gestured to Berri, "She arrived on my doorstep, the next day, unannounced, and was like, 'here and now'... I was like, wow, she calls the shots."

"She's her mother's daughter," Zed muttered from across the way, a gentle interjection from his and Rancis's still serious conversing; everyone now blurt into laughter as Tessa gaped in playful annoyance.

"Peel away from your angry phone call long enough to try me," Tessa barked, everyone now was in stitches, and it was this roll of laughter that had Berri now smiling down to her hands, on the kitchen island; although Turbo was still painfully shy around others, his golden eyes glossed the group in a sweep of rushing confidence, something he was certain stemmed from itching to just see Berri happy.

"Y'know, I saw someone that looked JUST like you, on the news, a few hours ago," Turbo stated in clear, unwavering kindness, and as everyone gently settled and peered their curious gazes to Turbo, Berri raised her eyebrows in softness and peered her gaze tight to his. Although she was just lofted a whole entire world of information, about Turbo, and she wanted to maybe hold on to bitter, frustrated feelings, she couldn't help but soften at the sweet narrow of his kind gaze, something that grew warmer with each day, "I mean, damn, she looked like she could be the winner of Game Over, or something."

"Really, though, how do you bounce around a train car and not touch that huge, crazy creature ONCE?" Wren ogled in support, and with the drum of said very news, in the background, everyone eagerly peered to Berri in loving support, "It was like... A five minute video, and not once did either of you touch one another..."

"Mad skill, Bear," Theo agreed, the depth of his voice held stoic, genuine impress.

"Quick thinking, too, with the train door," Libby encouraged with a loving nod, and it was here, in the surround of everyone that she loved, did she feel happiness finally come back to her circuits.

"I wouldn't have even thought of that," Turbo mumbled in sweet humility.

"I don't think I would have, either," Zed finally stated as he pressed into the group, once and for all, having finally come off of a pressing phone call. He peered to Berri in tenderness, knowing, full well, that they both ended on a rather rocky note, due to Zed being upset. He huffed a hot sigh, through his nose, as Berri nervously stared him down. He shook his head and gave Berri a cheeky smile, one that mocked Berri's smile to a T, "Don't even give me that look, your highness, you know that what you did was both incredibly amazing and incredibly stupid, at the same time."

"I understand," Berri huffed in hot annoyance as she shook her head and looked off, she dared to glance to Turbo, though in doing so, she felt her stomach clench at the thoughts that continued to plague her.

He peered back at her in innocent charm, not knowing that Libby, not five minutes ago, just spoiled that her and Turbo were previously swap mates. As much as Berri desperately wanted to bounce back and peer to Turbo for camaraderie, she couldn't get the image of it all out of her head, something that made her feel a very real and strange amount of whole jealousy. She finally sagged her innocent peer, into Turbo's eyes, into an almost dejected look of mild irritation, something that Turbo immediately cued to by raising his eyebrows in poised surprise. Berri knew this was now a weird, convoluted little game of hide and seek, the both of them were now thrusted in, though she had to wonder if maybe Turbo felt this same way and was just potentially good at hiding it, due to her sneaking out and wanting to be with Gunner. Although the benefit of the doubt was given, she furrowed her eyebrows, looked down and then pushed the envelope and further wondered if maybe Turbo was acting so cheery and normal because maybe he truly didn't have a shred of jealousy, towards the situation; something that quickly made her feel confused.

"I will thank User, every single day, that your mother gave you all those glitching lessons," Zed mumbled as he neared Berri, and although her annoyed look very slowly began to sag into whole irritation, she softened once Zed hugged his arm about her shoulders and placed a few firm kisses into the top of her head.

"You're welcome," Both Ace and Libby mumbled in teasing, something they playfully cued to anytime someone said 'thank User'.

Everyone blurt into gently laughter, though as Berri sagged into Zed's fatherly presence and soaked in all of his loving, conclusive words to her, Turbo honed his eyes tight to Berri's disposition and felt a weird wave of confusion fall over him. He knew the two had just endured a very lovely morning full of cuddling, and although he wondered if maybe it was as wonderful and romantic as he hoped it'd be, he now felt as if his feet was standing in quick sand, and maybe she viewed it as something strictly platonic. His heart ached in confusion, the bottom line of her sneaking out to be with Gunner was why she was in this whole mess, the glaring fact that she would do something so bold to be with Gunner, had Turbo wondering if he should maybe take a step back and go against Rancis's wise words. He faltered, knowing full well that he should definitely persist in reaching for his desires, though he heaved a long, hot sigh through his nose and now was deeply understanding just how long and winding this road would truly be.


	77. Chapter 77

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Turbo definitely has the key to fixing her problem, though they dance around it like it's a freaking pit of lava LOL!

 **chuckiboo :** Hey, missed yah! Thank you so much, friend, it always means the world, coming from you. Hope you're well.

 **Nikki Firesong :** Aww, thank you. Yeah Turbo has definitely come a VERY long way. He introduces Berri to snippets of his past, as the story goes on, and as they become closer. But I appreciate that! And yes, I got your email! Sorry I haven't replied, been busy working and doing some projects. I hope it all pans out for you! Sounds wonderful!

 **Snake557 :** Yeah Berri can't stay mad at Libby. I don't think anyone can LOL. It's not her fault, y'know? Berri's frustrated but she knows better for sure.

 **Jay Sketchin :** Balls LMAO! I'm so sorry xD Yeah it's a bit of a roller coaster of emotion. Berri boards the love-triangle train and doesn't really hop off of it until, well... You'll see. But I'll apologize in advance.

* * *

 ***Chapter 77***

As the lackadaisical group meandered in lovely, morning chitchat down Sugar Rush's wires, Berri felt as if her airways were tightening. The whole idea that the safety of Sugar Rush was now something she was slowly peeling out of had her feeling on the edge of mildly hyperventilating, and although she was firmly holding hands with Wren, and glued tightly with Penny, Oliver and Theo, she still felt incredibly vulnerable. The only thing she wanted to do, now, was to glitch hop across Game Central Station and sink into the safety of Academy, for the day. As she slowly began to sag out of Sugar Rush's glowing, golden outlet, everyone, in their small group, continued to casually chatter, though their longing glances of tenderness, in her direction, proved to her that they were far from distracted. Tessa lead everyone straight to Academy with purpose, with Zed tagging along tight at her right hand, Berri knew she was safe in a big crowd like this, and leaving Sugar Rush, late at night, was now something that was never going to be on the agenda.

Much to Berri's surprise, as they neared Academy's glorious stoop and front doors, Tessa and Zed were now busy trying to accommodate to a few news crews that hovered in the wings, desperate for an interview with Berri. Big cameras, hefty mics, even a few gamers with obnoxious paparazzi cameras that flashed in big streaks of lightning alcross the stoops of Academy's front doors, and although Berri was used to getting a small amount of attention inside Sugar Rush, due to her stature, she felt the blood in her veins begin to surge in a strange mixture of excitement and dread. Just what to expect if she were to be signing contracts with the one and only Gunner Ko. In a hurry, the group quickly escorted Berri inside as a crowd began to gather, and much to everyone's relief, news crews and cameramen, of any kind, weren't allowed within the safety fo Academy's walls. Something Berri audibly released a breath of relief about, as did nearly everyone else.

As the group began to move across Academy's glorious, high ceilinged front lobby and grand entrance area, so to find a safe place to loiter before the bell, Berri hung tight to Wren's side and began to hear loud whisperings and curious notions of the gamers and students she passed. On top of hearing her name fall from at last three dozen different people, she could also hear them whispering things both about how she signed on with Gunner, and the raw fact that she obliterated a killer virus singlehandedly. She tightened her grip on the nook of Wren's arm as he now seemingly escorted her to a safe spot, he cocked an eyebrow and lofted his loving gaze down to her in curious, baited wait, as if he was wondering just how she was handling all of this weird, sudden attention. To add to it, Gunner's swarm of security could be seen guarding a nearby shut door, just beyond the front desks and swooping service areas, something of which nearly every gamer cued to and, in true fashion, a few dozen fangirls loitered nearby in hair-twirling, giddy excitement, sheer hopes that they could snag Gunner whilst he was on the way out. Without too much trouble, half of Berri's group kindly broke off and began to mosey towards their respective wings, while Tessa, Zed, Berri, Wren and Theo came upon the guarded, shut door, knowing full well Gunner was behind it.

As the guards easily let all five Sugar Rush residents through, they entered into a quiet, secluded conservatory. A lovely greenhouse-like sprawl of an area, complete with a few different places to sit, a small, open-aired kitchenette with plenty of chairs and tables to lounge, a spot for administration to relax and unwind from teaching and working, as well as a safe place for Gunner and his crew, so to avoid being swamped by fans. Berri cocked an eyebrow and looked about the gorgeous area; clad with peachy, outdoor tiles, lovely, lush foliage everywhere, and a hub of glass that peered out to Academy's incredible sky, no matter how artificial it was. Although there were a few staff members across the way, idly chatting and laughing inside the sprawl of the open kitchenette, Berri's eyes trailed to where Gunner was stationed, near the stretch of a bay window that looked out onto the quad, one floor up. Berri gently began to rush over to him; the last time she saw him was literal minutes before she was attacked in Academy's train tunnels.

"Gunner," Berri eased in nervous, smiling relief; he whirled around in a gentle sting of surprise and honed his nervous, relieved gaze tight to Berri's.

"Berri," Gunner volleyed in return, and in a quick few strides to close the gap, they both rushed to seal in a hug of relief.

Like mental whiplash, Berri's arms came around Gunner's middle and quickly sagged in a weird, tightened fasten of difference. Where Berri had been latched about Turbo's middle for the past twenty four hours, she quickly remembered that Gunner was a lot more gangly, with a slender, athletic build. Berri furrowed her eyebrows in weird remembrance and held onto Gunner, she logged away the fact that Gunner likely wouldn't be the best cuddle buddy, and with that, she was frustrated here that Turbo had set a higher standard. She shoved any ounce of her weird Turbo to Gunner comparisons to the back of her brain and wondered just when she'd stop doing such things. She latched onto Gunner with a smile and relished in the feel of his longer arms that came about her, though as they gingerly unhanded each other, Berri felt a gentle swing of further dread coat her system the second a familiar pop of cerulean blue came tight to her peripheral.

"Zed, nice to meet you," Zed so curtly stabbed, the lace of gentle love in his voice had Berri knowing, full well, that this was sharp sarcasm. With skill that only a parent could possess, Zed gently eased his first three fingers into Gunner's chest, pushed him back a foot, or two, cocked an eyebrow and gently held his hand out for a handshake, "I'll bet it's safe to assume that you are the infamous Gunner Ko I've heard about."

"Y-Yes sir," Gunner staggered in a wash of now very visible terror, though he bashfully smiled on and gave Zed a confident, firm handshake; Berri huffed a breath of silent disbelief, shook her head and gazed up at the back of her father's head in whole entire irritation, though she froze and felt said wave of terror ease right on from Gunner and straight into her soul. Gunner straightened out his shirt and nervously dared to glance to Berri, though his eyes hung tight to Sugar Rush's King, a new wave of authority he wasn't used to, "Y-Your Majesty."

"I'm glad to see you have guards with you, at all times, like such, is this a regular occurrence?" Zed quickly questioned, and although his voice was sweet and curious, Berri was well aware he was now going full dad-mode, and the only thing she could do was stand and watch, lest she interject and immediately get shot down; although that notion quickly came to her mind, it rushed away from her quicker than it arrived, and with such, she allowed frustration to boil over and fuel her.

"Yes, sir, for protection," Gunner eased with a nod, his nervous hands sunk far into his front pockets to avoid horrific fidgeting, "I-I have about a dozen that stay on the grounds of my house, as well."

"Dad, the reason the guards weren't on the train with me, yesterday, was because I ordered them to stay behind, like an idiot," Berri finally felt purpose come back to her skin, for she knew exactly where this was going. Zed cocked an eyebrow and lofted a firm gaze in her direction, one of full authority, authority she now confidently challenged, "If they'd have come onto the train with me, they'd all be dead. So, although it was a stupid decision on my part, I guess my intuition saved the lives of Gunner's guards. Everyone got out of that mess alive and it won't happen again. Now can you just STOP shitting on me, and now Gunner? For User's SAKE."

Everyone, in their small group, fell silent in hot wait. Although Zed wasn't ever challenged often, everyone was well aware it took a lot of guts to even so much as attempt it, though as Tessa crossed her arms, raised her eyebrows and looked off in tender, humble pride, everyone in the group now knew that if there was anyone to go toe-to-toe with Zed, it was Berri, his own success and demise. Zed gently peered into her eyes and fell silent, a very blatant promise that he was thwarted, though before he could sag his tail and turn heel in defeat, he furrowed his brow in Gunner's direction and pointed a firm finger to the ground.

"The next time this incredible woman goes into EZ Living with you, she is to have the deletion protection we are working hard on producing. And outside of that notion, you are to treat this woman with respect behind closed doors," Zed quietly stabbed to Gunner, and though Berri was entirely done with her father's protectiveness, she sagged in his care and knew the words coming out of his mouth was definitely advice anyone needed to hear, anyways, "I've said this once before, and I'll say this again, now to you. If you're to pursue my daughter, you're to go through me. Kapeesh?"

"Yes, sir," Gunner staggered in nervousness, though he cocked an eyebrow and volleyed Berri a curious look, as if to wonder just what Zed meant by the fact that he's now said that statement twice. Berri furrowed her eyebrows in an equal stab of confusion, at said notion, but before Berri could urgently question Zed, he gently turned heel and began to head towards the exit of the conservatory.

"Sugar Rush is the second outlet on the right, from the train station," Zed called, as if to insinuate that he'd be expecting Gunner to come chat with him, eventually, "Y'can't miss it."

"Tessa, nice to meet you," Tessa eased quietly to Gunner with a whole swathe of warmth that Zed was lacking, and although she gave Gunner an equal look of authority, she remained soft and shook her head up at Gunner, "Don't fret about Zed, he's just grouchy... We've had a lot of cleaning up to do, after this fiasco."

"Which I could not be more sorry about," Gunner pleaded tenderly as him and Tessa warmly shook hands, Tessa bobbed a nod and lulled her eyes closed.

"Everyone's alive... That's all that matters," Tessa assured as she unhanded Gunner and gently began to follow her husband to the conservatory's exit, "Let's just lay low, for now. We'll bounce back, somehow."

"Yes, ma'am," Gunner eased in conclusion, and once Tessa and Zed were finally gone, Berri cocked an eyebrow and gave Gunner a sheepish look of regret.

"...I'm sorry, I didn't realize my parents followed us inside," Berri stated through the grit of her teeth as a further sheepish smile sprawled her face.

"It's no issue," Gunner blurt a small chuckle and bashfully rubbed the back of his head, "N-Not the... Uh... First interaction I wanted to have with your dad, of all people."

"Yeah, he's... Dealing with a lot, right now," Berri tenderly defended, and although she was frustrated that Zed swooped in and commandeered the situation, she knew she had no other stance to take but the stance of defending her own father, "He'll warm up, I... I just have sort of put everyone through hell, with that stunt I pulled."

"Hey, at least you got it out of your system," Theo stated lazily with a shrug, he sleepily rubbed his eye and was having the hardest time waking up, this morning.

"Yeah, no more of... THAT," Wren eagerly agreed, and although everyone wanted to remain somber and upset, the feeling quickly passed as Berri quickly remembered just what escapade into EZ Living consisted of. He cocked an eyebrow, crossed one arm over his chest, lazily waggled his free hand and shot Gunner a cute look of innocent coy, as if to potentially want to beat around a bush, though he figured he'd just come out with it, "So, uh... DUE to this crazy sneaking out bullshit, a little bluebird told me that a Mr. Gunner Ko signed her onto his label."

"That I did," Gunner huffed with a small chuckle, he shook his head and bulged his eyes, "Man... That was just a little over twenty four hours ago, but it feels like an eternity."

"You're telling me," Berri mumbled as she looked off, and although she was trying to climb to excitement, past the fog of misery and trauma, Wren and Theo eagerly beat her there.

"Well, I'll have you know... I can play the keys with my eyes closed. In my SLEEP, rather," Wren boasted, though Gunner breathed a small, cute chuckle, crossed his arms and gave Wren a flat smile, as if to cheekily tell him to knock it off, but also in allowing him to press on, if he must, "Theo is the grandson of Wreck-It Ralph himself, I mean... Have you SEEN the kid play drums? I also know my way around a mixboard like I was a category five hurricane just RAVAGING-"

"I'll have Bedgy bring the papers tomorrow," Gunner mumbled with a sweet smile, and it was here did Wren and Theo perk up in whole excitement, quietly blurt out in boyish notions, high-fives and squee about the fact that they were now the reformed entirety of Archived Chaos.

"I'm almost glad I had what happened to me, happen," Berri mumbled with a weak smile as she gently glossed her eyes up to Gunner's, Wren and Theo now quietly began to chatter about their new and improved band set up. Gunner's sweet gaze came down to hers with an innocent smile, though it began to droop as he finally noticed the very faint stress lines on her temples; she nonchalantly carried on, "I'm excited about being in a band with all of you, but... I was SO incredibly nervous."

"What happened to you made you stronger," Gunner assured with great warmth and a small nod, he furrowed his brow and tenderly reached to Berri's temples in nervousness, "Berri, you... You have these faint circuit lines on your face, right here, is everything okay?"

"O-Oh, everything is fine, it's... Just stress," Berri staggered nervously, and although it had only been a day since the incident, she frowned and now wondered just when said lines would disappear. Upon further thought, she remembered her mother stating that Turbo would definitely know what to do, and with such thoughts, she grit her teeth in stark remembrance and felt her stomach clench in mental agony, only certainly making her stress lines more apparent, "W-We have someone in the chain of command that knows how to get them to go away, so I should be fine."

"Certainly... If it's just stress lines, then it seems like you only need to do things that relieve stress," Gunner lovingly suggested with a shrug of his broad, thin shoulders, he wore a comfortable dark green zip up and a lovely heather grey t-shirt, with an EZ Living logo, on his chest, "Maybe take a long, hot bath, have a cup of tea, maybe just sleep in, this weekend. Read a book?"

"You're probably right," Berri nodded, and although she knew that when it came to coding, it all wound right back to everything inside her circuits and stressor points, though she tabbed Gunner's ideas and knew said things would probably help, as well.

"A-Anything to destress, y'know?" Gunner prod softly, though he lit up and softly pointed in her direction, "Wh-which reminds me... Are we still down for our date on Friday?"

"O-Oh, yeah, of course... I-I can maybe see if I can code you to Sugar Rush, so you don't have to worry about the potential of being deleted, either," Berri rushed to explain, to which they both nodded and breathed exasperated chuckles of knowing.

"Thank you, that'd be great," Gunner huffed bashfully, the two hung close to each other, though Gunner cocked an eyebrow and gave her a sweet smile, "What did you want to do, Friday, then? M-Maybe go out to eat, go to the mall? You obviously know Orion City better than I do, but I'm down for whatever."

"Yeah, maybe go for ice cream after, or something," Berri encouraged in a rise of soft excitement, love and happiness that began to feel normal again.

"That'd be great, I can't wait," Gunner smiled ear to ear, he eased his masculine hands into the front pockets of his faded jeans and, in a fit of containing himself, he bobbed on the balls of his feet a little and shrugged, "I guess we can figure it out the day of, or something... Or I can just meet you a few hours after Academy lets out."

"Yeah, gives us time to catch up on weekend homework and whatever," Berri rolled her eyes and eased a loving smile and although Gunner adhered to it as well, he softly sagged and gave her a coy look of nervousness.

"... You think we should tell your dad?" Gunner mumbled through the grit of his teeth in nervousness, to which Berri froze and cocked an eyebrow in an equal share of nervousness.

"The poor guy already was lofted all of this bullshit... Let's just... Keep it quiet, for now, I guess," Berri shrugged, "It's just a date. I'll tell my mom, she's a bit more level headed, right now... That way you can be coded for Sugar Rush."

"Good call," Gunner huffed, his nervous smile never wavered.


	78. Chapter 78

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** Awww lol! Wait the fact that Turbo and Berri were inside Vidrix in the picture?

 **chuckiboo :** I didn't even consider that! omg that'd be scary haha

 **Snake557 :** It's all good! Aww, I'm glad you like Libby so much. She's a sweetie.

 **Burgie :** Aww that's sweet. Even Turbo manages to inadvertently thwart said date, tho, LOL

* * *

 ***Chapter 78***

"What a drop, man," Nox mumbled in a spike of nervousness.

With a great deal of caution, he just barely leaned over, raised his eyebrow and peered down the incredible, sixty-four floor drop to Orion City's dark streets. Although Turbo had encompassed his balcony in a tempurature-protectant bubble, Turbo still had erected a balcony warmer. In the calm of the evening, Throttle, Nox and Turbo sat around for drinks and a smoke. Although Turbo was the one to regularly smoke, Throttle and Nox joined in on occasions like such. With Turbo and Throttle lazily couched on Turbo's extraordinarily comfortable, billowy outdoor furniture, Nox finally bugged his nervous eyes and eased deeper into Turbo's sprawl of a massive balcony, so to sit and join his two brothers in watching the stars revolve about the sky.

"Yeah, I try not to think too hard about it," Turbo blurt a hefty chuckle as smoke billowed out of his lungs, a lofty, lovely drape of warmth that began to cloud away in the gentle wind.

"Y'ever throw anything off of the balcony?" Throttle blurt in a soft laugh, Turbo furrowed his eyebrows hard into his skull and gave Throttle a confused grin of delight as Throttle hugged his half-empty beer bottle closer to his chest.

"You okay over there?" Turbo mumbled in tender question, Nox blurt a laugh and plopped down a few feet from Throttle's being, which was now loosely sandwiched between his two brothers.

"I'm fine, just curious, leave me alone," Throttle argued in annoyance, having being now caught slipping into a cute, cheeky, buzzed stupor.

"Berri flicked one of my cigarettes off the balcony, once," Turbo muttered, and although he looked off in whole detest, a bashful smile curled his lips.

"She loves you, dude," Nox bobbed a nod and eased his half-done cigarette to his lips. In the gentle silence of Nox taking a hefty inhale of said cigarette, Turbo was heard grumbling a few incoherent notions of mild disagreeing, though Nox exhaled a cloud of smoke and shot his glowing, golden gaze tight to his older brother, "Why else would she bravely flick a cigarette out of your hand? This shit's terrible for you, twenty four seven."

"Calms me down," Turbo mumbled as he lulled his eyes closed and sagged deeper into his comfortable outdoor couch, all three boys were sagged in lazy hoodies and sweats, a night off of just brother time.

"Speaking of Berri, y'hang out with her recently?" Throttle wondered tenderly; he was used to chatting with Wren and hearing all about how they were in and out of Turbo's home, though for the past few days, he's experienced radio silence on the subject matter. With the way Turbo looked off in mild dismay, Throttle was well aware both him and Nox were now due for an overflow of Turbo's worries.

"No... She's avoiding me," Turbo mumbled sadly, "I guess someone let slip, to her, that Libby and I were previously swap mates. I think she's just upset that I hadn't told her."

"Well... I mean, I guess it's not extremely relevant, is it? It's old news, you and Libby have no chance of desire to even get back together," Nox shrugged, "She's clearly married with two children."

"Ace would kill you," Throttle's deep voice grunted a small laugh, to which Turbo heaved a shaky breath and looked off into Sugar Rush's distance.

"I need to reach out to Berri, I know she's probably just frustrated I didn't say anything sooner," Turbo mumbled softly, his aimless gaze stared down to the cigarette in his hand, hovered over his lap, "I-I... I told her that I previous had a girlfriend, but..."

"Little did she know that said girlfriend is now her sister-in-law," Throttle huffed the smoke of his cigarette, the lovely smell of it all eased off the balcony, past the temperature protectant and into Sugar Rush's frigid wind.

"I probably shouldn't have kept it from her, but..." Turbo narrowed his gaze, shrugged and began to grow irritated, "I-It's not relevant, it doesn't change anything. Libby and I had six months of history and then thirty whole YEARS of separation. I'm an entirely different person, and so is Libby."

"She wants to know your history, it means something to her," Nox shrugged, he gave Turbo a kind smile and, although he was teasing previously, he narrowed his gaze and was glad Turbo caught eyes with him in a string of endearment, "She loves you, dude. I'm not kidding. You can see the love in her eyes. She probably is just a little confused, maybe jealous?"

"Jealous," Turbo rolled his eyes and finally broke from Nox's palpable love, "Jealous of what. She has a super, rockstar boyfriend she can now be with. I really thought we had something going... I-I... I wrote music for that girl."

Throttle raised his eyebrows and softly honed his eyes tight to his little brother; Turbo looked off in dejection, as if any shred of trust he had so bravely lofted Berri's way was now unrightfully crumbled to the wind with one small hiccup. Throttle knew Turbo loved to sing, songwrite and play, all those many years ago, though he felt his heart thud in revival with the hope that Turbo's love for his one true hobby had surfaced, again, and in the face of potential new love. Throttle and Nox knew to tread lightly, so to keep Turbo's trust, here, the reveal of tender, intimate workings of his and Berri's blossoming bud of impending romance had everyone trying to fan their fire.

"You wrote her a song?" Throttle prod lovingly, "That's so sweet of you... You play it for her?"

"Sure did," Turbo assured, he grew grumpy, he was well aware Berri had free will in this wild and crazy game called love, though he felt irritated that he stuck his neck out a little, only to be mildly turned away for another boy with a shinier guitar.

"Well... Certainly Gunner hadn't written her anything," Nox wondered softly.

"Yet," Turbo blurt, the cloud of irritation now began to sap the tower in a negative vibe that no one could climb out of; Nox inhaled a sharp breath and shook his head.

"So, what, you just going to give up? You had sex with Libby five thousand years ago and Berri gets a little upset. So what if she has a silly little date with Gunner on Friday, or anything pertaining to Gunner," Nox blurt in confidence, "What matters is the deep roots you two have established. She's understanding, just... Sit her down and talk to her. She's worth that, isn't she?"

"...She has a date with Gunner?" Turbo wondered as his now nervous, sorrowful gaze stabbed into Nox's, and as all three boys fell silent in a rise of dread, as if Nox and Throttle somehow thought that Turbo had this information, they flinched as Turbo grunted to a stand and shook his head in further irritation, "Great. Just GREAT."

"...I thought he knew," Nox muttered quietly to Throttle, who heaved a hard sigh, covered his forehead with his palm and watched as Turbo strolled away from the couch and to the railing of his balcony.

"It isn't like... A marriage proposal, brother," Throttle assured after a few moments, he finally stood and gently began to join Turbo's positioning near the railing, in which Nox trailed along.

"Dates lead to relationships lead to sex lead to swaps lead to proposals," Turbo rattled of in raspy irritation, he shook his head and eyed both of his brothers in a suspicion amount of hurt and confusion, "I... I don't want to lose her. I don't want to lose my chance. I fear as if I may be too late."

"It's never too late, seriously STOP worrying," Nox blurt in annoyance, he gestured to himself and cocked an eyebrow, "LOOK. I may be younger and silly and naive, but I have experience in this department. You BOTH need to be taking notes."

"What do you suggest Turbo do, then?" Throttle wondered in a snappy tone, though his eyes held tight to Nox's as if he was still genuinely curious.

"Pull away, a little! Be elusive, c'mon, you're the BEST at that!" Nox argued as both Throttle and Turbo held their eyes tight to their youngest brother, "Pull away enough so that she questions just where you went, and why. She'll be crawling right back to you, wanting more of what you have to offer. I KNOW that the night she killed that deleter on the train, she didn't just show up to your loft for a cup of tea and a small pat on the back, Turbo... I KNOW you went above and beyond to make her feel loved and protected."

Turbo raised his eyebrows in gentle surprise and was worried maybe somehow this information got out, though with the way Nox side-eyed his brother, as if to suspiciously question whether he was right or wrong, had Turbo understanding that maybe Nox's mind would work the same way, in the presence of a woman he was trying to court. Nox finally adorned a cheeky, cute smile, raised his eyebrows in understanding and was floored the second Turbo looked down to his feet, as if he had been caught.

"You probably took her inside and swept her away for a whole entire morning of getting lost in the downs, nothing but your embrace," Nox pressed, though he huffed a surprised chuckle the second Turbo nodded and bashfully glanced to both Nox and Throttle.

"I... I don't even remember the last time I had a woman in my arms, like that, for so long," Turbo huffed a cute, bashful chuckle as all three boys lit up, "I-I... I didn't want any of it to end. She just slept and slept and I had to pee so bad, but I didn't even care, I just... Didn't ever want her to leave."

"She's doomed if she thinks she can find our brand of romance anywhere else," Nox stated boldly as he teasingly waggled his eyebrows, "Let her go and have her fun... It's just a date. Pull back, and when she comes back into your den of mystery, she'll wonder just why she ever left. Don't force her back, you have to let her realize your absence, crave your presence and come back all on her own."

"What do you suggest I do? Friday night is going to come and I'm... I'm just going to be up here, feeling terrible," Turbo shook his head in a rise of sorrow and heaved a long, almost fogged sigh, "I-I... I want her to be happy, but... I want her to be happy with me, as well. I'm just too much of a chicken shit to do anything about it."

"Well, you're gunna need to pull yourself up by your bootstraps eventually, but... I don't know, maybe throw a little house party, on Friday night," Nox shrugged with a cute smile, "Invite Wren and Theo, really anyone. Berri's the only one who won't be able to make it. If she catches wind of your little shindig, a fun get together in the one place she loves most, I GUARANTEE she'll be itching for her's and Gunner's date to be over. I can almost promise you she'll be doing anything and everything to get to this tower, dude."

"... You really think that would work?" Turbo furrowed his brow in confusion, "I don't want to be malicious about it."

"It's not malicious," Throttle shrugged, "She's pulled away a little, she doesn't owe you anything... But, the same exact thing goes for you. So, pull away a little. You don't owe her anything, either. You guys aren't committed to each other."

"Yet," Nox raised his finger and gave Turbo a confident, kind smile, to which Turbo couldn't help but look off with a cheeky, irritated smirk.

"...Who should I invite?" Turbo muttered daringly as he shot Nox and Throttle a look of gentle confidence.

"Well we're for sure inviting Wren," Nox grunted in Throttle's direction, though he furrowed his brow as if he was about to attempt to fool absolutely no one. Nox slumped his arm and hand to his side, in irritated defeat, and gave Throttle a look of challenge, "Alright, don't make me give you my match-making advice either, dude. You're not void of this 'pairing up' nonsense."

"For User's sake," Throttle grunted, and although he peered to Turbo for help, Turbo easily lofted him an equally as cheeky grin.

"Yeah, dude, we're all out here to get some, you're really going to slink away into the shadows and now at least ATTEMPT to snag Wren while you can?" Turbo mumbled, and it was here did Throttle's face very clearly turn hot red, "You're caught. My house party is the time to make it happen."

"I don't know what you guys want from me," Throttle mumbled in annoyed disdain, he shook his head and shot both boys a bashfully irritated smile; they both bugged their eyes and blurt out into laughter.

"TO GET WITH WREN," The both of them staggered in hard laughter, which had Throttle easily tearing from the two and sauntering back into Turbo's adode; both Nox and Turbo eagerly tore after him with hard bouts of laughter.

"I don't know how that's going to be possible, but I guess I can... Just hang out near him, or something," Throttle staggered in irritation as all three boys came inside, once and for all, though Nox sharply utilized his and Koko's glitching abilities, jumped a handful of steps before Throttle and stopped him dead in his tracks, at Turbo's closest kitchen island.

"Stand near him, awkwardly say nothing, look stupid, y'know, that MIGHT work!" Nox snapped his fingers sarcastically as his berry-crimson honeycomb coding swarmed his legs and feet. He crossed his arms, looked off and eased a gentle shrug, "Orrr... We can maybe do something about that mop on your head, get you cleaned up, nice shirt and tie, and you can jump into moving forward with Wren. I know that's what you want, right?"

"Well... I-I just-"

"Right?" Nox stabbed as he stuck his neck out, bugged his eyes and gave his oldest brother a stern smile.

"Yes, that's what I want," Throttle finally admitted, his tone was shaky, and it was here did Turbo gently rest his hand on Throttle's shoulder.

"Then we'll do everything we can to make that possible," Turbo assured as Throttle lofted his nervous, white gaze to Turbo's, "But... Nox's right. Your hair is getting out of control..."

"I like it, it's easy," Throttle mumbled in annoyance, he tucked his longer, jet-black hair behind his ears and furrowed his brow in irritation, "Y-You guys don't like it?"

"It's not that we don't like it, just... You'd look so much sharper with a clean cut," Turbo encouraged, "You two were blessed with straight, cooperative hair. Mine's wavy and does whatever the crap it wants, if it gets too shaggy."

"Yeah, and with such a stark black color?" Nox said to Throttle as he waggled his eyebrows and gently pulled out his phone; he began thumbing a message, to who, neither Turbo nor Throttle knew, "We need to get you a nice, clean cut to go with it. Wren won't know what to do with himself, seriously."

"I-I... I don't know where you'd want me to go, for said haircut," Throttle's voice began to shaky, though the look of gentle, boyish excitement hung in his eyes, "I don't want to go into the city, it's just... Sort of embarrassing."

"We don't need to go anywhere for a haircut, we can bring the haircut to us," Nox rushed as he cocked an eyebrow and smiled down to just whoever he was messaging, and although Nox wondered if he should ask for guests over, to Turbo's house first, he eagerly sent out the invite to a girl he knew loved to spruce people up for catching glances, someone he was well aware, through Koko, had an eye for looking sharp, clean and precise, someone with extreme expertise behind everything Wren liked and disliked.

"...Who are you bringing here?" Throttle worried as his face turned beet red, though before Nox could answer, there was a tender knock on Turbo's massive, secretive front door.

All three boys froze, though Nox shot Turbo a cheeky smile and was at least thrilled that Turbo held onto a curious smile, as well. In the scuffle of excitement, only Turbo and Nox rushed his front door, and with the tender slide of said slab of concrete, who was revealed had Throttle's whole entire demeanor just shriveling into horrified apprehension. With a familiar beam of a smile, the tender clasp of her hands and arms behind her back, Penny proudly eased into Turbo's home as both boys eagerly let her inside. Turbo shut his front door, grappled his hair, shot Nox a beaming, curious smile and was prepared to full-on geek out with Nox, behind the scenes. Penny huffed a tender giggle, tucked her gorgeous, dark blonde hair behind her ears and finally shot Throttle a sweet, teasing look of understanding.

"REAL brave of you to be trying to catch Wren's eye, there, Tee," Penny snipped in sassy sweetness, she heaved a gentle sigh, looked about Turbo's place and politely made her way to Turbo's nearest island, in which Turbo and Nox eagerly began to hover about; Throttle only hesitantly began to join the three, the look of whole embarrassment hung on his face, though Penny gave him a sweet, knowing look as she set her small bag down and shook her head, "I'm going to think it's safe to say that this wasn't YOUR idea."

"No, not at all," Throttle huffed bashfully as he tucked his hands into his front pockets and bashfully shelled away, though Penny shook her head and warmly approached him, simply as if she was now prepared to mold clay where she could.

"C'mon, love, stand up taller, take your hands out of your pockets," Penny instructed, as if she was now quickly due to giving Throttle solid posture advice, a stance of confidence he very greatly lacked, and as Penny's much shorter figure came upon Throttle's, both Turbo and Nox thought it hysterical that sweet, short little Penny held a whole entire skyscraper's worth of height over Throttle, when it came to eking confidence and purpose. Penny lovingly eased her hand to Throttle's chest, eased her fingers under his chin and was grateful Throttle was easily a malleable subject, ready to take any and all advice, "Hold your head up, shoulders down... You're due to trying to wrangle in one of the most confident, sassiest dudes I know. The sass didn't stop with mom, didn't stop with me, doesn't stop with him. If you want to win Wren over, y'gotta sort of play his game right back at him."

"I'm not nearly as witty or quick as Wren," Throttle staggered bashfully, and although he was now put in an odd situation, he felt solace in the fact that Wren's big sister was very quick to come to Throttle's aid.

"You'd balance him nicely," Penny eased with a loving smile, though the excitement and sass, in her eyes, was extremely apparent, "Nox told me you're due a haircut, and... I may be no cosmetologist, but... I like to think I know what I'm doing."

"Tessa told me that her hair cut is the way it is because of you," Turbo wondered gently, to which Penny proudly nodded.

"The first go was not pretty, and happened on accident!" Penny assured with a giggle, her kind eyes eased up to Turbo's, "But, ever since, she comes to me for clean ups."

"She looks sharp, too," Nox affirmed in Throttle's direction, to which he bobbed a gentle nod of agreeing, "You're in good hands..."

"Your house is lovely, by the way," Penny eased to Turbo in politeness, she ogled the view from Turbo's living room and shook her head, "Now I know why Blue doesn't ever want to leave."

"Speaking of Blue... We're having a house party on Friday, and she's not invited," Nox stabbed with a hard laugh, which cued everyone into solid laughter. Penny furrowed her brows in forever confused glee and shook her head as Nox continued on, "She has a date with Gunner, soooo..."

"Holy shit, how did she manage that?" Penny ogled, though it was here did Turbo sadly look down and off to the side. Penny staggered on a few words as Nox grit his teeth and shook his head, "I-I mean... He's so busy, isn't he? He probably like... Lazily penciled her in, or something. She'll surely want to come home as fast as she can, so she can come to said party."

"You and Orph are invited," Nox assured, though Turbo furrowed his eyebrows and shot his younger brother a bewildered smile, as if to wonder just who called the shots in Turbo's home. Nox firmly shook his head, up to his big brother, and knew full well that he was due to overloading everyone with nonsensical advice and notions of progression, "Don't look at me like that, I'm doing EVERYONE favors, here. You will thank me later," He pointed to Throttle and then to Turbo, "YOU will thank me when you have Wren on his knees, and YOU will thank me when you have Berri swan diving into your bed. You'll think of me, and be like, 'oh shit, Nox really had that in the bag'."

"Is that REALLY how you view this situation?" Penny cried laughing, as did everyone else, Nox shrugged and bobbed a nod.

"Hey... Y'gotta just LEAP, you gotta ACT," Nox assured, "It's how I got what I wanted. I'm due to eventually marrying one of Sugar Rush's heiresses. Y'all want to be in that boat? You're gunna take my advice."

"Yes, sir," Turbo muttered through trying desperately not to laugh.

"Alright, so..." Penny quipped with a cute smile, and as she reached into her back, she pulled out a pair of hair scissors, snipped them twice and gave Throttle, Turbo and Nox a cheeky look of delight, "Where should I set up camp?"


	79. Chapter 79

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** hahaha yeah poor Turbo just cant catch a break xD

 **Nikki Firesong :** aww, Penny's never gunna live that down lol. and yes! Nox comes into his own, in that department, so he only sees fit to share the wealth.

 **Burgie :** aw that's sweet :)

 **Jay Sketchin :** thank you friend! and, that artwork IS canon. That was spoilers for my story, so that scene actually does happen :) sorry if that wasn't clear haha

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Not Ok by Kygo and Chelsea Cutler**

 **My House by Flo Rida**

* * *

 ***Chapter 79***

After the millionth time of peering hard into her vanity, the gorgeous sprawl of her incredible bathroom, Berri heaved a satisfied sigh into her mirror and eyed over every single last little detail of her outfit. Clad in a gorgeous pair of sleek, black skinny jeans, a charcoal grey coat, this season's latest fashion from one of her favorite designers, and a peek of a gorgeous, sleek, flowy, off-white cami underneath, she breathed a silent giggle and scrunched her shoulders in entire excitement. With the clack of her pristine, black stilettos, she was excited to forget the event of earlier this week and just have a fun, unwinding date with Gunner on the town. Her phone vibrated in her rear pocket, and as she quickly shut off her bathroom light and crossed her messy room with the clack of her thin, tall, killer heels, she beamed a girly grin into her phone and was thrilled to see that Gunner had made it to the city and was patiently waiting at a certain meetup they had decided on. She swiftly messaged him, letting him know she'd be on the way shortly, and with one last ogling look in a nearby body mirror, she felt satisfied with her outfit, makeup and hairdo. Her dangerous heels found her teleport pad, and in a whisk, she was carried down to her's, Wren's and Theo's common room.

"It's not my fingers, I-I... I think maybe I just lack the coordination, it's not fair," Theo urgently grumbled down to Wren's figure, both men stood tight in each other's vicinity, and as Berri gently stepped off the teleportation pad and into the massive, gorgeously lit common room, she furrowed her blue eyebrows in whole confusion.

Wren and Theo were dressed up, and although they weren't nearly as dolled up as Berri, they still donned bowties and cute, lazy button ups. Berri's heels came to a clacking halt as Wren diligently did his best to tie and tidy Theo's pretty, bright green bow tie. Wren cocked an eyebrow, volleyed a gentle glance in Berri's direction and huffed her a small, hesitant chuckle, as if he was making clear he wanted to give her his whole attention, though he needed a minute. Berri furrowed her eyebrows in further confusion, and as she pressed closer, Wren finally finished Theo's bow tie, and the both of them lofted their cute, dewy attention to Berri before falling silent in awe.

"Wow, Bear, you... You look INCREDIBLE," Wren ogled, he cocked an eyebrow and eased closer to her. She breathed a bashful giggle and tucked her gorgeous, long, straight blue hair behind her ears, "Gunner's not gunna know what to do with himself."

"Y'gunna snag yourself your first kiss?" Theo wondered cheekily, though Berri rolled her eyes and looked off; the lack of any amount of giddiness, or blushing cheeks, had both boys understanding that her next statement was to be taken seriously.

"I don't think Gunner and I are ready for that kind of thing," Berri huffed with a small chuckle, she shook her head and volleyed her sweet eye contact to Wren and Theo in nonchalance, "Just a simple date. Maybe hold hands, nothing too crazy."

"Yeah, don't give yourself away on the first date, that's no fun," Theo mumbled, though he snapped his fingers in agitation and began to push past Wren and Berri, so to make it to the teleportation pad, "Almost forgot my phone."

"Where are YOU guys going that you're all dolled up for, anyways?" Berri giggled as she crossed her arms and watched Theo's lime green coding whisk away. She cocked an eyebrow and brought her attention back to Wren, "Gunna go out on the town and spy on us?"

"Tempting, but no... Turbo's throwing a house party," Wren shrugged, he tried desperately to be as carefree and nonchalant as he could, "Invited a group of people for food and drinks and games. Should be fun."

"...I-I'm sorry, what?" Berri felt her stomach drop in whole entire dread, the sheer fact that Turbo was now doing something so incredibly outside of his comfort zone, and she was due to wholly miss the entirety of it, "Turbo's throwing a party? A-At... At the loft?"

"Yeah, a whole group of us is going over there now, gunna hang out for the night and such," Wren egged, "Nox is gunna bring Tapper's, it'll be fun."

"Wh-Why... Why didn't I get an invite?" Berri stabbed in whole sorrow, she shook her head and urgently peered into Wren's eyes, desperate for answers.

"Berri, I'm sure Turbo thought to not say anything to you because he probably heard that you had a date with Gunner tonight," Wren assured lovingly, he shook his head and flinched as Theo's burst of lime green coding came back to the room, via the teleport pad, "No way he's going to encroach on something so important, y'know? I'm assuming he didn't want to tear you away from such an opportunity. A date with Gunner Ko? Certainly he understands."

"W-Well... Th-that's..." Berri stumbled on her words and now felt her heart crumple in confusion. She shook her head and desperately tried to find words, she long blinked in shattered confusion and felt her night now fall apart at the seams. She put on a brave face and nervously shrugged, "That's nice of him, then... Uh... Tell everyone I said hello."

"We will! C'mon, we have to hurry, Penny said that everyone's already there," Theo urged to Wren as the both of them began to press closer to the corridor that lead to their massive front door, and much to Berri's entire, unadulterated dismay, Chester easily trot right after them, clearly invited as well.

"Text me and tell me ALL about your date, when you can, Bear!" Wren pointed back to her as Theo swung open the door, ultimately letting in a breeze of frigid, Sugar Rush winter air, "I'm serious! EVERY detail!"

"N-No danger," Berri called after them, and in the simple swing and clack of the front door, Berri was left entirely alone in their little tower; the teleport pad, outside, could be heard buzzing all three beings to the one and only place she only ever wanted to be - Turbo's loft.

Berri frowned and gently pulled out her phone; she tabbed to her's and Turbo's messages. Not a single text in an entire two days, she sagged her shoulders and felt confusion hit her skin in a cold lick of conclusion. She heaved a hot sigh through her nose, locked her phone and grappled her mother's car keys. Generous enough to not tell Zed about Berri's and Gunner's date, Tessa also hesitantly allowed Berri to borrow her car, a dark, sleek race car fit for the streets. Berri felt the hot sting of tears hit her eyes as she peered down at Tessa's car keys and keychains, the emblem of the Japanese make's logo in matte black on the bulk of her key, she desperately blinked back the fog of tears and was certain not to mess up her make up. As she inhaled a deep breath of puffing her chest, she shook her head, rid her thoughts of Turbo for good and, in a hardened stomp of irritation, she head for her front door, as well.

In the dark fifteen minute drive from the palace to the outskirts of Orion City, Berri did absolutely everything in her power to avoid landing her eyes on Turbo's tower; it being the tallest thing for miles, she glowered out to the street and grappled the steering wheel in fuming, sorrowful irritation. She knew that once she was in Gunner's presence, everything would probably get easier, though the whole fact that she'd have a solid distraction, alongside potentially navigating her way through paparazzi, with Gunner, is what had her pressing the gas a little harder. As the skyscrapers grew larger and the traffic grew heavier, she was delighted to see that Turbo's tower had vanished, due to obstructions. Berri and Gunner promised to meet at a restaurant they both agreed on, a fancier place to dine on the Southern end of town. As Berri pulled up to the restaurant's valet parking, she easily put Tessa's car in park, unbuckled her seatbelt and gingerly stepped out. As a man ran up and kindly addressed Berri properly, as royalty, he kindly assured her the safety of the Queen's car and almost hesitantly hopped in the driver seat. Berri took a few steps to the sidewalk and was greet by none other than Gunner.

A heavy crowd of fans had gathered nearby and was now being held back by Gunner's security. The dark sky over head was glinted with the incredible glow of Orion City's street and building lights, illuminating Gunner from behind. He was dressed in a very similar coat to Berri, dark, torn jeans, at the knees, and a sexy peak of a tank top that showed from the zipper of said coat. Berri choked a small laugh, gestured to him, and then to herself, and it was here did Gunner understand that they were at it again; dressing in similar colors and styles to each other. As Berri approached, Gunner donned a loving, wide grin and opened his arms for a welcoming embrace.

"I'm starting to think I should dye my hair blue," Gunner choked a hard laugh as Berri gently sagged into Gunner's arms; she felt brave, this time, and draped her arms about Gunner's neck in a soft wing of cheeky passion.

"For User's sake," Berri huffed through a girly giggle, though she was floored to feel Gunner sag his strong arms about Berri's lower waist and tug her tight into his body. His broad hands cupped the small of her back and swayed her a little as she carried on with a girly, blushing smile, "I hope that people know we didn't coordinate this."

"You look so good, tonight, Bear," Gunner's voice glossed Berri's ears like honey, something that sent a strange shiver down her spine, and it was here did she furrow her brows and feel that strange tug of conflicting thoughts hit her skin.

"Why thank you," Berri eased as she finally pulled away from Gunner, though she was surprised to feel Gunner hold his gentlemanly hands on the sides of her hips, to keep her close.

She daringly held her hands to Gunner's lower chest and peered up into his lovely, light brown eyes, though just as she peered up into his soul, she felt her pupils tighten at the stark, hovering sight over Gunner's right shoulder; the glistening gleam of none other than Turbo's tower. She was thankful Gunner pulled away, slipped his hand into hers and began to gingerly lead her up the small stoop of the restaurant they were due to easing inside of. Berri furrowed her eyebrows and firmly glowered down Turbo's tower, once and for all, as if maybe Turbo could potentially see her from all the way down here in the streets, the incredibly firm tug to join Turbo at his house party was almost enough to ditch Gunner right here and now. She furrowed her eyebrows in continued hurt and felt the thoughts of him and Libby come rushing back to her, and with such, she firmly tugged her eyes away from Turbo's tower, for good, and felt her heart at least try to harden towards him and his irresistible tower.

As Berri's date with Gunner pressed on with confidence, Berri was elated that thoughts of Turbo came and went a lot faster and a lot less frequently, as time went on. She felt an easiness with Gunner, the easy flow of confidence he just oozed was something she wasn't used to. The lack of struggling to get a smile out of someone was vanquished, the hovering feeling of wondering just where certain time-sensitive land mines would be was something she felt relief from, though the longer her's and Gunner's date pressed on, the more she understood that this was far too easy. The simple volley of belly laughs, wide smiles and cute, new inside jokes, she felt nearly no challenge in reeling Gunner into her charming vicinity. There was no guesswork, she was very well aware Gunner was very blatantly head over heels for her, the easy loft of compliments handed to her on a silver platter, the lack of any nervous staggering or butterflies that coat their bubble, the longer it all continued the more Berri began to itch for something a bit more mysterious, something a bit darker and uncertain. After almost a half an hour of successfully avoiding it, she finally glowered Turbo's tower another subtle, mean look when Gunner wasn't looking, simply as if Turbo was the reason she was now at this fancy restaurant going absolutely bonkers over every tiny detail in front of her.

"Ahh, that's something, erm... Sama used to say to me," Gunner pressed in a lilt of nervousness, and it was here did Berri furrow her eyebrows and wonder if they were getting somewhere.

"Sama, she... She was your previous guitarist," Berri eased in understanding, having followed Gunner and his previous bandmates for awhile, now; Gunner nodded and looked down to his nearly empty plate of food, the little candle between them flickered in their little balcony's breeze of outside air, and although they were underneath a proper heater, Berri still shivered from time to time, "I-I... I don't mean to bring up a sensitive topic, but... Do you still talk to her? She, well... Bailed out on you, didn't she?"

"Yeah, she... Her and I had a bit of a rough patch, at the end, there," Gunner staggered nervously, his narrow eyes aimlessly peered down to the table as he shook his head softly, "I... I often wonder just what I did to push her away, like such. Without so much as a goodbye, she just... Left and took Rye with her."

"Rye, your drummer," Berri assured for clarity, to which Gunner bobbed a nod and heaved a gentle sigh, "W-Well, we don't have to talk about it, if it's too sensitive. I know they were your friends..."

"... Sama was more than that, little did the public know," Gunner sagged in gentle sorrow, he urgently peered to Berri and frowned, "She... She didn't want our relationship to be public, so... It was kept tightly under wraps."

"Sh-She's your ex girlfriend?" Berri wondered, now knowing that things were starting to get good, all she wanted was a little insight; having been so used to all of Turbo's incredible, twisted back story, she was thrilled Gunner at least had something, "She didn't want your relationship to be public, and then, just... Randomly bailed? Why did Rye go with?"

"I think she was cheating on me, with Rye," Gunner staggered nervously, he hooked his now fragile eye contact to Berri and shook his head, "I just... Wish there was communication. I-I'll never forgive her for what she did to me. If she just... Didn't want to be with me, that badly, all she had to do was say something."

"Well, maybe she was worried about splitting up the band," Berri assured nervously, though she shook her head and furrowed her eyebrows, "Well... I guess she accomplished that anyways."

"I think she was just trying to put on a brave face and, well... Live out the contract we all had, together, " Gunner eased as he readjusted himself in his seat, he cocked an eyebrow and gave Berri a gentle, sassy smile, "It's something I've gotten over... Took me a hot minute, but... I figure if she found something better in Rye, then, hopefully they're very, very happy together."

Berri cocked an eyebrow and watched as Gunner took a swig of his non-alcoholic drink, and as he set the glass back down to the table, Berri sorrowfully peered to Gunner and wondered just how betrayed and heartbroken he must've been. The look of now confused forlorn in his eyes had Berri certain that the universe was in tune with her thoughts, how desperately she wanted something a little deeper, here, and how quickly it was lofted her way. Berri cleared her throat and sat up a little straighter, though as she adjusted her jacket, she dared to keep prodding this topic.

"Do you know where she ran off to? She seems to have fallen off the face of the Arcade," Berri worried tenderly, though Gunner nodded and lulled his eyes closed.

"She has a house in EZ Living, I promise you she just... Took her share of the tour money and is just hulling herself away, for the rest of eternity," Gunner mumbled, he finally gave Berri an apologetic smile and shook his head, "It's something I've learned to just deal with. It used to tear me up inside, but... It's nice starting over, with someone new. I'm having a lot of fun, tonight, Bear. I only hope that you are, as well."

"Definitely," Berri assured, though she would never dare reveal to Gunner that she was also desperate to dive face first into Turbo's house party, at any cost; with such, she cocked an eyebrow at Turbo's tower, off in the distance, and silently began to promise it that she'd do anything and everything to at least make the tail end of Turbo's party, even if it meant bursting in and making a scene.

* * *

"You seem to be doing well," Turbo's kind, raspy voice was low and steady, just for Throttle; they both eased into the vicinity of the island whilst the rest of the group loudly hollered and cheered about Turbo's dining room table, now sans chairs. They sloppily played beer pong, everyone was in great spirits, "That hair cut does everything for you, by the way."

"Yeah, feels... Feels good, man," Throttle's quiet voice eased back to his little brother, they both stood still, nearly shoulder to shoulder, as Turbo kindly began to mix Throttle a drink. Throttle shook his head, lofted his gaze across Turbo's lively home and finally caught with Wren's figure, "I'm glad you're making me that drink... I need alcohol if I'm going to muster up the courage to ask Wren out. I-I... I was planning on doing it tonight."

Turbo cocked an eyebrow, peered down at the delicious drink he was now pouring, and in a switch up of decisions, he halted production, mid-pour and gently set the shaker aside. He cleared his throat, held the half-full drink captive, cocked an eyebrow at his big brother and gave him a knowing smirk. Both boys were dressed in messy button up shirts and a tie, rolled sleeves to the elbows and a casual pairs of dark jeans. Although Turbo's hair was just in it's normal style, Throttle's was cut to sleek perfection, almost mocking Nox's cut, though Throttle's was a little shorter. Throttle cocked an eyebrow, noted that Turbo had ceased pouring him a drink and, as both boys caught eyes, Throttle sagged his shoudlers and was quick to prove that this wave of confidence could very easily slip. Turbo smiled and, as he finally lofted his eyes back to the excitable group, which consisted of Nox, Koko, Penny, Orph, Wren and Theo, he was quick to notice Wren tenderly mosey away, his nose buried into a text message. He aimlessly sauntered down the few steps, to Turbo's living room, and hovered near Turbo's lit fireplace. Once Wren finally sagged his back against the wall and quietly busied himself with a quick conversation, with only User knows, Turbo finally stabbed his knowing smile back to Throttle's.

"I'll tell y'what," Turbo started kindly, to which Throttle lulled his eyes closed in dreaded annoyance and knew just where this was going, "Why don't you do yourself a favor and go talk to Wren, right now, while you have him alone. Afterwards, I'll reward you with this drink. You can't use alcohol as a crutch."

"User-dammit," Throttle grunted in whole irritation, though as his muscles tensed to begin now angrily spearheading in Wren's direction, he faltered and now shot Turbo a nervous look of uncertainty, "Wh-what do I even say to him?"

"Anything, bro, just... Ask what he's up to, ask how he's enjoying the party, tell him he looks nice," Turbo shrugged, he gave Throttle a sweet smile and blurt a chuckle, "Don't think too hard about it. He's your friend, isn't he?"

"Well, yeah, but..." Throttle stammered on a few empty arguements.

"Sooo... What do you two usually talk about?" Turbo quickly inquired, knowing full well Wren wouldn't remain a wall flower for long.

"You and Berri," Throttle stabbed with a widening smile and a hearty laugh, to which Turbo largely rolled his eyes and began to swat his hand, so to get Throttle to go away.

"Get... Away from me, you'll get your drink after you finish your chore, go," Turbo rushed in a stab of annoyance, both boys laughed at just how red Turbo's face was turning, "Go, go, go."

"I'm going, I'm going," Throttle blurt a chuckle as he finally cut around the kitchen island and sagged his hands into his pockets; he had a cocky saunter about himself, something Turbo cued to, he was very well aware the switch up in hairstyles did the trick for Throttle's confidence.

As Throttle passed the noisy table of flown ping-pong balls and sudden whoops of cheers and laughs, he gently sagged his bare feet down Turbo's living room steps and into the dimmer, lower atmosphere. He felt his pupils dilate as he grew within fifteen feet of his destination, the handsome being that hung on the wall in quiet solitude, something Wren was never caught doing. Throttle nervously cleared his throat, cocked an eyebrow and wondered how the hell he was going to muster the confidence to follow through with this notion, though as he finally eased into Wren's bubble of about a five foot radius, he felt his heart jump as Wren looked up from his phone and gave Throttle a kind, welcoming smile. Throttle knew this was at least a good sign, and although the two had light, causal conversation all through the night, it was a very stark difference from their intense, in-depth text conversations they had on the daily. He bravely inhaled a deep breath and somehow wondered if he could bring the depth of their texts to the surface of their face-to-face time.

"Y-You're awfully quiet," Throttle struggled to get out, although he had been having a more-than sociable night, thus far, he somehow was able to find the frog in his throat the second he spoke to Wren, "Quite unlike you."

"And you're one of the most talkative ones here," Wren stated sweetly, though he wrinkled his nose and peered up from his phone with a sassy smirk, his thumbs continued to tab away even though his piercing blue eyes were now glued to Throttle's square pupils, "Quite unlike you..."

"I-I guess..." Throttle sagged against the wall, though within doing so, he realized said move was likely a bit more forward than anything he'd typically do; this put both boys in a tight proximity of each other, and although Throttle wanted to wig out and duck away, he inhaled a shaky breath and followed Turbo's advice to just go for it, "M-Maybe it's the haircut."

"Penny did a good job of it," Wren stated with a coy, knowing smile, though he huffed a small, sweet chuckle and peered back down to his phone.

"Who uh... Who yah texting?" Throttle wavered his words, and although he was certain him and Wren were good enough friends to ask such a question, he tried to not seem too forward, no matter how much his brothers tried to push him to do so.

"Berri... She's mad that she wasn't invited to this house party and is telling me she's trying to find a way out of her's and Gunner's date," Wren grumbled, he rolled his eyes and sagged his shoulders, "Blue-haired freak needs to pick a guy and stick to him. I warned her about lead singer boys... But what do I know. I just play the keys in the background."

"C'mon, you don't give yourself enough credit," Throttle found his warmth and ease once more, he smiled to himself and was thrilled this was at least becoming easier.

"I guess Gunner showed up and they were both wearing the same jacket," Wren spat with an incredulous laugh, he gestured his hand outward in pure annoyance, "The jacket she's wearing is the latest in women's fashion. Is he blind?"

"Well, Berri's taste is rather tom-boyish, maybe... Maybe Gunner's taste is a touch more feminine," Throttle shrugged as he hovered in Wren's bubble, he could swear his heart was on surround sound. He tried his hardest to keep the conversation rolling, "You know what they say about imitation... It's the sincerest form of flattery."

"Considering your tie matches my shirt, I'd say you're on to something, there, love," Wren eased dryly as he seductively gripped the base of Throttle's tie and gingerly tugged. He cocked an eyebrow, eyed Throttle and slowly lifted himself off the wall to join Penny, Orph, Nox, Koko, Theo and Turbo at the beer-pong table..

Throttle froze and watched him leave, he finally exhaled a shaky breath he was vastly unaware he was keeping in. As if Wren's steps were in slow motion, he sagged and felt every single last chance he had just slowly slip from him. He furrowed his brow as a voice came rushing back to him, the voice of confidence he so greatly used to have, the teacher inside of himself that so stubbornly refused to accept lessons from anyone else, he finally caved and was well aware he was now given a taste of his own medicine. All those years of telling Turbo that he was the greatest, he finally accepted the kind notions back, from his brothers, and felt a wave of confidence surge his veins. With a push off the wall, he held his breath, bravely skipped ahead a few steps, and in a swing, Throttle successfully cut in front of Wren and halted him in his steps.

"What if I got dressed before you?" Throttle dared with a cheeky smile, and in great subtly that was just stark enough to get Wren's now surprised glance down to Throttle's fingers, Throttle gingerly toyed with the last button on Wren's lovely, dark shirt with the cream, vertical pinstripes, "You insinuating that I chose this tie to match your shirt?"

"It would seem to be so," Wren eased in great kindness, though he gently crossed his arms, cocked an eyebrow and gave Throttle a sassy, surprised smile of delight, "I wear this shirt a lot, and you know that. I've never seen you wear that tie, so... Just putting two and two together."

"I guess, in that case, I'll put one and one together..." Throttle looked down in a subtle hesitation of coy nervousness, and as his mysterious, dimly glowing white eyes finally pierced Wren's, he bashfully eased a smile and allowed a wall to come down, "I'd love to take you out, sometime."

Wren froze and felt as if all the blood in his body just ceased movement. He huffed a nervous chuckle and felt thwarted, he was absolutely certain that he'd be the one wearing the pants, when it came to asking Throttle out on a date, though with the sheer fact that Throttle somehow successfully beat him to it, in the sweetest way possible, Wren felt a lovely amount of defeat make his knees weak. He scoffed a small, bashful chuckle, looked off and cursed any amount of nervousness that now came rushing to him, the desire to be on top of his game, the desire to one up absolutely anyone that tried to take him down, he eyed Throttle and was floored to see that cute, confident, mischievous look in Throttle's eyes, something that made Wren entirely interested to delve into. A devious side of sweet, mellow and reserved ol' Throttle that absolutely no one ever saw.

"I'm listening," Wren's deep voice eased in a tone of playing hard to get, though somehow this now began to fuel Throttle. Throttle crossed his arms, looked up and fingered his lip in contemplation.

"How about tomorrow night, I'll take you to my favorite ice cream shop in Orion City," Throttle quickly scrounged, though Wren narrowed his eyes.

"Ice cream? In the middle of winter?" Wren dully tested, though Throttle cocked an eyebrow.

"We can take it back to my place," Throttle's deep voice crackled in almost whispering delight, he tilted his head a little and continued on, just for Wren to hear, "I'll keep you warm."

Wren held his breath and now felt entirely thwarted, and with such a strange sensation, he knew to give Throttle this victory. Wren huffed a bashful, cheeky chuckle, shook his head and eyed Throttle, as if to convey to him that he was definitely on the right track.

"Yes, sir," Wren's voice lilted in tender delight, and although Throttle didn't really want to let Wren peel from him, Wren finally gently eased from Throttle's presence, as opposed to the sudden yank just a few minutes prior.

Throttle inhaled a deep, confident breath as Wren finally was out of his vicinity, and back to the party at hand. As Throttle glossed his eyes across Turbo's lovely home and the incredible view of Orion City, he began to mosey back towards the kitchen. He shoved his hands into his front pockets, continued on with said slight, cocky saunter, and as he gently came up the steps and approached Turbo, he was absolutely delighted to see Turbo eagerly holding out the now full glass of alcohol, the one that Turbo had previously shaken for Throttle and was a trophy for doing what everyone thought would be impossible. Throttle shot Turbo a smug smile, leaned over the kitchen island, gently snatched the drink from Turbo's outstretched hand and arm, and quipped Turbo a kind, cheeky notion.

"I'll be taking that, thank you very much."

* * *

 **A/N : I drew the scene of Wren and Throttle chatting, against the wall. It's titled 'Sincerest Form of Flattery' on my deviantART username Vyntresser :) Go check it out! That piece was drawn 2 years ago, and was actually a commission from one of my readers! You'll get to see Throttle's hair cut, too~**


	80. Chapter 80

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** I'm SO glad! :D YAY!

 **BanannaSammich :** Hey! YES you will! I actually have a doodle of Bedgy I've been meaning to upload to my Instagram. I'm going to try to get a painting of Berri and Gunner out, it's difficult because I'm not entirely one hundred percent invested in their relationship. Even though it stays solid for awhile, I think everyone here knows where my heart is more. A certain TurboTime boi. **  
**

 **Snake557 :** Throttle tells him! And, it's spelled Wren, just to let you know.

 **Nikki Firesong :** I've actually been wanting to write a LGBT couple since Defying Code, but the opportunity never arose. I wanted it to count, I wanted it to be something everyone could grasp onto, and I wanted it to be something that didn't just fall to the wayside. I know I've said it before, but I was VERRRRY close to pairing Ace with Nox. That was a tough one. So, it may have taken 4 books, but trust me, I've been thinking about it for a long while. I just wanted it to be very special. Thanks for understanding, and thank you for supporting me through this! :D I'm glad you're excited, cause I definitely am too! Throttle and Wren have a very spicy scene, coming up, within the next 2 chapters, so that'll be fun!

* * *

 ***Chapter 80***

"So, here I come, just TEARING around the bend," Turbo urged with a wide smile, almost entirely out of his shell, the group crowd about the island was all grins, and although Turbo was entirely terrible at speaking in front of a crowd, no matter how big or small, he attributed his burst of nonchalance to the few beers he had knocked back. Although he was telling a story back from his TurboTime days, he was floored to see the entire crew wide eyed and excitedly listening to his riveting story, which included Chester excitedly hovering near Turbo's left, "And, there in the straight away, is THROTTLE."

"It was an ACCIDENT," Throttle blurt, everyone loudly howled with laughter.

"Wait, this was a quarter alert? Like an actual human was playing?" Theo wondered, everyone wheezed and wiped the tears from their eyes.

"Yeah!" Turbo whined in a high pitched tone of unadulterated, agonizing delight. He tried his hardest to catch his breath, as did everyone else, "I just went barreling past the idiot, like... What the hell just happened?!"

"Trust me, I was thinking the same thing," Throttle struggled to get words out, and with this, Wren beamed him a curious, laughing smile and eased his hand to the middle of Throttle's back, as if to politely wonder if he was going to be alright. Throttle grunted a hard laugh, grappled his hand to the top of Wren's shoulder and jokingly steadied himself against him as everyone was entirely lost in laughter, "I needed a new pair of pants ASAP."

"Y'couldn't have just hit the dumb bastard? He had the balls to stand in the middle of the tracks, I was in first! I remember that day!" Nox loudly complained.

"That's why I just barreled past him, here's me, never lost a day in my entire life, just PANICKING," Turbo urgently gestured to himself as everyone continued to loudly laugh and encourage the story, "I see Nox just LEAGUES ahead of me and I was like, dude, I'm either gunna take Throttle's legs out from under him or I'm going to pancake him and keep going, I don't give a SHIT."

"You really didn't," Throttle finally caught his breath, wiped his eyes and stood tight to Wren's side, who was eagerly beaming a curious, equally as chuckling smile up to him in dewy curiosity.

"Something very similar happened to us, with Finn," Orph started as the story gently segued to him; each couple stood with each other, about Turbo's spacious island. Everyone had a drink and a partner, except for Theo and Turbo, though Turbo still stood confidently at the head of his island, "Same situation, too... I was just tearing around the corner and then when I came to the break away, there's Finn, just cleaning the vines off the tracks."

"Aww, the poor thing!" Penny cried with a sympathetic smile as everyone burst into hard laughter all over again.

"Except I actually DID hit him," Orph pointed, which had everyone further riled.

"Oooh," Wren grimaced his face into a tight scrunch of teasing dismay.

"Yeah, it wasn't pretty," Orph choked a laugh, "Though, Finn's such a softy, it scarred him for life and now he refuses to clean up the tracks. He always begs either me or Duke to do it."

"He's such a tender one," Penny giggled as Orph rolled his eyes and bobbed a nod.

"We should take a run around Sugar Rush's tracks, one of these days," Nox eagerly suggested to Turbo, who cocked an eyebrow and looked down to the island, as if that was potentially a good idea, "Old time's sake, Bo, whatdoyahsay?"

"I'm extremely rusty, dude, and I... Well..." Turbo grappled his chest, looked up and was due to saying something that he likely should just come out with, though everyone eagerly beat him to it.

"You just don't want to lose," Wren barked, everyone eagerly laughed.

"Ohhh, you should try racing my mom, or even Tessa," Koko encouraged with a firm nod, everyone bugged their eyes and began to coo loud, obnoxious notions towards Turbo, as if to assure he'd be doomed.

"Or even uncle Zed... Mr. Unbeatable," Theo waggled his eyebrows, which now had Turbo nervously smiling, rolling his eyes and looking off to his dimmer living room; the later into the night it got, the brighter Orion City shone.

"There's only one person in this entire Arcade I would gladly lose to," Turbo bravely barked as he held up a finger and confidently eyed everyone, though just as he was about to quell everyones shivering wonderings with the one name that he loved to allow fall from his lips, everyone jolted in hard, cold confusion as a deep, scary grumbling sound of an engine came erupting from Turbo's garage, just across the way from the dining room table.

With a wretch of his neck and a firm, nervous peer over his shoulder, Turbo's terrified, golden eyes honed tight to the garage's side door, nearly directly behind him, though the second the engine's loud rumbling cut, and the sound of clacking heels could be heard approaching, Turbo's garage's side door gently and apprehensively opened; the very person inside of his previous notion, tenderly peered her curious blue eyes inside, a shy show of wondering if she was welcomed, and with such a small peak, the whole group immediately perked up in unadulterated surprise and glee. With a huge gasp and an outburst from the whole crowd at the island, Berri beamed an enormously bashful smile, hung in the doorway and very slowly began to ease inside, as if to further wonder if she was welcomed.

As the group eagerly cooed her loud remarks of excitement that she was here, Turbo's still wretched neck was tight in a frozen angle of unadulterated shock. His nervous, now lightly trembling hand grappled the chest of his shirt as his eyes did anything and everything to soak in the whole angel that just welcomed herself into his house. Like a vision, a glowing beacon of womanly goodness, Berri's lithe, slender legs, wider hips and adorable saunter on her tall, thin, sleek black heels had Turbo's eyebrows raised nearly through the game's sky limit. He huffed a shaky breath of silent surprise and couldn't even begin to find the words to describe just how he was feeling in this instance. As the gentle clack of Berri's heels still slowly approached and got within a ten foot radius of Turbo, who was the closest to her at the island, she bashfully smiled down to the ground, tucked her incredible blue hair behind her ears and finally gave Turbo her full cheeky eye contact.

"...I-I know I wasn't invited, but, I figured since I have a key," Berri's gentle, loving tone trailed, and with her insinuation, everyone raised their eyebrows and lofted their surprised gazes tight to Turbo's.

"Holy shit, dude, you... You gave her a KEY to your place?" Nox stabbed with a hearty laugh as everyone stole entirely shocked glances to each other.

"You don't need any of Nox's advice, my man, it seems as if you're doing quite well for yourself," Orph loudly chuckled as Penny and Koko loudly giggled and clapped in entire amusement.

"Berri, you came JUST in time, Turbo was telling us some fantastic news," Wren called in great, cheeky delight, though it was here did Turbo's awestruck, loving gaze, hooked tight to Berri's presence, immediately rip from her and stab tight into Wren's with great, terrified authority.

"Yeah?" Berri innocently cued as she crossed her arms, and as she joined Turbo on his solitary end of the island, the two nearly touched shoulders.

Turbo huffed a shaky breath, as if to begin to start his sentence, though he cocked an eyebrow and peered hard into her eyes. The vivid, loving glow of his golden eyes very quickly began to sag to that of the shy, hidden show of peachy goodness, cueing to everyone that he was entirely, bashfully beside himself. Any air he had in his lungs was just sucked right out of him, as well as any power behind his cocky statement. Everyone eased him sweet notions of teasing in unison as Turbo choked a bashful laugh, tugged his collar and now couldn't dare take his shy eyes away from Berri's, as if somehow looking away from the crowd before him would make them all vanish. Berri raised her blue eyebrows in tender delight, the way she crossed her arms a little tighter had her naively deepening the gentle squish of her slightly revealed cleavage, and although Turbo could feel the alcohol coming back to haunt him, he didn't dare take his eyes off of Berri's sweet gaze.

"Spit it out, my dude," Throttle encouraged teasingly, and although everyone began to join in on the teasing, it was sweet and lighthearted, an overdue show of at least tip toeing around the idea of Turbo expressing his lovely feelings for Berri, if even a little.

"What's this all about?" Berri wondered as she finally brought her attention to the rowdy crowd around her, though Penny cocked an eyebrow, whirled around to Turbo's fridge, yanked the door open, swiped an individual bottle of beer and brought it out for Berri.

"You should probably catch up to us, it'll make sense then," Penny blurt a hard laugh as she was successful in handing off Tapper's elixir to Berri.

"User, it'll take me a minute, I didn't drink on my date," Berri grumbled, though upon receiving her bottle, she tilted the cap to Turbo's counter, and in a swift pop, the cap came flying off with a gentle jolt of her sharp movement, which included a bump of her hip; Turbo cocked an eyebrow and peered to her in further astonishment, as if he was just drowning, at this point.

"Wait, what? Why didn't Gunner buy you a drink?" Wren argued in irritation, Berri rolled her eyes and gently looked off.

"I don't know, he stopped drinking cause I guess his ex girlfriend drank a lot and it turned him off to it," Berri shrugged, and although she knew exactly who Gunner's ex girlfriend was, she politely kept his business on the down-low, due to the whole Arcade not knowing Sama, Gunner's guitarist, was also his previous girlfriend.

"Well, you're here now, so bottoms up," Theo encouraged as he raised his bottle, and with such, everyone joined him with all smiles; in loud clacks of the bottoms of everyone's bottles firmly tapping to one another, Berri smiled a wide smile of relief and eagerly joined everyone in taking a hearty swig.

"So, anyways, back to Turbo's notion, you were saying?" Nox wondered cheekily, and although the peachy glow in Turbo's eyes was only now subsiding, it very quickly came right back.

"No, I'm good, the alcohol is gunna make me run away with myself," Turbo muttered nervously with a bashful smile, a very stark difference in his demeanor now that Berri had showed up; he apprehensively glanced in Berri's direction and was now due to avoiding eye contact with her.

"I'm just now realizing that your statement was entirely a euphemism," Penny choked a hard laugh and rested her forehead on the counter; the second Koko furrowed her eyebrows and thought about it for a second, both girls eagerly wailed with laughter, and as the notion hit everyone head on, they urgently volleyed Turbo cheeky notions of irritation.

"Yeah, this is what I get for allowing myself more than three of these stupid things," Turbo muttered with a smile that so desperately wanted to crack across his entire face; he set down his own bottle and began to cheekily scoot it away from his person.

"Well, what were you about to say? You have me all intrigued, now," Berri urged sweetly, she finally unravelled her arms and held them to the broad of Turbo's glossy dark island. It was here did Chester huff a hard exhale of a chuckle, he flattened his ears and hung his head, as if to insinuate Turbo was doomed.

"Hey, c'mon, man," Turbo grunted to Chester, who sat on his hind quarters, directly to Turbo's left; everyone laughed at Turbo's and Chester's little argument, "Whose side are you on?"

"Turbo, the greatest racer ever, places second to NO ONE," Nox staged dramatically as he sprawled his palms, held his hands up and shot Berri a sweet, cheeky smile of conclusion, "... Except..."

Berri raised her eyebrows, honed tight to Nox's familiar eyes, and as the sweet notion hit her head on, she huffed a small, surprised giggle, shot her elated gaze to Turbo's and was entirely floored to see he had his gaze narrowed in cheeky, nearly teeth-gritting apprehension. Berri blurt a small laugh as everyone began to coo sweet notions of anticipation towards the two, and as Berri lovingly reached for Turbo's shoulder, he finally huffed a silent scoff of a chuckle, looked off and grew even more bashful and shy. The fact that all eyes were on the two had the tender glow, of his eyes, reaching a delightful peak of peachy goodness that Berri was uncertain was even real, at this point.

"That is so sweet," Berri chimed in delightful sorrow as her hand gripped Turbo's right shoulder, and with her loving touch, he finally lofted his gaze to her and gave her a broken, shell-shocked, nervous smile, "You'd really place second for me? ... I can see how that could be a weird insinuation, by the way, I'm... I'm assuming y-you meant... Well-"

"Racing, RACING," Turbo suddenly barked to the lot of everyone at the island, which had everyone howling with laughter, "Racing. I'd gladly lose to you, THERE, everyone happy? Got to see my eyes a different color for once? Y'don't want to see them change from peach to red, so knock it off."

"Hoooo, no that's not a pretty sight," Nox suddenly stabbed through the grit of his teeth in a show of cheeky terror, though Berri furrowed her eyebrows in gentle curiosity and shot Turbo a look of gentle inquiry.

"... You mean, they turn red when you're mad, right?" Berri wondered cautiously.

"An absolute rarity," Throttle choked with a smile as he crossed his arms, "I've seen Nox's eyes go red, before, and even Lash, but... I can MAYBE name only two instances where I've seen Turbo's gaze go red."

"It's damn-near impossible to make that guy red-mad," Nox prod towards Turbo with a kind smile, "Long fuse, that one."

"Interesting," Berri chimed as she fingered her lip and gave him a look of further smiling curiosity.

"I try not to let stuff get to me," Turbo shrugged in nonchalance, though Berri beamed in further intrigue, a weird mixture of wanting to know just what Turbo looked like in the heat of full anger, though not wanting to be the one to instigate such emotion.

"When Turbo's eyes go red, you KNOW you're absolutely screwed," Throttle huffed through the grit of his teeth as he shook his head.

"I want cool mood ring eyes, what the heck," Wren suddenly stabbed, which had everyone eager agreeing and laughing with his outburst. Wren flagged his hand and only briefly glanced to Throttle in a soft show of nervousness, "I hate being NORMAL."

"I told you, we can be normal together, chill," Throttle eased as he confidently slung his arm about Wren's shoulders, Wren being a decent amount of height shorter than Throttle.

"So how many colors can your guys' eyes change, then?" Penny wondered excitedly, everyone honed their eyes to the three TurboTime men, at the island, and it was here did Berri perk up and feel further anticipation lick her skin.

"There's technically three or four really common colors, and... Probably a whole slew of other colors that none of us have ever seen," Turbo mumbled, and although the feeling of letting people in and showing a more confident, social side of him was slowly becoming normal, somehow talking about the more intimate details of his inner workings had his heart pulsing in anxiety, "Th-there's red, for anger, yellow is normal. If, well... Say something makes us sad or scared, or we're simply in a resting state or are just waking up, our eyes dim, sometimes to no color. So just grey."

"Then y'got that cute peachy color you were just sporting, what's that one all about?" Penny kindly inquired, though she waggled her eyebrows and shot Berri a sweet and rather sassy smile of knowing.

"It means he's about to board a train on a one-way ticket to boner-ville," Nox suddenly blurt, everyone suddenly howled with laughter as Turbo wildly furrowed his eyebrows and shot Nox a look of entire detest.

"Okay, NO?" Turbo barked with a hearty, nervous laugh, to which Berri eagerly covered her face and burst into bashful laughter, "It's the equivalent to blushing or being embarrassed!"

"Turbo, I'm swap mates with one of you TurboTime guys, I know full well what it could potentially mean," Koko eased in girly confidence, to which everyone loudly eased notions towards Turbo, the fact that he was now thwarted.

"You guys suck," Turbo choked in annoyance, though he nonchalantly turned to Chester and rested his hand on the broad of Chester's fluffy chest, "Chester gets me. You won't make fun of me, will you?"

"If that fluff ball could talk, trust me, he'd be making fun of all of us, right about now," Berri loudly laughed as she finally removed her hands from her face, she hoped she also wasn't too red in the face, as well.

Although the group continued to bicker and laugh the night away, Berri was very well aware she caught the tail end of this party due to just how close the clock was now pushing two in the morning. She sagged her shoulders and soaked in everything her night consisted of. Although she had a wonderful evening with Gunner, she was thrilled to be back home, where she was at her most comfortable. She tried desperately to hold onto agitated feelings towards Turbo, irritation from the keypoints of his past that he couldn't help whatsoever, though she knew holding it all against him was useless and unproductive. Berri soaked in the sound and conversation of all the people she loved, she knew she'd likely make up some excuse to stay back and help Turbo clean up his home, just so she could get some alone time with him and seek clarity from his convoluted, crazy past. She was aware she owed him a listening ear, and an understanding heart. She knew exactly why it was so difficult to hear of Turbo being wrapped in love with another woman, even someone so far removed from his current life, though she swore she would never admit it all to herself, no matter how big of a land mine it was becoming.


	81. Chapter 81

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** LOL JUST DO IT SON

 **Snake557 :** Yes there is! You'll see as time goes on :)

 **Burgie :** Yep! Thank you :D

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Swimming with Sharks - Fly by Midnight**

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 ***Chapter 81***

"For User's sake, I never want to socialize ever again," Turbo blurt with a hearty laugh, the way his shoulders were sagged, his chest was out in confidence, the saunter in his step as him and Berri kicked off their shoes and finally sagged down to Turbo's lovely, huge red couch, the mess all about Turbo's home was put on pause. Berri heaved a hard, long, exasperated sigh as she finally was free of her high heels, and in the sag into comfort, of no return, she squirmed off her sleek coat and revealed her light, flowy cami underneath it all. In the sneak that Turbo could afford, he got himself a good eye full of her gorgeous figure before he lulled his eyes closed in cheeky cuteness and sagged his head heavy to the cushion of his couch; his raspy voice pressed on, "I'm glad you showed up at the last minute. That definitely made this one of the most fun nights I've had in, well... Decades."

"Yeah, and considering I wasn't invited, I technically crashed your party," Berri shrugged in cute daintiness, though she stabbed her almost hurt and authoritative eyes into Turbo's, as if to express that she was potentially irritated over this nonsense, though she was prepared to get some teasing distance with it, "I'm glad it was just the cherry on top, for you, Bo."

"C'mon, it's not that I just blatantly didn't invite you," Turbo argued with confidence, something Berri was certain the alcohol allowed, somehow his timid and shy inhibitions were dulled to a mildly brash, thorny and cheeky individual, "It's just that... I-"

"Blatantly didn't invite me," Berri concluded, she was well aware this was likely one of their first arguments, though she was thrilled it was full of smiles and a light hearted air; however, she was prepared to go to war if the opportunity arose, no matter what, "I won't hold it against you. I'll just hold it against you."

"Berri," Turbo choked an unsure laugh and shot her a smile, he shook his head and finally softened to tender apology, "I didn't reach out to you because I knew you had a date with Gunner. I didn't want to conflict with it."

"Well, why?" Berri prod, though Turbo sharply furrowed his brow, looked off and now had to genuinely contemplate her question, "Were you worried I'd say no, or something? Better to just sort of disregard me than to be shut down?"

"I guess that could be my reasoning," Turbo shrugged, he gave her a bold, confident smile and shook his head, "I don't handle rejection well. But, then again, I knew this was an important night for you, and I didn't want to distract."

"Turbo, you want to know what I did on my entire date?" Berri muttered in dismay, though Turbo sharply furrowed his brow again and gave her a wary, unsure look, as if to prove that he really didn't want those kinds of details, though Berri rolled her eyes and pressed on, "I glared down your tower for the entire night. I left the palace lot with the image of Wren, Theo and Chester running away to the teleport pad like... 'TO TURBO'S!'"

"I'm sorry, Bear," Turbo nearly choked a laugh as Berri now sat up a little bit and eased to the edge of Turbo's couch in a fit of fervor,

"Is this just going to be a reoccurring thing? Y'gunna plan house parties on nights I have a date with Gunner?" Berri stabbed, though the look on her face now gave Turbo mixed signals.

"If that's what you think is going on, then, sure," Turbo blurt another laugh as Berri looked off in solid irritation, though it was clear she was trying her hardest not to smile. Turbo raised his eyebrows in boyish, nervous surprise and knew full well that, with his next question, he was setting his own heart up for failure, "You, uh... You have more dates planned with Gunner?"

"Yeah, he asked me on a second date next Friday, as a matter of fact" Berri stabbed in cocky delight, and although Turbo felt his heart sink straight through the sixty-four floors they hovered on, he somehow felt revived with Berri's cute, sassy eye contact, "Y'gunna plan ANOTHER house party on that night too? Something else I'll miss out on?"

"C'mon, you'd certainly rather go on a date with Gunner than come over to my loft for a silly house party, where Nox is an idiot and Wren's and Throttle's sexual tension is absolutely maddening," Turbo now sat up straighter, as well, and, with his knees lightly spreed, he clasped his hands in a hover as his elbows rested on his thighs. He gestured out to the room, cocked an eyebrow and peered to Berri in a volley of sass he was well aware Berri wasn't attune to, "... Only to come over right when the party's ending, and you get to see my sorry ass clean up my loft. Certainly that just adds to your amazing night out, no?"

"That's messed up, Bo. If that's how you want to play it, then fine," Berri suddenly snipped, and it was here did Turbo very quickly understand that he was way out of his element. With the mix of alcohol, the feelings he had for Berri and the jealousy he harbored for Gunner, he felt his skin quickly sting in delight as his body did everything to sober him up. He flinched in nervous sorrow as Berri gently came to a stand, bent over to pick up her heels and softly cued to Chester, across the way, "I just won't come over, like that, any longer. I thought maybe you guys wanted me here, but I'm beginning to see that not inviting me was probably intentional."

"Berri, please," Turbo urged in nervous sorrow as he stood, and as bravely as he could, he eased into her bubble and so gently held his hand to her lower arm, to keep her from walking away. Berri furrowed her eyebrows and stabbed her dominant blue eye contact into his, a great deal of confusion and hurt that soaked over her had his heart pulsing in uncertainty, "I-I didn't not invite you because I didn't want you here... Genuinely. I just... Didn't want to intrude. I knew that date was probably really important for you, and... Who am I to come in between you two, y'know? I just was trying to be respectful."

"Who are you, Turbo? You're my best friend," Berri eased in a gentle sting of sorrow as she gladly hung in Turbo's vicinity, "Sure, I made plans with Gunner, first, but... If you would've invited me first, I would've turned Gunner down, or at least planned a different day. This doesn't have to be hard."

Turbo huffed a shaky breath and bobbed a nervous nod. He lovingly held his hand to Berri's lower arm, as if she was the only thing holding him to the Arcade, he long blinked his golden eyes in tender dismay towards himself. Although he wouldn't dare admit that this was all just an innocent scheme to get her to feel torn, he now felt bad for playing such a game with her. Turbo gently brought his apologetic eyes to hers and silently said his sorries for his dumb decisions, he gently shook his head and heaved a shaky sigh as the two stood tight in each other's vicinities. It wasn't until Berri gently bent down to drop her heels did Turbo feel confidence tenderly come back to his skin, confidence that now lacked a cocky vibe erring on the side of drunken loss of inhibitions.

"Forgive me," Turbo stated gently, and as the air began to finally ease, the two sat back down to the couch, about a foot or two apart so to make conversing easier, "I guess... Another reason why I sort of slacked on reaching out to you was, well... I was confused as to why you were sort of avoiding me, and it was brought to my attention that you found out about Libby and I."

"...Yeah," Berri quipped, as if she possibly didn't even want to begin thinking about it, though she long blinked her gaze in Turbo's direction, in tender confusion, and was now well aware Turbo was in the middle of a sticky situation, with her, and was dealing with it like a champ. Although she wouldn't openly admit it, she knew going on a date with Gunner likely wasn't the easiest thing for Turbo to swallow, much like the knowledge of his and Libby's past was for her. Berri heaved a hot sigh through her nose, looked down to her hands and bobbed a gentle nod of further understanding, "I guess... I didn't really know how to handle all that. I had no idea..."

"Yeah, there's... There's a lot that went on, once upon a time," Turbo stated in mild dread, though he shook his head and smiled, "Though, I dated an INCREDIBLY different version of Libby. Not the Libby you know, today."

"I guess... I know the story, and I know what happened, it just stung, and, I really have no clue why," Berri shook her head and peered deep into Turbo's loving eyes, ones that used to scare her, and it was here did she see the depth of unconditional love just sap his whole being. She was well aware he needed a shoulder, he needed a support system, and it was here did she feel the need to jump up and be that one shining star for him, "That was lifetimes ago. I really shouldn't have gotten bent out of shape."

"She's your sister in law, I can see why you got upset," Turbo shrugged, though he shot her a cheeky smile and shook his head, "The Libby I was in a relationship was very different from Kaji. Both women are like night and day."

"So... Tell me what your version of Libby was like?" Berri prod warmly, as if opening up this wound was likely too hard for her, and it was clear she was gritting her teeth, though in asking this question, she was simply unaware she was asking Turbo to explain all of the things he quite enjoyed out of Berri; he visibly swallowed and looked off, due to this.

"W-Well, she... She was outgoing, bratty, exciting," Turbo listed with a gentle shrug, "We were both racers, we were both... Musicians."

Berri's aimless gaze down at Turbo's coffee table gingerly warmed into alertness, and as the two gently caught eyes in a string of warm knowing, Berri barely peaked a small smile.

"She was opinionated, she was always smiling, she always had a witty comeback," Turbo listed, and it was here did Berri look off in bashful knowing and avoid eye contact with Turbo, the curl of her pink lips held true as she did everything to withhold it, "She loved hard, she was fiercely loyal... When all that crap went down with TurboTime, she heavily advocated for me. She defended me like her life depended on it. She believed in me..."

Berri frowned and peered her curious eyes into Turbo's, and as Turbo's descriptions kept going, she felt her heart begin to sag in gentle realization. The sheer fact that he was now slowly segueing into everything he now currently loved about Berri, a flame of love he was entirely unsure would ever be rekindled, Berri sagged her shoulders and peered to Turbo in gentle knowing, though she did absolutely everything she could to seem unsuspecting.

"When everyone turned on me, she stood up and put her foot down, she spoke highly about me to the people at her favorite coffee shop," Turbo eased, he finally peered down to his coffee table as a shy smile sprawled his face; he bravely continued on, "And, although she likely wanted to tell her friends all about how she was safely harboring an Arcade bad guy inside her game, she protected my identity where it counted. She came to me first when there was a problem... There was a lot of trust between us. Hell, I gave her a key to my loft."

Berri blurt a bashful giggle and looked down to her open palms, her coding being the thing that was said key to Turbo's loft. She felt her heart flutter in excitement, the whole fact that Turbo was very shyly and sneakily revealing his feelings for her, in this raw instance, she almost wondered if this was now how they were going to move forward. A sly, slow moving dance of stepping stones, a gentle ease of tug and release, her vivid blue eyes finally hooked into his, and it was here did Turbo inhale a deep, readied breath and bob a nod.

"My version of Libby was insensitive at times, she would often say things she didn't mean and would play mind games with me," Turbo shrugged, and it was here did he finally return Berri's lovely eye contact, "It sucked sometimes, but... These thirty years has given me time to understand what I want and what I don't want. I'd say my judgement has greatly improved."

Berri smiled down to her hands, once more, and was floored by the heavy compliment she had just been lofted. She knew she very easily had her own glaring flaws that Turbo probably saw, though her heart fluttered at the simple idea Turbo was insinuating; that she was a massive upgrade. Berri shook her head a little and was well aware the woman from Turbo's past was still grand and great in her own right, though she wrinkled her nose in tender curiosity and shook her head in mild confusion.

"So, Kaji just HAS all those memories of you? Even though she's not the same person," Berri trailed off, to which Turbo raised his eyebrows and tightened his lip in smiling irritation.

"Yyyep. That woman knows quite a lot about me," Turbo grunted in nervousness, to which Berri finally blurt a cute laugh, the two smiled on, "She could blackmail me so badly. But, we're cool. We've talked about all of this. She's an entirely different person, and even if she wasn't... Libby wasn't technically good for me. We had a lot of highs, but also a lot of lows. We jumped right into our relationship without any regard. We swapped after two days of knowing each other."

"Holy crap," Berri blurt in surprise, to which Turbo rolled his eyes and lulled them closed.

"I know, not my smartest move ever," Turbo muttered, though he shrugged and peered across his dim home, "But... Libby reversed my coding, last year, and... Although I was really angry at her, at first, I'm super grateful. Yeah, Libby was my swap mate, but... It was a toxic situation. The six months we were dating, our love just got angrier and more constrained."

"How come?" Berri patiently wondered.

"Well, I was a bad guy. I was wanted... I was too afraid to leave Sweet Streets," Turbo shrugged, though he scoffed an annoyed noise at himself and looked off, "I guess... It's not too different from where I stand, right now, but... I was a LOT angrier about it. A lot meaner. I had just lost my home, and I didn't know how to deal with it."

"Sounds like you've done a lot of growing, since then," Berri encouraged, to which Turbo heaved a gentle sigh of relief.

"I like to look at it like that," Turbo nodded, "Helps that Kaji is super understanding. We cleared the air really quick, and before we knew it, I was helping her get through a feuding time she was having with Ace."

"You helped her with her's and Ace's relationship problems?" Berri wondered sweetly, to which Turbo rubbed his temple.

"Well, partially because I caused the whole mess... The second I saw Libby, I jumped up and started making out with her," Turbo uttered through clenched teeth, and although Berri was previously hurt by this information, she now openly laughed and smiled about the situation, "I had absolutely no context, I didn't know she was swap mates with a User that was preparing to delete my ass, right then and there."

"I can't imagine how Ace felt, in that instance," Berri staggered a laugh and shrugged a little, though Turbo bugged his eyes.

"Insanely hurt," Turbo choked with a small laugh to boot, "But, we talked through it, eventually... It was a misunderstanding of a colossal size. We all got through it, but it took a hot minute."

"But Libby still loves you, I know she wants you to be happy, like she is," Berri encouraged, and it was here did the two traipse down a slippery road, once more, "Certainly, you too, could... Go into the city, go on a date with someone, sort of... Restart life, like you deserve. Don't you want that?"

Turbo felt his heart sag in knowing; he was well aware just exactly what Berri was doing, here. Although their silent movie of love was now painfully in black and white, speckled with debris and full of excuses that simply evaporated from the tips of their tongues, he cocked an eyebrow and knew exactly what she was insinuating, no matter how thick the fog between them got.

"I do," Turbo's voice so warmly lilted, the rasp of the years of smoking he had been doing added that depth of masculine, worn endearment to his personality, it was something that Berri was finding herself craving more and more, the longer they were in each other's presence. Turbo smiled down to his hands and almost gave his flooring a look of forlorn regret, "If I ever find my bravery... There definitely is someone I'd ask out, in a heart beat."

"You should ask her," Berri nodded with a warm smile, she could feel her and Turbo metaphorically grapple each others hands and stand on the crumpling edge of their cliff, the urge to peer into each other's eyes and quickly beg if this was the right decision before leaping, she could almost feel the wind in her hair, the rush of their conjoined pulses, the way Turbo's innocent, golden eyes hooked to hers in bashful question. Berri inhaled a shaky breath and eased a gentle giggle as her encouraging voice carried on, "I-I'm sure she knows all the awesome spots, around town."

"I'm sure she does," Turbo grumbled with a smile and a small nod, though he looked back down and heaved a trembling sigh, "If it weren't for my fear of going out in public, any longer... I've... Lost touch with myself. I've become scared. It was something I didn't have when I first started dating Libby, but the deeper our relationship got, and the more hectic the chaos around Arcade got, the bigger this wound got."

"I understand," Berri eased in conclusion, she bobbed a nod and looked down in defeat, "Maybe, if this certain girl kept coming over, you'd eventually be comfortable coming into her domain. The city... And maybe, eventually, the rest of Arcade. Certainly that's something you can handle. I know Libby would want you to carry on and be happy, don't you think?"

"Y-You're not wrong," Was all Turbo's now shivering heart could afford, he nodded and nervously looked off, as if he was well aware just what needed to happen in order to live a normal life with Berri, everything a solid dating life, or even relationship, would entail; he knew she wouldn't carry on without that normalcy, "I've... I've come this far. I can afford house parties. I-I mean, a month ago, that would be something I'd imagine would greet me upon entering hell's gates."

Berri blurt out in hard laughter and covered her face, Turbo beamed a cheeky smile and craved every last ounce of her lovely voice, her contagious laugh.

"It was definitely a shock, to hear," Berri loudly giggled as she tucked her hair behind her ears and tried to compose herself, "W-Wren told me you were throwing a house party and I practically stroked out. I was like, wait... OUR Turbo? That can't be right."

"It was fun," Turbo bobbed a nod, though he lulled his eyes closed in exhaustion and heaved a gentle laugh, "I'm exhausted, but... Was fun."

"I hope I'm invited to the next one," Berri argued in now smiling irritation, to which Turbo rolled his eyes and covered his face in tired, rising agitation, "I don't care what plans I have to cancel, I WILL be invited to the next one."

"Yes, ma'am, you'll be the first person I tell," Turbo assured with a warm smile and laugh in her direction; the two gently hung in suspended easiness, and it was here did Turbo suddenly realize that, although they were only faintly glowing, she still had her circuited stress lines. He furrowed his eyebrows and tenderly leaned in, to get a better look, "Man, those stress lines STILL there, huh..."

"Oh? Yeah, I... Well..." Berri heaved a nervous sigh and peered into Turbo's eyes, "That's... That's actually something I wanted to ask you about. My mom and Libby were looking into it, and, well..."

"I've already gotten the memo, I'm happy to help you out," Turbo pressed warmly with a small nod, "Tessa elected me. She said I'd certainly know what to do."

"Well, do you?" Berri pressed innocently, to which Turbo gave her a warm, encouraging smile.

"Course I do, there's lots that can be done to reverse stress lines," Turbo eased sweetly, "I'm happy to help you through that. It starts with really taking care of yourself, but... There's a lot of different remedies. Some longer lasting than others."

"I'd like a crash course, please," Berri prod in teasing, dire urgency, to which Turbo's rib cage reverberated a tired chuckle, he nodded in warm approval.

"How about you come over this Sunday, on closed Arcade day," Turbo affirmed, he gently gestured to her and gave her a promising, cheeky smile, "I can give you the run down on how all of that works, and what you can do to get the stress lines to disappear."

"Will it hurt?" Berri worried, though Turbo wrinkled his nose and felt his face heat up a little.

"N-No, it won't," Turbo staggered with a confused laugh, "I'll go easy on you."

"... What's that supposed to mean?" Berri wondered in now blushing, riled confusion, though both of their bashful smiles never wavered.

"You'll just have to find out," Turbo's voice lilted in sneaky cuteness.

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 **A/N:** Hey guys! I'll be gone for the next week. My mommy is coming into town, for our birthdays, and I won't have any time to write or upload. If I DO find down time, then I'll write again and upload, but as for right now, I won't be back until next Friday, which is July 26th. Thanks for understanding guys!

ALSO, fair **WARNING** \- my next chapter, **Chapter 82** , is a pretty spicy chapter between Wren and Throttle, which involves sexual themes. For those of you not interested in those kinds of things, you can skip the entirety of the next chapter. You won't miss any major plot points, but I'd check back once Chapter 83 is uploaded! Thanks guys!


	82. Chapter 82

**Reviews:**

 **Jay Sketchin :** YEEEEET

 **Snake557 :** Aw thanks friend! I appreciate it.

 **Burgie :** She most definitely gets a self-care day a-la Turbo, that is for sure! And, thank you! I appreciate it a lot :D

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Hurry Up! by Superfruit**

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 _ ***WARNING***_

 ** _This chapter contains explicit, detailed, sexual content between two men. If this does not interest you, please wait to read_ Chapter 83 _\- it will be uploaded on_ Sunday July 28th _! You will not miss any (detrimental) plot points by skipping this chapter - you will miss Wren's and Throttle's spike in relational and character development as well as a tiny coding detail that will eventually be expanded on. Thanks guys!_**

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 **A/N :**

 **So... I most definitely WOULD apologize for the sheer length of this BEHEMOTH of a chapter, but I'm positive that those of you that are excited for Wren and Throttle's relationship, wouldn't complain at all lol! I ALMOST halved this chapter, but I didn't have the heart. I could've easily chopped it in two, OR even three, but I felt it right to just include everything and anything in one go. I mean, this chapter ALONE could be considered a one shot. It's insane how quickly a small idea can get away from me xD For those of you that do and don't like this sort of thing, I didn't want to keep anyone waiting any longer than y'all had to. So, on that note...**

 **Enjoy Out of the Blue's first sexual scene! ;)**

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 ***Chapter 82***

With a groan of mild regret, Wren scrunched his eyes tight and lazily wrestled his opened palm into the depths of his left eye socket. In a firm rub, knowing full well tomorrow would likely include a hearty hangover, he furrowed his eyebrows in tender surprise. What he could've sworn was his final act of getting from Turbo's teleportation pad to the teleportation pad just outside his, Berri's and Theo's tower, he flinched as he heard the gentle rustle of keys to his right. With a pop of his blue eyes, he dart his now prickled attention about and was floored to find that he was just measly one teleportation pad off; the silent, snowy, moonlit stretch of palace grounds between his tower and Throttle's abode now glowed in pride, as if to insinuate to Wren that he was in the wrong and right spot, all in one single plop.

"O-Oh, you... Did you mean to come to my teleport pad?" Throttle wondered in a bristled show of almost excited confusion, his black eyebrows were raised in poised anticipation, the way his hand was frozen in a hover about his shiny house key, which was firmly stabbed into the lock of his lovely front door; an old soul that just couldn't get into the idea of properly using his digital touch-pad, next to his front door, as a way of getting in and out of his house.

Wren opened his mouth and huffed a faltered, fogged breath of whole bewilderment. He shot his tower a sharp look of confusion, as if he could absolutely swear he hit the right button to be sent straight home. He scratched the back of his head in further confusion, and as both the palace lot and Throttle's now frozen demeanor hung in anticipated wait, Wren sagged his arm to his side, slumped his shoulders and shot Throttle a cheeky, apologetic smile.

"I must've accidentally hit your name on Turbo's teleportation pad," Wren huffed with a cute smile, he shook his head and allowed his feet to take the gentle steps in motion to head out of Throttle's patio, down his stoop, and across the stretch of snow. He knew him and Throttle had hit it off at Turbo's exciting house party, though for some reason, he was certain the night concluded there. Any aspect of private after-parties didn't even register in his brain, and with such, he tenderly shot Throttle a small smile and waved, "Sorry, I-I... I guess I must be more buzzed than I thought."

"No, it's fine, i-it's..." Throttle staggered, the frigid air before him fogged, he left his key in the lock, with the delicate tinkering of his keychains that he now unhanded, he faced Wren's turned figure and bit his lip in a spike of forced confidence that came flooding him. He felt his heart throb in a confusing pulse of an ironic twist of certainty and nervousness, though he desperately tried to lean into his younger brother's words. Throttle knew mildly uncomfortable situations often lead to beautiful things, and although he already hit his bravery quota for the night, he scanned his loved front porch and wondered just how far he could push said quota. He could feel Wren's figure hovering in a halted scuff of anticipation, and with such, the gentle, white glow of Throttle's eyes lovingly glossed in Wren's direction, "M-maybe it was for a reason. I-I mean... You're here, you... You might as well come in."

Wren raised his eyebrows a little and looked off in contemplation; he could swear this wouldn't be something on the agenda, though he recalled the spikes of confidence Throttle had been successfully deploying all over him, tonight, and was now silently telling himself that he shouldn't be surprised. With Throttle's inviting words, Wren suddenly felt his stomach dip in a weird mixture of dreaded, giddy anticipation. The very idea of coming home with someone, the notion of both boys being alone, the tense build up of flirting and even sensual banter that they had been enduring all night long, Wren was certain that it'd just dissipate for the night, and that tomorrow was a new day, likely sat back at square one. Wren cocked an eyebrow and sagged his humble eye contact right into Throttle's, a new, shy show of cheeky knowing that Throttle now crowned, it was here did Wren entirely understand that all of the boys, in the Black family name, were far cheekier, sneakier and intuitive than any of them lead on.

"...Y'got more alcohol?" Wren blurt with a small chuckle, it was here did Throttle beam a wide smile and choke a hard laugh out to the cold air, the patio before him fogged with such fervor. Wren's smile widened even more, and as he gently eased back into the dim, yellow glow of Throttle's lovely, sleepy, snowy patio, he sagged his hands into his grey coat pockets and shook his head in Throttle's direction, "I'm gunna need more of it. Hear me out... I'm thinking if I just keep drinking, it'll cancel out the potential for a nasty hangover, tomorrow."

"I do have alcohol, but I don't think your reasoning lines up," Throttle chuckled, his deep voice glossed over Wren in a new form of boyish comfort they fell into, together, and with Wren's warm body now soaked into Throttle's bubble, Throttle's confident hand grappled his keys, once more, and unlatched his door's hefty lock, "We can have another toast, but... Let's maybe also eat something... Drink some water. I don't want you to be miserable, tomorrow."

"That's nice of you," Wren mumbled, as much as Wren just wanted to carry on the night with more toasts, he sagged into Throttle's mature, loving care and was well aware Throttle had decades of wisdom over him.

Throttle bobbed a small nod, and as he welcomed the both of them into his warm home, he began to feel his temples dot with beads of the beginning of a cold sweat. He suddenly prolonged the night between the both of them, an innocent notion to not let go of these strange new feelings now began to push into the limits and boundaries of his shivering, introverted heart. He eyed the back of Wren's head as Wren took of his coat and his shoes, Throttle furrowed his eyebrows and felt a weird wave of newness fall over him. As desperately as he wanted to shell away and be nearly just as introverted as Turbo was, he felt his strange desire to continue to do said shelling away, though from here on out, he didn't want to do it without Wren's bubbly, understanding presence. Throttle nervously began to take off his coat and shoes, as well, and as they hovered in Throttle's little mudroom, just near his lovely grey-tiled foyer, he hovered in the tender silence they both fell into.

Throttle felt the urge to gulp hang in the back of his throat. He suddenly took on the roll of host, the special guest he now was welcoming into the depths of his nervous, shivering heart, he wondered just exactly how vulnerable he could be with Wren. It was here did Throttle now fully understand how Turbo felt trying to court Berri; someone so many Arcade years younger than him, someone with such a fresh, small bout of life experience as opposed to the swathe of decades the TurboTime boys harbored, Throttle felt a strange sense of guilt plague him. Before the confusing thoughts of his late ex-girlfriend could take him down and beg him to cut this new, fresh get-together at the quick, he shook his head and hung his coat on a nearby coat hook, just near the sprawling black bench of his dim mud room. Throttle knew he needed to let go of his past, a past that didn't make him happy, a past that only confused him and left him wanting something more, something different. He was well aware he bravely invited Wren in for a reason, and just like that, he almost annoyingly scolded himself for setting himself up like this. What random spikes of confidence looked like in the lull of uncertainty that followed, simply minutes after, looked like the highest, scariest mountains of doom.

"Could've sworn I hit the button for MY teleportation pad," Wren continued to scold himself quietly as both men eased out of the mudroom and into the small corridor that lead to Throttle's airy kitchen, one of which looked out and opened up to his lovely living room. Throttle gently switched on the few wall lights, and as his home came to life with warmth, he teasingly gave the back of Wren's head a knowing smirk, "I must be more out of it than I thought..."

"For such a huge mistake, you don't seem too keen to correct it," Throttle volleyed skillfully, a swathe of confidence he was determined to just force until even he believed it.

"The guy I like taunts me all night long and then invites me back to his place for more food and drinks?" Wren lofted with a cute smile over his shoulder, he rounded Throttle's island and eyed the cabinet near his stainless steel fridge; the cabinet that held a few elegant bottles of fine wine, "I may be young, but I'm not stupid. I know what's good for me."

"You lowkey invited yourself," Throttle choked a laugh, a teasing, cheeky side that he was now becoming comfortable with showing Wren a little bit more; Wren gaped and furrowed his brow in rising banter.

"I mean I CAN leave, is that what you'd like?" Wren returned in a playful stab, Throttle blurt a laugh and, much to Wren's delight, he eased to his wine cabinet and snatched one of his favorite wines.

"No, I wouldn't like that," Throttle pressed in warm, raspy conclusion, his deep voice reverberated from his rib cage in certainty, and as he came to the island with two wine glasses and a full bottle of wine, he shot Wren a kind smile and shook his head, "I-It's been awhile since, well..."

"You had a guy over?" Wren pressed nonchalantly, as if this was just a normal situation for Throttle; not knowing the full story of Throttle's past, he eyed Wren in gentle contemplation and wondered if maybe huge, pressing details would even stick, the evening of bumbling through drinks and emotions had Throttle wondering if this would potentially be the perfect situation to break the ice.

"Well... No, to be honest with you, I've never had, well... A guy over," Throttle tried not to get too serious, though as he poured him and Wren a hearty glass of wine each, he cocked an eyebrow and gently gave Wren a kind, nervous smile; Wren stood up a little straighter and furrowed his eyebrows.

"... I thought I was the only noob, here," Wren pressed in genuine sweetness, somehow the idea of Throttle being experienced, in this realm, had Wren putting up a stronger front than necessary, as if he needed to prove himself to Throttle, the idea of showing that he could potentially be a good match for him ruffled with larger, more colorful feathers than what was needed; Wren now was wondering if said mildly cocky, sassy front would eventually just scare Throttle off.

"No, no, you're... Not alone," Throttle staggered with a nervous laugh as he gently corked the wine, handed Wren his glass and gently held up his own, so the two could cheers, "I may have relationship experience, but... I-I... I'm fr-freshly out of the closet, my friend. This is all pretty new to me."

"Oh, wow, well..." Wren clutched his chest and almost felt relieved. He beamed Throttle a smile and felt walls begin to crumple, as if they now could resonate with each other, level with one another, and really understand that they were both mildly flying blind, Wren smiled a sweet smile and was almost relieved he could take down his sassy, cocky front and just simply be himself in front of Throttle, who had no expectations. Wren held up his glass, and in a new wave of warm, sweet confidence that sapped the two, Wren knew to immediately switch up his game from hard to get, to tender loving care, a catering sense of nurturing Wren was well aware they now both needed, here, "I may not have decades of trying to figure out my sexuality, under my belt, but... It's nice to have camaraderie."

"Cheers to that," Throttle pressed cutely, and as both boys gently chimed their glasses together, they each took a hearty swig.

Throttle swallowed hard and nervously looked across his kitchen. Having previously been in a sexual relationship with a woman, from TurboTime, he felt his veins wiggle in weird delight. Everything he had previous experience with included the opposite sex, different cues and wants and desires that were lofted his way were all things he stored away for later, thinking it was all knowledge he'd eventually use again. Although he had wrestled with his sexuality, and wondered just why he had begun to feel different in his thinking, he was delighted to find that his curious wonderings didn't flat line the second he was given an opportunity to expand on them. With Wren's now warm and inviting demeanor putting Throttle's whole universe at ease, he felt his stomach begin to line with butterflies. With the rush of emotion that soaked over Throttle, ones of guilt, excitement, dread, curiosity, anticipation, he felt the urge to somehow apologize brim in the back of his throat, a strange desire to entirely open up, a good friend he had now delightfully shown a healthy amount of romantic interest in.

"I-I... I'm excited for our ice cream date," Throttle pressed nervously, Wren furrowed his brow and eyed Throttle in anticipatory confusion.

"Me too, I'm glad you asked me," Wren encouraged, Throttle huffed a shaky breath and nodded.

"I-I'm sorry if... Well... I-I just am no good at this," Throttle began to cave in on himself, he inwardly scolded himself, knowing full well this was a downward spiral that was likely due to scaring Wren off, "I-I'm only really used to doing this kind of thing with, well... A woman. It was so long ago, and I just have entirely lost touch, and-"

"Hey, easy," Wren kindly begged, he choked a small laugh, and much to Throttle's delight, Wren gently sagged his hand to Throttle's lower arm in a calm show of steadiness, "You don't need to explain yourself. Neither of us have experience with this, y'know? So, why don't we just get to know each other further, and have a good time tonight. We can complicate conversation and make things heavy later."

Throttle raised his eyebrows and gently eased his creepy, pixel-cubed stare into Wren's, an equal amount of love and understanding easily lofted to one another, it was here did Throttle feel as if he had made a solid decision in attempting to wrangle Wren into his shivering heart. The idea of delving into deeper topics, that Wren insinuated, left Throttle feeling hopeful, that this wouldn't be a one and done, that this little ember of love could easily be fanned into something grand. Throttle smiled down to his wine glass and ran his finger over the rim, he huffed a small chuckle and finally gave Wren a sweet smile of tender gratitude, more walls that continued to come down in honor of their very first little date night, something neither of them anticipated for tonight.

"Thank you," Throttle concluded with a small nod, his heart throbbed, the urge to hug Wren made his arms itch, though he reigned it in and knew to likely move things slowly.

"You're welcome," Wren pressed kindly, though much to Throttle surprise, Wren warmly eased his arms about Throttle's middle and gave him a squeeze of a side hug that Throttle bashfully obliged to, "I really put myself in the position of attempting to seek out women, but... Then I got a front row seat to all of Turbo's struggles with it. Huge turn off."

"Poor Turbo," Throttle choked a laugh, and as the two gently unraveled from each other's soft and warm embrace, Throttle pressed to his cabinet and opened it wide, he peered to Wren over his shoulder in a show of cute bashfulness, "It's not for everyone, I guess. Turbo's situation goes a little deeper than simply going after just ANY woman. We're talking about Sugar Rush's future Queen."

"Tessa's daughter," Wren bugged his eyes.

"The fieriest of princesses," Throttle concluded with a knowing look, he cutely brought over a box of cake mix and jostled it about before setting it on the island, "He's a brave soul, that's for sure."

"...You're going to bake a cake?" Wren pressed with a hard laugh, and although the buzz of the previous bit of alcohol he had, earlier in the night, was finally wearing off, this new, fresh glass of wine began to tingle the underside of his brain, once more.

"I don't know, man, I don't know who I am anymore," Throttle barked with a sudden laugh as he lazily thrusted the box to his kitchen island; Wren erupted in laughter as Throttle sagged and pathetically stared at the now disheveled box, haphazardly on its side, "Sure. I have a random box of cake mix that Nox left here and I had no one to bake it with, so... Sure. Let's bake a cake. Who doesn't like cake?"

"Theo," Wren argued in full irritation, though he leaned over the kitchen island, grappled the box into his hand and stood to correction, so he could read over just what kind of cake mix this was; a birthday confetti type, Wren's eyes lit up in delight, "That freak doesn't have a sweet tooth. He's related to Vanellope Von Schweetz and DOESN'T have a sweet tooth."

"Neither does Tessa, from what I've heard," Throttle mumbled kindly, he bent over and began to rummage through his lower cabinet, likely for a mixing bowl and a baking pan, so to complete their new chore, "Then again, I wasn't a racer in one of Litwak's most popular racing games. I guess I'm not one to talk."

"It's okay, I'm useless in this game too, remember?" Wren mumbled, Throttle gently set the bowl and pan near Wren and began to ease closer to his large fridge, so to get out the ingredients for the cake. Wren cocked an eyebrow and shot Throttle a kind smile as he waggled the box about, "We can be useless together. Turn this uselessness into... Well..."

"MAD baking skills," Throttle completed, both boys loudly laughed with each other.

"I mean, Sugar Rush DOES need sweets," Wren shrugged as Throttle came over with a container of eggs and a thing of butter. He then returned, a second time, with sugar and a jug of milk, "That's something I get from my mom. She loves to bake."

"We're not useless," Throttle mumbled sweetly, "Did you know that two gamers, without any power ups, can swap and gain random powers?"

"...Wait WHAT?" Wren furrowed his eyebrows and now stared Throttle down with purpose, and although Throttle's face turned red at the tender insinuation, he choked a laugh as Wren suddenly grappled Throttle's arm, "WE CAN DO THAT!"

"Wren," Throttle now loudly began to belly laugh, Wren jostled him around.

"You're telling me that if we swap codes, you and I will get POWER UPS? RANDOMLY?" Wren shouted, Throttle now shut his eyes and silent-laughed. Wren shook his head and couldn't help but laugh along, "I have NEVER heard anything like this before. C'mon, just keep drinking, we'll make it work!"

"For User's sake, Wren," Throttle wheezed as he desperately grappled for the cake mix box. He opened the box, pried open the bag of loose cake mix and began to messily pour the proper ingredients in the bowl. He tried his hardest to collect himself as Wren playfully hovered tight to his side, teasingly watching his every move, "I-It's EXTREMELY rare. I've never even met someone where that was a possibility, but I've heard it has happened, before."

"I wonder what the statistic is," Wren fingers his lip and looked across Throttle's lovely kitchen, he sagged his shoulder and furrowed his brow, "Maybe we should ask Tessa or Turbo, or someone, about it. Y'think they'd know the science behind that?"

"I'm sure they'd know something, Turbo for sure would," Throttle nodded, "Believe it or not, that guy probably knows a LOAD more about coding than Tessa and Vanellope combined. Got a coding question? He's the guy to ask, for sure."

"Hmmmm," Wren dragged as he continued to finger his lip in contemplation, though Throttle heaved a long, hot sigh and shook his head. Although his cheeks were beet red, he began to feel nervous over the raw fact that now glossed the bridge of his nose; his eyes began to turn that dreaded, lovely peachy tint of bashfulness that was well on its way to obvious arousal.

"You're not going to use me for the one in a million chance of gaining a power up," Throttle playfully shot down, though Wren rolled his eyes and slumped his arms to his sides.

"If my coding granted you the ability to FLY, you'd be so eternally grateful," Wren argued with a hard laugh, he grabbed his glass of wine and took a healthy swig. He swallowed, eyed Throttle in cheeky goodness and smirked, "You'd be wondering why we hadn't have done anything sooner."

"I'm not so easily swayed, my friend," Throttle grumbled with a smile he desperately tried to hide, he shook his head and began to pour the ingredients in the bowl; he knew Wren would likely help out when it came to decorating said cake. Throttle shook his head as he began to firmly stir the messy, golden cake batter mixture, "I went thirty years without any shred of intimacy with anyone. Y'think the prospect of an only one in a million chance for a power up, right in front of me, is going to sway me?"

"No, I'm confident it'd be something else that'd sway you," Wren stated confidently as he furrowed his eyebrows and nonchalantly shrugged, he watched Throttle's strong arms stir the cake batter in the silver mixing bowl he cradled. Wren cheekily smiled, swiped a finger into the cake batter, dolloped a little on his finger and was floored to catch Throttle's attention to the point of slowing his mixing. Wren cocked an eyebrow and waggled his pointer finger in the air, showing the dollop of batter he was about to delightfully consume, "The prospect of new power ups would be, well... The icing on the cake."

Throttle cocked an eyebrow and slowed his stirring to a stop as Wren gently sagged his finger into his own mouth and tamely sucked the batter clean off his skin. Although a seemingly innocent gesture, laced with the raw, teasing sweetness just eking from Wren's pores, Throttle felt his coding wiggle in nervous, anxious delight. Throttle huffed a shaky chuckle and now felt as if this whole entire new adventure wasn't simply just a spark of confused feelings, the whole prospect of not feeling wholly complete seemingly saw itself out. With a rush of feelings Throttle was now desperately trying to get ahold of, to put a finger on, he scoffed a small laugh, bashfully smiled into the mixture and began to stir, once more. He could feel his hands shake, the way his heart confidently thud in his chest, unlike ever before, he felt as if his soul had come alive in this instance, the fresh feeling of a new beginning. Although it was laced in late night drinks and the prospects of baking and decorating a cake whilst drunk, Throttle knew that there was something here. Something he was certain Wren was feeling, as well, a certain something Throttle was well aware Wren was now due to sniffing out in one fell swoop.

"Sure, the power ups are a one in a million chance, but," Wren trailed, Throttle now shot him a teasingly annoyed smile and furrowed his eyebrows, "I'm a one in a million catch."

"Smooth," Throttle stated in a dull tone with a smile that proved he was being playful, though in the rush to thwart Wren's playfully cocky air, Throttle also dolloped his finger into the wet batter and gently splayed the broad of it on Wren's cheek.

Amidst the breath of being prepared to carry on, Wren was jolted out of his thoughts as Throttle scrunched his shoulders, huffed a wheezy, cheeky laugh through his teeth and now began to nervously step away from Wren, in fear of retaliation. Wren gaped, froze and now gave Throttle a cold hard stare of unadulterated surprise, though in the few seconds where Wren was frozen, Throttle stifled hard laughter and put a decent amount of distance between him and Wren. In a teasing, tight-lipped show of irritation, Wren jolted for Throttle's positioning, and although Throttle loudly laughed and jumped away, Wren was successful in swiping the mixing bowl from Throttle's hands. Throttle choked a hard laugh, as did Wren, as they scuffled about Throttle's large kitchen island. They hung on opposite sides, when Wren jolted to hug the island and get closer to Throttle, Throttle did everything he could to scurry around the other end of the island.

"Okay, NOW there's barely even a one in a million chance that you'll get any form of action, tonight," Wren barked, and although Throttle wasn't technically expecting anything to spark between the two, so soon, he somehow knew, in the back of his mind, this kind of banter would arise, a hot topic brimming at the edges of their minds.

"I told you, I went thirty years without it, babe," Throttle choked through laughter, the sheer amount of smiling he had done in the span of this whole evening was more than he can remember doing in the whole entirety of his life.

"You're starting to sound like Turbo," Wren grunted, and with a gentle fling of his finger, he accidentally shot a healthy splay of cake batter in Throttle's direction; it easily splattered the broad of Throttle's chest, thus dirtying his shirt. Wren gaped in sheepish, smiling apology and now scrunched his shoulders in cheeky defeat.

"HEY!" Throttle complained with a hard laugh, he grappled the chest of his now dirty shirt and jostled it about in teasing anger, "I like this shirt!"

"Oh, just throw it in the wash, don't be a baby about it," Wren argued, though with Wren's guard now down, Throttle carefully began to unbutton his shirt and mosey across the stretch.

In the seconds he had Wren in a disarmed manner, Throttle jolted for the mixing bowl Wren was now lazily holding. Wren huffed a loud noise of defiance, though the second he realized he was now disarmed, he barked a nervous laugh and began to haphazardly bounce away from Throttle in giddy back steps of uneducated footwork. Throttle gently dug his first two fingers into the batter, messily set the mixing bowl to the island and was now fully prepared to chase Wren throughout the entire house. Wren loudly complained through wheezes of hard laughter both boys were now swallowed by, and as Wren began to nervously fumble out of Throttle's kitchen, Throttle tried his hardest to swipe his now messy fingers at Wren's chest.

"No-no-no, c'mere, I deserve this," Throttle choked hard, teary laughter as Wren did everything he could to now navigate backwards about Throttle's living room furniture.

"We can talk about this, can't we?" Wren urged in a high pitched tone of playful worry, he blurt a laugh as he gently bumped into an end table near Throttle's huge splay of an L couch.

"No, we can't," Throttle teased with a widening smile, one that was about to crack his face in half, though just as he took a firm, hefty swipe at Wren's chest, Wren successfully jumped away and began to bolt for Throttle's kitchen, "You're the idiot that dirtied my shirt."

"You're the idiot that left the mixing bowl unattended," Wren shouted as he now tore through Throttle's house, and in a spike of playful terror, a rush of adrenaline, Throttle jolted to keep up with Wren.

"No! Haven't you made enough of a mess?" Throttle yelled after Wren, and although Wren beat Throttle to the mixing bowl in a swipe of a tight cradle into his own arms, both boys skid to a stop at the edge of the kitchen island; they both panted, and as Wren whirled around and pointed his now batter-covered two fingers in Throttle's direction, they peered hard into each other's eyes with playful, boyish surprise.

"Come any closer and I'll put it in your hair," Wren barked, and although it was a seemingly innocent remark, Throttle beamed a cheeky smile and side-eyed Wren in hot knowing. Wren sagged his shoulders, rolled his eyes and looked off in blushing defeat.

"Will you now?" Throttle teased, he only playfully waggled his eyebrows, though he choked a laugh as Wren gently shoved the peek of Throttle's bare chest, through the gape of his now widely unbuttoned shirt, with his clean hand.

"That was a threat, not a promise," Wren muttered in dewy, blushing delight, both boys remained heightened on a sky-high soar of anticipation, just wondering where the drop would be, Throttle was now nearly determined to find it, to grapple Wren into the nonsense of it all and just plummet into something neither of them knew much of anything about.

Throttle gently panted, the building rush to somehow up the ante, to push this night from playful to interesting had Throttle's heart racing. Although he was entirely uncertain how to recall old memory files of dusty romance, he could feel his heart just burst open with purpose, the feeling of acceptance, of wholeness, Throttle knew not to let this night, this moment, escape him. Throttle felt Wren's curious, blue gaze peer up into his eyes, nearly piercing his soul, and although it was lightly intimidating, both boys hovered in a gap of building uncertainty, a billowing show of anticipatory wait that neither of them really knew how to simply relieve. It wasn't until Wren's gentle eyes so subtly glanced to Throttle's mouth did Throttle feel confidence just flood his whole entire being, as if that was the only thing he needed to feel as if both boys were on the same page. Throttle inhaled a steady breath and dove in to the deep end head first.

With the solid amount of height Throttle had over Wren, and the foot or two gap between them, Throttle tenderly leaned down a bit and was eternally grateful Wren stayed still and patiently awaited Throttle's gentle show of confidence. In a warm push, Throttle lulled his eyes closed and shyly sealed Wren's first kiss. The way Wren inhaled a deep, long breath through his nose, in a rile of surprise, assured Throttle that Wren was entirely not expecting such a burst of confidence. Although tame, Throttle hovered tight in their first kiss, the warm pucker of their lips sinking into each others, the small tilt of their heads as they slowly relished in each other's breath, in each other's scent and close proximity. Although Throttle just barely broke their kiss in a string of sticky lips that peeled from the other, both boys hovered in the gentle peel, and without so much as a curious glance, Throttle ducked back in for seconds the instant Wren messily shrugged the mixing bowl to the kitchen island at his left side.

Knowing full well that Throttle's shirt was already dirty, Wren's lightly shaking and batter covered fingers gently grappled the wrinkles that now sagged down Throttle's bare arms and chest, the unbuttoned mess of cloth that bunched at his elbows, Wren felt his brain run wild with the sudden rush of needy desire that cloaked the two in a veil of molten passion. With the press of their intensifying kiss, the tilt of their heads, the stiffening of their spines in a push of an even tighter squeeze into each other's gravity, Wren raised his eyebrows in solid surprise as Throttle's clean hand gently cupped the back of Wren's head, the slick shave of his golden white hair that dribbled to longer strands atop his head, edges of said strands in which Throttle's fingers found. The second Throttle's shirt was now due to sliding off of his being, Wren relished in every single feeling that Throttle now cloaked over his bashfully shivering soul, a switch up of neediness Throttle now entirely craved. The second Wren's warm, able hands slid up the broad of Throttle's strong, bare chest was the second Throttle mischievously smiled on Wren's mouth.

With the push of their intensifying kiss, the tilt of their heads, the gentle bristle of their stubble that lined their jaws and chins, Throttle desperately wanted to push said spout of passion further, though something inside him ignited; he was well aware Wren was a rather playful and spirited being, the way to worm into Wren's heart was to simply play his game right back at him. Although maybe insinuating Throttle was about to press things a little bit deeper down the rabbit hole they were now tumbling into, Throttle briefly nibbled Wren's lower lip in the same action of swiping his batter covered finger into the short, buzzed hairs on the side of Wren's head. In a skillful tug, Throttle gently yanked out of Wren's gravity, the smack of their lips suddenly parting, Wren jolted in confusion as Throttle beamed a cheeky smile of defense, back stepped a few times and was now fully prepared to have his ass handed to him. With red cheeks, glossed eyes of budding enchantment, and a growing gape of unadulterated surprise and irritation, Wren huffed a shaky scoff and shook his head.

"Beat you to it," Throttle muttered through his cheeky smile, though he flinched in a spike of excited surprise the second Wren's gape turned to a tight-lipped look of riled, playful anger.

"Okay, that's it, c'mere, NO don't run, get over here," Wren stabbed quickly as he messily grappled the mixing bowl full of batter, he stumbled a little as Throttle suddenly took a running start into his living room, to avoid Wren; he was well aware his home would now likely be trashed with cake batter, though somehow, he was okay with that.

Throttle choked a laugh as his shirt previously fell to the floor, and in this, he messily tripped over it. Although Throttle regained his footing and clumsily corrected himself, Wren stumbled into the same trap and fell into a nearby wall. Although Wren saved the batter and corrected himself as well, both boys loudly howled with laughter as they tore into Throttle's living room. Throttle whirled around and now held his hands out in defeat, the hunch of his shoulders and back, to assume a position of defeat, he pleadingly peered to Wren amidst the core-crunching squeeze of eternal laughter they both shared. Wren's dominant footsteps pressed closer, and as he dug his fingers into the batter and dangled the wet, goopy mess over the bowl, Wren tilted his head up in hot knowing and gestured for Throttle to sit down on his nearby recliner.

"I have stamina, dude, I'll chase you all around the palace if that's what you want," Wren barked, they both were now lost in laughter, big, dewy tears of happiness that sagged to the edges of their eyes, Throttle could hardly catch his breath, "There was one time Berri got honey in my hair during breakfast and I chased her all the way to Chester's old stable. And that brat has glitching powers, you only THINK running around your humble abode will stop me!"

"Okay, just get it over with and we'll be even," Throttle choked, though he barked a startled laugh the second Wren suddenly swiped at his bare chest and successfully dribbled the batter on his bare pecks and collar bones. Throttle wrinkled his nose amidst a laugh, in a rise of teasing dismay, and now stumbled to try and get away, though he faltered as his left knee buckled. He only barely sagged to his nearby recliner, and although he fumbled to try to get back up to a stand, Wren pressed into his gravity and swiped a long, dangly, slimy string of batter onto his fingers once more, though now he eagerly dangled the messy high above Throttle's center. Throttle jolted in cold terror and, through their cries of hard laughter, he sagged into his recliner a little more, held his hands out in defense and could feel the tears of laughter begin to sag down the sides of his face, "FOR USER'S SAKE we'll have no batter left if you keep this up!"

"Not like we can't just go to the store and get more," Wren muttered in delight, though Throttle barked a surprised noise as the cold, wet batter suddenly speckled his chest and stomach.

"AH-USER! It's cold!" Throttle complained as his trembling hand wiped a tear off of his cheek, he nervously shot Wren a look of pleading glee and now began to feel that giddy clench, in his stomach, twist to tense, sexual delight, "Y-You DO know it's like one in the morning. Stores are closed."

"Well then I guess we'll just have to improvise," Wren shrugged, and although Wren was now in hot pursuit of figuring out just how to navigate this new, passionate spark between the two, Wren cocked an eyebrow and felt realization gloss over him, almost in cold surprise.

Decorated like a delicious, haphazardly strewn together pastry, laid vulnerable and defenseless, Throttle's strong chest cavity inhaled a shaky breath, his eyes peered up to Wren in anticipation, almost like a deer in headlights. Throttle huffed a noise, as if to maybe begin to start a sentence, though the idea of it all just evaporated off his lips into an exhale of defeat. Wren held onto the cold, silver mixing bowl in a frozen stall of a dilemma, and although he wanted to maybe ease off of Throttle and assure that the teasing was done, there was something inside of him that bubbled in delight. Knowing full well it was likely fueled by the alcohol provided to him tonight, he smirked a little and was well aware that, even though it was a wave of dulled inhibitions, it was still a wave to be ridden nonetheless, one of which he was certain he wouldn't regret seeing through to the end. Cloaked in far more bravery that Throttle could even begin to keep up with, Wren was well aware that if anything intimate were to go down tonight, he'd likely be the ring leader in this circus, left standing as the only two monkeys dead center.

As both boys held tight eye contact, Throttle's whole face turned beet red in the inevitable that was unfolding. Although concealed in his nice slacks, Wren only barely glanced down to Throttle's just barely sprawled legs and lower half, full aware of the product of all this sexual banter, the seemingly lighthearted and playful foreplay they had somehow traipsed into without even knowing. Wren choked a small chuckle and knew to keep the air between them easy and full of understanding, and in Wren's eyes, the only way he could accomplish that was by reminding the two that laughter was key. Throttle stiffened a little, in cold knowing, and almost shot Wren a defensive look of nervousness, a smile that tilted into bent eyebrows of pleading, as if to beg Wren to understand that somehow, this was all an incredible turn on. The obvious that was becoming of the two only sapped the room with heat that shielded them from the frigid air outside, Wren felt a breath catch in his throat at how real this all suddenly felt, how smoothly it all came together, he felt his knees begin to want to buckle at the thoughts that hit him, the idea that there was no where else he'd rather be.

"We can just make more batter," Wren continued on from his previous notion, and although his words were innocent, Throttle was entirely aware this was an innuendo; Throttle choked a laugh of playful irritation and tensed as Wren successfully set the mixing bowl down and was now fixing to situate himself on his knees.

"Oh, don't even say shit like that," Throttle choked as Wren's sassy, loving smile was now sweetly broadened amidst his closed eyes of understanding, and in a comfortable lull of a hover over Throttle, Wren bravely swiped his finger across Throttle's skin, just above his belly button, and gathered a good amount of cake batter onto his finger.

"We don't even have to bake it, T, it's good just like this," Wren stated cutely, he raised his eyebrows in delight as he shoved the tip of his finger into his mouth and licked off the batter; it was here that Wren could see Throttle literally begin to sweat.

"I-It has raw eggs in it," Throttle politely warned inside of a chuckle, he could hardly catch his breath, he raised his eyebrows in unmitigated surprise the second the floor gently thud with the sound of Wren's knees finally coming to a full kneel, and in the sag, Wren draped his arms over the tops of Throttle's thighs, eased into the gentle spread of his legs and bravely leaned down to lick a speckle of batter just above Throttle's belly button. Throttle could swear his heart was in his throat, he stiffened in a spike of hot, delighted surprise, as if he was floored this kind of thing was even taking place, and although he was quite enjoying himself, Throttle staggered a wary question out into the air, one that dribbled to a trembling breath of sweet, suspended uncertainty, "Wr-Wren..."

"Hmm?" Wren cued, he carried on knowing full well Throttle was enjoying this, the way the muscles in his thighs tensed, the way his chest cavity nearly caved in on itself before sucking in a shaky, anticipatory breath of disbelief, Wren just barely opened his eyes and was quite enjoying the teasing he was deploying, the sheer amount of playful torture it was now putting Throttle through.

As if somehow stirring was getting the better of him, Throttle felt as if it was the only thing that would alleviate his bubbling, rushing emotions. He nervously peered down at Wren and, although he knew exactly what was coming, he felt nervousness about it. A delightful nervousness, one of entire uncertainty, one of question, as if to hope that the second everything went down, he would feel solidified and right about his place in the universe. Throttle felt care in the way of Wren's hands, which warmly held his outer thighs in a small hug of reassurance, the way his upper body hovered over Throttle's legs, the tantalizing laps of Wren's hot, wet tongue all along Throttle's sheet white skin, which was now trailing dangerously close to the lip of Throttle's pants, he sucked in a breath through his teeth and desperately tried to remain calm the second Wren's hand began to fumble with the button and zipper of Throttle's pants.

Although Wren felt his heart thud the bones in his ribcage, he felt confidence surge through him, unlike anything he'd ever felt before. The way Throttle tensed his body and grit his teeth, as if to suggest he was nervous and impatient, all in one go, had Wren's hands trembling in rushing delight, as if somehow moving as fast as he possibly could wouldn't be fast enough. Wren inhaled a deep breath and sat up a little, and in the seductive lick of his lips, to get every last ounce of cake batter, he curiously peered down to his chore as his shaking hands tugged the zipper of Throttle's pants. Although he knew exactly what to expect here, upon reveal, he still firmly swallowed and felt his heart do a wild, giddy dance of readiness, a rush of electricity that shot down his spine, something that begged him to pounce on this opportunity and not look back for a single second. Upon the reveal of Throttle's distention, the gentle grip Wren slowly sagged about the base, Wren cocked an eyebrow and softly lofted his questioning gaze into Throttle's shivering eyes, and if to assure to him that they could stop right here, if that's what Throttle needed.

Although Throttle was thrilled Wren hovered for a second and gave room for the opportunity to further express desire, or lack there of, Throttle huffed a shaky noise of a plea and now wondered how to properly get the point across that he was being driven mad, due to impatience. The sweet, tender look of question in Wren's eyes proved to Throttle that this was a sensitive situation that Wren was ready to take very seriously, Throttle bit his lower lip and understood that the whole of it was about to drive him up a wall. Although unintentional, Throttle nervously shifted in his seat and sat up a little straighter, though upon doing this, he accidentally jostled the tip of his exposed distention directly into the underside of Wren's jaw, causing both boys to flinch. Throttle raised his eyebrows, held his breath and urgently peered down to Wren in apology, though just as he suspected Wren to maybe make a joke, and a trembling apology was to ensue, Throttle was beyond floored to watch Wren cock an eyebrow, peer down to his chore in delight and ready himself. The very vision of Wren's eyes gingerly lulling shut, the gape of his wet lips that now began to slowly prepare to swallow Throttle whole, Throttle felt his spine grow rigid in confused delight.

With the warm encompass, the proper sag of Wren's mouth about him, Throttle inhaled a sharp breath and dug his elbows into the cushions of his recliner. He clenched his teeth and felt a wave of emotion gloss over his figure, the immense amount of pleasure that soaked over his being, he huffed a faltered breath and felt it all to be complete the second Wren firmly grappled Throttle's right hand in his, as if to assure to Throttle that there was love and understanding here. As confusing as life previously was, Wren smiled amidst his tight gape and was floored the both of them were able to start a fresh new page with each other, one that held promise, one that was fun and playful, true and full of surprises. Throttle urgently squeezed Wren's hand as he gently sagged into himself, he scoffed a small, trembling laugh and finally allowed himself to feel the pleasure of it all. The delicious sensation of the wrap of Wren's tongue, the tug of suction, the skill Wren navigated in newness could've easily fooled Throttle.

Wren inhaled a deep, long, raspy breath through his nose and did everything he could to take this slow and be careful, though with the intense grip of Throttle's hand on his own, Wren wrinkled his nose in devious delight and, amidst a burst of bravery, he held his breath and successfully sagged his lips almost down to the base of Throttle's throbbing distention. In a wave of shock, Throttle arched his back and shakily choked a whispering grunt of floored surprise, he gently lulled his head back to the headrest of his recliner and groaned a trembling exhale out to the room, the desperation to moan and groan about the incredible feelings that engulfed him was almost too powerful to resist. Throttle sagged and felt his skin prickle with the firm suction Wren successfully deployed, the yank of his skin and hyper sensitive nerve endings that had a whole entire hay-day over this fiasco, Throttle felt as if he had to pry his eyes from the back of his skull. With a heavy head, and a heaving chest, he urgently peered down to Wren in a sag of delightful exhaustion that he knew he was due for.

Wren eagerly picked up the pace, he could feel Throttle's whole body tense and sag in the roll of electricity that plagued the both of them, he made sure to keep Throttle's hand tight in his grip, though the second Throttle's free hand urgently grappled Wren's right shoulder, Wren nearly popped his eyes open in surprise and knew exactly what was coming, here. In the grapple of Wren's shirt in Throttle's shaking hand, Throttle eagerly began to move his hand to Wren's neck, jaw and then the side of his head. Wren inhaled a readied breath and knew Throttle wouldn't push Wren too far, here, though he still lulled his eyes closed and braced himself for a bit of a rougher go-around. Like expected, Wren gently returned the tight grip of Throttle's right hand and flinched the second Throttle's left hand grappled the top of Wren's head. In a tender tug of an inquiry, Throttle just barely pushed down on the back of Wren's head, and as both boys gently fell into rhythm with each other, Wren felt his heart burst open the second Throttle's body continued to cave even deeper into itself, the sound Wren was patiently waiting for, the certain, shaky reverberation of Wren's name that shook from the back of Throttle's dry throat, it coat his ceiling in absolute clarity, something that made every ounce of coding, underneath Wren's skin, just come alive with purpose.

Wren hummed a loud noise amidst the mouth full and smiled, a chuckle of encouragement and understanding that shook from his rib cage only made Throttle's fingers begin to grapple the white hair atop Wren's head. Before they knew it, Wren felt himself repeatedly sagging his wet lips to the base of Throttle's bulge, over and over, the speed and rush of it all had him astounded that he was capable of it all, length, girth and everything. Wren's heart throbbed with purpose, the firm inhale through his nose, accompanied by the tightest amount of suction his mouth could afford, had Throttle's now raspy, quaking voice urgently groaning Wren's name to his high ceiling above, an echo that Wren was entirely certain he would never get tired of hearing, and it was in the mess of gentle thrusts and grapples did Wren understand just what was on the horizon. Throttle nervously shifted in his chair, and although he wanted to continue gently tugging on the back of Wren's head, he messily let go, grappled Wren's broad shoulder and shakily pleaded his name, this time with more urgency and fervor, something that cued Wren to understanding just how detrimental this all was; a collection of any form of interior coding, into any orifice, could potentially mess with the fragility of the interior coding of the recieving party, something that wasn't previously discussed.

As easily as Throttle could even begin to explain all that by just simply stating Wren's name over and over, in a quaking, dry urge of apprehension, Wren gently slid Throttle's long distention out of his mouth with added suction, and with a wet smack of a pop, Wren inhaled a deep, gasping breath through his mouth and bashfully peered up into Throttle's eyes in full, tender surprise, a dewy kiss of maturity now crowned on both boys' auras, Wren panted and was quick to grapple Throttle's bulge, the product of all the excitement, he knew not to leave Throttle simply hanging due to ground rules neither boys knew how to previously expand on. Throttle choked a noise of uncertainty and peered hard into Wren's eyes, as if to show apology, though just as Throttle was due to sit up and maybe begin to spout out words of nervousness, of uncertainty, of just what would happen if Wren were to swallow Throttle's interior coding, Wren urgently shook his head and began to please Throttle with his hand. With the shockwave of confusion, the plow of pleasure and emotion that now began to drown Throttle, he sagged back to his recliner and felt his insides clench in understanding, the impending explosion that he was wholly certain would be unlike anything he'd ever experienced before, on his own.

Wren huffed a small chuckle of understanding and beamed a wide, knowing, bashful smile of kindness into Throttle's eyes, as if to express that he was here for Throttle, he was ready to give to him and treat him to an experience he maybe had been wanting all along, and by the way Throttle's beet red cheeks just barely crowned a nervous peek of a smile, Wren sat up a little straighter and allowed his deep, loving voice to softly ease words of encouragement to Throttle as he prepared to finish him off, for good. As Wren's hand quickly grappled and loosened amidst the familiar movement on Throttle's wet distention, Wren's eyes glossed Throttle's messy chest, splayed with wet cake batter and beads of sweat, Wren choked a small chuckle and knew exactly where to aim the conclusion of this wild ride. The second Throttle's legs began to tense in a show of feeling his spine begin to go rigid, Wren raised his eyebrows and quickly carried on, the squeeze of his hand's grip in Throttle's hand never wavered, and in a pop of surprise, Throttle choked a hard groan of urgency as he unloaded his own addition to the mess all over his chest and stomach.

Throttle huffed a hard noise of surprise as Wrens fist tightly hugged the tip, the hot mess that now shot up to Throttle's collar bone and dribbled all over Wren's hand. Throttle huffed a soft, shaky noise of relief as Wren's quick movements eventually sagged to tender rubs and squeezes. The tension finally slowed after a few moments, leaving both boys heavily panting in the calm after the storm. Throttle's chest heavily expanded and caved in rapid succession, the final sag of his body upon sweet release, the gooey mess speckled with Throttle's hot red coding, for a moment, before finally dissipating to normality upon being exposed to outside air. Wren felt as if the room was on fire, the sheer act of this whole ordeal being an entire load more fun and exciting than he ever dreamed, he peered up to Throttle in a sense of renewed feelings, as if to be entirely grateful that his first steps into this branch of adulthood was with someone he could greatly trust, a wonderful person that he could now segue from platonic friendship to romantic partnership with, he lulled his eyes closed and heavily panted through his nose as the feelings hit him head on; he understood that even though Throttle was spent, and the night was growing old, Wren braced himself for Throttle's eventual retaliation.

"I-I can't... F-Feel my feet," Throttle choked with a wheeze of a bashful laugh, and it was here did Wren pop his eyes open in delightful confusion; both boys sweetly laughed with each other, Wren shook his head and cocked an eyebrow.

"You maybe can't feel your feet, but I know, for sure, you felt THAT," Wren grunted with a smile, in which Throttle lulled his eyes closed and sagged back to his recliner in its entirety.

"I'll be feeling it for days to come, I can promise you that," Throttle grumbled as he bashfully swung his arm over his eyes, he heaved a satisfied sigh and allowed an air of gratitude to radiate off of his figure, "Cake or not...Th-that was amazing..."

"You think I did this for free? You owe me cake, good sir," Wren teased, and as both boys choked out raspy laughter, Throttle's warm abode nearly brimmed with an overflow of love, something that was due to spilling over well into the wee hours of the morning's sunrise.

"You can have your cake and eat it too... Just this once," Throttle shakily stated through a satisfied sigh.


	83. Chapter 83

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Yes, indeed! :)

 **CHICKENM4N :** It definitely has helped me out, that's for sure. It's a solid word, and doesn't sound cheesy, as the other adjectives I've seen used for the male genitalia always make me just cringe and feel weird. I'd like to say I've improved, in that aspect. 6 years ago, I was way too shy to write oral sex, let alone NORMAL sex, so that scene in Wrecking Limits was actually INCREDIBLY difficult for me to write. In all of my swap scenes, I try to keep it as tasteful as possible, I avoid obvious words, easy words, you know the ones. It's my goal to never ever say the obvious word for said 'distention' except if MAYBE a character verbally states it in a joking manner, or whatever. I care about my characters and how I portray them, cause they're an extension of myself, an extension of my heart. So, I appreciate you saying that - that scene in Wrecking Limits may very well have sucked, excuse the pun, but just know it actually took me days to write, strictly because I was so self conscious and nervous about posting it. Thank you for your feedback!

 **Burgie :** That means SO much to me, seriously! THANK YOU!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **In Great Strides by Joris de Man & The Flight (Horizon Zero Dawn OST)**

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 ***Chapter 83***

In the soft, periwinkle sunrise Sugar Rush silently laid over the land, the palace lot was frozen in time, a gorgeous, untouched lay of fresh, pristine snow that coat the grounds in a heavenly layer of fluff. Covered in the shroud of Penny's and Orph's tower overhang, Rancis stood in patient wait, his snow boots crunched underneath the ice that had dribbled down to the cobbles the night prior. Accompanied by Boss and Lickity, he stood and awaited Orph's presence. Although Rancis was typically up with the sun every Saturday morning, before game day, to do a thorough inspection of Orion City, as well as the outer lands of the palace, he was thrilled that Orph showed interest in joining. Although Orph wasn't due to becoming one of Sugar Rush's Knights, he was still married to the Queen's right hand woman, and any stance of looking after Sugar Rush was appreciated. As Rancis's sleepy blue eyes glossed the Sugar Rush lot, the view he had of Throttle's quiet abode, as well as Berri's, Wren's and Theo's tower just off in the distance, the stretch of snow looked entirely inviting to just go romping in. Before his sleepy, boyish thoughts could get too far ahead of him, Penny's and Orph's common room teleportation pad gently hummed with life, fresh with their new, lovely, peachy colored coding.

Boss and Lickity gently perked their large bat ears in anticipation, the heavy shuffle of their clawed paws on the cold snow, the ruffle of their fluffy winter manes, everyone anticipated Orph's figure on the teleportation pad. Although Rancis was certain he'd be greet with a rather grumbly, thorny, half awake individual, Rancis flinched and was floored to see Orph, looking as if he had been awake for a little while, already fed a good breakfast, dressed in proper winter clothes and ready for their morning excursion, a lesson in looking for Orph. Rancis huffed a heavily fogged breath and smiled at his son in law, who slowly moseyed from the cove of the teleportation pad and to the exterior of their tower's outdoor gathering area. Although Lickity technically didn't allow anyone but Zed or Tessa to fly her, she made exceptions for Orph, on occasion, due to their now tight-knit relationship. Lickity flattened her ears in submission and softly sauntered in Orph's direction as he, too, filled the gap. She lulled her eyes closed in delight as his gloved hand lovingly met with her wrinkled snout in care.

"Wow," Rancis's tired voice croaked with another fogged chuckle, he tucked his gloved hands into his fur-lined hoodie, "I was absolutely certain I'd have to call Penny and have her wake you up, and remind you of our chore this morning."

"She did, anyways," Orph's sleepy voice volleyed, both men blurt into a sweet bubble of fogged laughter as Boss and Lickity hung in smiling, silent wait, "Was kind enough to make me breakfast... I think she's more excited for me than I am."

"It's okay, this isn't my favorite thing to do, either," Rancis shook his head, "But... I signed up for it, and it's added protection. Can't always trust the code room to run as smoothly and as seamlessly as we want. Sometimes our eyes can catch things that the code room would've never sniffed out."

"Sir," Orph agreed in tender politeness, Boss gently flattened his ears and lifted his head to cue to everyone that he was about to speak up.

"Helps that we go out and hunt, too," Boss encouraged, his deep voice held such depth that nearly just felt like rumbling bass from a loud speaker, "We keep our eyes peeled, while we're out, as well."

"Everyone plays their part," Rancis lovingly concluded as he sagged his hand to Boss's dark, bat snout. Boss lulled his incredible blue eyes closed and eased into Rancis's warmth, "I'm just grateful you decided to join in. Sugar Rush isn't your home game, so... It really means a lot."

"It may not be my home game, but it is my home," Orph shrugged, he gave Rancis a kind smile, he was thrilled the two were now on good terms with each other, "I mean, it's in my coding, now. Surely these two bats understand."

"All three of us are from Dead Zed, but... We have lives here, too," Boss bobbed a nod and cutely eyed Lickity, "We have family here. It's home."

"Agreed," Lickity kindly concluded; although her and Boss were wide awake and ready for their weekly excursion about the perimeter, they were excited to come back home and sleep, due to their nocturnal nature.

"On that note, I brought you these," Rancis eased to Orph kindly, he handed him an extra pair of flight goggles and a weather-proof black scarf to secure over his face, so they weren't so openly exposed to the freezing, high altitude air of Sugar Rush's winter morning clouds. Orph took the items with gratitude as Rancis continued, "We shouldn't be gone longer than a half an hour, but... Winter is the worst time to do this. If you're not awake yet, trust me... You will be."

"It even gets chilly for us," Lickity prod in mild annoyance, she bristled her gorgeous, furry mane and flattened her ears in mild dread, "And we're basically one big walking winter coat."

"Shoulda brought my shears," Orph teased Lickity, he lightly nudged her snout as she huffed a hot breath through her nose and shot him a displeased smile of annoyance.

"Alright, let's head out," Rancis smiled in excitement, he gave the center of Orph's chest a firm, loving pat as he began to sag closer to Boss, both dragons were properly saddled and prepared for the flight, "Y'ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's do this," Orph encouraged, though just as Rancis stepped aside and eased into Boss's presence, Orph's line of sight was broadened to the stretch of field between Throttle's abode and Berri's tower. Orph felt his pupils tighten at the sight of an individual shlepping his way through the thick snow, the winter fog nearly concealed the details, though the second Orph realized just who this person was, he froze and felt confusion lick his half-awake brain, "Uh... I-Is... Wren coming with, too?"

"Wren?" Rancis repeated in confusion, Rancis was well aware he wasn't expecting Wren to join in on these duties, any time soon, due to getting acclimated to Academy, though the second he pierced his vivid blue eyes to Orph, he noticed Orph's silver gaze was strictly caught on something far off in the distance.

Rancis sharply furrowed his brow, followed Orph's line of sight and felt his stomach clench at the raw sight of Wren nearly stumbling to Berri's tower. Rancis held his breath in entire confusion, he knew that the Academy kids enjoyed their weekends due to the fact that they could sleep in and be lazy, though the sight of Wren stumbling home, at this raw, silent hour of the morning, had Rancis's brain reeling in total bewilderment. Orph raised his eyebrows in surprise as the notion hit him head on, he messily covered his sheepish smile, with his glove, and now sharply stabbed his eye contact straight into Lickity's; she eagerly returned the sharp volley in hard, beaming understanding. Rancis wrinkled his nose in whole confusion that would not let up, though as the gears in his brain continued to turn, he felt his skin prickle at the realization that began to sink into him, the raw sight of Wren's stumbling, snowy footprints that lead away from Throttle's glowy home, Rancis felt a weird wave of protection come crashing down on him, all over again; just when he thought it was all said and done with.

"Do you wanna tell him or should I?" Lickity mumbled to Orph in a monotone drone of cheekiness, though Rancis cocked an eyebrow and turned to face Orph in a further show of unmitigated bewilderment.

"Wh-why is Wren leaving Throttle's house at this hour?" Rancis pressed to Orph, not as if to be a serious question, though more so to ask just what Wren thought he was doing.

"...Well, y'see... When a man and another man love each other VERY much-" Orph was sharply interrupted from his cheeky gesture of hands and trying not to laugh.

"I need to talk to him," Rancis suddenly stabbed, and though Orph came out of his and Lickity's giggle-fit, Orph flinched in surprise as Rancis suddenly began to march out into the snow.

"Dad, dad," Orph urged quietly as he lunged forward and grappled Rancis's upper arm; Rancis peered over his shoulder in nervous confusion, the air before both men fogged, and although Orph was successful in stopping Rancis, he seemed tense in a rile of fatherly protection. Orph shook his head and choked a small laugh, "C'mon, there's no need for that. What's the good in talking to Wren about this right now? Surely he's on his way home to go to sleep."

"B-But... What was he thinking being at Throttle's house that late?" Rancis quietly argued, and although Lickity and Boss maybe had their own opinions on the subject matter, they politely stayed quiet as Orph was successful in pulling Rancis back into the overhang of their lovely, snowy outdoor common room, a gazebo like atmosphere that went unused in these cold months.

"... Do you REALLY want me to answer that?" Orph cocked an eyebrow and suspiciously eyed Throttle's abode, though he flinched once Rancis choked an annoyed noise of plea, "Dad, he was probably... Well... Doing things."

"With THROTTLE of all people?" Rancis hissed in confusion, Orph knew this wasn't a stab at Throttle's character and was more-so confusion as to how this spark of relation came about.

"Every hermit crab has a soft spot on its' shell," Rancis shrugged with a cute, cheeky smile, "Maybe Throttle has a soft spot for Wren. C'mon, Throttle's a good man, all those TurboTime boys are."

"He's Turbo's old racing coach," Rancis grunted in mild dismay, clearly grasping at straws, though Orph cocked an eyebrow and now crossed his arms.

"Ranc, you can't take this stance... That's in the past. I'm Zed's younger brother, and Zed's technically a bad guy," Orph gestured to himself, which had Rancis struggling to find words to say, "And now look at me... You HATED me, remember? You wanted nothing but for me to keep a one hundred mile radius from Penny, at all times. And now we're married with shared codes, and you love me."

"...You're alright," Rancis muttered, though he choked a small laugh as Orph bravely shoved on Rancis' upper arm. Rancis beamed a subdued smile and gave Orph a look of defeat, "Fine, I love you, man, c'mon, knock it off."

"Then YOU knock it off, Wren's an adult, let him make adult decisions without you wanting to jump down Throttle's throat," Orph pressed sweetly, and although Orph's opinions meant literally nothing to Rancis two years ago, Rancis softened to his new son and allowed his walls to properly come down. He gave Orph a soft look of vulnerable uncertainty as Orph pressed on, "And, you're lucky, in this situation... Not only do you know Throttle really well, there's no chance of Wren getting Throttle pregnant, or anything. You remember how it was when you first met me."

"Yeah, that sucked," Rancis choked, both men softly laughed, "I didn't know you from Adam, and I had just gained my daughter back."

"This situation is entirely different, just... Let Wren make decisions for himself," Orph encouraged, the love he had for his new little brother went just as deep as the love he had for his real little brothers, in Dead Zed. Orph gently held his hand to his chest and shook his head, "If Wren and Throttle ARE a thing, then, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Throttle is a great guy, held accountable by everyone here. He's wise beyond all of his years, he's a teacher, he's mature and responsible... Maybe it's everything Wren needs. I wouldn't stifle this, dad."

Rancis felt his ears prickle at the sweet sound of Orph being comfortable enough to refer to him as his own dad. Between two User made gamers, who didn't have parents, Rancis felt his heart swell with the idea of Orph moving Rancis right into that paternal figurehead, in his life. He finally gave Orph a sweet smile and lovingly rested his hand to Orph's broad shoulder. In a gentle squeeze and a jostle, Rancis rolled his eyes, looked off to Berri's tower and watched as Wren disappeared inside of it. He finally lulled his eyes closed and exhaled a long, foggy breath out to the cold wind before them. Rancis shook his head and shrugged, knowing Orph was right, here, and every single last ounce of protection that Orph had for Wren spoke volumes to Rancis.

"Thank you," Rancis grumbled, he eyed Orph in cheeky annoyance.

"For what?" Orph patiently wondered.

"For keeping me in check," Rancis concluded in gentle defeat, he expanded his chest in a deep breath of revival and shrugged, "I just... Want the best for my kids."

"Well, Penny's already all set," Orph cheesed as he gestured to himself and gave Rancis a cocky smile of delight; Lickity stifled a hard laugh as Rancis' loving squeeze and jostle, on Orph's shoulder, suddenly became a bit more aggressive, of which Orph blurt a cute, quiet laugh of annoyance. He carried on through his laughter as Rancis finally unhanded him, "Just talk to Wren about it. Don't come at him, just wonder what's up with it. Be a safe spot for Wren, dad... I remember where there was a season of time where Penny was nervous to come to you about the idea of me and her together. Be a safe place... I know Wren needs it more than anyone. You're Sugar Rush's Knight, sure, but... Most importantly, you're a father. A point of safety for all your children."

Rancis lofted his gentle, surprised gaze into Orph's eyes. The amount of maturity and wisdom that Orph donned looked incredible on him, having remembered a point in time where Orph let his cockiness and boyish attitude get the better of him, he was delighted to understand that Penny had definitely chosen wisely. He knew Wren would do the same, and although the very sight of his own son stumbling home at sunrise, ankle deep in snow, uncertain of just what had taken place between Wren and Throttle, Rancis lulled his eyes closed and knew that Wren was strong enough to hold his own. As hard as if was to let go of his own children, he knew he could at least try and be a guiding hand, as opposed to a closed fist of worry and aggression. The three sat in the dregs of Orph's wise words, a situation Rancis almost irritatedly smiled at, something he never thought he'd ever truly think in his own thoughts.

* * *

In moseying footsteps of exhausted delight, Wren eased into his tower's quiet foyer. In a silent few kicks, he was able to get his snow boots off, a haphazard slump to the small alcove of Berri's and Theo's winter boots, which sat in frozen wait. Wren felt his heart sag heavy in his chest, heavy with love and emotion, heavy with exhaustion and understanding. He was well aware he'd maybe eventually tell Berri and Theo just what had happened between him and Throttle, on this fateful early morning, though for now, he was beyond excited to melt into his own bed and sleep the whole entire Saturday away. He could already feel his head begin to throb with the impending hangover he knew he was due for, he scrunched his eyes shut tight in dread and noted to take a hefty glass of water upstairs with him. Although the kiss of a peachy sunrise glinted through the snowy, fogged windows of their massive overhang, in the main room, he felt his heart jump in a startle of surprise the second the back door gently popped open, he had only just barely rounded the corner into their main room.

"...Oh!" Berri scoffed with a small breath as she suddenly halted to a stop; she was wearing her favorite, fluffy robe over a comfortable pair of grey, fuzzy pajama bottoms, ones of which had cute, golden star patterns all over. Her fluffy pink robe hung open a little, revealing a blue cami underneath, one that matched her hair perfectly. She looked as if she had just woken up, having let Chester outside to use the bathroom, and although the day was just barely beginning, the dewy look in her eye lead Wren to believe that she was maybe awake for the day. Wren felt his heart begin to thud in uncertainty as he clutched his chest in surprise and shook his head; Berri giggled and carried on as her and Chester scuttled inside, "Wren, a-are... Where did you come from? I could've sworn you were upstairs, asleep."

"I really should be," Wren grumbled in irritation, a headache that now crowned the back of his eyeballs. He rubbed his forehead and grimaced Berri a sheepish look of regret, "How come you're awake?"

"I just naturally woke up, and, well... Chester needed to use the bathroom," Berri gestured to Chester, and although he was typically a ball of energy, he sensed Wren's and Berri's tenderness and approached Wren as calmly as his bumbling nature could afford. Berri huffed a small giggle, stood up straight and eyed Wren in rising, girly suspicion. She sagged her hands into the gaping pockets of her loved robe, she side-eyed Wren in knowing and smirked, "...You just came from Throttle's, didn't you."

"...Yes, I did," Wren rolled his eyes and easily caved, he slumped his hefty winter coat to the bend of the kitchen island that also conjoined with the kitchen, he shook his head and peered into said kitchen in a slump of exhaustion that just began to sap every last pixel of his, "I-I... Well..."

"I'm going to make myself a cup of coffee and some breakfast," Berri interrupted as she approached Wren. As lovingly as she could, she gripped Wren's upper arm, warmly moved him to a nearby bar stool, sat him down, pat the counter and began to giddily bounce into the kitchen, so to start on the chore she had promised, "And youuuu... Are going to sit right there, and tell me EVERYTHING."

"Berri," Wren grumbled in now blushing sweetness, he looked down to his opened hands and felt his heart flutter in whole nervousness; he knew they both made a promise to each other, as best friends, as acting cousins. Wren shook his head, lulled his eyes closed and smiled, he knew full well to keep said promise, the one of cheekily spilling the details of their very firsts in life, he knew Berri was a safe spot, "I-I don't even know where to start."

"Well, okay, let's just cut right to it, then," Berri chimed as she opened the fridge and began to pull out her delicious, cinnamon coffee creamer, "Did you two kiss? Did youuu... Get handsy?"

"Yeah, Bear, and... Wow, had I'd known it'd be THAT fun, I'd have dived in SO much sooner," Wren choked a small laugh and tried to ignore the headache he was somersaulting into; Berri shot him an excited, girly smile and shrugged her shoulders.

"Did you guys...?" Berri side-eyed Wren in bold expectancy, though Wren blushed and looked off in mild dismay.

"No, I wanted to, though, boy did I want to," Wren huffed bashfully, he cocked an eyebrow and watched as Berri bit her lip, bounced on her toes and clapped her hands in teasing excitement. She then whirled around to quickly prepare her coffee, the amount of delightful gossip and conversation, she was rushing into, was something she didn't want to end, "I-I guess... Swapping, for me and Throttle, is different and a bit more, well... Convoluted. He knows how to do it, but we chickened out. That, and, that's a HUGE commitment I don't think I'm ready for."

"So HE initiated the idea?" Berri wondered in a hiss of delight, though Wren bashfully looked up and heaved a heavy, hard sigh that trailed to a shy chuckle.

"No, no, I definitely, eh... Initiated everything," Wren huffed, he rubbed his eye as Berri squeed a noise of excitement, "I can't believe any of that happened, to be honest."

"So what DID happen, you're leaving out important details," Berri rushed, though Wren grimaced and continued to shy away.

"I don't think you want the details," Wren grimaced harder, though Berri furrowed her brow in tender confusion and shook her head.

"Just tell me what base you guys got to, clearly home base wasn't reached, sooo... I'm going to guess third base was where the play ended?" Berri prod as she began to heat up the kettle of hot water, on their glorious gas stove.

"Yeah," Wren huffed in delight as he bashfully looked down to his hands, and the counter in which he slumped at, "Had I had two more drinks in me, I likely would've been butt-rocked into next Tuesday."

Berri suddenly choked a hard laugh and gave Wren an incredulous look of floored surprise, though she tucked her messy blue hair behind her ears and shook her head amidst their playful laughter.

"Well, I'm happy for you two. Throttle's wonderful, he really compliments you," Berri encouraged with a nod, though Wren cocked an eyebrow and grunted a noise.

"What, he's responsible and I'm not?" Wren blurt, though Berri wasted no time in agreeing via a firm shrug and a small bob of a nod.

"To put it bluntly," Berri chimed, Wren rolled his eyes and looked off, "So, if Throttle asked you to marry him, would you take the Black family name, or would you have Throttle take Fluggerbutter?"

"Oh, I think it'd be cool to take his name," Wren stated plainly, though he side-eyed Berri in cheeky delight and was glad they caught eyes, "That way, when you marry Turbo, we'll all have the same last name. How wild would that be."

"... I'm not marrying Turbo, where the heck did that come from?" Berri staggered in now reversed bashfulness, in a show of a nervous tick, she tucked her hair behind her ears maybe two or three times as she huffed a shaky giggle and removed her whistling kettle from the heat, "B-Besides, Turbo said there's a girl in the game he's interested in. He told me he'd ask her out in a heartbeat, if he could."

"He said that," Wren grunted in dull irritation, and although Berri was certain he was likely talking about her, she continued to play dumb to hopefully get Wren off of the idea.

"Yeah, said she'd likely know every single good date-night spot in town," Berri shrugged, forced nonchalance she was praying would dupe Wren, though she knew better.

"You. Said girl is you, y'dingus," Wren grunted with a hard choke of a laugh, he shook his head and shut his eyes in a tight grimace of annoyance, "Berri, that was a line. Are you BLIND?"

"No, I'm just..." Berri sighed in irritation, she began to pour the hot water over the loose coffee grounds inside her dainty little French press.

"Stubborn," Wren retort, to which Berri sagged her shoulders in defeat and now peered to Wren in tender, sorrowful confusion, "Just... Go on a date with Turbo, what's the harm? It's not like you and Gunner are official. You're allowed to simply date two guys at once... Just, the second that one of them wants to get serious with you, then, well... Dating life is over."

"I can't go on a date with Turbo, he won't go into the city," Berri struggled to get the words out, the very idea of toying with the situation made her heart sore with sorrow, the inevitable rise and fall their spark would likely lead to due to Turbo's refusal to leave the game, let alone his loft.

"Just have dinner in his home, I mean, you love being there," Wren shrugged, though Berri sadly crossed her arms and peered to Wren in mild desperation.

"Wren, I want to go OUT, I want to have a normal relationship, I want to go to the beach, to... Hold hands in the mall, to be greeted at Academy with a hug," Berri shrugged as she listed off the very things Turbo would likely refuse to do, she shook her head and almost dared to let tears sting her eyes, "Turbo wouldn't supply me with ANY of those things... And, although he's, he's..."

"Wonderful," Wren grunted as he gave Berri a now serious look, "Amazing, attentive, romantic, protective, responsible... In love-"

"A GREAT guy," Berri stabbed, she now pierced her dominant gaze into Wren's and was beginning to feel like walling off, to this topic, "It... It wouldn't last long. Wren, we're about to be on all kinds of stages across Academy, with Gunner and Theo. And Turbo wouldn't come to a single show... How would that make me feel? If I was his girlfriend? He just... Wouldn't come to a single show?"

"H-He has his reasons, Bear," Wren defended, he tried his very hardest not to get too heavy handed with it all, though the urge to now go to bat for Turbo, someone who cared so much for Berri, and someone who meant the world to Throttle, was now his top priority.

"It's... It's just too stifling, I wouldn't be able to handle having to tip toe around such an incredible need, you know how extroverted I am," Berri complained, she looked off, and although she could feel her heart just grow heavy at the idea, she desperately tried to somehow have Gunner fill Turbo's shoes, too huge to fully fill, though she wouldn't admit it, "Gunner is willing and able to go anywhere. He came all the way into Sugar Rush and risked his life to go on a date with me, and even asked me out again."

"But, will he treat you the same? I see how you are, around Turbo, I see how delicately Turbo treats your heart," Wren pressed, he knew he was maybe prodding too hard, though he also knew this was their dynamic, "Seeing you with Gunner, it's... It's nothing like when you're with Turbo... I'm sorry if this is much, but, I just... Really want what's best for you, Bear. I can see the guy is head over heels for you."

"I'm not shutting the door on the idea, I just... It's a huge toss up," Berri shook her head and scrunched her eyes shut, "If only Turbo had Gunner's gust... If only Gunner had Turbo's heart."

"You can't have your cake and eat it too," Wren stated, though he cocked an eyebrow and felt the metaphor of what him and Throttle just went through; he knew to keep the notion of them baking a cake, together, quiet. Wren quietly pressed on, as bravely as he could, "Heart is what really matters, in the end, Bear..."

"I'm... So confused. And so stressed out over it," Berri admitted, "It's such a clean divide, it's... Really maddening."

Wren frowned and, for the first time in this conversation, he took note of her faintly glowing stress lines. The huge trauma she had previously gone through, with the deleter creature on the train, really left its mark on her, and although it was said and done with, Wren knew these other little issues were now making mountains out of molehills. Wren heaved a hot sigh through his nose, shook his head and tenderly eyed Berri out of love. He was well aware Turbo would go to the ends of Arcade for her, if asked enough times, he just hoped Berri would have the patience and the stamina to keep asking until Turbo ran out of excuses not to dive head first into a proper give and take. Wren looked down to his hands and softly eased off.

"Those stress lines aren't fading, Bear," Wren worried as he finally looked up at her and sighed, "You gunna have a sit down with your mom and see what you can do about it?"

Berri gently looked to her French press and softly pushed down on the handle, so to properly steep the coffee grinds. She tried not to get defensive here, and although her heart screamed at her to take Turbo's bait and just whisk away into a secretive, protective romance with her best friend, she forced herself to keep it all at bay, for the time being, due to fearing her heart would be broken. Berri gave Wren an honest look, as if to beg Wren not to climb all over her with her next statement.

"I'm going over to Turbo's, tomorrow," Berri concluded tenderly, she humbly looked down and sighed, "He knows how to fix it."

"Well, good... Maybe get this all off your chest, to him," Wren gently instructed, he laid off the playful air, knowing full well just when Berri had had enough, "Berri, the only way you're going to be able to get through all of this is just by TALKING to him. Tell him maybe just why you're not acting on anything, it's clear you two dig each other... You owe him everything weighing on your heart, as does he. He's your best friend, isn't he?"

"Absolutely," Berri assured as big tears welled in her eyes, though Wren gave her a sweet smile and shook his head.

"Just open up to him, have a heart to heart," Wren lovingly pressed, "I think it's about time, Bear. You don't want things to just get confusing, to the point of where you two then start assuming intentions and things get so out of hand, due to overthinking. Just clear the air with him. I promise it'll help."

"... I will," Berri promised with a twinge of nervousness, she nodded and lulled her eyes closed with apprehension, "I don't know how, but... I will."


	84. Chapter 84

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 : You know me so well haha**

 **Burgie : You'd be correct! Poor thing battles with himself until the end of time lol!**

* * *

 ***Chapter 84***

"I really don't know what it is about you and thinking this process is going to hurt," Turbo mumbled with a sweet smile, he kindly allowed Berri to step down the small corridor, in his loft, that lead to the only teleportation pad, in the game, that entered his slice of the code room.

"Cause you're being all vague and weird about it, you're not telling me what you're going to do to me," Berri blurt, her voice echoed up into his second story loft, the narrow walls of the hallway they eased down, and as her feet hit the teleportation pad, Turbo's bare feet weren't far behind, either, "I don't know, my mind just goes to worst case scenario."

"I'm not going to hurt you, hell I'm not even going to be largely involved," Turbo stated in boyish cheek, and as the two came into Turbo's code room, Berri flinched in tender surprise. The three-sixty degree swathe of glass, that showcased the city, was veiled in a lovely illusion of curved walls, as if they were simply in a proper sphere of a code room. The lights were low, the air was warm, Berri sagged her shoulders and softly scuffed her feet to a halt, though Turbo's masculine figure pressed on with a cute peek over his shoulder, "I'm just a guiding hand."

"Wow, it's so... It's so still in here," Berri eased, the warm embrace of the dim lighting, the lovely glow of soft white his code room orb expelled out into the room, Berri raised her eyebrows in prickled surprise as she finally got a solid look at Turbo, who was faced away.

In a firm spike of surprise, Berri gawked at his strong, broad, masculine back and shoulder blades. Having told Berri to dress comfortably, he, too, was dressed in nothing but his favorite, faded red sweats. Although it was dim in the code room her and Turbo shared, Berri felt her stomach clench in delight at the raw sight in front of her, the gorgeous splay of artwork on Turbo's bare, upper back, which trailed to his lower back. A gorgeous sprawl of faded tattoos, two incredibly detailed racing flags with all sorts of little intricate details woven in between, stark blacks and dark greys that melted into his skin like molten mercury. Berri felt her face get hot, the gentle movement of his arms that made his sexy shoulder blades peak through his skin, the way he cued to his very own code room orb, Berri lulled her eyes shut and dared to step out into the code room, to join him. She was well aware he was on a hot pursuit to gain her heart, however slow and painful it was. She wondered if she'd ever cave, and although she desperately wanted to, she held firm to her beliefs and knew to keep it all at arms length, so to avoid getting hurt due to conflict of interest, even though doing so was also painful, in the process.

"You never told me you had tattoos," Berri chimed kindly as she finally stood next to Turbo, she shot him a coy look of snarky, smiling irritation; Turbo raised his eyebrows in surprise and shot her a look of mild confusion.

"O-Oh, the piece on my back?" Turbo staggered, he heaved a bashful chuckle and shook his head. He expanded his glowing, code room orb and now grew visibly bashful about it all, "I... I forget it's there, sometimes. Not every day I'm reminded of it."

"It's beautiful," Berri prod, and although she wanted to take one step back and ogle at the incredible artwork splayed all over Turbo's back, she refrained and knew that they were here for a different reason.

"Thank you... Got it back in my TurboTime days," Turbo sighed sadly, and although Berri was aware there was likely a huge story to said huge tattoo, she refrained and knew that it was likely sensitive; the way Turbo's eyes gently glanced to her, as if to insinuate that he'd be willing to tell said story, though somehow the shyness continued to overtake him, "Hurt like hell, but... I still cherish it to this day."

"I'll bet," Berri huffed a small giggle, and although Turbo gave her a smile of inquiry, he heaved a soft sigh and gently opened a small few indexes, holograms that began to splay out in front of him in the glowing, soft white atmosphere of it all. Berri crossed her arms and now exhaled a nervous sigh, as she continued on, "So... Tell me what's going on, here. Tell me just why my mother and grandmother, of all people, code room geniuses, referred me to you for this issue."

"...Ouch," Turbo choked, though Berri jolted and rushed to his aid.

"No, no, I wasn't trying to insult you, I-I just..." Berri grew flustered, and though Turbo lofted her a kind smile of understanding, she frowned and lovingly held her hand to Turbo's lower arm, which was rested at his side, "I guess I'm just confused, is all. That came out wrong... Just, please... I have a lot of questions."

"It's okay, Bear, I was just teasing," Turbo volleyed her a sweet smile and shook his head, he shrugged and looked off in contemplation, though after a moment of thinking, his gaze turned into a far off look of rising sorrow, "I just... I know so much about coding because, well... I was a glitch for the past thirty years."

"How is that possible?" Berri wondered softly, they stood tight to each other's sides as Turbo's code room displays hung before them in readied wait.

"Well, Libby was Sugar Rush's first prototype glitch, the very first Queen," Turbo's voice was warm, soft and deep. His tender gaze sagged into Berri's, a hopeful show of fishing for her understanding, "Because Libby and I swapped codes, I became a glitch as well."

"... And when her game got unplugged," Berri danced around the topic with the utmost care, though Turbo inhaled a deep breath, his broad bare chest expanded in readiness, an eagerness to put the past behind him, and with a nod, he stepped into the very center of his code room and prepared to teach Berri this valuable coded lesson.

"I had thirty years to either be trapped with dying coding, or thirty years to learn the hell out of it and try not to let it destroy me from the inside out," Turbo's voice grew in strength, he stood out before Berri and now faced her, the gentle gloss of the low, dim, creamy lights splayed upwards into Turbo's body, accenting the gentle show of muscles on his core. The menu displays gently flickered and eased back into Turbo's glowing code room orb, and although it typically would be glowing red, a dominant show of his own coding, his whole code room seemed to be in an entirely different setting, as if it were hovering in a read-only mode. Turbo's warm, inviting eyes smiled into Berri's, and although he was never good at instructing or teaching, he felt at ease in Berri's dewy, spongy presence, "I had gone so long without a code swap, just trapped with all that swirling coding. I HAD to learn it and conquer it, before it learned and conquered me. That's where the nasty stereotype came from... I wasn't about to let it rot me to my core."

"That's impressive, Turbo," Berri assured gently, she crossed her arms and patiently awaited his instructions; she wore a comfortable grey t-shirt and a pair of comfortable black leggings, ones that hugged her figure in its entirety. Her long blue hair was long and straight down her back, a glossy, shiny splay of gorgeousness that nearly kissed the backs of her thighs. Berri smiled into Turbo's eyes and side-eyed him in narrowed kindness, "Not a lot of people would be able to make it out the other end of that with all their synapses in tact."

"I nearly didn't," Turbo choked a small laugh and looked down, to which Berri smiled and relished in his contagious laughter, "But, what I've learned, over the thirty years, is cooperation, healing. Your coding is an extension of yourself... There are a few different segments of your coding that need attention and TLC. As any normal gamer, they'd only really think of just one branch of their coding, and as glitches, you have two... But the third segment is probably the most important."

"What are all three of them?" Berri asked quietly.

"The first one, that everyone is familiar with, that everyone in this Arcade shares, is interior coding," Turbo gently rested his hand to his bare middle, "This is something that can be replenished by code swap, or, well... To put it bluntly, self service."

"...Please don't give me the 'talk'," Berri grumbled as she crossed her arms a little tighter, though Turbo blurt a small chuckle and shook his head.

"Trust me, no one would hate that more than me," Turbo blurt, to which Berri beamed a happy smile, the two filled the lovely, dim room with warm laughter. Turbo eased out of a small chuckle and wiped his eye a little, "Interior coding, something we're all familiar with in some way. Either by code swap, with another individual, or a system reboot all by your lonesome."

"Probably not as efficient?" Berri wondered cheekily; although the topic of it all was a little uncomfortable, she was glad the two were able to segue into it with grace.

"Actually, it's about equal," Turbo stated happily with an outward gesture of his hand, "If it's just your own coding, that's all it knows. So, it reboots and you're fine. Good stress relief. Same thing if you had a swap-mate. It's a refresh of shared coding all while lowering stress levels."

"...Turbo, a-are we..." Berri furrowed her brow in a spike of confusion and felt her face turn beet red, and although the topic of code swaps now hovered over them like neon lights, Berri began to feel a sprawl of nervousness cloak over her; Turbo urgently gestured his hand.

"NO, no, that's not why I brought you in here, no, for User's sakes, no," Turbo rushed, he huffed a small, shaky chuckle the second Berri beamed, sagged her shoulders and looked relieved, though not simply because she maybe didn't want to code swap with Turbo, though the idea that it all was maybe way too soon, here. Turbo bashfully rubbed the back of his neck and staggered to continue on, "C-Code swapping is definitely a solid, fool-proof way to get rid of stress lines, but, no... I-I'm here to teach you how to accomplish getting rid of them on your own, outside the act of anything involving interior coding. I'm going to teach you how to conquer it through the hardest avenue, so that you can strengthen your skills all around."

"So, interior coding is just a branch of stress relief that everyone would be familiar with," Berri giggled, the two caught their breath and eased to a warm calm, yet again, "So, what are the other two branches?"

"The second branch is one that only glitches are familiar with, as I'm sure you've already guessed it," Turbo gestured to her, and with ease, Berri allowed her silver coding to gently glow on the palm of her hand.

"Exterior coding," Berri chimed in delight, to which Turbo nodded in encouragement.

"Now, I can't glitch anymore, but I'd use that to my best ability, when I could," Turbo nodded, his lonely eyes hooked to Berri's in a soft sag of kindness, as if he maybe missed being a glitch, it having been something that was a major part of him for the entirety of his life, he almost peered to Berri in longing desire, the want for a special exterior swap was maybe something he secretly craved; something Berri dutifully noted, "Exterior swaps are something you're familiar with, obviously. They're good for conveying emotions you can't put into words, memories, thoughts... You can even have full-blown conversation just by utilizing the binary under your skin. It's an informational high way of data that can be used for all sorts of things."

"Yeah, whenever I'd cry, as a child, my mom would always exterior swap with me whilst she hugged me," Berri nodded in agreeing, to which Turbo lovingly smiled, "It always helped soothe me."

"It's a wonderful tool, though... You have to be careful who you choose to exterior swap with, in a time of emotional need. If their emotions are running hay-wire, or they're maybe not so emotionally stable, that could add stress to your coding, because then your coding is just taking on the burden of their troubles," Turbo explained tenderly, though Berri furrowed her brows in a pluck of realization.

"I never would've thought about that," Berri eased, she shook her head and sagged her shoulders, "I guess I've never come in contact with someone who wasn't mentally stable. Everyone I've ever exterior swapped with was just family."

Although Berri gently went down the small list of people she's ever exterior swapped with, it being her parents, Theo, Ace, Libby and Chester, she felt her pupils tighten at the raw fact that hit her square between the eyes. She raised her eyebrows in plucked surprise and caught eyes with Turbo, she held her breath as she could see the sweet, teasing smile of understanding quickly sprawl Turbo's cheeks, and with an exasperated noise of irritation, Berri gently cupped her face with her hands and gave Turbo an embarrassed look of desperation, as if to beg him to not mention the incident she knew the both of them remembered, like it was yesterday.

"I know I'm on that list," Turbo huffed a chuckle, though Berri groaned and covered her face in further embarrassment as Turbo's laughter grew, "Remember that one time you-"

"YES, Bo, I-I was mortified for DAYS afterwards, I nearly body-slammed you in the garage because I wasn't looking where I was glitch-hopping," Berri rushed in a whine, she giggled into her hands as Turbo's cute, deep laughter soaked the warm, dim room they were nestled in, "I'm serious, Turbo, I have never been more embarrassed in my entire life."

"Well, why! I thought it was so sweet," Turbo assured, though Berri raised her eyebrows in surprise and peered to Turbo in a strike of uplift, as if she was certain said embarrassing situation would just remain that way forever, though with Turbo's words, she was floored that the past was rewriting itself, "And, you didn't body-slam me, Berri, c'mon. You just fell into me, and I caught you."

"I was certain that you had no clue what to do with my coding, I probably popped your bubble like a million fireworks," Berri giggled, she remained bashful, though she peered her hopeful eyes to Turbo's and begged for him to keep rewriting that embarrassing incident.

"It was sudden, but, no, that exterior swap wasn't a strange occurrence to me," Turbo chuckled, he sagged his hands into the gape of his sweats' pockets, his broad, bare chest sagged with a sigh of delight as he sweetly peered into Berri's eyes, "I learned a lot about you in that one single bump."

"Ohhh I was hoping you wouldn't," Berri groaned in irritation as she covered her face, once more, though Turbo huffed a small chuckle and shook his head in delight, he dared to take a step closer to her, amidst their six-foot gap.

"Whatever information you gained about me, I got the same volley of info," Turbo assured as Berri gently peeked from her hands, once more. She relaxed the second Turbo warmly reached for her right hand, with his left, and lovingly held it between the two of them, "Don't fret. You know how exterior swaps work, and so do I. You know that the suddenness of it all is strictly just statistical information, at first. You really have to soak in someone's exterior code, for a minute or two, to reach their emotions and deeper thoughts. So if you're worried about that, then rest assured, the only information I got a solid look at was just your statistical information. Like, your height, gender, age, vitals."

"Phew," Berri huffed, she bashfully squeezed Turbo's hand and locked eyes with him, as if to silently express that him having access to all of those deeper emotions wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, though at that point in time, they were just strangers. She sagged her shoulders and bobbed a gentle nod to him, "Thank you, for that. I was so worried you thought I was the weirdest person alive."

"Well... I mean, I do," Turbo teased, he choked a laugh as Berri gently removed her hand from his and swat at his bare chest. He took a step or two back and returned to his previous position, he carried on through a cute chuckle, "But, I like it. It's what makes you so great. Don't be embarrassed over that, I thought it was sweet."

"...'YOUR HIGHNESS'," Berri teased as she tensed her shoulders and held her hands and arms out, to playfully make fun of how Turbo looked in that incident of her bumping into him in the palace's garage, though Turbo sagged his arms and looked off in a climb of smiling irritability.

"Okay, don't start with that," Turbo muttered with a smile he tried to conceal.

"Fine, fine," Berri giggled as the two gently came to normality and eased off their playful laughs and banter. Berri tucked her hair behind her ears and gave Turbo a revived smile, "So... You've covered two branches of this, I guess... I didn't know there was a third. Is it something I can access?"

"Absolutely... And, little did I know, Throttle actually knew about these three branches, and even had learned the names for them," Turbo shrugged and gave Berri a bewildered smile, alongside a shrug, "I guess it was something he occasionally taught, when he was a professor in End of Line Academy."

"So, you figured it out, and later found out that Throttle knew about it all, as well?" Berri prod in curiosity, Turbo nodded and shrugged his hands into the gape of his pant's pockets, "Y'guys are way too sharp for your own good."

"It's not so much sharpness, as it is to the sheer amount of time we've been alive in this Arcade," Turbo eased, "As time goes on, you pick up on stuff. You'll see as your number goes up, you just obtain understanding. It's weird thinking about it all... Ten years ago, I was certain this knowledge was just useless and only helpful for my own good, it felt weird harboring all this coding knowledge and not being able to share it with someone."

Berri raised her eyebrows in gentle surprise, and as the two caught eyes, Turbo gently eased a kind smile in Berri's direction before he bashfully looked down to his feet and bobbed a nod of collected understanding.

"If you told me, ten years ago, that I'd be helping my best friend with her coding, who was Sugar Rush's princess, no less, I'd say you were crazy," Turbo blurt a small laugh and returned his kind gaze into Berri's twinkling eyes.

"I can't tell you how appreciative I am," Berri affirmed warmly, and as the two soaked into a soft silence with each other, Turbo finally exhaled a long, content sigh.

"You can always come to me for help, for anything," Turbo assured with a nod, "Although I will teach you how to do this all yourself, and give you the tools to strengthen your own coding, you can always ask me for advice."

Berri softened and picked apart Turbo's statement like a jigsaw puzzle. She gently narrowed her gaze and peered into Turbo's eyes; she was well aware Turbo's words were clear and concise, true and had depth, though she wondered here if he was begging her to read between the lines. She wondered if maybe her own mind was wanting to rush away with said hidden meanings, or if Turbo truly was making it clear that he wanted her to look a little closer at his statement. She could feel her heart begin to thud in knowing, the understanding that he was here to guide, but also to remain an outreached hand she could grab onto, if she needed, she could already feel her wavering heart begin to feel content in the idea of it all.

"You're the best," Berri concluded through a sigh and a smile, to which Turbo shook his head and looked down.

"I'm Sugar Rush's Knight... I swore to protect the royal family," Turbo pressed warmly, he gave Berri a cute, sneaky smile and lulled his eyes closed, "Even if it means protecting you from the downfall of your own coding. I'm here to help."

"I'm excited to get started," Berri nodded, knowing that this was only just a small introduction to whatever Turbo was prepared to teach her; he inhaled a readied breath and counted on his masculine fingers, out before him.

"So, we went over the first-most, outer ring of coding structure, known as the Cognizance Class, or... The exterior swap," Turbo rattled gently, he smiled and pressed on in gentle authority, "The act of sharing emotions, awareness, thoughts, ideas and tender loving care, all without using words. Expression beyond verbalizing what you need."

"Something only glitches can do, right?" Berri wondered, Turbo nodded and shrugged.

"Well, glitches and any gamer that a glitch comes in contact with, exterior-swap wise," Turbo eased as he held up two fingers, "The second, inner ring of coding structure is the Visceral Class, or, the interior swap... Also can be known as the code swap, sex, self-service... Everything in between."

"Wait... So, that's just an inner ring of coding structure? I thought that was the most INNER ring of it all that you could possibly get, I mean..." Berri gestured to her core and peered to Turbo in gentle confusion, "There's something more INNER than that?"

"Yep... That's exactly where your problem lies, within the Quintessence Class," Turbo eased, he shook his head and eyed Berri in a show of mild apprehension, for this venture, "I'm going to teach you how to access this branch of your coding, something I'm sure you have never accessed before... Well... Something I KNOW you haven't accessed before, due to the stress lines on your face and neck."

Berri sagged in all of Turbo's coded knowledge, terms and ideas she had never heard before, and it was here did she feel relieved that she had all of her mother's and grandmother's previous coding knowledge. Berri knew that if she were to go into this, with Turbo, entirely blind, she'd likely leave this session with a huge exhaustion headache. She inhaled a shaky breath and felt the gears in her mind turn, the very idea that Turbo had deeper knowledge on coding, deeper than the depths of interior coding, and it was here did she understand just how valuable of a friend Turbo was to her. Someone who previously had her same powers, someone who could be of great aid in the future. Berri tried not to allow romance to seep into these sticky corners of their blossoming, romantic interest, as if there were certain areas that were strictly out of bounds, though she wondered if somehow, in the secrecy of Turbo's walled off code room, she could potentially get away with one small dose of just what Turbo was made of.


	85. Chapter 85

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** I just wanted to say one big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you! I love that the chapter was posted on your birthday, July 30th. I hope you're well friend, thank you for everything :D

 **Burgie :** Yes indeed! :D Thank you!

 **Jay Sketchin :** Aww that's okay! I hope you had a good trip. Thank you friend!

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 **A /N : You know what... I'm done apologizing for the lengths of my chapters. I was just about to write a huge AN apologizing about how I just can't seem to stop, but... I'm using my brain and I'm being creative and I'm doing what I love. This chapter is incredibly dear to me, so I hope you enjoy, the length and everything it entails, which is actually crucial to Berri's and Turbo's character development, as well as the plot of this story. Thanks for being here for me, guys. It really means a lot.**

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith**

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 ***Chapter 85***

In the still of Turbo's dim code room, Berri felt complete solace, an entire, desired stillness she finally put her finger on. A content warmth she felt her soul searching for, a craving she finally figured out, and although she was still on the verge of exploding and finally admitting it all to herself, she wondered if this code room exercise was a good opportunity to not only center herself, but really come to grips with the reality, or lack there of, of her fleeting desires. She was well aware she'd be keeping Turbo as a solid best friend, though she tried not to feel disheartened by not allowing it to go any further than that. Berri felt conflicting thoughts hit her, she wondered if the idea of letting Turbo in and being heart broken, in the end, would be far less painful than not exploring it whatsoever. She knew this was a toss up, and her heart and feelings were on the line, and in the impending action of trying to get rid of stress, she inwardly rolled her eyes and grumpily thought that this was just what she needed; new stress on top of current stress.

"So, before I begin... I just want to give you the option to either give permission, or not, for this process," Turbo politely instructed, and as bravely as he could, he cued up Berri's sensitive code box, opened it in its entirety and panned to a small segment near the bottom. An inquiry box popped up, stating to Turbo that he didn't have access to Berri's sensitive, innermost coding, and moving forward, from here, would require Berri's coded permission to access, an honor on par with a romantic exterior swap. Berri raised her eyebrows in delicate surprise as Turbo patiently carried on, "This isn't permanent, and... If you do give me permission to access your coding, like this, you can opt out at any second you decide. The only thing I'll be doing, here, is instructing you how to access your core coding. If you don't want to give permission, I can show you through example, just on myself. The choice is yours, Bear."

Berri softly fingered her lip in contemplation and peered her curious gaze to Turbo's. She knew, full well, she'd give Turbo any and all access to whatever was needed, here, though she hesitated and really reeled in Turbo's words. The idea that he'd have access to her inner most coding, even outside of an interior or exterior swap, really made Berri hold her breath and think deeply about the notion of it all. Knowing that this wasn't anything sexual, she still was certain that Turbo would have access to anything and everything inside of her mind, inside of her heart, and though she was certain he wouldn't dare go nosing about or pry into something he knew he shouldn't, the idea that he had the key to it made Berri feel the burn of her stress marks, on her temples. How desperately she tried to keep her feelings for him to herself, the fire she didn't want to start in fear of it engulfing her and burning her alive, broken hearted to ashes of confusion and despair, she lulled her eyes closed and held her breath as she stood on the edge of her dilemma.

"Your thoughts are safe, Bear, I can see you really fighting with yourself," Turbo eased a warm chuckle and remained still in the menu boxes of Berri's holographic code box; it glowed in silver pride, the marbled swirl of her coding shone beautifully against Turbo's grey skin, "This isn't an exterior swap, or a swap of any sort. This is just an open door so I can show you more about core coding. I'm just going to show you where your stressor marks are. We all have 'em on certain weak points on our body. This is purely instructional, but like I said, I can just keep the examples to my own coding, if you'd prefer."

"No, no, I... I trust you, it's okay," Berri eased, she held onto Turbo's word, and though he cocked an eyebrow and gave her a look as if to ask if she was certain, she smiled in assurance and bobbed a firm nod, "I'm sure. I just needed to think it through, is all."

"Wise," Turbo volleyed warmly, and as Berri gently sagged her thumbprint to the little box, specifically for Berri's coding only, upon access granted, Berri's code box suddenly unravelled with a world more display boxes, tiers of indexes and information splayed before Turbo, she held her breath and felt real fear draw her pupils into mere specks. Turbo inhaled a deep, shaky though readied breath and, although her code box's hologram was splayed with opened screens of information, he tenderly lofted it to the side and allowed it to hang in the side lines of his instructions. Stood at the dead center of his code room, Berri remained still, about six feet from him, and patiently listened as he began to pour information over her shivering soul, "So, deeper than interior coding, we have our core coding. Anyone in the Arcade can access this coding, of theirs... It just takes a lot of practice, a lot of meditation."

"Is it similar to glitching?" Berri wondered softly, to which Turbo shrugged and stood ready with his arms at his sides.

"It's similar in the way of it being a live-wired way of conveying non-verbal emotion. It can ACT as an intense exterior swap, if you're present with another being that also is in touch with their core coding, but other than that, it's simply a way to bring your stressor marks to the surface of your skin. The only way you can really iron out stress is to be in touch with these stressor marks... To learn how to soothe them."

"Stressor marks," Berri prod as she crossed her arms in tender curiosity, though she froze in gentle surprise the second Turbo inhaled a deep breath through his nose, slowly exhaled and remained still.

Berri honed her eyes tight to Turbo's figure as he closed his eyes, and although half a minute went by of tender silence, Berri was well aware Turbo was concentrating on something, what of, she wasn't sure. She remained still and awaited his instruction, though as if dimly risen from the dead, certain spots, on Turbo's body, began to ever so faintly glow with large, red-hot honeycombs, points of interest Berri was now entirely floored by. As if turning the ignition to a vehicle and letting the engine warm, Turbo inhaled a deep breath through his nose, after a minute, and reopened his eyes. His broad, bare chest expanded with said breath, and alongside this, the large, individual honeycombs on his body suddenly glowed with an amped shine of awoken inner power. Berri raised her eyebrows in whole surprise and huffed a shaky breath of bewilderment as Turbo gave her a humble smile.

"I-I've never seen coding marks so prominent, like that," Berri prod, she dared to take a step closer, so to get a better look at it all.

Unlike normal, glitched coding, these single honeycombs acted as massive, main arteries for Turbo's coding. A single, inch-thick string of a circuit connected each ancient, glowing honeycomb to the other, as if the main motherboard of Turbo's coding was being boasted, as opposed to the tinier veins of honeycombs and coding that were usually present, amidst visible coding, what Berri was typically used to. Turbo's coding glowed hot red, a confident show of his skill, the craft he had mastered over the years of desperately trying to get ahold of himself, Berri remained in awe of his knowledge and continued to feel eternally grateful for this opportunity. She warmly smiled up into his eyes in floored excitement to get started, for herself, and it was here did she finally begin to feel the stress, in her life, want to begin to slip away.

"Although everyone has a different coding structure, and a different coding color, we all have the same exact twelve stressor marks," Turbo kindly instructed, and although he relaxed from his concentrative state, his core coding continued to confidently remain aglow, as if accessing this part of himself was easy to hold onto, after years of solid practice. Turbo gently began to point to where each mark was, on his body, he started with the one on the crown of his head, which peaked through his hairline, on his forehead, "So... We have three on our head. One right here, on the forehead, two on your temples... We then have two on either side of our throats."

Berri raised her eyebrows and noted all the ones he pointed two, though as her eyes dribbled down Turbo's broad, masculine chest and core, she felt her face heat up a little as he went lower. He hovered his hand over his heart, where a single, massive honeycomb confidently glowed and connected to another honeycomb just above his belly button. Each honeycomb delicately surged in a glow of brightening and dimming, in rhythm with his heart beat.

"We have one over our heart, one on our stomach," Turbo continued on, and as Berri's eyes trailed down, he pointed both his hands to two red honeycombs on his hip bones, ones that sagged into the lip of his sweat pants and snaked thick, sturdy circuit lines out of sight and near his groin. Berri tried not to swallow hard as he continued on, "We have two one our hip bones, and thennn... Two on the bottoms of our feet."

Berri giggled a little as Turbo stood on one foot, grappled the ankle of his lifted foot and showed a singular honeycomb on the bottom of his left foot, on the ball of it, which also was prominent on the bottom of his right foot. Berri furrowed her eyebrows and quickly only counted eleven points, her curious eyes peered up into his.

"...Where's the twelfth mark?" Berri pressed, though Turbo gently set his foot back down and turned around.

"The last one is on the center of your back, like so," Turbo gestured as he now confidently turned around and put his whole, incredibly gorgeous tattoo on display for her, and although her eyes noticed the much larger stressor mark between Turbo's strong, prominent shoulder blades, her eyes quickly took in as much of his awesome tattoo as she could.

"So... You're saying, I have these SAME stressor marks?" Berri questioned with a giggle, to which Turbo bobbed a nod and turned back around.

"Yep! On you, they'd be normal circles, not honeycombs, and... They'd be silver, but yes. Every gamer has these same stressor marks, no matter what kind of a gamer they are," Turbo warmly instructed, his coding confidently glowed in a dim show of reserved power, Berri was entirely sure she underestimated all of the strength he was now confidently exuding.

"So, how do I, well... Access mine?" Berri tenderly wondered, though Turbo faltered and softly lofted his eyes to the coding he had gently lofted to the wayside, Berri's splay of menus and indexes, he finally gave Berri a knowing look and heaved a shaky sigh.

"Well, that's sort of where your permission came into play," Turbo kindly pressed, he motioned her to follow him, and as they eased into the gravity of Berri's holographic displays, complete with an area that had a basic outline of her body, a grey silhouette that properly showed where all of her circuity lay. Underneath the mess of all the circuit lines, the much bigger circles, of her circuity, were prominent; solid stressor marks that Berri was floored she had, even though she didn't doubt Turbo's word. Turbo gently gestured to said silhouette and gave her a look of kind anticipation, "I can cue them with a press. What I was going to do was, highlight one by one, and explain to you what each one means, what emotions each one harbors, and how to properly get rid of stress. I wanted you to experience how each one feels, so you can then take all of this information and practice for yourself."

"I see," Berri eased nervously, it was here did Turbo notice she was growing more and more shy. He almost was fueled by it, the tender sweetness she radiated, something that she didn't show incredibly often; although he was entirely grabbed by her fiery nature, somehow this shy and reserved peek, she was now quietly revealing, had him beyond intrigued. The different, quieter angles to her personality only had him more certain in his feelings for her, the more he wanted to desperately learn her every move. Berri smiled up at him in continued reservedness and shrugged her dainty shoulders in coy cuteness, "I think I'm ready. This won't, well... h-"

"Berri, none of this will hurt, I promise you," Turbo blurt a small chuckle and lovingly rested his hand to her shoulder. He tenderly squeezed and peered deeper into her eyes, "The only thing that could potentially hurt are emotions or feelings you run into... Things you maybe need to work out, within yourself. The reason for the stress."

"Okay, I trust you," Berri affirmed, and with such, Turbo warmly instructed her to stand back a few feet.

As Berri stood in the inner, dimmed circle of Turbo's glorious code room, her feet held to the edge of the etching, a massive honeycomb that typically only lit up when Turbo was doing proper code room work. She exhaled a shaky breath and prepared for the floodgates to open, the causes of any stress lofted her way, the main point of contention being the awful train ride she took earlier in the week, the near-death experience she had with the deleter inside Arcade's train rails. She rested her shoulders, peered to Turbo in loving curiosity and was floored with the gentle way Turbo navigated through her code box. He made it so the silhouette of her body, inside one of the code indexes, was a little larger, so he could properly map just where her twelve stressor marks laid underneath her skin.

"Okay, so... The three on your face are all connected, in a similar fashion," Turbo stated, and as easily as he could, he allowed all three stressor marks, on Berri's forehead and the sides of her temples, to flare in a dim show of silver coding, fresh and new. Berri inhaled a small, startled breath and flinched as her coding suddenly swirled with a new awakening, as if this was just exactly what she needed, an extremely heightened feeling of renewal.

"Whoaaa," Berri huffed in whole entire surprise, suddenly her eye sight gained an extreme high definition, her eyes pierced to Turbo's in whole surprise; she was floored to find that her eyesight was so good that she could somehow see the faintest, cutest little freckles just underneath Turbo's eyes, even from the ten foot distance from him. She giggled in continued surprise and looked about, "I can see everything so clearly, what the heck?"

"Yeah, doing this heightens all your senses. Suddenly everything feels realer than real," Turbo blurt a chuckle and bobbed a nod, "Pretty cool, huh?"

"It is," Berri blurt with a laugh, though just as the emotion of high defined eye sight hit her, a wave of new, startling emotion suddenly slammed into her full-force.

With the aid of her eyesight, she suddenly got a very real flashback of the incident she had on the train, the very core of her stress. Berri huffed a staggered breath and felt her inside go cold, she was well aware she now had a very far-off look in her eye, and although the strange sensation of revisiting a memory coat her retinas, she could still see Turbo in her peripheral. He froze and urgently peered to her in question, as if to wonder if they had successfully gotten to the source of this pain in one fell swoop, he almost peered back into Berri's coding in a show of unadulterated hope. He cleared his throat and furrowed his brow into Berri's coding, and just as he was about to maybe cue another one of her stressor marks, he peered back to her in sorrow as she suddenly huffed a shaky, silent noise of a cry; big tears welled in her eyes, and it was here did Turbo know to only verbally rush to her aid.

"What you're experiencing is normal, and quite frankly, I'm glad it's happening, and so soon," Turbo rushed to explain, though his tone remained warm and calm, "The stressor marks, on your temples, obtain hardships you see, and will hold onto traumatic events that happened. This is where bad memories, or nightmares, come from. It's your body's defense mechanism... Warning you to never entangle with said traumatic experience, ever again."

"I-I don't want to look at it, anymore," Berri pleaded in now teary desperation, her chest began to heave in a show of panic as she panted. She shook her head and urgently blinked her eyes, though the images of the deleter, the bloody train cab, and every traumatic little detail in between, refused to leave her line of sight.

"Center yourself, Berri. You have to face it head on... You HAVE to think about it, you have to feel it, grieve over it, and let it go," Turbo instructed, and though he wanted to baby her and cue the coding on the soles of her feet, he gestured to her and was well aware she was capable and strong enough to figure it all out for herself, "If you were to ground yourself, in the act of stressor marks, which point would you flare?"

"M-My feet," Berri staggered as she shut her eyes, shook her head and urgently wiped tears from her eyes. The angry, silver glow on her temples, and her forehead, persisted in a throb of her beating heart, the flare of urgency Turbo so desperately wanted to shush and soothe, though he knew she needed to be strong for herself, and figure this all out on her own without a crutch.

"The markers on the soles of your feet are a grounding mechanism, any ounce of laziness or 'kicking your feet up' prolonged notion will cause these markers to clog with lack of use. Root yourself in your stance, Berri. Pretend you're actually in front of that creature and you have the power to have civil conversation with it," Turbo explained as he hovered tight over Berri's coding, her cute figure did everything it could to catch her breath, her eyes were held shut tight in a roll of dread as she continued to cry, though Turbo lovingly encouraged her further, "Stand your ground, Bear. Be proud of your roots... Don't be a bendable weed in a storm. You're a tree with thick roots. What would you say to this creature, having that knowledge? The knowledge that you won't be knocked down?"

"I'd tell it to piss off," Berri choked in a teary mess, though Turbo raised his eyebrows amidst a now crumbling smile and did absolutely everything he could to not laugh.

"Okay, but don't let anger fuel you," Turbo stifled further laughter. He cleared his throat and sweetly smiled in Berri's direction, "Although you're rooted, don't stay rooted in anger and hatred... I know it seems impossible, but try and show the creature some love."

"It doesn't deserve it, it almost killed me," Berri stabbed as she opened her eyes, though her strange, high definition vision was clouded with silent, moving images of her memory desperately trying to torture her. The soles of her feet successfully illuminated underneath her, and much to Turbo's surprise, her coding began to gently ease into the etched honeycomb on the floor of his dim code room, her ravenous silver coding spread like wild fire. She grit her teeth and continued on, through her tears, "It deserved death, it didn't deserve love."

"Berri, find your heart," Turbo instructed, and although he wasn't firm, his tone was still authoritative; he felt urgency course through him the second Berri shut her eyes tight and shook her head in defiance.

"I don't want to think about this anymore," Berri urged in stubbornness, though not as if to request for Turbo to let up.

"You're going to let it conquer you? You want to remain with the stress, Bear?" Turbo quietly prod, though Berri sagged her shoulders and urgently peered to Turbo, as if to beg for his help.

"No, I don't, I-I just..." Berri trailed off through her tears, the incredible, large honeycomb on Turbo's floor was now half filled with the crawl of her angry silver coding.

"You can't carry this burden, any longer. You can't press on without yourself," Turbo eased, his deep voice reverberated in her ears like an echo of bass, the incredible heighten of all her senses had her skin plagued with goosebumps. Turbo's powerful voice carried on like a roll of thunder over her shivering soul, a warmth she now knew she couldn't live without, "Tessa spared my little brother in likely her darkest hour... You want to know how she did it?"

"H-how?" Berri wondered amidst tears, though she knew the word about to come out of Turbo's mouth.

"Heart," Turbo pressed, he shook his head and was thrilled the ball was rolling, here, "The reason she's such a fantastic Queen is because everything she does is fueled by love, and by heart. I know she passed that on to you, Bear... You can't ignore it."

Berri felt as if a tidal wave had come crashing down onto her soul, and merely thinking about everything her mother and father had done for her, had her body surging with purpose. With a jolt, she felt heat over the left side of her chest, and as she glanced down, she noticed another large, glowing circuit circle prominently and proudly shining. As tears continued to fall, she felt a weird sense of relief come over her silver circuits, love she had inside of her, all along, love she deployed on her friends and family day in and day out, though something she never really gifted to herself. She knew Turbo's words were right, and everything he was lofting into her shaking soul was solid, valuable information.

"Rooted and full of love, what would you say to this creature?" Turbo wondered, again, the previous spat of her angry words were something he was praying she'd reverse and eradicate.

"I'm sorry," Berri blurt with a small sob of a cry, she shook her head and shut her eyes tight, and amidst the tremble of her shoulders and the quaking of her soul, she was aware Turbo wasn't rushing to her aid for a reason, "I-I'm sorry I killed you... But I had to."

"Having blood on your hands isn't fun, I understand," Turbo pressed, he shook his head and completely leveled with her, "I'm the reason my people are gone... I'm the reason everyone inside TurboTime is dead. I spent the better half of my life beating myself up over it, and although your situation is different, and you were protecting yourself, I KNOW you're still harboring guilt, deep down, for killing another being."

"I am," Berri sobbed, something so deeply rooted inside of her, the event of this exposure had every nasty worm of tar come eking out her pores, it was something she could equate to a coded detox. She desperately peered to Turbo and shook her head, "I feel so bad."

"Feel it, you're allowed to... Sit in that feeling, Bear, it's OKAY to feel negatively," Turbo urged, though he narrowed his gaze and lovingly peered to her as he safely hovered over her coded information, "The mistake you're making is STAYING in the negative feelings. You've felt it, now... Forgive yourself, and let it go..."

Berri panted through her nose and knew it was the last thing she deserved, she shook her head and narrowed her gaze, as if to silently protest Turbo, though he raised his eyebrows and volleyed her back a look of gentle authority, as if to promise her that his advice was fool proof. He bobbed a small nod, in retort to her head shake, and as Berri sagged her trembling shoulders in defeat, she finally closed her eyes and sagged in Turbo's sound advice. She desperately steadied her breathing, rooted herself in every single last strand of circuitry she was made of, all the incredible people she was related to, the glorious game that kept her safe, she looked the deleter in the eye and felt a strange peace come over her. The marks on her temples softly dulled to a gentle glow, though the mark on her heart and the soles of her feet confidently shone, a show that she was successful in beginning the process of dwindling down the incredible stress she was thrusted into. Turbo smiled at their success and sagged his shoulders in mild relief.

"Good, Bear," Turbo warmly encouraged, he bobbed a nod and, although his own stressor marks were still confidently glowing as well, they were far dimmer than the three that were currently on display, on Berri's body; the one on her heart and the two on the soles of her feet. She lulled her eyes closed and visibly sank into the new feelings she was melting in, though unbeknownst to Turbo, said silver circuits that soaked into the etched honeycomb, on the ground, began to inch closer to his feet, which were crossed over the etchings, as well, "The stressor mark, on your forehead, deals with instinct, elevated thinking. Whilst you were in the middle of that battle, that stressor mark was doing anything and everything to keep you riding on instinct and adrenaline, all while the marks on your temples were practically recording everything you saw, so to remember it forever. Most of our stress comes from those three marks, they're basically the main obtainers for the majority of your senses."

"Like it keeps a log?" Berri wondered kindly, she inhaled a deep, nasally breath and looked a bit more radiant, a renewed touch of maturity that kissed her teary cheeks, Turbo allowed his eyes to soak into her beauty and now found that he couldn't look away.

"Yes, ma'am... You feel better?" Turbo wondered sweetly, she nodded and sagged her shoulders in a roll of relief.

"I-It'll take time, but... Yes... I feel much better, thank you," Berri eased in a rise of uplift.

"Allow yourself to go through these motions, and each time you do, your core coding will get stronger," Turbo instructed, "We still have the other ones to expand on, but I can help you with those, another time... I'm just glad we made progress."

"I am too," Berri sighed, though as she closed her eyes and steadied herself, she forgot that her heightened coding had eked itself into the avenue of an etching, on Turbo's flooring.

"Is there anything else you maybe want to expand on, in this instance?" Turbo wondered kindly, though in a weird rock of a jolt, he flinched in whole surprise the second the stressor marks, on the bottoms of his feet, suddenly came in contact with something foreign.

Turbo huffed a shaky breath, looked down and, although he wanted to take a large step or two backwards, he wobbled and felt gripped to the floor underneath him. Turbo jolted in surprise, flung his head up and locked eyes tight with Berri's equally as surprised figure. Both beings froze in an enchanted whirl of unadulterated delight and shyness, the irritated spark of opposed codes that suddenly came together in an easy sag of their very first core coding exterior swap, Turbo felt his heart suddenly spike in a hefty few beats of thumping nervousness, the clear stab of their surprised lock of eyes, the shy swap they had been successfully avoiding, though now was accidentally upon them, Turbo panted and now began to feel a roll of impending anticipation come crawling over him, the very thing he wanted to wallow in, the lovely, cool kiss of Berri's silver coding that now sagged into his, once and for all. A temporary embrace that Turbo secretly wanted to make permanent, though now that he was caught by surprise, amidst this share of thoughts, he was well aware absolutely everything was due to come spilling out, here and now.

In hot realization that Berri was accidentally letting her coding eke out onto the avenues of Turbo's etched code room floors, she froze in a spike of dread and desperately tried not to feel embarrassed. As if to back track and feel a weird sense of vulnerability just cake her thoughts, she felt a very real amount of warmth and understanding coat her soul in the form of Turbo's patient, hot red coding now successfully mixing with hers. Her chest heaved, she could feel her face get hot, and in their gained eye contact, Berri shivered in hard surprise and felt every single last one of her stressor marks suddenly come alive with a gorgeous, rosy golden glow of their glossy, shared coding. The second Berri felt her skin prickle with the feeling of being mortified, it was immediately eradicated by the kiss of Turbo's hot coding, a reminder that every single last ounce of her feelings were safe with him, and everything that he had done for her, and into this instance, was all done in her absolute best interest. In the quick swallow of said information, for good, she huffed a shaky giggle and quietly meeped him an apology strictly through the thoughts of their now shared coding.

Turbo volleyed her back a nervous, shy smile and shook his head, his kind voice rolled in her ears as their shared thought system volleyed her a kind affirmation, to state that she had no need to be sorry, for this, and quite the contrary belief, he nervously assured to her that this was wanted. Although what would seem forward as verbal words, they both fell into an entirely secretive conversation of boldness, a boast of the secrets they held for each other underneath their skin, Berri raised her eyebrows and was floored by this realization; the idea that they could think absolutely anything to each other and not have it misconstrued by tone or messy words, the raw fact that they felt in their hearts were now so plainly out on display, something they could so easily see without any guesswork, Turbo felt his heart pound on surround sound at the solid fact that this little, intimate bubble of raw, shared core coding was right where he needed to be, a point of interest he desperately wanted, his shining moment to confess his love to her and pray to User she'd received it well enough.

Although Turbo now felt incredibly vulnerable, and was well aware Berri did as well, he inhaled a shaky breath, expanded his chest in a gentle rush of bravery and knew he needed to somehow keep up the lesson he had started. Now that Berri was successful in beginning to wash away past trauma, and learned how to properly deal with it, Turbo knew the next step was to begin healing the wound, to properly surround herself with uplifting thoughts that would help aid her in her journey. As confidently as he could, he soaked in every inch of her pixels, her lovely essence that eased like silk through his skin, he shivered in her whole existence and now totally understood he was doomed, and as desperately as he tried to keep his head above water, he long blinked in realization and knew, full well, this wasn't a solo dive anymore, as if the deep end eagerly beckoned them into its lovely abyss. He remained frozen in his stance, ten feet from her lovely figure, and although she was such a distance, he could swear she was sagged in his arms, an embrace of coding he felt finally had brought him to life, after a hibernation of needed solitude.

As clearly and platonically as he could, he kindly asked her just what made her the happiest, in this world. A non-verbal cue of thoughts that eased in and out of their coding, something that registered with her as clear as day, she side-eyed Turbo with a kind smile and, through the expansion of her chest, she inhaled a deep breath and prepared to overflow him with everything she had previously stated, all those days ago, of just the things that brought her sheer happiness. Amidst the heightened nature of their core coded exterior swap, Berri suddenly flooded Turbo's incredible vision with the images of her racing Chester about the lot, the gridded sight she had on the entire palace lot when her and Chester were soaring about his track. Trees ducked in and out of vision, birds fluttered about in a chaotic whirl, buildings and corridor pillars whizzed by, and although Turbo barely flinched at the suddenness of everything, he felt his soul just soar, his heart raced alongside her fervor, and as easily as blinking, her vision switched.

The strum of her incredible electric guitar, fingers that moved like lightning, the intense reverberation of noise the amp made had their skin rising in goosebumps, her incredible singing voice that coat over their ears and thoughts in an embrace of heavenly melody, the loud, sweet, confident tune of her's and Turbo's song so successfully mixed into an upbeat pop song, Turbo nearly beamed so wide that his face split in half. He huffed a bashful chuckle and just soaked in every single last idea of perfection Berri had, and just as flits of visions, of the palace lot, Wren and Theo, her family, her parents and everything in between came rushing and fleeting, Turbo felt his heart begin to squeeze in whole understanding as Berri eagerly began to unfold her whole heart, before him. The gleam of Turbo's tower on the horizon, the flicker of his incredible view, from his loft, the gloss of Turbo, himself, sat on his bike, the recent memory that Berri successfully glossed across their vision, of Turbo's bare back, donned with his incredible tattoo, it wasn't until everything stopped did Turbo now have just a clear view of Berri, still stood in her position ten feet from him, as if she were conveying, here, that the very being before her was the end all, the thing that made her the happiest.

Turbo panted through his nose and now understood that the lesson was over, and it was here that he began to feel his hands itch. The overflow of a new feeling he was receiving from Berri was unlike anything he had felt from her, before, and although he could simply venture a guess in past glances and cute, blushing smiles, actions that spoke far louder than words, he sagged in this soak of a feeling and felt true, unwavering love hit him head on. As strong as he felt it for her, he was floored to feel it hit him in the same fervor, the innocent look of near-terror in her eyes, as if to convey to him that this was her deepest, darkest secret, and she was entrusting him with it, and no amount of words could possibly convey the maze of emotions she was feeling. Although Turbo wanted to do a back flip, rush to her and sweep her away into a romantic kiss, do anything an everything he could to seal her away as his, he felt another feeling coat him; one of conflict, a dilemma he was now dreading to be apart of. Before he could properly give her a heavy dose of his undying love, he sagged his shoulders and kindly accepted her worries, ones of which he was mildly surprised by.

Berri tucked her hands to her chest and nervously peered to Turbo, almost as if to beg him to understand, as if she wasn't about to ask him to change his ways just for her, the desperation for him to leave his User forsaken loft, the game no less, to enjoy everything life had to offer the two, to attend her future shows, to be strong and brave in the face of adversity, with her by his side, she knew she was overloading him with every single last worry that was on her heart, though she almost didn't care. She shook her head as tears welled in her eyes, desperation in her coding that begged him to understand, to know that this wasn't an ultimatum, that falling into love with him would be incredibly easy if it were for a few switch ups, she almost prayed that somehow Turbo would throw himself on her and agree, though much to her dismay, he heaved a long, hot sigh through his nose and looked down to his feet in contemplation. The very image of the two standing on the single, glowing, rose-golden honeycomb in Turbo's dim code room, his figure frozen in this sticky dilemma, he finally gave her his golden eye contact, one of which glowed with the same color as their coding, Berri grimaced and wanted nothing more than to just end all their wonderings and ease into his arms forever.

Although their coding now swirled with questions and nervousness, heightened grapples of love and plea, Turbo so carefully removed himself from his end of the honeycomb and began to step over to Berri. Berri froze and was thrilled he was coming over to join her, though with every press of a step, she felt their coding remain connected in a hot string of passion. The rush of worry and love and romance that she had just lofted him now very easily came crashing back down to her, and although he was so carefully making his way over to her, she almost felt a sense of apology soak through their connection. She long blinked in tender surprise and could feel Turbo's whole presence, just decades of wisdom, an easiness of masculinity, it all easily covered her in a sweet embrace of assurance, as if he was potentially about to make clear that he was due to reassuring her of a few things. Berri felt as if the universe was somehow colliding in on itself as Turbo pressed into her gravity, as if the magnitude of it all, their shared coding and now shared proximity, just couldn't handle it. Berri huffed a shaky noise and silently plead for Turbo to affirm her worries, to hopefully either end this nonsense right now, or jump into the deep end with her. In a tremble of a welcome, she was floored to feel Turbo's loving hands so tenderly reach up to her face to cup her jaw and cheeks.

Berri sagged in whole state of vulnerability, she eased her trembling hands to the broad of Turbo's lower chest, she quietly assured to him that she felt so strongly for him, just in their silent, coded connection, and just as Turbo's warm smile spread across his face, his masculine features that lit up with the feeling of her love that coat over him, she felt her knees go weak. Through a shaky exhale, she was thrilled that Turbo held her close, and in this venture, he eased both of his pointer and middle fingers into either sides of the stressor marks on her jugular. Although she had just gotten a good dose of non-verbal expression out, he heaved a shaky sigh, through his nose, and knew it was now his time to give back. Although his rosy, golden eyes lovingly peered into hers, he flood her stressor marks with a swathe of clarity and desperately tried to make clear, here, that he was floored by her tender reveal, though what he needed in this instance was a very real amount of patience.

Berri furrowed her eyebrows in tender confusion as Turbo nervously peered into her eyes. In a warm unload, he shyly allowed his feelings for her, in return, to coat the undersides of her skin, to pierce through her heart like cupid's arrow, he knew it was something that wasn't hidden at all, though the look of loving, floored delight, in her vivid blue eyes, had Turbo's heart racing faster than ever. He huffed a shaky chuckle and felt entirely comfortable in her tight, close proximity, and although he so desperately wanted to lean in and kiss her supple lips, he held back. He was well aware none of this was fair to her, the nervous, tender reveal that it wasn't wise for him to lead her on with such a wonderful romance, only to not be able to supply her with everything she needed. Although he could feel her coding begin to want to maybe argue or protest, to maybe state that it was entirely fine, in this moment of heat, Turbo knew, full well, their spark would dwindle in this act of grasping at straws. So badly did he want to embrace her and sweep her away into a whole night of romance, though the most he could afford in this moment was the tender lull of his forehead into hers, the sag of the stressor marks, on the crowns of their heads, eased together like jigsaw pieces.

Berri relaxed into his wise, nonverbal words and, although she desperately wanted to argue, she closed her eyes and sagged her shoulders the second Turbo's thoughts now became mildly desperate. Berri frowned and warmly held her hands to the gentle, inner bend of Turbo's arms, the quivering questions that Turbo quietly asked of her, nervous pleas of asking her to be patient with him, to keep him in mind while he came out of this trying time, in his life. Turbo huffed a soft, nervous breath onto the bridge of her nose and made clear that he knew this wasn't fair to ask of her, though he continued on as selflessly as he could. He grimaced in mild irritation and made clear to her that he wanted her to pursue a life with Gunner, to be happy, to go out and be active, to rule all the stages of Academy. Turbo could feel defiance coming from Berri, as if that was something she only wanted in loo of Turbo not even being in her life, and the only thing she wanted was him. Turbo furrowed his eyebrows harder and scrunched his eyes in mild desperation; he begged her to seek just what she needed, and to not dawdle, to not just simply wait around for him, though in the same question, Turbo also nervously begged her to keep the idea of their little ember of love on the table, to not close the door on him.

Berri squeezed Turbo's upper arms and felt tears sting her eyes. She smiled and relished in the incredibly selfless act Turbo had now deployed on her, she knew this likely was incredibly hard for him, though she somehow felt relieved to have the ball in her court. How kind it was of Turbo to recognize that they both had their own battles to conquer, and maybe after they got a grip on themselves, they could potentially have a grip on each other. Berri knew this was sound advice, as it gave Turbo time to get comfortable with the idea of leaving his tower, let alone the game, and it allowed Berri the freedom to do as she pleases. She sagged her shoulders in a shaky exhale of sorrow, and just before she was about to explain to Turbo that she didn't want him to feel betrayed, if she maybe saddled herself with Gunner for awhile, Turbo smiled amidst their lovely connection and firmly assured her that it would definitely sting, though the only thing he wanted was to see her happy. Berri frowned and now had to reevaluate just what that meant to her, and although she knew one day, it'd all be clear, the only thing she wanted, in this instance, was a clear answer. She knew the two would never not be best friends, though somehow, the thought of losing him as a romantic partner, killed her inside. Although one stress had been taken control of, she felt dread over the sheer fact that new stresses now began to creep it's way into her system, ones of which she knew she had to navigate by herself via Turbo's teachings, the one person she was trying to save herself from.

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 **A/N :** I painted artwork for this chapter, titled 'Save Me From You' on my deviantART.

I ALSO painted a (censored) scene from Turbo's and Berri's very first swap, titled 'The Thirteenth Stressor'

ANOTHER also - I've been uploading the pages for Chapter 46's comic, I currently have 5 pages with a 6th one on the way shortly. I originally thought the chapter would easily be 20 pages long, but it turns out, it may only end up being around 10 pages. Which actually works for me, because I'm coming up on my 100th chapter - which means, y'all can vote for the NEXT chapter to be in comic form! I'll remind everyone again the closer we get to that 100th mark! Thanks for everything guys.

For ALL my artwork, check out my deviantART, Username Vyntresser!

I post WIPs, every day life and artwork (as well as pictures of Chester, my bearded dragon!) to my Instagram. My Username there is Vyntastic

And, lastly, I'll be posting ALL my uncensored NSFW artwork to my Twitter, Username Vyngasmic ;)

Enjoy guys!


	86. Chapter 86

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** INDEED! Here's another chapter with even MORE progress! xD

 **Snake557 :** Thank you SO MUCH!

 **Burgie :** Aww, that means a lot to me, thank you! And yes, you're definitely correct there.

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **All I Believe In by Amadou Mariam The Magic Numbers**

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 ***Chapter 86***

"Ralph, you know Tessa's gunna murder you if you wreck the tiles, out here," Vanellope urged as Ralph quickly glitch-hopped away, a mess of excited purple coding that splayed the foggy grey day, shroud in the most tender snow fall.

"Felix is on his way over, c'mon, I gotta have fun in other places besides Niceland," Ralph volleyed across their stretch as he finally came out of his bound; with his fervor, Ace, Berri and Wren had found themselves in the mix of the commotion.

"I think we need to take a vacation out into the boonies, Paw," Ace called, and although him, Berri and Wren were due to watching Ralph's new wrecking trick, which only worked in the snow, they kept their distance so to converse amongst each other all whilst seeing just what Ralph had up his sleeve. Nox, Koko and Emery tagged along, though hung closer to Ralph's side of the mess in a greater show of anticipation. Ace crossed his arms, heaved a heavy, fogged sigh out to the cold, still air and beamed in content delight, "Gotta take the kids to the woods, too. I really don't remember the last time we got to just swing and swing, without having to have Felix or Tammy fix up after us."

"It's been awhile, that's for sure. I definitely am more in touch with my glitching powers, would be nice to really practice wrecking, too," Berri chimed kindly.

In the still of their Sunday morning, the Arcade's day to relax, Berri felt an easiness in her coding. Although she had gone the entire week without seeing Turbo, she was thrilled they still kept in touch every single day. In the mix of practicing music with Gunner, Theo and Wren, as well as homework, she felt bad that she hadn't been able to go to Turbo's loft and properly hang out with him. In the cool, lovely stillness of Sugar Rush's foggy, late morning, her blue eyes lofted across the snowy palace lot in quiet, diligent reminder to herself; she promised she'd message Turbo, once she got back inside. She knew visiting him and hanging out with her best friend was overdue, and she was excited to tell him her progress in meditation and soothing her stressor marks, all on her own. With great success, she had done well in getting her stress lines, on her temples, to fade and vanish almost entirely. She was well aware there'd be plenty of other stressful situations that would come up, though now that Turbo had given her the skills to carry on by herself, she felt confident she could tackle anything.

Although the thoughts of hers and Turbo's silent conversation, from last Sunday's stressor mark lesson, still hung on the back of her mind, she felt a very strange, new uplift to hers and Turbo's friendship, due to it. As if everything had secretly and nonverbally had been laid out on the table, the raw fact that Turbo simply just wanted her to be happy, in whatever her choice was, really made her feel a peace about it all. Although he had nearly begged her to keep him, and the idea of being with him, at the back of her mind, for a rainy day, she felt as if there was no pressure. Berri smiled as Ralph loudly, and happily, began to chatter with Nox, Koko, Emery and Vanellope about his little wrecking skill, which included smashing his fists to the snowy covered tiles, of the palace's patio, and watching the snow dissipate into messy flurries of confused, purple pixels. The palace was at peace, even amidst the wrecking; a solid show of camaraderie, a lovely calm in the safety of the palace's walls, though just as she was due to lulling her eyes closed and feeling an entire peace about everything in her life, she could feel Wren's thoughts, from her previous statement, nearly explode out of his mouth before it even happened.

"Can't relate. I mean, I hone all my powers every day, I have absolutely nothing to worry about," Wren stated in a cocky manner as he jostled his head from side to side. Ace raised his eyebrows in apologetic nervousness and eyed Wren, someone who him and Berri technically considered an uncle. Wren carried on in a begrudging tone, everyone was bundled in thick winter coats, though Wren somehow managed to bury deeper into his clothes in fuming irritation, "What a heavy burden you guys have, I feel sorry for you guys."

"... Sorry, Wren, I know talking about our powers makes you uncomfortab-" Ace's warm voice was cut short.

"Oh no! I'm not uncomfortable, at all," Wren spat in a high pitched tone as he shrugged, shook his head and pierced his eyes to the group of wreckers just beyond the stretch of snowy tile, they hovered underneath the lovely, high branches of Ralph's and Vanellope's infamous cross-striped tree, "I don't have the ability to be uncomfortable because I have all these powers in the way!"

"Wren," Berri mumbled curtly, she rolled her eyes and gave him a smiling side-eye of rising irritation, though he shook his head with another heavy huff and shook his head.

"Just ignore me, I'm bitter," Wren muttered, though as Berri and Ace nervously caught eyes, Berri finally lulled her eyes closed in gentle stillness and wondered just what needed to be done here.

Although Berri was an exterior swapping fiend, and any chance she got to gain some non-verbal, platonic comfort from any of her glitching family members, she reeled in whole surprise and was shocked to quickly discover that she had never exterior swapped with Wren before. Someone she also considered a brother, someone she grew up with, she opened her eyes and softly peered to the side of his face. A disgruntled, furrowed brow, piercingly dark blue eyes that held to the group of wreckers, across the way, in a bitter show of rising sorrow, the cool, thick scar that cut his left eyebrow in half, Berri finally breathed a silent chuckle and felt her heart swell with all the love in the world for Wren. Although her hands were covered, she still allowed her palms to come alive with her silver coding, which meshed into her gloves. In a tender roll of care, she gingerly tucked her hand into the nook of Wren's crossed, left arm and the inner bend of his elbow. Although it was simply just a grab, at first, Wren suddenly jolted a little the second Berri's lovely coding sagged into his, like the warmest hug he's ever received.

Wren huffed a shaky breath, and although he kept his arms crossed, he raised his eyebrows in a startled jolt of surprise and suddenly peered his shocked gaze into Berri's eyes. She warmly smiled to him in return, almost an apologetic smirk, though as her coding finally eased into his soul, and the two properly hovered in a lovely exterior swap of a hug, Wren's bitter demeanor gently began to ease into warm understanding and gratitude. Although Berri knew Wren was just sad that he didn't have physical gamer powers, she knew he was stronger than that, and having powers wasn't what made or shaped your character. She was certain being left out of having cool powers probably stung, though she utilized this opportunity to really hone her powers, to ease someone else's soul for once, to give back everything that Turbo had taught her; she found herself already in an upward spiral of success, one that branched out to the people she loved, she was well aware she was now due to filling other people's cups now that hers was becoming full.

Wren heaved a shaky sigh and nervously lofted Berri a wad of his worries, via their non-verbal exterior swap, and through their thoughts, Berri gingerly closed her eyes and allowed her undying reassurance to just seep into every corner of Wren's fiery, orange coding. Every single insecurity about not having powers was something she so tenderly cared for, something she cradled in her able love, hot reassurance that cloaked Wren like molten lava, she was adamant in now overflowing him with the same amount of love and care Turbo had shown her. She knew this notion would make Turbo proud, the desire to utilize his teachings in everything she did was now something she strived for, though she wouldn't dare tell anyone. She could feel Ace's prideful, curious eyes glancing to them every once in awhile, and though the chaos of Ralph's experiment, and now the other wreckers of the group, carried on in a messy, loud show of crackles and laughs, Ace's, Berri's and Wren's world was still, at peace.

Although Berri had done a wonderful job of not only calming Wren down, but also reassuring him that they could exterior swap any time he wanted to maybe have acting powers, for the duration of the swap, she had begun to lose focus of the world around her. The methodical pounds of the wrecking her family group was doing, across the stretch, was now turning into comforting white noise. So much so, that the tender crunching of boots to snow, approaching from behind her, Wren and Ace, almost felt ethereal, otherworldly. She smiled in curiosity as her mind made believe that said someone approaching was Turbo, what a silly idea that'd simply be, due to him never being caught outside of his loft. She kept her eyes closed and hovered tight to Wren's coding in a caring cradle of love, she knew whoever was approaching would simply make themselves known and Ace would likely take the reigns in full conversing, though the second Turbo's voice so lovingly glossed the group was the second Berri was now regretting being locked in an exterior swap with Wren.

"Taught you well," Turbo's lovely, deep, raspy voice eased through her ears as he came up to her left side.

Berri furrowed her eyebrows, amidst closed eyes, and in a pop of whole surprise, she dart her attention to her left and was entirely, unadulteratedly floored to see Turbo standing near. His golden eyes were muted amidst the outside light, though they kindly gazed deep into hers in cute appreciation. He wore a cozy hoodie underneath a lovely, worn leather jacket. Clad in his dark racing jeans and his helmet tucked underneath his left arm, he inhaled a deep breath and broadened his masculine chest in a breath of cold air he slowly took in. He furrowed his brows in mild confusion and peered out to the small crowd of wreckers, across the way, and before Berri could clean her jaw from the ground and properly ask just what Turbo thought he was doing outside of his loft, outside in general, Ace blurt an excited chuckle and beat her to it.

"What a sight for sore eyes, my dude, how are you?" Ace wondered kindly; somehow he knew to pick up from Berri's and Wren's still and quiet exterior swap. He, of all people, knew it was a jarring experience to be interrupted from it.

"I'm great, just came to the palace, I had a chat with Tessa and Zed, and... I also had something I wanted to give to Berri," Turbo pressed warmly, though Berri raised her eyebrows in further, girly, blushing surprise and was now beginning to feel the sting of Wren's prodding, curious coding itching for loose, secretive, flirty thoughts that could potentially get away from her; Berri grunted a noise of cheeky irritation and now yanked her arm from Wren's presence, halting their lovely exterior swap.

"Dammit," Wren muttered amidst a hard, stifled chuckle, to which Ace grinned and rolled his eyes, knowing full well just what Wren was trying to wriggle out of Berri's secretive heart.

"I-I... I can't believe you're, well... Outside," Berri blurt a small giggle and bashfully tucked her hair behind her ears, and although Wren and Ace wondered if they should leave Turbo and Berri to their privacy, they hung around for as long as was socially acceptable.

"Oh, come on, I go outside," Turbo prod in sweetness, Berri felt her heart do a million backflips; although she hadn't physically seen Turbo in a week, her coding wiggled as if it had been an entire year. She scolded herself for going so long without seeing him, someone who she considered her absolute closest friend, she knew not to let that much time pass between seeing each other, ever again. Turbo ruffled his hair and bashfully looked off, he jostled his helmet near his side and finally caught eyes with Berri, once more, "I drove all the way here, I'll have you know."

"Yeah, but no one can see you," Wren argued with another small chuckle, though it was at this point did Ace gingerly lock Wren in a loose headlock and attempt to drag him away so Berri and Turbo could properly converse without invasive ears listening in; something Berri gave Ace a grateful smile, for. Wren huffed an annoyed noise and stumbled, he began to claw at Ace's unmovable arm and playfully laugh in whole irritation, "Ah-HEY! C'mon, dude, I get that you're stronger than me, but what gives!"

"Turbo has a gift for Berri, let's not intrude on their moment," Ace mumbled to Wren, and although his voice was quiet and just for Wren, who he was now successful in dragging away, Berri still huffed an apologetic laugh and bashfully continued to attempt to tuck her hair behind her ears.

"Sorry I didn't make plans to hang out sooner, Bo," Berri prod in a rise of girly apology, she sagged her fists into the pouch of her comfortable hoodie and shook her head as her and Turbo relaxed in each other's presence. Turbo grunted a small noise as he temporarily set his motorcycle helmet on the ground, "I hope you're free today. I really don't want to make a nasty habit of only having us all get together every Sunday."

"If that's what it came to, if that's all you guys could afford, I would understand," Turbo agreed kindly with a shrug as he stood back up, "I know you guys have Academy and practice, you guys are busy. I have my own work, I totally understand. It's doable, y'know?"

Berri gently allowed a grateful smile to ease across her cheeks as the two locked eyes. The oddity of seeing Turbo in the raw daylight, outside of the alcove of his lovely loft, the way his eyes muted to a matte yellow in an outdoor setting and lacked the typical, fierce and warm glow it usually had indoors, she felt her heart flutter in desire, the urge to learn everything about this incredible being before her. The urge to show him a world of patience was the only thing flooding her coding, and with such lovely feelings, she was well aware that pursing what made her happy, like what Turbo wanted, was his way of letting something go and understanding that if and when it came back to him, it'd be definitely well deserved; a notion that Berri would typically find irritating, as if being a pawn in someone's game, she somehow was okay with the fact that Turbo knew the outcome of said game, and strangely seemed confident in it. Like taking down the Queen was something he was bred for.

"That's really sweet of you," Berri bobbed a nod and looked down to their feet; his much larger shoes were crunched into the few inches of snow they stood in, he shifted on his feet and eased a little closer to her, a show of loving dominance she eagerly took note of. Berri locked her eyes on his, once more and couldn't wipe the smile from her face, "I still want to uphold my end of it all, though. I'll be better about bombarding you."

"Here and now?" Turbo teased, though Berri largely rolled her eyes, huffed a heavy, fogged breath to the winter air, out before them, and looked off; Turbo easily blurt a happy, boyish laugh and soaked into her teasing annoyance as he lovingly nudged his hand to her upper arm, "C'mon, you know I'm playing. I loved that you did and said that. It was cute."

"Real cute, I sabotaged your quiet evening," Berri complained, though she could swear her heart was in her throat; the raw fact that this was the first time they were personally interacting since their secretive confession they mutually gave each other, inside of their core coded exterior swap.

"You also somehow believe that you body-slammed me in the garage, that one time," Turbo choked a small laugh and shook his head as Berri bugged her eyes in annoyance.

"I did!" Berri blurt, Turbo continued to laugh a little harder, "That whole week I was a tornado all over your whole life."

"Yeah, you were. But I wouldn't have had it any other way," Turbo bobbed a nod and gave her a cheeky smile. He pat his pockets, in search of something, and diligently began to unzip the thick zipper on the left side of his jacket, "The reason I came all this way was, well... To get out of the house."

"...If you can even call it that," Berri retort in mild annoyance, though she felt her heart nearly stop dead in it's tracks the second she caught a glimpse of just what Turbo pulled out of his pocket; she could see a delicate chain, as if it were maybe a necklace.

"I'm outside, aren't I? I'm out of the house," Turbo grumbled with a smile and a shake of his head, "I gotta take baby steps."

"Or else your head will explode," Berri teased as she bugged her eyes.

"You NEVER know," Turbo volleyed, Berri blurt a happy laugh and nearly threw her head back with said fervor.

"I'll see it all over the news," Berri huffed a fogged laugh and shook her head as she gestured her hands out of her pockets, "Old man steps out in public, head EXPLODES."

"Old man," Turbo sharply furrowed his eyebrows and gave Berri a widely annoyed grin, uninhibited, a full fledge show of his true happiness, "Okay, I may have grey hair and be like a thousand years old, but I am not an OLD MAN. My body is still the same as what it was when we were first plugged in."

"Right, right, I think the term we landed on was, uh, dusty old fart," Berri couldn't control her giggling to which Turbo finally joined in and sagged his shoulders in defeat.

"Ah, who am I kidding," Turbo grunted in a sigh, his smile into Berri's lovely eyes never wavered, "I'm older than everyone inside this Arcade. Guess I'm just not used to hearing it left and right."

"C'mon, I don't say it all the time," Berri retort, to which Turbo gave her a bug-eyed expression of disbelief; she bent over laughing, the air fogged between them with warmth and happiness, "O-Okay I could probably afford to cut back...!"

"For User's sake," Turbo muttered, smile still unabated, he finally opened his palm a little and peaked into his hand, the small gift he wanted to give Berri, "I-I, uh... Well, I have some good news."

"Shoot," Berri quipped with a revived smile as she collected her giggling, crossed her arms and inhaled a refreshed breath as the two caught a wave of calm.

"I was able to complete the deleter protection, I just got done talking to your parents about it," Turbo explained, Berri's eyes lit up in gratitude and surprise, "I've programmed and equipped everyone's coding with it, so... You're safe to leave Sugar Rush."

"...Aww, Turbo," Berri huffed quietly, her heart jolted in excitement, the raw idea that now her, Gunner, Wren and Theo could begin planning their impending tour, along with proper band practices at Gunner's house, "I-I can't believe you did that so quick... Thank you SO much."

"It was nothing, just... Some tinkering in the code room," Turbo shrugged, and although he made light of it, Berri was certain he slaved away, many sleepless nights. He raised his eyebrows, peered down into his hand and now grew bashful, "A-Alongside that, I... I made you something. It has multiple different meanings and, well... Uses, quite frankly, but, I... Well..."

"... You're blushing," Berri stated quietly, she gave him a cute, cheeky smile and noted the gentle color of his muted eyes began to turn that infamous peachy color of love.

"User-dammit, Berri, this is hard enough as it is," Turbo blurt bashfully, he shot her a wide, shy smile and shook his head as Berri was rocketed into a small giggle fit; he beamed the widest smile his face could afford, entirely out of his control. He finally lifted the small trinket from his hand and inhaled a shaky breath, "S-So... This necklace has a few different angles to it, and I can explain them all to you, if you'd like."

"Aww, Turbo," Berri sagged her shoulders in a soft show of surprise and felt her heart jolt. Turbo held up a dainty necklace, a thin, rose gold chain with a very colorful, heavy guitar pick strung into it, a clean hole through the top of the pick. She delicately eased her hand out, after a moment, and was delighted when Turbo gingerly sagged the heavy guitar pick into her gloved hand, "It's so beautiful... Y-You MADE this?"

"Well, I shaped it into a pick," Turbo stated with a sigh as he finally unhanded the delicate chain and nervously tucked his hands into his jacket's pockets. He staggered on his words and grew extremely bashful, the tremble in his voice was dainty and sweet, "It's... It's from something I found before you were born... When me and your family were saving Sugar Rush."

"I love the colors, it... It almost looks like Chester's pelt," Berri inquired innocently, though Turbo raised his eyebrows and tenderly peered into her eyes with sweetly narrowing lids.

"... Because it's made from his grandfather's scales," Turbo revealed softly, to which Berri averted her surprised gaze from the pick to Turbo's eyes in an uprise of shock.

"... Orion," Berri huffed, she shook her head and breathed a giggle, "I-I can't believe it, how did you get Orion's scales?"

"W-Well... I-I hate to really say this, but... Lash lofted him off the edge of The End's cliffside, and..." Turbo nervously gestured his hands, as if this was hard news to deliver, "In the scuffle, Orion must've scraped against the rocks, cause a decent amount of fresh scales were scattered about the snow. I snatched a handful, little to everyone's knowledge."

"Wh-what were you planning on doing with the scales?" Berri prod in rising, still excitement, as if to insinuate to Turbo that she was desperately trying not to get too amped about what he could potentially be insinuating, here.

"Well... I-If you want the honest truth, I was going to do everything I could to revive Orion," Turbo shrugged and looked down and to the side, as if he had been thwarted by said idea, "I-I... I technically CAN do such, because I have his DNA, but... It'll literally take forever. Having to restructure him as an entire being. I mean, that creature was MASSIVE."

"That's really noble of you, Bo," Berri sighed with a smile, she peered down to the gorgeous pick, splashed with cerulean blues and a pop of orange, "Maybe one day, though...?"

"Maybe one day," Turbo kindly agreed, though he gingerly gestured to it, "Something it CAN be used for, in the near future, is, well... Programming a voice box for Chester."

Berri raised her eyebrows and felt a wave of uplift come rushing back to her, and with this spike of happiness, she peered hard into Turbo's eyes and felt her heart thump to a halt. She huffed a shaky breath, shook her head and knew that somewhere in this conversation she was bound to well up, due to the sensitive topic of Chester's disabilities. She looked back down at the pick, the sheer fact that it had so many angles, as to what Turbo promised, had her mind reeling.

"T-Turbo, you could do that?" Berri staggered as she peered to him, once more.

"Not so much that I could, but that I WOULD," Turbo urged with a loving smile, he shook his head at Berri and narrowed his sweet gaze, "And I will... This gift is more to ask your permission to be Chester's guardian every day, while you go to Academy, and... Maybe he could stay with me while you guys are on any touring you may be doing. I'd love to really get that kid on his feet, and get him set up nicely for his first birthday, coming up."

Berri sagged her shoulders and felt the weight of Turbo's loving, selfless acts hit her dead on. She shook her head in disbelief, ran her gloved thumb over the gorgeous, glossy pick and felt her heart just ache. The raw fact that they had confessed their feelings for each other, nonverbally, last week, aided with the gentle understanding that they'd keep each other at arms length, only to be cloaked with an endless amount of selfless acts, on Turbo's end, she nearly felt dizzy. She peered her grateful, glassy eyes tight to his and long blinked in a wash of warmth; she knew, from here on out, she was prepared to see more of these little acts from Turbo, likely to stack the odds in his favor, the desire to fall into his arms forever just slowly got larger and larger, and she knew she was likely doomed, from here on out.

"Turbo, that's... I-I can't even begin to think how I would repay you, or thank you," Berri staggered as she welled up, she peered back down to the pick and sighed a fogged, shaky breath out between them, "I can't believe you'd do that for Chester."

"Of course, and you don't have to repay me," Turbo rushed with a small chuckle of understanding, "I just... I know Chester loves you, but I think it'll mean the world to you if you heard him actually tell you that he loves you, once and for all, y'know?"

"That'd... Definitely make my entire year," Berri staggered a giggle, a tear slipped down her cheek, though she nearly knew not to flinch due to Turbo's gentle thumb easing to her cheek and catching it before it slipped away, underneath her jaw. She raised her eyebrows and peered into him in a sting of loving surprise.

"And, when you come to collect him, maybe you can hang out and we can help Chester out together," Turbo encouraged, he knew not to leave Berri out of this process entirely, "Whatdoyahsay?"

"I say yes," Berri breathed a giggle of relief and shook her head, "Thank you, Turbo, I mean... That means the world to me."

"...I-I know I can't be with you when you go on stage, or when you leave the game, but... I just figured it'd be something you can keep, something to remind you of me," Turbo prod warmly, he gestured to the pick and gave her a cheeky smirk, "Turn it over..."

Berri furrowed her eyebrows and gingerly turned the heavy pick over; engraved in clean, white lettering, on the backside of the pick, were the words 'here and now', their infamous inside joke. Berri sagged her shoulders in a further draw of delight, smiled in a show of gratitude and breathed a small giggle. Through a look of whole appreciation she lofted straight into Turbo's eyes, she peered to his handsome face and could swear the universe was just begging her to forget every single last worry she had about Turbo, every ounce of him was so willing and so able, she knew she'd be safe in his care. Although the bittersweet feelings continued to plague her, and she swore to herself that she wouldn't let Turbo into her heart, to the full extent, she felt weak in these ever-abundant moments, and in a firm crunch of the snow, she bravely welcomed herself into his arms for a hug, a quick drape of her arms about his thick neck cutely caught him off guard.

Turbo perked up and quickly fastened his arms about Berri's upper back, the squeeze of their thick winter coats cushioned them into a cozy hug, and as Berri shut her eyes tight and kept her grip about Turbo, she dared to feel the warmth on his neck and near his ear. The safe, comfortable and familiar smell of his cinnamon pipe tobacco, mixed with the delirious scent of his masculine, musky body wash, had her brain doing back flips. Every single time she tried desperately to keep Turbo at arm length, she knew it was a losing battle. She felt sorrow pierce her heart, the whole idea that he likely slaved away on that deletion protection, just so she could traipse out of the game and into the arms of another man, bigger tears welled in her eyes at the idea of it all, the eternally selfless and mature acts he continued to deploy on her had her certain that she hardly deserved his friendship. With the squeeze of his arms about her, the cradle of love they eased into, Berri staggered a crackling whisper near his ear.

"Thank you, so much," Berri grimaced and tried to collect herself, though she shivered the second Turbo's hot breath huffed a small chuckle on to her neck and ear, as well.

"You're more than welcome," Turbo encouraged lovingly, and after a few moments, they tenderly pulled away. Turbo grappled something else in his pocket, pulled out his bike's keys, jostled them a bit and raised his eyebrows in sweet surprise as he revealed that he, too, had the same Orion's scale guitar pick on his keychain, the same exact inside joke engraved on his, as well, "We both have one, so... Even though we may be games apart, we can always look at the pick and be reminded of our friendship, every joke and everything it entails. You can be reminded of the home you have inside Orion City."

"This is the best gift I've ever received," Berri stated in whole, humble honesty as she quickly began to put her necklace on, "I'll wear it everywhere, Bo... I mean, really, it's so thoughtful."

"I do what I can," Turbo looked off and smiled down to the ground with a cute shrug, his matte golden eyes came back to her in a show of further sweetness, "So, uh... You have plans today?"

"I don't," Berri sighed with relief as she shook her head, "I was gunna see what all the wrecking commotion was about, and then... I honestly was going to head back to our tower and likely make myself something hot to eat. Surely Wren and Theo will be there, as well. Wanna come?"

"Absolutely," Turbo concluded with a small nod, and as his eyes gently glossed to Berri's collar bone and sternum, he felt his heart jump at the sight of the glistening, glossy guitar pick she now wore with pride; he knew he had an uphill battle from here, though his heart surged with confidence that he would eventually overcome, if he were to remain persistent, like such.


	87. Chapter 87

**Review :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** Awwww LOL! Nooo no, that... That comes with his proposal. ;]

 **Burgie :** I'm glad you think so! YAY!

 **Snake557 :** Dude, seriously. It's painful enough having to write it all! GAH!

 **chuckiboo :** Wow, seriously WOW. Your review brought tears to my eyes, you have no idea how much that meant to me :( Thank you SO much.

* * *

 ***Chapter 87***

After about a half an hour of fun in the snow, the strange sight of seeing Turbo outdoors, let alone happily chatting with the other palace members, Berri was floored when the two were caught in a quick shlep to her tower. A hefty trudge through the snow, full of grunts and laughs and quick remarks about being slow-moving. Upon the gentle breach into Berri's tower's massive, round front door, the two did everything they could to kick the snow off of their heavy shoes before entering. Through the mess of their sweet bickering, smiles and laughs galore, they littered the side of Berri's lovely foyer with their shoes and heavy winter coats amidst convenient coat hooks. Once they were shred down to bare feet and tank tops and jeans, satisfied sighs of relief coat the small corridor they now freshly soaked down, easy comments about how warm and comforting it felt in Berri's tower, and amidst the lazy stroll to Berri's even more comfortable main room and kitchen, Turbo shrugged his hands into his jean's front pockets and briefly commented on the loveliness of it all. Amidst doing so, three voices could be heard sharply bickering in the kitchen. Although Berri and Turbo fell silent, they halted their footwork, peered hard into each other's eyes and quietly listened in on the sharp conversation happening between what sounded to be Wren, Throttle and Theo.

"Wren, it's not personal, not at all," Theo's deep, calm voice desperately tried to keep to peace, it was clear that Wren was continuously upset about the raw fact that he didn't have powers, "We can exterior swap with you any time you'd like... Literally ANY time, all you have to do is ask, and either one of us glitches will happily give that to you."

"Yeah, but then you get to go about your day with all these awesome powers, you don't have to go running to anyone once the exterior swap ceases," Wren urged, Berri furrowed her eyebrows in sadness and could hear the mild desperation in his voice, a twinge of impending emotion; Wren was never one to openly cry or become flustered in front of others.

"Wren, it's just hard because... None of us can do anything to help you, beyond that," Theo stated sadly, and it was here did Turbo heave a long, sorrowful sigh through his nose and quietly gesture for him and Berri to come out of their little hiding spot, so to further aid in the situation.

"So, what kind of activities were you planning on doing with Chester, while I'm at Academy?" Berri inquired softly and happily to Turbo, to convince the three in the kitchen that they weren't previously eavesdropping.

"To be honest with you, some of the same vocal exercises a singing coach would maybe use," Turbo blurt a chuckle as the two eased into the becoming-sunny main room, the slant of the wall and ceiling of windows, out before them, began to glisten with the impending melt of snow that the sun beat against. Turbo raised his eyebrows as him and Berri pretended to perk up at the sight of their friends in the kitchen, "Oh, hey guys. T, it's good to see you here. What are you guys up to?"

"Sulking," Wren spout, he was at least well aware that he was definitely overthinking things.

"What he said," Throttle grumbled, though the loving, teasing smile and air about himself never wavered.

"Okay, what are we sulking about? How can I help," Turbo pressed with great warmth, and as he approached Berri's kitchen island, he softly leaned his elbows and upper body to it in a comfortable sag.

Berri cocked an eyebrow and secretly ogled his masculine body in a quick glance of trying not to get caught staring. To further this notion, she eased a bit away from the kitchen island, hoisted herself up onto the swooping counter that connected with the main room and sat up on it with her legs and feet supported into the stool underneath. As if to soak into her own little world all whilst remaining inside of their conversation, she noted her spare acoustic guitar propped up against the edge of the table. She gingerly grappled the neck of it, brought it into her lap and remained still as she carefully kept herself at arms length, for this conversation. She knew she did what she could, to help Wren, earlier, and butting in with further notions about having or not having powers might not be needed. She allowed the other men, in Wren's life, to hopefully begin to wrangle him in. With Chester soundly snoozing at her feet, lightly and haphazardly splayed across the stretch of lovely grey tiles, Berri smiled down to Chester and felt the weight of the important guitar pick that was now strung around her neck. She got lost in thought as the boys carried on, though her wandering eyes couldn't help but steal a glance at Turbo's figure, every now and then.

"It's nothing new, you guys know what's wrong," Wren blurt in whole irritation, everyone was dressed in lazy, cozy clothes, their lovely tower was warm and inviting with the glints of sunshine that began to desperately try and creak through the thin layer of snow against their slanted wall of windows, "I'm just... Forever going to be salty about this. And NOW that I have a taste of just what an exterior swap is like, I mean, come ON."

"Pretty darn great, ain't it," Turbo huffed with an exhale, clearly a simple statement, though Berri raised her eyebrows in sweet knowing and bashfully peered down to the glistening strings of her acoustic guitar.

"A little TOO great," Wren argued, though Throttle shook his head in gentle shushing and eased his masculine hand to Wren's broad shoulder out of love.

"Easy, it's okay... Not every single gamer in this Arcade has powers," Throttle gently assured, and although Wren was up in arms, he sagged amidst Throttle's loving touch and peered up into Throttle's eyes with a mildly pitiful look of despair, "Quite frankly, the majority of gamers in this Arcade are powerless... It's typically only gamers that are User made and have main roles in their game, y'know? The ones that get quarter alerts. That's a very small amount."

"Congrats, you're apart of the majority," Theo grunted with a small laugh as he crossed his arms, he stood on the same side of the island as Wren and Throttle, though was tucked into the bend of the kitchen, near the sink.

"I just want cool powers, it can't be too much to ask," Wren rushed, though everyone perked up the second Berri so tenderly began to strum one of Archived Chaos's old, popular tunes. Typically an upbeat melody, she slowed it down for the tenderness of this moment; Theo blurt out into soft laughter as Berri shot Theo a knowing smirk, said song's lyrics matched this situation almost perfectly, something that Wren cued to in whole entire irritation, "I swear to User, Berri, NOT. NOW."

" _You say you don't feel right in your own skin,_ " Berri began to lovingly sing, her voice glossed the group like honey, though Theo choked out harder laughter as everyone peered to Berri with widening smiles, especially Turbo. Berri desperately tried to hold back laughter as her singing only made Wren's glower deepen and further steep into temporary hatred, " _Something's awry, time slugs by, baby I know you're hurtin'._ "

"YOU'LL be 'hurtin' here, shortly, if you don't shut up," Wren barked, though it was entirely clear he was trying not to laugh, as well; everyone easily began to howl with laughter as Berri continued to strum Archived Chaos's loving, dainty, romantic little tune.

" _The way you try and hide your smile, the shy disregard of my compliments, so easily given, baby please believe when I say,_ " Berri's sweet voice carried on amidst her beautiful vibrato mixed with a healthy amount of stifled laughter.

"That I suck, maybe?" Wren completed, though he winced the second both Berri and Theo expanded their chest cavities with a huge inhale, readied breaths to suddenly belt the chorus of said love song.

" _I dooon't want you to change a THIIINNNG,_ " Both Berri and Theo loudly began to shout, outside of normal singing voices, though before they could even think about carrying on, everyone, excluding Wren, crumpled into hard, bent-over laughter.

"Please put this remix on whatever album you guys debut next," Turbo huffed through a stagger of wheezing laughter as he stood up straight, tried to breath and wiped his eyes; Throttle easily was lost in laughter, as well, though his unwavering, loving grip on Wren's shoulder never faltered.

"Aww, the poor baby," Throttle's voice grumbled to a soft chuckle as he jostled Wren's shoulder, though before long, he slowly and playfully wrapped his long, gangly arms about Wren's head and squeezed him into his chest and collar bone, "C'mon, grumpy, we're just having some fun. Powers aren't what make any of us great."

"Yeah, easy for you to say, you didn't grow up with faux-siblings that had powers they constantly utilized," Wren muttered, though Throttle furrowed his brow sharply, shot Turbo a cheeky, annoyed grin, shook his head and gently unraveled Wren from his warm grip.

"What are you talking about? I'm the only one, of my brothers, that DOESN'T have powers," Throttle choked a laugh, though before he could open his mouth and continue on, Berri's tender strumming suddenly vibrated in a nasty, surprised shake of an off-tune chord as her spine stiffened.

"...WHAT?" Berri blurt in whole surprise, she tried her damndest not to turn bright red in hot knowing, though she was sure it was written all over her face the second Turbo shut his eyes tight, grimaced through clenched teeth and stiffened his shoulders in a scrunch into his head, as if to prepare himself for the verbal ass-whooping Berri was about to deliver, "Bo, y-you... You have gamer powers?"

"And the Arcade's best ice-breaker goes toooo," Turbo softened, stood up a little and waggled his hand, "Throttle! Come on down and receive your grand prize of one punch to the face."

"YES, what I've always wanted," Throttle hissed teasingly, though in Berri's outburst, Chester's lazy demeanor perked up, and the second he noticed Turbo in his presence, his clumsy, bumbling body did everything it could to stand to correction.

Berri huffed a noise, as if to carry on, though as Turbo stood and softly faced Berri, so to assure her that he was eventually going to tell her, Chester suddenly waggled his whole body in a firm shake, eased a grumble of a delighted noise, fumbled to cross the glossy tiles and finally eased his snout and sleepy demeanor into Turbi's center, like how he always greet his now new and favorite caretaker. Turbo grunted, huffed a chuckle, firmly rubbed the top of Chester's head and welcomed his massive, puppy-dog demeanor into his bubble, once and for all. With Chester's head hung low, Turbo was able to peek his golden eyes through the gorgeous, dark orange mane of a mohawk along Chester's spine, and into Berri's mildly disappointed and equally as excited eye contact. She slumped her guitar in her lap and gave him a look as if to ask just when he was going to tell her such awesome information.

"WELL?" Berri barked, Turbo flinched and now began to grow extremely bashful; not only had he never really gotten in touch with his true gamer powers, he felt a frog collect in his throat at all the ideas and insinuations that came rushing to him.

"I'll bet you can fly," Theo eased, calming the tension; Wren finally blurt a laugh, albeit meanly.

"He actually turns into a giraffe," Throttle stated with such sureness, to which Berri wildly furrowed her eyebrows.

"Yeah, y'caught me," Turbo grunted in further embarrassed irritation, he heaved a soft, shaky sigh the second Chester gave back in to his sleepiness and now laid right at Turbo's feet in whole comfort. Turbo sagged his side against the island's counter and leaned the upper half of the right side of his body over it, so to properly face Berri, "S-Sorry Bear, don't be upset with me..."

"I-I'm not upset, I'm just... Th-that's AWESOME, I wish I'd have known sooner," Berri cued in gentle, girly disappointment, with a small shrug.

"Dropped the ball, there, Boob," Throttle grumbled playfully, this had Wren now easing up a little as he showed a genuine grin, all eyes held to Turbo and Berri, in which Wren was glad the attention was off of him.

"I-It's nothing, Bear, I... I actually have massively lost touch with my gamer power," Turbo eased in softness, and although the whole group held a playful air, they laid off due to the now serious and bittersweet vibe Turbo was radiating, "I-I... I try not to get too wrapped up in it, anymore. My raw powers almost killed everyone, back when we were saving Sugar Rush. It was so quick, and so simple, and I'm sure everyone moved on, but... It still scarred me, to this day."

"Wait, when?" Throttle pressed in pure curiosity as he scrunched his face and peered to Turbo, Turbo lofted his shy, golden eyes to his big brother in sorrowful defeat.

"...Wh-when we... Lash teleported us away from The End, and, I tried to get us back, but," Turbo slowly pressed on, hoping Throttle would remember and he wouldn't have to explain the entirety of it; he was thankful Throttle sagged his shoulders, nodded and peered to Berri in aimless defeat.

"Ohhh yeah, I remember you telling me," Throttle concluded, to which Turbo gave Wren a soft look of boyish cheek.

"Having powers isn't all that grand, sometimes, Wren," Turbo's deep, masculine voice glossed over Wren, who now seriously peered to Turbo in vigilant listening, "My raw powers almost killed everyone, for good, cause I was careless."

"Raw powers? What... What do you mean?" Berri now carefully pressed on, she felt her heart begin to surge in confusion, the light idea of Turbo just having a simple power to the heavy idea that said powers nearly murdered everyone, she now knew to tread as lightly as she could.

"Well, when Libby reversed our coding, I now only had MY powers, as opposed to my own powers mixed with her glitching skills," Turbo delicately explained, he was glad Berri peered to him openly and seemed receptive of it all, "It's... It's something foreign to me, because, well... I was trapped with the glitching skills for so long."

"So your OWN powers are now brand new to you," Theo encouraged, he always brought a positive air to any conversation, "Well, that's fine, I mean... You can still practice them, can't you?"

"I can, I'm just nervous to," Turbo shrugged, and although everyone really wanted to know just what his powers were, right off the bat, Turbo softly eased his knowing eye contact to Berri's, gave her a warm nod of affirmation and eased her a conclusion, one of which he was praying she'd be patient for, furthermore than she already had afforded him, "I-I'd be willing to show you, at some point, Bear... It's... Still new to me."

"Weird, coming from you," Wren sighed gently, he knew every good thing in life came with a negative, and with that notion, he sat in Turbo's wise, experienced presence in final contentment.

"You have no idea," Turbo grumbled, and although he bashfully looked away, he could feel Berri's curious, prying demeanor practically burn a hole through the back of his skull.


	88. Chapter 88

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 **Burgie :** Aw I'm glad you feel that way :D

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Legend Has It/Cliffside Playtime by John Powell (HTTYD3 score)**

* * *

 ***Chapter 88***

"I honestly was thinking about making it nearly as large as the palace lot," Tessa eased seriously, she gently averted her gaze to her husband's vivid blue eyes the second his eyebrows shot upwards in a tender pluck of delighted surprise, "Massive glass dome over the top, climate control, original Dead Zed flora... These poor guys are freezing, out here, in Sugar Rush's frigid winter climate."

"Granted it DOES warm up," Ace inquired softly, he shrugged and bobbed a nod, and although he had only spent one full year in Sugar Rush, he still got to experience every season to its full potential.

"Yeah, but Sugar Rush is so dry, Dead Zed is so humid," Nox pressed, a small group meeting of a more casual air, with the final person being Koko, lovingly situated tight to Nox's right side, "I mean, I know the dragons are hearty creatures, but surely they'd love to have as slice of Dead Zed on the palace lot. I think Tessa's idea is golden."

"It's just a lot of land, a lot of extra activity for the code room," Zed's gentle, authoritative voice glossed the group, and as he gently stood from his seat, at his and Tessa's lovely, sunny dining room area and table, he politely reached and dragged the few holograms, that Tessa was previously fiddling with, enlarged it, and eased it over the center of the dining room table, so everyone could have a view, "Guess... We could keep the flyer's huge patch of trees, around the edge of our end of the palace lot, and maybe attach a separate code room-like dome to our end, make a proper entrance or big corridor so no heat or humidity escapes."

"They won't be able to just fly in and out if there's a dome over the top, though, I mean... They love doing that, don't they?" Ace worried with a shrug, knowing Royal and his own antics best.

"Well, they'll still have access to the main palace lot, from their proper enclosure, so... They can come and go as they please, they'll just have to leave their enclosure to, well... Leave the lot," Tessa bobbed a nod and looked to Zed, her lovely auburn hair spilled over her shoulder in deep waves, the shaved patch, on the left side of her head, had begun to slightly grow out in a fluffy patch of cuteness, "You don't think the sudden spike in temperature difference will reek havoc on their bodies, will it?"

"It's why I'm thinking we shouldn't make it so drastic... Find a happy medium," Zed shrugged, "Since Sugar Rush is so extremely dry and cold, this time of year, and Dead Zed is so hot and humid all the time, we should just balance it accordingly... So that when they DO come out of the warmth and humidity of the dome, the frigid, snowy cold doesn't destroy their poor systems in confusion."

"How long is this project going to take, mom?" Ace pressed, now properly getting excited, "I mean... Have you told the flyers?"

"I've told Lickity, and of course, she's super excited," Tessa sighed as Zed gently minimized the holograms, for Tessa's view only, and kindly returned it to her, "This means I'll probably tuck the recreational hall, as well as Berri's tower, a little deeper into the woods of their old patch of trees... I can get with Berri on what to do about Chester's stable, and where she'd like that placed."

"...Speaking of Berri," Ace prod in a lilt of a mild topic change, and although he hovered for a second to see if his mother or father would kindly remind him to stay on the topic, their eyes gently hooked to Ace's in diligent, curious listening, "Did you guys see that Turbo came over the other day? I didn't want to intrude, but... Turbo gave Berri this beautiful guitar pick necklace."

"He did?" Zed prod curiously, Ace bobbed a nod as him and Nox caught eyes, and although Nox was cued in to all of Turbo's feelings towards Berri, he diligently kept his mouth shut due to not knowing just who was aware of said secrets.

"Yeah, I... I got a weird vibe from it, like, it was a very romantic gesture," Ace continued to ease in softness, and although he wasn't up in arms, it was clear he was becoming protective of his little sister, "I mean, I pulled Wren and myself away so the two could be alone, cause Turbo sort of announced that he had a gift for her, but... I looked back and they were hugging for kind of awhile. The guy even left his loft and was OUTDOORS, of all things."

Although Nox stifled a small laugh at Ace's cute statement, Koko, Tessa and Zed all kindly eyed each other in soft knowing, as if to be sure that they all were quietly on the same page before spilling Turbo's fragile little secret about Sugar Rush's princess. Ace noted the silence of stolen glances, furrowed his brow, dart his eyes to Nox's and was floored to see Nox's smile broadening, as if they all knew something stark that Ace did not. Ace finally shot his father a look of now taken-aback confusion, shook his head and blurt a nervous chuckle as everyone around him silently mused in cute delight.

"... Okay, I'm CLEARLY out of the loop, or am missing something, what's going on?" Ace prod with a louder choke of said nervous chuckle, though everyone remained silent as Zed inhaled a deep, stable breath.

"I think we're all a pretty trust-worthy bunch, here," Zed stated wisely, though everyone crumpled into knowing laughter as Zed's smile broadened in cute knowing, "Turbo's little secret has been out for a hot minute, now, and not once did it ever get back to Mr. User."

"We're gamers of our word," Nox assured with a cheeky smile, though Ace furrowed his thick brow harder and shot Nox another floored look of now rising irritation, as if he was shocked that there were things that Nox hadn't even come close to alluding to.

"I guess I probably should just allow Turbo to do the talking, but now that Ms. Thing has a shiny new lead singer boyfriend of whom I'm not too happy with right now," Zed stated in one breath as he lulled his eyes closed, inhaled a deep breath of revival and brought his loving blue eyes back to his son's wavering, confused hazel orbs, "Turbo has expressed interest in pursing your little sister's heart, son."

"... T-Turbo?" Ace staggered, not so much out of detest or resentment, though more out of shocked confusion. He finally choked a small laugh, shot his eyes to Nox's happily golden gaze and shook his head in a further roll of confusion, "W-We're talking... Turbo, guy that... Never leaves the game, or his loft, super reclusive?"

"I don't know, he's... He's been inching out of his shell, lately," Nox cued in a lilt of cuteness as he looked off and glanced to Koko, who also bobbed an eager nod and a smile. Nox finally gave Ace a kind look and shrugged, "He even invited us to a house party he hosted, two weeks ago."

"... Wait a second, Turbo... Threw a HOUSE PARTY?" Tessa finally blurt with a surprised laugh, to which Zed equally furrowed his brow in cheeky confusion and joined in her fervor, "That's a joke, stop it."

"Not joking, he invited me, Koko, Throttle, Wren, Theo, Penny and Orph," Nox quickly cued, though Ace furrowed his brow in mild confusion.

"Berri wasn't invited though?" Ace prod.

"No, cause she was on a date with Gunner in Orion City," Nox lazily rattled, though little did he know, said date with Gunner was supposed to be a secret from Zed; this had Tessa stiffening in a spike of dread.

"I'm sorry, WHAT?" Zed suddenly stabbed, to which Ace now grit his teeth and shot Nox an unsure grin, Tessa rolled her eyes and now felt due to protecting Berri's feelings.

"Zed, it was just a little date inside Sugar Rush, they both were safe, y'gotta let the girl live a little," Tessa grumbled, and though Zed seemed as if he was due to go on a fatherly tirade, he seemed to cut short in a huff of an irritated sigh and allowed Tessa's words to sink in, "She has deletion protection now, she can take care of herself."

"I mean, we knew THAT with that nasty train footage," Ace grumbled in pride towards his baby sister.

"Anyways... Turbo has expressed interest in Berri, they... They're pretty close friends, from what I can tell," Zed eased with a sigh of mild, dejected defeat, as if seeing the spectrum of the men Berri could potentially pair off with was now what had Zed weighing far heavier in Turbo's corner.

"Expressed interest'," Ace used air quotes and cocked an eyebrow at his father, and although Zed took a pause and the room fell softly silent, he smiled down to the dining room table for a moment before bringing his tender, humble gaze back to Ace's.

"He's in love with her, bud," Zed gently admitted, to which Ace raised his eyebrow in a pluck of warm surprise.

"I-In love," Ace repeated in a breath, he leaned back in his chair and tried to process all of it, though he cocked an eyebrow and gave Nox a nervous smile of mild humility, "Guy's comin' for my crown, then..."

"YOUR crown, you respectfully declined the throne, y'dingus," Nox blurt, Tessa and Koko quietly choked with laughter, "If anything, he's coming after Zed's crown."

"No, no, that... That guy isn't fighting for the crown," Zed smiled down to his hands and felt a bittersweet feeling hit him, he shook his head and furrowed his brow, "After he watched the footage of Berri on the train, with the deleter, I mean..." Zed trailed off and softly averted his gaze to Tessa, who was witness to the lovely scene that unfolded, that night.

"I don't think I've ever seen the guy cry so hard," Tessa eased in soft warmth, though Nox prickled in surprise.

"CRY? Turbo was... Was CRYING?" Nox staggered in whole shocked disbelief, to which Ace and Koko both raised their eyebrows in surprise, as well. Nox tried to find words, he fumbled in staggers of breaths for a moment before urgently peering to Zed, "No, no, no... The big, bad Turbo doesn't cry. I've NEVER seen that guy cry, I mean... Maybe I've seen him well up, but, full on crying? I've only ever seen his eyes go red twice, in my whole entire life."

"Trust me, he... He unloaded, that night," Zed chuckled, he rested his hand on his chest in sweet humility and smiled to Ace, "Sorry I'm sort of, well... Outing Turbo, here. I... I feel bad to say but, I don't think anything is going to come of it. At least anytime soon."

"What with Berri and all the touring she'll be involved in, with Gunner," Koko stated in a sorrowful decline, it was clear just who everyone, at this table, was rooting for.

"I... Guess I probably should've let Turbo just tell you himself, but," Zed sighed and looked off, "I don't think it'll come to fruition."

"...You seem to be hoping it will, dad," Ace cued kindly, and although it was a lot to wrap his mind around, the raw fact that his current swap mate's ex boyfriend was now fancying his little sister, he sagged and knew that if any of the people, on this lot, were to be loyal, tried and true, it was the TurboTime boys. Knowing Turbo was very similar to Nox, in this aspect, Ace felt little worry about it.

"Y'know, maybe if I start openly saying it, and actually putting it out into the universe, it'll come to be," Zed stated in a spike of uplift, as if it was a secret he wanted off of his chest, Tessa blurt a cute giggle as Zed cheekily continued on, "Yeah, I'll admit it. I don't really see a better fit for Berri than Turbo. I see their dynamic, I see how they are in person. The dude has opened up to me twice, now, about potentially pursuing a proper courtship, with her."

"...Okay, where the HELL have I been?" Ace blurt with a hard laugh, this rocketed everyone at the table into a fit of understanding laughter, towards Ace.

"Yeah, they've been a secret item on the roster of people pairing up, on the palace lot, for about a month or two, now," Tessa muttered in cute, cheeky delight, clearing stating her stance on the whole situation. She shrugged and sat up a little straighter, "Hey, I love the guy. He's sweet, painfully polite... He'd make Sugar Rush proud, one day. Hell, he already has."

"I mean, he knows the game like the back of his hand, anyways," Koko chimed with a shrug.

"Knows it better than I think me, Tessa, Ralph and Vanellope combined," Zed mumbled in a swoop of defeat he didn't try to climb out of; instead, he smiled and bobbed a nod, "It's ultimately Berri's choice... I mean, the guy has vowed to never leave Sugar Rush. As much of a great guy that Turbo is, that wouldn't bode well for them, what with her touring and everything."

"Y'think we can like... Make a race track that secretly leads out of the game, and we can all race and just LET him win?" Nox quickly pressed, everyone eagerly laughed at his notion, "No, I'm serious! Just let his sorry ass SAIL right into Game Central Station... He'll be out in public and once he sees that no one is going to try and assassinate him, he'll be like, oh yeah, I remember this. This is great!"

"Why doesn't HE just code himself some of that deletion protection? Certainly that'd solve everything," Nox argued, though Tessa shook her head softly and looked down.

"The deletion protection is only coded for faux-codes... Our coding is a LOT more malleable and forgiving, when it comes to adding certain elements," Tessa gently described in defeat, "I'm sure Turbo could try, but... It'd probably take him an eternity."

"If only it were that easy," Zed grumbled as he rubbed his face and gave Nox a grateful, cheeky smile, "I think it's gunna take some strong, divine intervention. Sugar Rush could be on its side and he'd still be clinging to the top of Orion Tower."

* * *

With the gentle clack of her thin stilettos, the slow moving sound could be heard nearly reverberating through the thousands of rows of seats and stadium spots in the vacant, warmly lit arena Berri ogled in solitude. With the sound of Bedgy, Gunner, Wren and Theo loudly chattering near stage left, Berri stood in the center of the massive, glossy, oddly shaped stage, one of which they would be playing on in the next month. Berri could swear her heart was in her ears, the way the sea of empty seats seemed to melt into an abyss of neverending spots for onlooking, eager eyes, she could swear that no amount of words could describe the sheer about of nervousness and excitement that coat her soul. Although she was thrilled to be eventually rocking out on her electric guitar, next to Gunner's vocals, Wren's keys and Theo's drums, she felt her heart ache in a yearn of defeat as her eyes softly glossed across the massive swoop of a black stage, and directly to a lonely microphone stand, properly poised in a beam of a stage light. She furrowed her eyebrows in a twinge of softer disappointment that now coat her veins in a placated attempt at comforting herself, how badly she wanted to sing alongside Gunner, to show her full amount of talent; she knew she should take what she could get, and this opportunity came to so few individuals.

As her heels eased to a stop, she felt her phone softly buzz in her back jeans pocket. Slick black skinny jeans, paired with a gorgeous top and an expensive, small over-coat, Berri carefully pulled her phone out of her pocket and peered down at the screen in the shred of enjoyed solitude she had. She felt her heart surge with warmth at the sight of Turbo's message daintily splayed across her screen, though she bit her lip in a stifle of a wide smile and only briefly read the small preview. As she unlocked her phone and properly tabbed to her messages, she was floored to find that Turbo had sent her a picture of him and Chester inside of his loft. Apparently, Chester had done well for himself by getting into Turbo's cabinet, eating himself silly, of random items, and then passing out for a nap in the center of Turbo's kitchen. Turbo playfully shamed Chester by placing all sorts of normal house-hold items all over Chester's passed out figure, and cheekily posing with him. The full-fledged grin, across Berri's face, was enough to split her jaw in half. She blurt a silent huff of a chuckle and allowed herself to mentally escape to Turbo's lovely loft, the itch to go back and relax was massive, after a long day of meetings and photoshoots.

"Bear, y'comin'? We're gunna head back to the studio and practice... Gunner thinks we might be able to squeeze in five songs, instead of three, for our first show," Theo shrugged as his bare feet gently approached; he, too, was dressed in a nicer, expensive outfit, with a slick hair cut to match and green accents that really made his lovely, emerald eyes come alive. Upon reaching Berri, he noticed her texting someone and nonchalantly gestured, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you."

"No, it's cool, it's just Turbo, lookit," Berri continued to beam, Theo leaned in as he watched Berri pan through the hilarious pictures of Turbo and Chester, "He's such a piglet... What's he thinking, getting into all of Turbo's food. For User's sake, I leave Turbo with more than enough food, for Chester, and somehow Chester is STILL hungry."

"Growing guy, he is," Theo shrugged, though the two continued to quietly laugh at the funny pictures Turbo sent, "Looks like Turbo's having a good time."

"Yeah, he is," Berri chimed delicately as Theo eased off, though as Berri peered down to her's and Turbo's conversation, Theo raised his eyebrows in gentle knowing as Berri's shoulders began to sag, a shroud of bittersweet sorrow cloaked over her, unabated.

"We should go see him, tonight, if we can," Theo bobbed a nod of assurance, his eyes gingerly glossed the lovely guitar pick that confidently rested on Berri's sternum, he allowed their conversation to dull to an even quieter presence and was thankful that Gunner, Bedgy and Wren continued to loudly laugh and talk, far across the stage, "I'll bet you miss him... Last time you saw him was Sunday, right?"

"Yeah, it's... It's shaping up to be that we likely will only be able to really hang out with him, fully, on Sundays," Berri sighed, she was reminded, by the calendar on her phone, that today was not only Thursday, but a school night. She sagged her shoulders and looked out to the glorious, neverending rows of seats out before the two, "He seemed cool with it, I just... Well..."

"... Wish it wasn't so far away, huh?" Theo so warmly eased, and although Berri typically went to Wren for all of her girly gossip, when it came to love interests, she sagged in Theo's mature aura and was glad to have an eye of the storm to visit, outside of Wren's typical, sassy chaos.

"Yeah," Berri quipped as she locked her phone, eased it into her back pocket, once more, and bashfully looked down to her twiddling fingers.

Theo's softening gaze peered to Berri, unwavering, glinted through the theatrical stage lights that softly illuminated their fragile moment. With the sag of Theo's larger, wrecking fingers into the gentle gape of his nice pants, he breathed a silent breath through his nose and danced about the idea of potentially bringing up Berri's secretive, bubbling thoughts, or just leaving Berri to fester herself into the ground, all by herself. In the contemplative gaze that dragged to Berri's still slowly and nervously twiddling thumbs, Theo sagged his shoulders a little and allowed a greater deal of softness to coat the two. He was well aware the two had an incredibly special relationship, one that was unmoving and solid, one that shared exterior swaps, the softness of sibling love and everything in between, he narrowed his gaze and knew this was likely his time to get in a little deeper, with Berri, to really continue to prove that she could easily rely on Wren for any advice or boy talk. To further prove that, although Theo had no experience on the subject matter, he was an unwavering wall of a stronghold, one to easily give her a foundation to rest upon in times of hurt, something she very easily masked.

"Bear," Theo's loving, deep voice lilted above a whisper, and as he wrinkled her a gentle smile, she looked up to him with a look of nearly wanting to keep him at arms length, though in this, he could immediately feel her walls want to come down. Theo shook his head just barely, glanced to the gorgeous guitar pick on her sternum, tilted an eyebrow up in knowing and shrugged in a mild gesture, towards said pick, "I... I think what you and Turbo have is really beautiful."

"Yeah?" Berri huffed thinly, as if to be breezy in her words, hoping that Theo would gloss on past it, though his unmoving disposition affirmed to Berri that he was being absolutely serious, here. She huffed a shaky breath as words formed in her mouth, though she shook her head and looked back down to her hands in a sag of discovered defeat, "I... Thank you..."

"I wouldn't write him off, so quick, Bear," Theo's wise words so softly glossed her, he furrowed his brow and, although they were out of earshot of their company, Theo still respectfully kept his voice low, "I can see, in your eyes, that you're torn... I can see how hard this is for you."

"I-I don't really know what you're talking about, Teddy," Berri's voice smoothly conveyed a further amount of skillful plainness, though Theo narrowed his gaze and could easily see right through it; Berri flinched as he dared to take a step deeper into Berri's bubble.

"Berri, whatever is said between us stays between us," Theo kindly urged, he tried not to plead, he long blinked and gave her his solid, shiny emerald eye contact, unabated; she softened her stance and knew fighting Theo, here, was futile, "Just... That man really loves you, Berri. I can see it in his eyes. I'm sure being stuck in Sugar Rush, without you, is killing him, but... To see him continue to support you, even though it's probably torturous for him, I mean... I just want you to know that, you have a lot of love there, waiting for you."

"Theo, it's... It's more complicated than that," Berri revealed, the tremble in her near whispering tone was real, though as if on a cue, she gently eased her fingers to the pick on her sternum and lovingly held it tight, "This is as close as I'll get to having Turbo attend shows, or leave Sugar Rush. I can't trap myself inside of Sugar Rush, just because there's a lot of love there. I have things to do, and places to be, Theo... We all do."

"Certainly we can help him get comfortable with coming out of the game," Theo softly suggested, Berri shrugged and looked out to the vacant seats before them.

"Theo, it's all in his willingness, or... Lack thereof... I've tried countless times to get him to come into Orion City with me, to get comfortable with the locals before diving out of BIGGER comfort zones, and he won't budge," Berri urged quietly, though Theo raised his eyebrows in tenderness as he noticed tears begin to well in Berri's big, blue eyes, "He's adamant about his decision, and... In that, I... I have to be adamant about mine."

Theo frowned and held onto her words, which held weight. He sighed in defeat, a long, drawn out exhale through his nose, and as he looked down to their feet, he lulled his eyes closed and accepted the potential for the conversation to close, though much to his delight, Berri carried on.

"Theo, I'd... I'd give up everything to see him in one of these seats," Berri's voice trembled as she gestured out to the empty seats below and beyond, she shook her head and quickly swiped away a tear that escaped, though her tone became nasally, "I mean it... I'd give up absolutely everything..."

"Just, please promise me you won't give up on him," Theo urged quietly as he peered his near-desperate gaze into hers, warmed from death, once more, "He needs us... I know he'll eventually come around, I mean... Look how far he's come within this last month, or two."

"...What, finally showing up at the palace unannounced and going outside, of all things?" Berri mumbled in a dull, nasally tone; she knew her words weren't fair, and no matter how little the progress seemed, it was still progress.

"Turbo's my friend, too, Bear," Theo reminded as he cocked an eyebrow, as if to grow protective of their favorite Arcade nightmare, "You can't look at his slow progress and toss it away... You have to look at the present... Here and now."

Berri raised her eyebrows and felt immediately thwarted; her face grew hot at the raw fact of her's and Turbo's loving inside joke, now becoming a mantra, was now being used against her, though in this, she flinched in surprise as Theo began to peel his presence from hers. Although it wasn't technically an upbeat departure, the air between them was still kind and neutral.

"He's never given up on the people he loves," Theo warmly reminded, almost sternly, as he began to gently walk back to the chattering group, across the stage. He shot Berri a knowing look and made it an obvious point to glance back at her gorgeous guitar pick, still confidently glistening on her sternum, "I know you wouldn't, either..."

Berri sagged her shoulders in pinpricked defeat and held eyes with Theo for as long as his stance would allow, though once he turned his back and departed from Berri, she sighed a heavy breath through her mouth and peered back to the glorious stadium before her. As excited as she was to finally have her talent in front of an entire crowd of hundreds, thousands, she narrowed her teary eyes and knew there was only one thing she wanted to see, out in the dark abyss of the crowd. A certain, confident, golden glow from one of the most misunderstood beings this Arcade has ever known. The only person she'd ever want to fully share this whole fiasco with. Although the odds of Turbo stepping foot outside of Sugar Rush was so incredibly slim, she marinated in Theo's warm words and knew that he was right. She knew Turbo would never give up on her, if roles were reversed. Berri inhaled a slow, confident breath and peered out to the crowd, once more, and although she previously viewed seeing Turbo out in the crowd as just lifeless, wishful thinking, she held onto that thought and allowed her heart to dangerously plant that seed of hope, once and for all.


	89. Chapter 89

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Thank you! And, who knows - you guys will have to find out! :P

 **Snake557 :** Hopefully not!

 **Jay Sketchin :** Ace is and forever will be a bumbly puppy dog hahaha. Theo is sharp! I hope to expand more on his character.

* * *

 **A/N :** I literally stopped half way through writing this chapter to say... I was writing the word 'roof' towards the middle of this chapter, and... I accidentally spelled it wrong cause I was typing too fast, and when I hit backspace once, my computer autocorrected it to the word 'roflcopters' ... I have _**NEVER**_ used that word in my entire life. Like not even in my weird emo 2005 Youtube days, not ONCE have I EVER typed that word. What the actual CRAP. I was dying laughing.

Anyways... okay, back to writing. WTF man.

* * *

 ***Chapter 89***

"Throttle, what's up?" Theo chimed in a spike of happiness, Wren and Berri were slowly in tow down their tower's cozy corridor.

Nighttime had come amidst a messy snow storm that caked the palace grounds. Although Turbo was the one who dropped Chester off at Berri's tower, it seemed as if maybe he had bumped into Throttle, and Throttle kindly offered to bring Chester back to said tower. As Wren, Theo and Throttle began to happily chatter away, they sagged into the comfortable sitting area of their main room. Their slanted wall of glass was caked in snow, only showing small peaks of the dark atmosphere outside. The wind howled outside, and as Chester harrumphed in a cute show of cranky sleepiness, he still moseyed over to Berri and joined her in the dimness of their lovely, warm kitchen, glinted with the gentle glow of the stove light and nothing more. The cookie jar, on the kitchen island, glistened as Berri sagged her thinner jacket onto the counter, and as she reached for the jar, she cocked an eyebrow and easily listened in on the boys' conversation.

"Yeah, Turbo seemed like he had a lot of work to catch up on. He wasn't sure when you guys would be back, so I offered to take Chester home. I just sort of... Made myself comfortable, I hope you guys don't mind," Throttle expanded on, he bashfuly eyed Wren in softness to which he cued to.

"N-No, it's great, you're always welcome here," Wren hurried, to which Theo shot him a sneaky smirk.

"Thank you," Throttle heaved a heavy sigh, bobbed a nod and gave Wren a smile of sweet gratitude. He raised his eyebrows in the gentle sway of the topic change and eyed the wall and ceiling of caked snow, in which they could see through the slanted glass, "Really comin' down, out there..."

"It's nuts, I don't remember the last time it snowed this hard," Theo grumbled as he finally sagged into his large, comfortable cushy chair, for good. He swung his left ankle over his right knee and tucked his arms behind his head in full relaxation, "I just can't wait for summer... Remember all those beaches that Uncle Zed took us to, in Dead Zed?"

"Dead Zed is gorgeous," Throttle encouraged; it was here did Berri turn her back to the group and continue to eavesdrop, though she got out her phone and pretended to busy herself as she munched on a cookie; it wasn't long until Chester's larger, puppy-dog snout wrinkled in a few huffs of sniffles towards the crumbly cookie in her hand. She stopped chewing in gentle realization and looked down to the ground in aimless sorrow as Throttle carried on, "I remember Nox and I doing whatever we could to discover new beaches there... Unlike anything EZ Living has to offer."

"Have you been to any other games that have beaches?" Theo prod curiously, "I know Nox used to live in EZ Living, right?"

"I'm so surprised you guys go around to other games... I'm so used to Turbo being so adamant about not leaving Sugar Rush that I just assume that you nor Nox like to leave, either," Wren rushed with a small laugh, to which Throttle bobbed a sorrowful nod and eased a bittersweet smile.

"Yeah, Bo is... Ah, the poor guy," Throttle sighed in soft defeat, this had Berri's eyebrows furrowing in a soft pang of defeat as her aimless gaze began to grow glossy with the small sting of tears, "I can tell he so desperately wants to explore the rest of Arcade, I mean... He knows nothing but Sugar Rush. It'd be so great to really get him out and about, really show him the new, great and wonderful things Arcade has to offer."

"He's just scared he'll be killed?" Theo wondered, and although the three boys knew Berri was within the vicinity, they carried on with confident, good intentions, "You, nor Nox ever run into issues with this, do you?"

"I occasionally will get stopped and asked if I'm from TurboTime, and when I tell them I am, they usually are either wary and walk away, or are really intrigued and ask me questions... Even sometimes asking if I knew Turbo," Throttle huffed a dry chuckle and looked down, "Because Turbo wants his whereabouts and his circumstances on the down-low, I just pretend that he's off somewhere doing community service inside Sugar Rush. No one bats a lash..."

"Poor guy just needs to jump in and do it," Wren stated in a mumble of defeat as Theo bobbed a nod of agreeing, "Ah, well... One step at a time. He seemed to act as if he'd eventually go to Sugarbucks, with us, once he garnered the courage."

"I think we should definitely keep on him, for that," Theo pressed warmly as he waggled his hand, "We need to build that guy's confidence."

"That's nice of you guys, I agree," Throttle stated with great relief, to which Wren and Theo nodded.

"What are friends for?" Theo wondered, "I just wish we could bring TurboTime back, or something... I'm positive that'd be better."

"Oh, that'd change absolutely everything," Throttle wistfully sighed and looked up to the snowy, glass ceiling directly above him, "He'd go cart wheeling into Game Central Station, I can tell you that much. I know he feels safe here, but... TurboTime is our original home. He'd have a proper place, in Arcade, once again. He'd have a game to win."

"What ever happened to TurboTime, anyways? Did it get taken away, or..." Wren trailed off in a mild sense of realization that donned upon the three boys, though with their gentle wonderings, Berri's glassy eyes dart to the appliances she faced, in the kitchen, in a spike of rising, determined curiosity. She silently eavesdropped on their little conversation with as much attention she could afford, "...Do you think maybe it just got stuffed into Litwak's back room, and it's maybe still in this Arcade?"

"User knows," Throttle sighed, "I mean... If anyone WERE to know the answer to that question, it'd be Tessa and Zed, I mean... They were physically there."

"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting they have access to Tron's portal, like that," Theo hissed in wonder, he shook his head and bugged his eyes, "Y'think they'd let us borrow their disc to go see for ourselves?"

"Oh yeah, Tessa and Zed are just going to let us TRAIPSE out of the whole entire Arcade, Teddy," Wren spat with a hard chuckle and a gesture of his hand, "After all their hard work to put this mess back together, they're going to encourage us to just go diving head first into chaos, again."

"I mean, if it mean, I don't know... Potentially getting TurboTime back," Theo shrugged, he side-eyed Wren and Throttle with a cheeky smile and shrugged, "I can just SEE the look on Turbo's face."

Berri felt her heart rate shoot through the roof, she panted through her nose and felt the weight of a million ideas hit her all at once, and as she peered into Chester's blind eyes, his ears were perked high on his head as he froze and held his disposition tight to hers in readiness, as if he could sense that something was going on. Berri held her breath and felt the cogs turn lightning quick, the raw idea put out right before her, the very shred of hope that Litwak could potentially still have TurboTime, she felt her circuits begin to freak out with purpose. She wondered just how dead she'd be if she took Tessa's and Zed's light disc, how much danger she'd be in if she stole away and sought out Tron. She knew it was likely an idea to be put on the back burner, though she felt desperation hit her. Anything to make Turbo happy, anything to repay him of all the incredible, selfless, unconditional things he had done for her. Berri sagged her shoulders and exhaled a shaky breath as she put her phone away, a weird sense of belonging came over her as the ideas kept crashing into her mainframe, like tidal waves that never ceased. She continued to listen to the three boys far behind her, her mind raced at the speed of light.

"It's really just a shot in the dark... What if you left and found that Litwak DIDN'T keep TurboTime?" Throttle shrugged, "If a newer version of TurboTime got plugged in, new versions of me, Turbo, Lash and Nox would be plugged in, as well."

"Guh, can you imagine?" Wren blurt a small laugh, to which Throttle shot him a sassy look.

"You'd be in absolute heaven if you had two of me, don't even try to deny it," Throttle successfully volleyed, rendering Wren speechless for once; Theo gaped.

"Damn, Tee, y'actually thwarted him dead in his seat," Theo choked into hard laughter, and it was here did all three boys begin to loudly laugh and tease one another; Berri quickly decided this should probably be her escape to her bedroom.

In a quick swipe through the darkness, with Chester tight in tow, both beings were quietly teleported to the highest floor of Berri's tower. The second Berri gently sagged into her bedroom, from the teleportation pad's alcove, was the second she huffed a loud, incredulous noise. She shook her head and was glad Chester still held his poised, curious attention tight to Sugar Rush's princess. Berri tucked her beautiful blue hair behind her ears, long blinked in incredulous curiosity and felt said wave of ideas continue to press into her. The urge to jump away and accomplish the impossible was something that made her blood hot, she was absolutely sure she could attribute this feeling to being the perfect mixture of her mother and father, the two beings that defied odds to begin with.

"Chester, if I could get my hands on that disc..." Berri prod as she side-eyed Chester, though much to her surprise, his raspy huff of a breath dribbled to that of an audible grumble, as if to suggest to Berri that the idea was rather far fetched. Berri shook her head and now paced in her room, in whole bewilderment, "I could leave and... I could GET TurboTime back, Chessy... He'd... Surely then he'd..."

Chester flattened his ears in a sag of impending, curious sorrow, though as Berri halted her train of thought and stabbed her attention to Chester, she knew she shouldn't complete her sentence. She knew she'd do it, for Turbo, out of entire selflessness, though the searing hot fact of potentially doing it to get him to officially leave the game and finally fall into a proper romance with her was loaded, in of itself. She heaved a hard sigh of defeat and knew that simply leaving the game had to be something Turbo manned up and did on his own, and no amount of babying him would be beneficial for his growth. She eased closer to her window and peered out of it; a gorgeous splay of snow coat the tops of the palace lot's trees, and although she was glad the flyers were indoors for this nasty snow storm, she was excited to eventually have the view of their gorgeous, new, domed enclosure. Moonlight glinted through the fast moving clouds, the cold feeling of confusion soaked over her, the desire to rush to Turbo's aid was huge, though she knew he needed to figure it all out on his own.

"I gotta stop trying to fight everyone's battles," Berri sighed in teary defeat as Chester's non-retractable claws very slowly clacked in a moseying saunter from behind, he cutely grumbled another audible noise and lovingly nuzzled his snout and face into the back of Berri's right arm and hand. Berri looked down to him and firmly began to pet and scratch the top of his head, "I just... Wish he had what Nox and Throttle had."

Chester lovingly flattened his ears, lulled his eyes closed and stood tall in Berri's still presence, although defeat coat her soul in the form of yet another, long sigh, she lulled her eyes closed and felt the weight of the new idea given to her. Something absurd, something entirely dangerous, something she only really now could dream of accomplishing, she gently put in on the back burner and vowed to never forget about it. With everything else going on in her life, she knew it wasn't something to worry about now, though as the seconds pressed on, she reopened her eyes and allowed her fingers to feel Chester's beautiful, soft fur, she desperately tried to ground herself in this moment. She knew she was absolutely kidding herself if she were to say the whereabouts of her mother's and father's light disc wasn't burning a hole through her brain. As dangerous as an idea as it was, her cold eyes peered out to the moonlit scenery with purpose as her heart continued to race.


	90. Chapter 90

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** omg too true xD

* * *

 ***Chapter 90***

Although Berri and crew were not required to, they still often snuck away to the gorgeous greenhouse and conservatory that Academy had so generously given Berri's and Tessa's hodgepodge of gamers access to, for lunch or during leisure hours. Sunlight harshly glinted into the conservatory on the edge of the glass-surrounded area, the faded, lime green tiles vibrantly glistened amidst said stark cut of sunbeam, giving the whole area a very lovely, homey and warm feel. Although there were a handful of staff members, and other high priority students amidst the murmuring headcount, lazily sat at tables or slouched in nearby lounge chairs, Berri found herself at the water dispensary. She tugged her lazy backpack further up her shoulder in a jostle of heavy books and notepads, and as she uncapped her water bottle, she eased the open gape underneath the movement-sensitive spicket and flinched the second it began to deliver her fresh, cold water into her slick, foggy bottle. She bit her lip in concentration and grappled the loved wrist strap, of her water bottle, though as the spicket sensed her bottle was full, it stopped and chimed her a dainty noise of completion. As she began to pull away, she flinched again in startled surprise as Gunner's excitable voice spurred something inside of her.

"HEY! I mean, I know we were talking about maybe meeting up tomorrow for practice, but whatdoyahsay we just head to my place, tonight, and knock it out?" Gunner quickly pressed, and although he wasn't being overtly loud or overbearing, Berri could feel her insides clench in anxiety-riddled PTSD; the raw fact of being startled outside of Sugar Rush was now something she knew her stressor marks wouldn't be happy about. Berri inhaled a trembled breath and, although she was fixing to give Gunner a potential positive response, she winced as her phone, in her back pocket, so daintily chimed a familiar little chime; the only chime dedicated to Turbo. She felt a sear of all sorts of emotions hit her heart, all at once, and she was floored Gunner at least took note of this as he carried on, "I mean, you... You maybe don't seem to excited about that idea, huh... Well, we don't have to?"

"N-no, it's fine, I just..." Berri staggered, and although her hand gently groped for the shape of her phone against the back pocket of her white-washed skinny jeans, she carried on with a bit of a fib she knew wasn't way too far from the truth, "To be honest with you, I'm not feeling too well."

"Y-Yeah, you... Look rather pale, are you okay?" Gunner worried in softness, the love in his eyes was beyond anything Berri could properly measure, and as his warmth sapped into her shivering soul, he eased his larger palm to her forehead in care. Berri lulled her eyes closed and relished in the feeling, and as Gunner pressed closer to her, his voice softened in adamance, "Bear, your... Your stress lines are coming back, are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"They are? For User's sake," Berri staggered nervously, she shook her head and opened her mouth to continue on, though she felt her heart jump in anticipation the second her phone gingerly buzzed yet a second familiar tune, signifying to her that Turbo had sent her another message on top of the last one.

"User, who's trying to get ahold of you so badly?" Gunner huffed a small laugh, and although his words were flat and plain, Berri eased her eyes into his and could sense a very gentle twinge of protectiveness come over him, a gentle touch of jealousy that somehow ignited a very unanticipated flame inside Berri's heart. She grappled her phone and rushed to ease Gunner's worries, though she side-stepped the inevitable.

"I-It's just my one friend, remember, the one on house arrest? H-His name is Bo," Berri ushered with as much confidence as she could, though she shut her eyes tight and shook her head, "I-I should be fine, I... I have a code therapist that I see every week, I... I'll probably just see if he can squeeze me in today."

"Yeah, and then after that, maybe go home and take a nap, or something," Gunner eased in soft worry, he shook his head and long blinked in a show of growing concern, "Can I take you home, Bear? Please let me at least see you home and get you settled."

"Aw, Gun, y'don't have to do that," Berri huffed a small, bashful giggle and shook her head in mild dismissal, though Gunner shook his head and quietly urged his point.

"Please, Berri, I... I'm really worried about you," Gunner eased softly as he lovingly sagged his hand into hers, in which she willingly gripped, "I-I know I've probably put you through a lot of stress, what with... Sneaking out and enduring the whole incident on the train, the countless photoshoots and tour meetings we've gone to, I know this is probably a lot for you."

"It is, but... I'll be okay. I have ways of getting these stress lines to go away. I told you, I have a code therapist I go to see, now," Berri fibbed, though she desperately did anything to get Gunner away from the idea that she maybe didn't have this under control.

"If you're sure," Gunner's voice lilted in mild concern as he shook his head and sagged his hands into his jean's pockets, "I... I guess I'll take you home, then, after Academy. I think Wren and Theo are still planning on joining me and Bedgy to go over a few things for the show, in a month."

"That's okay, I know they'll fill me in," Berri assured, and although she loved joining these meetings and dreaming about touring and shows, she somehow felt invigorated that she now had an entire evening off to do whatever the hell she wanted; her phone easily chimed another dainty little tune, almost as if Turbo knew she'd somehow have the evening free, and he was subconsciously begging her to hang out with him for the afternoon.

After an exhausting near-half an hour of trying to weave their way out of Academy, due to loving on some fans, coordinating with family and desperately trying to cross Game Central Station, Berri and Gunner successfully made it into Sugar Rush and onto palace grounds. With Wren and Theo paired off and on their way to EZ Living, to meet up with Bedgy and eventually Gunner, Berri was almost relieved her and Gunner could potentially have a shred of solid alone time, something that was extraordinarily rare. Although teleport pads were used to get from one end of the lot to the other, Berri figured avoiding the main teleport hub, in the larger, more heavily trafficked part of the palace, Berri figured just walking to her tower, from the palace's main kitchen, was wiser. Her head throbbed with the eternal pain of a solid eye-headache, the blinding pierce of the white snow they now gently embarked on seemingly stabbed into her retinas. Although she was due to grimace and remind Gunner just how terrible she felt, she felt the complaining evaporate from her lips the second his warm hand lovingly slipped into hers.

"I wish I could stay for the afternoon, Bear," Gunner's lovely, deep voice glossed the cold air with promise, the gentle breath of fog that trailed behind them misted away as his golden, honey colored eyes locked onto Berri's with a great deal of sweetness, "I really hope you feel better, soon."

"I think I'll just... Maybe take a hot bath, have a nap," Berri heavily sighed a fogged breath out to the cold air, as well, and as their boots crunched in the snow, they progressed closer to her lovely, glistening tower, and although she noted the footprints that easily splayed their way all the way to Berri's front door, she furrowed her eyebrows in contemplative confusion and figured maybe Throttle was inside. Certain that Turbo was with Chester, all the way at the edges of Orion City, the thought wasn't even a blip on the radar. She shrugged, lulled her eyes closed and was extraordinarily relieved she now had the entire afternoon to do nothing but relax and forget about everything and everyone, "I'll make myself something warm to eat, for dinner... Maybe some soup."

"Well, I hope you keep in touch with me throughout the day," Gunner pressed lovingly as Berri's swaying footsteps pressed into his vicinity, and as the two eased tighter into each other's bubbles, Gunner blurt a small chuckle and bashfully wrapped his strong arm about her shoulders in a squeeze as they continued walking, "No running off to said friend's house... What was his name again?"

"...Who?" Berri pressed in a lilt of confusion, though she felt her pupils tighten at Gunner's prodding, "Oh, oh, you mean Bo."

"Yeah, Bo," Gunner eased softly, in a scuff of their boots to the sloping stoop and sturdy deck of Berri's covered, outdoor patio. With a gentle shove, Berri unhinged her heavy, round front door, swung it open and allowed Gunner into the warmth, first; he softly pressed on as he gratefully came into her tower's wall of warmth, "Y'think I could ever meet this guy? I mean... You guys seem to text a lot. Any best friend of Berri's is a best friend of mine."

"Oh, I don't know if it'd be possible," Berri carried on in tenderness, though as she swung her massive, round front door shut, she nearly jumped clear out of her skin at the sudden sight of Turbo stood frozen in curiosity at her now agape broom closet door, just tucked away behind the bend of the front door.

Berri raised her eyebrows in a sharp pang of frozen surprise, though before anyone could get any shred of words out, Berri held her breath, silently lunged forward, grappled Turbo's arm and firmly shoved him into the closet with a cough of a silent grunt. She viciously slammed the closet door shut, held her back to it and peered to Gunner in whole entire terror. Much to her entire relief, he had missed the entirety of her's and Turbo's brief scuffle due to taking off his heavy winter coat and hanging it on a nearby coat hook, just near the rack of her's, Wren's and Theo's splay of winter shoes on the opposite end of the room. Gunner perked up, peered to her and huffed a nervous chuckle, he cocked an eyebrow in growing question and finally faced Berri.

"...Y'good?" Gunner blurt a small chuckle, though Berri rolled her eyes and urgently knew she needed to bounce back.

"Oh, I'm just... Pissed at Theo, he keeps leaving this damned closet door WIDE open," Berri blurt in cold irritation, faked frustration she fueled with her flustered disposition, for what just had taken place, "Every single day I come home, this closet is hanging open cause he just... Forgets to shut it all the way, he's always in such a hurry."

"It's okay, Bear, just relax," Gunner heaved a soft chuckle as Berri finally eased off the door and tried to now not make it a point of interest.

Turbo huffed a shaky breath, raised his eyebrows in poised, delight and almost irritated surprise at the raw fact that he was now in the presence of the one guy no one would shut up about. He held his breath, dart his eyes about his pitch black surroundings and hoped the golden glow of his eyes, which illuminated the back of the coat closet, wouldn't show under the crack of the door. He lulled his eyes closed, eased his ear to the door and was wholly prepared to do a now solid amount of eavesdropping. Although Berri was aware he was present, he felt his heart do a weird flip flop in agitation. The one man that was winning over the princess a lot faster than Turbo could afford was now nearly at his mercy, in Turbo's own realm, he tried his very best not to allow protectiveness and anger soak into his circuits, though he sagged his shoulders, alongside a shaky exhale, and dared to peel his eyes open a little; he felt a grimace of emotions hit him all at once at the raw sight of a delicate green glow that now began to dimly illuminate the warm and fuzzy coats at the back of the coat closet, the raw flood of jealousy that showed true in the now ivy green glow of his eyes, something he wished he could conceal.

"Y-You don't have to stay, Gunner, I know Wren and Theo are likely waiting for you, and... The train ride to EZ Living is not the fastest on the planet," Berri rushed, though she tried to slow her roll, so to not seem suspicious.

"I know, I just... I want to make sure you're going to be okay, can I help make you comfortable?" Gunner pressed, wholly oblivious that him and Berri had a very specific audience member, someone Gunner definitely needed to worry about, even if he didn't know it, "Let me at least take you up to your room and get you settled."

"That's sweet of you," Berri pressed in a lilt of calm she finally found, though she grimaced and now was well aware this conversation was likely torture for Turbo to endure; she put herself in Turbo's shoes and knew she'd be clawing the door down, so she tried to remain as hands off as possible. She could begin to feel her palms sweat, though she pressed on as cooly as she could, "But, I'll be okay, really... My room is a disaster, anyhow, I'm... I'm sure it'd be a total turn off."

"I beg to differ, but... I respect that," Gunner's warm voice concluded, he tenderly began to ravel Berri into a romantic hug, which she easily obliged to due to the fact that Turbo could only hear the two, and not see them. Berri lulled her eyes closed in a sag of delight, though she also continued to feel dread prickle her skin, she knew Gunner had no need to go into the broom closet that Turbo was lurking in, though somehow she was praying Gunner would even forget it existed, "Hey, uh... Now that we have a second alone, I wanted to ask you something..."

"Sure, what's up?" Berri prod softly.

Turbo's eyes now splayed a very hearty amount of envious green all over the warm coats that delicately hung on hangers, to his right. He smushed his whole ear into the wooden door as firmly as he could, he clenched his teeth in near nail-biting apprehension, the desperation to fling the door wide open, to get into Gunner's face and firmly state that Sugar Rush's lovely blue haired beauty was his and his only, though he shut his eyes tight in a spike of dread and conflicting feelings and knew just what he needed to do in order for said scenario to be a solid reality where he won out, in the end. Nearly about to openly and verbally let loose a few obsceneties to himself, he bit his tongue and nearly didn't want to hear this conversation, between Berri and Gunner. He almost now hated himself for thinking that surprising Berri, after school, by being in her tower, was a great idea. He rolled his eyes in his skull, behind closed eyelids, and tried his absolute hardest to remain silent.

"Well, to be honest with you... I made reservations at this one really nice restaurant, in Keppel Crest, for next Friday night," Gunner dragged in a loving show of cheek, and as he had his arms lovingly wrapped about Berri's upper shoulders, she sagged her arms about Gunner's middle, bashfully peeled her head from the broad of Gunner's chest and peered up to him in sweetness as he carried on, "I'd love if you accompanied me, as my date."

"Wow, a third date," Berri pressed in cute cheek, with said information, she felt ashamed at the raw fact that she forgot that Turbo was lurking in the broom closet, for a brief moment, "I must be doing something right."

"Anything and everything," Gunner eased sweetly, though Berri felt her face heat up at the raw fact of Gunner's lovely eyes glancing at her plump lips. Berri felt a frog catch in her throat, although she would've previously given absolutely anything to be in this position, where Gunner was the one to gift her her very first kiss, she somehow reeled and felt as if she had switched gears. She tried not to allude to the fact that she'd potentially want a kiss by cheekily shrugging her shoulders and looking down to Gunner's chest with a girly smile. Gunner tilted his head and desperately tried to regain eye contact with her, though he got the hint, "Whatdoyahsay, Blue?"

"Sure, that sounds great," Berri sighed shakily as she bravely gave him eye contact, once more, though she was grateful he had definitely gotten the hint and avoided leaning in for a full-fledged kiss.

"It's a date," Gunner's warm, deep voice nearly whispered, and although he looked as if he had been wanting to maybe lean in for a proper kiss, he silently obeyed Berri's quiet wishes and instead leaned in to give her a kiss on the side of her cheek and jaw.

With a soft hold, and a warm breath onto her ear, he eased a loving smooch onto her warm skin and leaned away, once and for all. Although this was an innocent kiss to Berri's cheek, Turbo raised his eyebrows in a pang of whole sorrow as the only thing he could hear was just the simple sound of the smack of a kiss, excluding context of just where said kiss was placed. Turbo sagged his shoulders, looked into the darkest, deepest point of the closet and felt a strange bubbling sensation in his pit, something that never, ever arose, something he diligently kept tamed, though somehow, the very idea of another man having Berri raveled into his arms, stealing kisses and planning dates and dreaming of a future, made Turbo sick to his stomach. How desperately he wanted that, how huge of a hurdle he had to get over in order to even begin climbing the mountain that lay beyond it, in the fit of all of these emotions hitting him head on, he glowered into the dark as his surroundings now began to glow a very promising glint of dark orange, the slippery slope to the dreaded blood red of anger that no one ever saw out of Turbo, coming to fruition right at the source of his frustration. He seethed through his nose and was certain that if anymore lovey dovey notions were to carry on, here, that he'd likely explode out of the closet in a firey show of certainly earned dominance.

"I'd love to show you around Keppel Crest, a little more... Maybe have a beach day, next Saturday, or something? That is, if you're feeling better," Gunner stated in great kindness as he began to unravel Berri from his arms.

"I'd love that, anything to get away from all of this snow," Berri's voice shook in a clamoring show of girly cuteness, the blush on her cheeks was absolutely apparent, and it was here did Gunner reach up and lovingly stroke her cheek with his thumb a few times, as if to cutely assure her that he thought her bashfulness, for the matter, was adorable.

"Perfect... Welp... Please text me," Gunner lilted in a tender show of love as he made his way back for his heavy winter coat; he had taken it off due to believing he'd likely be staying longer, little did he know, Berri was doing anything and everything to skillfully get him to go away. Though they weren't official, their easy, loving conversations radiated a natural transition from dating to relationship, something that Berri eagerly cued to, a sense of responsibility she craved, "I'll call you later tonight, to check up on you. Is that alright?"

"Oh, yeah, that's fine," Berri assured as Gunner jostled his heavy coat on, zipped the zipper and head for the door, though he stopped dead in his tracks as he noticed Chester standing down the long corridor that lead from the lovely, open foyer to the main room and kitchen of Berri's tower.

"Hey, Chester!" Gunner lovingly pressed, he waved from across the way and gently began to pat his knees a little. Berri raised her eyebrows, nervously peered to Chester from the near-thirty foot gap and was wary to see just what Chester would do, here. Gunner pitched his voice in such a way, that assured to Turbo that Gunner was trying to speak to a simple puppy-dog, knowing Chester was far from, "C'mere, boy... C'mere!"

"Chessy, don't be rude," Berri cued in a normal voice, knowing how to speak to Chester; Turbo inhaled a shaky breath, behind the closed door, and now wondered just what Chester would do here. Being absolutely certain he knew just what Chester would do, it eased the reddening glow of his eyes to the gentle, golden glow of normality, the only shred of hope he had in this situation; Chester's blessing. Berri heaved a soft sigh and shook her head as she continued on, "Chester, c'mon, you're usually so friendly to everyone, come over here and say hi to Gunner."

"I won't bite, bud," Gunner encouraged sweetly, though Turbo cocked an eyebrow and side-eyed the darkness in a huge show of sarcastic meanness he was scared to fully deploy.

"No, but Chester will," Turbo only mouthed to no one but himself.

"Maybe if you slowly approach him," Berri encouraged, though just as Gunner began to take a few steps closer to the corridor, in which Chester was hovered at the opposite end of, Chester suddenly perked his wolf ears high, bared his teeth and let loose a full on growl that sharply rasped to a whisper of defeat, from his still developing vocal chords; Gunner halted his progress and frowned, though Berri rolled her eyes and looked off, "I seriously have no clue why he's being such a butthead towards you."

Turbo crossed his arms and beamed the smuggest smile his whole face could afford.

"It's okay, maybe... Maybe one day," Gunner sighed in defeat, "Y'think if I try to feed him his favorite food or something?"

"Yeah, food is definitely the way to his heart," Berri encouraged as Gunner gave up trying to approach Chester, the two eased towards Berri's front door as Berri kindly continued on, "I leave Chester with Bo while I'm at Academy, actually... Bo, just the other day, sent me pictures of Chester raiding his pantry."

"No kidding," Gunner blurt a chuckle as Berri gently opened the gape of her front door, "Seriously, I'd like to meet this guy. Certainly his house arrest rules allow for other visitors, right?"

"Oh, I'd have to ask Bo about it, I'm not sure," Berri sighed in nonchalance, "He's one of the coolest guys I know. Maybe one day you two will meet."

"Yeah, if it were my fist meeting his face," Turbo silently muttered into a coat he now had successfully buried his face into, a stifle of the whole spectrum of emotions that had hit him, full on, was something he deemed necessary.

"What did he get arrested for, anyhow?" Gunner wondered with a small chuckle, the two now stepped outside of Berri's larger front door, in order to say their proper goodbyes, though the door hung open, making it so Turbo could still hear the two.

"I actually don't know the whole story, to be honest, he's pretty reclusive about it," Berri shrugged and looked off, "Rightfully so... I don't know when his probation is over, so certainly he did something gnarly."

"And y'still choose to hang out with him?" Gunner wondered tenderly, though Turbo sharply furrowed his eyebrows and was now certain him and Berri would have a whole load to talk about, the second Gunner was gone.

"Well, of course, he's... He's my best friend, he's not a monster," Berri prod, Turbo softened as he could hear the twinge of hurt in Berri's voice, the loving sincerity that coat his heart with love, "He just made some bad choices, but... He's really great. I wish more people knew that."

"Well... If you say so," Gunner lilted in a show of dwindling trust, and although Turbo couldn't see it, he could swear the look in Gunner's eyes was that of detest, a look that Turbo was certain he'd remember forever, something he was grateful he didn't have a visual to.


	91. Chapter 91

**Reviews :**

 **Xaehttium :** Yeahhhh...Hate to say it, but it doesn't get any less frustrating from here. I'm Queen at slow-burn, but even *I* am struggling with it haha. I know you guys are anticipating the climax of this mess, the destruction of the love triangle, and I know it must be hard not knowing when it's coming, but it is also painfully difficult for me because I KNOW how to get there... It's just the tiring character development I have to go through in order to satisfy that slow-burn itch I've been trapped with. How badly I want to just upload a single chapter where Turbo and Berri get together and it's rainbow and sunshine, but... It'd do the characters a massive disservice. I enjoy developing them! Sorry it's driving you mad. If it makes you feel better, Berri does eventually 'get good' LOL.

 **Snake557 :** Yeah... Poor BOTH of them, quite frankly.

 **Burgie :** Too bad he doesn't have a chance to receive it! xD

 **marinetanker97 :** You're not wrong! Although the last chapter, and this chapter sucks, for Turbo, it motivates him to do better :) So there's a plus. And, thank you SO much! I SO greatly appreciate your support! :D

 **Jay Sketchin :** He's not nearly as bad as Selka. He has redeeming qualities, but he also has some skeletons in his closet you guys will come to find out, through someone rather important.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Capsize by FRENSHIP Emily Warren**

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 ***Chapter 91***

With a small clack of her heavy, massive front door, Berri grimaced a small, clenched-teeth look and watched as Turbo slowly revealed himself from the closet. Berri urgently peered to him in a rise of whole, apologetic grief, though she somehow tried to push through an equally as apologetic smile. Chester gently began to trot over, once and for all the clack of his non-retractable claws echoed about the glossy tiles and pristine, white walls. Turbo nervously rubbed the back of his head as his other hand easily closed the closet door, and before he could somehow stagger a nervous notion of cheekiness, as if to somehow be light hearted about this whole ordeal, Berri beat him to it and immediately dove right in, something he should've seen coming, certainly.

"Bo, I-I'm really sorry you, well... Had to deal with that, I had no clue you'd be here," Berri rushed, though Turbo largely furrowed his brow, looked off, heavily shrugged and began to put on a show of entirely forced nonchalance.

"Oh, no, no, it's nothing," Turbo urged as he sagged his masculine hands into his pockets, "It's my fault for not telling you I'd be here, I just thought it'd be fun to surprise you."

"I-I didn't think Gunner would be coming over, he insisted he bring me home and get me settled, cause I genuinely don't feel well," Berri urged softly as she began to take a few steps closer to Turbo; although he was forcing confidence and a cool, easy vibe, Berri could see his hands lightly trembling inside his jean's front pockets.

"No, right, I mean... That's what any good boyfriend would do, right?" Turbo pushed, he gave Berri a placid smile, his eyes looked hollow and defeated, though he still somehow smiled; Berri fell silently and sharply side-eyed Turbo.

"...He's not my boyfriend, Turbo," Berri's voice lulled into a gentle hum of rising authority.

"Oh, I mean... He asked you on yet another date and, well, kissed you," Turbo shook his head, the look in his eye began to grow distant, scarily distant, a distance Berri only knew upon the first few days of being inside Turbo's immediate bubble, a wall he so easily was ready to deploy to protect himself.

"He kissed my cheek, Turbo," Berri argued, "I really don't need to justify anything to you, anyways."

"No, you don't, it's all good," Turbo's voice lilted, he continued to wall off, something Berri knew would reverse if she just simply softened and potentially leveled with Turbo. Turbo cleared his throat nervously and tugged his collar, a little, "I-I guess I shouldn't have assumed."

"Yeah, makes an ass out of all of us," Berri snapped, a defense mechanism she deployed when she felt hurt, something she was well aware didn't get her anywhere, though due to feeling embarrassed, she figured she was fighting blind at this point.

"Yeah, I... Look, I'm sorry I came, I thought it'd be a nice surprise," Turbo staggered, he quickly began to conceal himself back into that spiky shell of his, something Berri and crew had worked so hard to pry him out of, Berri furrowed her brow and began to feel sadness fall over her, she knew she needed to rush to Turbo's aid and make this all better, though bitterness and stubbornness began to unfortunately get the better of her as Turbo coldly pressed on, "Guess I was still dead on, in my way of thinking, though..."

"What do you mean?" Berri begged softly, though Turbo almost meanly narrowed his eyes.

"He doesn't even know who I am and even he's wary to trust me," Turbo's voice darkened, Berri raised her eyebrows in sharp surprise and rushed to reverse the damage.

"Bo, he doesn't know who you really are," Berri stated as quickly as she could, though Turbo shook his head and peered to Berri's front door.

"I don't want to be the reason Gunner has trust issues, I don't want to come in between what you guys have and be that rando guy best friend that he eventually chases away," Turbo stabbed sharply, an eternity of not having solid, mature friendships and relationships severely hindered just how he should carry out normal social conversations and arguments; Berri furrowed her eyebrows in a spike of billowing anger.

"Turbo, it's not LIKE that, he doesn't know you're THE Turbo, h-he thinks you're just a random, full-blown criminal," Berri firmly argued, though Turbo inhaled a deep breath, his broad chest expanded in a solid show of every last pixel of power, he exuded whole authority over Berri, something she was entirely not used to.

"I AM a criminal," Turbo's voice grew stern as he began to take a few steps closer to Berri, he furrowed his eyebrows and now felt as if the only way to solve this mess was just to push Berri as far away from him as he possibly could, lest the two get hurt any further. He side-eyed her and watched as she visibly shrunk, "I single-handedly murdered everyone in my entire game, Berri. You don't think that counts as being a criminal? A wanted man? I don't deserve anyone's trust."

"T-Turbo, that's entirely d-"

"It's not different, and you know it," Turbo stabbed, Berri flinched and nervously peered up to him, though she began to show signs of being pushed too deep into a corner, "Even Gunner knows to be wary of me and he's never met me in my entire life... And now you see why even so much as being seen in public will be the end of me, we have cold hard proof of it."

"No we don't, people may be wary of you but they wouldn't come for you," Berri snapped sharply, she glowered Turbo down as her eyes grew heavy with tears, tears of anguish; her stress marks easily sprawled her temples unabated as she angrily continued on in the meanest tone she could deliver, "You're just too stubborn to do anything about your own problems. You're sitting and waiting for a miracle while letting life pass you by. A life you could have. A life I KNOW you want."

"You don't know what I want," Turbo growled, nearly in her face, though Berri took a sharp step forward and firmly got back in Turbo's face.

"Your core coding didn't lie to me, that one night," Berri stated in a sharp, firm tone, just above a whisper, she glared Turbo down one last time and narrowed her gaze to tightened, blue daggers, "We both want the same things but you're too stuck in the past to even begin thinking about how to even move forward."

"...Your highness," Turbo coldly delivered, a belly-up response that proved to Berri that he had immediately given up on the conversation, and with such a cold deliverance, Berri tried not to grimace into impending tears as she ripped her presence from Turbo's, once and for all.

Turbo flinched and felt a wash of regret come over him. He huffed a silent noise and urgently watched as Berri stormed away. He shook his head, held his hand out, opened his mouth to stop her but felt as if everything was just slipping from his grip, things so far out of his control. Turbo heaved a shaky sigh, sagged his shoulders in defeat and watched her beautiful, slender figure storm down her tower's single corridor and out of sight. Although Chester looked torn about who to follow, he gave Turbo a nervous, puppy-dog look before hesitantly following Berri and slipping out of sight. Turbo sagged, knowing full well his fun run had come to an end, and with the idea of hollowing away and sealing his heart in a concrete box for good, he lulled his teary eyes closed, grabbed his heavy coat and quietly saw himself out of Berri's silent tower, for good.

As the evening came and went, and Saturday easily lulled into a silent haze of a blurry, grey snow storm, Berri was certain that she had spent over twenty four hours in her room, darkened and filled with grief and frustration. As the bare, sunny glint of tinted yellow clouds came and went, Berri sat on the edge of her bed in a hollow ache of refusing to move. She could feel Chester's nervous gaze gloss to her every once in awhile before he slumped back into lazy slumber, something she wished she could also escape to. Her gentle fingers so aimlessly fiddled with her beautiful guitar pick necklace, the gift that Turbo gave her. Although the two were feuding, she still refused to remove it from around her neck. Having literally no more tears left in her body to cry, she just resorted to just barely breathing through the tender gape of her raw pink lips, her nose was entirely clogged, as were her sinuses, she felt as if her whole entire head was a lead balloon and her neck was a brittle toothpick. Her stomach had given up growling long ago, she was certain that, at this point, she was so hungry that she was now not hungry any longer.

Although she was previously desperate to fall asleep, somehow sitting at the edge of her bed in mindless contemplation, for over twenty four hours straight, had driven her into falling unconscious at one point or another. In the haze of a mild nightmare, her's and Turbo's fight easily repeated itself, in her mind, everything her stressor marks took note of was entirely heightened, exaggerated features, like the angry, golden glow of Turbo's eyes, were highlighted and dutifully noted. She tried to move her limbs but failed, reminding her that she was trapped in a nightmare and the only thing she could do was just to simply endure it. Although desperately attempting to claw her way out of shallow nightmares, a sudden, gentle doorbell like noise rung through her ears, a dainty noise that suddenly jarred her awake. With a jolt, she inhaled a hard breath through her mouth, sat up firmly and tried her hardest to open her crusted over eyes. Her heart raced at the speed of light, the gentle glow of the Sunday morning sun glinted into her bedroom, and although her room was still mildly dim, she grimaced at the very sight of a harsh, silver glow in her peripherals; a clear sign that her stress lines, on her temples, were now flared in entire anger.

The gentle doorbell rang once more, bringing Berri to a clearer draw of consciousness, and as her eyes urgently dragged to her teleportation alcove, across the stretch of her bedroom, a single named hovered in a glint of silver coding, the name 'Tessa Quorrin Kalivar' bobbed in bold font, cueing to Berri that her mother was politely asking if she could enter Berri's bedroom teleport pad. Berri sagged her shoulders and felt that vicious sting of tears hit her eyes, once more, the remembrance of everything that came rushing back to her, once more, the only thing she wanted, in this cold instance, was to be held by her mother. She hiccuped a small noise, grappled her communicator, thumbed a few options and unlocked her teleportation pad for her mother. In a hefty volley of concerned, silver coding, Tessa appeared on Berri's teleport pad, looking as clean and as fresh as a summer day, her lovely, auburn hair was kept and in smooth waves down her body, she wore a white t-shirt and a pair of tattered skinny jeans. She was prepared to begin construction on the flyer's new enclosure, though Tessa knew she had to get to the bottom of Berri's whole entire absence, first.

"Bear," Tessa dragged softly as she began to step into Berri's frozen in time bedroom, untouched for over a whole day even though Berri had been in here, it was clear by how stiff and musty the air was that Berri was simply rotting away, in here. Tessa approached Berri's fragile figure, sat upright on the egde of her bed, and upon Tessa's gentle sit, Berri crumpled into pitiful tears of dread. Tessa was quick to wrap Berri into her motherly arms and chest, a loving cradle she'd give either of her children, no matter how big or grown they were, "Baby, tell me what's wrong, you've been ignoring all of us for over a whole day now... We're all REALLY concerned about you."

"I'm fine," Berri's sweet voice finally griped, her dirty face buried into Tessa's shoulder.

"What is it?" Tessa pressed as she finally released Berri, held her jaws and made Berri peer into her. Tessa grimaced and stroked her thumbs to Berri's vivid, angry stress marks, "Bear, you... Y'gotta tell me what's going on, this is not healthy. These stress lines are way out of control, did you have a chance to talk to Turbo about these?"

"...Turbo," Berri choked a small cry and shook her head in dread, "I-I was so mean to him, h-he... Gunner and I came into my tower while Turbo was here, and... He hid away, but... Gunner doesn't trust Turbo, so-"

"Easy, Bear, one thing at a time," Tessa barely eased a chuckle, she tucked some of Berri's hair behind her ear and shook her head in a rise of concern, "You and Gunner came over here, but Turbo was here and you didn't know?"

"G-Gunner invited me on a third date in front of Turbo, and... And..." Berri staggered in whole bashfulness, whole grief, any ounce of any emotion her heart could afford was what showed right on her sleeve. She shook her head and shut her eyes tight, "Turbo's now mad at me because, well... I just want him to leave Sugar Rush so badly, mom, how is it possible..."

"Berri," Tessa stated through a defeated sigh, though she gave Berri a promising smile and wiped the tears from Berri's cheeks, "I know you want Turbo to leave Sugar Rush, and get to know the new Arcade, I do too... Everyone does... But, you can't force him, on this, Bear. It's on his own time."

"I just... I want him to be happy," Berri whispered in defeat.

"I'm certain he's happy, Berri... We haven't seen him this happy in a very long time," Tessa assured as she pet the side of Berri's head and soft blue hair, "You're his best friend, babe, right?"

"I-I was," Berri staggered in uncertainty, "I-I don't think he wants anything to do with me, now..."

"That's ridiculous, Berri, so you guys are fighting," Tessa shrugged and aimlessly looked off, "Lickity is MY best friend, and we've had some pretty gnarly fights. Even your father and I, Penny and I... You fight with Wren and Theo sometimes, right?"

"Mom, it's not the same," Berri argued quietly, though Tessa side-eyed Berri and gave her a cheeky smile.

"I DID include your father, in on that list of people, Bear... Someone of whom I'm romantically involved with," Tessa retort, Berri sagged and bashfully looked off, "Romance, impending relations or not... Turbo is still your best friend. None of that will change over a little fight."

"I don't know what to do, mom," Berri sighed, she seemed to be already feeling better due to finally being able to chat with someone.

"Here's what you do... Y'get on some clothes you don't care if they get destroyed, y'come out with me and help me with this enclosure. We're going to be moving your tower, as well, so I kind of need your cooperation, here," Tessa cheekily instructed, though she sagged when Berri didn't comply, not even a blink. Tessa exhaled a hot sigh of defeat through her nose and lovingly gripped Berri's hands, "Bear... I know how you're feeling. I do... I can tell you love him."

Berri raised her eyebrows in bashful surprise and eased her dead gaze into Tessa's in a warmth of shy revival; Tessa tsked her a noise and gave her a wide, cheeky smile of a side-eye.

"If you love him, Bear... You have to be willing to help put in work," Tessa eased, she shook her head as Berri opened her mouth and looked as if she was going to argue in defiance, "Ah-Ah! I'm NOT saying you haven't... You just HAVE to understand that, although it may not look like much, Turbo has put in a HUGE deal of work, and you have to recognize that..."

"What MORE do I have to do?" Berri stabbed in another mess of billowing tears, "I've already banged down his door, shown him an endless amount of support, have told everyone in Arcade that he's the best person ever. Now that I'm about to have all these shows I'd do ANYTHING to have him at, he's just..."

"Feeling intimidated, Bear. You have that rockstar boyfriend you were always dreaming of," Tessa almost darkly retort, Berri raised her eyebrows in a spike of dread as Tessa began to softly thwart all of Berri's plans, "He was doing all of this for you, but now that you're not an item on the menu any longer, he's given up... You have to teach him that this is now something he needs to do for himself."

"What are you saying?" Berri staggered in nervousness, though Tessa narrowed her gaze.

"You've brought him this far... You've made it about you, about chasing YOU to your concerts and coming to see YOUR shows," Tessa's voice was quiet and stern, "Now that you guys seem to be feuding, and Gunner's standing in his way, he likely feels as if trying is futile. So, you're having some fun, you're running way and doing some shows, but... You can't forget your roots, Bear. You can't forget the guy who pushed you out the door and begged you to chase your dreams, the one who was potentially willing to go chase after you but instead got chased away," Tessa cheekily explained, as kindly as she could, she cocked an eyebrow and gingerly flicked the guitar pick that dangled above Berri's sternum.

Berri sagged her shoulders and took in her mother's words. She knew this was supposed to be unconditional love, everything her and Turbo had built up, in such a short time, was valid and beautiful, something she craved, a romance she would be entirely glad to fall into, though somehow she felt thwarted by herself. The desire to up and run, at the speed of light, was something she also craved, something that Gunner was now easily supplying her. She grimaced slightly and knew her mother's words were laying thick, though she nearly flinched as Tessa carried on.

"Instant gratification is a lot of fun and it's really great in the moment, but," Tessa sighed and looked down to her hands, "Just be careful who you push away and who you pull in close, Bear. Turbo's trust is already so incredibly fragile... He's such a sensitive, old soul, I really would try and reign in your knee-jerk reactions, towards him."

"Can't teach an old dog new tricks," Beri mumbled, though Tessa cocked an eyebrow and gave her a stern look.

"Have you met your grandfather, Berri Schweetz?" Tessa corrected, to which Berri shrank, "That man is about as old as Turbo, and he's done a complete one-eighty, from what mom has told me. That guy is far more stubborn than Turbo would even begin to dream of being. If your grandpa Ralph can ease through change, like he has, and be that old dog that has successfully learned new tricks, then I'd say Turbo is worth every single last ounce of patience you have."

Berri bobbed a nod of defeat and looked down. She heaved a long, shaky sigh and quietly eased into a proper show of said defeat, not as quick as maybe Tessa would adhere to, "How... How do I even get Turbo to talk to me, ever again? I'm sure he hates my guts, now."

"He could never hate you... Just give him some space, Bear, let him come to you," Tessa shrugged, "If maybe you haven't heard from him, in a week, then reach out to him. I KNOW he cares about you... And, this isn't the end. You're Sugar Rush's princess. He HAS to deal with you, whether he likes it or not."

"I just feel as if all my effort has vanished... All my effort to help him and ease him back into society," Berri complained, though Tessa dryly shrugged.

"So? If everything was back to square one, would you give up on him?" Tessa plainly asked, causing Berri to flinch and think twice about her statement; she sagged and looked away in further defeat.

"...No, I wouldn't," Berri mumbled, Tessa beamed a smug smile and shook her head.

"No, you wouldn't," Tessa repeated cheekily, and before Berri could give her a dull glower of exhausted irritation, Tessa pat Berri's thigh and pointed to Berri's messy bedroom, "C'mon, get dressed. Surely you have some clothes, in here, you can throw on. We'got an enclosure to build."


	92. Chapter 92

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** I know seriously. Same!

 **chuckiboo :** Aww that's so sweet, definitely right. I appreciate you mentioning all that, it definitely makes that moment that much sweeter! Thank you so much!

 **Jay Sketchin :** Aww~ That's so nice!

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **California Trees by Walk Off the Earth**

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 ***Chapter 92***

"Has Chester been inside the enclosure yet?" Wren wondered with a cute, giddy pep in his step; him, Theo, Berri and Chester moseyed down their tower's gently lit corridor and to their front foyer. Though they were tucked a little deeper inside the flyer's previous patch of trees, sunlight still could be seen glinting in from the higher windows.

"Not yet," Berri sighed in a drag of mild dread, she gently pulled her phone out from her winter coat and knew hoping to see Turbo's name across the screen was futile. Seeing only the time, date and a now changed phone wallpaper, from the previous, goofy picture of her and Turbo to something generic, she lulled her sunken, tired, bagged eyes shut and gingerly groped her hand to her left until she met with Chester's collar, something she put on him whenever she was due to take him somewhere. Said thick, leather collar was equipped with a two-foot lead that dangled down the center of his broad chest, to make it easier to lead his blind, bumbling feet, "I'm... I'm just going to drop him off with Balba and Royal, they'll have a fun time showing him around."

"...What about Turbo, is he not watching Chester anymore?" Theo worried, both boys glossed Berri's figure in a sag of impending disappointment, and much to their further dismay, Berri eased a tight-lipped look, glance down to her feet and tried not to show too much sorrowful emotion here, though she knew she failed anyhow.

"No, I-I... I haven't heard from him all weekend," Berri staggered, her nose was still lightly clogged, and although she had a solid session of core-coding meditation, with herself, last night, the stress marks on her temples still faintly glowed. She gently grappled Chester's lead as Theo reached for the door handle and hovered, to brace the four for the intense cold that didn't seem to let up, "It's... Fine. Chester will want to be in the brand new enclosure, anyways. Maybe the other flyers will try and teach him to glide. Those trees are incredibly tall, so it'll be easy for branching."

"A-Are you and Turbo okay?" Wren worried, though Berri stiffened and lulled her eyes closed in dread.

"I don't want to talk about it, no, we're not okay," Berri rushed in already flooded irritation, though as Wren shot Theo a worried look, he shook his head, bugged his eyes in dread and swung the front door open; although Berri was just expecting everyone to slowly push out into the cold, Wren and Theo jolted in surprise and perked up in their entirety.

"Turbo!" Wren stated through a blurt of an excited chuckle, and with the sound of said name that rolled off of Wren's lips, Berri raised her eyebrows in a spike of near-terrified surprise and froze dead in her tracks as Turbo's figure came into view, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I-I'm... I'm here to pick up Chester, like every Academy day," Turbo stated through a soft chuckle.

Berri wobbled as Chester uttered a soft, raspy whine of excitement and barreled on past Wren and Theo and straight into Turbo's gravity. Turbo blurt a small laugh as he eagerly tended to Chester's needs, in terms of head and ear scratches. Berri sagged her shoulders in whole surprise and felt numb, although Turbo was cozily dressed in a nice winter coat and scarf, she frowned and took note that the golden glow in his eyes was largely muted, the stuble on his jaw and chin had grown in, and just like Berri's eyes, his were sagged, bagged and exhausted. Wren, Theo and Chester easily geeked out in Turbo's presence, all three boys chattered in a spike of eagerness, a clear show that they missed Turbo on their typical hang-out day, which was Sunday's closed Arcade day, something of which they almost apprehensively missed due to Turbo's and Berri's feuding. Wren and Theo stated their niceties to Turbo, and amidst a mess of firm pats to Turbo's back and arms, they eased their kind goodbyes to him and promised they'd be over to his loft after school; although this also included Berri, due to being apart of this now tight-knit friend group, she almost nervously stepped out into the porch and shut the door behind everyone.

"Meet you at Academy, Bear," Wren called over his shoulder as Berri hovered on the front porch, she shot Wren a nearly annoyed look as the last thing she saw, of Wren, was a cheeky wave and a wink before him and Theo disintegrated into a mess of coding on her tower's main teleport pad, kept too warm to be covered with too thick a layer of snow.

Berri finally heaved a long, fogged breath to Sugar Rush's relentless winter air. Little bits of flaky snow fall eased into her vivid blue eye lashes, and although she wanted to rip herself from Turbo's irresistible presence, she hovered for a moment and took note of just clearly how excited Chester was to see Turbo. Turbo grunted a small laugh and wobbled the second he began to eagerly lick at Turbo's chin. Without warning, he suddenly lapped his whole tongue to the side of Turbo's face and straight into his hair, resulting in a now frozen-over gloss of saliva and a permanent cowlick of the right side of his dusty grey hair. Turbo froze as Chester's wolf like snout began to sniffle at his coat in further inspection, and though Berri was successful thus far, she finally caved and choked a hard, fogged laugh out into the air. With such, Turbo finally wrinkled a wide smile and did everything to brush his hair to normality, a clumsy splay of his masculine fingers into the soft grooves of his lovely, dark grey hair.

"Ohhhkay, I guess I'm taking two showers today," Turbo grunted as Chester finally eased up, though he hovered tight to Turbo in a clear show of love. Turbo blurt another soft chuckle as he gripped Chester's cheeks, in his hands, and made his heavy skull act is if they were looking into each other's eyes, "Look, I know we're now dude-bros, but y'gotta not lick my freshly showered hair. C'mon."

"He does not care about personal hygiene, or personal space," Berri giggled softly and sagged her hands into her pockets, and although the air between the two was easy, easier than she thought, she still felt that twinge of tension. She sagged and knew she needed to just jump in, the overhang of the tower's lovely outdoor foyer shielded the two from a heavier gust of snow that gentle flitted by, "I'm... I'm surprised you're here, actually. I was just going to drop Chester off inside the new enclosure."

"I made you a deal, Berri," Turbo eased quietly, he lovingly stroked Chester's velvety orange snout and hugged Chester closer to him, "I promised I'd help you with Chester. Sure, he'd be just fine, on his own, inside the enclosure, but... I told you I'd help with his vocal progression."

"I... I sincerely thought you wanted nothing to do with me, after what happened Friday," Berri staggered nervously, though Turbo furrowed his brow, looked down and bashfully shrugged.

"You made me upset, and... I know I made you upset," Turbo started softly, his masculine voice was coat with all the love in the world. He furrowed his brow and peered his becoming-stronger, golden glowing eyes into Berri's, "I don't think trials and tribulations, inside a friendship, is a sign to immediately call it quits."

Berri remained quiet and felt relief coat her soul with Turbo's words; although she may have taken her emotions and ran, she was floored Turbo was now prepared to ease every last worry she had, here. She felt entire solace in his presence, an intoxicating allure that she couldn't dream of trying to get away from, she relished in the sweet narrow of his eyes as his crackling, deep voice carried on through a hot fog of his breath.

"I made you a promise, and I dedicated myself and my time to you, and an extension of you," Turbo gestured to Chester and shook his head, though he softly tugged the collar of his coat down, grappled a rugged, thin black rope, from around his neck, and revealed his half of the guitar pick gift he had made for Berri. He cocked an eyebrow and gave her a coy look of cuteness, "We ARE stuck together, after all."

"Oh, are we now," Berri chimed in scheming irritation, she tried her hardest to remain cheekily cold towards him, as long as she could, though she knew it was going to be impossible to carry it on for much longer, "Are we like married now, or something? Was the guitar pick a contraction-driven gesture?"

"I guess you could say it was a proposal, but... I guess, if it were a proposal, then I'd say I went about it ALL wrong," Turbo staggered in a chuckle, though as he pressed closer to Berri, he daringly and carefully reached his hands about the back of Berri's neck. As easily as he could, he unclasped Berri's guitar pick necklace, sealed it away in his hand, took a step back and watched as the expression on Berri's face grew from bashful, to confused, to now entirely lost.

"What are you doing?" Berri staggered with a nervous giggle, though much to her whole surprise, Turbo slowly got to one knee before her; she raised her eyebrows, took a small step back and now bashfully blurt a hard laugh down to him as she covered her mouth, "N-No, seriously, WHAT are you doing."

"I'm proposing to you," Turbo stated plainly with a shrug, he held out her guitar pick and gave her a dorky smile, "Berri... Will you be my best friend?"

"You are so stupid," Berri choked a hard laugh, though with her fervor, Chester riled into a frenzy of excitement, as well, and firmly nuzzled his nose into Turbo's chest, which caused him to wobble on his one-knee position on Berri's lovely front porch.

"I-It's a yes or no question, Bear, I'm not asking you to rate my intelligence, here," Turbo barked in playful, laughing irritation as Chester continued to press his snout into Turbo's chest. Turbo blurt a hard laugh and gingerly shoved on Chester's snout, "Chester, NOT NOW this is important! I'm proposing!"

"I forgot the question," Berri now blurt into hard giggling, the blush on her cheeks warmed her whole soul, she cupped her hands to her chest and relished in the sight of Turbo down on one knee, vulnerable to Chester's now tail-wagging playfulness.

"Will you marry- I-I mean, b-be my... for USER'S SAKE CHESTER!" Turbo shouted inside of a hard laugh as he finally eased off of his bended knee, caught himself, slipped in the icy, thin layer of snow and finally brought himself back to the one knee he was on, "Please just answer me before he eats me alive, my GOD."

"Yes, I will, yes," Berri rushed with a harder giggle as Turbo grit Chester an irritated look, grappled his lead and helped himself up with the stable strength of Chester's body. Upon stand, Turbo firmly pushed on the broad of Chester's chest, causing him to wobble on his four feet with a bark of a playful yip.

"Good. So, now that that's official, and I can finally give this back," Turbo started in a huff of one last playful glower in Chester's direction, he finally eased back into Berri's presence and softened, "We can confirm that no matter how little or great the fight... We will always be best friends."

"Promise?" Berri eased quietly, and although she previously was maybe weird about sealing a first kiss, with anyone, as Turbo neared, she felt her heart do a giddy jump of revival, as if to somehow express to her that if Turbo were to lean in for a solid one, she wouldn't deny him. She bat her eyelashes and tried to lie to herself by saying that she was definitely not trying to give off that vibe, though she was floored the second she could see the hot realization in Turbo's eyes.

"Promise," Turbo pressed warmly, his hot breath coat her face, and as daringly as she could, she eased her gloved hands to the broad of Turbo's lower chest, a dainty press of secretive want, she felt her mind do a backflip at all of this suddenness, though somehow, she felt as if the two now were slowly beginning to operate on it. Turbo cocked an eyebrow and allowed his proudly glowing, golden eyes to ease into hers, he fastened her necklace about her neck, to correction, and now began to feel a lump gather in his throat. With a small chuckle of nervousness, he knew exactly what Berri was shyly asking for, in the coy show of her eye contact alone, and although he was certain that here and now was potentially too soon for his old, painfully gentlemanly soul, he knew he had to at least give Berri something for the trouble the two had been in, all weekend, "Can you pass a message on to Gunner for me?"

"...Sure," Berri pressed in a small reel of confusion as she long blinked and dropped the act, though before she could gently peel from Turbo's presence, she froze as he warmly leaned in and placed a confident, firm kiss into the side of her jaw and cheek, her heart did a giddy dance of glee with the feel of his rough stubble against her smooth skin, the feel of his hot breath on her ear, and as Turbo warmly sealed the kiss and pulled away in a slow, taunting manner, he gave her a nearly mean, daring smile and began to back step out of her tight vicinity.

"Make sure Gunner is fully aware that he now has someone he needs to worry about," He confidently pressed, and in a sheer amount of smoothness, his hand gently grappled Chester's lead, and with a small tug and a cute little remark to Berri's oversized puppy companion, Chester's claws, alongside Turbo's heavy boots, began to thud off of the porch's steps. Turbo pressed on with great cheek, a touch of darkness, the sweetest show of coy that had Berri reeling, he fogged the air with his final statement, "And his name is Turbo Black."

Berri froze in entire dread, delight, excitement, fear, a whole swathe of conflicting emotions that swarmed her whole brain and heart into a silly dance of eventual forfeit. The second Turbo finally peeled his cheeky, cute smile and eyes from her was the second she held her breath and firmly watched him ease out into the snow and towards the softly illuminated path, off to the left of the tower, that lead to the flyer's new enclosure. As both boys fell into step with each other, neither looking back, Berri assessed the cuteness about their special relationship, the way Chester's tucked wing came about Turbo in a cute show of protection from the snow, the saunter they both traipsed, Berri heaved a shaky breath, shook her head and could swear she could stand here, for the rest of time, just contemplating every single little thing that had just happened. She knew her and Turbo would likely eventually talk about the issue that arose, amidst their fight, though she was floored she could go to Academy and have one less thing to worry about; as well as one more thing to secretly daydream about. She sealed the fingertips of her glove to the warm kiss that Turbo had left upon her cheek and smiled as wide as she could, and with a giddy pep in her step, as well, she finally made her way to the white, warmly glowing teleport pad out before her lovely front stoop.

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 **A/N :** **I drew fanart for this piece, it's actually not on my deviantART yet. It's on my Instagram in a mini-comic form. Username Vyntastic :)**

 **Also, I just wanted to warn you guys, I'm in the process of moving, and although it's like less than 30 miles away, it's still a bit stressful for me, so I'm going to have to put the story on hold for a few days while I get my life on track lol. I'll be back to uploading chapters by the 22nd, which is next Thursday. Thanks for understanding! Hope this sweet chapter tides you guys over ;)**


	93. Chapter 93

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Oh, no issue! Congrats! Hope that all goes well for you :D

 **Jay Sketchin :** Thank you so much!

 **Burgie :** T'was a small move, but a move nonetheless! :) Bigger moves will come with time, and bravery xD Thanks friend!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Shadows and Spirits by Imogen Heap (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child)**

* * *

 ***Chapter 93***

As the week came and went, band practices ran deep into the night, school work got piled, scraped and forced right at the last minute, Gunner nearly began to feel nervousness nip right at his heels, heels that cautiously now did everything they could to navigate the palace's glorious, high-arched corridors, Sugar Rush's main beauty and strong hold of incredible architecture. Dressed in a lovely tux with a heavy, slick black trench coat that draped over his tall, athletic and slender figure, he nervously tucked his hands into the gape of said coat's pockets and tried to remain cool. Not a soul to be found, his silent footwork finally began to step in further confidence as he found the palace's main kitchen. Although he knew he could simply teleport himself to Berri's tower's front door, via the teleportation hub he had just came from, he almost nervously peered back to it, over his shoulder; the teleportation pad being something daunting and intimidating, something he couldn't quite put his finger on nor figure out. The fear of accidentally zipping off somewhere he wasn't supposed to go, not to mention the very sight of Turbo's name on the list, he clenched his teeth and pressed on.

On a Friday night, it was typical that the palace's walls were silent and void of anyone; mostly everyone typically hung out either in the rec hall, in their respective homes or inside the irresistible clutches of Orion City. Although Gunner was interested in finding Zed and promising he'd return Berri safely, he crossed the palace's glorious, pristine kitchen in an almost sense of defeat and figured he'd likely have to ask Berri where to seek her main authority; he was sure Zed would likely be holding down the fort, thus bumping into him. In a hefty push of the heavy, back door, which was doubled and fogged on the inside due to the warmth against Sugar Rush's frigid cold, Gunner eased into the longest outdoor corridor on the lot, one that spanned across nearly half the palace's now snowy lot, and straight to the recreational hall. Although it also used to lead to Berri's tower, Gunner knew her tower was now a little deeper into the woods, something that didn't intimidate him too much. He knew the light from said tower would make it easier to find.

Through the long, outdoor corridor, high arches so softly illuminated with the glow of outdoor lights tucked deep into the high arches of white stone overhead, Gunner finally pressed out into the open and began to trek across the snowy path that lead to the recreational hall. As he approached the hall from the side, he smiled and could see a hefty amount of palace residents inside, loud music played and the warmth of the party seemed to radiate out into the stars and sky above. Gunner assured himself that, one of these days, he'd offer him and Berri to attend so he could get to know her family a little better, though for now, he pressed down the path that eased through the snow. Much to his surprise, he took note that the path began to illuminate underneath his feet, the deeper he went into the trees. A loving, tender show of his own coding color, which was a soft marigold, began to shine upwards at him, the path secretively grappled to the coding of whatever individual were to step on it, not only to light the way, but to make clear to the flyers, in the woods, of just who was approaching.

As Gunner pressed deeper into the dark, deeper into the thicket of layered snow and canopies that now blocked out the sky, he began to feel nervousness hit his heart. He was well aware that he'd eventually hit the palace walls, due to this whole enclosure being tightly sealed on palace grounds, though he swallowed hard and knew said grounds were massive. Not only that, but his heart began to race as he remembered the new enclosure that was built, what Berri had been ranting about all week, the very idea that said enclosure was as large as the entire palace lot, in of itself, had his head swimming. He immediately began to feel out of his element, and with such, he nervously began to look around, over his shoulders, up into the trees. Thick, darkened, creepy trees, with low hanging vines and dead shrubs that hugged lifted roots through the untouched snow, Gunner began to feel a strange sensation in his stomach. Although the path illuminated his coding color underneath his feet and pressed ten feet in both directions of the path, he still narrowed his gaze through the dark and now felt turned around. The bass of the recreational hall's music had vanished, the stillness of the lack of wind through the trees, Gunner's shaking hand pat his coat's pocket in preparation to maybe call Berri, though he grit his teeth, held fast to his pride and firmly pressed on in a puffed-chest manner.

In confident footsteps, he glowered into the night, as if to potentially prove to anything out there that he was man enough to just barrel on through and believe said path would eventually lead to Berri's tower, he furrowed his eyebrows in a draw of confusion as his now ten minute walk began to grow musty, hot and humid. Gunner's footsteps slowed to a tender stop as he finally took another look around. The trees seemingly grew in height tenfold, lush, dewy vines and canopies hung over head, and in the nervous realization of concern, he finally looked back down to the path and realized that there wasn't a single fleck of snow to be seen. Gunner felt his pupils tighten in searing hot nervousness, his eyes glared forward in a rush of terror, notions that now hit him head on, the raw fact that he had followed this deceiving path straight into the flyer's enclosure. Gunner huffed a trembled breath and felt his body want to begin to backstep, though he was frozen. He knew he had met Chester before, though due to such negative reactions from Chester, he was certain Berri had never introduced him to the other flyers as a way of protecting him. As silently as he could, he whirled around and prepared to book it in the opposite direction.

With the loss of all of the blood in his face, Gunner nearly jolted straight out of his own skin the second he was now face to face with a single flyer he had dutifully tried to avoid. With a sharp inhale of a gasp and a stumble of his heavy shoes in a back step, or two, Gunner shrunk into himself and peered up to the incredible, majestic beast in front of him. The path remained illuminated with Gunner's coding only, even though Royal's massive, chameleon paws and claws were firmly stationed there. Gunner's mind ran at the speed of light, how long this creature had been behind him was something he was sure he'd never discover, how silently Royal had remained, and for how long, Gunner bit his lip and uttered a nervous noise of question. Not knowing that Royal could talk, he held out his hand and began to fear the worst; where there was one flyer, the other four had to not be too far behind. Royal stood frozen, his underbelly and face was illuminated from the ground up, making his whole physique and disposition nightmarish to look at. His incredible golden orbs held unwavering to Gunner, his black pupils were mere slits, a hunting mode the flyers settled into for sheer intimidation.

"Well, well, well," Royal's deep voice so softly purred, a reverberation that hit Gunner's brain in whole confusion, "Would you look what we have... Here..."

"Fresh meat," Lickity meanly snipped with a fang filled smile from behind Gunner, he huffed a shaky breath and whirled around in confusion.

"Y-You guys can talk?" Gunner staggered in terror, he hoped to convey softness and camaraderie; he knew he was now programmed for Sugar Rush, and any form of a game over was safe, though the thought of dying at the paws of these beasts, on an important date night, or any night for that matter, was the last thing he wanted.

"We also sing," Balba sneered, a clear stab at Gunner's abilities, and as Gunner's eyes now dart to Balba, he began to feel dizzy with one raw fact; all five flyers now began to slowly circle him on his frozen, illuminated and trembling path of doom.

"I-I didn't mean to... I-I'm... I'm looking for Berri's tower," Gunner now staggered to get out, he clutched his chest in terror and watched as these huge incredible beasts so slowly circled him, each one of their eyes honed tight to him in animalistic fervor, as if the hunt was over, and they were now due to enjoying a game of 'play with your food'.

"Well, now that you're here, y'might as well get to know this side of Berri's family," Boss's incredibly deep voice grumbled, his vivid blue eyes honed tight to Gunner as the four sauntered in taunting, moseying steps full of huge paws, clacks of claws, the tuck and tighten of their huge wings, the sway of their long tails, the hang of their heads and sharpness of their gazes, Gunner huffed a shaky breath and dart his concerned eyes to each flyer in a show of plea.

"S-Sure, y-you guys a-are... related to Chester, right? I-Is he here?" Gunner's deep voice wavered, he tried his hardest to prove he wasn't shaken, though he knew he was failing.

"He's not here, and no, we're not all related to him," Boss grunted, everyone finally came to a slow saunter of an eventual stop, though they still hovered circled around Gunner, making it impossible for him to escape.

"He does look like a very healthy mixture of all of us, though," Balba bobbed a nod and stood up a little straighter. Although the gang was gung-ho on torturing Gunner, Balba was the first to show even a shred of kindness, "Allow me to introduce us to you... I'm Balba, I'm a lykata from Dead Zed. This, here, is my surrogate mother, Marble."

"We're all from Dead Zed," Boss blurt a small chuckle, their rumbling, deeper and louder voices glossed over Gunner's quivering soul with the very idea that these talking creatures had the raw, unwavering capability to rip him limb from limb, apex predators that likely hunted and proved their worth unabated, fervor and power they so willingly exuded on a daily basis. Boss lowered his head a little and eyed Gunner with a mean, toothy grin, "I'm Boss."

"A-Are... Are you the head of the pack, then?" Gunner wondered with a forced smile and a shrug, as if to act interested, though the terror in his eyes proved that he was only interested in high-tailing it out of the enclosure.

"No, the title of Alpha goes to my step son, Royal," Boss cocked an eyebrow and eyed Royal with a smile. Although they had previously gotten off on the wrong paw, the two head males of the group kindly found compromise; this showed with the look of confident pride in Royal's glistening eye contact to Gunner's.

"He's head of the hunting pack, as well," Marbles voice eased through Gunner's head like silk, though he was too shaken up to realize that it was telepathically delivered to him.

"If you really WERE fresh meat, you wouldn't have ever known that Royal was stalking you for the entire duration of your walk into our enclosure," Lickity blurt a small chuckle, though Gunner furrowed his brow and now nervously peered to Royal, a much larger, terrifying creature of ability.

"Wh-why not?" Gunner prod, to which Royal didn't skip a beat.

"Cause you wouldn't have lived to find out," Royal eased through his fangs; Gunner firmly swallowed and took a nervous step back, somehow hoping the circle would open, though it didn't, "I'm Chester's father. Balba is my mate, and Chester's mother... Lickity is my mother, and like Boss said, he's my step father."

"R-Remarried?" Gunner cheekily asked Lickity with a chuckle, though the group of predators held still and silent in a spike of dread, strictly for the fact that the subject of Orion's death was still not something they could easily discuss.

"My original mate died saving Royal's life," Lickity snapped meanly, she flattened her ears and gave Gunner a healthy glower.

"He didn't know, mom," Royal muttered to Lickity, as if to quietly ease her worries and assure her that Gunner wouldn't mention it had he known the issue.

"Besides, Turbo's going to turn that all around, anyhow," Boss eased with a confident nod, though Gunner raised his eyebrows in surprise and held his hand up.

"W-wait, Turbo? I thought... Berri told me that guy never comes around," Gunner eased quietly, though he flinched as the group of flyers fell silent one moment, and then burst out laughing the next moment.

"Ohh, of COURSE she told you THAT," Lickity snapped with a snide grin, she inhaled a deep breath and pressed a little closer to Gunner, each creature held height over him.

"H-He's around often?" Gunner prod in yet another spike of terror.

"He's practically right under your nose," Lickity hissed in a whisper, which had Gunner nervously confused.

"Should we tell 'im?" Royal muttered, he side-eyed Boss and both boys gave each other looks of sly cheek.

"I don't think he'd take it well," Boss quietly volleyed.

"Tell me, Gunner, what are your intentions with my baby niece?" Lickity pressed dominantly; although Royal was the alpha male of the clan, and Balba was technically grandfathered in as alpha female, in that respect, everyone knew that Lickity held a very real amount of a higher rank, being the Queen's flyer. All respective flyers flattened their ears in response to the growing fervor and dominance in her voice, "You're here to sweep her off her feet, take her to all of Arcade's stages, show her to fancy dinners, an expensive lifestyle, celebrity status that only luck could've afforded anyone... I don't think you even see the other side of this coin, do you?"

"I care for Berri, I want nothing but to treat her with respect and love like she deserves," Gunner pressed, almost in an insulted tone; he gestured his hands out and stood his ground, though as Lickity came upon him, he visibly shrank as her slits of pupils held tight to him, a terrific sight Gunner was certain would bring him nightmares for weeks to come.

"You've given her an incredible life outside of Sugar Rush, but... Do you understand what kind of a life would be awaiting you here, on her turf?" Lickity pressed patiently, though the cunningness in her tone was sharp and precise, "She's Sugar Rush's princess... How would you fair knowing that, if you were to deepen anything with Berri, you'd be Sugar Rush's next King?"

"Yeah, right. Over Turbo's dead body," Royal muttered as he eyed Lickity, though she bared her fangs, hissed him a sharp noise of urgency, as if to ask him to shut up; all the flyers flinched, upon her fervor; Gunner, as well, the second she stabbed her attention back to him.

"Y'gunna just be with Berri and then eventually break her heart? Just date her for a short while, get all the talent you want out of her, then leave her once your band has made enough money?" Lickity darkly prod, to which Gunner gaped a few noises of protest, sharply furrowed his eyebrows and was prepared to defend himself, though Lickity sharply pressed on, "You realize staying with Berri means being a Prince. Running a whole game. Following in King Zed's footsteps. You know how to operate a code room?"

"I-I think it's a little too early to be thinking about marriage and... Being handed over a throne in which I know Tessa and Zed aren't ready to part with," Gunner firmly defended, though Lickity flattened her ears and got right into Gunner's face.

"If you do anything to so much as harm a single blue hair on Sugar Rush's princess's head," Lickity began in a soft whisper of death, "It's not King Zed you'd have to worry about first."

The whole jungle of an enclosure fell silent, Gunner peered up into Lickity's incredibly creepy, vivid green eyes in a swathe of terror, and although he so desperately wanted to fight back and prove that he was man enough for this conversation, he knew he didn't hold a candle to these incredible beasts before him. He knew he'd have to take the L here and just accept that the palace's pack of flyers were incredibly protective of the royal family's brood, something he was thankful for, deep down, though he somehow couldn't help but feel a billion questions come up, due to just how much these flyers mentioned Turbo. Gunner swallowed his pride, bobbed a nod and tried to give Lickity confident eye contact.

"Yes, ma'am," Gunner eased quietly, and as he apprehensively gave each flyer the same look of understood defeat, he was surprised to feel that Lickity's hovering presence was unwavering.

"C'mon... I'll show you to Berri's tower," Balba pressed in a sweet tone of reservedness, as if she were in agreeing to Lickity's words, though also wanted to make sure Gunner made it out of the enclosure alive.

Gunner bobbed a nod and nervously began to sag closer to Balba's comforting presence, and as her agile paws softly fell into rhythm with the clunks of his footsteps, Gunner bravely looked over his shoulder after a few seconds. Lickity, Boss, Marble and Royal all stood poised and still, frozen from their previous position, the stuff of nightmares, a vision that one would only beg to not stumble upon in the woods, in the middle of the night. As the glow from Gunner's coding began to inch away from the four flyers, only the glint and green glow of their haunting, night-vision eyes could be seen, something that officially made Gunner shudder and turn around for good. He clenched his teeth and eased closer to Balba's warm and comforting presence, and although he was well aware she'd likely take the side of her other flying companions, Gunner was floored she offered him a temporary shred of camaraderie. As the two silently eased out of the enclosure and into the gentle billow of snow that gathered on the edge of the enclosure's entrance, Gunner heaved a shaky sigh and finally felt comfortable enough to speak.

"Thank you, for helping me," Gunner's soft voice eased, he glanced up to the side of Balba's face and was happy her ears gently pricked in the direction of his voice; she bobbed a nod and glanced to him.

"You're welcome," She volleyed softly, it was clear she was still holding him at arms length, for reasons he wasn't sure about. As the path suddenly diverted and began to illuminate in a direction Gunner hadn't previously seen, the two eased to a stop as Balba unfurled her gorgeous, green, feathery wing and pointed it in the direction of said illuminated path, "Berri's tower is down this path, maybe a two minute walk. You can't miss it."

"I appreciate your help," Gunner eased warmly, he halted his footwork and finally gave Balba an inquisitive look, "Can I... Can I ask you a question about Chester?"

"Sure," Balba eased, her ears perked in dominance, as if to silently covey that Gunner watch what he said here, due to Chester being her son.

"I... I really don't think he likes me, and I have no idea why," Gunner worried with a frown, "Every time I try to come near, he growls and shows his teeth. He's usually so friendly with everyone else. Is there any way I can help him warm up to me?"

Balba narrowed her gaze in thought, looked off and softened, though she nervously gave Gunner a sly look and nearly smiled.

"Although Chester is blind and mute, he is incredibly intuitive," Balba's voice eased, though Gunner could feel her motherly sternness now eke onto him in a swathe of an equal amount of intuition, "He can pick a dishonest man out of a crowd of hundreds. He can sense wavering loyalty from a million miles away..."

"I don't understand, I-I... I'm not dishonest, nor do I have unwavering loyalty," Gunner begged in sincerity as he gestured to himself, he shook his head and softened in a show of vulnerability with a creature that knew Chester best, aside from Royal and Berri.

"... We all have skeletons, Gunner," Balba pressed sneakily as she flattened her ears, "You may be honest and loyal and sincere right now, but is there something, from your past, that is hindering you from moving forward? With Berri?"

Gunner sagged, shook his head, looked off and tried not to seem too obvious that he was contemplating just where he had gone wrong; he was frustrated to find that Balba had sneakily caught on, as well.

"Whatever it is, Chester is cued to it," Balba nearly whispered, and it was here did Balba's unwavering loyalty stick like glue to the rest of her pack, the same coldness they delivered now began to proverbially frost her warm fur, as well, "That's why Chester loves Turbo so much. Sure, Turbo did some incredibly terrible things, but he's the first to openly admit and own it all, and has... He can look himself in the mirror and agree that he screwed up, big time, and is doing his best to be a better man."

Gunner now glowered off into the distance and felt that sting of frustration come back to him, one he had so secretly did everything to stuff, a dark past of hurt and pain that he didn't dare let fly, he heaved a shaky, fogged breath and nervously eyed Balba, as if to hope she maybe wouldn't reveal, to anyone, that he was struggling with a certain something.

"The second you can be honest with yourself is the second Chester will ease up," Balba kindly concluded, "If there's one thing I've learned from my son, in his disabilities, is that they're not disabilities at all... Chester's been more honest and more open with the people around him, than anyone I've ever met... And everyone else can talk. What does that say, to you?"

"H-He's pretty special," Gunner agreed warmly, he looked down to his feet and sighed a fogged sigh, though he flinched in surprise as Balba tenderly began to step away.

"Get right with yourself," Balba pressed darkly, though somehow she still radiated sweetness, no matter how distanced it was, "You can't get right with anyone until you're honest with yourself. Get a handle on that first, before moving forward. Mark my words."

Gunner raised his eyebrows in nervous surprise as Balba finally peeled her vivid, haunting, turquoise eyes from him and slowly began to ease away and into the darkness, back to the flyer's enclosure. Gunner held his breath and felt a wash of uncertainty fall over him, the sheer fact that all of these flyers were not simply just guard-dog-like dragons that lived on the palace lot, though rather they were nearly other-worldly beings, ones that could look straight through your soul and mind, read you like a book, rip the pages from your spine and toss you to the wind without even batting a lash. Gunner began to apprehensively step down the right path, something that resonated with him. He knew this night was all about him and Berri, as well as the burning question of desire he was itching to ask Berri, though now that the topic of Turbo and Chester and a million other things were clouding his thoughts, he wondered just how he'd be able to get through the night without seeming suspicious of a wandering, agitated mind.


	94. Chapter 94

**Reviews :**

 **chuckiboo :** You're definitely on to something, there, friend ;) Thank you so much for that. And yes, Gunner eventually meets Ace, and yes, it's exactly as you'd expect. xD

 **Jay Sketchin :** Thank you so much ;_;

 **Burgie :** Thank you! It won't be so bad. Hopefully it'll be over shortly.

 **Snake557 :** Thank you! Aw, they are pretty fun huh. And yes, you're definitely not wrong there haha

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 ***Chapter 94***

Like promised, Gunner made absolutely certain to reserve the best table at the fanciest restaurant Keppel Crest could boast. High on the clifftops of EZ Living's most gorgeous peaks, the full moon glinted down on the two, their private balcony was nearly on top of the entire world. With the soft, cool ocean breeze that whisked the lovely white canopy curtains about in a whisper of lapped cloth, their candlelit table was abundant with food, and much to Berri's surprise, Gunner had caved and ordered the two alcoholic beverages, after he had been rather wary about it, due to his previous issues with his ex-girlfriend, Sama. A golden tiled terrace on top of the entire world, the moon and stars glowed down on the two, a heavenly sight that Berri hardly could take her eyes from. Although she was used to being treated like royalty inside Sugar Rush, the way the wait staff and the entire resort and restaurant staff treated Gunner and Berri was otherworldly; prepared to wait on their every single need, no matter how silly, Berri sagged into her seat and allowed herself to feel beyond royalty, in this evening. She beamed Gunner a kind, closed-mouth smile as she carefully picked up the gold-rimmed wine glass and took a dainty sip, an extraordinarily expensive wine, a price tag that Gunner wasn't even phased by.

"THAT was your smallest show? Seriously?" Berri choked a small giggle, she eyed Gunner in delight; he wore a sleek tux and a cute, dark red bow tie. His jet-black hair was cut, slicked and faded to perfection, not a single strand of hair was out of place. Entirely suave and looking like an entire vision, Berri had a hard time feeling like she was even staring at a real human being. She got lost in the glint of gold flecks in Gunner's hypnotizing eyes, the warmth and ease he radiated was otherworldly.

"Can you believe it? The whole place sold out, and then some," Gunner pressed with a chuckle as he set his glass down; they had both nearly cleared their plates, and with as much grace and diligence as one group of wait staff could afford, they rushed the table as silently as they could and moved like clock work to clear plates, fill glasses, refresh hand towels and so silently ask Gunner or Berri if there was anything else they could supply, nearly as if said celebrities were doing the wait staff a favor, and not the other way around. Berri cocked an eyebrow and nearly reeled, not even the guards at the palace were this robotic or starstruck, "I'm pretty sure the fire marshal had a hay-day... We were fined a hefty amount, that show was simultaneously amazing and terrible, all in one."

"Sounds like it," Berri muttered with a small smile, she diligently straightened out her slick, black dress, a scooping neckline that showed a decent amount of cleavage though draped in other areas, a beautiful give and take of reveal and conservativeness.

"Tell me a little about your childhood, Bear," Gunner pressed sweetly as he cleared his throat and set his drink down, and although another wait staff rushed over and offered to fill his glass, once more, silently and politely, Gunner shook his head and gently waved him off, as kindly as he could, "I'm sure growing up in the palace was an incredible experience. I know Sugar Rush went through a really rough few years, there, right?"

"Yeah, I... I only know snippets of that story," Berri started as she furrowed her eyebrows, looked down and tried to recall amidst all the oddities happening around her, in this instance, "Supposedly, my family was roughing it, out in Sugar Rush's wilderness, for nearly two weeks before everything finally went back to normal. Th-they bumped into Turbo, and he helped them turn it all around."

"... For User's sakes, I keep forgetting you guys know Turbo," Gunner pressed with a forced smile and a light-hearted demeanor; little did Berri know, Turbo was now becoming a rather hot topic, due to the near-traumatic time Gunner had in the flyer's enclosure, just a few hours prior, "Pretty wild. I'm assuming he's a cool dude. Think I'd be able to meet him sometime?"

"Oh, User, I-I don't know," Berri staggered with a sheepish smile. She quickly came to regret mentioning his name, knowing full well that she was prepared to do anything and everything to keep both boys apart, for as long as she could afford. As twisted as it all maybe would sound out in the air, she kept the idea of double dipping to herself. She grimaced at herself, how terrible that all maybe seemed, though she figured it was harmless so long as neither boys jumped out on a limb and decided to sink his teeth in and claim Berri for his own. She looked off, furrowed her eyebrows and reeled at the strange idea of being sought out by two guys, though she somehow felt invigorated by it all; whoever was brave enough to call dibs on Berri first, she figured that only then would she stop toying with the idea of catering to two suitors at one time. Berri cleared her throat, cleared her thoughts and tried to daintily carry on, "I guess I can maybe see if my parents would ask him. He's pretty reclusive, he's hardly ever on the lot."

"Really," Gunner pressed lightly, though he narrowed his gaze and now had to wonder just who was telling the truth here, be it Berri or the pack of flyers he had previously bumped into, "I think it's great he's so... Resourceful. Now the King and Queen rely on him for tasks, I think it's really nice he's turned himself around and now wants to help out."

"Yeah, he's really great. He knows Sugar Rush like the back of his hand, so... He's definitely been a great help to my parents," Berri nodded, she desperately now wanted the topic of Turbo to drop off, though Gunner looked as if he wanted to press further into it.

"You should invite him to our shows, wow... That'd be HUGE," Gunner bobbed a nod, "Certainly he likes music, no?"

"Oh he does," Berri revealed in certainty, though she flinched and staggered with a nervous shrug, "I-I mean, I THINK he does... I can try and invite him, who knows if he'd show up. I think he's pretty nervous about what the public thinks about him."

"I don't blame the guy," Gunner shrugged, he narrowed his eyes and looked off in nagging confusion, the very idea that said flyers kept mentioning Turbo as being Sugar Rush's next King. He furrowed his eyebrows and softly peered into Berri's eyes, he prayed he'd get clarification, here, "Is... Turbo trying to be Sugar Rush's future King?"

"... Wait, what?" Berri blurt in whole bashfulness, she held her hand to her sternum in now reeling confusion and peered to Gunner in a show of bewilderment, "Turbo? Sugar Rush's future King? Y-You realize for that to happen, he'd have to ask for MY hand in marriage, right?"

"Right," Gunner pressed in a show of innocent concern, though Berri bugged her eyes and looked off; although she had contemplated that very notion, as secretly as she possibly could afford, she staggered as it was now real, genuine conversation.

"User, I-I... I don't THINK he wants to be Sugar Rush's future King, I mean... That'd mean him pursuing me, as his wife," Berri almost fumbled with the words, she beamed a bashful smile and furiously shook her head, "N-No, I don't think Turbo is so bold to go out of his way and do something like that. H-He... Hardly knows me."

"I mean like... Your parents wouldn't arrange a marriage like that, Sugar Rush doesn't operate like that, does it?" Gunner felt like a fish out of water, he shook his head an gingerly reached his hand across the table, so to hold Berri's hand in a gentle show of love, "I-I... I'd hate to lose you, like such."

"N-no, my parents don't arrange marriages, that's not how our game operates," Berri kindly reassured with a soft giggle, she gripped Gunner's hand and felt her heart do a weird dance, this topic seemingly had her heart in a choke hold; the very idea of being Turbo's wife, alongside the raw fact that Gunner eagerly did not want to lose Berri, she tried not to feel dizzy with it all.

"C'mon," Gunner pressed with a lilt of kind sweetness after a moment of kindly peering into her eyes, he stood and eased to her side, so to help her stand; upon their stand, the wait staff so quietly rushed their table and began to clear it as Gunner and Berri stepped away. In tenderness, Gunner warmly wrapped his arm about Berri's lower waist and began to lead her to the glass railing, an incredible view of the stars that reflected off of the ocean below, the two stood tight to each other's sides as Gunner warmly pressed on, "I'm... I'm really glad you've decided to join me on these dates, Bear. I've had an awesome time getting to know you, and... I really hope these weren't pity dates," Gunner rushed with a small, deep chuckle and a bashful shake of his head.

"No, for User's sake," Berri blurt a small giggle and looked up at Gunner through the glint of her incredible, moonlit blue eyes; the two caught in a glance of wind-swept hair, "I won't do anything I'm not comfortable with. If I didn't want to go on these dates with you, I would've said no."

"Good to know," Gunner sighed with relief, his hand and arm still held Berri secure by the waist, a sweet and gentle tug of love he finally got away with, and with such, Berri easily sagged into his comfortable side embrace.

"This was really wonderful... Really romantic, too," Berri pressed in a lilt of kind curiosity, and although she was having the time of her life, she bashfully peered up to Gunner and almost felt spoiled by the ability to lounge around the palace and not have to really prove to the rest of the palace that she was this pristine, put-together princess, "...Surely all of your outings aren't this crazy and expensive and glamorous."

"Did I go overboard?" Gunner wondered in a tone of sheepish, sweet defeat, he eyed Berri almost in apology as an adorable smile sprawled his face.

"N-No, I mean... WOW, I'm Sugar Rush's princess and even I don't ever get this kind of royal treatment," Berri gawked, she smiled back at the wait staff across the way and was shocked at just how 'at attention' they looked, ready to do absolutely anything, at the drop of a hat, "Certainly, our next date can maybe... Include pjs and... Maybe we can order a pizza and just be stupid, back at your place, y'know?"

"Anything you want," Gunner pressed warmly, though he grew shy as he finally eased his right hand into Berri's left hand, "Tonight is, well... Special..."

"How so?" Berri wondered warmly, she peered up into Gunner's eyes and felt a wave of weirdness fall over her, the raw fact that put-together, scared-of-nothing Gunner was now becoming riddled with nervousness.

"Well... I want this night to be remembered," Gunner sweetly pressed, a lilt of knowing in his voice, he gripped Berri's hand and looked prepared to land a romantic, gentlemanly kiss to it, though he hovered and waited for Berri to prod in curiosity.

"Remembered for what?" Berri cued, she felt her face get hot as Gunner so warmly brought her hand to his lips and continued on, his hot breath coat the back of her hand in a sensual manner.

"Remembered as the night I asked you to be mine," Gunner so warmly completed, he finally eased said hovering kiss to her smooth skin and held in a taut hold of love; Berri raised her eyebrows in prickled, girly surprise and knew she shouldn't feel so shocked. She huffed a bashful giggle and somehow felt blindsided, she shook her head in bewildered cuteness as Gunner huffed a trembling breath and peered to Berri in boyish cuteness, as if he potentially didn't even deserve to hear her answer, whether it be positive or negative, "I can't keep it in, any longer... I want to be the one for you. Please do me the honor... Please be my girlfriend."

"...I'd love that," Berri pressed in a lilt of sweetness, though she felt her heart jump in whole entire disarray; the raw fact that she went from a normal, average every day girl to now a taken woman, now in cahoots with a whole entire celebrity, she reeled in blinding confusion and felt as if her world was now very rapidly turning on its side. She knew everything, from here on out, would change drastically, and although she wondered if there'd be any repercussions, she felt naively okay with the fact that she was willing to ride out this incredible honeymoon feeling for as long as it would allow her. She long-blinked and almost felt anxiousness coat her, she shook her head and blurt a small giggle as Gunner so happily peered into her eyes, "Wow, that easy, huh."

"User, building up the courage to ask you that was NOT easy," Gunner huffed a hard laugh, which Berri bashfully joined in on, "I'm just... So glad we can do shows now, and go on tour, and... Not have to hide away or make things weird."

"... That was what Sama did to you, didn't she," Berri eased sadly, though she eased deeper into Gunner's arms, now knowing this was something she was dutifully allowed to, Gunner raised his eyebrows in bashful sweetness and so lovingly wrapped his arms about Berri's lower waist, and with a small tug, he was floored to feel the two sink into each other like a puzzle piece.

"Sh-she wanted our relationship to be private... Which was damn-near impossible because we were seen EVERYWHERE together," Gunner assured nervously, he shook his head and peered into Berri's eyes with a frown, "I mean... If you want our relationship to be private, Bear, I... I'd understand. Really I would. I just..."

"No, I don't want it to be private," Berri dared, her eyes aimlessly glossed Gunner's chest, suddenly the invigorating feeling of 'all eyes on them' seemed to feel like a never ending adrenaline rush, a sugar rush she didn't want to end, a craving that could only just barely be satisfied, she felt her veins wiggle with an intense desire. Berri gave Gunner a cute, cheeky, bold smile and narrowed her gaze, "Maybe Sama will regret ever leaving you behind. She'll see just how awesome it is to do life with someone, without having to hide away."

"I always thought it'd really make the dynamic of the band a lot better," Gunner assured, though he lulled his eyes closed and shook his head, "No more talk of Sama... I've moved on, so has she. It's you and me, now. Hopefully Wren and Theo will take to the news, well."

"Oh, surely," Berri shrugged, and although Gunner went down the line of Wren and Theo, she felt her brain nearly fry the second it stabbed to the next person in line, down the friend list.

The very idea of telling Turbo this news almost had her heart shattering, she held her breath and gingerly reached up to grip the guitar pick necklace around her neck, though she raised her eyebrows in surprise at the solid fact that she had decided not to wear it, on her date, so to avoid Gunner asking questions about it. She nearly felt the desire to well up, the torn feeling her heart was now enduring, her fingers gingerly rested on her bare sternum, where her necklace usually sat; she bit her lip and wondered just how in the hell she was ever going to reveal such news to Turbo. She narrowed her gaze in curiosity and wondered if maybe, just maybe, said news would light a fire under his ass. However secretly she hoped it fuel Turbo, however secretly she wanted to be with him even more than she wanted to be with Gunner, she sagged her shoulders and cursed herself for promising to say yes to the boy who gathered the guts first and foremost. She held her breath and knew she'd ultimately have to end all flirtatious encounters with Turbo, though she wondered if said information would cause Turbo to either play by the rules, as well, or fly through Gunner's red lights. Somewhere, in her heart, she was near desperate for the latter, though she stuffed the feeling and promised she'd never tell.


	95. Chapter 95

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Yeahhh unfortunately :(

 **Burgie :** Yeah that's true! Gunner is a good guy that definitely knows how to take care... just a few certain things he could probably get good at tho xD

 **Jay Sketchin :** Yeah Berri definitely has some maturing to do, in this situation. She eventually gets it tho!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Be The One by Cheat Codes ft. Kaskade**

* * *

 ***Chapter 95***

Theo sat lounged in one of the few incredibly billowy studio chairs inside Gunner's home. Sat on the outskirts of the amazing, state of the art recording studio and music room, Theo's foot twitched to the beat of Berri's strums, her amazing electric guitar soaked every single edge of EZ Living, certain to rock the entire game to the core, even in the secrecy of Gunner's tucked away studio. Taking a small break from drumming, Theo thumbed on his phone as Wren, Gunner and Berri continued on. In strings of silence, in which Gunner cued their playing to cease so he could better give instruction, some time passed where there were instances of loud playing, followed by sweet soft patches of tender conversing, bouts of gentle laughter from Wren, Berri and Gunner, the group got on harmoniously, the way they jived was incredibly infectious. Although both Wren and Theo were incredibly happy for Gunner and Berri going public with their relationship, and taking steps into a sweet new deal, Theo cocked an eyebrow and would almost meanly take note of how many times Gunner would sweetly ease into Berri's presence, to squeeze her lower arm or hand, to tuck her lovely blue hair behind her ears, the stringy look of goo-goo eyes they couldn't stop volleying each other, Theo almost began to feel a sting, as if he wished the decision, for just who Berri paired off with, was his alone. He sank into himself and softly eyed his drum set, across the way, glistening and waiting to be used, though Theo bit his lip and wondered if the group would afford him five more minutes; he nervously tabbed up Turbo's name, on his phone, and almost began to regret meddling.

 _Greenbean : Hey, Turbo. I'm excited we all get to hang out this coming weekend. Sorry we couldn't get together yesterday, all these band meetings SOUND pointless up until we're actually inside of one, and then I realize this whole thing is larger than anything we've ever been apart of. We appreciate you being patient, but this coming weekend, we've blacked it out just so we can all hang out, no priorities. Also, really quick... I'm not positive if Berri has told you yet, but in any instance she maybe hasn't said anything, I'd much rather you find out through me instead of just through the media, or any paparazzi that happen to catch us, but... Gunner asked Berri to be his girlfriend last Friday. I realize I probably shouldn't be interjecting and delivering this information to you, but I didn't want you to be blindsided by it. Please don't tell Berri I told you, I guess if she happens to tell you, just... Maybe act surprised. I wanted you to know through her, or at least one of us, instead of the media. Putting myself in your shoes, if a girl I really liked suddenly got a boyfriend, and I found out through some silly internet article, I'd be pissed. Anyways, just lookin' out... We should hang out sometime, just us. Maybe have a guy day or something. Sorry for the huge text, we miss you._

Theo raised his eyebrows, inhaled a deep breath and quickly began to re-read everything that he had just typed. He swallowed hard and figured his logic was sound, he eyed Berri in contemplation and felt his heart sting with concern. He knew Gunner was definitely a catch, and was beyond capable of taking great care of Berri's heart, though somehow, deep down, he felt as if it were all backwards, and the advice he had so secretively given Berri, that one evening on EZ Living's lonely stage, just fell on deaf ears. He knew Berri was stubborn, and definitely marched to the beat of her own drum, though he wondered if maybe she'd see the reality of everything once the honeymoon phase died out, and the rose-colored sunglasses came off. With a grunt, he finally got to his bare feet, locked his phone, tucked it in his loose cargo shorts pocket and began to make his way back to his drum set. The second he came within fifteen feet of everyone, they kindly acknowledged him and requested his opinion on the few rounds of choruses they did without him. Trying his best to seem nonchalant, he gave his two cents and tried his hardest not to get way too invested in even the way Turbo felt about Berri; he wondered if he was maybe getting in too deep with the idea of their perfect love, though the idea of letting something so incredible just dry out and rot to waste had him itching in irritation.

* * *

Alone with Chester in his loft, Turbo softly hummed a note aloud and cued to Chester, who sat on his hind quarters, his ears perked, his noble disposition held taut to Turbo's gentle vocal coaching. Turbo blurt a small laugh the second Chester suddenly opened his mouth and uttered a hard noise, though Turbo bobbed a shrug of a nod, noting that said noise, that Chester emit, wasn't too far off of the right key. Turbo lovingly pat the broad of Chester's chest and finally soaked his hand to the side of Chester's jaw in a loving rub. Although Turbo's home was dimly lit and warmed from the tail ends of Sugar Rush's cold winter, his home was still alive with conversation, no matter how one sided it currently was.

"You're doing great, Chessy. I'm too nervous to add that strain of vocabulary coding, to your mainframe, in fear of, well..." Turbo cocked an eyebrow and peered up to Chester as he took a small step away and prepared to continue the lesson, "You then being able to talk nonsense. I think we need to nail actually being able to USE your voice before we dive into trying to talk."

Chester hummed a noise of boyish irritation as he sagged his ears and stiffened his neck, Turbo chuckled a little, in response, though perked up the second his phone emit a small chime, insinuating a text message. Turbo briefly part from Chester, eased into the lower level of his living room and picked up his phone. He smiled in cute curiosity the second he read Theo's name, though he furrowed his eyebrows in cold confusion the second the preview, for his message, carried on for so long that it trailed off in a small 'read more' grey area. Turbo urgently unlocked his phone and gave Theo's message his whole attention. As he came down the line, and as the news gently glossed over him in dread, his knees tenderly buckled, and in a slow fashion of defeat, his rear plopped to his couch underneath. Upon finishing Theo's whole message, he peered across his house and could see the golden glow in his eyes very slowly fade to that of a dimmed state of grey. He sagged his shoulders and felt his heart begin to break, the raw fact that Berri was now taken, he shut his eyes tight and exhaled a long, hot sigh through his nose. He peered back down to Theo's message and felt whole entire defeat course through him, a coldness he was not prepared for.

Chester eased a small whimper of a noise, as if to ask Turbo just what was wrong, and in the slow, sauntering, heavy clack of Chester's non-retractable claws, he almost nervously hung his head a few feet from Turbo's position. Typically a barreling ball of fluff that plowed into Turbo's gravity without any form of hesitation, Chester recognized the divide, here, and hovered in a gentle show of mature understanding. His blind eyes held tight to Turbo's positioning, his ears taut, his tight-lipped demeanor almost held a brotherly air, as if Chester would most certainly be asking who's head he had to tear from their shoulders. Turbo scoffed a soft noise of gentle anguish, squinted his gaze and finally peered to Chester in a roll of further defeat, though with said enormously heavy slump of defeat, it dug so deep into rock bottom that it suddenly reverberated off the core of the planet and thus began to sky rocket, with no where else to go but up. Turbo raised his eyebrows in the roll of heat, and with such a weird rollercoaster of emotions, Turbo suddenly stood up, peered out his massive sprawl of windows and glared down into the city. He shook his head, grappled his phone and began to slowly press closer to the glass.

"I have to win this, Chester," Turbo revealed quietly, to which Chester perked up and slowly began to ease into Turbo's presence a little tighter, and with this he finally hovered behind Turbo's left side and carefully listened. Turbo sagged his right hand to the glass of his windows, he overlooked his incredible city, something of which was now properly beckoning him, it begged him to dive in head first, for now he had a solid reason to. Turbo heaved a shaky sigh and shook his head, "I... I can't just sit back and let Gunner sweep that incredible woman away before I can."

Chester huffed a small noise, as if to cheekily agree with him, and much to Turbo's surprise, Chester flattened his ears and lovingly nudged his snout into Turbo's left wrist, which still held his unlocked phone. Turbo peered down to Chester's snout, and his own hand, and as Chester urgently began to nudge Turbo's wrist a little harder, it became clear to Turbo what Chester was insinuating. Chester whimpered a small noise and finally was successful in getting Turbo to hold his phone a little bit higher up his body, and with such, Turbo finally eased his finger to his touch screen display and splayed to his and Berri's text conversation, which had been left dead, for days. As the golden glow came rushing back to him, he inhaled a deep breath through his nose, thumbed to Berri's contact information, and with a firm press, he cued up a phone call with Berri, the blood in his veins shot about with the new, reclaimed energy of a thousand suns.

* * *

"Bear, you're so sweet," Gunner kindly pressed, though he gave Berri an apologetic look, narrowed his gaze and desperately tried to deliver his words, to her, as cautiously as he possibly could, "Y-Your mic is picking up all that singing you're doing, over there, love..."

"I-I'm sorry, I can't help myself," Berri eased sheepishly as she shrugged her shoulders and held her beautiful, brand new cerulean blue electric guitar to her body; something she got to perfectly match her hair and be a cohesive item on stage. Berri bashfully tucked her hair behind her ear and looked off in a further show of mild embarrassment, "Keep my mouth shut, got it..."

"Your voice is incredibly beautiful, babe, y'just..." Gunner gestured his hand in tender concern, though Berri urgently nodded.

"No, I know, I-I'm sorry," Berri staggered with a renewed smile, "Let's... Start from the top, then."

"Okay," Gunner eased, he gently switched his attention to Wren and began to give light instruction to him, though with a roll of silence amidst a gentle, tinkering tune of Berri's phone, everyone peered to her in whole curiosity. Gunner cocked an eyebrow and tried his very hardest not to give Berri an authoritative look, "Bear, uh... Phones are supposed to be silenced in the studio."

"It IS silenced, what the heck?" Berri choked in irritation, though she urgently grappled her phone, from her pocket, and felt her heart do a sudden jolt-like dance move, the raw fact of just who was calling her. All at once, she shot her attention to Gunner and felt compelled to answer Turbo's call, even though they were practicing. She gave Gunner an apologetic look, showed Gunner the screen and grimaced a little, "I-It's... It's Turbo. This could be important, I really need to take this."

"...W-Wow, THE Turbo is calling you?" Gunner staggered in a switch up of nearly terrified delight.

"I-I mean, he's one of my dad's right hand men, I-I really shouldn't let this go to voicemail," Berri urged, though she could see Wren cock an eyebrow in her peripheral and shoot her a cheeky grin, though the look on Theo's face was more washed with terrified, hot realization.

"O-Okay, but hurry," Gunner urged politely as Berri shlepped her guitar to it's stand, as tenderly as she could, answered Turbo's phone call, so it wouldn't end, and urgently shuffled out of the studio.

Once she was alone in the long corridor from Gunner's studio, to the main part of his home, she eased maybe ten feet away from the now closed door and gingerly held her phone up to her ear, "Hey Bo, what's going on?"

"Berri, hey, I-I... I-I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Turbo staggered in smiling, weird newness. He cleared his throat in aggressive irritation, towards himself, and tried his hardest to get it down from that high-pitched gloss of terror, jealousy, urgency and excitement it was seemingly stuck in.

"No, no, I was able to sneak away for a second," Berri almost whispered, she beamed a bashful smile down to her feet and felt her heart soften, Turbo's warm reminder that he was her quiet, safe spot, she reached up and grappled the guitar pick on her sternum out of habit.

"Oh, I won't keep you for long, I just..." Turbo grappled the hair on his forehead as he now urgently paced his whole living space, Chester almost playfully held tight to his heels and dared to nip at them, a bit of a herding instinct somehow dug deep into his brain. Turbo hissed Chester a cheeky notion as he whirled around, though Berri blurt a cute giggle and narrowed her gaze, she could tell both boys were having fun.

"Chester's staying out of your cabinets, right?" Berri wondered in quiet, cheeky authority, towards Chester; Turbo blurt a laugh, his handsome smile largely broadened.

"Ohh, for now," Turbo volleyed in cuteness, though he sagged his shoulders and heaved a shaky sigh, "Bear, I just... I w-wanted to call and assure that we were hanging out this weekend. I know Wren told me you guys planned to come over this Saturday and Sunday, but I just wanted to make sure of it. I asked Zed for the weekend off, of work, so... I wanted to make sure it wasn't in vain."

"Yeah, Bo, we'll definitely be there, I've already told Gunner that we're busy inside Sugar Rush, he understands," Berri almost whispered as she nervously looked over her shoulder and prayed that Gunner, Wren and Theo would stay inside the studio for the duration of their phone call, "How come? Are you nervous? We're not going to bail on you, Bo, I promise. I-I'm really sorry our schedules sort of aren't lining up, like we wanted..."

"N-No, I'm not nervous you're not going to come, I just... I guess I was just wondering if you guys were going to go to Sugarbucks at all," Turbo wondered shakily, he held his forehead and almost couldn't believe this conversation was happening, he was entirely certain it'd blindside Berri like a bullet train in the night.

"Sure, you want me to grab you something before we head over?" Berri wondered tenderly, the unassuming tone in her voice had Turbo's stomach clenching, "You'd just like me to get your regular, then?"

Turbo inhaled a long, shaky breath, peered out to Orion City, far across his loft, and held his breath. He finally exhaled said breath and finalized his destiny, inside said exhale and the lull of defeat his closed eyes now delivered, "... I was wondering if you were going to go to Sugarbucks because, well... I want to go with."

Berri furrowed her eyebrows in a roll of confusion, the words hit her square between the eyes, so hard that she barely even comprehended that Turbo was speaking English. She shook her head, huffed a few notions of muttering, girly confusion, beamed a curious smile down the long, quiet corridor and crossed her arm over her body in the tuck of also holding her phone to her ear.

"I-I'm sorry, I stroked out," Berri rushed in a quiet, smiling fluster, "Y-You... You what now?"

"I want to go with," Turbo confidently repeated as he reopened his eyes and felt his heart burst alive with purpose, he held his breath and felt determination now soak him, something that he had never felt before, in this aspect. He inhaled yet another trembling breath and finally blurt a small chuckle as Berri eased a surprised giggle, in return, "I-I'm gunna need a push, but... I want to come with you guys. It'll be a fun first outing, for me, yeah?"

"You KIDDING?" Berri blurt, she tried to remain as quiet as she could, her heart began to thud in whole anticipation, how desperately she wished it was now Saturday afternoon, how desperately she wanted to tear from EZ Living and throw Turbo a huge hug of pride, she shook her head in continued disbelief and long blinked in a wash of surprise, "Th-that'd be GREAT! I'm holding you to it, Sir Turbo Black."

"Yes ma'am," Turbo huffed in shaky, smiling release as he sagged his shoulders, he shut his eyes and almost dreaded just what he had gotten himself into, "Sorry to bug you, I figured I'd call and ask instead of, I don't know... Misconstrued text messages."

"No, it's okay, I... I needed a small break, anyways," Berri sighed in relief as she now leaned against the corridor's wall and looked up in girly desire, "I'll text you once I'm home and I can come grab Chester from you."

"Sure thing," Turbo concluded, they both could practically hear each other beaming from ear to ear. Turbo lulled his eye contact down to his bare feet, "I'll see you tonight."

"Okay, Bo," Berri's sweet voice eased in a whole amount of warmth, and as the two said their tender goodbyes, Berri hung up the call and peered down to her phone screen in aimless bewilderment.

She cocked an eyebrow and peered back to the studio door in a roll of solid confusion. She furrowed her eyebrows and smiled, a dorky smile she now refused to wipe from her face, and although she was eager to get back inside and continue practicing, she closed her eyes softly, sat back and began to fill her brain with every single last second this coming Saturday had to offer. Berri begged the universe that Turbo wouldn't back down from this extraordinary task, she begged that he'd puff his chest and follow through with this insanely huge step forward, and with this small nugget of hope, she held her guitar pick and wondered if maybe, just maybe, he'd eventually be brave enough to attend her shows. She felt her heart dance in a flutter of now entire confusion, the whole reason she was keeping any romantic feelings of Turbo at arms length was due to him needing to overcome obstacles in his life, first and foremost, and though she soaked in her mother's wise words of him needing to accomplish said tasks on his own, Berri wondered if Turbo needed her, in this venture. She knew she was not one to ever dare to leave Turbo hanging, though the very thought of Turbo's and Gunner's paths crossing, eventually, had Berri's stomach now forever clenched in a draw of impending fear, fear that could so easily be realized a lot sooner than she maybe expected.


	96. Chapter 96

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Woohoo! He's actually doing it! xD

 **CHICKENM4N :** Aww, I'm sorry friend... Real life is far more complicated than fiction, unfortunately. But, I know everything will be alright.

 **Jay Sketchin :** Aw, lol! Berri and crew make sure of it :)

 **Burgie :** Too true xD

* * *

 **A/N : **Hey guys, so sorry for the delay... Like stated previously, I'm temporarily living with my mother in law, and although it's slowly getting better, and I have my computer set up, the coffee table my computer is at isn't comfortable to write at. I've been avoiding writing because it actually hurts my back. Fun fact about me, I have a hairline fracture in my tailbone, so although I'd typically suck it up and just sit down and write, it's nearly impossible to do without my own set up... Which is currently in our storage unit. I'M STRUGGLING. LOL! I appreciate you guys being patient, I should be all set up and ready to go shortly. I also am dealing with the impending hurricane Dorian that's literally on our doorstep, so that's been interesting, to say the least.

Chapter 97 is really important to me, because it involves Turbo legitimately and finally going out in public. It's something I've been dreaming up for a long time now, and I don't want to mess it up. I'll try and write when I can, but I want to be in a good headspace for this stretch of the story... I'm off my schedule for now, it shouldn't be longer than a week or two, but I'm prepared to go on another week hiatus, I'm sure. I hate doing it, cause I LOVE writing and it's easy for me to stay on schedule, but I'm in such a weird predicament that I really just don't want to force my art. I don't produce good stuff when I force it, and I cherish my story too much, so... Sorry if I'm a little MIA.

The reason I'm doing so much drawing (I've knocked out 4 pages of my chapter 46 comic in like 2 days lol) is because, long story short, I've been bumming at my job after I clock out - I bring my iPad and bust out work. I could easily write on my phone, cause 1/4th of ALL the chapters I've written and uploaded have, believe it or not, been written on my phone! It is possible, it's just not ideal. IDK what this next week will bring, but with my circumstance and the hurricane coming, be prepared for me to go silent for another week or so. Apologies, guys... I'll be up to speed shortly here. No one hates this more than me.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Help Me Out by Maroon 5 & Julia Michaels**

* * *

 ***Chapter 96***

"Hurry, hurry," Berri stabbed in a huff of a breath, seemingly out of it; she swung around her kitchen island, and although Wren and Theo were strapping up to get ready to leave the house, Berri urgently gestured at them and nearly went bug-eyed with emphasis, "We have to get there before he decides to chicken out, HURRY."

"BERRI, he's literally got no where to go, we're going to get to Turbo's house, hype him up, go to Sugarbucks, buy coffee, and come home," Wren staggered with a hard laugh as Berri held the sides of her head in a crazed manner, Theo lovingly held his larger wrecking hand to Berri's shoulder and equally smiled as wide as Wren was. Wren joined in Theo's idea and grappled Berri's other shoulder, "I highly doubt he will be up for loitering in Sugarbucks. Pretty sure he's only brave enough to get in, get coffee, and get the hell out."

"It'll be FINE, he has all three of us, and he's inside Sugar Rush," Theo cooed warmly with a small nod, Berri's face looked flushed in exhaustion and excitement, a whirlwind of emotion she wasn't quite sure to grapple to first, "We need to go easy on him... You can't come at him with all this energy, Bear, you're going to scare him out of the idea."

"How am I supposed to act then?" Berri staggered in worry as all three now began to slowly head towards their front door.

"In all the interactions I've seen of you two, this whole week, I'd say just act like that," Theo encouraged with a chuckle as Chester eagerly began to follow the three down the main corridor, of their tower, and straight for the door, "You've been chill this whole week. What's changed?"

"I don't know, this is the day... THE DAY," Berri barked as she gripped Theo's arm, "I-I mean... Turbo NEVER leaves his loft, like... WHAT? I can't believe this is real."

"I can," Theo muttered as Wren began to loudly chime in.

"It's just exciting because it's actually happening," Wren eased with a chuckle as he opened the door, let everyone out, and softly closed and locked it behind everyone, "But, Theo's right... Just approach the topic like you have been, all week. We'll get in, suggest that we get going, and see how he reacts from there. I'm sure there'll be at least SOME form of hesitation, Bear, so just be prepared."

"User, if he chickens out, I'm going to dive off his balcony, I'm serious," Berri muttered as the four piled onto the larger, warm teleport pad just outside their tower, in the clearing of their lovely, forest hideaway, all covered in dewy snow that looked as if it were on the verge of melting and showing Sugar Rush's sweet, green spring grass, once more.

"I'd be right behind you," Theo muttered once more as he cheekily looked off, and in a whisk of messy colored coding, all four beings were easily zapped to the warmth of Turbo's front foyer; his front door was sealed shut.

"Would be so funny if his whole loft was just gone," Wren eased, almost under his breath, a wide, closed-mouth grin across his stubbled face; Theo choked a laugh as Berri huffed a hard noise, a few long strands of her beautiful blue hair suddenly jolted out from in front of her face.

"Yeah, HILARIOUS," Berri choked, her sleek heels clacked on Turbo's lovely, grey tiles, and as she came upon his massive, hidden front door, she eased her silver coding to the whole of it and, unashamed and unabated, she confidently unlocked his home and was the only one that wasn't floored said door suddenly began to slide open.

"Tell me something, Bear," Wren mumbled quietly as the three slowly sauntered into Turbo's lovely front entrance and sprawl of a kitchen area. Turbo's home was in light shambles, it was clear he likely had no idea what to even do with himself, on this day. Wren crossed his arms as all three visitors kindly laid eyes on Turbo's almost endearingly messy home, "Did Gunner give you a key to his house?"

"No," Berri quipped, clearly on the way to becoming annoyed, complete with an eyeroll and a firm stab of her heels proceeding deeper into Turbo's home.

"He's your boyfriend, isn't he?" Wren mumbled, though Berri ignored him in irritation as him and Theo began to silently snicker amidst her departure; Berri jolted in surprise the second Turbo finally came out from the corridor that lead from the main part of his home, to his bedroom.

"Oh! There you are," Berri cooed kindly, she knew to keep her vibe light and unassuming, so not to scare Turbo off, though she cocked an eyebrow and felt her face get hot at the raw sight of Turbo before her. A shirtless mess, he wore a comfortable pair of faded black jeans, the look in his muted grey eyes looked delightfully terrified. Turbo's hair looked as if it were previously tidied, though with maybe the sheer amount of shirts he had tried on and taken off, it was clear Turbo was in dire need of some reassurance here. Berri eased a small giggle, relaxed her shoulders and peered to Turbo in a softened show of love, "Y'okay, Bo? You got my text, right?"

"Y-Yeah, I did," Turbo staggered as he now grappled the hair above his forehead, brushed his fingers through the whole of his head and desperately tried to regain composure as Wren and Theo slowly strolled up. He blurt a shaky chuckle as the golden glow began to come back to his eyes, as if seeing his friends here, in this raw situation, gave him that boost of confidence he needed, "I-I'm just... I'm trying to figure out what to wear."

"Anything, Bo, it's just Sugarbucks," Berri blurt a small giggle and shrugged, she tried desperately to show nonchalance here, "Throw on a t-shirt and a coat. No biggie. We're not incredibly dolled."

"Says you," Wren muttered, he eyed Berri in a whole show of sass, a side-eye that ogled her up and down.

"Ms. Heels," Theo mumbled, his and Wren's sharp wit, as a team, was unmatched. Berri threw her hands up and looked off before he stabbed her dominant eye contact to both boys.

"Anywhere there could be paparazzi, guys, I want to make sure I look good," Berri rushed in a further show of flustered irritation, though she quickly ate her words as this notion made Turbo's shoulders visibly shrug in a shrinking show of terror.

"There's gunna be paparazzi?" Turbo staggered, though Berri raised her eyebrows and softened towards Turbo, and as much as Wren and Theo wanted to carry on and be obnoxious, they slowed their roll and realized that they needed to cater to Turbo's needs, here, and ease up on the sarcasm.

"Oh, I doubt it," Wren flagged his hand and shook his head, "We only get attacked in EZ Living... That game is Gunner's hub."

"Yeah, I only ever get noticed in EZ Living or Game Central Station, really," Theo shrugged, he urgently peered to Berri and nodded at her, as if to somehow subliminally get his notion across, "I-I mean... Bear and I went to the Sugarbucks near the mall, the other day, and only like two people recognized us. Remember?"

"Y-Yeah, that's true," Berri nodded, and although she remembered said day to be filled with at least two dozen fans and a fair share of paparazzi, she glossed over the details and knew it'd be much easier to soothe Turbo in the moment of worry, as opposed to the impending dread of what the whole outing could contain, "You'll be just fine, Bo. Just some lazy coffee goers, some business people buried in their work..."

"I'm pretty sure there's a group of elderly people that meet for their knitting circle, in the afternoons," Theo blurt a small chuckle, and although Sugarbucks had it's moments of peak traffic and heightened energies, all three palace residents knew that going in this time of the late morning was likely the best time to go, in terms of how light the foot traffic was.

"O-Okay, no problem," Turbo huffed nervously.

He bashfully peered to Berri and took note of her outfit; a gorgeous, sleek, almost skin-tight black shirt and a cute over-coat to keep her warm, alongside probably her favorite pair of skinny jeans. Her beautiful blue hair was tucked into a sleek, high pony-tail. It was here did she truly resemble the one smarty that started all of this nonsense, Vanellope Von Schweetz. The adorable, toothy smile on her face only added to the similarities of it all, something that somehow had Turbo feeling safe and sound, if only for these fleeting moments of finding sweet solace in her lovely smile and vivid blue eyes. It was only here did Turbo finally understand that he was shirtless in front of everyone, and although he was in shape and not technically ashamed of said notions, he still felt shy, as if he very clearly stuck out like a sore thumb.

"C'mon, chin up, let's figure out what shirt you should wear," Berri asserted herself.

Although she knew she likely should just allow Turbo to crawl back into his bedroom and closet and figure it all out for himself, she knew she needed to help him out here. He was already doing a lot by stepping so far out of his comfort zone, Berri figured she should fill the gaps where she very easily single file, the gentle, thudding clack of Berri's sleek heels echoed through the tall corridor all four friends slowly strolled down. Turbo raised his eyebrows and held his breath, although his brain was firing on a million cylinders, he allowed his eyes to selfishly gloss down Berri's whole back and rear. With a tender peak of a smile and a long blink of delight, he allowed himself to soak into this weird wiggle of feelings. The sting of sorrow over the fact that Berri was now a taken woman, the thrill of still having her within arms reach, the rush of attempting to dive out and steal her back, the four soaked into Turbo's dim bedroom as Turbo's nervous smile only broadened.

"Do you know how excited Bug is going to be?" Wren gently questioned, Berri and Theo blurt knowing laughs as Wren and Theo softly slowed their roll into the middle of Turbo's bedroom, though Berri and Turbo pressed on with confidence.

"Dude, he's going to flip when he sees you," Berri flashed Turbo a lovely smile over her shoulder, and although she was a little apprehensive to step into the intimate parts of Turbo's bathroom and closet, she pressed on with dainty confidence. Her larger hand gingerly sagged to the opened door frame of Turbo's bathroom, and as the two soaked inside, Berri continued on to his larger walk in closet in a cheeky saunter of uncertainty. She finally glossed her eyes to Turbo in a gentle show of sweetness as she cocked an eyebrow and gave him a look of smiling question, "Am I okay to go inside?"

"Be my guest," Turbo encouraged warmly, though his tone was still nervous, though he flinched the second Berri whirled around, a flick of her lovely blue hair, and vanished into Turbo's lit-up closet. Turbo cocked an eyebrow and nervously looked back over his shoulder, Wren and Theo leaned against the gape of Turbo's opened bathroom door, their shoulders gingerly touched, and although both boys were quiet, they had the same, teasing smirk on their faces, their eyes glued to Turbo's shivering demeanor. Turbo exhaled a shaky breath, looked off for a second before urgently peering to both men across the way, "H-how doomed am I, here?"

"Well, you're being styled by one of the most stylish girls in Sugar Rush," Wren started with a shrug, he lofted his paused demeanor to Theo and huffed a small, knowing chuckle.

"You're also going to be going to a place where literally every worker, there, is going to be excited to see you," Theo warmly added.

"You're in amazing company," Berri loudly added from deep inside Turbo's closet, though as all three boys aimed their attention to the gape of Turbo's walk-in closet, just across his larger bathroom, Berri's warm voice trailed on, "C'mere, Bo, I found yah somethin'."

Turbo raised his eyebrows in a ping of tender delight, and although he wanted to maybe look back and give Wren and Theo a dorky, boyish, knowing smirk of delight, he refrained and knew his place, here. He almost frowned, somehow being in Berri's presence, knowing flirting and being daring, in that aspect, wasn't really allowed anymore, had him discouraged. As his bare feet tenderly sagged into his carpeted closet, his eyes met with Berri's lovely figure, glossed underneath one of the warm, lovely overhead lights of Turbo's dim closet. She held out, before her, a nice, tame, cream colored button up. It had nearly unseen darker cream-colored pinstripes that ran vertical, a few other lovely shirts her curious eyes thumbed through, the gentle clacking sound of hangers being slid to the side. Turbo sagged and knew, full well, deleting the flirty aspect of their friendship may very well be impossible. He bit his tongue as he, once more, admired her gorgeous figure, the beautiful glow she practically emanated, he was enamored, entirely lost in thought. He crossed his closet and held his breath, he so hoped that, in the secret little pockets of alone time they could afford each other, that they'd sneak little acts of romance here and there. He knew it would probably be all she could afford, though he lulled his eyes closed and was well aware he'd eat up every single second of it. Anything he had to give her, in this weird, trying time, he knew he'd be eternally grateful.

"You don't need to wear anything too crazy, friend," Berri's warm voice cooed, and as Turbo slowly neared her, he felt every single last worry of his slide to the wayside, the way her lovely eyes hooked into his. He could tell she was reserving her excitement, he knew she was biting her tongue and trying her very hardest to make this weird transition easy for him. Turbo smiled in an easy show of gratitude, and as Berri took said shirt off of his hanger, she began to help him get his arms in the sleeves, even though she was well aware he could easily dress himself. Berri inhaled an easy breath as Turbo straightened the cloth over his masculine figure, and as his sturdy hands began to button the buttons, he broke his gaze with his chore and gave her his confident, unwavering, golden glow of eye contact as she continued on, "When's the last time you went out in public?"

"1995," Turbo nearly whispered, a breathy chuckle reverberated from the back of his throat as he slowly buttoned his shirt past his belly button, "I-I've been worrying about this moment all week..."

"That moment will be over before you know it," Berri eased quietly, she could see Wren and Theo now had moved from the bathroom's doorway to the gape of the closet's doorway. She softened for Turbo's ears only, she knew she was ultimately the one that needed to cater to him, in this moment, "And after said scary moment of stepping outside of your comfort zone, we can enjoy some delicious coffee together. We won't let you go through this alone, Bo. I'm... Honestly surprised that this was all your idea, to begin with."

"I... I just want to prove to you that I'm... I'm really trying," Turbo slowly and thoughtfully staggered, almost sadly, he shook his head and allowed their conversing to dribble to just above a whisper, "I know... I know this need, of mine, has driven a wedge in between, well..."

"Fresh start, new leaf," Berri concluded with a nod; she knew the previous topic of desires being strained, by a lack of growth and selfish needs, was something that they had only bookmarked, and now that she was taken, she feared said conversation was now hesitantly going to be put on pause until it exploded. Ridding the problem from her mind, she exhaled a shaky breath, shook her head and helped Turbo straighten out his shirt, upon buttoning the last button on his sternum, "You're doing great. This is something you need to do for yourself."

"Wh-what if I get attacked?" Turbo quietly worried, the fear in his eyes was real.

"I'll wreck every single last one of them to a pulp," Berri dared tenderly.

"She means that," Theo warmly assured, to which Turbo gave Theo a grateful smile over his shoulder. He raised his eyebrows in tender, boyish surprise the second Berri's warm hand slid to Turbo's cheek and chiseled jaw, ultimately bringing his now undivided attention back to her.

"You're not going to get attacked... I won't allow it," Berri assured quietly, a swathe of love coat their souls, "You're going to have fun... You're going to feel free."

"And best of all, you'll be hyped on sugar and caffeine," Wren blurt a soft chuckle, which had everyone joining in, all smiles.

"C'mon, now," Berri chirped softly, she straightened out her cool, long coat and gave Turbo an excited, anticipatory smile, "Y'ready?"

Turbo exhaled a shaky breath and just barely shook his head, though his smile began to nervously broaden with a very hidden, real amount of genuine excitement, "I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be..."


	97. Chapter 97

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** I appreciate your support, truly! Thank you!

 **Jay Sketchin :** Thank you friend ;_; your unending support means the world to me. I'll be okay! Writing keeps me sane, so when I can't write, well... It becomes harder to avoid mental breakdowns lol! It's my happy place, for sure.

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Welcome To New York by Taylor Swift**

 **Favorite Sound by Audien & Echosmith**

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 **A/N : Okay, wow guys. I'm going to keep this short. I could've been writing ALL along. My laptop was in our storage unit, and because it was out of sight, out of mind, I forgot that the damn thing existed. I could've written and uploaded at LEAST ten chapters by now. I'm super annoyed at myself...**

 **Back to our regularly scheduled program... Sorry for the gap, due to my short term memory loss. I'm going through a lot right now. I appreciate you guys being patient with all my shortcomings x(**

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 ***Chapter 97***

"You guys, there's... There's people hanging out at the end of the alley way," Turbo huffed nervously, clearly a wreck, his muted grey eyes scanned his sacred alley way that the four hunkered down in.

With only three motorcycles quietly parked on Turbo's hidden, massive garage door-like teleportation pad, that gave access to his garage sixty four floors all the way up, Turbo hugged the wall of the alcove and only nervously peeked around the corner. Berri, Wren and Theo cheekily watched as he adjusted the collar and hood of his loved, leather motorcycle jacket. He looked bristled, scared, a whole swathe of different emotions that his shivering soul had no clue how to convey, the raw fact that he was about to embark on an adventure he hadn't taken for literally decades. Berri sweetly smiled in his direction; she knew this was very hard for him, nearly impossible, though the fact that he was actually en-route to accomplishing this crazy task, she hoped Turbo knew just how many volumes it spoke.

"Yeah, and there are people all over the city," Berri gingerly reminded as she came up next to him, though before she could lovingly hold her hand to his lower arm and sweetly comfort him, Theo suddenly turned the ignition of his bike, causing it to roar to life; Turbo jolted in whole terror and whirled around, his now lightless eyes peered hard to Theo in a scared manner, though as Berri grit her teeth at Theo and shook her head in whole agitation, Theo froze and softly shrugged, alongside a mouthed 'sorry' over the gently growl of his engine. Berri now grappled Turbo's arm as he looked like he wanted to duck deeper into the teleportation's large alcove, "Hey, hey, c'mere, you're going to be JUST fine."

"I-I know that I won't be fully deleted in Sugar Rush, but, I-I haven't had a game over in decades, I don't want to relive that memory," Turbo rushed in his deep, trembling voice. He swallowed hard and urgently peered out into the alley, once more, though Berri raised her eyebrows in almost stern concern and gingerly grappled Turbo's jaw, to make him look at her, once and for all.

"Hey... I PROMISE, you're going to be JUST fine," Berri firmly assured, "We'll mosey on to Monroe street, we'll slip in the side entrance, it'll be just fine. You have absolutely nothing to worry about."

"You're in good company, Bo, trust us," Wren stated kindly over Theo's bike, "Honestly, what you did was so long ago... Surely the majority of Sugar Rush's population has forgotten about all of this mess."

"Y-You really think?" Turbo wondered in mild disbelief, "I mean, what I did was pretty heinous."

"Time heals all wounds," Berri's soothing advice glossed over Turbo, he sagged his shoulders and hesitantly peered into the alley way, once more. Her delicate voice continued over the tender grumble of Theo's bike, "Sure, you've driven around the city, or... I guess directly through it, as fast as you can, but... Have you taken time to really SEE the city?"

"There's so much to see and do," Wren encouraged, "The whole lot of it is incredible... You're in charge of all of it and have no idea what you're missing."

"I-I get the gist," Turbo weakly defended with a shrug and yet another apprehensive peer about the alcove's wall; the small group of individuals, at the far end of the alley's exit, was replaced by simple pedestrians just moseying by, without a care in the world. Cars zoomed by, the city thrived like normal.

"C'mon... Sugarbucks is a good start, we don't have to immerse you so quickly, if that's what will be the boiling point," Berri shrugged, "Let's just start small. Grab some coffee, come on back home and just relax. You can reflect on how you want your NEXT trip, into the city, to go. Certainly you'll feel a lot better, then."

"Berri, you can ride with me, if you want," Wren stated simply, though he eyed Turbo and eased a gentle, teasing chuckle, "Unless you want to ride on the back of Turbo's bike... Make sure he doesn't chicken out."

Berri furrowed her eyebrows and opened her mouth to nearly agree with Wren's sound advice, though she softly peered her curious eyes to Turbo's and slowed her roll. Turbo's nervous, dimly lit eyes honed tight to Berri's in a whole slew of emotion. Underneath all that apprehension, that neglect, that sting of terror, was a very real ember of excitement and drive. Berri smiled and was well aware this situation was for Turbo's benefit, and not for her own, and although she wanted to be selfish and get excited over the secretive fact that Turbo was stepping out of comfort zones to very clearly chase after Berri's heart, she sagged her shoulders and knew she needed to make this about his growth, and his growth only. His old self was molting, and though it was in loo of hopefully garnering Berri's feelings, she selflessly decided to take herself out of the situation and show Turbo that he had his own bout of shining to do, a strive for greatness he needed to accomplish on his own. Berri pat Turbo's shoulder and softly shook her head, so to disagree with Wren.

"No, I'll ride with you, Wren... Turbo's not going to chicken out," Berri eased warmly, Turbo raised his eyebrows in disbelief, "I trust he'll follow us to Sugarbucks."

Turbo softened and felt that vivid, yellow glow come flooding right back to him, and as he peered into Berri's sweet, hopeful eyes, he dared to give her a small, grateful smile, a whole slew of trust she had suddenly just plopped into his heart, he nearly had no idea what to even do with it. He cleared his throat, straightened his jacket and heaved a gentle, shaky sigh as he finally bobbed a nod of agreeing, to Berri's final statement. Wren cocked an eyebrow at Berri, in mild, bewildered disbelief, though he finally softened and gave Turbo a defeated smile of grappling hope. He pat the side of Turbo's arm, gestured to their bikes and then again gestured for the two to follow him.

"Alright, let's not waste anymore time, then," Wren eased excitedly as he walked backwards towards their bikes, he grinned in eagerness and clenched his fists a little, "Let's go!"

"Yay," Berri beeped, she tried to reel her excitement for this unfolding situation, though she desperately contained it; she knew she could go all out and show the entirety of her excitement once they were finished with their outing and were safely back home.

Turbo bobbed a small nod and gave the two a small smile, though as he approached his bike, he could feel his clammy, shaky hands nervously grapple for his bike's keys, inside his thick, leather jacket. He exhaled a trembling, fogged breath of rising terror and approached his bike. His nervous eyes scanned the dark alcove the four hunkered down in, and as he watched Berri board the back of Wren's bike, amidst the rumbling sound of Wren's bike's engine igniting, Turbo gently mounted his own bike and swallowed the lump in his throat. As quick as his trembling hands could afford, he saddled his slick motorcycle helmet over his head, turned his own motorcycle on and nervously peered forward to see the status of his friends. All three beings patiently held their gazes to him, which were covered by mirrored, slick motorcycle helmets as well, a calm show that his three friends were prepared to take this adventure at Turbo's pace, something that really made him grateful for this very daunting outing. With hesitation, Turbo gently gave the three a nod of approval, and with said nod, Theo and Wren gently nodded back and began to drive out of the alcove, hoping that Turbo would easily follow along. Turbo held his breath and felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle with the second that he, too, eased on the gas and allowed his bike to slowly meander out from the secretive haven of his alcove.

Usually on this journey alone, Turbo was used to flooring it out of the city, the fastest route to the palace was one he only really took once in a blue moon, the desire to drive around and not have to rely on a teleportation pad all of the time. He knew racing and driving was in his blood, and this was something he desired, though the switch up of taking a simple cruise through the city, not to mention stopping at a destination, had his heart racing in a very different way, one filled with question and anxiety. As the four calmly eased out of the alley, past all four of the building's dumpsters, they waited for a gap in traffic before easing into the streets, once and for all. Turbo followed close behind Wren, and although he cheekily and secretively was floored that he had a very wonderful view of Berri, up ahead, his anxiety for this event unfolding continuously distracted him from said lovely view. He was grateful that the first light they came upon was a green one, though the second they eased to a slow, upon a yellow and then a red light, Turbo swallowed hard and nestled the front tire of his bike close to the back of Wren's bike.

Through a terrified exhale, Turbo dared to look around. He was well aware that no one could see him or his face, to anyone he looked like an average civilian, though the fact that he was a part of a small motorcycle group, the rumbling of three engines instead of one, he felt his heart surge in terror as pedestrians held their onlooking gazes for longer than normal. He felt as if he couldn't swallow anymore, the lump in his throat had become so large, he furrowed his eyebrows and dared himself to peer into the eyes of a pedestrian; although they were farther away, and on the sidewalk, he was floored as they gazed for a moment before nonchalantly turning and continuing on with whatever they were doing, wherever they were going. Turbo raised his eyebrows in a prickle of tender surprise and sagged his shoulders, the light remained red as he softened his hunched posture, aboard his slick bike; he knew his bike had subtleties of the red and white look from his previous attire, from TurboTime, though he felt relieved it wasn't very obvious. He ran over, in his head, a million times over, just what he would say to a negative encounter with a stranger, how many times he's had fake conversations with himself over something that was so clearly eating him alive, and although he was aware that he had Wren, Theo and Berri on his side, he shut his eyes in a scrunch and dared to wonder if it'd all be enough.

As the light turned green, he honed his eyes to the back of Berri's helmeted head and desperately tried to focus on the end goal, the lovely taste of coffee amidst a quiet coffee shop with three individuals that would go to bat for him, though even more so, the ride back to his loft. His eyes scanned familiar streets, streets he only knew from the safety of his own code room, though he had the city mapped. He held his breath as the four wound through the city's gorgeous, mazing streets, he almost felt the urge to split off and round back to Orion City's tallest tower, though the thought of breaking his friends' trust nearly killed him, right then and then. He frowned and desperately kept his eyes on the back of Berri's head, though his heart sank the second Berri flung her arm out and pointed to something up and to the side of her. Turbo perked up and followed her line of direction, though as they passed a huge swathe of sky scrapers, lined with huge screens that flashed all sorts of colorful advertisements, a slick show of all of Sugar Rush's racers came and went, ultimately stopping on Vanellope. Turbo dared to beam a gentle smile as his eyes finally took in everything his surroundings were made of, and it was with this did he feel love rush his heart, the raw fact that Berri only pointed to said screen because she trusted that Turbo was still following them, even without turning around and checking for herself.

The more trust she gave him, the softer his posture became, the less rigid his spine was inside of his body. He gently allowed himself to enjoy the colorful, candy-laced city life all around him, all sorts of gamers and civilians littered the sidewalks, of all shapes, sizes, species and games. Doing his best to keep an eye on the road, he felt his heart soar just a little more, the raw fact of slowing down and really taking everything in, he felt a strange sweep of familiarity course through him. Memories of TurboTime's largest city, Vidrix, came rushing back to him, how nostalgic this all was. And with said bout of nostalgia, he knew he had never really been to Orion City before, the raw fact that he now had the opportunity to make new memories, inside of a brand new city, with people who really loved him. He showed a bit more confidence in his posture as he revved on the gas, a bit, so to catch up to Berri, Wren and Theo. He knew he likely shouldn't be as nervous as he truly was, though as the four rounded a green light and came around a bend of a few taller buildings, Turbo felt every last ounce of confidence, inside of him, want to flee in fear at the sight of their destination, just a few city blocks down. Turbo was certain he visibly shrank, and as they came upon said busy building, he held his breath and, although floored to now find that the three were kind enough to find a place to park in the back of the building, he knew he'd likely have to stay there for a hot minute to collect every ounce of himself, which was due to fleeing at any moment.

In the slow roll through a sleepier side street, the three quickly happened upon a parking lot in the back of Sugarbucks, alongside a handful of other buildings that neighbored it both adjacently and parallel. As smooth as all three bikes could afford, with tires that gently sloshed through small, stagnant puddles gathered in the old, crackled asphalt, the three parked next to one another. Said parking lot was half empty, likely the cars of the employees of the nearby office buildings. Parked in a row, each bike came to a rumbling quiet upon being powered off, and as Wren, Berri and Theo took their helmets off and dismounted their bikes, they began to lovingly laugh as Turbo remained stationed on his, helmet and all. In a giggling, chuckling mess, the three loosely surrounded Turbo and hovered in an understanding air of cheeky patience. Theo gestured his hand, towards his head, and huffed a louder laugh as Wren and Berri were lost in a fit of unending laughter; Turbo couldn't help but nervously smile in the safety of his helmet.

"Alright, nowww... Take the helmet off, baby steps, here," Theo lovingly encouraged, though he couldn't help but laugh as Berri and Wren continued to laugh, "Just slide it on off, and... We'll then cover dismounting your bike."

Turbo inhaled a shaky breath and felt the extremely foreign act of reaching for his helmet, whilst outside of his loft, the palace, anywhere that was safe. With narrowed eyes, Sugar Rush's lovely, glossy winter sun glinted into Turbo's glowing, golden eyes, causing them to just show a rather matte yellow. He heaved a shaky breath and finally took his helmet off, once and for all. He largely flinched the second Berri and Wren burst out in cheers and claps, still accompanied by kind laughter. Turbo only shakily joined the two in a huff of bashful laughter, though as if prey in an open field, he scrunched his shoulders and very eagerly began to scan his surroundings. His insides clenched the second he could see someone's saunter very loosely approach their vicinity; clearly an employee on his way to his own car, just beyond their bikes. Turbo honed in on this person and now couldn't remove his terrified gaze from them, though as Berri and Wren caught on, Berri urgently shook her head at Turbo and blurt a gentle chuckle.

"No, no, don't stare, just act natural," Berri eased warmly, though Turbo sagged his shoulders and bashfuly glanced to all three of his friends as said other person loosely approached, from within a fifteen foot distance, and mildly ignored their presence, like any other stranger would. Said stranger only briefly glanced over to the group, easily locking eyes with Turbo, though much to Turbo's entire disbelief, his glancing eye contact finally tore as he continued on his moseying way. Turbo raised his eyebrows in floored surprise as Berri shrugged and gestured outwards, "See? Easy!"

"W-Wow, he... He looked me right in the eye and didn't even care," Turbo stabbed quietly, though he furrowed his eyebrows and almost seemed disappointed, "I was kind of hoping for a reaction, if I'm being honest with you..."

"Well, that's just one person," Wren muttered as he crossed his arms.

"It's fine, that's likely the majority of any interaction, with any stranger, you will ever have, here," Theo hurried to encourage, "Okay, now... Get off the bike."

"Right," Turbo staggered, he dismounted his bike, eased his helmet into his materializer, and as his heavy boots scuffed to the asphalt, he scrunched his shoulders and continued to survey his surroundings. He squinted through the lovely morning sun, the massive sky scrapers, over head, glistened with all sorts of different colors, the surrounding civilians and the rumblings of cars that zoomed by, Turbo felt his heart surge with relief, the whole fact that this was a nice start to this terrifying adventure. He was glad the three didn't just thrust him into Sugarbucks unabated.

"Now, light yourself a cigarette," Theo shrugged, "Congrats. You're in public. Not so scary, huh?"

"I left my cigarettes at home,"Turbo coldly grumbled, his nervous eyes looked beyond Berri and Wren, to a small group of younger teenagers that began to loudly exclaim random things, to each other, the bustled down the nearby sidewalk and had a good time with each other.

"Relax, not every single person you will encounter is going to be a threat," Berri urged as Turbo stood tall and tight, within himself, as if he had confined himself to an imaginary two-by-two box.

"Easy for you to say," Turbo grumbled, that thorny, agitated side of his personality so easily showed, in this instance. Berri was well aware she had a bit of work to do, for him to soften and be a warm and gentle presence inside Sugarbucks, though she knew not to dote too heavily on him, either.

"Okay, so what do you need from us in this situation?" Berri tenderly pressed; yet another employee, from User knows where, came sauntering out from the back door of a nearby building.

"I really don't know why you don't just come out here with a disguise, Bo," Wren mumbled kindly, he gave Turbo a look as if to show impending understanding, though with everything happening in this instance, Turbo shook his head, looked off in a huff and began to grow thorny beyond just little cactus prickles.

"Because I still have my dignity," Turbo muttered in mild, flustered frustration, though Berri warmly eased her hand to his upper arm and looked him in the eye; he visibly softened.

"Easy," Berri cooed tenderly, she tucked her blue hair behind her ears and gave Turbo a cheeky smile. Although Berri's hair was previously in a high ponytail, she took it down due to having to wear a motorcycle helmet. In the quick switch, she had swiftly put on a beanie of Turbo's, a slouchy, faded brown and light brown striped beanie. She began to take it off of her own head and handed it to Turbo in softness, "You want to wear this? I know it's not much, in the way of disguises, but it'll do, right?"

Turbo frowned and knew he was mildly being now outwardly grumpy, though he sagged his shoulders and peered into Berri's loving, understanding eyes. He knew he had made it this far, and tearing his way through it now, with a sour attitude, would not help anything. He heaved a fogged sigh through his nose, lulled his golden eyes shut and bobbed a tender, sweet nod of gentlemanly defeat. His gloved hand reached for the beanie Berri handed over, and with a gentle sag, he eased the beanie onto his head and adjusted it accordingly. Little tuffs of his lovely, dark charcoal hair peaked out the loved frays of faded browns. He raised his eyebrows in a show of tender inquisition and only barely glanced to Wren and Theo, as if to maybe ponder just when it was appropriate to head out.

"Just relax, you're doing great," Theo encouraged tenderly, and as the four gently began to head towards the larger sidewalk that lead about the building, to Sugarbucks' side entrance, Turbo mumbled a small little meep of gratitude.

"I want one of those really strong coffees, you know what I'm talking about?" Theo and Wren began to idly chit chat, they kept a decent amount of distance behind Berri and Turbo, on the sidewalk.

"Oh, the cold brew? They have it on tap, now," Wren stated kindly; they knew that Turbo likely needed the distracting conversation, something to ease his nerves, so they delightfully carried on together.

"Yeah, but now they have like this new pumpkin flavor added to it, don't they? Or they did?" Theo wondered, Wren nodded and shrugged.

"I think it was for Fall, but it carried through the Winter," Wren's deep voice eased.

Turbo nervously peered down to his and Berri's feet as they fell into step with each other. He had his arms and hands tucked so tight to himself, and into his jacket, that he was certain he was about to turn into a contortionist. He could swear the voices in his head were beating him down, begging him to run home, swearing that this was a horrible idea, the piercing beam of Sugar Rush's otherwise lovely morning sun seemingly eased down on him like a spotlight. Certain that the entire world now knew he was here, he held his breath and dared to look up as a few strangers passed him on the sidewalk. He tightened his posture and could feel every single muscle in his body clench, but as the handful of a few pedestrians passed by, without a care or concern, Turbo furrowed his brow in tender surprise and released his breath in a stagger of confusion.

"See?" Berri cooed softly, to no one but him.

Turbo exhaled the rest of his breath in confidence, sagged his shoulders and gave Berri a nearly full smile of rising confidence. Berri bobbed a nod, and although Turbo didn't offer it, Berri gingerly snuggled her hand into the inner nook of Turbo's elbow, as if to have him guide her to their destination. Berri knew this was a little forward, though she felt her face get hot and understood that she'd go to even greater lengths if it meant Turbo was fully comfortable in this new situation. Turbo felt the world around him blur, the chaos that was the rising number of pedestrians, he somehow felt at ease the second Berri's presence was a bit tighter to his, and as groups and scatters of pedestrians came and went, noisy cars that flew by, with only mere glances and maybe a few longer, confused ogles from the city's residents, Turbo began to feel silly, as if he had been so worried about nothing. It was something only hindsight could teach him, though as they happened upon the side door of Sugarbucks, Turbo held his breath as he cautiously opened the door and allowed himself and his friends inside.

Hit with a wall of warmth, an ease of a dimmer, calmer setting alongside the intoxicating smell of coffee, Turbo felt his veins flush with concern as he suddenly realized the glow of his eyes were now a bit more prominent. He held his breath and immediately assessed his surroundings. He shot his gaze to the main entrance and then in a swoop about the interior. With a couple on the way out the door, the interior was scattered with just a handful of people, a quiet, dainty and lovely setting. Upon stepping inside, the door closing behind the four, Turbo peered his attention to the baristas behind the bar. In a soft, indoor-voice appropriate uproar, the baristas behind the counter began to preemtively get excited upon Berri's, Wren's and Theo's presences, though the second their eyes glossed to Turbo's, they slowed their chores, eased their movements to a drum of a surprised stop and held their eyes of wonder, fear and bewilderment to the one person Berri has been desperately trying to invite to Sugarbucks for months now. The one and only Turbo, Arcade lore come true.

Berri grit her teeth and urgently gestured to her jugular, a slicing motion, she was glad she was out of Turbo's peripheral as she mouthed Turbo's name and firmly pointed up to him. Her own way of telling the baristas that this was, indeed, Turbo, and thus begging them to just act natural, everything she had basically prepared them for. As if deer in headlights, the four baristas hung for a moment in awestruck wonder before nervously keeping their eyes down and continuing their chores, as if to pretend to be nonchalant, though to Berri, Wren and Theo, it was clear they were now trying to decide whether they were terrified or excited of Turbo's legitimate presence. As the four eased maybe fifteen feet from the registers and area of proper ordering, Berri eased a cheeky, curious smile up to Turbo's lovely golden eyes, he heaved a shaky sigh and bashfully peered down to her, he looked desperate for her to take the reigns in this situation.

"Berri!" Bug suddenly stabbed as he came from out of the back room, though as he gently skipped closer to the register, he sagged in the same demeanor as the other baristas and raised his eyebrows in unadulterated delight. Berri gave him a similar, teeth-gritted look, though was a little less obvious about it, this time. Bug's adorable green ears, atop his head, sagged in wonder, as his eyes hooked tight to Turbo's. It was entirely obvious Bug wanted to wig out, though he remembered all of the wonderful things that Berri has been saying, about Turbo, for months now. Bug finally crowned a wide, though still nervous, smile of relief as his long, fluffy little tail began to wag amidst the dangling apron strings of his green apron, "I-I can't believe it... Turbo Black is in my coffee shop H-Holy User.."

"Almost against my own will," Turbo's deep voice gently reverberated, and as everyone was now all smiles and laughter, the rest of the baristas quit the 'pretend Turbo doesn't exist' act and began to loosely crowd around Bug, wide smiles were beyond abundant.

"Oh, come on," Berri argued, though the sweet commotion, the lazy coffee-goers, about the cafe, began to look over in curiosity. Berri gestured her hand to Turbo and shook her head, "This WAS your idea, dude."

"It was?" Bug eased in disbelief, the tremble in his voice was apparent, something Turbo wondered if he should aid, he nearly grimaced at said fact, not wanting others to be nervous around him.

"It was," Berri chimed in delight, though Turbo finally rolled his eyes and eased a genuine smile, once and for all, something that set the group officially at ease.

"Y'guys all getting your regulars?" Bug chimed as he began to quickly scribble details on four cups, one at a time, though he flinched the second two of the baristas began to urgently try and snatch Turbo's cup before the other could.

"I want to make Turbo's drink," One muttered excitedly, the other baristas began to quickly and sharply bicker amongst each other; the single barsita, that was successful in snatching Turbo's cup, was now swiftly tailed by everyone, excluding Bug.

"I was promised that I could make Turbo's drink whenever he finally came!" Another quietly exclaimed in irritation.

"I'll come back for a refill, if that helps," Turbo eased up, only a little, he just barely huffed a shy chuckle and tucked his hands deeper into his pockets, though he raised his eyebrows and remembered that someone had to pay, "Oh, I have a twenty, I can cover this."

"No need, it's on us," Bug stated confidently as he gestured to Turbo to put his wallet away, "The least we can do... W-we're so excited that you're here."

"Oh, wow," Turbo staggered on his words, eyed Berri, Wren and Theo, in curiosity, and gingerly shrugged. Already in the process of taking the twenty out of his wallet, he easily lofted the twenty into the tip jar near Bug, "Well, then I have to put this to good use, somehow."

"W-wow, thank you," Bug stated in a shocked way, a kind smile broadened his face, though as Berri, Turbo, Wren and Theo began to move away from the registers and to the drink hand-out area, Bug and crew diligently followed the glow of Turbo's lovely, dominant gaze, like eager moths to a beaming flame; Berri, Wren and Theo barely stood back, all grins, eager to watch this show unfold. Bug bounced on his feet and gestured out to the exit of Sugarbucks, "S-So, you like... Run this entire city?"

"Yes, sir," Turbo eased kindly, it was clear he was loosening up, something Berri was eternally grateful for.

"Like... The subway systems, the stop lights, the power supply," Bug went on in whole excitement, the other four baristas with him eagerly held their eyes to Turbo, excluding the two that began to make their drinks in a whirlwind of twists and turns.

"To scratch the surface," Turbo's lovely voice eased over the group, they all seemingly melted underneath the sheer amount of dominance and power he wielded, though how humbly and sweetly he presented himself, nearly all the girls, behind the bar, were very visibly swooning; Berri cocked an eyebrow and silently took note as a mildly irritated front began to now sap into her pores, she felt her heart suddenly do a weird flip flop. Suddenly, the idea of Turbo actually garnering someone else's attention, other than hers, had her reeling in confusion, contemplation, a near-venomous amount of regret, set to kill her slowly. She held her eyes tight to Turbo, from their gentle gap, and now bit her lip in a purse kind of way, "It's a lot, but all that alone time helps me get it all done."

"Well, hopefully now you won't be too much of a stranger, y'know?" One of the girls chimed in delight, this was enough to make Berri inhale a deep breath through her nose and now gently began to step away; Wren and Theo briefly followed their line of sight to her, only to double take at her hardening, distanced demeanor.

"Ohh that depends," Turbo grumbled, he glanced at the two girls, all poised with tidied aprons and clean, pulled back hair, though his eyes landed on Bug's and then back to wherever Berri had laid off to, "If my blue beauty sees it to be fit, then I guess... I have no other option."

"That's so sweet," Bug warmly eased, he handed Turbo his own drink, as well as Wren's, "She's definitely a good person to have by your side, for sure. She's spoken very highly of you."

"Really?" Turbo pressed softly, he glanced back to Berri, once more, though she finally sat down on an unclaimed couch, taking note that Wren and Theo were motioning to her, from across the way, and confusedly chit-chatting with one another.

"Hooo yeah," One of the male baristas eased in a deep, knowing tone, he waggled his eyebrows and gave Turbo a knowing smile, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that girl has the hots for you."

"I-I... Th-that's..." Turbo stumbled on his words as he could feel his face heat up, all the baristas gently began to laugh and snicker towards his bashful show of sweetness. Turbo was finally joined by Wren and Theo, who began to help Turbo with the four drinks now patiently waiting to be picked up, "Guess we'll see what happens."

"Enjoyyy," Bug eased with a cheeky, sly smile as the three boys slowly began to step away.

Although Turbo was previously worried about all eyes on him, he suddenly felt his veins surge with a different purpose; he honed his gaze tight to the back of Berri's head and felt confidence flood him, the whole fact that she had said so many nice and wonderful things about him, to help prepare the general public for his own unveiling, he felt ease coat his soul, a warmth that sagged into his skin, something that he often felt in Berri's presence. Although he had an inkling, he inhaled a confident breath, puffed his chest and was now entirely certain that Berri still had those strong, lingering feelings for him. He finally pushed past a few strangers, even ones that nervously began to whisper to their friends, ones that ogled for longer than appropriate, finally none of it mattered to him as he soaked into Berri's quiet presence.

"Here, Bear," Turbo's loving voice coat the top of her head, and as he sat down on her right, the couch sagged, causing Berri to softly sink into his closer gravity. Berri grunted a cute noise and nervously readjusted her positioning, so she wasn't nearly on top of him. Turbo blurt a shaky chuckle as Berri bashfully tucked her hair behind her ears and gingerly took the drink from Turbo, "Man, those baristas are so friendly..."

"They've been trained well, by Ms. Queen-to-be, here," Wren muttered cheekily as he pushed past the two and sat down on Berri's left, on the couch; Theo made himself comfortable on a cozy chair nearby.

"Y'doin' okay, there, friend?" Theo wondered softly, to Turbo, before he took a big drink of his cold brew.

"Better than I thought," Turbo sighed with a nervous smile, he tried his very hardest not to continuously look over his shoulder or seem too agitated, though he knew he failed the second he felt Berri's eyes on him for longer than five seconds; she blurt a small, cute laugh, to boot.

"My favorite part was all the weird fidgeting you're doing," Berri muttered gently as she side-eyed Turbo, to her right; Wren heaved a hot sigh through his nose and raised his hot drink to his lips, his gentle voice glossed the lid of his cup.

"Cut him some slack, Bear, he's been absolutely despised for the last three decades," Wren muttered as he took a good, long swig of his delicious drink. He lulled his eyes closed in satisfaction and finally came up for air, "No disguise? With three celebrities-to-be? Takes balls."

"Thanks Wren," Turbo's voice grew in confidence as he bobbed a nod towards Wren's direction, though Berri and Turbo caught eyes in a whirl of rising, flirtatious annoyance, "Maybe people will just assume I'm a new member of Archived Chaos."

"Don't tell Gunner," Wren muttered in whole annoyance, though he noticed Berri shoot him a confused look out of the corner of his eye.

"We actually learned more about you in class, yesterday, Bo," Berri huffed a small laugh as Wren struggled to swallow, sit up and show excitement for this impending conversation.

"Now what... I not only scared the crap out of Arcade but also hate baby animals or something stupid?" Turbo muttered as he sagged into the couch the three were lounged on, and although they were safe in Orion City, Sugar Rush's largest sprawl of grid, he began to feel nervous with just how many fans were beginning to accumulate outside of Sugarbucks; somehow, word had gotten out that Berri, Wren and Theo were inside.

"No, actually, just talked about your racing records and even included your brothers, amongst other things mentioned," Berri bobbed a small nod, as did Wren, and although Turbo felt his stomach just clench with the thought of more curious eyes on him, he felt the hairs, on the back of his neck, stand on end due to the weight of Berri's gentle posture that sagged deeper into his presence. He cocked an eyebrow and decided to be brave.

"Did it mention my awesome hair and handsome smile?" Turbo's voice deepened to a depth of pure, cheeky delight, and although Berri's bashful eyes glossed to his in a rush of cute annoyance, Wren rolled his eyes and looked off.

"Easy, easy," Wren huffed, hoping Turbo got the hint, also hoping Turbo understood his helpful lingo.

"The bell rang," Berri huffed with great cheek, she flashed him a wide smile and narrowed her gaze, "Maybe you should show your face more, around Arcade... You can rewrite history that way, friend."

"I'm here, aren't I?" Turbo shook his head and dared not to shoot Berri a look of pure challenge, though as if Berri could see right through him, he flinched in whole surprise as she leaned into his personal bubble, grappled the badge about his neck and gave him a smoldering smile of girly sass.

"It only took two hours of convincing and a badge to state that you were 'with the band', huh, babe," Berri's velvety voice glossed over Turbo's cheeks and nose, and although he was scrunched into himself, he bashfully lost the vibrant glow in his eyes and allowed Berri's word to be the final one.

Berri gently eased out of Turbo's presence and stood, and just as she pulled a marker from her back pocket, she approached the hoard of fans that patiently loitered outside of their safe haven of a coffee shop. Turbo heaved a shaky sigh and watched her leave, and although Wren and Theo silently considered eventually joining Berri, to sign autographs, Wren and Turbo relaxed on the couch in a small lull of accepted, understanding silence.

"Stop trying so hard, let her come to you, dude, you almost had her," Wren mumbled, he tucked his drink to his mouth once more. Turbo flashed him a look of fake confusion, the lack of glow in his once golden eyes cued Wren into believing he was now bashfully out of sorts; a mood ring of emotion.

"You lost me," Turbo pretended, though Wren rolled his eyes and finally sagged his gaze into Turbo's.

"I know I haven't 'lost you', don't play dumb. I may not be into girls, but I DO speak 'girl'," Wren stabbed, both boys gently volleyed their gazes to Berri's; she lovingly greet her fans outside, autographed all sorts of different personal items, and took pictures, "You had your fist around Sugar Rush's throat for almost forty years... Certainly you can court a woman you're interested in."

"Apples and oranges, my friend," Turbo finally sagged his shoulders and let his gentle, now glowing eye contact finally gloss to the back of Berri's head. He eased a nervous, gentle smile and shook his head, "A code room doesn't have an opinion of you... A woman, on the other hand..."

"User help you," Wren blurt a laugh as Turbo finally beamed a nervous smile and looked down to his hands in his lap, "If there's any woman with an opinion, it's Berri. Saddle up, dude. You're in for a wild ride."

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 **A/N :** **I drew fanart for this chapter, titled 'I'm with the Band' on my deviantART Username Vyntresser :)**

 **Also, forgive all the Starbucks lingo, here. I'm a coffee master at Starbucks (black aprons unite!) and the pumpkin cold brew is literally all that anyone talks about, so my brain is like ready to regurgitate it all into whatever avenue I can lmao**


	98. Chapter 98

**Reviews :**

 **CHICKENM4N :** I'm SO GLAD it didn't disappoint, oh my god. I was genuinely worried ;_; thank you!

 **Burgie :** I actually am in the middle of painting a picture that has Bug as one of the subjects, so you'll get a decent look at what he looks like! He kind of looks like a weird cross between a chinchilla and a bug-like hare. He's very cute :D

 **Jay Sketchin :** Thank you so much! He's a weird mixture between a chinchilla and a hare, but bug/alien like. Hard to explain, I have a painting of him I'll be posting soon :) Thank you for everything friend! You're the best!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Hold of Me by Dean Lewis**

* * *

 **A/N :** Hey all, sorry for the short(ish) chapter. I figured since the last one was so insanely long, I'd just give a smaller fluff chapter, here. ALSO -be thinking of what chapter you want to be put into comic form! Any chapter between chapter 50-100. I have chapter 46's comic form almost all finished, it only really has 2 or 3 pages left. It's all on my deviantART, username Vyntresser! :D

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 ***Chapter 98***

"Man, we should hang out in Orion City more often," Theo grumbled, he ran his larger fingers through his dark emerald hair and eyed the small crowd of Archived Chaos' fans that had gathered outside of Sugarbucks.

"How come?" Wren wondered softly, Berri furrowed her eyebrows and tenderly gave Theo an inquisitive stare as well.

"Because, our fanbase here is so well behaved," Theo blurt a small chuckle, him, Wren, Berri and Turbo hung tight to the opposite end of Sugarbucks' interior layout, near where the baristas would enter behind the bar, into their own workspace. Bug stood with them, his cute ears perked high and his posture at the ready, "The people inside EZ Living are savage. They'd have busted down Sugarbucks' doors, by now."

"I thought it strange how politely they waited outside for you guys," Turbo huffed a small chuckle, tucked his hands into his jackets and began to show a tad bit more of a nervous air, something that had worn off inside the half an hour they had been inside Sugarbucks, "Although, I'm getting a little nervous, now... I see some people with cameras."

"I noticed," Berri grit her teeth and nervously eyed Turbo, though as everyone fell silent and peered to Turbo in a show of soft apprehension, Bug snapped his fingers, looked about, pat his apron pockets and gently tsked for Turbo to follow him.

"I-I'm... I'm not really supposed to do this, but I can let you out the back door, Turbo," Bug suggested with such warmth, the paw pads of his feet gingerly began to step deeper into his work area, a soft gesture of his arms for Turbo to kindly follow, "You can meet up with Berri, Wren and Theo on the other side... That way, you can avoid the cameras."

"I-I don't want to get you in trouble, Bug," Turbo staggered, though he was relieved Bug had come up with a secretive escape plan.

"I'm the supervisor, and my boss left for the morning," Bug stated with cheek, flattened ears and a sly smile to boot, which had Turbo's posture now turning to show interest in Bug's idea, "It's for good reason, I... I really don't think you want your face plastered all over the news, do you?"

"Not today," Turbo bulged his eyes and shot Wren, Theo and Berri a look of nervous delight, to which everyone softly laughed.

"Not ever, huh," Berri stated with cheek, though before Turbo could show a tad bit of a disgruntled air, Berri gingerly gave Bug her attention, "Thank you, Bug, I hope that's not too much trouble."

"No, not at all! Come on with me," Bug gestured to Turbo in a welcoming manner, and as Turbo apprehensively eased to the back room with Bug, Berri furrowed her eyebrow in irritation to find the few female baristas tightly tail Turbo.

"Uh oh," Wren muttered to Berri in a sly manner, though Berri gave him a sharp glower, as if to dare him to try her, though he bravely pressed on anyways, "Didn't think this outing would garner Turbo some fangirls, didja?"

"I wasn't even thinking that," Berri fibbed with a snap, she turned on her heel and began to head for Sugarbucks' exit, in which Wren and Theo quickly tailed her.

"I mean, this is ultimately what you want for Turbo, to have a life?" Wren argued quietly, Sugarbucks' interior still held a very quiet, calm air. Wren skipped a few steps, so to keep up with Berri's long stride, "You went and snagged YOURSELF a life, and, what, you invite Turbo to do the same and you're now irritated?"

"Not now, Wren," Berri warned in sassy coldness, and although Theo gingerly nudged Wren's shoulder, to warn him to knock it off, Wren only merely glanced at him in soft question.

"You have yourself a shiny boyfriend, is it such a crime if Turbo found HIMSELF a shiny girlfriend?" Wren inhaled a breath to continue on, though Berri halted in her footsteps and peered hard into Wren's eyes, causing Theo and Wren to come to a sharp, jarring stop.

"Please Wren, not now," Berri urged quietly, though this time, her tone was more begging and lacked authority; her eyes pleadingly eased into Wren's now softening disposition, and with the switch up, Wren sagged and wondered if there was maybe a deeper wound, here.

"Sorry, B," Wren mumbled warmly, and with a gentle sting of hesitation, Berri put on a brave face and pushed on the heavy glass door of Sugarbucks' double-walled entrance and exit.

"Wow, this building is deceivingly huge," Turbo chimed warmly, he peered about Sugarbucks' roomy backroom, complete with tiers of shelves that stored all sorts of coffees, syrups, containers and cups galore. He cocked an eyebrow as Bug slowed his roll, as if to now give an impromptu tour, no matter how mini it was, "I would never guess this little shop had this massive of a back room."

"Definitely a safe haven," Bug chuckled, though Turbo nearly flinched as one of the few girls, that successfully kept tight in tow, chimed in.

"We've played hide and seek back here, before," She giggled cutely, Turbo softly lofted his gaze over his shoulder in tender surprise and eased to a slow as the group came to a bigger clearing, amidst the larger, towering racks of supplies.

"Hopefully you were gettin' paid to do it," Turbo muttered, he still held a shy front, though he huffed a shaky chuckle the second all three girls burst out into flirty, cheeky laughter, full of hair twirls and fidgets of straightening shirts and aprons.

"Clocked in, for sure," Another girl chirped with a nod, though Bug rolled his eyes with a nervous smile, typical of a rather nonchalant supervisor, wanting to have fun but also nervous for the managers above him.

"We're just glad they don't watch the cameras," Bug grumbled as he sagged his cute, clawed paws into the sag of his apron's pockets.

"Hopefully this visit wasn't too difficult for you," One of the girls eased quietly, the shyest of the bunch. She wore cute glasses, had long black hair and a lovely smile. Her fair skin was nearly flawless, with just a kiss of freckles below the edges of her big, brown eyes. Turbo eyed her softly and gave her a kind smile, he felt very weird about this entire situation, though anyone he could convince into friendship, at this point, was a win in his eyes.

"It wasn't at all, like what I thought it would be... I was certain I'd be chased outta here with torches and pitchforks," Turbo grunted a laugh, the group was all smiles.

"I mean... You're like really... THE Turbo?" Bug finally staggered in continued disbelief as he flattened his ears, though he flinched in hard surprise as all the girls finally choked out into a sudden burst of cute laughter, "WHAT! It's hard to believe! Turbo was around in the 80's, this is just bizarre, okay?!"

"Yes, it's me," Turbo smiled freely, he shrugged a little and looked down, "I did some stupid things, in my past... I've been around since the Arcade was first opened. I never would've ever done any of this, had it not been for Berri."

"She has a way with words, that one," Bug bobbed a knowing nod and bulged his eyes, though Turbo bashfully smiled and looked down to his feet.

"That she does," Turbo grumbled, as if it were indeed a redeeming quality, though Berri's antics always seemed to push him to grow from his already comfortable ways.

"C'mon... Let's getcha out of here," Bug gestured warmly, though it was clear he maybe wanted to continue on with this small conversation without the three girls that were glued to Turbo's presence. As Bug warmly instructed each girl to now fall into cafe routines and tasked them with different cleaning chores, they dispersed as Bug and Turbo now pressed to the heavy back door. With a push, Bug shivered as the cold, morning air brisked inside. He flattened his ears and softly peered up to Turbo as the two hesitated to fully step outside, "Y'know... I'm really glad Berri was so determined to have you come down from your tower."

"Poor girl probably equates it to pulling teeth," Turbo grumbled with a nearly sorrowful smile, "I see the look in her eye..."

"So do we," Bug huffed with an almost bitter sweet look, out to the parking lot. He sagged a little before he gently peered up to Turbo, once more, "Y'know... I can see this little outing, here, spoke volumes to Berri. I know she has a new boyfriend, and all, but..."

"...Y-You don't have to do that," Turbo kindly stated, he tried not to sound too curt, the idea that his and Berri's secretive little ember of love was becoming a now well-known thing had him feeling beyond apprehensive, though he softened the second Bug's innocent, tender facial expression eased to that of humble, bittersweet delight.

"It'd be cool to have you as Sugar Rush's Prince," Bug tenderly insinuated.

Turbo raised his eyebrows and peered down into Bug's gentle, brotherly brown eyes, they nearly twinkled with Sugar Rush's morning sunlight, and although Turbo had now heard this notion before, and it was becoming more painful than anything, he froze and felt the difference here. Turbo was aware that Berri's father, Sugar Rush's King, was rooting for their ember of love, though somehow, the fact that a once full-blown stranger had the same exact mindset, now had Turbo understanding the weight and depth of his and Berri's friendship. A relationship that seemingly pended for what seemed to be an eternity, he felt purpose continue to rush his veins. He held his breath and wondered if maybe, just maybe, he should muster the courage to verbally tell Berri how he really felt, outside of a secretive, non-verbal exterior swap. Turbo swallowed hard and knew that if he could step out in public, an unthinkable act, he could certainly tell Berri that he had feelings for her, whether she was taken or not.

"I got a long way to go, Bug," Turbo grumbled gently, he heaved a shaky sigh and shook his head, "But... Today was a good start."

"This better not be a one and done," Bug narrowed his eyes and playfully gave Turbo an authoritative look, he waggled his finger, "Looks like we got lots to talk about, then, Mr. Bad Guy."

"I promise, I'll be back," Turbo confidently assured, somehow allowing himself to be an extrovert, for the day, gave him the confidence to potentially try it again. He shrugged as he began to step out of the building and onto the cold concrete and asphalt of the parking lot, "Who knows... Maybe I'll even come down here all by my lonesome."

"Holy sugar, you really mean it?" Bug gawked with a hard, fogged laugh; Turbo shrugged, turned a bit and began to back step, so to continue talking to Bug from the now twenty foot stretch.

"I do," Turbo assured with a warm laugh and smile, to boot. Bug kindly waved and stood on his tip toes.

"Don't be a stranger, now," Bug called, his welcoming air was palpable.

"I won't," Turbo confidently assured with a handsome, assuring smile, one that felt new, something he diligently held onto.


	99. Chapter 99

**Reviews :**

 **CHICKENM4N : I really have no clue why I hadn't used it sooner lmao**

 **Burgie : Whoooooo knows ;]**

 **Snake557 : Thank you!**

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **I Want to Write You a Song by One Direction (sue me, this song is incredibly beautiful)**

* * *

 ***Chapter 99***

Later that next night, Arcade's closed Sunday was quiet and uneventful. Although the group had spent the better half of the afternoon at Turbo's home, the group dispersed in preparation for the next day, a busy Academy day for Wren, Berri and Theo. Pushing ten at night, Berri was inside her bedroom with a comfortable, baggy pair of grey sweats and a loose, lazy black tank top with a faded Sugar Rush logo. Having taken a shower about an hour or two ago, her hair was in a rare state of natural beauty, one Berri didn't show often. Deep, blue waves that cascaded down her back, a natural wave that she had easily garnered from Tessa's and Ralph's genes, she put off straightening it and figured she'd just get it out of the way in the morning, before she head off to Academy.

Stationed in her beautifully lit bathroom, high ceilings and mirrors that made the pristine white walls look as if they went on for an eternity, she only glanced at herself in the mirror and merely chuckled at the near disheveled sight. She frowned and peered to herself in the mirror for a moment longer and felt a weird switch up, she wondered if she should potentially just leave her hair alone and have it un-straightened, allow herself to go out with the beautiful blue waves that her hair held naturally. She shrugged a little, at herself in the mirror and finally peered across her pearly bathroom. Chester lay asleep on the cool tiles, clearly read for slumber, though both beings eagerly lit up in whole surprise the second Berri's phone eased a tinkering little chime. A familiar tune, one that never ceased to secretly make her heart flutter in desire, she knew immediately just who was messaging her; this late at night, Berri nearly began to beam, knowing full well just where her feet were about to take her. She gently picked up her phone and opened the little text message Turbo had sweetly sent.

 _Black : I wasn't awkward yesterday, was I?_

 _Black : I just remembered one of the baristas told me to enjoy my drink and I accidentally told her 'you too'._

 _Black : I'm an idiot_

Berri softly blurt into kind laughter, a wide, bashful smile, this new, raw and shy demeanor from Turbo was a very similar breed of shyness she was used to seeing in him, though it was now steeped in deeper humility, a kiss of coy, a show of potential to be confident and plentiful in proper way-finding. Berri was well aware that, without fail, Turbo's mere presence, whether physical or through text, never ceased to crown the widest beam across her blushing cheeks. She bit her lip, leaned her hip to her bathroom counter and tucked her phone closer to her face to reply, she shook her head and breathed a continued giggle through her nose, she could swear there was no greater friend than him, no one quite like him.

 _Blue : I totally did that at the movie theater with dad, one time. We were on a daddy-daughter date, and the associate told us to enjoy our movie, and thinking I was slick and proper, I told them to do the same. My dad teased me about it for awhile. If you're an idiot, then I'm an idiot and a half._

 _Black : Oh brutal, you win._

 _Blue : You were great, Bo. Don't be so hard on yourself._

Berri sighed, sagged her shoulders and figured this convening would just be kept through text, and with such, she locked her phone, sagged it into her baggy pocket, flicked the bathroom light switch off and sauntered with Chester out of her bathroom and into her dimly lit bedroom. With a wide, hard yawn, her lazy footwork moved closer to her bed, and amidst said saunter, her phone gently chimed again. She raised her eyebrows and reached for her phone, once more, knowing said familiar tune was still only one person. She tenderly glanced back to Chester as he grumbled a kind, knowing noise.

"Guess Bo's not going to sleep anytime soon," Berri giggled as she unlocked her phone and tabbed to his new message, "Mr. chatty."

 _Black : btw, you left something at my house. Is it okay if I come and bring it over?_

Berri suddenly froze and raised her eyebrows; she knew Turbo had seen her in pajamas and messy hair, though she swallowed hard and knew that her very lazy, just-showered and ready for bed appearance was a rather vulnerable one. She nervously glanced to Chester, the adorable, aimless blind look in his eyes, the flop of his perked, pointy ears, the way he sleepily tilted his head at her, in warm question, she heaved a soft sigh through her nose and quickly began to fumble around her room in search for a bra. Once she quickly strapped it on herself and did whatever she could to tame the blue mane of waves atop her head, she finally grappled her phone, once more, and peered down to the second message Turbo had just sent.

 _Black : It can wait, if you're already in bed or anything. It's not urgent._

 _Blue : No no, it's totally fine. You can come over._

 _Black : I'm glad you said that because I'm actually at your front door._

Berri raised her eyebrows in sharp surprise, though she blurt a nearly irritated laugh, threw her arms up, slumped her phone into her pocket and began to swiftly head to her teleport pad.

"I'll be right back, Chessy," Berri blurt through a continued giggle, and as she eased her silver coding into the hub of her bedroom's teleport pad, her coding came to fruition in the dimly lit warmth of the tower's main kitchen.

Untouched of a single soul and dimmed to near blackness for the night, Berri's now abundant, bare-foot shuffling made its way to the kitchen's stove. With a push, a few dim, warm stove lights awoke from slumber, just softly easing the room into a glow of nighttime love. Little flecks of winter's final snowfall kissed the edges of the slanted ceiling of windows, a pristine, still setting, one that put the whole entire game at ease. In a quicker shuffle down the dark corridor that lead to the equally as dimly lit front foyer, she urgently pressed to the large, round door, took a moment to unlock the whole of it, and slowly opened the door; her heart began to swell with the very sight of the glow of Turbo's warm, golden eyes, something that she easily basked in.

"Hey, B, forgive me," Turbo's deep, sleepy voice glossed her with love as she easily welcomed him into the dark foyer.

"No you're fine, no trouble," Berri almost whispered as the two quickly sunk into the tower, and with a quick, quiet clack of the massive front door and locks, the two began to move out of the foyer's darkened hull, through the corridor and into the brighter kitchen.

Turbo huffed a chuckle and slowed as he came into the main room and kitchen, though as he opened his mouth and inhaled a breath to press on with warm, easy conversation, he double took on Berri's now visible figure and halted every function he was in the process of. Having never seen Berri's natural hair style before, he held his breath, raised his eyebrows and felt a wall of very different feelings hit him, head on. He sagged in her beautiful, raw presence, void of makeup, void of the fancy jewelry and clothes the celebrity lifestyle had afforded her, she was just Berri. A cute, wavy blue-haired princess, a majestic creature of shy, hidden wrecking strength, one of incredible glitching powers, one with a smile able to melt even the coldest of souls, it was here did Turbo feel his heart begin to steep into something deeper than just the sweet, lovey feelings he had for Berri. Something beyond him, something almost carnal, and as gentlemanly as even his own thoughts could afford, he finally heaved a shaky chuckle and knew that he'd give absolutely anything, in this instance, to have the opportunity to whisk her away and make the sweetest love to her, all night long. He nearly clutched his chest and felt his face get hot the second Berri caught on to his now further prolonged silence.

"Bo, you're freaking me out, what's going on?" Berri staggered nervously, though she finally beamed a nervous smile as Turbo shook his head, choked a nervous chuckle, waved her off and eased a little deeper into the kitchen, with her.

"N-No, it's nothing," Turbo dismissed, though he raised an eyebrow and peered into her eyes, they held about a five foot distance. He held his breath and knew he had to be brave. He knew he needed to come out with it at least somehow, he knew he needed to somehow remain one step ahead of Gunner, no matter how secretively it all was. The circuits in his brain begged for him to peel from Berri's eyes and dismiss it all, to assure her that it was nothing, though he finally narrowed his golden gaze as his desire for her began to overwrite the need to shell away. He finally eased a small, toothy smile and shook his head, as if to finally allow himself to just out with it, "It's just... I-I've never seen your hair like that, before."

"Uhg, I know, I do everything to keep it straightened," Berri quickly complained, not knowing that this was something Turbo was drawn to, a lovely surprise she clearly wasn't prepared for, "I think I'm going to see if dad can make my straightened hair permanent, in the code room, cause I got mom's mane and I'm lowkey over it."

"Don't," Turbo warmly shook his head and narrowed his gaze in rising sweetness, rising bravery that now flood him with the easiest, warmest smile he could afford, "You look so beautiful."

Berri halted her fidgeting, her elbows were lightly in the air while her larger hands were tucked near the back of her neck, clearly wrestling with the whole of her thick, blue hair. She raised her eyebrows and bashfully peered to Turbo in a slow swing of surprise, a slow draw of a warm transition she had finally caught on to, and with such a transition, she held her breath and quickly assessed her surroundings. With the way Turbo looked to be stationed and ready for a solid conversation, the fact that there were no eavesdropping ears nearby, the sudden notion that the two were entirely alone in the world, Berri felt a lump gather in her throat and almost could tell just how much thicker the air was due to get, from here. Berri felt the slow switch, the way Turbo exhaled a shaky breath and looked down to his now bare feet, having removed his shoes in the foyer, Berri shook her head a little and long blinked in gentle, welcoming understanding.

"Thank you," Berri warmly meeped, she crossed her arms, did a small little pivot from left to right and leaned her hip against the kitchen island's counter. She finally side-eyed Turbo in a cheeky way and shrugged her bare shoulders, "I was debating on whether or not I should wear my hair, like this, to Academy tomorrow..."

"You definitely should, it looks really nice like that," Turbo hurried to encourage with a bob of a nod, and though he knew she was in full control of her attire, and didn't need to take anyone's opinion and run with it, he was floored that his opinion was the opinion that maybe tipped the scale.

"I think I will," Berri's voice tenderly eased. She shrugged, shook her head and breathed a small giggle, "Gives me one less thing to do, in the morning... Plus, my hair is becoming mad at me for all the heat my straightener gives it. Fried-hair-city."

"I totally understand," Turbo stated in a serious tone, though he finally beamed her a cheeky smile and tilted his head down as he began to fiddle with his shorter strands of legitimately untouched hair; Berri choked a laugh at his teasing notions.

"I knew you would," Berri blurt, they both beamed smiles of easiness, though Berri furrowed her brow in rising confusion and shrugged her bare shoulders, once more, "What did I leave at your house, Bo? I could've sworn I brought everything back home, once we left..."

Turbo shot her a cheeky look, and in a further show of his playful nature, he began to take off his zip-up hoodie, the very one that Berri had been taking into her possession, from day one. The charcoal hoodie with Turbo's name down the left arm, Turbo took off the hoodie and warmly handed it to her. She cautiously took the hoodie and beamed him an annoyed grin, though Turbo smugly looked down and crossed his arms over his revealed comfortable attire; lazy black sweats with a thin white tank, one that hugged his lightly sculpted chest and core muscles quite nicely. Berri finally huffed a nearly annoyed giggle, eased the hoodie onto the counter and was now well aware that she didn't leave anything at his house; he just wanted an excuse to come over.

"Smooth," Berri droned in a dull, playfully annoyed tone, though this only broadened Turbo's grin down to his feet.

"I thought it was," Turbo lightly defended, his sweet, boyish demeanor was nearly glowing.

"Are you okay?" Berri kindly wondered, the sweet, velvety nature of her voice could pull anyone in, though in this instance, Turbo heaved a shaky breath and did everything he could from colliding right into her.

"I'm great, I just... Wanted to thank you for being so patient with me, yesterday," Turbo warmly concluded with a nod, the golden glow of his eyes cast to the kitchen island's marble, causing the little flecks of pearly white to glint against the splay of his visible warmth, "I'm sure that wasn't easy for you, to deal with a special case, such as myself."

"It's entirely understandable," Berri assured with a small nod and a shrug, she looked off and pondered for a moment, "I'd be acting the same way, given your circumstances... But, you did great. It... Really meant a lot to me, actually. I don't think I made that clear. It really meant a great deal, so... Thank YOU."

"I'm glad," Turbo bobbed a nod and allowed his shoulders to relax, "I wanted to let you know that I'm going to go back, tomorrow morning."

"...Really?" Berri nearly choked, she beamed the widest smile she could, "Wow, Bo, you... You gunna be okay going to Sugarbucks all by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Turbo shrugged, "Bug made clear that I was welcome anytime, and... He seems like he'd be a cool guy to sit and chat with. I don't know, they all made it seem like they'd burn the place down, if it meant protecting me. I felt safe there, so... Figure I'd start small."

"Bug's great, isn't he," Berri so easily agreed, "He's so welcoming, I'm not surprised he makes you feel safe, there."

Turbo bobbed a nod and softly looked down to his hands, he long-blinked in aimless thought and bit his bottom lip a little. He felt his brain reel, a little, and although his heart raced, the very idea that this was the instance was going to quietly tell Berri just how hard he had fallen for her, he slowed his roll and held his breath. He only barely peered to her in softness, the glow of the dim kitchen lights around her made the soft waves of her cerulean hair pop, the glints of sky blue that boasted inside the ring of her irises held tight to Turbo's in an almost knowing show of understanding, as if she was due to catching on at any moment now. Turbo halted the direction he was going in and hesitated at the last moment, not so much out of an act of nervousness, though strictly for the fact that he was now beginning to step into another man's territory. As much as Berri welcomed Turbo's presence, Turbo heaved a soft sigh of defeat through his nose and knew that Berri was taken, and that was to be respected; he saddled himself to the ideal that said respect was solely reserved for her sake and not so much Gunner's.

"Thank you, Berri," Turbo started, and although the look in Berri's eye held soft question, he warmly pressed on to fill the gap, "You're a wonderful best friend, and... If it weren't for you, I'd still be wallowing in my tower. You didn't give up on me, and... That goes really far with me."

Berri eased a small nod, crossed her arms and beamed a sneaky smile down to her feet. She could feel Turbo's struggle, she recalled their secretive non-verbal conversation from a few weeks back, amidst their core coding exterior swap, she knew exactly what Turbo was struggling with, and although she looked off in nervous, impending regret and recalled her growing promise with Gunner, she wished to rush to Turbo's aid without being too obvious. Berri knew this was a weird game of cat and mouse, and the need to let go of each other and grow without the other was necessary, she held her breath and wondered if she could possibly let Turbo in, if only just into the foyer of her heart. She bit her lip and knew that anything beyond emotional support would press further into cheating territory, though somehow, she wondered if this was something neither of them could ignore; she dared to jump out on a limb, a sturdy, blossoming limb that she could very clearly see Turbo want to leap out onto, as well.

"... I won't ever give up on you, Bo," Berri eased, almost inside a whisper, she tilted her head down in shyness though kept her vivid blue eyes hooked up tight into his, the glow of elated surprise made his posture freeze in a lovely spur of cuteness.

"Are..." Turbo halted his words, tenderly side-eyed her and held his breath even harder. He didn't dare press on, though he was praying that somehow they were maybe treading into the same exact topic, together. He breathed a nervous, silent chuckle the second Berri bashfully beamed an adorable smile down to her bare feet, she began to twiddle her fingers in a rare, tender show of true shyness she never really showed. Her hands began to gingerly shake, something he noticed as she slowly tucked her wavy hair behind her ears. She swallowed hard, pursed her lips to keep from smiling and failed to do so as she finally lifted her head and shyly looked across the great room they were nestled in. Turbo began to feel his legs want to buckle with the raw understanding placed on him, "I-I'm terrible at this, a-are... Are you... I-Insinuating-"

"What do YOU think?" Berri questioned in soft, tender honesty as she held her eyes tight to his, ultimately giving him an answer without doing it verbally; it was here did Turbo understand that, from here on out, their little ember of secretive love was now something they were desperate to not put into words, something he was nearly grateful for, for the time being.

"I never was the best at sharing," Turbo muttered with a daring, cheeky smile to his feet, it was here that it was nearly painful for the two to hold eye contact, a heat blast from the sun that now somehow made this topic way too hot to the touch, it was something they could only carry on with if the other person didn't exist in their own line of sight.

"It's not fair for anyone, really," Berri concluded tenderly, it was here did Turbo almost scold himself for pointing out a minor flaw of his, he furrowed his brow gently and tried to resist the urge to backtrack.

Turbo remained true to his word and allowed the honesty of it to remain. He was well aware that Berri could not give her all to him, whether it be emotionally, romantically or even physically, whilst she was with Gunner. He knew, deep down, if he were to properly pursue Berri, he'd want to do it the right way, where the both of them could put their all into it. His heart began to break at the thought of officially letting Berri go, even in this raw act of her promising him that she'd never give up on him. Turbo knew they both had demons to chase out of their own lives, skeletons to dust off and properly bury, he finally bobbed a conclusive nod, to her statement, though just as he was about to open his mouth and politely agree, she dared to turn the conversation on its' head.

"Judging by your past, however, you never did play fair, to begin with," Berri's velvety voice challenged, and although Turbo had just reeled into the right lane, he felt jarred by the simple fact of Berri yanking the steering wheel back into oncoming traffic, cut tight through corners and set sail through the fast lane. He choked a nervous laugh and dared to dismiss her gentle, innocent banter, though she shrugged and breathed a giggle in continuation, "You're King of taking things that aren't yours, anyways."

"A code room doesn't have feelings," Turbo soothed with a smile, though he reeled at the fact that he was now becoming the voice of reason; had it been a perfect world, he would've likely sailed through Berri's green lights and taken her up on any little offer she had to give, though he shook his head and knew he needed to do this the right way, no matter how hard it was. He gave Berri a loving smile and shook his head, "You're my best friend, Bear... I don't want to lose you. And... If what you say is true, and you will never give up on me, then... Let's just hold on to that thought."

Berri sighed in mild defeat and nodded, although she knew she was getting ahead of herself and was thrilled Turbo was still on the same page as her, she was also thrilled he actually was showing restraint; she was well aware this was likely really difficult for him. Her heart was firmly tugged in Gunner's direction, and although she was delightfully floored to be with Gunner and to experience all that life had to offer with such a lively, fun-loving guy, she softly sagged her sorrowful gaze to Turbo and felt her heart sink in his direction, as well. A weird tug she had no clue how to navigate, and somehow the idea of Turbo bravely stepping out into the world, like what she encouraged, and giving the universe the potential to full-on lose him, had Berri now sinking neck-deep in regret.

"Deal," Berri chirped in gentle defeat, now feeling silly that she even fed into the idea of potentially giving a small piece of her heart to Turbo.

"It'll be alright," Turbo pressed warmly, though he gently stepped forward to initiate a hug. He opened his arms a little and felt as if he was now becoming fully successful in keeping the ball in his court, something he had struggled with for awhile. Now that he felt he had some shred of control over himself, he wondered if he could simply play Berri's game back at her, a weird switch up even he wasn't prepared for, though he relished in the idea of Berri now being the one to do the chasing, "C'mon, let's get some sleep, now... You have Academy tomorrow and, well... I have a full three hours in the morning of preparing myself to go to Sugarbucks all by myself."

"Y'gunna be alright, there?" Berri teased with a small giggle, and although she wanted to shell up and not welcome Turbo into her gravity, she caved as his warm, now bare arms came around her.

"I'll be great, you gave me the nudge of encouragement I needed," Turbo's voice so lovingly glossed her, a coat of humility he was the best at, and as they snuggled into an embrace, Berri frowned in the broad of Turbo's chest and felt the tug of gravity.

"Anytime," Berri sighed, she lulled her eyes closed and relished in the heat of Turbo's inner arms against her cool skin, the tight, big embrace, a snuggly squeeze of mature love she absolutely craved.

Although she did everything she could to hold it back, her eyes welled with tears of regret, tears and sorrow she was worried would turn into hardened bitterness. Berri raveled her arms about the middle of Turbo's body and held on tight, though after maybe five seconds of a friendly hug that was well on its' way to becoming romantic, Turbo slowly began to peel from her before she had even had a shred of enough of her fill. Berri raised her eyebrows and sagged her shoulders, though the look in Turbo's eyes was warm and inviting, despite the fact his backstepping out of her vicinity. Berri crossed her arms and tried to seem reserved and closed off, though Turbo gave her one last, sweet though dominant smile and gingerly turned heel, so to leave.

"I'll text you tomorrow and let you know how it goes," Turbo warmly assured, "Sleep well, Bear, okay?"

"You too," Berri weakly smiled and hugged herself tight, and as Turbo slowly peeled from her gravity, she could feel the tug grow stronger, an urge to throw her brand new shiny life away, something she wondered if she should maybe listen a little more closely to, and the second Turbo was gone from her line of sight, she shut her eyes tight and hugged herself a little harder.

Berri shook her head in now fully realized regret and heaved a shaky sigh. She was well aware she chose this life for herself, she accepted Gunner's small proposal, she invited herself into the arms of someone who offered her an ungodly amount of opportunity and exposure, the world and then some, though as her teary eyes peered across her dark and now still home, she felt her heart want to harden to love. Innocent, first love flutters, torn, mixed feelings of confusion, a thorny love triangle she had absolutely no idea how to navigate, she figured walling off that aspect of her heart would just be best, for now. She gently eased her phone out of her pocket and began to send a fluffy, kind message to Gunner; although she was aware Turbo was there for her when she was sad, she felt a strangely large amount of distance suddenly placed between them, something she was previously prepared to officially and secretively bridge. Tears slipped down her cheeks as confusion continued to circle her heart like vultures awaiting death, and it was here did she understand that laying in the bed she had made herself was now her only choice. A hardened layer of bitterness coat her heart in solitude as she slipped away to her bedroom, a cold layer of ice that she worried wouldn't chip away easily. As silently as Turbo's warm presence arrived, it was gone, something Berri was assured was also figurative.


	100. Chapter 100

**Reviews :**

 **Nikki Firesong :** Wow! Thank you SO MUCH. That means so much to me, seriously. I think Berri is probably the closest thing to a mary sue character I've ever written for. She gets a massive reality check in later chapters, something that really takes her down a peg, so it's been fun building her up as this mildly snotty and girly individual that she'll unfortunately turn into, temporarily. She comes to know a lot of emotional strife, where as my other main characters knew a lot of physical strife added - Berri's is nearly entirely inner turmoil, which almost could be worse, if I'm being honest. She's a BLAST to write for, I always knew she would be. I'm just glad you guys are enjoying her character as well :) Thank you again!

 **Jay Sketchin :** You're definitely right, there! :D I need to really get that picture of Bug uploaded. UHG.

 **Burgie :** Aww D: Yeah, to be honest, the original plan for that chapter was a small smidge of romance between the two, but I went a different route. Sorry for the torture x_x

 **chuckiboo :** YES I am doing that again! CHapter 71 has currently been requested twice now, so who knows. It'd definitely be interesting to draw, cause that chapter hardly has any dialog haha. Would be fun!

 **Snake557 :** Aww I'm sorry x_x

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **It Ain't Me by Kygo and Selena Gomez  
**

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 ***Chapter 100***

With a pep in her step, a gentle jostle of her loose, lovely blue hair, Berri, Wren and Theo softly welcomed themselves into the conservatory, Acamdey's lovely, sun lit greenhouse and safe spot. Eager to relax for a few minutes before the bell rang, the three pushed inside and were greeted by Tessa, Tammy and Oliver with a subtle few waves, from across the stretch. Berri wrinkled her fingers and smiled to her mother, aunt and uncle in kindness, and in a gentle swoop, they hooked a right and began to find the typical area where they would meet up with Gunner. Dressed in a little bit more of a casual attire, than typical, Berri wore a comfortable pair of normal, faded blue jeans, a grey tank top and, in a whole action of pure accident, she wore the hoodie that Turbo had brought over the night prior; the one that had his name plastered down his arm. Although Berri, Wren and Theo came calmly around the corner, they were jolted in a stab of confusion as Gunner nervously rushed them.

"Berri, what's going on?" Gunner suddenly stabbed, he looked entirely nervous, an agitated mess, he held his phone out a little, though his screen was lit up, it wasn't clear to anyone what he was previously looking at.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Berri staggered as she could see Theo and Wren visibly reel, in her peripheral, though Gunner nervously showed the three just what was on his phone; quick as lightning, paparazzi had successfully taken pictures of the three walking into Academy, and plastered all over the headline was Turbo's name. Berri held her breath and felt her pupils tighten in a draw of whole terror. She grappled the cloth on her left arm and was mortified to see Turbo's faded name plastered down her left arm; having sought out to enjoy a lazy outfit day, at Academy, she forgot that Turbo's name was on this specific hoodie. Although Gunner looked a mixture of displeased and agitated, Berri desperately tried to play it off with a wide, easy smile of girly charm, "Oh, what's the problem, then? I've had this hoodie for ever now. Turbo left it at the palace, once upon a time, and-"

"We have that super important press meeting, after Academy, Bear," Gunner firmly reminded, and although his tone was urgent, he still peered to her in a swathe of nervous love. He shook his head and furrowed his brow in rising confusion, "I-I mean... All they're going to be asking about is the dreaded Turbo Black. This was supposed to be our upcoming show, but you seemed to have other plans, then, I guess?"

"I didn't PLAN this, Gun," Berri defended softly, she shook her head and aimlessly looked off, "I just... Threw it on, I totally forgot all about that press meeting."

"I did too," Theo mumbled in regret down to his feet, though Wren rolled his eyes and looked up.

"It's fine, she can just take the coat off when it's time," Wren included, Gunner bobbed a nervous nod and now glossed his eyes to Berri's natural-styled hair, down in lovely waves.

"I-I'm sure I can have a hair straightener delivered to my place, before the meeting," Gunner gently gestured to Berri's beautiful hair, and although he had become flustered, he lulled his eyes closed for a moment before giving Berri an apologetic frown, "Your hair looks pretty like this, Bear, but... We gotta stay uniform."

"I-I just forgot, I... It all slipped my mind," Berri shook her head and held her forehead, she peered to Gunner in softness and allowed humility to soak her.

"Unlike you," Gunner cooed warmly, though Wren and Theo began to softly step to a nearby drinking fountain. It was here did Gunner heave a shaky sigh and look off in an uneasy show of a busied mind, "I-I'm... I'm sorry, for coming at you, like that... Sama texted me last night."

"...What? Why?" Berri stated firmly, she furrowed her eyebrows and began to feel a weird wave of protectiveness come over her, "What the hell does SHE want?"

"She wanted to talk," Gunner lulled his eyes closed and rubbed the side of his head in agitation, "I really can't take this, right now. She kept saying she missed me, I...I guess word got out that we were together, and..."

"She realized what she lost?" Berri completed in a show of stern frustration for the situation, she shook her head and eased a mean chuckle, "She wont be missing these hands, I'll tell you that."

"It's okay, I... I didn't reply to her," Gunner assured nervously as the two hovered closer to each other, "It just added to my stress. I hope you're not upset..."

"Why would I be upset?" Berri wondered in a tender show of confusion, she eased deeper into Gunner's warm presence and shook her head as their eyes met, "Hopefully she understands that she needs to ease off. Seems a little suspicious that she misses you now that you're seeing someone else and have moved on."

"I worried this would happen," Gunner shrugged as he gave Berri a soft smile, "Jealousy, I guess."

"Didn't she cheat on you? This all seems a bit odd," Berri navigated in confusion, though due to the way Gunner rolled his eyes and looked off, Gunner was equally as confused.

"It's... Whatever," Gunner huffed a nervous chuckle and lovingly slipped his hand into Berri's,"I guess... We gotta come up with something to say to the press, later today. Will Turbo be upset that you have his hoodie?"

"O-Oh, I doubt it," Berri shrugged, she knew, full well, that Turbo was delighted that she had it; his lovely scent still eased her soul, on a daily basis, little did he know. She knew Turbo was well on his way to becoming a now public and known figure, she assumed he wouldn't be too upset about the pictures of her walking into Academy, in his hoodie, "I can just shoot him a message and warn him. He won't mind."

"... Strangely nice of him," Gunner pressed curiously, both beings finally beamed knowing smiles, alongside soft laughter, "I don't know, seems odd that the hugest bad guy, in all of Arcade, would just be so chill about something like this."

"He may be a bad guy, but he's not... A BAD guy," Berri stated with emphasis, she shrugged and squeezed Gunner's hand softly, "I'll message him later... I'm sure he's probably just busy, for now."

* * *

Through a deep inhale and a brave swing of the side door of Sugarbucks, Turbo relished in the way his dimly glowing eyes made the soft aura of the cafe fill with a new sense of atmosphere. He tried to release his breath in such a way that didn't tremble, his hands eased into the thick side pockets of his hefty motorcycle jacket, and upon the glass door behind him coming to a gentle clack, he felt his heart begin to throb in a tender show of uneasiness. Not only was he entirely alone, in this daring venture, this time, upon entering Sugarbucks, there was a line of about two or three people in the cafe, something he'd now have to stand in. He held his breath a little tighter and desperately tried to relax his shoulders. The instinct to pull out his phone and busy himself was overridden by the sheer desire to watch his back. As his golden eyes glossed the place, he took in everything.

With the glass windows all about the store, tinted for the easiness and dim atmosphere these cafes usually had, he thought it strange that the crowd of Berri's fans were no longer crowding the view of the bustling street and sidewalk outside. People came and went, the handful of quiet people in the cafe continued on with their tender conversations, Turbo knew he was safe here, no matter what. He finally felt his spine unhook itself from the rigid positioning it was in, the line tenderly moved, as did he. In a gentle sway of easy give and take, someone tenderly passed by him, on their way from the restroom. In the firm act of catching glances, said stranger nervously double-took on Turbo's figure and did everything they could to not stare. Out of Turbo's peripheral, he could see this stranger nearly break their neck in an ogling, almost apprehensive mess.

Turbo felt his stomach squeeze with nervousness, though he felt solace in the simple fact of staying true to the uniform line he was in. He gently took a step forward the second the line moved, though he felt agitated the second said stranger collected with their friend, across the way, and began to subtly and nervously point in Turbo's direction. He inhaled a shaky breath through his nose and allowed his eyes to aimlessly gloss Sugarbucks' menu, a collected tidiness of words he couldn't even comprehend in this moment, though he flinched the second the person in front of him stepped away, and he was greet by Bug's adorable, friendly disposition. His ears were perked high in cuteness, his tail just barely wagged, he looked like he was about to burst out of his own scaly green skin.

"Told'yah I'd come back," Turbo muttered with a cheeky smile as he finally eased to the counter, Bug beamed a wide smile and gestured to Turbo, his excited demeanor was palpable.

"I almost didn't believe you," Bug eased quietly, he snapped his fingers and began to write on a medium hot cup, Turbo's usual black Americano, "I WAS going to call out to you and say hi, all the way at the back of the line, there, but... I figured you'd appreciate a low profile hello, for your first solo go-round."

"Much appreciated," Turbo grumbled with a small chuckle, he nervously looked about; about half of Sugarbucks' quiet, whispering attention was now honed to Turbo. He shook his head and blurt another chuckle, his eyes showed a great deal of smiling worry, "Hopefully I can find a spot to sit and relax without being stared down."

"I'm actually about to go on my break, I can come out and sit with you, if that'll help," Bug chimed in boyish cuteness, though his ears sagged in uncertainty, "U-Unless you wanted to just be alone, on this venture. I won't take it personally!"

"No, you're more than welcome to sit with me," Turbo assured as softly as he could, he was well aware his demeanor probably came across as cold and unwelcoming; he did everything in his power to eke warmth, though it all duplicated the second a few girls, from the other day, urgently waved to him from across the employee end of the bar. Turbo beamed a gentle smile and waved back as they eagerly showed their excitement for him showing up, once more, "Didn't think I'd make it, didja?"

"We had bets going," The closest barista eased to him with a cute, cheeky smile; her quick hands prepared drinks, lightning quick.

"Well, I hope someone won," Turbo eased, though Bug began to wave off Turbo's desire to pay, he slumped his shoulders and began to feel further at ease, "Bug... Please tell me you're going to let me pay at least ONE of these times."

"I don't know, I'll think about it," Bug grunted with a cheeky smile as he hopped off of a step stool, just for him. He began to clumsily take off his green apron as he began to gingerly give his team direction and instructions for while he was on his break.

Turbo perked up in nervousness the second his name was called out, near the hand-off area. He felt his face get hot the second nearly everyone inside the cafe dart their nervous eyes in Turbo's direction, though as he made his way to the edge of the bar, he somehow felt a firm few steps of further added confidence flood him. He let a nearly sly, small smile ease across his face, he knew he was definitely treading into dangerous waters by beginning to come out in public. He was well aware it wouldn't always be smooth sailing, though somehow, the very idea of people breaking their necks to get a glimpse of the all-powerful nightmare fuel that was Turbo was something that he was beginning to relish in. He smirked and gently grabbed his drink from the glossy marble counter, and in the act of turning heel to begin to meet up with Bug and find a place to sit, he politely thanked the barista that made his drink and began to step away.

As if parting a crowd of naysayers that hardly had any power to do anything about their potentially negative opinions, Turbo gently took a sip of his drink and nonchalantly eased closer to the smaller employee entrance of the bar, to make waiting for Bug a little easier. He could feel almost all eyes on him, the atmosphere in the cafe grew thick, and although he was well aware it would only thin with time, he waded through the heat of it all and was beginning to feel the exciting, invigorating aspect of all of this hit his skin. Like a bad guy that nearly was so long forgotten, his poor deeds almost left in the lore of nightmares, something he had almost successfully climbed out of, like a cold ghost story that had somehow been warmed from death, re-illustrated in the form of history that was simultaneously feared and admired. Turbo desperately grappled the rungs of said idea, something he gladly was on-board for.

"Let's go sit near this window," Bug gingerly instructed, his almost rabbit-like feet hopped a few times to a smaller, more quieter corner of the cafe, vacant of beings. A glint of sunshine hit through the tinted windows, and as Bug approached two larger, cushiony cafe chairs, they both slowly sat down. Bug fluffed his tail and eased it out of his way as he sat down with a grunt and a sigh to follow, "It's sunny... Somehow, I always come back from my break freezing cold, but this window helps keep me warm."

"Yeah, it's freezing out, huh," Turbo gently agreed, Bug lit up and gestured his hand a little.

"Winter is my favorite season!" Big exclaimed softly, his ears sagged in softness, "Though, the city doesn't see much snow... That palace gets a good heap of it, huh. I see it on the mountain side, all twinkling with fresh snow. I'm jealous."

"Hoo, don't be," Turbo blurt a chuckle as he brought his searing hot drink to his lips in delight. The glow in his eyes vanished, due to the cut of warm sunshine they sat in, "It's at least twenty degrees colder on that mountain. The palace isn't anywhere I enjoy being, in these snowy months. It's beautiful, but freezing."

"So... You're at the palace often?" Bug questioned, his big brown eyes hooked tight to Turbo's, as if he had a million questions, and even more topics that he couldn't even begin to think about squeezing into his one, tiny half an hour break.

"More often in these past few months, yeah," Turbo shrugged, and before he could try and segue away from the idea of his palace visits only getting more abundant due to Berri, Bug successfully jumped off of the topic for him.

"So, like... You're good friends with the King and Queen?" Bug pressed with twinkling eyes, his ears perked, "What about Ralph and Vanellope?"

"Yeah, I'm good friends with all of them," Turbo assured, he did his best not to hold a resting grumpy face. He raised his eyebrows gently, smiled with warmth, and did everything he could to treat one of Berri's close friends like a pot of gold, "I'm one of King Zed's right hand men, alongside Rancis. Rancis protects the palace lot and the whole perimeter of the palace and Orion City, where as I protect a hefty chunk of Sugar Rush's inner workings, code room and the city as a whole."

"Who woulda thunk," Bug sighed, he shook his head in tender, bewildered amazement.

"Ralph and Vanellope are around often, with their first born as Queen, Vanellope is sometimes needed for advice and such... Due to all of her experience, y'know?" Turbo eased, Bug nodded and furrowed his brow.

"Wow, so... Is everyone inside the game just the last to get to know this new and improved, well... YOU?" Bug blurt a chuckle, to which Turbo beamed a nervous smile and looked down to his lap; he was well aware his and Berri's friendship helped that along, though tip toeing around it was likely becoming too much of a burden.

"More or less," Turbo sighed, he lulled his eyes closed in nervousness and dared to press on, "Berri's been a huge asset to me, she's... She's really helped me out of my shell and gave me the confidence to come around, more often. I owe that girl a lot."

"She's pretty awesome," Bug gently agreed, though he narrowed his gaze and gave Turbo a cheeky smile and knowing side-eye, "She definitely has been playing her part as princess, lately... Bossy lady, that one."

"She's a handful, sometimes, huh," Turbo pressed, though Bug began to almost look a little defeated, a sad aura that fell over him.

"I just... Worry about her," Bug's tone eased to seriousness, something Turbo caught on to. He raised his eyebrows and frowned as Bug almost nervously pressed on, "Wren and Theo seem to have their wits about them, but... I worry that... Berri's going down a weird route, getting together with Gunner."

"...You think?" Turbo wondered nervously, and although he had yet to be worried about Berri's character, his heart sagged with sorrow as Bug urgently nodded.

"I-I don't know, she seems really stressed out," Bug shrugged, "I'm sure dating a celebrity, and climbing those ranks herself, isn't easy. I just hope she doesn't lose her head... I hope she doesn't lose her humility."

"I don't think she will," Turbo's voice wavered, however confident his words were, though he eyed Bug and narrowed his gaze in curiosity, "You... Know something I don't?"

"I don't think so, I just... Have noticed the way she questions herself," Bug shrugged, "I'm not as close as you and Berri are, so I'm sure you've heard all about how Gunner acts."

"...No, she doesn't tell me much about Gunner," Turbo blurt a nervous chuckle and fingered the rim of his cup's lid. He cocked an eyebrow and heaved a nervous, though smiling sigh, "We, well... W-were in the beginning stages, of, well..."

"Romance?" Bug wondered softly, to which Turbo looked off and tried not to smile.

"Something like that," Turbo muttered, he still forced back a grin as he looked down, once more, "She tries not to mention Gunner to me. She knows it'd probably bother me."

"Just... Keep your eye on her, I think Gunner may be putting some form of pressure on her," Bug worried, he nervously shook his head, "D-Don't tell her that I said anything, though. She just... Anytime Gunner is brought up, she gets a bit flustered and berates herself for forgetting things that Gunner told her to do, or band-related things that slips her mind. She never struck me as the forgetful type."

"She's definitely been through a lot, recently," Turbo pressed in gentle knowing, he was well aware he shouldn't mention the deleter virus to Bug, due to trying to keep the peace. He sighed and knew Berri's stress lines had something to do with this stress, though he began to feel protective over the fact that Gunner was likely aiding in said stress, and not seeking ways to soothe it. Turbo cocked an eyebrow and looked off in mild irritation, "I almost had the pleasure of meeting Gunner, once... But I'm glad I didn't. I'm not sure I'd have anything nice to say."

"He just... Swooped in, so it seems?" Bug wondered delicately, he was well aware that Turbo and Berri had some form of embers, whether they were dying or to be eventually fanned, Bug wasn't sure. He looked up in curiosity and shrugged a little, "Maybe... You could swoop right back?"

"I'm trying to turn over a new leaf, here, Bug," Turbo blurt a laugh, which had both boys sharing warm laughter, "I used to play dirty, that's what got me into all this hot water, anyhow, you suggesting I go toe-to-toe with a full blown celebrity? Someone who could easily take my already-tarnished name and drag it deeper into the mud?"

"You win, you win, you win," Bug held his hands up and blurt a hard laugh, to which Turbo covered his face and sagged into easy laughter with Bug, a spark of a cute, boyish friendship somehow Turbo craved, "I don't know... I'm just glad you're good friends with her. Now that you're here, and I can see the kind of person you are, it's very abundantly clear that you keep her centered. I hope she never loses you, Turbo. You're a good guy."

"Well, you're one of few to think that, but..." Turbo trailed and knew he needed to take the compliments where he could, he knew his journey to Berri's heart was long and winding and confusing, though the encouraging signals, left and right, only gave him more motivation, "Thank you... She won't lose me unless it's her doing."

* * *

 **A/N :**

 **Hey guys, WOW. So sorry for the weird breaks, here and there. We are FINALLY. FINALLY moved into our new abode. Unfortunately, we won't be there for very long. We'll be moving to Sarasota next summer, after our wedding, but for now... I'm RESTING. I'm so sorry it took forever to get to chapter 100, but we DID IT!**

 **And, like promised, I'll be opening REQUESTS for a FULL COLORED COMIC for whatever chapter you guys would like, between chapter 50-100! Cast your votes in the review section, PMs or emails - any form you'd like, I'll tally them up and see what happens!**

 **As for my previous comic, I only have 2 more pages to upload before chapter 46, comic form, is complete! The entirety of the comic is on my deviantART right now! Username Vyntresser.**

 **Because this past month has literally been the month from hell, I'm going to be taking a mini writing break, once more. I haven't had a legitimate day off in over a month due to working, and then on the weekends we've been doing nothing but moving furniture and such (it's a lot to explain, but we can't catch a break) - now that we're finally settled, I need to regroup with myself. It's been extremely rough and I'd like to properly ease back into my story with the momentum I had. Now that I can mentally rest within myself, I'll be back to my uploading schedule come Monday September 30th!**

 **Thank you for understanding guys! We made it too 100! WOOT!**


	101. Chapter 101

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** thank you friend! i'll add it to the votes :)

 **Jay Sketchin :** LOL y'all are so eager for Gunner to get booted hahaha. Not that i blame you! thanks friend~

 **Snake557 :** Thank you so much!

* * *

 ***Chapter 101***

Although palace meetings had previously been a strict affair, tightly concealed in a dome-dimmed code room and privatized for only certain figureheads, Berri was delightfully surprised to see palace meetings morph from a scary, confidential thing, to that of a more relaxed meeting and gathering of the important people inside Sugar Rush's inner workings. Due to a bigger, heftier crowd this go around, Tessa and Zed successfully materialized a massive swoop of a couch and a handful of comfortable chairs to sit on. Cozily sat about the half circle of a massive sitting area was Ace, Libby, Mara, Beaux, Theo, Wren, Berri, Turbo, Rancis, Taffyta, Oliver, Koko, Ralph and Vanellope. Stationed right in the center of the half circle was Tessa and Zed, and although Berri desperately tried to keep hers and Turbo's very prominently unwavering friendship under tight wraps, she caved and was floored that her and Turbo got the chance to sit next to one another, with Wren and Theo on Berri's other side.

Although Tessa and Zed were the head of the conversation, the hot topic of the deleter simply doomed to approach at any minute, Berri relished in letting her mind aimlessly wander up until she likely was due to being pulled in front of the crowd. She sagged her shoulders and relished in the scent she drowned in; the ease of fresh, clean clothes, the smell of Turbo's either cologne or body wash that sapped tight into Berri's pores, she fluttered her eyes and let her gaze aimlessly peer down to the dark denim of Turbo's jeans, the frays of thick, sewed seams on the sides of his thighs, his still, patient and quiet disposition hovered like a warm ball of paused energy. Berri was well aware she needed to be paying attention here, just how Turbo diligently was, though she couldn't help but allow her eyes to gloss his bare hands that peeked from the thick sleeves of the cozy black hoodie he was draped in. Seemingly soft, dark grey skin that looked like matte porcelain, the thick veins in his hands secretively snaked to even thicker knuckles, hands that certainly been through it all.

Turbo's strong chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm of serenity, his striking, attentive golden eyes hooked tight to his King and Queen in patient listening, the hook of his pitch black, pixel-cubed pupils was nearly that of a predator to prey, something Berri was certain he would likely never be able to shake, due to his traumatizing past. Berri bit her lip and finally pried her eyes from the gentle rest of Turbo's hands, in his lap and on his thighs. Her larger fingers began to fiddle with the unravelling seams on her worn hoodie sleeve, and although it wasn't her favorite hoodie, the one with Turbo's name down the left arm, it still was one she had nearly worn to death. A faded grey hoodie with Sugar Rush's logo splashed across the chest in a popped variety of fun colors, though due to being so loved and worn, the logo had begun to fade and crackle as well. She heaved a gentle sigh through her nose and tried desperately to rip her mind away from the being that was nearly glued to her left side.

Berri fixated her eyes to her mother and father at the center of the group. While Zed had a few code room boxes pulled up, all displayed with their own menus and indexes, Tessa diligently spoke out to the group. Previously, the land about the palace had begun to see foot traffic by hikers. Although this typically wouldn't be a problem, Tessa was adamant about the safety of the castle, due to everything her and her crew had previously gone through strictly trying to defend it. Although wanting to cater to the hikers, she began reaching out to a few individuals in the group for their ideas, how to properly compromise so that the hiking trails weren't deleted, and the castle could remain at a safer distance from said Orion City natives. Berri jolted in a shock the second Turbo's deep voice glossed her ear drums, he sat up a bit, and although Berri was certain he'd be doing a bit of talking in this group, her brain was fuzzy from her previous daydreaming and had completely missed the instant where Tessa had potentially reached out for Turbo's advice, plain as day.

"It just would take a bit of landscaping, really, no harm done," Turbo shrugged, he lofted his more confident gaze across the group and then back to Tessa and Zed, "These hikers aren't, like... Sentimentally attached to the positioning of their hiking trails, are they?"

"Not the journey, just the destination," Tessa sighed, she shook her head, turned around a little and zoomed in on an arial view of the palace grounds and all of the acres it entailed. She pointed to a smaller lookout point near the edges of the flyer's enclosure and gestured her larger hand in mild frustration, "We can rearrange the paths all we want, resident's opinions state that they'd be upset if this particular lookout point was deleted, or moved."

"Why not just move the palace a few acres away from the lookout point, then?" Berri suddenly eased, though she sank inside herself the second everyone fell silent.

"Pray for the code room's RAM," Ralph grumbled as he rubbed his face and sagged into his seat a little; Vanellope and Taffyta stifled giggles.

"I was thinking the same thing, but," Zed's quiet voice eased to Tessa, making it clear that he was aware she had the floor. He shrugged and smiled in Berri's direction, "It'll mean the lot of us will have to cram into the code room for about an hour or so, while everything is being moved."

"That's no easy task," Tessa rubbed her forehead and sighed, though she shrugged and allowed her eyes to get lost in Sugar Rush's map, "It's doable, just... A pretty tall order, for the code room."

"The last time everything was moved, it didn't require all the details the palace grounds have now," Turbo eased, he tried to make clear to Tessa that he wasn't here to steal her podium, either, "Think about it... Everyone's home, inside the palace, has a set amount of amenities, dishes, clothes, furniture, and every single little thing in between."

"The pool," Wren grumbled with a shrug.

"Rec hall," Theo added as he cocked an eyebrow and lofted his assured gaze to Turbo, who in turn glossed his eyes from Wren, Theo and Berri back to Tessa and Zed.

"With such move, like that, it'd be better if there were as few bodies on the lot as possible," Turbo suggested softly, "Something like that wouldn't be safe to do, during quarter alerts, either... User forbid the game decides to reboot right in the middle of a race."

"Maybe we can all just disperse, maybe next Sunday or something," Rancis chimed in warmly, he shrugged and peered about the group with a small nod, as if to encourage a response out of everyone; to his delight, everyone followed suit to his idea, shrugged and nodded in easiness as Rancis peered to Tessa in kind continuation, "Maybe just spend a few hours in the city, or something. A lot of us are off palace grounds on Sunday, anyways, so... Shouldn't be too hard."

"I can just send a mass text once the move is over," Tessa nodded and heaved a gentle sigh, though she gestured to Ace and Libby, and then again to Mara and Beaux, "I'm going to need the extra umph from our Users, though, if that's okay."

"We'll be there, mom," Ace assured sweetly, Libby equally bobbed a nod and softly averted her gaze to their two nearly grown children.

Mara and Beaux, only a week and a half ago, were made aware of their incredible User powers and just how they wound up with said amount of responsibility. Although Beaux nervously smiled and looked to Libby for assurance, Berri cocked an eyebrow and peered to her niece and nephew in soft curiosity. The look on Beaux's face was that of almost apprehensive readiness, they were well aware that Ace and Libby wouldn't simply throw them to the wolves and make them crap out a miracle, though Berri felt her heart stop at the nearly scary, frozen look of poised readiness in Mara's eyes. Something just a touch below quiet scheming, as if she maybe was entirely ready to boast her newfound abilities, the rawness in her eyes had Berri holding her breath in a sting of almost mild jealousy, though she reeled and knew she needed to take a step back and understand that this was not a competition. Berri heaved a soft sigh through her nose, and although she was certain the castle meeting would take a turn into deleter territory, she was surprised to find her mother cut the meeting to a close and thank everyone for joining.

Berri felt relieved, although she was past the initial trauma of the whole incident, she didn't like reliving the whole thing via story telling, or even the feedback of the event being brought up on display, due to researching purposes. Even the idea of Tessa or Zed revealing the severed arm, from said deleter, still safely preserved and bubbled in the code room, was something that made Berri's stomach clench with anxiety. Although Tessa, Zed, Turbo, Rancis, Ralph and Vanellope were hard at work trying to find a way to make it so the entirety of Arcade was safe from these horrible creatures, Berri chalked up the cut-short meeting to the fact that maybe the higher ups didn't have enough information to properly fill a palace meeting with. Upon assuming said information would be brought up in a future palace meeting, she gently stood, as did everyone else in slow succession of random easiness. The group began to loosely chatter, a routine everyone typically fell into; though palace meetings were very important, they eventually dribbled into a big hang out, something Berri was floored to find Turbo would actually stay back for, instead of peeling out of there the second the meeting came to a close.

"I saw a few hikers the other day when I was flying back to the enclosure with Balba," Libby chimed to Berri, she smiled to Turbo and gave him a kind greeting.

"I'm sure they're harmless," Berri shrugged, though she glance to Turbo in mild question and shook her head, "Guess you can never be too careful."

"That's right," Turbo's deep voice glossed her, he hooked his eyes to his authority, something Berri was still trying to come to terms with, the sheer fact that she was technically in charge of him, as a princess to a palace knight.

"I mean, those walls are way too high to breech," Berri pressed, though she froze once Turbo cocked an eyebrow and looked down in mild disagreeing; he caught eyes with Libby as the two shared a laugh of tender understanding.

"I don't knowww," Libby nervously pressed, they eased into laughter, though Berri furrowed her eyebrows in nervous curiosity.

"We've seen some shit... This poor castle has been through, quite literally, everything," Turbo grumbled, he lofted his eyes to where Tessa and Zed stood, confidently continuing conversation with Ralph and Oliver, "Tessa's wise to take extra precaution."

"You may not be able to tell, Bear, but we're all pretty on edge, when it comes to castle security," Libby's soft, Teltokuan cadence eased through Berri's ears, her gentle demeanor was wise and patient, "Because, not too long ago, it was something we didn't have the luxury of. I mean, simple hikers could turn into castle spectators."

"Which, could in turn become discovering castle weak points," Turbo dragged, he motioned his hand to Libby and sighed, "And, so on and so forth."

"We're safe here, though," Berri almost questioned; somehow, she felt defeated by the sheer fact that she wasn't involved in the huge show-down, the massive battle for Sugar Rush's code room ripped from Lash's greedy hands, she sagged her shoulders and wondered just how she could even properly hold the title of Princess without having experienced the castle's hardships, "I don't want this to go over my head, here."

"It won't, you know of Sugar Rush's past through us," Turbo assured gently, he glanced to Libby in confidence and warmly averted his whole attention to Berri, "You may not have been around for all of it, but you're one of the most important people inside Sugar Rush's hierarchy... Of course we're going to keep you up to speed."

"Thank you," Berri eased softly as she looked down, she tried not to fall into typical, flirty behavior with Turbo; partly because she had a solid audience, and also due to the gentle guard Turbo had put up not a few nights back. She nervously peered to Turbo and tried her hardest to keep her cool, "That's really nice of you."

"Just doin' my job," Turbo stated kindly, though he peeled from any shred of warm romance, that would typically follow, and began to touch a different conversation with Libby and Koko, who had just strolled up.

Berri sagged her shoulders and lightly took a step to her left, upon doing so, she sagged into a conversation that Wren, Theo, Beaux and Mara were having. All three boys loudly laughed and chattered whilst Mara stood quietly, almost painfully. Berri peered to her niece and frowned. Almost of age, a seemingly fragile little thing with beautiful, shoulder length pastel blue hair. She had Ralph's wavy hair, though not nearly as chaotic, her gentle, doe-like demeanor easily mocked Libby's, though she had powerful wrecking genes that she looked as if she had no clue what to do with. Likely the shyest, quietest being on the whole lot, Berri felt a wave of confidence soak through her, she knew she needed to potentially take Mara under her wing and make her feel included. She smiled to Mara, the second they caught eyes, and although Mara continued to look entirely shelled away, Berri was thrilled they at least held contact for more than a few seconds.

"You excited for the palace move, then?" Berri wondered warmly, she desperately tried to dial back her peppiness for her fragile niece, one that was nearly of age, though still looked like an unsure adolescent.

"Maybe," Mara eased, her tone was strangely chirpy and positive as she inhaled a deep breath and looked off and up, almost in a snotty sort of way; Berri shrugged it off.

"It'll be fun to really see the inner workings of it all," Berri smiled, she tried her hardest to let go of any minor feuding her and Mara had previously had, she did so with great success, a new leaf that was beginning to turn over. She prayed Mara would follow suit, "Hopefully it won't be way too much of a challenge for the code room, y'know?"

"I think you should leave all the hard work up to the Users, your highness," Mara snipped in tender delight, a voice as lovely and as dainty as Libby herself, though somehow Mara's was laced with bitterness, venom that Berri was entirely uncertain the source, and in the sting of said attack, Berri felt her pupils tighten with a rewind of now billowing, wreck-filled purpose.

With how desperately Berri wanted to bite back, and likely win, she bit her tongue, held her breath and peered hard into Mara's incredibly beautiful, icy eyes. As if looks could kill, Berri finally peeled herself from Mara's presence before her soul could potentially turn to stone, and in turning heel, she felt it entirely foreign that she was the first being to eagerly seek the code room's exit of a teleport pad. Falling tight into Turbo's old and tired routines, she sought immediate escape, though not due to wanting to strictly be alone, she peered up to the code room's glorious, sunny code room dome of glass and silently told it a little secret - if she left now, the whole of the code room would stay in tact, though one more second inside the same room as Mara would result in a game-ending fiasco of wrecking destruction. Although not nearly as fueled by her wrecking powers as the lot of the other wreckers on palace grounds, she could feel it in her coding this go around. With clenched fists and silver coding that was searing hot, the teleport pad eagerly whisked her away, and not a moment too soon.


	102. Chapter 102

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Aww, that's so sweet. Thank you friend!

 **chuckiboo :** lol most definitely. You'll learn a little bit more about Mara and her share of User powers a little later. She's definitely a being after Ace's own heart, for sure.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **NASA by Ariana Grande**

* * *

 ***Chapter 102***

"And THEN she had the balls to call me 'your highness'. YOUR HIGHNESS!" Berri shouted in elevated anger, her bare feet pounded on Gunner's glossy, white wooden floors.

"...That'll be a yikes, from me," Gunner muttered, he sat sagged in one of his billowy recliners, he tucked his red hoodies' hood farther over his forehead, as if to shield from Berri's impending rage. Gunner bravely spoke up, though he nervously darted his eyes to Bedgy, who sat adjacent to him on one of his three lovely grey couches, "I-Isn't that supposed to show respect, though? With you as her princess?"

"NO! I don't like being called 'your highness' unless it's from strangers, only my mother and father enjoy the whole 'title' usage," Berri stabbed, her long blue hair was straightened like silk and cascaded in near chaos over the ripples of her billowy, comfy grey hoodie. Her blue eyes almost looked as if they were turning glassy with tears, she shook her head at Gunner and pressed about five feet closer, within their dozen foot gap, "She's my niece, for crying out loud. She knows, full well, to call me AUNT BERRI. I don't care if she has powers far greater than mine, she had no right to just be a whole entire bitch for no reason!"

"Berri," Gunner soothed, Bedgy puffed her feathers and shot Gunner a nervous look; as the two caught eyes, Berri huffed a soft noise, covered her face and began to slowly saunter away from the two in now teary frustration. Bedgy tightened her look and silently unfurled her grey wing, she gestured in Berri's direction, as if to beg Gunner to step in and comfort her. Gunner immediately unraveled his legs from said billowy chair, eased his bare feet to the floor underneath him and did everything he could to now press in Berri's direction. He furrowed his eyebrows, at Berri's last statement, and finally came within her gravity, "Babe... I'm sure she's just... Going through something you don't know about. Hurt people hurt people, y'know?"

"What could she possibly be going through?" Berri begged as she finally removed her sleeve-covered hands from her face, revealing now glassy eyes, wet cheeks and a stuffed-up nose, "Sh-she has every single thing she could ever want. She doesn't have to go to Academy, she gets to just stay at the palace all day, she has everything handed to her on a silver platter, how the hell could she be possibly going through something?"

"...Berri, that sounds like a miserable life, seriously," Gunner blurt a small chuckle and was floored to see Berri soften. Gunner shrugged, looked out his large span of gorgeous bay windows and eased a small smile to the lovely view of the beach, far below the cliffside. It was a stormy day in EZ Living, though the easiness of the sprinkles of rain made for a cozy, easy day indoors, "I can't imagine just... Being cooped up in HERE for all of my days. Y'know?"

"I guess so," Berri sighed and also peered out to the windows the two were stationed in front of, she shook her head and lulled her eyes shut in a small sting of impending regret, the sheer idea that she had now subtly revealed to Gunner that she was related to Users. She nervously peered to Gunner and was glad to catch eyes with him, a swathe of honey-warmth he radiated, "I just... Tried to be so nice and so sweet to her, really turn the situation around. We've never really gotten along and I have absolutely no idea why."

"Well... Why don't you ask her?" Gunner pressed sweetly, and with a slow amount of success, he reached his arm out and warmly began to tug Berri into a loving hug. She finally gave in, heaved a nasally sigh and sagged her body into Gunner's much taller figure. She buried her face into the broad of Gunner's chest and gripped her arms about her center, and like a warm cloak of love, Gunner eased his arms tightly around Berri's shoulders and upper back. He warmly pressed his face and nose into the top of Berri's head, and as bravely and sweetly as he could, he pressed a few innocent kisses to the crown of her head and beautiful blue hair. He finally sighed and rested the side of his face to the top of Berri's head, though upon looking out to his great room and connected kitchen, he flinched in surprise to see that Bedgy had left the room, to give the two privacy. Gunner smiled in pin-prickled, sweet delight and lulled his eyes closed to carry on, accompanied by a sigh of contentment, "There's no harm in sitting her down and gently wondering just why you two got off on the wrong foot, right?"

"I don't think so," Berri meeped in gentle agreeing, she shut her eyes and sagged into Gunner's warmth, her ear pressed firm into his heartbeat, she knew she would do absolutely anything to soak up every ounce of tender loving care she could get. She grimaced with her eyes shut and felt pain hit her heart, a further drag of nervousness she had brought upon herself, "Please don't tell anyone we had this conversation... I-I really don't know... What my mom and dad would think of it."

"... I have a feeling this goes beyond just a simple family feud," Gunner's voice gently dragged, he cocked an eyebrow and tenderly peeled his head away from Berri's, as did she, so the two could look at each other, "Y-You said she has powers far greater than yours... How does that measure up, though? Aren't everyone's arcade powers simply like... Apples and oranges? Each one so different from the other."

"No, this... This is next level," Berri's voice shook, they hovered in each other's arms, a nervous sag of Berri's eyes darting about Gunner's home, as if to wonder if there could potentially be wandering eyes and listening ears that shouldn't be, "I-It's not... Even really something I'm sure I can tell you, but..."

"You can tell me anything, Berri," Gunner soothed, though he didn't want to sound too prodding, "I'm sure whatever it is could help me understand the situation more. I just want to help you out, you... You seem really bent up, about this. Very unlike you."

Berri frowned and sagged her shoulders, she knew this was all underneath the surface, any shred of dignity she had left didn't hold a candle to the incredible powers her resident Users had. She was well aware that powers didn't make the gamer's heart, though somehow, she could still feel the cold bitterness from Mara's venomous words, as if said powers were something Mara was entirely ready to use against Berri, as if Mara had been waiting for this moment for her entire life. As Berri's eyes finally got lost in the red hoodie that Gunner wore, she felt comfort in the fact that Gunner desperately wanted to understand. How still he stood, the tender grip of his arms about Berri's shoulders, the gentle rise and fall of his chest, Berri lulled her eyes closed and allowed Gunner's still, patient presence to soak her rushing coding. Berri finally reopened her eyes and looked up to Gunner in mild desperation.

"It's not like super secret or anything, but... Please just let me say what I need to say," Berri instructed gently, she gave him a milder look of soft nervousness, "Please don't say anything to anyone, either, it'd... Make for some weird and scary headlines."

"You have my word," Gunner stated softly, though he gave Berri a look of now rising nervousness, potentially what she could reveal that had her so reserved and nervous, he wondered if he should likely jump on board said apprehension.

"My big brother, Ace, is a User," Berri stated tenderly, though Gunner's face finally washed flat and white, a soak of almost dreaded understanding, "H-He gave his swap mate said User powers, and... Their two twins, Beaux and Mara, are also Users."

Gunner finally scoffed a silent breath, bobbed a full nod of understanding, looked over the top of Berri's head and blurt a tender chuckle of now shaky certainty.

"W-wow, so... I-I thought your dad was scary, but looks like I have your big brother to look out for," Gunner's voice shook, his nervous smile was cutely playful, though he genuinely looked rocked from the face of Arcade.

"I don't know why Mara has to do this to me," Berri shut her eyes tight, shook her head and tapped her temples in whole frustration, "It doesn't make ANY sense... She wields Arcade's power and still has enough insecurity to torture me with it. Like she's dangling it over me... I'm perfectly secure with myself, I don't NEED User powers or anything like that. I have my own powers and I'm happy with them, hell, I'm royalty. I don't want scary, unlimited power, so why dangle it over me?"

"I mean, exactly... Maybe SHE doesn't want all that power, either, but... She's too scared to admit that to anyone," Gunner wisely pressed, he shrugged and looked off in a cute, boyish show of thought, "Maybe she's jealous of the tamer powers you have, you're en route to becoming a bit more famous than you already are, you have a boyfriend, you go to Academy... I don't know, you have everything she doesn't."

Berri sagged her shoulders and looked off and down to the side, although she likely has probably been told bits and pieces of said information, she reeled at just how firmly it hit her, from someone that was entirely an outside perspective. Berri finally peered up to Gunner with a bit more depth of understanding and felt her skin soften from the nasty sting Mara had previously delivered. She put herself in Mara's shoes and immediately hated it, a tidy life of being home schooled followed by unlimited powers and a band of boys she had previously grown up with, Berri began to feel guilt come over her. She heaved a sigh through her nose and shut her eyes, she began to wonder just how she could back track, just how she could attempt to heal this crevice of a wound.

"I didn't consider any of that," Berri admitted in sad defeat, she shook her head and eased a little deeper into Gunner's care, "I feel like such a brat, now... You think she'd be willing to talk to me?"

"There's no harm in trying," Gunner eased, though it was here did Berri become mildly frustrated at the fact that Gunner was strictly an outside source; she wished for a more educated answer from someone that knew Mara well, and it was here did she feel that weird, nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach every single time she was in Gunner's arms. She resisted the urge to ease away and pull out her phone, somehow the palace life always seemed to tap her on her shoulder and remind her just where she was needed, though as she finally broke through resisting and pulled out her phone, Gunner nervously pressed on, "C-Can't tell you exactly, though, I-I'm not sure I'd act like a man in front of Users... I-I can't believe it, really."

"Well, believe it, it'll now be used against me for the rest of my life," Berri muttered, she furrowed her eyebrows and cued her phone screen, though her pupils tightened at the message placed first on her notification screen.

 _Black : Hey you, I noticed you left the palace meeting almost immediately. Very unlike you. Is everything okay? I hope I didn't hurt your feelings, I know Libby and I potentially got carried away reminiscing about, well... Worse times lol. I noticed you and Mara talking, and then the next second you were just gone. Call me if you can, I'm worried about you._

Berri bit her lip and felt her heart do a dance, though she peered up to Gunner and continued to wallow in confusion. She finally glared back down at her phone and now almost hated that Turbo somehow had the inside scoop to just what her heart needed, a confusing mix of keep away and beckoning true love, Berri locked her phone, shoved it into her pocket and disregarded Turbo's message. She almost desperately peered up to Gunner and sagged her shoulders in now entire defeat, the stress marks on her temples began to lightly flare, something that Gunner noticed though did his absolute best not to point out. He heaved a shaky chuckle and warmly eased his hand to Berri's shoulder, and as he began to show interest in guiding her elsewhere, she peered down to her feet in a rise of confused sadness.

"C'mon... Let's maybe head to the theater room and watch a movie, or something," Gunner shrugged, he tilted his head and gave Berri an encouraging smile, "Y'know, I get all the latest movies... No need to go to the theater in town."

"...You get movies that JUST came to theaters?" Berri wondered in a rising spike of excitement, anything to distract her from the now multitudinous headaches that were waiting for her, back at the palace.

"I-It's a hefty price, but... I think it's worth it," Gunner waggled his eyebrows playfully, a scheming show of sly delight that had Berri finally smiling like normal. She breathed a giggle, to boot, as Gunner finally dropped the act and slipped his hand into hers, "C'mon, I'll show yah... It'll take your mind off of everything, y'know?"

"I can handle that," Berri muttered with a smile, though she cocked an eyebrow in confusion as Gunner gingerly slipped her phone from her back pocket and collected it, alongside his own phone.

In the gentle swoop of continued walking, they eased out of the great room and down a separate corridor that lead downstairs to a massive, basement-like theater room, though on the way, he set both of their phones down on a long, narrow hallway table they passed.

"No phones, no worries, just us," Gunner eased, to which Berri eagerly obliged, though as they rounded the corner and began to ease into the foyer of the theater room's stairwell, Berri lofted her gaze over her shoulder and gave her phone one last look of confused longing, the weird sensation of leaving Turbo on read, for User knows how long, had her heart sagging in conflicting dread.

* * *

 **A/N :** Hey guys! I won't have internet, in my home, until maybe the middle of next week, but I'll be able to keep up with you guys.

ALSO, be sure to vote for what chapter you'd like to see put into comic form! I'll try and have the last two pages of chapter 46 up this weekend, but I'm starting to take polls for the next one!

One that's REALLY getting a hit of attention is the chapter where Berri runs into the deleter. I'm inclined to do that one, but that chapter has literally no dialog, so it'd be interesting on just how I'd portray that comic form. Could be a fun experiment, I just hope it wouldn't flop. You can continue to cast your votes, I'll probably choose a winning chapter within the next upload, or two! Remember, it can be ANY chapter between chapters 50-100. Thanks again guys! :D


	103. Chapter 103

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** it was more the sentiment, similar to a 'phone stack' on a dinner date, but I can see your side of it for sure lol.

 **Jay Sketchin :** Lol! Yeah he's definitely a guy you love to hate and hate to love.

 **Nikki Firesong :** aww lol! yeah Gunner doesn't seem to be liked worldwide, but hes trustworthy in that aspect. I try to give both boys very real flaws so that they're both still loved, but I can definitely tell which boy you guys like better. I'm unfortunately being pretty heavy handed with it, but its blatantly clear which boy I'm rooting for too haha

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Party For One by Carly Rae Jepsen**

* * *

 ***Chapter 103***

With a firm, reserved yank of securing Chester's saddle, about his slim belly, Berri grunted a noise and stood up. With her hair in a tight, long braid down her back, headphones in with music blaring, and the proper riding gear on, she was floored to finally be able to take Chester for runs, once more. During the winter months, it had become impossible to take Chester for a run due to the pile up of snow, though the first sight that Berri could see of emerging grass and little speckles of Chester's running path, here and there, she took the immediate opportunity to further help the snow thin out. Excited for warmer weather, she finally pat Chester's side and warmly cooed for him to press on, with her aid. With a quick saunter out of the flyer's enclosure, void of any life except her and Chester, Berri finally mounted Chester's back the second they were upon the long, open-aired corridor of the flyer's humid enclosure. In a grimace of the change in temperature, from hot and humid to still cold and snowy, Berri allowed Chester to slowly trot down the long corridor to get used to the sudden change in atmosphere, though once they were officially on the main palace's grounds, Berri inhaled a deep breath and allowed her coding to flood Chester's in whole certainty.

Chester perked up the second he could see the grid via his and Berri's exterior swap, and like a bolt of lightning, Chester tightened the furl of his dragon wings to his lithe body and inhaled a readied breath. Berri huffed a startled giggle the second Chester darted for their typical running path, and upon letting his cleat-like claws find it, amidst the thin layer of snow, Berri hardly had the opportunity to brace herself before Chester lunged forward in prepared excitement. With a proper hunch of a riding stance that Berri had to immediately force herself into, she urged Chester a few encouraging words, amidst surprise laughter, and was entirely floored to feel the sap of confidence that ran through Chester's entire being. She bugged her eyes in joyous concern, almost as if she now didn't recognize this version of Chester, as if somehow, something had given him an added push of confidence in his actions. She was well aware there was no running training going on, between Turbo and Chester, though she had to wonder if the vocal lessons, Turbo was putting Chester through, somehow tied in here.

With no reserves, Berri blurt out a few more encouraging words to Chester the second she could feel his flexible, long spine begin to firmly ripple in the form of his incredible, lunging run. A lightning speed Berri wasn't used to anymore, she eagerly braced herself and took a minute to get acclimated to it all again, though the second she was finally back in rhythm with Chester, she tilted her head down and kept an eagle eye out on the path ahead of them, one that circled the very inner perimeter of the round palace grounds. She huffed a shaky chuckle to herself, grappled Chester's streamline saddle and reigns and hunched into her strict, proper riding position. A weightless feeling of flight came upon them, something she imagined flying to actually be like, and although she had only taken a few flights on the backs of Chester's family members, she knew actually steering a dragon was an entirely different feeling. In the act of wanting to close her eyes and make believe her and Chester were actually flying, she felt the cold wind rush the two as they tore, lightning speed, over the palace grounds, a hobby Berri was certainly glad she had not long forgotten, due to Sugar Rush's unforgiving snowfall.

"I mean, Lickity was telling me all about how she got a mouthful of honey-daisies, yesterday, so," Tessa trailed off in tender delight with a shrug, "I'm certain we'll be rid of the snowfall soon, here... I'm tired of it, I know everyone else is, too."

"Flyers probably the most," Turbo's deep voice soothed as him, Boss, Tessa, Zed and Rancis softly stepped out of the palace's main building, the two wings of the palace that housed all of the racer's homes, as well as the code room right at the center, they crossed the beautiful courtyard, only lightly littered with snow. Their boots crunched on the cobble and ice as they made their way to Ace's home, which was only right across the way, "That new enclosure sure came in handy, though."

"It'll take care of us year round, really," Boss pressed warmly, the five slowly began to reach the edges of the courtyard in a moseying saunter of easiness, "Sugar Rush honestly doesn't get hot enough, in the summer, where as the enclosure has the right amount of heat and humidity."

"I'm glad it's working out for you guys," Tessa sweetly assured, she sagged her hand to Boss's dark, velvety snout and gave him a warm smile as he flattened his ears in kind acceptance, "Hopefully there's enough flying room."

"Certainly," Boss assured with a nod, though as they reached the edges of the courtyard's cobbles and stepped into the thinly veiled snowy, dead grass, Boss perked his ears and honed his eyes tight to the one being that pressed ahead first, in the group, "Look alive, look alive!"

Turbo furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and felt his spine stiffen in concern, though just as he was about to turn heel and give Boss a look of confusion, a sudden bolt of orange and blue lightning nearly tore the skin off of Turbo's nose. In a hard whisk of kicked up grass, dirt and snow, Chester and Berri flew by at Chester's top speed, nearly at seventy miles an hour. The second the air about Turbo finally settled, he finally opened his eyes and realized he had messily channeled his own powers, so deeply stuffed away. Although his powers were a strange mixture of time travel and teleportation, he was shocked to find he had successfully moved his own self about five steps previous to where he was originally about to step. He was now stood right next to Tessa and Zed, they all halted in the whirl of it all. Boss was the first to bark a soft laugh, perk his ears and stand up a bit straighter, so to see where Berri and Chester had shot off to. In the mess of it all, Berri noticed that she had nearly made Turbo road kill and was en-route to turning Chester around and heading towards the quiet commotion.

"You almost died," Zed choked, he suddenly erupted in hard laughter and watched as Chester's heavy, lofty footsteps now began to trot his way back towards the group, he was almost a quarter-mile away.

"I-I forgot you had those sneaky powers, of yours," Tessa cued as she crossed her arms and gave Turbo a cheeky side-eye, to which he began to pat himself to see if he was actually alive or not.

"I did too, for User's sakes," Turbo huffed a shaky breath, having looked as if he had the wind knocked out of him, he finally joined in all of Zed's laughter and nervously tidied his hair, "Holy crap, w-was that... Berri and Chester?"

"Yeah, she rides, you didn't know that?" Tessa kindly pressed, though Turbo's nervous smile proved that he was entirely out of sorts.

"No, I didn't, I mean... I knew that we eventually wanted to try and teach Chester to fly, but," Turbo staggered, he was floored to see Chester trot up, all poised and handsome in his riding gear, though his eyes nervously trailed to Berri, who looked equally as stunning in her own gear, "I knew lykatas were extremely fast runners, but I didn't... User, that was insane."

"He's quick," Boss's deep voice eased in pride as he flattened his ears and joined the group in kindly watching Berri and Chester approach, "Watching him, Marble and Balba run is incredible. You'd be surprised how much that comes in handy, while we hunt. Of the how many times us dragons have lost our prey, only for Balba and Marble to continue the chase on foot and be successful."

"He'll be one, soon, won't he?" Zed wondered as he finally came out of his and Turbo's boyish laughing fit, he nudged Turbo's arm and shook his head, "Ho, man. I'm not laughing at you, I'm just-"

"Laughing with me? I see how it is," Turbo bobbed a nod of cute sarcasm, a boyish friendship that him and Zed had fallen into, though upon Chester finally sagging into their vicinity, Turbo eased off the banter and felt it odd at just how shy he was now becoming.

"That would've been funny to see, not gunna lie," Rancis grumbled towards Turbo with a scheming smile, a mild insult that would've legitimately made Turbo mad, had it been made over a year ago; Turbo only shot him an annoyed smile and shook his head at his fellow knight.

"Why do you hate me?" Turbo blurt inside their joking banter, though as him and Rancis were now rocketed into laughter, Chester's hefty, snow and dirt covered paws finally trot up, causing Turbo to soften in almost star-struck nervousness.

"Nearly mowed you right off the map, dude," Berri stated amidst a girly laugh, in Turbo's direction, though before he could retort, Berri swung her leg over and dismounted Chester with a hop and a thud. Turbo cocked an eyebrow and eyed Berri in subtly; she wore tight clothes, though they were thick to protect her from the cold and keep her streamline. She gently moved her tinted riding goggles to the crown of her head and finally gave Turbo, as well as everyone else, proper eye contact, "Sorry about that. I figured it was early enough, in the morning, that no one would be out here."

"It's okay," Turbo staggered with a nervous smile, he clutched his chest and prepared himself the second that Chester caught the sound of Turbo's voice and began to make a cute, bumbling bee-like right for Turbo's existence, "I-I had no clue you rode, like this. That was awesome."

"Would've been more awesome if-" Rancis blurt a hard laugh as Tessa firmly cut him off with a playful shove to his upper arm.

"-If Turbo could've shown a greater display of his powers, there," Tessa completed Rancis's statement with a cute smile and a shrug, though she felt herself reel in delight the second Berri's face scrunched to bashful surprise, her sweet eyes stabbed to Turbo's in whole, remembered curiosity; Turbo heaved a shaky chuckle and braved Berri's eager stare.

"Dunno when the next time that'll be," Turbo tried to skirt around the topic, though Berri's stare was unwavering. He slumped his shoulders and finally gave Berri a sweet smile, "C'mon, don't do that to me."

"Seems odd that we're best friends and you still, to this day, have not even EXPLAINED to me what your gamer powers are," Berri shrugged in irritation, she bravely peered to her dad and shook her head at him, as if to be hopeful that Zed would jump to her aid; much to her dismay, he raised his eyebrows in prickled surprise, blurt a chuckle, firmly pat Turbo's upper arm and gave him a figurative go-ahead.

"You're on your own, friend," Zed grunted with a refreshed sigh as he firmly began to press on, past Berri, Chester and Turbo. Tessa, Rancis and Boss slowly began to follow in the King's footsteps, though not before Boss and Chester displayed a sweet, brief greeting of nuzzled snouts and flattened ears.

"Your majesty," Turbo mumbled in a very clearly annoyed tone, though all in good fun; Zed shot Turbo a cheeky smile and waved at him in continued kindness.

"We'll be at Ace's, just catch up with us there," Zed instructed across their broadening gap, to which Turbo chirped an agreeing notion towards.

"...Thought for sure my dad would side with me, on that one," Berri muttered as she sighed a fogged breath and watched as her mother, father and great uncle Rancis began to slowly saunter towards Ace's and Libby's poised tower, sunkissed with the dregs of pristine, winter snowfall. Berri cocked an eyebrow and gave Turbo a now softened look of humility, "My words still stand, though..."

"It's not that I'm not willing to show you my powers, or tell you what they are, I just..." Turbo bashfully rubbed the back of his head and wobbled with a chuckle the second Chester firmly nuzzled his snout into Turbo's core. Turbo smiled and lovingly gave Chester all the head and ear scratches he desired as he carried on, "It's been so long since I've practiced my own raw powers. I was trapped with mine and Libby's swapped coding for so long, that... I'm almost scared to relearn my powers. I should already know how to use them, y'know?"

"It's situational, it doesn't mean you're dumb or lacking," Berri shrugged and shook her head, she tucked her loose bangs behind her ears and riding goggles, "I certainly don't think that about you. I'd love to see what I'm working with, here."

Turbo nearly bulged his eyes in surprise and had to relay exactly what he had just heard. He shot Berri a wildly bewildered look of unmitigated surprise, though the second Berri burst out in laughter and pointed to Turbo, in a teasing fashion, Turbo largely rolled his eyes and looked off.

"Hooo man, the look on your face was totally worth that comment," Berri was lost in girly laughter, to which Turbo finally caved to and cracked a smile down to his boots.

"I'm so thankful you didn't say that in front of your parents," Turbo huffed a bashful notion, nearly a whisper, he kindly peered to Berri and almost gave her a grateful look of sweetness; even in said joke of mild cruelty, it was somehow Berri's way of reminding Turbo that she had, indeed, not given up on him. He felt further at ease, further comfortable welcoming Berri deeper into his heart, something he had now grown akin to properly displaying for her.

"I mean, I can," Berri bobbed a nod and gave Turbo a playfully eager look, as if she was due to skipping off and getting the attention of her father, though Turbo grunted an annoyed noise of plea and lightly grappled Berri's upper arm.

"I'd honestly rather die," Turbo barked, the two were, once more, rocketed into laughter with each other, an easiness the nature of their friendship provided, and with such warmth given back to the two, Berri beamed and peered up to Turbo in soft curiosity.

Berri was aware their little embers of love were put on pause, though the more she thought about it, the better this was for the both of them. She was floored to really get to know Turbo more, as a friend, to really scope out all the dark corners and hiding places of his heart, and him for her. The way the sun glinted down on his soft skin, the matte yellow of his now non-intimidating gaze, she softened and was well aware this incredibly rare being, before her, was definitely here for the long haul. Although there was no light at the end of the tunnel, Berri somehow felt solace in the dark trek to find it, alongside someone she was well aware she'd give the whole entire world to, and him for her. She sighed in contentment and allowed the sound of the breeze, in the rustling trees nearby, to coat their existence with peace.

"Please show me," Berri pressed, as softly as her hyperactive demeanor could possess, though she felt victory with the way Turbo's broad shoulders lightly sagged in defeat.

"Fine," Turbo said through a concluding sigh, he eyed her with a nervous, cheeky smile, "But it won't be pretty."


	104. Chapter 104

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Thanks friend! :D

 **chuckiboo :** Thank you! Yeah, I've tried not to make that fact too obvious, but I think my artwork heavily gives that away lol. And, I'll definitely consider that! You mean like a drawing, or an animation? Either one would be cool to try and replicate.

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 **Song Listenened To :**

 **A Phone Call in Amsterdam by Valley**

* * *

 ***Chapter 104***

"Wherever you're taking me, it better be cold enough to qualify for all this winter gear," Berri eased in a monotone, though she still shot Turbo an anticipatory smile. They eased into his code room, just the two of them, something that Berri was actually grateful for. She fingered her lip in aimless thought as Turbo cued his code room orb, though before he could quell her rushing thoughts, she spoke once more, "Wait a second... Why do we have to be outside to show off your powers?"

"Because I'm not used to them, and I want my home to stay in one piece," Turbo eased, although he looked mildly dejected by the idea, as if he was beginning to show signs of whole embarrassment over this whole ordeal, he shrugged and finally gave Berri a gentle, humble smile, "I-I just... Want to show you this one place, and it'll be perfect to really spread out and practice my skill."

"Spread out?" Berri wondered kindly, though with the gentle kiss of electricity through the soles of her feet and her thick winter boots, she scrunched her eyes shut in a flurry of anticipation as the two were successfully whisked away.

Through the fluttering kiss of leftover snowflakes, the icy bits so tenderly lifted around the two as they were gently plopped to their destination, a place Berri had never been. As the glint of early afternoon sunshine eased down upon the two and soaked Berri's closed eyelids with warmth, she fluttered her eyes open and felt stunned at just where Turbo had taken the two. A never-ending field ladened with patches of snow, vivid green grass that so desperately wanted to spread the goodness of spring, mighty blue-snowed and candy-coated mountains hugged this serene, seemingly untouched valley like it was Arcade's last well kept secret. With gorgeous pops of yellow, cotton candy-puffed flowers and dandelion-like buds that began to rise from the ground, the whole place was alive with a cool wind that gladly was accompanied by the eager embrace of the sun's impending spring-time warmth. Berri inhaled a deep breath through her nose as her incredible, long blue hair was whisked about by the cool breeze. She shook her head in soft disbelief and finally hooked eyes with a familiar sight in the distance; Orion City as a whole, as well as the mere speck of the palace's silhouette far on the minty, sunny horizon.

"User Almighty," Berri whispered in stun, she finally dragged her eyes a little bit behind her and caught with Turbo's matte yellow gaze. The two stood about fifty feet from an incredible chocolate oak, it's spindle branches and hefty trunk stood tall and proud, though it was in the process of attempting to welcome new leaves on it's slightly barren canopy. Berri huffed a fogged giggle and gave Turbo a bewildered smile, "Where in Arcade are we? This is incredible...!"

"A secret little valley North of Orion City," Turbo's deep voice eased over Berri's shivering soul, he huffed a chuckle and buried his gloved hands into his thick, dark brown leather jacket, all cozily lined with short, tan faux-fur, "There's a smaller village just further North, at the edges of the valley, tucked away at the base of the mountains. They have some of the best views of the city, and the palace, in the entire game."

"Well, yeah, who wouldn't want THIS as a front yard?" Berri blurt in a proper outdoor voice, the stretch was so incredibly far that her voice wasn't even promised the idea of touching the mountain's face.

"Pretty great, huh," Turbo bobbed a nod and gently gestured to the mighty tree behind him, "This old friend, of mine, blooms the most incredible cherry blossom bombs you ever will see... Unfortunately, they bloom in the summer, so... We'll have to wait."

"I'd do anything to live here," Berri suddenly staggered with an eager smile, though Turbo furrowed his eyebrows and eagerly listened, as if he could potentially write down every single one of Berri's dreams and make it a reality. She spun in a small circle with her arms outstretched, a very childlike spirit deeply embedded in her heart, something she never could seem to shake, "Just a quaint home, in the middle of the field... Maybe a big windmill, nothing but the sky to watch over us."

Turbo raised his eyebrows in diligent, surprised listening, and although he didn't want to get way too ahead of himself, he bit his tongue and heavily reserved himself from inquiring about just what she meant when she said the word 'us'. He heaved a fogged sigh through his nose and peered to the dead center of the massive, never-ending field, at least ten miles in all directions to the base of the hefty mountains that surrounded. He knew a wish, like such, was not far fetched, though he reeled in tenderness and felt safe to inquire deeper on her stance, here, skillfully keeping himself out of it.

"Well... What about the palace? You don't like being there anymore?" Turbo prod carefully, though Berri stopped her gentle twirling, about twenty feet from Turbo's stance, and peered to him in a gentle swing of impending seriousness.

"No, I do, I do," Berri quickly assured, though she twiddled her thumbs and looked down. She furrowed her eyebrows in soft contemplation and shrugged, "I don't know, it's... It's a lot of people on one lot. Sometimes I just want to run away, and be alone... Maybe it'd make for a nice summer home, away from it all. Y'know?"

"I know the feeling," Turbo gently agreed, he breathed a chuckle and looked over his shoulder. The backside of his tower could be seen, the tallest building around, and although the two were pretty far from the city, his tower was the closest thing to them, due to it being nearly on the outskirts of the city's heart. He shook his head and smiled longingly at his tower, "I'm just grateful your mother took my plea seriously."

"Your plea?" Berri questioned gently.

"Once Sugar Rush was saved, I told her that the only thing I wanted was my own secluded penthouse in Orion City's tallest tower," Turbo shrugged and turned back to face Berri, "I didn't think she'd take me up on it... Pretty grateful she did."

"Man, I wish," Berri eased in soft annoyance, though Turbo cocked an eyebrow and peered to her in a soft spike of confusion.

"You have a whole entire tower and music studio, Bear," Turbo blurt with a laugh, noting that Berri potentially was beginning to take it all for granted, and although he was prepared for Berri to fight back, she blurt a bashful giggle and gave Turbo a smile of humility.

"I-I know, I know... It's perfect for where I'm at in life, now," Berri sighed with a shrug, though the more she could feel Turbo's almost authoritative gaze on her, the more she itched to segue away from the topic at hand, "A-Anyways... Why don't you show me your powers, now, I've been waiting for what seems to be weeks."

"User, okay, well," Turbo stumbled on his words, he smiled in anxiety-riddled agitation and finally tugged on his collar after a few moments of adjusting his feet in his place. He finally shook his head and blurt a small laugh the second Berri gave him a bewildered look and joined in on said laughter, "I-I'm nervous, I don't know where to begin!"

"Well, why don't you start by telling me what it is you do?" Berri eased with a smile, she gestured to him and itched to stand closer to him, though she figured giving him about a twenty foot berth was wise.

"Well, it's... Hard to explain, it's a weird mix between time travel and teleportation," Turbo explained dully, though due to the twinkling look of glee in Berri's eyes, he had to wonder if maybe he underestimated the awesomeness of his own powers. He laid a hand to his broad chest and eased a small chuckle, "I'm absolutely positive gamers, nowadays, probably have very similar powers, and then some, but you have to understand... Back in the 80's, I was hot shit."

"C'mon, you're still hot shit, just own it," Berri rushed with a small laugh as she gestured at him to carry on, though after a few more moments of him shuffling his feet every now and then, the crunch of ice under his boots, she finally blurt another laugh at him and bent her knees in agitation, "Turbo, come ON."

"I can't, oh my gosh I can't," Turbo suddenly rushed in smiling agitation as he firmly gestured out, "I forgot!"

"No you didn't, c'mon," Berri complained, the both of them were all smiles. In a gentle glitch hop of encouragement, Berri's shiny silver coding flood their vicinity. She eased next to his side in a cute bumbling stumble of correction and was thrilled when Turbo's eye contact gripped to hers, "I... I was just about to potentilaly do something to help you out, but... I-I think it might be too much fo a trigger, due to your past with, well... Libby."

"...Exterior swap?" Turbo braved, he inhaled a deep breath as his chest broadened, though the second Berri bashfully nodded, Turbo shrugged and looked off in nervousness, "I'm... I'm so used to using my powers alongside glitching powers, I'd hate to get back into that, y'know?"

"Well, tell y'what... Why don't we exterior swap, you can get used to the powers you once had, for a few minutes, and then afterwards, we can quit the exterior swap and you can carry on with just your own coding, okay?" Berri inquired cutely, she shrugged and held out her able and willing hands to Turbo, as if to state that she was definitely okay with this ordeal, and the ball was in Turbo's court, "... We all have to learn to fly on our own, but... Whose to say we can't do so with a little push from your friends?"

Turbo gently peered his eyes to Berri's hands in a spike of continued nervousness. Although Berri's glitching powers were entirely different from Libby's previous powers, and were now currently laced with Ralph's incredible wrecking abilities, Turbo still felt nervousness trail down his spine in a tier of past fears becoming realized. In the gentle stab of his eye contact to hers, he felt his stomach writhe with impending regret, any simple taste of her coding, running through his, was enough to make him fall in love with her all over again, something he didn't really want to keep being reminded of, though somehow, out here in this lonely, sunny field, he held his breath and wondered if it was something they could afford, just this once. He flinched a little, the second that Berri flared her silver circuits on her palms, and in one single glance down to her hands, he finally peered back to her with a bit more gust, a sting of nervous question, though she shrugged and gave him a positive smile, as if to insinuate that it all was harmless. Turbo lulled his eyes closed, amidst a cheeky eye roll and gently sank his trembling hands into Berri's.

Although the two had exterior swapped before, the sudden grip of her playful coding yanked on his dusty coding like a live wire being thrusted into cold water. He choked a silent noise as the two jolted in surprise, the angry argument their coding had, due to being opposed, so quickly dissolved to that of heated delight, a final agreement it all came to, a soak of new love they were both terrified to explore, though the second the two were flood with each other's thoughts, Turbo knew he was doomed. As the two held each others hands, out before them, they peered hard into each others eyes. The way the breeze eased their hair in front of their eyes, the kiss of sunshine on their cheeks, it was simply as if they had stepped into a heavenly plane off the playing field, a separate dimension for the two to just exist with each other and no one else. The rush of familiarity surged into Turbo's dusty old red honeycombs, a kiss of newness he was well aware he desired, he exhaled a trembling breath and felt every single last pixel of his old abilities come flooding back to him, and with such, Berri's soft and lovely voice sapped every single pixelated pore Turbo's body harbored.

"Go ahead, babe," Berri cheekily dared, a whisper that was heightened in Turbo's ears, due to their exterior swap, and with such a loving go-ahead, Turbo exhaled a fogged breath and took one step backwards.

With the gentle grip of their hands kept until they couldn't any longer, the second Turbo's hands slipped from hers, he whisked away in a blip of ghostly disappearance, as if he were merely an apparition that came and went too soon, and with such, Berri flinched in whole surprise and tucked her hands to her chest in cold confusion. She eagerly whirled around, back-stepped in whole entire confusion, she tucked her hair behind her ears and finally peered down to her palms. Berri was well aware the two were still sharing their exterior swap due to the now lovely draws of honeycombs and circuit marks that splayed her hands, a kiss of a rose gold that now sapped her whole soul with entire warmth and delight. She relished in the heat of Turbo's red hot coding, tiers of memories and wisdom eased into her mainframe, it raised goosebumps on her skin, something her whole soul itched for, every last pixel of his coding was now something she safely harbored, something she knew she was extremely lucky to even participate in. She peered up to Sugar Rush's minty sky and relished in it all, though she largely flinched the second the air a dozen feet from her warbled and blipped about in whole confusion, in which eventually had Turbo finally coming out the other end of it.

"Holy USER," Turbo hollered in now riled excitement, he inhaled a deep breath, glossed his eyes to Berri and gave her a cheeky look, and although Berri was beaming ear to ear, she suddenly flinched the second Turbo glitch-hopped directly to her, stumbled in the scuffle of ice his boots crunched on, and finally came to a very heightened, excited stop, "I feel like a million bucks, right now."

"Wh-where did you even go?" Berri eased in whole laughter.

"I went to where I was two days ago," Turbo choked a laugh and bashfully rubbed the back of his head, "I-I guess, it was Sugarbucks... I appeared in the middle of the line. Bug nearly looked as if he was about to pass out."

"Y-You went to Sugarbucks just now?" Berri blurt in entire disbelief, though the raw, humble look of excited shock in Turbo's eyes had truth written all over it.

"YEAH! Wow, what a ride," Turbo huffed to himself as he looked off, though he flared their rosey coding, on his palms, and bashfully admired every aspect of it, "This is incredible. I haven't felt this way in a long time... Thank you."

"You're welcome," Berri chimed in cuteness, though she peered to Turbo's hands in a mild sting of regret. She knew that Turbo needed to do this all on his own, he needed to hone his own powers and not rely on a swapped code any longer. She almost nervously eyed Turbo the second the two caught air of stillness, and in said stillness, she finally sagged her hands to his and allowed the two to sit in their shared coding for a few moments longer. Turbo panted a little, a heightened look of fresh, new goodness hung on him, a high he was more than happy to be in, though the look of understanding finally sank into their souls, leading Turbo to sag his shoulders and nervously peer down to their conjoined hands. Berri shook her head a little and stayed close to Turbo, for comfort, her warm voice hovered over him like a guardian angel, "You're doing great, Turbo... It's time for you to do this on your own, now, okay?"

Turbo frowned and almost felt the sensation of tears hit his eyes, he furrowed his brow and peered down to their hands in a rising spike of sorrow, something he absolutely hated to admit; Berri wasn't his. He scrunched his eyes tight, shook his head and finally gave Berri full eye contact, something he was shy to do sometimes. He fogged a sigh through his nose and almost peered to Berri in desperation, their coding swirled around in soft delight, even softer confusion, a settle of love the two knew to keep tight under wraps, though with such a heightened connection, Turbo was very well aware nothing could be contained here. He bravely challenged Berri, the dominant stance he was hoping she'd adhere to, he could feel his circuits begin to become a little desperate.

"... I don't want to do this without you," Turbo's deep voice softly begged, an insinuation Berri was well aware went beyond just a simple exterior swap, though she held her breath and wondered just when they'd stop playing cat and mouse, here.

"You won't," Berri assured softly, she shook her head and, as cautiously as she could, she ended their exterior swap and continued to hold Turbo's hands, "I'm right here... I'll always be here, Bo."

Turbo felt his energy drain, that high he was on very quickly came plummeting down to rock bottom, and as he finally was sagged with his old, original dusty coding, he felt a sting of depression coat his heart in hardness. He squeezed Berri's hands and now felt a mild kick of anger want to spark in his heart, though once his eyes glossed Berri's in tenderness, he felt as if he couldn't possibly be mad at her. He was well aware he started this sick game of keep away, she was simply playing by the rules. Turbo finally bobbed a nod of hesitant agreeing, looked down and held onto Berri's hands like they were his only lifeline. Her warm voice pressed on, likely the only thing that was keeping him grounded at this point.

"Try again," Berri whispered with smiling encouragement, to which Turbo cocked an eyebrow and peered deep into her eyes, almost in question.

Turbo breathed through his nose, his heart rate began to thud again, a gentle warm from death his body was trying to fall into, he lulled his eyes closed and desperately tried to recall all of his old powers, without the rushing, slippery aid of Berri's incredible glitching powers. He furrowed his eyebrows in concentration and finally felt it all come back to him, albeit much slower and sluggish. With eyes closed, he scrunched and wondered if absolutely anything was happening, though the second Berri blurt a small giggle of surprise was the second he popped his eyes open in whole curiosity. He peered to Berri in confusion and caught her line of sight, which was hooked tight to the ground about his feet.

"Lookit, you're doing it," Berri encouraged, though the second Turbo realized just what was going on, he almost felt entirely set back; the only thing reversing and even slightly changing were the little flowers about his feet, the way their petals now began to close as if they were shroud in moonlight like how they maybe were last night. Turbo rolled his eyes, sagged his shoulders, looked off and sighed a hot, fogged sigh through his nose in whole entire irritation. Berri giggled and gave Turbo an apologetic look, "Aww, c'mon, Bo, it's SOMETHING. It's a start!"

"Some weak-ass start," Turbo muttered in continued irritation, though Berri jostled their conjoined hands, which had Turbo's irritated look sagging to that of gentle, sorrowful need.

"We all start somewhere... Bo, it's been thirty years since you've been able to accomplish this kind of thing," Berri shook her head and sapped him of her encouragement, "I'm sure, outside of an adrenaline rush, this is going to be how it is, for awhile... Unless you practice. You have to keep practicing."

"I was one of the greatest gamers ever," Turbo muttered in whole defeat to himself, though Berri squeezed his hands harder and blurt a giggle.

"You can get back there, Bo... It's not something you're going to get over night," Berri assured, she was thrilled he held eye contact a little bit longer with each plea of encouragement, "You have to keep at it. You're doing great, so far, I mean... For User's sakes, I could NEVER do something like that. You reversed the flower's sun cycle. That's insanity."

"I used to be able to reverse whole entire weeks worth of actions," Turbo sighed, though Berri shook her head and eyed Turbo in soft authority.

"Was that with your own coding, or with Libby's?" Berri dared, though Turbo raised his eyebrows in prickled surprised and stayed silent, thus giving Berri her answer, "You have to relearn yourself... There's absolutely nothing wrong with that."

"I'm almost forty Arcade years old," Turbo eased, his irritated attitude finally began to subside and ease into something a bit more humble, "This should be easy."

"Not with the kind of past you've had," Berri concluded as she shook her head, "I think you should consider yourself lucky to be alive, Bo. You've been through a lot... Stop being so hard on yourself."

Turbo remained in Berri's gentle, silent presence for a few moments, mulling, moping, accepting. He shook his head and long blinked in gentle understanding, though as their eyes met, he gave her a look of entire gratitude, "Thank you... Even though it was just a small taste of what I once was, it... Was so nice to relive... Thank you."

"You're welcome," Berri softly assured, though she shook her head and gave him a cute, cheeky smile, "But, you don't need me to be that great. I know you can do it all on your own... You have it in you, I can see it."

"Well, that makes one of us," Turbo mumbled, and although he seemed to be entiretly down on himself, Berri could tell there was uplift in his eyes, a chore he was now en-route to accomplishing, a battle he needed to fight all on his own.


	105. Chapter 105

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** For real! I'd freak out too, if I was Bug LOL!

 **Nikki Firesong :** that's great foresight you have there! Their kids' powers will definitely be ones for the books. :)

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Loyal by ODESZA**

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 ***Chapter 105***

In the rush of the reverberating bass, the skull crushing amount of adrenaline that sapped the entire arena the four owned, Berri's fingers moved like lightnig down the bridge of her glistening, expensive guitar. Although simply inside a rehearsal, blaring to a crowd of a few thousand empty seats, she still imagined the riot of the crowd out before her. The rigor of hitting every single note on cue, the explosion of music the four created, it was like a symphony of in sync rhythm, something that made Berri's heart race, the rush of purpose flood her veins, and with such a hot, fast melody that sapped her entire being, she absolutely could not help but sing along with Gunner's powerful words, lyrics he, himself, came up with, she began to nearly belt the song in her own version of harmony, a kiss of soprano she nearly itched to give Gunner's masculine touch, she got lost in the act of creating something beautiful that she nearly missed the lower of Gunner's mic, cueing the rest of the band to cease production.

"Bear, Bear," Gunner rushed, he reserved irritation, though the slicing motion of his arm made very blatantly clear that he was maybe well past annoyance. Berri panted through her mouth, sagged her shoulders, eased a dewy look of cuteness and felt her face get hot the second Gunner cocked an eyebrow and gave her a mildly authoritative look of sincere, nervous seriousness, "The mic on your guitar is picking up all your singing, Bear."

"I-I'm sorry," Berri staggered, the race of her heart came to a very jarring halt, she frowned and tried her hardest to catch her breath, though through the several times Gunner has begged her to ease up on the conjoined singing, she felt her heart begin to harden to the very raw desire to sing. She knew it shouldn't be that big of a deal, and with such, something inside her begged to at least try and stand up for herself, "... I-I really can't just like... Sing in the background? Just a little harmony here and there?"

"We already have Wren on the back up vocals, we need a man's voice in the background, babe," Gunner tried to reiterate, as if maybe he had gone over this with Berri before, and although he was doing a great job at showing softness, the desperation in his eyes was real. He pleadingly looked Berri in the eye, across the dozen foot gap, and apologetically shook his head, "Just... Try your hardest to reserve yourself, hun. Your voice is beautiful, but... It's contaminating the track, here."

"Sorry," Berri sagged in defeat, she inhaled a deep breath and put on a brave face for the time being, though she almost nervously glanced back to Wren and Theo, who both equally hung in almost irritated wait, a rush of defense to their princess's side, something they'd forfeit all shreds of their celebrity lifestyle to uphold, something Berri diligently took note of.

"You're okay babe," Gunner grew softer, he jostled his mic a little and gave her a weak smile, "Maybe... We can jam out together after practice, and you can sing all you want then, does that sound good?"

"Yeah, that sounds great," Berri nodded, the delighted look in her eye was forced and vacant, though she was thrilled it at least pacified Gunner enough to have him turn to Wren and Theo and begin giving instructions to them.

Berri sagged her shoulders, which caused her gorgeous blue guitar to droop on the strap. She gingerly reached up, out of instinct, and gently gripped the guitar pick that Turbo had given her. The grooves in her fingerprint, on her thumb, easily sagged over the grooves of the lettering engraved on the back, she could successfully feel every single letter of the words 'here and now' seemingly imprinted on her heart. Her eyes glossed the dark arena with a twinge of longing, a twinge of sorrow, a strange feeling of mild disconnect she was beginning to sink into, unwillingly. Lost in a sea of stage lights, the empty arena out before them was something truly to behold, and although her stomach knotted with the idea of just the size of a crowd to be placed here, she regretted spiraling into the dreaded thoughts she tried her very hardest not to think about.

As if now inevitable at this point, she allowed herself to aimlessly gaze out to the crowd as Gunner's deep voice gave kind instruction to Wren and Theo from afar, the murmurs of their masculine voices dribbled to that of incoherent nonsense as she daydreamed the vision of seeing Turbo's happy, golden glowing eyes out in the crowd. She long-blinked in sadness, thinking that there likely wasn't a single thing she wouldn't do to see him standing there, cheering her on, though she grappled the pick a little harder and knew, full well, he'd be cheering from afar. No matter how much it pained her to just swallow and deal with. In the act of lulling her eyes closed, amidst a defeated eye roll, she felt her skin go cold at the sight of something familiar out in the dimly lit arena.

In a hard, frozen stance of a double take, Berri fixated her hawk-like gaze to the edges of the empty arena and felt her pupils tighten in a draw of triggered fear. There, in plain sight, lurking near the edges of the arena's balcony's shadow, were two deleters. Berri froze, the prickle of goosebumps that shot up her arms then sailed down her spine in an electric jolt of terror, and although she was now plagued with said terror, she felt as if she couldn't do anything to get her feet to move. As if holding her breath for eternity was now her greatest talent, she fixated her gaze to the two deleters in whole, undivided attention as they simply loitered in baited wait, as if they were absolutely certain they weren't seen. Berri felt her feet finally begin to move, and with such a burst, she inhaled a trembled breath, backstepped a few times and urgently began to make her way to Wren's glorious keyboard and mix-station set up.

"Please tell me you see them too," Berri huffed over the nearly hundreds of keys and knobs Wren was loosely surrounded by, though he bulged his eyes in terror and grew stiff in uncertain anticipation.

"Who," Wren huffed silently, though much to Berri's delight, his eyes began to scan the empty arena.

"Guys, what's the issue?" Gunner pressed, his tone becoming more and more agitated, though Berri knew she held rank in this situation and thwarted Gunner's mild attitude with a firm finger pointed to the ground.

"SH-" Berri sharply addressed, she gestured to Gunner and peered to him in heightened terror in the corner of her eye, though she muttered to carry on, "There are two deleters at the edge of the arena and I don't want them to know that we see them."

"Bear, there's nothing," Wren stated in a tone that showed nonchalant strength, though he wildly flinched once Berri glowered him down and silently begged him to keep his tone low.

"There's two?" Gunner now eased on board, his hushed tone had Berri grateful that at least someone took directions well, though Berri nervously glanced to Gunner and was very certain that the terror in her eyes was real. As smoothly as he could, he glossed his eyes about the arena and felt stumped, though he brought his diligent attention back to Berri, "We can't see them, then... I see nothing."

"There's two, they're loitering by the middle exit," Berri rushed, though she sagged her guitar and peered down to her palm in aimless thought, "H-How can I see them, but you guys can't..."

"Guys?" Theo called from across the small stretch, he peeked over the top of his shiny drum set, "Y'good over there?"

"Just fine," Berri's sharp voice suddenly pierced, though she peered down to Wren in terror and shook her head, "We have to get out of here... We all have the deletion protection, but Gunner and the rest of the team doesn't."

"We have to hurry, then," Wren mumbled nervously, and much to Berri's relief, Gunner quickly eased to Theo's aid and silently filled him in on everything that was going on.

In the quick shuffle of abandoned instruments, the maze of back stage corridors they so quickly traversed, the four were successful in exiting out the back end of the massive arena whilst successfully escorting all staff and security out of the building. In the silent sting of panic in the air, everyone fled as fast as they could, wasting no time to stick around and be deleted out of thin air. Alongside the quick escape, Gunner, Theo, Berri and Wren were successful in jumping into a larger vehicle with nearly pitch-black tinted windows, an organized scramble of climbing into the cranked car and forgetting seat belts entirely, Gunner's driver floored it as soon as all doors were shut.

"Holy shit, I'm sad I didn't get to see it," Theo grunted, the twinkle in his eye promised Berri that these boys could only really sympathize with her, and nothing more.

"Hopefully they'll be gone soon, we have to keep practicing," Gunner stated in a disgruntled tone as he lofted his eyes to Wren, all three boys had a floored look of terror and excitement on their faces, "I-It's not cool that there was two of them in our presences, but... I'd be so interested to see what they look like."

"Big, gangly black things, I think?" Wren staggered, though they all sagged in impending guilt as Berri sharply shot each one of them looks of full fledged traumatic pain from the far back seat.

"They're tall, slick, have red markings, weird rectangle pupils and daggers for teeth," Berri stabbed in whole, riled irritation, the post-trauma that came flooding her veins nearly began to take her down, one stress mark at a time, "They're incredibly beautiful creatures with a roar that will haunt you for the rest of your life... How the hell I'm able to see them, and you guys aren't, is now beyond me..."

"Sorry, Bear," Theo mumbled softly as he looked down, Wren and Gunner equally eased small apologies as well.

"What does this mean for the concert?" Gunner worried quietly, they all shifted as Gunner's driver did everything he could to get the four to the safety of Gunner's home, high on the hill, "If that arena isn't safe for ticketholders, then... W-We gotta figure something out."

"No where is safe," Berri muttered darkly as she nervously looked down at her open palms in the dark of the SUV's interior, Turbo's pick necklace gently swayed back and forth from the movement in her downward peripheral, causing her to feel further agitation for everything going on. Alongside that, the faint glow of her stress marks, on her temples, easily glinted on the shiny pick that almost haphazardly dangled from her throat. She shook her head, shut her eyes tight and held her head in her hands, "I-I gotta call dad..."

"And Turbo," Wren eased without thinking, though he felt instant regret the second Gunner furrowed his eyebrows and shot Wren a look of mild confusion, though before Gunner could press on the topic at hand, Theo interrupted the ordeal.

"Let's... Just get inside Gunner's house, to safety," Theo eased with reason as he gestured his hand out a little and let out a gentle sigh of relief, "We can make all the phone calls we want once we're behind closed doors."

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 **A/N :**

 **Alright guys! The tally has spoken, and enough if you guys would like me to do the comic pages from the chapter where Berri runs into the deleter. I'm terrified because it includes nearly no dialog, but I ALSO have decided to include the chapter AFTER it where Turbo comforts Berri! A little incentive for me to push through and accept the challenge haha. Chapter 46 has two more pages needing to be completed. WeFINALLY are getting internet at our house tomorrow so it'll be easier to complete. Thanks guys! Hope you're enjoying so far~**


	106. Chapter 106

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Yeah they're definitely apples and oranges, Gunner and Turbo. It's been fun to really mess around with, for sure. Gunner's a good guy, just... Turbo's desperately fighting to prove that he's better lol.

 **Nikki Firesong : CONGRATS! You're my 400th review!** YAY Thanks friend! And, it's true! And you're definitely right, Gunner's due to now entering a downward spiral of jealousy and I am so excited to write for it LOL!

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Tidal by Noah Kahan**

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 ***Chapter 106***

In a soft lull of tender care Berri had suddenly fallen into, her bare feet gingerly glossed her mother's and father's lovely, familiar tiles of their massive, open-corridor foyer. Tiles she had grown up on, that familiar scent of her true home that filled her heart with bittersweet nostalgia, her glassy eyes got lost in the reflection of said glossy, white tiles, the chandeliers and lovely house lights, overhead, twinkled against the mirage of grout and mirrors, like fireflies that lead her to her point of safety. Loosely hugged by her mother's arm, Tessa and Zed diligently lead Berri to their main office area, a massive den-like area just branched off the main foyer's open-aired girth. A lovely area for Tessa and Zed to do a lot of their daydreaming and planning, proper construction and other duties for the whole of the game were splayed on the large work table that sat taut and high, in the middle of the room. A wonderful, soft grey wall was easily overwhelmed by the massive bay window that showed the flyer's old enclosure, shroud in jungle foliage and kissed with the setting sun's warmth. Theo followed behind the three diligently, and although Wren was previously in on this mess, he split from the group to help Taffyta and Penny with a separate, prior commitment.

Berri felt defeated, cold, angry. Her aimless gaze now eased to the glass that overlooked the trees canopies, as well as the palace wall that her mother and father's abode hung about a hundred feet from. She felt as if she didn't even have the energy to cry, nothing here seemed to be fair, how she simply could just forever be haunted by the traumatic experience she was swathed in, the only words she could even get out to her mother and father was the simple fact that she had merely spot two deleters. Understanding that Berri was shaken, they nervously ceased the overload of questions they likely had, and although it took nearly everything in them to reserve themselves for the fragility of their precious princess, Tessa and Zed nervously eyed each other in the understanding that they'd eventually need to pry answer from Berri's shivering soul. Theo hung tight to Berri's side as Tessa and Zed situated her at one of the massive table's high stools and strolled in a slow mosey to the opposite side of said table. In the near twenty foot stretch that Tessa and Zed had from Berri, they took this opportunity to very sneakily reconvene whilst they were mildly out of earshot, alongside the fact that Theo had busied Berri in soft, cooing conversation.

"You think these deleters know that Berri killed one of their own?" Tessa whispered, Zed shrugged just barely and heaved a trembling sigh as Tessa continued on, "I-I know Berri is protected by the coding Turbo had installed for her, as well as Wren and Theo, but... I-I'm worried. Not only for Berri, but her fans, I mean, THAT many gamers gathered in one area?"

"I'm about to text Turbo and see if he can get here," Zed mumbled as the two rounded the far end of the table and began to make their way back to where Berri and Theo sat quietly, "It may be a big chore for all of us, but... I'm going to see if there's any way that he can protect an entire location with said deleter repellant."

"...Like an entire building? Arena?" Tessa prod quietly, Zed bobbed a nod and gently typed a small message to Turbo with careful words, Tessa fingered her lip and looked off in nervousness, "Those arenas that they'll be playing at, are pretty massive... You think something like that is possible?"

"It's either that or they put massive warnings on their tickets... Come to this concert at your own risk of being deleted," Zed muttered and shook his head, both him and Tessa caught eyes in cold understanding, "You know how many people would show up?"

"...None," Tessa eased in whispered defeat as she sagged her shoulders, though they eased up to the table and knew they had to get to the core of all of this, with Berri.

Tessa assessed her now fragile daughter in nervousness, usually such a firecracker of excitement, a hot-blue fireball that ricocheted off of everything and everyone, she felt her heart sink at the sight of Berri's deflated posture, sunken eyes and angrily vivid stress marks of silver agitation splayed all over her temples. The way Theo lovingly eased soft notions of encouragement to her, his larger wrecking hand softly held hers as he sat cozily tucked into her left side, Berri looked as if she was soaking up all of Theo's advice, no matter how deflated she looked. Tessa crossed her arms and began to cue to the built in digital display on the work table, an interface that made 3D modeling, for the palace and the game, much easier to navigate and maneuver, holograms that were easily projected above the work space made work a breeze. Tessa pulled up Berri's stats and vitals for referencing, and with such, the first things that were noticeable were a few angry, red flashing buttons that claimed her heart rate was beginning to sky rocket, as well as spiking stress levels.

"Berri, why don't you just tell us what you saw? Were... Were the deleters just unintelligently standing around, or...?" Tessa softly trailed off as Zed continued to slowly type away at his message to Turbo.

"We were rehearsing, the deleters were at the VERY back of the arena, but they paced back and forth like they were waiting for something," Berri's voice crackled, her nose was clogged due to the small amount of crying she had previously been doing about an hour before Gunner deemed it safe for Wren, Theo and Berri to leave EZ Living, "They were staring right at us, like they were simply waiting for us to look away or be distracted... I-I really am not sure, but, what's frustrating is... I was the only one who could see them."

"All arena lights were on?" Zed wondered as he finally sent his message to Turbo and tucked his phone in his back pocket.

"Yeah all lights were on," Theo warmly interjected once he noticed Berri's further deflating demeanor, cueing that she could hardly continue talking about it, "She told us they were nearly out in plain sight, easy to see, their red markings I guess are really distinct, so..."

"They would've seen 'em," Tessa concluded to Zed as she eased a sigh and peered into Berri's coding with curiosity, "I'm wondering if... Maybe you can see these creatures because you interacted so closely with them."

"I... Hate to bring up bad memories but you were basically covered in its blood," Zed stated as carefully and sensitively as he could, though Berri nodded and softly rested her face in her hands, as well as her bare elbows on the table before her. Zed sagged his shoulders as him, Theo and Tessa shot each other nervous looks of soft regret, "I-I'm sorry Bear, we... We have to get to the bottom of this."

"I understand," Berri meeped softly as she shook her head in her hands, "I swallowed some of its blood, that night, by accident... You all saw."

"I-I'm wondering," Tessa trailed on in a soft sting of apprehension, though she raised her eyebrows in soft, sweet delight the second she saw Turbo's figure silently ease into the main entry way of their foyer and immediately find his way to the large, sunny den.

Tessa inhaled a breath to warmly welcome Turbo's presence, though she held her breath and felt a sweet sense of delight in the way his golden eyes hooked tight to Berri's presence across the way, the unmitigated look of dominant concern hung tight on his demeanor, and it was here did Tessa feel almost relieved that Berri had such a solid rock of a person in her life, someone to firmly lean in to, though she cocked an eyebrow and almost nervously glossed her eyes to her husband. She was well aware Turbo and Berri were never really seen together often, especially in front of Zed, Tessa nearly crossed her arms and was excited to see this mini-show unfold. As Turbo's figure warmly eased within the vicinity, Zed caught on to Tessa's diligent silence, the notion of keeping Turbo's small arrival secret, Zed warmly carried on to Berri in gentle nonchalance.

"It's gotta be something to do with the fact that its coding potentially manifested inside of yours, somehow," Zed eased in nervous defeat, though he rested his palms on the table and diligently watched as Turbo rounded to Berri's right side and so slowly eased into the softness of their conversation; with the tiniest smile that began to creep on his face, Turbo crossed his arms and peered down to Berri in a great amount of warmth and understanding.

"You're a three-for," Turbo's deep voice glossed the group with difference, something that visibly rocked Berri in surprise, and as she flinched and peered up and to her right, she froze and raised her eyebrows in prickled, cute stun as Turbo blurt a gentle chuckle and carried on, listing a few points on his fingers, "So, you can wreck, you can glitch, and now you somehow have the innate ability to see and evade deleters."

"A rarity," Zed chirped with kindness, though Tessa could see the assessing look in Zed's fatherly eye, a prodding sense of curiosity crawled over him as he very diligently watched Turbo's every single move, here.

"Indeed," Turbo warmly agreed as him and Berri caught eyes in the whirl of softness, though he sagged his shoulders a little and allowed his heightened, worried presence to soften a lot more, for her liking. He almost frowned and noticed her angry stress marks, marks he had so diligently taught her how to get rid of, though, unabated, they remained, "Talk to me, what's going on?"

"Th-there were two deleters in the arena we were practicing in," Berri mumbled as her eyes now massively swelled with huge tears, Turbo's seemingly addicting, warm presence just sapped her pores silly and begged her to simply face-plant his chest and get lost in his unending comfort, though she desperately tried to reserve herself over the fact that she had a very real audience, here. She continued on, though her voice only crackled and broke more and more with the moment Turbo's warm, masculine hand eased to the top of her shoulder for comfort, "I-I was... Th-the only one that could see them."

Turbo furrowed his eyebrows sharply and shot his eyes to Theo, he scrunched his shoulders and eagerly bobbed a nod as if to emphasize that Berri was telling the truth.

"All arena lights were on, we saw absolutely nothing," Theo nearly scrambled to assure, he shook his head and shrugged as his eyes eagerly glossed Tessa and Zed for further assurance.

"We're wondering if this has to do with the... Rather sad and gross fact that Berri potentially swallowed some of the deleter's blood, by accident," Zed mumbled in defeat, though he felt his heart surge in confusion the second Turbo nodded, a nervous look on his face.

"That'd explain it," Turbo assured, though he softly lofted his eyes to Tessa and gave her a look of mild, polite question. Tessa harbored Berri's opened stats, and with such raw information Turbo was eager to delve into, he gingerly gave Tessa a look of almost receding dominance and tried to brave eye contact, "May I...?"

"O-Oh, yeah, sorry," Tessa shook her head in discombobulation and quickly gripped Berri's stats in her silver coded palm, safely lofted it across the table, to Turbo, and crossed her arms in patient wait.

Everyone eagerly watched as Turbo and Berri were now very rawly on display, a rare show nearly no one ever had the chance to really prove was real, a testament to just how strong their friendship was held tight to this weird moment of truth. Turbo gingerly caught Berri's coded stats and allowed it to hover next to him in readiness, though Zed kept his eagle-eye tight to Turbo's every move, here. He felt it odd how the two seemingly eased into their own little world, the look of un-phased, loving routine the two fell into, Zed furrowed his eyebrows and now began to feel the mild sting of this weird situation, the weirdness of their insane chemistry, whilst still painfully remaining friends. Although Zed was certain he'd be standing here playing guard dog with his daughter, against a man that had, not long ago, professed his love for her, he somehow felt his rooted feet come right back around to the notion of being on Turbo's side, here. The tender look in his creepy, golden eyes, the unwavering eye contact he held with Berri as he so softly carried on to her, their height difference, whilst she was sitting, only made the situation far more endearing.

"Do I have your permission?" Turbo eased, although he was well aware he was in a room of two master coders, he knew he held rank over nearly everyone when it came to coding and code rooms, not to mention code-health; without hesitation, Berri nodded.

Without missing a beat, Turbo gave Berri a smile of gentle understanding and finally began to politely nose through the drop-down menus of Berri's coding. Although he was well aware he'd get a much better reading on what was going on underneath her skin by simply exterior swapping with her, he was fairly certain said act would be mildly uncomfortable with her parents watching. Like suspected, Berri's heart rate and stress levels were evened out in an unhealthy, unwavering spike of heightened emotion, though just as Turbo inhaled a deep breath, narrowed his eyes and was due to basing his findings strictly from what his eyes could see, he flinched in soft surprise as Berri gingerly opened her palm, held it out to Turbo and showed the shivering, frantic glow of her silver coding amidst her still palm. Turbo cocked an eyebrow, sagged out of the roll of confidence he was in, held his breath and stabbed his eyes to Berri's in whole confusion.

Through eyes that nearly begged for help, Turbo felt the weight of whole contradiction, here. How triumphantly Berri preached that Turbo go about doing things on his own, he could see the look of regret in Berri's eyes, as if she had been preaching to the choir for so long, her own words and pronounces of good advice was something she couldn't even bear to swallow. Turbo finally huffed a shaky, silent tremble of a chuckle and did everything he could to hone in on Berri, in this moment, even though there were three sets of eyes on the two, hung in baited wait. Turbo nervously peered down to Berri's swirling, silver coding, a weird show of confusion that glossed over the two, an enormous cliff side they both were standing at, something Turbo was well aware they were mere inches from diving off of. Turbo eased his eyes to Berri in wariness, his eye contact conveyed almost excited worry, as if to silently tell her that if they were to keep up this platonic exterior swapping nonsense, the explosion from platonic to romantic would be too much to hold back, too much to fight any longer, and furthermore, something impossible to reverse; much to Turbo's surprise, Berri lulled her eyes closed and eased the tiniest, single-bob of a nod she could afford. Turbo slowly sunk his hand into hers, he'd do anything, absolutely anything for her go-ahead, no time wasted.

With the sudden grip of electricity, shiny opposed coding that argued for a moment before settling, a splay of lovely, rose golden honeycombs and circuit lines splayed their conjoined hands and arms in a sap of honey-laced harmony, something that Turbo was previously embarrassed to have on full display, in front of Berri's parents, though somehow their audience seemed to proverbially disappear, as if nothing else mattered. Turbo held his breath and hooked his eyes so tight to Berri's, the glow of their gentle love radiated about their skin in a show of delight, Berri visibly looked relieved, something Turbo understood was entirely dangerous. He raised his eyebrows in prickled surprise as Berri's soothing voice suddenly coated the inner workings of Turbo's skull, a private conversation the two had between their coding, something that only they were in on, said private conversation that Theo, Tessa and Zed knew was taking place, even without hearing the words. The three dart their eyes to each other in cheeky curiosity and silently confirmed that they should just allow the two to their sneaky devices, for a moment.

 _"I know I said we have to do this separate and alone, I know, I'm an idiot, okay?" Berri's words eased through Turbo's coding, the strange sight of Berri's whole face and mouth remaining still and wordless; Turbo furrowed his eyebrows in soft confusion and felt his own stress levels begin to want to mock Berri's, something he had to quickly combat against, "I just... Didn't want anyone else hearing all of this, but... I don't really know how to say this."_

 _"You don't need to say it," Turbo volleyed, though he furrowed his eyes and pretended to be simply surveying her coding, even though he was fairly certain Theo, Tessa and Zed were aware as to just what the two were up to. Turbo almost gave Berri a cheeky smile and felt as if their souls were a bit more daring outside of average conversation, as if they were telepathic pen pals, "You clearly need me, and... I clearly need you. This isn't news to me. And, I'm sorry, but no matter how many times you tell me to go about my strife by myself, and you for yourself... I-I still will always want you by my side."_

Berri held her breath and now felt her heart pound, the insane beating in her chest rose from the dead stress levels to that of warming revival, something that she felt bashful that Turbo was immediately aware of. He dared a small smile, shook his head and, although they had an audience and his hands began to start shaking, he knew this was bought time, deserved time. He was well aware Zed texted him for a reason, and with this extraordinarily raw honor, Turbo inhaled a revived breath and knew he had earned this opportunity to swoop in hard, to wear his and Berri's friendship like a badge of honor and hopefully promote said title. Knowing full well he was due to stepping on Gunner's toes, here, he bravely nosed into Berri's worries, surface level, and discovered a hidden gem adding to her worry. He softened his facial expressions and peered to Berri in sorrow as the recent memory of Gunner practically silencing Berri on stage stabbed like a knife through Turbo's heart. He almost allowed anger into their silent swap session, though he exhaled his breath of anger and saw a glimmering opportunity here, an opportunity to reel Berri on back to his side of the Arcade.

"Yeah, Berri's stress levels are through the roof, I mean... This is beginning to get out of hand," Turbo grumbled softly to the small group, he tried to seem as unassuming as he could, "And, you're right... Berri somehow has the ability to see these creatures, simply because she had to deal with its innards sapping into hers, pretty much."

"I guess it's a good thing she can see these creatures, but... I don't think it'd be enough to simply just spot them," Zed's deep voice glossed Turbo's and Berri's still shivering exterior connection, a gentle glow that kissed the undersides of their jaws with their rosey goodness, "It would incite panic... There's nothing she can do to single handedly keep the peace, at a concert, and deter a deleter. Either the deleter is deterred, assuming full panic, or..."

"Gamers lose their lives," Theo mumbled in gentle despair, though everyone slowly brought their eyes to Turbo's dominant positioning in the group; his able right hand hovered over Berri's coding, whilst his left hand was still glued to Berri's, their coding continued to beautifully flare, unabated.

"There has to be SOME way that you can secure a single location with that deleter protection," Zed mumbled in soft desperation as he shook his head, "I'm very aware that's a tall order, but... I'd hate for their very first concert to be ruined by these deleters, leaving fans with their lives lost."

"It's... Definitely a very tall order, but," Turbo started in mild defeat, though he eased Berri a soft, cheeky smile and gave her a look of rising encouragement, "Leave it to me. I'm positive I can figure something out."

"Our concert is next weekend," Theo worried humbly, his emerald eyes hooked to Turbo's in worry, though Turbo inhaled a deep breath and gave Tessa and Zed a look of polite, challenging authority.

"Under one condition," Turbo instructed quietly, which had Tessa and Zed gingerly perked in readiness; they had been so used to Turbo's more deflated, 'roll over and say yes' demeanor this whole year that this new spark of authority had them reeling a little. Nonetheless, they kindly nodded and gave Turbo the floor, "I'm going to need Berri to be with me tomorrow. If I'm to construct such a protection, I'm going to need that shred of deleter coding that has somehow made itself at home in her mainframe."

"You mean, miss Academy tomorrow?" Zed asked, Theo raised his eyebrows in question.

"As well as the rehearsal and press meeting we have tomorrow?" Theo urged, Turbo shook his head once and flood his and Berri's coding with dominance, easy, preserved dominance he had been saving for the rainiest of days.

"Yes, all of it, I'm going to need Berri for the whole day," Turbo's deep voice politely demanded, something that only he could get away with, the suave look of well-deserved entitlement in his eyes had Berri nearly swooning, something she was entirely shy to say that her coding was eagerly relaying to his.

 _"My parents are probably ready to kill you, right now," Berri silently transmitted to Turbo, via the structure of their exterior swap._

 _"Let 'em try," Turbo bravely responded to her, he cocked an eyebrow and gave her a boyish look of triumph._

"That's fine, it's probably for the best," Zed sighed in willing defeat, something Berri was nearly shocked at. Zed waggled his hand at the two, shook his head and blurt a small, humbled laugh, "With the way her stress levels are, I'm sure a day off would do her some good, anyhow. I'll relay the information to Gunner, myself. I'm sure he's not going to be happy about the missed rehearsals, and such, but... He'll have to go through the lot of us, then, I guess."

"Me first," Turbo bravely, and quietly snapped, something Berri felt her stomach clench to, a strange feeling of excitement and dread all in one go, and with such an exciting, relieving plan set in stone, Berri sagged her shoulders and allowed a dainty smile to sprawl her face.

"Thanks for looking out, guys," Berri eased as she lulled her eyes closed in relief, "I'll do my best to help figure this out."

"Lucky, I want a day off," Theo mumbled as he shook his head, though Tessa shrugged and looked up in a scheming way.

"I can easily text Oliver and tell him that we're all taking a raincheck on Academy tomorrow," Tessa chimed, to which Theo perked up in whole excitement.

"Holy User, you'd do that, Aunt Tess?" Theo's voice rasped in plea, though Zed shot him a mild look of dread.

"She's the Queen," Zed blurt a hard laugh, as did Turbo and Berri, "Her word is final."

"Good man," Tessa chirped in cuteness as she firmly pat Zed's shoulder and pulled out her phone, "Yep. No Academy. I'm tired too, guys."

"YES," Theo pumped his fists in the air as him and Tessa began to chatter and leave the room together, and though Zed hung back, with Berri and Turbo, for a small moment longer.

"Thanks, Turbo," Zed stated warmly, though he pointed an unwavering finger to his precious daughter and held his now authoritative gaze to Turbo's, "Don't let this one lift a finger, y'hear me? Cause she will. Ms. Busybody. You tell her to sit and relax and she'll find ten things to do."

"I'll make sure of it," Turbo eased a chuckle and waggled Berri's hand, in which was still sapped with their shared, rosey coding, and although it was not a secret any longer, Zed shot the two a knowing look as he began to walk away.

"...That's a beautiful code color, by the way," Zed dared as he gestured to the two, and though the look of whole entire bashfulness rocketed from one to one hundred, on Berri's and Turbo's faces, Zed still carried on through a small, cheeky laugh, "Rare to come by."

Turbo raised his eyebrows in prickled softness and watched as Zed's smiling, scheming demeanor finally began to sag out of the sunny den, ultimately leaving Berri and Turbo to themselves, something they clearly needed. Turbo heaved a shaky sigh through his nose and glanced down to their lovely shared coding, something that nearly gave them a sunburn with the obvious, and with such, Turbo braved Berri's sweet, exhausted eye contact. Turbo shook his head in mild annoyance, as did Berri, who playfully rolled her eyes and looked off with a broader smile. Turbo chuckled and squeezed Berri's hand, he was floored the two remained in their exterior swap, no matter how shy and bashful the two were becoming.

"How long has Gunner been silencing you on stage, Bear?" Turbo braved, somehow the addition of Berri's coding gave Turbo that extra punch of confidence, something he was excited to utilize here.

"I-I... It's not a big deal, I just don't know how to keep my mouth shut," Berri staggered nervously, though with Turbo's coding now bravely sourcing hers, she knew she couldn't tell white lies, here.

"It's been since your second ever rehearsal together, and it's clearly killing you inside," Turbo rushed confidently, he narrowed his eyes and gave Berri a challenging glower, "He understands that I will find his ass, right? Let him step inside Sugar Rush and see what happens, huh?"

"Bo, stop it," Berri nearly laughed, she shook her head and gave him a surprised, almost gaping smile, "It's not malicious, it just contaminates the mic's and the feedback, I understand..."

"I'll contaminate his mic with somethin'," Turbo muttered in disgusted anger, he shook his head and urgently rooted himself at Berri's figurative side, "Tomorrow, you and I will have a proper jam session. You can sing all you want and I won't tell you to stop. Only an asshole would tell someone that has the voice of a literal angel to stop."

"... Where are you getting all of this anger from? Certainly it's not from my coding," Berri choked a hard laugh and squeezed Turbo's hand a little harder.

"You know wrecking rage can come out differently in certain people," Turbo furiously rubbed the back of his head and looked off in almost smiling irritation, "It's fine, he's just not on my good side, you know that."

"Clearly," Berri eased more laughter at just how fidgety Turbo was becoming, though she shook her head and now tried to flood their shared coding with something a little sweeter, "So when you said we'd be coming up with a plan to make the arena safe, what you MEANT was that we'd be just having a simple jam-session at your house?"

"We're going to do work, but... We can also do whatever you want," Turbo finally sighed and tried to let go of his frustration, he smiled and lulled his eyes closed amidst the small shake of his head, "Whatever makes you happy, whatever eases your stress levels."

Berri felt her face heat up a little, she looked off and felt a weird bout of guilt hit her. She wondered if she should just fall off the grid, leave her phone at home, ignore the whole entire world for a free day of no responsibilities. She figured there was no better way to spend said nonsensical day than with the one person that understood her best, though somehow, with the rush of confidence in Turbo's demeanor, she felt her insides clench in anticipation, as if he had maybe been given a rare go-ahead to somehow accomplish all the things he never dreamed he could, a free day to desperately keep the ball tight in his court, Berri sagged and felt relieved the responsibility of it all was taken out of her hands; she was fully prepared to just let the following day play out however the universe desired it to be played out, harboring a guilt-free attitude, right off the bat, was Berri's get-out-of-jail-free card she was fully prepared to deploy on whoever tried to challenge her. A single day to forget all rules, no matter the cost.


	107. Chapter 107

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** You'd be correct! ;)

 **Nikki Firesong :** Aww, YAY! Celebrate :D And, thank you! I love coming up with fun, new code colors. The next story will have a pairing with a very interesting code color... Unlike anything seen, yet :)

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Crashing ft. Bahari by Illenium**

* * *

 ***Chapter 107***

"It'll be so cool to see rainfall from this high up," Berri chimed in raw excitement, she delicately pressed her clean hands to the glass of Turbo's massive bay windows, her revived, blue eyes peered out to the gloomy, early springtime kiss of Orion City's morning glow. Although rainclouds had been hovering all day, threatening a downpour, they reserved their load in thunderous wait. Berri's eyes scanned said dark clouds and inhaled a deep, revived breath to carry on, "Like... Swept up in the lightning and thunder, y'know?"

"Don't bet on it, I don't ever see rainfall," Turbo grumbled in soft, ironic, happy easiness. His golden eyes glossed his livingroom as he grunted to gingerly ease one of his guitar amps to the tiles of his home, just by the steps down into his living room.

Haphazardly due to keeping his promise of a proper jam session, he wondered just what the acoustics of his home would do for their planned jam session. Although he fumbled to make sure the amp was stable, his eyes got lost on Berri's figure across the way. He could hardly believe that this incredible creature was all his for the day, a long exposure of eye contact Turbo did everything he could do burn into his memory. The dark room of his thoughts glossed negatives of imprinted, foggy stills he knew he'd have to rely on in impending loneliness. He scrunched his eyes tight and prayed to User that said beautiful creature, across his dim home, was keen to allowing the duration of their hangout to win her over. To keep her here forever. However selfish and dark said thoughts were, Turbo wondered just what it'd take for her to drop everything and just allow herself to be swept into the containment of his arms, however firmly he tried to keep her at bay, and her for him, he reopened his eyes and sagged in the relieving sight of her still standing there, innocently peering out to the city. He could feel his heart begin to want to harden to the inevitable, though he forced it into submission, proverbially mashed it into a malleable state, praying his heart wouldn't grow cold to the challenge of chasing that twinkling, blue star on the horizon.

"It's never rained up here, actually, haven't I told you?" Turbo staggered with a gentle laugh as he carried on, though Berri finally pried herself from the window and sauntered closer to Turbo's positioning in the living room, her favorite lime green guitar was leaned up against his lovely red couch.

"You may have, I must've forgotten," Berri shrugged, her bare shoulders were shiny and soft looking outside of the grey spaghetti strap she wore, alongside a lazy pair of grey skinny jeans she loved, she was ready for a restful day of casual lounging. Her hair was long and down, and although she had previously straightened it the day prior, it was clear the now springtime humidity made it so her lovely blue hair so desperately wanted to saturate back to the deep waves it was used to. Her twinkling eyes gripped to Turbo's as she sagged her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, "If it ever DID rain up here, you'd probably freak out."

"THAT'D be cause for celebration," Turbo blurt a gentle chuckle and shrugged, he brushed his messy, dark charcoal grey hair out of his forehead and bent over to plug up the amp, he grunted and carried on, "I wouldn't even know what to do with myself."

"What WOULD you do?" Berri asked seriously with a side-eye and an inquiring smile, Turbo stood to correction and inhaled a deep breath as his confused, contemplative eyes peered out to the city before him.

"... User, I don't know, something crazy," Turbo kindly dismissed, as if he was absolutely certain not a single drop of rain would ever grace the top his lonely tower.

"Dance in it, for sure," Berri prod, to which Turbo shrugged and gave her an assured smile.

"Goes without question," Turbo teased, he shook his head and gently reached for his dark grey acoustic guitar, fashioned with a pickup, which he prepared to also plug into said amp, "Okay, so... I need you to understand that I've never had a jam session with anyone... Ever... So-"

"What? Really?" Berri gawked as she stopped dead in her tracks, on her way to her guitar, and peered hard to Turbo in soft, excited delight, "Aw, I'm first to witness a Turbo-jam?"

"You don't remember that one night?" Turbo pressed in a show of sweet embarrassment, his eyes began to very slowly show that tint of peachy goodness, "I-I... I wrote you that one song...?"

"Oh, true," Berri nodded, though she quickly furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head, "Well, I was the one singing, not the both of us."

"You're going to have to pay me a million dollars if you think I'm going to be singing," Turbo muttered with a cheeky smile, a smile that proved to Berri he was open for being broken down.

"What? You're not going to sing?" Berri stated in full, girly disappointment, though Turbo rolled his eyes, looked off and began to methodically tune his guitar; with such, Berri furiously grappled her guitar and hastily began to tune hers, as well, "No, y'know what? No. First person to tune their guitar gets to play, and the other loses and has to sing."

"That's not fair," Turbo started, and just as he suspected, Berri cocked an eyebrow, flood her lime green guitar with her silver coding, allowed her glitching powers to work its' magic, and in the blink of an eye, the knobs on her guitar immediately twisted and turned at lightning speed and tuned without Berri's physical aid. Turbo sagged his shoulders, peered hard to Berri and froze in unadulterated terror as Berri so daintily glossed her fingernails over the whole of her strings, ultimately chiming a perfectly tuned guitar. Turbo furrowed his eyebrows and grumpily gestured to her, "Okay, in my world, that's what I like to call CHEATING."

"I won, sorry," Berri cued in cuteness as she shrugged and began to very loosely pluck out the tune to the adorable love song Turbo had written for her, a few months back, "Let's see what kind of a song-bird you are, my friend."

"For User's sake, Berri, you're really going to do me like this?" Turbo stabbed with a nervous laugh, he gestured to his own guitar and shook his head, "I-I thought YOU were the one that needed to get all the singing off your chest. Remember? Gunner silencing you? Turbo comes in to help you get the singing out? Hello?"

"Hellooo," Berri eased in a soft, single tune as she strummed her fingers on her guitar, once more. Turbo huffed an annoyed noise and looked off; Berri could tell his mood had gone from shy and sweet to now embarrassed and walled off. Berri sagged her shoulders and knew she had to ease him out of his shell, a difficult task, though not something she couldn't handle. She gave him an understanding smile and so gently began to strum the first few beats of Turbo's very own song, hoping to gingerly entice him out of his spikey koopa shell, "C'mon, Bo... How about I start us off, and you jump in."

"Bear," Turbo grumbled in near-desperation, he finally glossed his golden eyes to her, ones that were beginning to mute to a faint show of yellow and threatening to dull to a flawless grey.

 _"Keeping a hold of passing glances, advances and further shame,"_ Berri confidently sang out to Turbo, her strumming was slow and dainty, though as she gave him a cute, cheeky smile, she began to brave the tempo of his song, a tempo in which he chose. She inhaled a deep breath, and with a switch up of her fingers, she smoothly transitioned the pitch of the song to a more up-beat tune and allowed her strumming to very slowly begin to pick up. Turbo looked up from the aimless loft his eyes were in and peered to Berri in renewing curiosity as her lovely, melodic voice so confidently and proudly carried on, as if she had been practicing this song in secrecy, _"The tabs of tally marks to my name..."_

Berri's careful plucking quickly carried to a confident strum of a beat, something Turbo looked to be frozen in surprise at, and as Berri inhaled a deep breath and now pushed the edges of her guitar's limit to the glass of Turbo's now very lightly reverberating bay windows, she narrowed her gaze and sweetly pressed on to Turbo, her gaze begged him to jump in wherever he saw fit, _"And like dusty umbrellas, deep breaths that shield the rain."_

Turbo felt his hands shake, he gently began to strum an improvised version of whatever harmony, to Berri's melody, that he could think up on the spot, a lower, softer and lovelier rendition of her higher pitched singing and strumming, he could practically feel the frog climb up and out of his throat as the bravery almost angrily opened every single last pore on his body to opportunity. He shook his head, lulled his eyes closed and felt his heart race, he knew he had at least a decent singing voice, though he was also well aware it didn't hold a candle to Berri's talent. He scrunched his eyes tighter and knew this cliffside was crumbling, everything the two consisted of was goodness, every single last pixel to their names was kissed with readiness, he was well aware she was damn-near ready to shove him right off of said crumbling cliffside if he didn't just up and do it himself, and with said last prayer to the universe, he inhaled a trembling, readied breath and quietly sapped her soprano with a bass of deeper harmony, the very thing that made all of Sugar Rush sing.

 _"Lost eyes cast hard in the wild, wild blue,"_ They both sang, though Berri raised her eyebrows and blurt out a surprised, excited giggle at the trail of their sentence, a show of encouragement for Turbo's sake, and as he shot her a cute, nervous smile, Berri's strumming began to pick up to the faster pace she was eventually crescendoing to. She shook her head at Turbo and was about ready to belt every single last stressed out pixel, of hers, to the moon, her heart nearly soared the second she saw Turbo's gentle, deeper-tuned strumming pick up, as well, the confidence in his posture and stance had her certain she was en route to losing every single stress mark by the time this whole song was finished. Their voices intertwined like the harmony from an angel's harp, like lightning that electrified the tumultuous, impending storm, and although Turbo's voice still staggered in lesser confidence, he still sagged his shoulders and was pressed for showing just what he was made of, _"Somehow I'm warmed from death, somehow I'm new."_

 _"_ _A cold fire of blue, keeping me from feeling true, a_ _n upside down void of nonsensical burning stars,"_ They both strummed in louder confidence, wide smiles that persisted, Berri could feel herself almost immediately running out of breath. Turbo beamed a wide smile and peered his eager, stunned eyes to Berri, as if to wonder if this situation was even happening, somehow this magical empress before him wormed his own soul right out of him, on full display, he long-blinked in confusion and rode this wave like his whole life depended on it. His loft vibrated with goodness, the loud calls of pure harmony soaked the glass of his loft and carried all the way to the game's sky limit and back, Turbo shook his head and dared to shift on his feet in rising excitement as the two loudly, and quickly, continued to carry on with each other, _"_ _As if it's only blue, keeping me from holding you._ _Eradicated scars, fresh beat of lonely hearts, s_ _omehow I'm new!"_

Berri urgently began to gloss her fingers all along the neck of her guitar as she broke out into a spontaneous, humble guitar solo. Turbo quickly continued to strum along in the deeper, gentler harmony of her collected chaos, he shook his head and watched her work her magic, an intoxicating show of raw talent he was floored to be apart of, though before the two could carry on, a blip of white lightning suddenly coat the whole entire house with an almost game-ending split of blinding spark. With the freeze of said jarring blip in the algorithm, thunder immediately roared over the entirety of Turbo's tower, and with such a shake of chaos, the two were entirely frozen with the raw, brain-melting sight that now splayed the whole of Turbo's glass windows. On cue, rain began to angrily pelt Turbo's window, the strange sight of water that crawled down the whole entirety of the tower's face, the two ceased their music in still, unmitigated awe, and as the very realization hit their brains, their eyes lit up in childlike disbelief. As their huge smiles suddenly sprawled their face in gaping bewilderment, Berri blurt a hard whoop of a call, pointed to his windows and shook her head in Turbo's direction.

"Are you KIDDING ME?" Berri shouted with a giggle, her childlike eyes were wide with unwavering excitement, though Turbo huffed a shaky noise and shook his head in continued disbelief.

"I-I can't make this shit up," Turbo staggered loudly with a hard laugh, though Berri eagerly began to swipe her guitar off of her shoulder.

"HURRY we have to go to the roof!" Berri firmly demanded as she thrusted her guitar to the couch, as carefully as she could, though Turbo felt as if he couldn't get his legs to move fast enough as the sight of Berri bolting her way about Turbo's couch, in preparation to cross his house and get to his rooftop, had Turbo finally forcing his hands, arms and legs to do something, anything.

"Berri, we're gunna get killed, did you SEE that bolt of lightning?!" Turbo shouted after her in a playful air, he barked a noise as he, too, carefully thrusted his guitar to his couch, though not wanting to go through the process of rounding his furniture, he opted for attempting to parkour over the whole of his couch. In doing so, he was successful in clearing the couch, though at the cost of a lamp the tip of his foot caught, sending it hurtling backwards into the side of the couch. He stumbled onto his tiles, caught himself and blurt out a hard choke of a laugh as Berri peered back and wound up barking a loud laugh at his expense, "Ow, SHIT. Stop laughing at me, go, go, go!"

"I did what smart people do, I went AROUND the furniture," Berri called behind her as she bolted through his kitchen, swung about the bend of his long corridor, that lead to his bedroom, the stairwell to his loft, and the teleport pad to his code room. As her larger hand grappled the railing of the stairwell, she began running up the stairs, skipping steps along the way, "What's your excuse?"

"Incoordination, okay?!" Turbo choked, the two loudly soaked the stairwell with echoes of hard laughter and even harder panting, "It's been decades since I've been able to understand the dimensions of anything but a car, lady, you're asking for a lot, here."

"Keep up, dusty," Berri called as she cleared the stairwell and burst out into the second story level of his loft, though as she reached Turbo's back door, the one that ultimately lead to the roof, she grappled the hand and began to firmly tug on it, though it remained shut, unabated.

"Uh-huh, you tell me to keep up and then are thwarted by a simple door's lock," Turbo rushed, clearly out of breath, though he jolted as Berri playfully shoved on his shoulder; he only gently shoved back as the two loudly laughed and clumsily tried to pry on his back door's larger, heftier lock and handle.

"Open the damn door, the storm's gunna pass, c'mon!" Berri rushed in almost unintelligible, giggling nonsense, though just as Turbo popped open the door, she was entirely floored to see him burst out the door first, as if this was something he had been so desperately waiting for.

Berri called a loud cheer of a whoop out to the sky above her, the lovely dark grey clouds poured down every single ounce of rain the game had to offer, and as the world slowed to a stop, Berri wildly panted through her beaming, smiling teeth and eased her gaze to where Turbo had laid off to. With his masculine arms outstretched, his faded red tank top now soaked at the shoulders, he had his head eagerly tilted back as the rain firmly came down on the two, a renewal of goodness it was clear Turbo was desperately waiting for. Berri blurt a giggle and watched as Turbo twirled, once or twice, in a haphazard, gentle stumble of a circle, he joined in on Berri's call to the heavens above and cheered, alongside her, though as Berri's world slowed, she took in every single aspect of Turbo's adorable rejoice. She was entirely certain that his grumbling notions of dancing in the rain was just to phase her, just empty promises of cuteness to put a smile on her face, though as she sagged her shoulders and took in Turbo's personality as a whole, a raw aura of goodness, she understood that, at the very core of everything Turbo was, was a whole entire vat of warm honesty, eager promise. She smiled in his direction, her heart soared, a feeling she was entirely certain she now could not take reign of any longer.

Turbo huffed a hard, excited laugh out to his city, Orion's lights twinkled far below them in a splatter of mosaic, blurred warmth. The rain splattered about in a swathe of an entire coat of water, the two stood at the very tip top of the world. Turbo long-blinked through his now long, wet lashes as his glowing, golden eyes peered out to nearby towers. Their beaming, yellowish orange plane lights confidently surged in softness, ultimately reminding the two that they were, indeed, on top of the entire planet. Turbo heavily panted and felt his heart surge with purpose, the rush of adrenaline the two had just come off of, he slowly averted his gaze across the stretch and peered hard to Berri. He was floored to find that she had been staring in his direction, this whole time, as if she was simply assessing just how he acted in a raw bout of unmitigated happiness, uninterrupted joy, a soft release of past hardships, if even for just a second. Turbo shook his head in still suspended disbelief and shrugged to Berri in cuteness, he beamed her an eager smile and still looked beside himself.

"I MUST be dreaming," Turbo called over the gentle splatters of hard rain between the two, on the now cooler concrete they stood on. Berri eased an excited laugh and largely shrugged, her grey shirt and lovely blue hair had darkened with all the rain, equally as glued to her figure, upper arms and shoulders. Turbo began to take a few steps closer to her, though he ultimately hovered about a dozen feet from her as he warmly continued on, "I mean, never in a million years did I think the top of this tower would EVER see rainfall."

"I'm SO glad I was here to witness it," Berri assured with a nod, though she held eyes with Turbo in almost suspended curiosity and long-blinked in waiting cuteness. Turbo looked equally as hovering, as if he, too, was potentially anticipating more, though they both had no idea where to even begin. Berri breathed a small giggle and urgently gestured her hands out, "WELL?"

"Well what?" Turbo blurt in grinning annoyance, he knew exactly what Berri was going to inquire about, something he now was both bashfully dreaded and excitedly anticipating all in one fell swoop.

"Don't 'well what' me! You JUST told me that if it'd rain, up here, you'd do something crazy," Berri instructed as she pointed her finger to the ground in loose demand.

Turbo softly panted, his wet chest rose and fell as the rain fell between the two, unwavering, unending. His golden eyes peered to her in a narrow of understanding, whatever happened on top of this tower was anyone's guess, Turbo felt solace in the raw fact that no matter what unfolded in this burning moment, it would likely be Orion City's biggest kept secret. His eyes nervously began to splay the ground in question, towards himself; he knew just what he wanted to do, a burning desire he's had for what he felt to be an eternity now, he wondered if side-stepping said desire and falling into the dare of something more innocent would likely be the hugest mistake of his life. He heavily panted through his nose and brought his dangerously courageous, though nervous eye contact right back to Berri's. She shook her head in soft, girly question, and with a shrug of her wet shoulders, she breathed life into his existence.

"What's it gunna be?" Berri pressed with a lilt of cheeky desire as she sagged her shoulders, though as the two held searing eye contact, Turbo finally looked off in mild defeat and contemplated every single second of his next move, here.

With a gentle, furrowed look off and to his left, he was well aware that if he didn't move now, he'd lose a very good opportunity to do just what his heart raced for. How desperately he just wanted to do something goofy, or allow Berri to dare him to do something stupid in public, he swallowed his nervousness and knew this was his absolute time to shine. An instance that was prompted by her, a dare he could easily lean on, he finally brought his confident eyes to her and inhaled a shaky breath as his heart sent one last shivering, hopeful wish to the hidden stars above. He bravely stepped forward and was determined to fill their gap in its whole entirety. As his bare feet gently slapped the wet concrete and he eased tighter to Berri's vicinity, Berri almost nervously eyed him, as if she was entirely sure he would chicken out of this unspoken dare of theirs, though much to her whole surprise, he braved her gravity and slowly eased in closer to her than he ever had before.

Through the gentle splatter of cool rain on their soaking wet skin, clothes and hair, Turbo's lovely, glowing eyes came closer into her bubble, the glow of his warm gaze easily came and went as he long-blinked in soft readiness, and in a final, slow close of his eyes, he carefully hooked his pointer finger underneath Berri's chin and bravely leaned in. Like a lovely dream his skin suddenly did everything it could to realize this was all reality, he eased his wet, warm lips into hers and sealed just the beginning few proverbial words of their saga of impending romance, the gentle push of his face and nose into the side of hers, the realization that the warm breath on his face was something he had only imagined, he raised his eyebrows in boyish cuteness as he relished in the whole fact that he finally had given her one of the things he had been desperate to give her, for so long now. Although Turbo wanted to dive right into this mess, he felt his heart suddenly jolt in nervous surprise the second Berri gently pulled herself away from their first kiss. Mildly jarring, Turbo raised his eyebrows in frozen surprise and wondered if maybe this wasn't what she had in mind, this wasn't what she had wanted. He frowned and urgently peered down to her in soft terror he tried to conceal, though he peered hard into her blue eyes, which were easily glossed in dumbfounded, enchanted surprise.

Berri held her breath and peered up to Turbo in a whirl of several different emotions. She could feel her heart pound at the speed of light, the very idea that Turbo had followed through with the very thing she was absolutely certain he'd never muster the courage to do, she firmly blinked a few times, as if to convey to Turbo that she was certain this was all just a dream. Her brain very quickly replayed the sensation of everything that was just thrown at her, the feel of Turbo's stubble on her face, the soft pucker of his warm, plump lips, the very scent of familiarity his hot breath was laced with had her heart doing entire backflips. Her muscles froze in unadulterated surprise and glee, and for a moment longer, she firmly peered up to Turbo in what she was certain conveyed whole surprise. Due to the look of poised, pin-prickled, cute apprehension on Turbo's inquiring eye contact, she was certain she likely was holding him suspended in nervous question for far longer than even she intended, and with that, she inhaled a readied breath, gained a few steps closer to Turbo, grappled the chest of his shirt and proverbially promised him that he had opened the floodgates, and everything that was to come forth was now entirely his fault.

With a gentle tug of Turbo's wet, dark red tank top, she gingerly pulled him down to her level and was floored to feel his eager posture so willingly follow suit, and with said loving collision, they easily returned to each other's gravity and sagged into yet another forbidden kiss. Berri raised her eyebrows as her brain and heart finally caught up with her and promised to stay on the same page, this time. The feel of Turbo's hot exhale of entire, loving relief on her cheeks, the gentle crawl of his masculine fingers and larger fingertips that so tenderly found the undersides of her arms, every single second that went by was yet another inch she bought by sagging deeper into his irresistible gravity, and by the time her gentle palms finally released the grip she had on Turbo's wet shirt, she felt entirely doomed with the feel of Turbo's gentle palm to the back of her head, promising her that he was entirely ready to deepen this mess of secrecy. Although Berri inhaled a deep breath through her nose and barely allowed their wet lips to part, her fingers gingerly slid up the broad of his chest, a show of a silent, needy, girly desire, something she was certain came across as a promising sign to him. The way the gentle, golden glow of his eyes casted on the glossy broad of her nose and cheeks, they only briefly allowed the gaze of their eyes to hold until the distance was just becoming too painful, at this point.

Knowing, full well, that they had no chance to close the floodgates and save their hearts from now drowning in each other, the two wasted no time in raveling each other in the wet stick of their clothes and arms, the grapple of Berri's arms that slowly came about Turbo's thick neck, the gentle hoist of his strong, masculine arms that securely wrapped about Berri's upper body and back, the ginger squish of their noses into each others cheeks only amounted to mere firecrackers compared to the explosion of the long-overdue release of passion their kiss entailed. With the gentle push and pull of their deepening kiss, the mess of vulnerability and newness the two fell into, they hungrily tasted each other in a slow draw of breathy, silent gasps on each other's wet lips, the slippery, easy draw of their arms about each other, the raw desire to feel every single inch of this moment overrode every single ounce of clarity the game had to even offer. Turbo furrowed his brow in almost painful desire as he successfully lugged Berri's body into his, how desperately he had been desiring this very moment, the hard facts of Berri handing over every last inch of vulnerability she had for him, he was floored this wasn't even close to being a dream. His hands softly itched to slide down the slippery skin of her upper back and to the thick, wet mess of hair and clothes on her lower back, he did everything to remind his brain that this was entirely real.

Although Berri was quite ready to just allow Turbo to get ahead of himself, she was floored to feel him reserve himself and have some form of control over this ordeal. As carefully as he could, he parted their kiss, their wet lips stuck for a moment before they hovered within an inch, or two, of each other. Through the heavy, narrowed part of their glossy eyes, that typical, lovely, peachy glow of Turbo's eyes now sapped their existence in rose colored love. The glistening flickers of peachy raindrops that tried their best to part the two, splayed their noses and cheeks as the rain continued to pour down, unabated. They warmly panted on each other's mouths as they remained firmly in each other's arms, a place that neither being wanted to resist, any longer, as if an entire weight had been lifted off of the two, they hovered and allowed the storm about them to rage on as their glowing spot on the grid remained unwavering, unmoved and unchanged. Berri fluttered her wet eye lashes and allowed her hardened heart to let Turbo in, once and for all. Even though she still had nervous reserves, she was well aware she had been kidding herself for far too long. The very idea that this whole situation was wronging someone else didn't even cross her mind, the raw sensation of allowing herself to finally fall in love overrode any feeling of guilt she was certain she'd harbor, here. Berri bashfully inhaled a trembling breath and was delighted to deliver Turbo this bout of warm news.

"...Th-that was my first kiss," Berri revealed so softly, though she opened her eyes a little wider the second Turbo raised his eyebrows in prickled sorrow and sagged his shoulders.

"It was?" Turbo prod in a show of now sorrowful defeat, he shook his head and looked entirely beside himself, as if this was now simultaneously the best and worst decision he's ever made, "I-I... I was certain you and Gunner-"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Berri firmly interrupted Turbo in a breath above a whisper as they hovered inches from each other, and although Turbo looked ready to grovel and apologize for practically stealing her first kiss, he hovered tight in her reassuring aura and long-blinked in mild humility.

"...I always was good at stealing things," Turbo's deep voice softly concluded, he gave her a sneaky smile and felt renewed, they remained warmly raveled in each other's embrace, as if they could hardly even imagine coming out of it now that they had tangled themselves up.

"I'd say you have a good streak going," Berri's lovely voice eased, she sagged into Turbo's addicting warmth, the broad of his secure chest and arms, the comfort of this new brand of closeness they hovered in, Berri lulled her eyes closed and was absolutely certain she could sit in it for the rest of eternity. She heaved a long, dreaded sigh and finally felt the dregs of guilt desperately try to nip at her heels, no matter how high up on cloud nine she was, "I trust you won't tell anyone about this..."

"It'll be our little Orion City secret," Turbo's deep, lovely voice glossed above a whisper, he gingerly eased the tip of his nose into Berri's and concluded her a warm sentiment, something she could easily hold on to, "You can revisit this whenever your heart desires."

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 **A/N :** Pst. I drew AND animated this kiss scene. It's on my deviantART titled 'Orion City Secret', alongside the animation, in which I just uploaded a day or two ago. On my deviantART, username Vyntresser :') I LOVE when my conceptual artwork finally gets written, and gets its own chapter. Uhg it's euphoria.


	108. Chapter 108

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin : *pterodactyl screeching ensues***

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Walk Me Home by P!nk**

 **Love Me Or Leave Me Alone by Beachwood**

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 ***Chapter 108***

"Have you been practicing your powers since the last time you tried?" Berri chimed nonchalantly, she aimlessly twirled in Turbo's much larger, cozy, swivel office chair. Turbo stood a few feet off with his nose buried in a few open-aired displays of holograms, a mess of Berri's inner workings, small patches that were tenderly sapped with deleter's relatively harmless coding.

"No," Turbo muttered, though he cocked an eyebrow and was able to sneak a small peak at Berri out of the corner of his eye, she slowly continued to swirl herself in circles in his lovely desk chair, her cute legs and knees were tucked tight to her upper body as she continued to twirl. Turbo blurt a silent chuckle and shook his head in raw endearment, a new brand of adoration he had for her now that he had successfully had a taste of her. He lulled his eyes closed and tried his hardest not to drop everything he was doing, rush her, and sweep her back into his arms for another round, "... Twenty bucks you end up barfing everywhere, due to all that twirling you're doing, there, babe."

"You'd clean it up, sweetheart," Berri blurt in return, she was able to shoot Turbo a blushing grin before his large chair turned its back on him, as well as the back of Berri's head; Turbo furrowed his eyebrows and tried so hard not to smile.

"That's a two person task, dear," Turbo muttered as Berri slowly swung back around, though she tucked her hands under her chin and gave Turbo a playful look of exaggerated glee.

"My question still stands," Berri mumbled as she quickly dropped the act and now showed a bit more genuine, innocent annoyance.

"I answered you," Turbo blurt with a laugh, though Berri furrowed her eyebrows and looked off in contemplation.

"Oh, oops," Berri muttered to herself, though she shook her head and softly stood, albeit in a wobbly, dizzy fashion, "Well, we should practice some more. Don't you think? We've done enough work on this deleter stuff... And, to be honest, my coding is starting to itch with all that poking around you're doing."

"I'm so close, Bear," Turbo eased earnestly as he lofted his lovely golden gaze to hers, he shook his head and long-blinked in tender urgency, "I mean really, I just... Need to find a way to get this coding copied, and pasted in it's own, designated entity."

"You mean like... Create another deleter?" Berri worried as she eased into Turbo's more serious air, he shrugged and peered into his work in almost dire frustration.

"No, not duplicating it as a whole, just... Using its coding against itself," Turbo shrugged, "Taking the source of its coding and applying it to the radius of a building or establishment... It's essentially what I did with your coding, here. I applied it to YOUR coding, so every single pixel of your coding is protected from being deleted by these creatures."

"So, pretend a single location is like one BEING," Berri gestured with her hands and peered up into Turbo's eyes, he bobbed a nod of encouragement.

"Exactly," Turbo pressed warmly.

Turbo softly continued on with the details of his chore, everything Berri quietly listened to, though as she stood a mere foot from Turbo's warm gravity, her eyes glossed his chest and arms in a soft show of neediness. She furrowed her eyebrows and was successful in catching eyes with Turbo every time he brought his eye contact to hers, but outside of his deep, lovely voice sapping her eardrums in reverberating goodness, she felt a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach. A weird, wistful urge to sigh a million times, as if swooning was now a character trait of hers. Berri furrowed her eyebrows in mild confusion at herself, a weird sensation of learning something new, an achievement of knowledge about herself that had her reeling. She understood that she had feelings for Gunner, though as she was plagued with a whole swathe of guilt, she felt something far deeper for Turbo. A different, hotter, stranger desire, here; something far more tangible, something that went far beyond just a good time out in public, awesome photoshoots and incredible, once in a lifetime experiences on a stage in front of thousands. Something she began to feel the urge to desperately try to ignore even further than what she already was, an ironic bout of beginning to understand just what love felt like, and wanting to run as far away from it as she quite possibly could for fear of potentially getting hurt.

"I mean, don't you think?" Turbo wondered firmly with a serious look in his eye; Berri flinched and immediately felt thwarted and discovered. Turbo slowly cocked an eyebrow and gave her a cheeky, authoritative look, "... You weren't listening to a thing I said, were you."

"I-I'm sorry, Bo, I just..." Berri staggered, she held the sides of her head and dared to take a small few steps away from him. Stationed in the upper level of his loft, the ceiling was entirely glass, the sky above began to glint through sunshine as the morning storm had come and gone. She heaved a shaky breath, looked off and hugged her arms to her chest. Although she was thrilled Turbo caught on to her busied thoughts, she almost felt deeper regret the second he pressed closer to her and eased into her gravity for comfort. He tilted his head to peer into her eyes, though she almost guiltily looked up at him as she revealed the shivering worries of her heart, "... A-Am I a cheater?"

Turbo furrowed his eyebrows in raw confusion, though as the notion finally wormed its way into his brain, he softened, sagged his shoulders, heaved a hot sigh through his nose and looked down to the soft carpet underneath their bare feet. He dared to allow a small smile sprawl his face, though he gave Berri an apologetic, cheeky look and, much to her dismay, he bobbed a cute nod and shrugged, as if he was potentially delighted to reveal this information to her.

"...Hate to break it to you, but, yeah," Turbo huffed a small, bashful chuckle as Berri's look of guilt only worsened, "Y'cheated."

"I-It's not like I..." Berri started her sentence in confidence, but softly trailed to guilty silence that Turbo was quick to boyishly retort to.

"You're in a relationship with another guy, and we both made out with each other secrecy," Turbo blurt a shaky, bashful chuckle as Berri nervously beamed a smile to the ground that she couldn't contain. He shrugged, once more and bobbed a nod of cute earnest, "Yep. That's cheating. Though, I will own the fact that I started it."

"So it's not cheating, then," Berri pointed softly and looked hopeful, though Turbo furrowed his eyebrows and gave her a beaming smile of protest.

"You came back for seconds and thirds, Bear," Turbo defended with a wide smile of understanding, causing Berri's face to turn beet red as she looked away in shy annoyance, "It's cheating."

"...This sucks," Berri grumbled in guilty defeat as she crossed her arms, though she gave Turbo a hopeful frown as he shrugged and put his hands up.

"Hey, I promised I wouldn't tell anyone," Turbo's voice pitched to cute delight, he gave Berri an endearing smile of humility and nodded, "I guess you could say... You're the cheater and I'm the enabler."

"A WONDERFUL mix, really," Berri muttered as she rolled her eyes and aimlessly began to stroll away, though Turbo remained still and allowed herself to distance the two.

With soft, gentle glowing eyes that honed tight to the beauty he could now barely call his, he narrowed his gaze in sweetness and was thrilled to catch eyes with her. Berri's vivid blue eyes twinkled in softness, she looked as if she was at war with herself. How desperately she wanted to throw her plans with Gunner to the wind and fall into Turbo's arms forever, though in doing so could lead to potential hurt inside impending stubbornness, on both Turbo's and Berri's end. She frowned and heaved a shaky sigh, though Turbo took hard note that she curiously kept glancing at his mouth. Turbo narrowed his gaze a little more and allowed his voice to coat her above a deep whisper, as if even the walls couldn't keep a secret.

"...You know you can have your cake and eat it too," Turbo advised tenderly, bad advice, though he felt -bravery soak him. Although he wanted Berri for himself, he wondered if he could sneakily enable her to this secret slice of romance, his heart began to thud with the raw fact that Berri kept her mouth shut in contemplation and let him carry on, "When... Things get rough, and... You're maybe not getting enough of what you need-"

"I-I don't want to hurt you," Berri whispered as she lulled her eyes shut in now soaked, impending regret. She finally peeled her eyes open and urgently peered up to Turbo as she, too, carried on in the softest secrecy, "I don't want to hurt us..."

"It's not hurting us, if anything, it would hurt Gunner, but... I'll always be here to ease your worries," Turbo politely stated, and although they were valid and rational, Turbo wondered if he could just gloss her with further easiness, he allowed himself to be selfish. He knew they desperately needed each other, they both had exactly what the other needed, he was aware he'd stop at nothing to worm his way deeper into her heart and hopefully come out of the other side with the entirety of it in his palms, "... I-I can fill the gaps."

Berri exhaled a trembling breath and nervously peered her almost accepting eye contact into his, likely foolish advice that Turbo made so structurally sound, she was well aware they both were buying into a future world of hurt, though how badly she was excited to get swept into this secret bound of romance with someone she had desperately tried to keep at bay for as long as she could. She nearly peaked a nervous smile and now wondered what she could even call Turbo; derogatory titles quickly rushed her thoughts, and without really thinking, she eased a notion of shaky nervousness.

"Friends with benefits?" Berri staggered quietly, though Turbo blurt a tender, shaky laugh and long-blinked in delirious disbelief, as if he was floored to also have his cake and eat it too, though he was well aware he desperately wanted something deeper, with Berri.

"... A terrible idea," Turbo guffawed in a whisper as he wrinkled his nose, shook his head and sent her a promising, sweet, cheeky smile of boyish delight, "...Y-You down?"

"I... Could be," Berri further staggered in disbelief towards herself, though she blurt an equally as trembling laugh as Turbo's smile broadened in now poised curiosity. Berri largely shrugged and gestured out to him, "What! I-I don't know how to do any of this, I clearly am the worst girlfriend on the face of this Earth. I-I can't... Do this to Gunner."

"You already have," Turbo's dark voice glossed in the farthest reaches of depth that his vocal chords could afford, he seemed delighted, though he was well aware this was entirely her choice; he knew he was in the wrong for enabling, though he cocked an eyebrow and was certain he'd take whatever he could get, here, "You come to me, you're upset, you're not getting enough, well... Love."

Berri heaved a trembling breath, twiddled her fingers and looked down to her feet in now overwhelming shyness, she tried to force a smile away, how sweet and enticing Turbo's proposition sounded, she scoured every angle of this predicament. She knew absolutely no one would find out about it, how easy it'd be to just teleport to the house of Arcade's hugest recluse, an easy, once in a life time chance of legitimately having her cake and eating it too, she shook her head and finally gave Turbo nervous eye contact.

"You go out and kill those stages and get all those exciting things out of your system, and then..." Turbo shrugged, how greatly he understood Berri's positioning, though he sighed his conclusion and knew he has mellowed out, how prepared he was to catch Berri in her eventual slow down, as well, "And... When Sugar Rush calls you home, you can escape here. I'll take care of you."

"Turbo, this is going to hurt us, in the end," Berri's voice wavered into nervous softness, though Turbo shut his eyes softly and shook his head.

"I'm not thinking about the end," Turbo rushed, he took a small step closer to Berri, tilted his head, kept his promising, golden eye contact tight to hers and gave her a smile in loving conclusion, "I'm thinking about the here and now..."

Berri raised her eyebrows and immediately felt thwarted. The guitar pick around her neck practically began to burn a glowing hole in her skin, and as she could feel her heart begin to thud in her chest, she felt her face heat up at the raw fact that she was caught glancing her eyes to Turbo's lips in impending need, yet again.

"I promised so many important people above me that I'd take care of you," Turbo's deep voice concluded to her, though he cocked an eyebrow and blurt a gentle chuckle in her direction, "I'd say... You're in need of some tender loving care. That's something I can happily give."

"You're rationalizing me wronging my boyfriend?" Berri mumbled in cheeky dismay, though Turbo largely shrugged and blurt a soft laugh.

"I don't know, you want to call said boyfriend and tell him that you've been checking Turbo out for the entirety of this whole day, and now you can't keep your eyes off of his mouth?" Turbo smoothly laid into Berri's heart with a wide smile and a narrowed gaze of boyish delight, though Berri raised her eyebrows in thwarted surprise and froze as he continued on, "I'll rationalize whatever I have to. I've wanted to kiss you for weeks now, and you're going to give me a shred of that allowance? Bet your ass I'll rationalize the crap out of it."

"You've wanted to kiss me for weeks now?" Berri wondered in tender, sweet surprise, though Turbo looked off and sagged his shoulders in defeat.

"Days, weeks, dare I say months," Turbo blurt in bashful irritation as he gestured to his chest, "I'm feeling brave lately, okay? I'm... Attracted to you... And I like you. Of COURSE I want to kiss you."

"Then do it," Berri snapped as she tried to force away a smile, though she flinched in surprise as Turbo floored it through the green lights she could potentially threaten to turn yellow, ones that were previously a very angry red.

With a tender scoop, Turbo warmly cupped Berri's jaws in his hands, eased into her gravity, hovered over her like a ghost to steal her soul, and in one single action, he lovingly swept her into a wonderful, romantic kiss. Berri raised her eyebrows in riled surprise and now felt thwarted by her own self, the terrible advice she allowed the two to play into, she was well aware she was only going to make her life a living hell as she eagerly grappled the chest of Turbo's shirt. No amount of willpower or rational thinking could stop her from taking in a deep breath through her nose and inhaling the intoxicating, human scent that Turbo had, the one she had done everything to sap her existence with, and as she could feel Turbo tilt his head and attempt to deepen their kiss, Berri fell victim to his ploy, a delightfully innocent game she prayed remained leveled and sound, like Turbo promised. With the feel of Turbo's parted lips that sunk into hers, the ease of his hot breath on her cheeks, the way her arms draped about his neck, she felt her heart begin to thud right out of her chest the second Turbo's grippy, masculine hands began to politely ease to her hips and lower back.

With every single circuit and nerve ending that began to wiggle and swim in raw delight, Turbo felt his heart nearly stop dead as a delightful hum of a moan trailed from the back of Berri's throat, their tilted kiss deepened amidst the tender push and pull of their skulls, the desperation they both felt to just drown in each other's never-ending vats of love they had for each other. Although self respecting and understanding of boundaries, Turbo made the largest exception he could for Berri's sake, the chance to be her Knight in shining armor at the foresight of trouble, for her and Gunner, on the horizon, his heart raced with nervous, trembling ideas inside their now secret romance. He furrowed his eyebrows in painful, desirable delight as he lovingly cupped the side and back of Berri's head amidst their slow whirlwind of passion, though, without fail, the universe began to send the most obnoxious, tinker of a tune out into the air, ultimately jarring the two from their frenzy of heat. The two sharply halted their kiss, panted on each other's lips, hovered in the stick of their mouths and just barely peered to each other through the narrow of mild confusion.

"... Who the hell is calling me," Berri mumbled in a whisper of whole entire annoyance, though Turbo raised his eyebrows in discombobulated bewilderment as they gently eased from each other. As Berri pulled her phone from her back pocket, she immediately felt karma come nipping at her heels; the caller ID of Gunner's sweet face displayed to the little, generic tune she had set, and with whole despair, she peered up to Turbo in terror and shook her head, "I-It's Gunner..."

"Pick up," Turbo staggered as he gestured down to her phone, although his eyes were a peachy blushed glow, Berri was shocked to see a tint of blush cling tight to his cheeks and the bridge of his grey nose. He tried to get words out as they cheekily and desperately tried to yank themselves back to the planet, "It's fine, Bear, pick up."

"Hey," Berri pressed tenderly, she desperately tried to act nonchalant, she lulled her eyes closed as she turned on her heel and tried her hardest to compose herself.

"Hey babe, is everything okay?" Gunner wondered softly, his voice was laced in goodness, Berri peered down to Turbo's carpet in now dire regret and felt her heart surge in whole confusion. As if she now had a taste of two different kinds of loves, she felt a very real strike of realization hit her, head on. She felt her skin go cold, her heart began to race, and it was in the gentle toss of her eyes over her shoulder, her piercing blue eyes nervously stabbed into Turbo's still glowing, peachy gaze, as if he knew, for certain he had to have known. Berri exhaled a trembling breath and felt entirely discovered, in this raw instance of wearing her heart on her sleeve. She gently shook her head in mild terror as Gunner's tender tone pressed on, "Nearly half of your family wasn't at Academy today... I-I mean, I had Wren to hang out with, and he told me everything that was going on, but I just... Wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Oh, I'm great," Berri huffed in a shaky breath as she peered to Turbo, the longer she was in his gravity, the harder she felt it; a raw feeling she had never felt before, and although it began to prickle her skin previously, with their kiss on his rooftop, she felt as if the news finally hit her brain in an entire tidal wave of realization. Turbo cocked an eyebrow and peered to her in concerned understanding, though he finally heaved a tender chuckle, shook his head, looked down to his feet and raised his eyebrows, as if to warn Berri that this intoxicating bout of romance that had dipped their toes in was probably the strongest, most delicious poison on the face of this Arcade. Berri bashfully tucked her hair behind her ear and now felt weird talking to Gunner, she pressed on nonetheless, "I-I'm... Just with Turbo for the day, we made a lot of headway on... O-on... The deleter... Thing."

"... The deleter protection?" Gunner pressed in now almost irritated concern, he huffed a chuckle and seemed confused as to why Berri was out of sorts, "Is everything okay? You're with this Turbo fella a lot, lately, Bear."

"Yeah, he's... Just helping me, I mean, the deleter code is in my own coding," Berri rushed, she rubbed her forehead and tried to come out of the small bout of making out her and Turbo were equally as spontaneously thrusted into, and then jarred out of, "I-It's all benign, but... I-I mean, we have it... Under control."

Berri bit her lip and now fully understood that this weird bout of cheating, she had gotten herself into, was entirely out of her realm. How terrible she was at lying, she wondered why the hell she even began to get into this situation, though with the way Turbo's eyes remained honed to her, and the phone in her hand, she felt her hands tremble in defeat, simply as if Turbo had won this whole battle without really even trying to his fullest extent. She pulled her phone away from her head and hovered her finger over the mute button, for her's and Gunner's phone call; how badly she wanted to shakily blurt her now raw and barely exposed, deep feelings for Turbo, though she immediately hesitated the second Gunner carried on. Turbo gave her a curious look, as if to ask just what she was going to say, though Berri rolled her eyes, flagged her hand and lulled her eyes closed in whole annoyance at herself.

"... You sound very weird, right now, Bear, what's going on?" Gunner asked nervously, "A-are you with Turbo right now?"

"Yeah, he's here," Berri prod innocently, though Turbo sharply raised his eyebrows and began to feel impending anger, for the whole situation with Gunner, flood his veins; he prayed to User that the scary sight of his crimson gaze and narrowed pupils wouldn't make itself present.

"I... O-Okay, Bear," Gunner scoffed in a shaky show of anxiety, "I'm not on speaker, am I?"

"No, you're not," Berri hushed as she turned heel, once more, and had her back to Turbo. She scrunched her eyes tight and wondered how she could get off the phone with Gunner without making him more suspicious.

"I don't know how I feel about you being alone with him, Bear, that's Arcade's scariest, most threatening bad guy... Er, was, I guess," Gunner pressed in nervous authority, "I'm grateful for his help, but there's just been... A lot of that name present, lately. You wore his hoodie to school, he calls and texts you constantly."

"He's not going to hurt me," Berri defended gently, though it was here that she could feel Turbo's gaze burn a hole in the back of her head.

Turbo furrowed his eyebrows in now raw hatred and clenched his fists. He could see the bridge of his nose began to threaten said crimson glow, and as anger began to sap him, the room grew dark and narrowed due to his now tightening, square pupils. Slits that only made his creepy gaze that much scarier, and as his vision doubled in sharpness and only honed in on Berri, he shut his eyes in whole discombobulation, shook his head, held his hands to his face and scolded himself for letting his emotions almost get carried away. He scoffed a silent breath of calm to himself and begged himself to ease up, though his ears so eagerly eavesdropped on Berri's not-so-private conversation.

"If you're absolutely sure, Bear, I mean... It's you I trust, not him," Gunner stated darkly, though Berri furrowed her eyebrows in sharp irritation.

"You don't have to trust him if you don't want to, Gunner, but I do, and my mother and father do, he's at my father's right hand," Berri voice was sharp and quick, though she tried to ease up, "There's really nothing to worry about, he's happy to help us, but... If you alienate him and make him feel unwelcomed, that could easily change. Are you wanting those concerts to happen, Gun?"

"I am, Bear, I'm sorry, just... I'm just getting a little uncomfortable with you being alone with him," Gunner's voice eased to softness, as if he could tell this was going to escalate to a fight; Berri softened as well, due to this, and sagged her shoulders in mild defeat, "I trust you... I just hope you're making headway. I missed you today."

"I missed you too," Berri eased, she tried not to allow her voice to sound too empty. She furrowed her brow, rubbed her forehead and scrunched her eyes tight with an impending headache, "Wh-what are you up to, then?"

"Well... I actually called you to say that our press meeting today was cancelled, anyways," Gunner stated in a gentle tone, Berri sagged and was relieved their conversation was on the up and up.

"Oh, okay, yeah... I was gunna say, I felt bad for dipping on it, but," Berri brushed her fingers through her bangs and lulled her arm to her side, "So, just lazy day at home, then?"

"Yeah, did you want to come over once you're done with Turbo, then?" Gunner pressed, though Berri shut her eyes tight, once more, and figured lofting bad news as lightly as she could was best.

"No, this is an all day thing, but I can keep in contact with you," Berri stated lightly, though she felt her heart stop at the silence on the other end.

"...Alright, that's fine, Bear," Gunner said in a dull tone, though he sighed and seemed mildly irritated, "Sama texted me... I-I guess she has some things she needs to talk to me about. If you do find you're able to break away from the deleter protection, or get done with it sooner than later, I'll be available after six, tonight."

"... Wait a second, so you get upset at me for being alone with Turbo, but then turn around and are going to go hang out with your ex girlfriend?" Berri stabbed in rising authority; Turbo raised his eyebrows in poised surprise and was thrilled to be in on this dramatic conversation.

"That's not even fair, Berri, I'm going to a public setting with Sama, your situation is entirely different," Gunner firmly defended, though Berri rolled her eyes and remained with her back to Turbo.

"Whatever... Tell Sama I say hi," Berri stabbed in quip of dainty, quick-witted sass she was blessed to have gotten from Tessa, she shook her head and peered her glassy eyes out to Orion City in dread, "Let me know how that goes."

"Berri," Gunner demanded in irritation, Berri heaved a hot sigh and shook her head.

"No, it's fine, Gun, really," Berri chirped sarcastically, and although Turbo could tell she was being entirely sarcastic, Gunner couldn't properly read her tone and took it only as mild irritation, "I hope Sama tells you all the things you want to hear, there, bub."

"Berri, seriously," Gunner presed more firmly, though he cut himself off and scoffed in annoyance, "Y'know what, it's fine, Bear... I'll just... See you tomorrow, then."

"Okay," Berri shrugged, though she felt her face wash pale the second she could hear the phone quietly disconnect, the sound of Gunner hanging up on her.

Berri sagged her shoulders and allowed her hand and arm to lull to her side. She eased her phone into her back pocket and heaved a shaky breath out to the second story of Turbo's lovely, glass-ceilinged loft. She eased her eyes shut and could only simply feel Turbo approach her from behind. It was here did she understand just what Turbo was doing, here. He could see her's and Gunner's relationship beginning to bow and bend at the seams, a gentle show of stuffing coming loose from the cushion, she looked off and hugged her arms about herself, knowing full well she maybe didn't deserve love in this instance. Said raw instance of cheating on her own boyfriend and growing accusatory of everyone else's every single move.

"You know he's lying to get under your skin," Turbo's lovely, familiar voice eased into her ears, it was something she now needed beyond a simple craving. Like a dark ghost, still hovered tight to her skin in readiness, Berri felt her fall begin to turn into a plummet into a black void. Berri lulled her eyes closed in dread and felt a shiver go up her spine the second Turbo's voice now hovered about a foot back from the back of her right shoulder and ear, "Take it from me... I have experience, here."

Berri softly turned around to face Turbo, they hung in each other's now closer, more desired gravity, and although Berri's glassy eyes proved that she was well aware she had wronged Gunner, here, she looked as if her heart was hardening. She looked off in raw confusion and shrugged a little, though she shook her head and peered up into Turbo's eyes, which were strangely a kiss of gentle orange, outside of the typical, dewy peachy look he had not two minutes prior; this gloss looked a touch angrier.

"Because you're cheating on him, you're quick to assume he's doing the same," Turbo eased, Berri took note that his hands were trembling, either from the leftover dregs of their small make-out session, or impending anger he was due to concealing; Berri couldn't figure it out, "Libby and I had this issue. I would do and say the stupidest shit to make her jealous, and it worked."

"You weren't cheating on her, though," Berri defended in nervous defeat, though Turbo shrugged.

"We were young and stupid," Turbo smiled, the golden glow in his eyes finally came back, "We always fought... We had a very... Tumultuous relationship."

"Well, you certainly seem to be a changed man, now," Berri grumbled as she bashfully looked down and shook her head, "You wouldn't do any of that stuff now, would you..."

"No, I'm... Too tired for that," Turbo sighed as he rubbed the back of his head, though he was thrilled the two finally fell into full smiles and soft laughter, at his notions, "I've been through a LOT, my babe... I know what I want, I know how to act in order to make things run smoothly. I used to play games. You can ask Libby... I used to be an asshole all the time."

"As opposed to just sometimes, now?" Berri teased, she gave him a loving smile and narrowed her gaze, though it was here did Turbo take note of her now angry stress marks, silver marks that coat her temples in flared neediness, and although Turbo blurt a small laugh at her teasing statement, he sagged his shoulders and felt a little bit more comfortable hanging in Berri's gravity.

"Times were different, I've grown," Turbo's voice crackled to a depth of near whispering sweetness, he gingerly cupped the side of Berri's head and allowed his thumb to tenderly stroke the burning, angry stress marks on her temple, "After thirty years of solitude... Of feeling entirely outcast, there's... Very few things that will humble you to that extent of it. You eventually come to understand what's important, in life."

"What do you think is important in life?" Berri questioned tenderly, she easily leaned into his hot touch, she lulled her eyes closed and silently promised him, here, that she could lay in it all day.

"Well, originally, to be alone, to just take care of myself," Turbo huffed a soft laugh, though he narrowed his gaze and breathed a shaky breath of raw, exposed nervousness. His hands began to tremble in soft newness, and as they gently met eyes, he peaked a bashful smile and eased her a shy, whisper of a conclusion, for her heart and her's only, "... Then I met you."

Berri felt her heart stop, the way the two caught eyes, she held her breath and felt as if the plentiful affection, that Gunner had for her, couldn't hardly hold a candle to the golden glow of well-aged, experienced sap of romance that Turbo was quite ready to deploy all over her shivering soul. Although she felt as if she was making the stupidest decision of her whole life, she simultaneously felt as if it was the best thing she could've done. She sagged, shut her eyes tight and felt impending tears sting her eyes. How badly Berri wanted to overflow Turbo with every single last worry inside of her, though it'd lead to impending, serious conversation, about the potential of furthering romantic relations and other desirable notions, she felt her head swim in whole confusion; she knew they weren't ready for such things.

"I'm not here to get in the way," Turbo barely whispered, he smiled into her eyes and shook his head, "You say the word and I'll stop all of this. This whole thing is in your control."

"Turbo, I-I know I said we have to do this stuff alone," Berri complained, tears finally cascaded down her blushing cheeks, "I know I keep telling you to overcome your fear of going out in public alone, work on your powers alone... Why am I doing that to you? You've been alone for the majority of your whole life, and now that there's... There's... Something special, here, I-I... I just up and..."

"Your logic is sound, Bear," Turbo blurt a tender chuckle and hovered tight to her for comfort, he wiped away her tears and fixed her bangs, very little things that immediately proved to Berri that he was potentially fantastic boyfriend material. She lulled her eyes closed and kicked herself for this very sticky situation, though she held on to Turbo's words like her life depended on it, "You don't want to use each other as crutches... But, I got you. And you got me too... This is easy."

"I-It'd be easier if..." Berri trailed off and dared not to state the obvious, she shut her eyes tight and was well aware that anything further said would likely start a fight with Turbo, and he knew it.

"Don't... Just..." Turbo huffed quietly as he shook his head, though Berri rolled her eyes and covered her face in sorrow.

"I need you... I can't pretend that I don't, anymore," Berri huffed in a shaky, whimpering whisper. She peered up to Turbo through glassy eyes and shook her head, "Please, just... Take this away from me, don't let me have it."

"Your phone?" Turbo pressed curiously as he cautiously took it from her grip, firmly handed to him, Berri furiously nodded.

"I don't want to be tempted to text Gunner or anything, I'll just... Talk to him tomorrow, I don't care," Berri staggered, though it was clear she cared.

"I mean, I don't want to be tempted to text him, either," Turbo blurt a soft laugh as he securely tucked her phone in his pant's pocket; he grinned at his success in getting a small smile out of Berri, no matter how forced back it was, "I'd give him a piece of my mind, I'd have choice words."

"It'd be cooler if you said it to his face, Bo, man I wish," Berri muttered in defeat, knowing full well that'd never happen in a million years, though Turbo looked off in mild, secretive contemplation and held his breath.

"Don't wish for that," Turbo mumbled darkly, though Berri raised her eyebrows and peered into Turbo's eyes in nervous, almost anticipatory curiosity as Turbo's sleek, deep voice gave her a grim conclusion, "You wouldn't recognize me."


	109. Chapter 109

**Reviews :**

 **Raven : I guess my foreshadowing is apparent :D yay.**

 **Nikki Firesong : hoooo no one has a single clue what is exactly is going to hit them and I'm literally here for it :'D**

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **First Time by Kygo and Ellie Goulding**

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 ***Chapter 109***

"Whoa, did Zed bring you Sugarbucks or something?" Nox wondered with a hefty, bewildered chuckle.

Nox and Throttle were comfortably lounged in his quiet abode, the sun had set hours ago, and although the universe was warming from Sugar Rush's deathly winter, nighttime still held a frosty bite. Turbo raised his eyebrows in sweet delight as Throttle let him into his dim foyer, the cast of their glowing eyes made Sugar Rush sing in newness. As Turbo closed the door behind him, he cocked an eyebrow and softly glanced down at the sturdy drink holder of three coffees he had acquired, all by his lonesome; a brave task for someone like Turbo.

"No? I got these myself," Turbo eased in smiling, defensive bashfulness, it was here did he remember that really only Berri, Wren and Theo were aware of Turbo's escapades into public places, as of late.

"You like..." Nox gestured his hands in whole confusion as him and Throttle softened, their gazes to Turbo were frozen in delighted confusion as Turbo hovered before them with the three drinks. Nox huffed a staggered chuckle, shook his head and lulled his golden eyes closed, "Wait, I-I'm... I don't understand, did you hire a runner or something?"

"No, I'm not THAT much of an asshole," Turbo blurt a tender laugh and now figured he'd worm about his two brothers and find his way to Throttle's lovely kitchen. Upon getting there, with his two brothers in tow, he cocked an eyebrow and was suddenly floored to see a shirt lazily folded on Throttle's glossy, lightly messy kitchen island. This was a shirt Turbo knew well, because it belonged to Wren, one that Wren wore often. Turbo carefully set down the drink carrier, cocked an eyebrow harder, picked up the shirt with delicacy and lofted his grinning, bewildered gaze to his older brother, "Oh. True."

"I-I was sort of wondering why that was here," Nox staggered in curious chuckling as Nox rounded the other end of the island, though a very hearty blush immediately splayed Throttle's already pale face.

"That's Wren's," Throttle tried to seem nonchalant, but easily failed. He shrugged and peered to Turbo in tender nervousness, "What's the problem?"

"No, no problem at all," Turbo chimed in bewildered delight as he refolded Wren's shirt and tenderly laid it back to the island. He held his masculine hand to the soft, loved fabric and eyed Throttle in soft, boyish knowing, "That's nice, Tee, you, uh... You and Wren finally got good?"

"There's no way out of it, dude, just fess up," Nox mumbled, Throttle looked off in shy stiffness as he anxiously tidied his already tidy shirt.

"Yeah," Throttle snipped nervously, though Turbo eased a further elated, broadening smile and held his curious eyes to his older brother.

"Ease up, dude, we think it's great," Turbo pressed sweetly, "Wren's a good guy. You both are lucky to have each other."

"W-we're not official, or anything," Throttle shrugged, he looked delightfully out of sorts as he continued to tidy any single inch of potentially wrinkled fabric he could get his fingers on. He heaved a shaky sigh and peered to Wren's shirt in regret, the fact that he forgot to put it away, "H-He just... I-I don't know-"

"Friends with benefits?" Nox eased lazily as he eyed the drink carrier Turbo hovered near, though with Nox's words, he froze in unadulterated terror and felt his heart immediate jolt at the idea of his and Berri's newfound, secret bout of romance.

"Guess you could say that," Throttle huffed with a nervous smile, he shook his head and lulled his eyes closed, "I've... Been meaning to do something about it, though."

"Yeah, friends with benefits is only fun for like two months, and then it just sucks," Nox mumbled, as if he had potential, secret experience here, back in his EZ Living days.

"...It does?" Turbo bravely wondered, he nervously peered to Nox and desperately tried to wipe the assuming look from his eye, he was grateful that Nox breezed past it.

"Well, yeah, the girl is committed to someone else. Fun nights of making out, and then not worrying about commitment, turns into eventually wanting more. Stuff the other person can't give," Throttle bravely interjected, due to his past experiences, he shrugged and gave Turbo a gentle, unassuming look of tender advice, "It's like a trail period for easy-going fun, but then you realize the free trail is something you'd gladly commit to..."

"But then can't cause there's another equally as committed dude in the way," Nox flagged his hand and breezed past the topic, not knowing it actually pertained to Turbo, here, "What'd you bring? Mr. Goes-out-in-public-without-telling-anyone."

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Throttle crossed his arms and blurt a gentle laugh.

"Nox, I got you a drink with your name all over it," Turbo disregarded his brothers and shook his head, though he picked up Nox's iced drink and gave him a knowing smile, "This is a nitro cold brew... Black."

"A nitro black for a Mr. Nitro Black," Throttle raised his eyebrows in cuteness and blurt a chuckle, "That's so ironic."

"Isn't cold brew like insanely strong?" Nox wondered with wide, boyish eyes of delight as Turbo kindly handed his littlest brother said yummy, frothy drink, "Oooo I'm not sleeping tonight. Someone warn Koko."

"I'm going to take a wild guess as to what you got me," Throttle wondered with a gentle smile as Turbo picked up one of the other drinks, which was in a hot cup.

"An herbal peach tea," Turbo mumbled kindly, though Nox wildly furrowed his eyebrows and blurt a teasing laugh.

"What a wuss," Nox muttered, both Throttle and Turbo blurt into hard laughter.

"I don't care what you call me," Throttle mumbled in a cocky way, a confident smile plastered his face, Turbo cocked an eyebrow and lofted Nox a knowing look.

"It's because he got laid, you can't pick on him anymore, he's immune to your bullshit," Turbo mumbled.

"We haven't had sex, stop," Throttle defended in mild annoyance, though the hard blush on his face assured Turbo and Nox that they should maybe quickly cut the teasing.

"Yet," Nox obnoxiously waggled his eyebrows, though he easily gestured his hand to Turbo and shrugged, "Whatever, I can tease Turbo, then."

"I've had sex before," Turbo muttered as he eyed Nox in nonchalant challenge, he pried his drink from the sturdy drink carrier and took said carrier to Throttle's trash, to throw away. In the process, he eased off his cozy coat and rested it on the counter across from Throttle's island, "Does last year's battle ring a bell? Trapped with Libby's coding? Nearly ruined everyone's lives for good?"

"Fun times," Throttle sighed wistfully a sarcastic notion that had all boys chuckling, he nonchalantly sipped his tea in contentment.

"Well, you have your original coding, now," Nox grasped at straws, to which Turbo gestured to Throttle.

"So does Throttle, just quit while you're ahead, dude," Turbo blurt a laugh, the strange urge to be protective and defensive felt odd. Somehow, his secret relations, with Berri, also had him on edge, an edge he was certain wouldn't ever come to find him.

"What drink did you get?" Throttle prod, "I bought your favorite cigars. Figured we'd have drinks and a smoke on the porch."

"Oh, awesome, thanks," Turbo bobbed a nod and felt solace in his brother's house, he smiled down to his drink and suddenly felt that reserved, on-edge feeling rush his veins, once more, "I-I... Well, I usually get just a plain coffee or americano, but... B-Berri suggested I try this."

"The Queen at pushing people outside their comfort zones for the greater good," Throttle chimed as he raised his glass, as if to cheers for Berri's sweet success, here, "So, what'd she suggest you try, then?"

"It's just a white mocha," Turbo mumbled gently before he took a sip, though he grimaced a little and wrinkled his nose, "O-Oh wow, it's really sweet. Good, but sweet."

"Like her," Nox shrugged nonchalantly, he also sipped his coffee, "Thanks for this. I'm sure going all the way into the city, and in public, wasn't easy."

"It's... No biggie, I love going to Sugarbucks," Turbo nodded softly, though with this reveal of information to his brothers, he quickly realized that maybe he hadn't caught them up to speed in awhile.

"...Since WHEN?" Throttle suddenly choked with a very confused look of further bewilderment, something Nox easily fell into, as well.

"It's been awhile since we've hung out, huh," Turbo mumbled as he softly peered down to the rim of his cup, he heaved a shaky sigh and shrugged a little, "Berri went with me, alongside Wren and Theo. It... Was invigorating. It's been nice."

"...Wow, wait, you mean... Berri helped you get in public?" Nox wondered with a small laugh, he eyed Throttle and gestured his hand out, "Maybe she can get him to leave the User-damned game, as well."

"I'm not leaving Sugar Rush, you know that," Turbo muttered as he brought his frothy, sweet drink to his lips, though Throttle largely rolled his eyes and ran out of pity for Turbo, here.

"If Berri asked you to, you would," Throttle stated firmly, though Turbo looked off and began to wall off for fear of his brothers finding out about him and Berri.

"She already has, and my answer was no," Turbo mumbled, though Nox cocked an eyebrow and brought his own drink to his lips in full sass.

"And then she went and found another guy to date," Nox daringly muttered as he went to take a sip of his drink, "But that's none of my business."

Turbo heaved a hot sigh through his nose and felt thwarted. Not because of the brotherly teasing they were wonderful at, though with the solid fact that Nox was right. He lulled his eyes closed and felt pain course him, the very words Berri warned about yesterday, the very idea that these relations would eventually hurt the both of them, he re-opened his eyes and felt the bittersweet sting of deeming it all worthy, anyways. He looked down to Throttle's island in aimless defeat, though due to Turbo not retorting like he usually would, Nox and Throttle were well aware this was not territory to tease in. They nervously glanced to each other, Throttle shot Nox an authoritative look of brotherly dominance, as if to swiftly tell Nox to knock it off. Nox heaved a shaky breath and peered his apologetic eyes to Turbo.

"Sorry, Bo," Nox mumbled nervously, "That was mean."

"No, no," Turbo stated through a revived sigh and a soft, sorrowful bob of a nod, "You're not wrong. That's why I didn't argue you."

"S-surely you can..." Throttle shrugged, they all tread into the territory Turbo was scared said conversation would drift, though he knew he'd had to bravely stand his ground, "Maybe... Get Berri in your corner, if you will?"

Turbo remained silent and peered down to his drink in whole bashfulness. He was well aware that he was damned if he did and damned if he didn't, any amount of talking would give himself away, alongside the way both his brothers read between the lines of his silence, he figured keeping mysterious about it all was likely wiser than coming out with it all. Although Turbo wondered if he was a master at smoke and mirrors, he immediately felt thwarted with the way Throttle heaved a satisfied chuckle and looked down to his bare feet in soft knowing.

"...Something tells me you already have, then?" Throttle pressed warmly, to which Nox froze alongside Turbo's silence, a deafening answer to Throttle's tender question.

"W-wait a second," Nox staggered with a small, curious smile, "Y-You and Berri...?"

"Her and Gunner hit a few bumps in the road, and she confided in me," Turbo's masculine voice eased to his brothers in nervousness, "I... I told her that if she ever needed a shoulder, I'd be here for her."

"A shoulder," Nox scoffed with a happy, sneaky smile in Turbo's direction; they caught eyes, "Code for... Pants-off dance-off."

"She cheated on Gunner? With you?" Throttle wondered in whole bewilderment, to which Turbo looked off and cleared his throat.

"I need you both to understand that if this conversation leaves this kitchen, I will murder the both of you," Turbo warned, although it was playful, he stabbed his serious eye contact to the both; they shaped up in nervousness and nodded in shaky unison as Turbo pressed on, "I gave her my word."

"Sounds like you potentially gave her something else?" Nox quietly wondered, he wanted to be playful so badly, though he heavily reserved himself for the sake of Turbo's very fragile feelings, here.

"Nox," Throttle muttered on cue, as if to ask him to reel it in, though Turbo heaved a soft chuckle and bobbed a nod of nervous agreeing.

"Her first kiss," Turbo staggered in terror, though he smiled in whole shyness, "I-I... I didn't mean to, I could've sworn she had already kissed Gunner, or something."

"Oh, wow, well then," Throttle blurt a chuckle and shook his head, "Guess you're well on your way to getting her on team Black anyways."

"Goin' around stealing girls' innocence, like that," Nox muttered as he eyed Turbo in playful, teasing shame, "Tsk, tsk, tsk."

"I didn't steal her virginity," Turbo blurt in defensive annoyance, to which Nox obnoxiously waggled his eyebrows with a widening, toothy grin of whole delight.

"YET," Nox stabbed, Throttle now couldn't help but burst out in gentle laughter, Turbo eagerly rolled his eyes and felt his face burn up.

"I surprised her with a kiss and she revealed it was her first," Turbo rushed with a small laugh as they all fell into easiness, "I-I don't know, I couldn't help myself."

"So now you're just a side guy? She runs off with Gunner and goes on magical adventures, and then what?" Nox shrugged, Throttle eyed Nox in gentle delight and tipped his cup in Turbo's direction.

"She comes back to Sugar Rush for something sweet," Throttle chimed, to which Turbo heaved a hefty sigh of nervousness, "Makes clear sense to me. C'mon... The Black brothers are irresistible. This much is clear, here. Koko was ALL over you, the first time you two met."

"Yeah, and now you and Wren?" Nox volleyed, though they peered their gentle eyes to Turbo as Nox carried on, "Berri's been intrigued with you since that one time she barreled down your door and demanded answers from your convoluted past."

"...That whole friends with benefits talk probably triggered you, didn't it," Throttle wondered nervously, to which Turbo felt his heart ache in whole nervousness. Throttle shook his head and narrowed his gaze in worried uncertainty, "Turbo, you've... You've really got to take care of yourself, here. You've set yourself up for failure..."

"I know," Turbo mumbled in whole sorrow, though he shook his head and lulled his eyes closed, "I'd... Do anything."

"But, you're in love with her," Nox prod in seriousness, he frowned to his big brother and shook his head, "This won't end well, dude..."

"Something tells me this won't be for not, though," Throttle smiled, he side eyed Turbo in softness, "I've seen the way she looks at you. She loves you..."

"If it weren't for yesterday, I'd probably not believe you, but..." Turbo shook his head and eased a nostalgic smile, "I've heard you guys say that before, and I didn't understand it until I saw it for myself... I've seen that very look with my own eyes."

"There's just... Another guy in the way," Nox worried, Throttle sighed in annoyance.

"If you call a 'shiny rockstar of a hunk' just 'another guy'," Throttle mumbled, not to degrade Turbo's worth.

"Well, what will it take, then?" Nox urgently demanded to Turbo, he gestured out and almost desperately peered to Turbo, "What will it take for her to rocket herself into your corner, for good?"

"Leaving the game," Throttle concluded.

"Getting in Gunner's face," Turbo muttered darkly, he shook his head and grit his teeth in tender anger, "I heard the things he was telling Berri, yesterday, when he called... Said he was nervous that Berri was alone with me."

"... Are you serious?" Throttle staggered in a now rise of tender anger, Nox darted his eyes between his brothers and equally grew surprised.

"You wouldn't hurt Berri," Nox wildly complained, though Turbo shook his head and peered his apologetic, nervous eye contact into Nox's.

"I wouldn't hurt ANYONE," Turbo pleaded, though Throttle crossed his arms and gave Turbo a coy look of knowing.

"... Sans Gunner," Throttle mumbled, though Turbo rolled his eyes, looked off and kept his mouth shut, a physical show of answering Throttle's inquiry. Throttle sighed a chuckle and shook his head, "I don't know, dude... I'd say jumping in Gunner's face and being forceful might not be wise."

"Just bide your time, ride the wave," Nox shrugged, "Just... Keep doing what you're doing. She'll realize she has it better, with you, eventually."

"But she doesn't," Turbo worried, though before Nox and Throttle could protest, he urgently carried on, "She wants me to leave the game, to live a normal life."

"Then LEAVE the GAME," Nox demanded with a small, annoyed laugh, though much to everyone's surprise, Turbo didn't immediately protest.

"It's honestly not so scary," Throttle eased as he shook his head, "I was nervous, once upon a time. Everyone leaves us well enough alone."

"Most games plugged in, anyways, weren't even around during that whole fiasco with Turbotime," Nox assured, though Turbo sighed and shut his eyes in mild regret.

"I wish Turbotime was still plugged in," Turbo complained tenderly.

"Turbotime isn't going to solve your problems, but... You already know that," Throttle thwarted with a gentle, cheeky smile, "Even if Litwak HAS Turbotime in his backroom, it wouldn't change how Berri feels about all of this. You'd just find another game to hide out in."

"It'd be my home game," Turbo lazily protested, though Throttle shook his head.

"This is your home game, now," Throttle eased in uplift, "We have to move on from the past, Turbo... It's clear your en-route to doing so."

"With Berri tight at your side," Nox shrugged, "I don't know... Ride it out, see what happens. You might be delightfully surprised."

"... Guess I have been, thusfar," Turbo muttered as he set his half-empty drink on the island's counter, "I... I never thought I'd ever feel love like that, ever."

"It's a powerful thing," Nox mumbled in understanding as he bugged his golden eyes.

"It'll make you do the craziest things," Throttle gave Turbo a knowing smile, "Things you never thought you'd see yourself doing..."

"Yeah," Turbo nearly agreed, as if to potentially placate his brothers, though they had to wonder if Turbo's words had deeper meaning, "We'll see..."


	110. Chapter 110

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** Like Mario bros, but TurboTime hahaha.

 **Nikki Firesong :** Yeah, he delves into it a bit more, later into the story. It's just a weird sweep of PTSD, something really only Lash would understand. It's expanded on for sure! I appreciate your reviews, and your attention to detail. It's really encouraging! :D

 **Romanticsapp :** LOL! Any day now. The only reason I just allow myself to be the Slow Burn Queen is because I upload every other day. If I only uploaded once a week, or month, or blue moon, I wouldn't torment you guys like that. I allow myself to own it because of how frequent I upload. It'll come! User knows when, cause even I only have a rough outline of the timeline, currently, but it's upon us soon, here! Don't worry :) Thank you so much for catching up like that! I'm sure it was difficult, but I REALLY appreciate it! Welcome back, friend.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Circles by Post Malone**

* * *

 ***Chapter 110***

The afternoon had come and gone, Wren, Theo and Berri did their lazy amount of after Academy work inside Sugar Rush before moseying on over to EZ Living. Coming up to Gunner's glorious, well lit mansion, all lined with pristine foliage, gorgeous splays of fountains, high-pillared architecture, Berri almost cocked an eyebrow at his massive front door in a gentle sting of annoyance. Wren and Theo were a chattering mess, though Berri was quiet. Although Gunner's driver had nervously eyed Berri from the driver seat, through the rear view mirror, he kept his polite, curious wonderings to himself. It was apparent that Berri had a lot on her mind, though everyone figured they'd better leave her to it. Berri sighed a soft noise through her nose and peered down to the lovely, compact creation in her hands. Safely secured in its own little device was the deleter protection Turbo had successfully produced for Berri and her band, for their impending concerts, a device so powerful, it could protect up to three square miles of land from deleter attacks.

"Y'comin'?" Theo prod to Berri in a tender chime of boyish nonchalance, though as Berri shot her eyes to the opposite end of the car they were in, she felt her heart sink with the way Theo was looking at her, almost into her soul.

She was well aware both Wren and Theo were sharp, though there was something incredibly special about her's and Theo's relationship. Although Berri and Theo were cousins, she felt a special sibling bond with him, the same exact dynamic that Tessa and Oliver had. An apparent duo passed down through their own children, Berri felt her throat tighten with the way Theo peered to her in such understanding, though still almost held a stern, knowing air about himself. As if he was very well aware Berri had some sort of nagging issue on her brain and he was likely due to worming his way into her heart, so to sort through the issue and hopefully give a proper amount of answers. She stiffened and jolted into action, typically she had a sense of urgency about her, though somehow, her whole entire world was becoming engulfed with the idea of her new, shiny side-guy; Turbo. Although he was simply there first, before Gunner, she somehow felt as if this was still something entirely brand new to her. She slid out of the car with a huff, eyed Theo in apology and could feel his vivid green eyes nearly burn a hole through her forehead.

"Bear," Theo mumbled in mild annoyance, as if to beg her to cut the act, though with one quick movement, kissed by EZ Living's lovely, afternoon sun, she tenderly gripped Theo's bare, lower arm, much larger than hers.

Theo raised his eyes in tenderness as Berri secretly flood her silver circuits straight into his lovely, olive green coding, though with such mixture, Berri welcomed herself into Theo's gentle, bumbling thought stream and began to flood him with a quick quip of communication. What once was a tender greenery of easiness now flood Theo's and Berri's hand and arm with an amped show of metallic, green busyness. Theo hooked his nervous eyes into Berri's as she silently communicated to him via nothing but the coding under their skin, she was well aware Wren likely wasn't to be trusted with such tender information.

 _"I'm really struggling with something right now, and I'm desperate to tell someone,"_ Berri's raw, tender voice flit through Theo's brain as the two continued to slowly move in actions of normalcy, like closing the car door, adjusting bags over their shoulders, Berri continued on as her hand remained gripped to Theo's, _"I feel as if you're probably the only person I can trust with what's going on, but I just need you to promise me right here, right now, that you will not tell a soul the information I'll eventually give to you."_

 _"You can trust me, Bear, I want to help. You've been mopey all day,"_ Theo's deep, comforting voice volleyed into the back of Berri's skull, he eased that familiar, adorable gap-toothed smile, one only Ralph could've given, and with such a gentle splay of brotherly comfort, Berri felt tender, releasing relief come crawling under her skin. Theo warmly pressed on, _"I'm assuming it has to do with Gunner..."_

 _"He's half the issue, yeah,"_ Berri muttered, though with said tender reveal, she slid her hand away from Theo's arm, thus halting their warm, familiar exterior swap that thankfully went unnoticed by Wren and now Gunner, who happily came out of his house to greet his band members.

"Guys," Gunner eased in boyish excitement as he strolled up, he wore a lazy pair of grey sweats and a white t-shirt, "Good news. We booked four new shows, all around Game Central!"

"What?" Wren pressed in whole excitement, he clutched his chest and peered back to Theo and Berri, who finally joined Wren and Gunner outside Gunner's incredible, outdoor foyer, all laced with a lovely amount of the greenest foliage Arcade had to boast, "Y-You mean like... We're going on TOUR?"

"We're going on tour!" Gunner geeked with the hugest smile, though somehow, this information was enough to rock Berri all the way out of her dark corner and right into the very palpable, white-hot gravitational pull of searing joy that Gunner seemed to be radiating at all times; she beamed the widest she had in days and stood on her tip toes in whole excitement as Gunner pressed on in shaky excitement, "I-I just got the word from Bedgy, she's pushing to get our shows in a few games in End of Line, as WELL as the new station that just opened up near the front of Litwak's."

"Arcadia station?" Theo eased in bewildered disbelief, him and Berri caught eyes in a whirlwind of shock, "Y-You're kidding, right? All the greatest, most popular games get put there, th-that's the DREAM."

"I-I've never even BEEN there," Wren staggered, Gunner eased his hands to his chest, bugged his eyes with a wide smile and shook his head.

"I haven't either! The entire station is a see-through surge protector, brand new... Getting a train there requires a bought ticket," Gunner staggered, everyone continued to bug out in a joyous union of whole excitement, "I-It's insanity, just hope that Bedgy works her magic, cause once we get the word... It's tour life, guys!"

"Wait, w-we'll... Like, we'll be on the road?" Berri staggered in a tender, slow-rolled of warm confusion, as if this sounded like the best and worst idea in one go, "Wh-what do we do about Academy? Or... I don't know-"

"SCREW Academy, you kidding?" Wren ogled to Berri in raw disbelief, Berri huffed a shaky giggle and shrugged; she was well aware Academy wasn't the thing she was worried about, though Theo eyed her in tender, confused inquiry, "This is Arcadia we're talking about. Brand new, shiny, shimmering, sunny INCREDIBLE ARCADIA STATION. You were listening, weren't you?"

"W-We'll have to just squeeze in a gap year, we... Semester there, Bee," Gunner gave her a warm smile, and with such warmth, Berri wondered if Gunner had potentially breezed past their little fight from the days prior.

"A gap year turns into a gap LIFE," Theo staggered a laugh and shook his head, "Ask my aunt Tessa."

"Th-the Queen?" Gunner prod in soft nervousness, and although Theo nodded in confidence, Berri rolled her eyes and gestured her hand.

"That was when Sugar Rush was in trouble and mom escaped to Dead Zed to have Ace," Berri rambled in a mono-tone, she shook her head and lulled her eyes closed, "There was a forcefield over Game Central Station. She didn't have a choice."

"It still was longer than a year," Theo shrugged, though Wren rolled his eyes.

"Gap year and a half, it doesn't matter," Wren rushed in boyish annoyance as he flagged his hand, though Gunner shook his head in discombobulated confusion and donned a dorky, adorable grin towards his band mates, "This is awesome... This is AWESOME."

"This means we have to absolutely murder our show, this weekend, here in EZ Living," Gunner pointed, he eyed Wren, Theo and Berri in apprehensive excitement, "If we can get people hyped about THIS show, they'll want to follow us to our other shows. Y'know?"

"L-Let's not use the word 'murder' and 'show' in the same sentence," Berri muttered through her teeth, she gave Gunner a knowing look and shook her head as Wren and Theo blurt into nervous laughter, "I'd like to come out of this whole touring business with all our fans still in tact, please..."

"Speaking of which," Gunner gestured nervously, he had a cute look in his eye, a smile that looked as if he maybe didn't deserve the incredible device he could see being protected in Berri's hands, and with the impending conversation of Turbo's awesome creation, Theo felt his intuition tell him that maybe him and Wren should go inside without Berri and Gunner, for the time being, "Y-You have the... Well..."

"We're gunna go bother Bedgy, guys, meet you in there," Theo pressed, although the four were band mates, their dynamic was very quickly morphing into a single family unit, and welcoming themselves into Gunner's house had become easier and easier.

"We'll be there soon," Gunner called over his shoulder, and as Gunner's driver began to take the SUV to the side of the building, where the line of Gunner's incredible eight-car garage hung in poised wait, Gunner put his hands on his hips, looked up to EZ Living's beautiful, sunset-orange sky and sighed with every last ounce of his expanded rib cage, "Welllllp... Looks like we had our first fight."

"... Sucked," Berri stabbed tenderly, she looked down to the device Turbo had created; although he had aid with Sugar Rush's code room, the circular device, with the gentle glowing red coding inside, was immaculately made, crafted to near perfection, Turbo's very patient and able hand was very apparent in his work. Berri smiled down to it, shook her head and eyed Gunner in sneaky annoyance, "Who woulda thunk... The big bad Turbo Black would put his blood, sweat and tears into a device that will keep us safe and sound on our touring. Wow."

"I get it," Gunner mumbled in gentle apology, he gave Berri a soft look of humility and nodded once, "I... I shouldn't have gotten so weird about it. It's just... A lot to take in. I still can't even really believe you guys just have that guy loose in your game. A-and he's at your dad's right hand? Seems like an oxymoron."

"Well, believe it," Berri shrugged, she felt the vicious, overwhelming urge to protect Turbo at all costs, and although her heart pounded in her chest, she felt a very strange mixture of confusion soak over her. The urge to protect Turbo, no matter what, though without looking suspicious; the urge to beg to stay put, for the sake of being close to Turbo, without seeming sneaky, she was well aware she had gotten herself into a sticky situation she now had to fester in, "He... He made sure this thing protects up to three square miles... I doubt we'll be in arenas that will max out that amount of distance, but, I guess if it does, I know who to call..."

"Can you potentially give me his number? I'd like to thank him myself," Gunner pressed nonchalantly, though it was here did Berri feel her pupils tighten; the weird idea that her now two love interests would speak to each other had her stomach clenching into an oblivion. To avoid seeming even an ounce of suspicious, she nervously began to pull out her phone as Gunner pressed on, "I doubt I'll ever get to see that guy in person, to thank him myself... We got a busy few weeks ahead of us, but I didn't want to play telephone with a proper thank you, y'know?"

"Understandable," Berri pressed in a dull tone, though her heart began to pound in terror as she unlocked her phone and brought up Turbo's contact information. She bit her lip in whole anxiety and, as she copied his number and pasted it into Gunner's chat box, she clenched her teeth in further fear as she actually pressed send, something she wondered was smart, or not, "H-He's pretty busy, so if you don't get a reply, don't be offended."

"Thanks, Bear," Gunner sagged, though as he pulled out his phone to save Turbo's number, Berri was grateful that he segued into a different topic and reserved texting Turbo for another time, "I... I just wanted to let you know that I cancelled seeing Sama, the other day."

"Y-You did?" Berri staggered in warm relief as she peered up to Gunner's sorrowful, humble brown eyes.

"I did," Gunner sighed, he pulled up their conversation and tenderly allowed Berri to read it, "It... Was really shitty of me to even agree to seeing her. She's... She's a part of my past, and I'm positive she didn't have anything really constructive to tell me. I'm sure she just wanted to rehash old problems."

"Wow, well... That's nice of you, Gun," Berri stated softly as she eagerly read his and Sama's messages; without fail, she was impressed to find Gunner almost repeatedly telling her that he wasn't going to be joining her, simply because he had to look forward, he had something new with Berri. She smiled and peered her revived eye contact to Gunner's in soft surprise, her heart fluttered in soft newness and was floored that Gunner had pulled through, in this instance, "Wow, that... I'm impressed. What did she even want to tell you?"

"I have no clue," Gunner shrugged, he seemed apathetic to it all as he donned a humble, though mildly annoyed smile at it all, "I knew you wouldn't do something like that to me, so... I cancelled. I care about you. You're my priority, and I hope I didn't upset you."

Berri long-blinked in now whole entire, searing regret and felt her heart further sink into the pits of shame she was certain she belonged in. A darkened, hardened feeling of reviling she began to very daringly enjoy, as if dancing in the flames was now her only choice. She figured she was a terrible liar, up until this weird instance, and although Turbo had promised her that she could have her cake and eat it too, she reeled in surprise, the whole fact that this genuinely wasn't as hard or as dirty as she maybe thought it was. She felt a peace between both worlds, though she knew it was all fleeting. She sagged her shoulders and was well aware she'd have to let one of these boys down eventually, and as her eyes nervously peered up into Gunner's honey-brown eyes, her coding very secretly whispered the name of said individual who would eagerly win out, by a land slide, no matter how much of a grumpy, creepy-eyed recluse he was.

"I appreciate that," Berri tried to remain cool, she gave Gunner a loving smile as he tenderly raveled her into a hug, his longer arms easily encompassed her to his lean, warm body. Berri sagged into him firmly, though the two wobbled a little; she grunted and gave him a look of apology, having been used to Turbo's much broader, masculine figure, she sheepishly felt her face get hot in embarrassment of the weird switch up, "S-Sorry... I hope that I didn't weird you out, being alone with Turbo. We just worked in his code room, he... Doesn't like to leave his little tower, there."

"I'm just glad I have his number, now," Gunner shrugged, and although he wasn't being serious in his statement, Berri still felt her heart begin to throb in terror the second Gunner donned a daring smile, "If he tries anything, I can just chew him out... Not... That I ever thought I'd have the balls to say that statement, but, I'd do anything to keep you safe."

"He's the last person on this whole entire planet that would hurt me, or put me in harms way," Berri argued, her voice was coat in girly sass as she gingerly waved about the deleter device.

"... The last? What about me?" Gunner playfully protested, and although Berri heaved a soft laugh and the two were all smiles, she shrugged, shook her head and dared to allow her playful tone lace over her dead-serious words.

"No, it'd be Turbo," Berri smoothly concluded, and though said seriousness went over Gunner's head, she eased into his hug and stared off into space with a look of mild, concealed terror; she prayed Gunner would potentially forget to text Turbo, a weird downward spiral of regret that finally began to blacken the bottoms of her feet.


	111. Chapter 111

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 : Oh good xD I'm glad someone can!  
**

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Sad Songs by Illenium, Annika Wells & Said The Sky**

* * *

 ***Chapter 111***

Thick, hefty fingers gingerly tapped away at the edge of his desk, he bit his lip and eagerly drummed to a beat his expensive, over-ear headphones blared in his ears. Theo was lost in his own craft, a beat he'd been marching to since he could. His angry splay of homework lay before him as he finally grappled his pencil and, through a few head bobs and mutters of a few lyrics of Archived Chaos's old music, he shook his head and breathed a small laugh at himself; he knew he couldn't get anything done listening to music, anyhow. He finally focused his emerald green eyes to his work as Sugar Rush daintily sprinkled rain outside his window, the splay of glass on the backside of their tower. Positioned on the flood directly above the ground floor, he had a much better view inside the flyer's old enclosure, riddled with the gorgeous splays of Dead Zed jungle trees. Just as his eyes were about to be lost in said splay of glass, water and greenery, his phone tenderly buzzed.

 _Blue : Hey Teddy. You home?_

Theo raised an eyebrow and tenderly peered to Berri's little message, small enough to assure him that this was likely a very loud cry for help. He eased a warm smile, and although he was eager to finish his homework, he set his pencil down and began to thumb away at his and Berri's new conversation.

 _Theodorable_ _: Yeah, I'm upstairs. Everything okay?_

 _Blue : I mean, yes and no. Can I come up?_

 _Theodorable : Sure, pad's open._

Just as Theo looked up from his phone, paused his music and slid his headphones about his neck and shoulders, he raised his eyebrows in prickled surprise. The sound of Berri's silver coding teleporting to his opened teleport pad, so quickly, assured to Theo that she was likely battling with herself, doing everything in her power to not show up and seem desperate for a little reassurance, though Theo cocked an eyebrow and was well aware he could see right through her. As Berri gingerly stepped off of his teleport pad, inside his much larger alcove, she delightfully scanned his bedroom. Although it was cleaner than usual, it still was messy, with some dirty clothes strewn about his bed and around it. His darker grey walls and lovely emerald and gold accents made Theo's room an entire comfort to be in. Berri felt her shoulders sag as she eased into his bedroom, lit up by a floor lamp, as well as the dregs of sunshine this rainy evening had to offer.

"Changed your screenname, there, Ted?" Berri giggled, she wore Turbo's hoodie, like usual, and a pair of cozy grey leggings, her beautiful blue hair was down and in its natural state of deep, lovely waves.

"Yeah, I felt 'greenbean' was... I don't know," Theo blurt a laugh, stood and gestured to his much larger, broader, muscular figure, "I'm no lean green bean."

"...But you ARE adorable," Berri concluded, in reference to his new screenname, she blurt a small giggle as Theo bashfully grinned and rubbed the back of his head, "You're funny."

"So, what's up? Sit," Theo urged quietly with a reserved smile, he gestured to his cozy desk chair as he shuffled to grapple a much smaller fold-out chair he had lying around, so to give Berri the comfier chair; Berri didn't argue. She slowly sat down on his much larger, fluffier desk chair and sagged into it in whole comfort as Theo twisted the smaller fold-out chair around and sat on it backwards, in a loose straddle, "Is... This about yesterday?"

"Yeah, it is," Berri nodded in shaky nervousness as she hoisted herself up by her arms, folded her legs underneath her, and settled into a nestled position, she sighed through her nose and, with her fists cozily tucked into the thick sleeves of Turbo's loved hoodie, she began to idly twiddle her fingers between the soft, grey cloth. She nervously gave Theo her attention and shook her head in soft, smiling confusion, "It's... It's nothing huge, I hope I didn't worry you."

"You did, I always worry about you," Theo blurt a chuckle and rested his much larger wrecking arms and hands over the backrest of the chair he sat backwards on, he shrugged his masculine shoulders and cleared his throat, "You always look so pensive... It's clear you have a lot going on. Not to mention, your stress marks make it all obvious. You have a lot on your mind."

"I do," Berri staggered a smile and a nervous laugh, her facial expression had washed to that of nervous regret, flat defeat, crippling, confused sorrow, it was clear to Theo that he likely just needed to be a shoulder, to curb any hard life advice, for now. Theo narrowed his gaze and remained silent, at her will, "I... I did something really terrible, Theo. It's... Something that I don't think I can even quit."

"You did?" Theo wondered sadly, he shook his head and long blinked in warm confusion, "Y-You're... Not capable of doing terrible things, Bear, what's going on?"

Berri heaved a shaky sigh and now felt her throat close in a sting of the threatening, impending sting of tears. She furrowed her brows in mild anguish and knew revealing her secret to someone was likely the beginning of a further downward spiral, though she knew she had to get this off her chest. She lulled her eyes closed and very quickly rethought her options. She could easily have gone to her mother, though somehow she felt as if telling Tessa about hers and Turbo's escapades might be awkward. She knew she could go to Wren, a trustworthy soul, though the sass and loud remarks would make her feel as if she needed to shell away more. As she peeled open her eyes and peered into Theo's soft, tender, brotherly gaze, she felt a peace about choosing this gentle, incredible soul to confide in. A perfect mixture of warmth, understanding and logic she was well aware she needed. She took a deep breath and knew she had to take the plunge.

"...I cheated on Gunner," Berri staggered above a whisper, though as her and Theo held eyes, she froze and was worried just what he'd gather, from all of this.

"Y-You... You did?" Theo wondered sadly, he shook his head in mild, surfaced confusion and long-blinked in reeling surprise, "I-I thought you and Gunner were doing great?"

"We are, I just..." Berri shook her head and now kept her eyes down on her sleeve-covered hands, twiddling into another dimension, she breathed a shaky breath out of her throat and dared to glance to Theo as he pushed on in bewildered softness.

"You cheated on Gunner?" Theo repeated in disbelief, "With who ..."

Berri held her breath and froze, she cocked an eyebrow in the deafening silence between the two, and after a moment of tender, quiet realization, Berri softly averted her scared blue eyes to Theo's and felt her heart begin to thud right out of her chest.

"... The big, scary, Turbo Black, unplugging games, robbing code rooms," Theo muttered with the widest, proudest smile, "Stealing hearts."

"He kissed me on my day off, the day we spent together," Berri stated wistfully, she heaved a sigh of both delight and horror as she shook her head, "Theo, I... Really don't know what came over me."

"I do," Theo chimed in concluded delight, he side-eyed Berri and gave her a knowing look, as if he was well aware that they both knew just what came over Berri, though he flinched as Berri sighed a sharp noise, unraveled her legs, stood from Theo's fluffy chair and aimlessly marched to his span of bay windows with arms tightly crossed.

"I really genuinely thought I maybe understood what love was about, the way Gunner and I got on, I mean... I thought I was well on my way to genuinely developing hardcore feelings for Gunner," Berri staggered nervously, her eyes welled with tears, though she did everything she could to hold them back, "... Theo, I feel as if I've been side-swiped. I've never felt something so strong for someone, before. So suddenly..."

"For Gunner?" Theo wondered softly, though Berri shook her head and tenderly peered her glassy blue eyes to Theo's.

"For Turbo," Berri's voice crackled, and as the two hung on each other's words, she shut her eyes tight and finally allowed tears to spill down her cheeks, "Theo, I... I can't believe I'm saying this, but... I'm in love with Turbo. I've... I've been stuffing it for so long, I've successfully kept it all reserved up until... Until..."

"Brave soul, that one," Theo muttered with a proud smile across his face, "He knows you're taken, yet he still took his shot."

"He didn't miss," Berri muttered as she sorrowfully peered out to Sugar Rush's wet, early springtime atmosphere, "I would easily kept it all under wraps if it weren't for... Well..."

"You playing along?" Theo teased as he grunted to a stand and began to slowly stroll over to Berri's positioning in his room.

"I went back for seconds, thirds, fourths," Berri mumbled, she shook her head and kept her aimless gaze on the slow drag of raindrops down Theo's window, "... He told me I could revisit it all, no strings attached, anytime I needed."

"Yeah, that guy... He'll do anything to have you, Bear," Theo mumbled in gentle understanding, and it was here did Berri peer her desperate eyes to Theo's.

"I'm having a lot of fun with Gunner, but..." Berri hissed in tender nervousness, "What do I do? I-It'd surely destroy our chances to tour, it'd... Ruin everything. If I dumped Gunner."

"I mean... It's not right of you to cheat, and it's not right of you to keep Turbo on the side when you and I both know, full well, that's not where you want him," Theo mumbled in a stern, teasing way, and although he had been trying to remain just a shoulder for Berri, he understood that he couldn't possibly just let Berri slip out of his room without laying some slick, solid life advice on her, "Berri, tell me something... Where do you see you and Gunner in three years?"

"... User, I hadn't thought of it," Berri stumbled on her words, she shook her head and heaved a shaky breath as she opened her mouth to continue, though Theo cut her off.

"Who do you see shadowing Uncle Zed in the code room? Training to one day be King?" Theo questioned, light questions that began to grow heavy, and with such, he thwarted any of Berri's tender, potential protesting, "Who do you see learning to run a Kingdom with you? Who do you see taking care of you in your darkest days?"

Berri looked off and sagged her shoulders in raw regret. She shook her head, lulled her eyes closed and hugged her arms about herself as she muttered a very raw realization that had been sitting with her, for awhile now, "Turbo's already done all those things..."

"... And Gunner?" Theo pressed warmly, to which Berri shrugged and began to grow defensive.

"I-It's just... Gunner's a lot of fun to be around, he brings us opportunities we couldn't possibly conjure up on our own, he's been a wonderful help to me, as well," Berri defended, though Theo cocked an eyebrow and aimlessly looked up to his ceiling in cheeky dismay.

"Without the band, without the fame," Theo started, he dragged his hot eye contact to Berri's and smiled in a cheeky, knowing way, "If both boys got down on one knee, ring presented, asking for your hand in marriage... Which man would you say yes to?"

"I-I'm not thinking about marriage, right now, Theo," Berri blurt in now gentle agitation.

"Well, Turbo's wrong... You can't have your cake and eat it too, Bear, as fun as that is," Theo warned gently, he shook his head and peered to her sorrowfully, "Someone is going to be hurt, by the end of this. You'll either dump Gunner, so you and Turbo can get on with it, or... Turbo will eventually go, well... Turbo over the fact that you're not his, and it will destroy your guys' friendship. Which, in my opinion, is far worse than losing Gunner."

"So, you suggesting I just dump Gunner right now? Awkwardly carry on with the tour I've literally told no one about?" Berri defended, it was clear she was becoming overwhelmed with confused agitation.

"Berri, I think you should sit Turbo down and explain to him why this is dangerous... Explain that you're going on tour and will be gone for long spans of time," Theo tenderly warned, he shook his head and gently approached Berri's trembling aura, "This may very well be a test, for you two, anyways... What if, on tour, you and Gunner grow closer? What if this is just a weird honeymoon phase, between you and Turbo, and the distance will shake this?"

"I'm in love with him, Teddy, I'm in love with the guy," Berri begged in now almost whispering desperation, she held her hands out and closed for emphasis, fists that she jostled in further plea, she peered her glassy eyes up to Theo and figuratively begged for none of this to leave his bedroom. Theo flinched with her fervor as she stepped closer, "I can't function, since a few days ago, he's all I can think about, Theo. I-I just want to stare into his golden eyes for eternity, I-I want to figure him out, really see what he's made of. Gunner has, twice, gone in to kiss me, and I've skillfully dodged. I want to be with Turbo."

"Then BE with TURBO," Theo begged in kind, whispering desperation, though Berri jostled her hands in whole, flustered sorrow and urgently peered up to Theo, near crazed eyes.

"I CAN'T be with Turbo," Berri now solidly stated, causing Theo to flinch once more, though before Theo could press on, Berri rushed to continue, "He won't leave the god-damned game. Let's say I actually DO want to get married, lets say I do want children! If it's all going to be with Turbo, and he's prepared to be Sugar Rush's King, he's going to HAVE to leave the game. My dad has to leave Sugar Rush all the time for his Kingly duties. Even if we just stayed Prince and Princess! His job title changes, everything changes!"

"Berri," Theo warned softly, the stress marks on her temples began to flare in desperation.

"I have to just... Live knowing that Turbo and I can only really just be this weird, surfacey friends-with-benefits... THING," Berri blurt in dread as tears spilled down her cheeks, she shook her head and finally covered her face with her hands, "I just have to grin and bear it... Just ride out this contract... I'm starting to wonder if Sama ever felt this way."

"... Sama?" Theo questioned in poised concern, though as Berri peered up to him, she was delighted to see his face turn a cute shade of pink. On cue, Theo stuffed a bashful smile and shook his head as he tried to keep a straight face, "Wh-what does Sama have to do with any of this?"

"She's Gunner's ex, she broke the contract when... Gunner found out SHE was cheating on him! OH MY USER I've become Sama," Berri rushed in a wail of unadulterated terror, realization that came over her, though Theo blurt a confused chuckle and shook his head.

"S-Sama didn't cheat on Gunner, did she? I thought it was mutual, or... At least, Gunner ended it?" Theo wondered in soft confusion, though Berri gave Theo a look as if to annoyingly express that Theo had been discovered. He gestured his hands to his chest and blurt a hard, boyish laugh, "WHAT, she's beautiful, okay? I've always had a huge celebrity crush on her. She's awesome."

"I think she cheated on Gunner, at least... That's what Gunner says, all the time," Berri fingered her lip and looked off in now gut-wrenching confusion; Theo shrugged and looked off in tenderness.

"Is... Is there any way you can get ahold of Sama? Get the whole story?" Theo pressed, though he grinned the second Berri shot him an annoyed glower, "Okay... Partially for my benefit. You realize how awesome it'd be to have her number?"

"Gunner has it," Berri shrugged, though she shook her head and covered her face with her palms, once more, "It's useless... She wouldn't want to talk to me. She probably hates me for even existing. I stole her spot on the stage..."

"I think, for now... You should go tell Turbo that you'll be touring, before the media beats you to it," Theo warned nervously with a shrug, "Just... Explain that maybe the distance is for the better and... We have shows to focus on."

"I don't want to hurt him," Berri staggered, she shut her eyes tight and gently wept, "I don't want to hurt us..."

Theo heaved a hot sigh through his nose and gently took Berri into his much larger, strong arms. He warmly held the back of Berri's head and allowed her to bury herself into his broad chest. Theo aimlessly gazed across his room in tender sorrow as he allowed Berri to silently cry into his chest, and as he tenderly rubbed the back of her head and eased his fingers into the softness of her hair, he eased a warm conclusion on the side of her skull.

"You need to do what you feel is best for you, Berri... If that means breaking up the band and allowing yourself to fall further in love with Turbo, then do it," Theo pressed, though he carried on with tender caution, "Either you have Turbo inside Sugar Rush, or... You have Gunner anywhere."

"I just wish he'd leave... It's all I want, for the rest of eternity... All I want is for him to be brave," Berri wept quietly, she gripped the back of Theo's shirt and felt herself falling apart, she grimaced in her tender, quiet cries and firmly shook her head, "This doesn't feel fair..."

"It's not fair to anyone," Theo mumbled as he continued to gently sway Berri, "Turbo will come to his senses, Bear... I can feel it. He'll eventually get a kick in the pants and he'll understand just what he's about to lose. I'm sure of it."

"I don't want it to be too little too late," Berri mumbled in a spiteful tone, though Theo rolled his eyes and beamed a loving smile across his room.

"I promise, you'd be elated if he left, no matter the timing," Theo concluded warmly, he gently pulled away from Berri and peered into her wet eyes with sorrowful delight, "It all depends on if you're willing to wait for him... If you're that deeply in love with him, so much so that you've even considered marriage and children with the guy-"

"I-I never said that," Berri muttered bashfully as she looked down, her face turned beet red as Theo side-eyed.

"You want to share worlds with each other, you want to experience everything with him," Theo tenderly corrected, though still skillfully held his insinuations, Berri sighed in defeat and bobbed a gentle nod, "Maybe you ride out this tour, see what it does for you and Gunner. By the end of it, if you still feel the same, then you'll have the freedom to go whichever way you want. Can you do that?"

"I can put on a brave face," Berri muttered, her stress marks flared in angry silvers, and as she took a deep breath, she lulled her eyes closed and shook her head, "I-I need to go to sleep, or... Go be alone, or something. I need to calm down..."

"Are you going to be okay?" Theo wondered nervously as she began to ease out of his arms and across his room, to Theo's teleport pad.

"As okay as I can be," Berri mumbled with a shrug, and as her bare feet hit the pad, she lofted Theo an eternally grateful smile of sad weakness, "Thank you so much, Theo... I'll... Meet up with Turbo tomorrow, or something. I appreciate you being here for me."

"Always, Bear," Theo softly urged as he held his hands together and nervously twiddled his fingers in a helpless show of concern, and as Berri eased him another look of pure gratitude, her silver coding tenderly whisked away as the teleport pad concluded their sorrowful, secret conversation.


	112. Chapter 112

**Reviews :**

 **marinetanker97 :** Thank you so much! You're definitely right, it is pretty dramatic haha. And you know me, nothing dramatic ever really ends in a small explosion - it's usually catastrophic ;)

 **Romantic sapp :** Yes, definitely. I'm actually really excited to introduce Sama to you guys, she's a pretty detrimental character to the love triangle going on. Super excited you guys are pumped, thank you for everything!

 **Jay Sketchin :** Aww, for sure. Those boys are love. Really any men that are of Ralph's kin are super gooey and loveable. Theo is very similar to Oliver, and although Berri is a bit more fiery and girly than Tessa, she still is her daughter and has her personality, there. It's a fun throw back and I'm glad you guys enjoy! :D

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 **A/N : Hey guys! REAL quick - I've uploaded the rest of chapter 46's comic to my deviantART, and it is FINISHED! It's only 9 pages long, can you believe it?  
**

 **The winning chapter, for my next comic, is the infamous chapter 71, where Berri runs into the deleter on the train - and, to add to the fun, I'll be adding chapter 72 to it as well, so you guys get some more, fun TurboxBerri interaction! I hope you guys enjoyed this past comic challenge. I'm fairly certain Berri's and Turbo's first kiss chapter will win out the next challenge, unless another certain chapter I have in mind comes before 150... We'll see! :D Hope you guys enjoy, thank you for everything!**

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Keeping it in the Dark by Daya**

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 ***Chapter 112***

"I should really take you with me, next time," Turbo mumbled with his mouth full of french fries; a delightful mess of returning home, from a brave adventure into Orion City, and throwing his pj's back onto his body. A comfortable black t-shirt and his favorite red sweats, him and Chester lounged amidst a splay of comfortable pillows and blankets. Chester mumbled a noise and held his blind, puppy-dog eyes to Turbo, politely begging for some french fries. Turbo rolled his eyes and gently held a few long fries in front of Chester's snout. With the sniffles of Chester's large, wet snoot, he opened his fangs and delicately welcomed the fries in his mouth. Turbo blurt a chuckle and glossed his golden eyes to the splay of holograms he had to his left side, "It's a good thing I got two large things of fries, bud. I can guarantee Berri's not gunna be happy I'm feeding you these, but... Whatever. Enjoy. You deserve it."

Chester moaned a noise as he smacked his lips and messily lapped his long, turquoise tongue on his nose, and with such, Turbo turned back to his chore before him. Although both boys lazily snuggled with each other, the tv droned on in murmuring commercials, Turbo was still hard at work in attempts to get Chester's vocal chords to work. With his own guitar pick necklace tenderly hovering inside of one of the holographic ports, the very pick that Berri had a copy of, an adorable reminder of their strong bond, alongside the very scales off of Orion's back. Tied to his roots, Turbo wanted to make sure Chester had his own voice, though still carried on his family's traits. He cocked an eyebrow and was successful in pairing Orion's DNA to Chester's, and with such, he turned a small dial and motioned to Chester.

"Alright Chester, sayyy... Turbo," Turbo pressed patiently, and with such, Chester opened his mouth and uttered a hard noise that more sounded like 'whoa'. Turbo blurt an excited chuckle, sat up a little straighter and began to tinker with a few things, "Okay, so... We have the noise down, obviously air is passing through your vocal chords correctly. We just gotta get you up to speed on speech. Maybe try again? Turrrrrbohhh. Turbo."

"Boh boh," Chester blurt in almost incoherent nonsense, to which Turbo further perked up in riled, boyish excitement.

"Holy User, here... Y'get a bite of my burger, you're doing awesome, dude," Turbo choked a laugh and eagerly unraveled his delicious, mouthwatering bacon cheeseburger, though as he hovered the edge of it near Chester's mouth, he jolted in a jarring shove of surprise as Chester took his chances and snatched his entire burger. Turbo gaped and hollered a deep noise of whole entire irritation as he watched his entire lunch vanish between Chester's fangs, "... CHESTER!?"

"Boh boh boh BOH," Chester barked with his mouth full, Turbo could swear Chester was grinning with the utmost amount of mischief, though Turbo sagged his shoulders and gave Chester an ultimate dirty look, full of playful intentions.

"You're an asshole," Turbo muttered as Chester happily finished his bite, the whole of Turbo's lunch, and perked his ears high, as if to wonder if Turbo had any more goodies for him.

Just as Turbo was due to relaxing in his position and maybe wondering if he could muster the courage to go back into the city, all by himself, his phone tenderly lit up with his phone's default message chime. With furrowed, dark grey eyebrows, he munched his french fries and grappled for his phone, which was nearly lost in the mess of blankets Turbo relaxed in, though as he brought his phone to his line of sight, he felt his stomach clench with whole entire confusion. Although the first sight he had was that of a strange, unmarked phone number texting him, as he reread the message preview on his screen, he felt his insides clench in a rising firework of anger at the name that kept appearing.

 _MasterKo :_ _Hey Turbo, this is Gunner. Berri gave me your number a few days ago, I've been meaning to reach out to you. I wanted to thank you for making the deleter protection for us. We just tested it inside the arena of our first show, in EZ Living, and it works like a charm. I'm sure it's not easy stepping back out into normal, every day life but I appreciate you wanting to keep us safe. So, thanks again, man. We should grab coffee sometime._

Turbo froze and felt as if he was in an alternate universe. He furrowed his eyebrows in whole entire confusion and was certain he was having an out of body experience. As he reread Gunner's message for the millionth time, he held in poised confusion and wondered how the hell he'd even respond. He looked off and huffed a sarcastic breath of a chuckle, the choice words he had for a man he had never met, and was certain he never wanted to meet, though his thumbs began to nervously hover over the keyboard. In the minute it took to even begin to process just what to say, he suddenly flinched as the message screen went away and his phone tenderly lit up with Berri's caller ID; the picture of her sweet face and the dainty little tune that played, Turbo shook his head in further confusion and wondered just when he'd be off of this sudden roller coaster.

"Oh, thank User you're calling me, Berri, I had no clue how to respond to that," Turbo muttered before he answered Berri's call, and with a deep breath, he finally picked up her call and hovered his phone to his ear, a boyish, delighted smile sprawled his face, "Yourrr highness, Joe's crab shack."

"... Okay, don't call me that," Berri started with a hard laugh, the background behind her sounded noisy and congested as she grunted a little and eased small 'hello's to people potentially passing by, "Hang on, I'm trying to get somewhere more quiet and private."

"Shoulda done that before you hit the call button, hun," Turbo muttered, clearly cute, playful banter they both knew well.

"I mean, I can just hang up on you," Berri blurt with a laugh, Turbo beamed and gingerly allowed his grey fingers to find Chester's velvety snout.

"Please don't, I'm actually really glad you called me," Turbo eased in warm normality, though the two hovered in tender silence as Berri continued to push through a small noise of people. After about a minute, Berri heaved a hard sigh into the phone, he could hear her smile from a million miles away.

"Okay, I can talk now," Berri stated through a grinning sigh of warmth, relief Turbo could practically feel, he equally grinned and sagged deeper into the cushions of his couch, he was thrilled Berri continued on, her angelic, soothing voice so lovingly eased into his soul like honey, "I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"No, never," Turbo's deep voice concluded, he lulled his eyes closed and relaxed for good, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, I just wanted to call you really quick because..." Berri trailed off and huffed a nervous giggle, "I saw Gunner constructing a text message to you and I just wanted to call to, well..."

"... Put out fires?" Turbo blurt warmly, the two were rocketed into a fit of laughter, though Berri grit her teeth and mumbled a noise of nervous agreeing as Turbo pressed on, "It's fine Bear... I-I was super confused at first, but... I'm really glad the deleter protection is working."

"He's really grateful, all of us are... I know it wasn't easy to pull off, and... I really appreciate you, okay?" Berri assured warmly, the softness of her voice assured to Turbo that she was concealing their tender conversation and was likely due to having to leave shortly.

"Anything for you, your highness," Turbo's deep, polite tone oozed all the softness in the world, and it was in these little fleeting moments of ultimate warmth did he find he could sneak by calling Berri 'your highness'; as if the ultimate amount of politeness overrode the fact that she wasn't keen to said title.

"Bo, I... I have something I have to tell you, and I'm nervous to tell you," Berri mumbled, it was here did Turbo feel the sorrow ooze through the phone; he wondered if maybe, just maybe, he could lighten whatever load Berri had by continuing the uplift of jokes and positivity.

"...You're breaking up with me, aren't you," Turbo mumbled in teasing sorrow, and with great success, Berri blurt a hard laugh and began to mutter soft notions of annoyance to Turbo, though he pressed on with a wide smile, "It's fine, it's fine. I'M FINE. I get it. It's my hair, I know..."

"Yeah, your hair is too chaotic for me, I just can't do it anymore, wow," Berri rolled with it, a giggling mess, it was clear she needed this conversation. Turbo huffed a soft laugh and relaxed, he cocked an eyebrow and nodded once as he adjusted the phone against his ear.

"Don't be nervous, babe, you can tell me everything. We're adults here," Turbo's deep, comforting, intoxicating voice reverberated through Berri's skull, a skill she was certain was doomed to kill her with adoration.

"W-Well, we... We got signed to go on tour," Berri staggered nervously, she shook her head and tucked her silky, straight blue hair behind her ears, "I-I WAS going to maybe sit you down and break it to you tonight, but we just had a huge interview with the news and-"

"Y-You WHAT? Berri that's AWESOME!" Turbo barked as he stiffened his spine and sat up in riled, whole entire excitement, "You're going to tour around Arcade?!"

"... Y-Yeah! I-I... Was ENTIRELY certain you'd take this negatively," Berri choked a nervous laugh and was beside herself in surprise.

"What? Why would this be a bad thing? That's AWESOME news!" Turbo hurried to encourage, he gestured his hand out and shook his head in bewildered excitement, "It's everything you've wanted, Bear, how many shows are you signed for?"

"Thirteen," Berri grit her teeth, she huffed a hard giggle and shook her head, "O-Our last show is in Arcadia Station... Can you believe it?"

"Holy shit, that's so awesome," Turbo huffed honestly, he shook his head and aimlessly peered out his huge bay windows, "Why did you think I'd take that poorly, Bear? This is the best news ever."

Berri sagged her shoulders and felt an incredible switch up, a strange sense of maybe letting her worries get away from her, and with such a warm reception from Turbo, she felt her sorrows immediately sag to the wayside. The rush to be the best she could ever be assured her that Turbo was entirely on her team, whether it benefited him or not. She smiled down to her feet and tucked her phone a little tighter to her ear, a weird, giddy switch up she wasn't prepared for.

"I-It... Just means long spans of time we'd be apart, I guess," Berri nearly whispered, she bashfully peered about the empty conference room she had slipped away to, inside the arena's tiers of office areas their first show would be in.

"Well... Sure," Turbo mumbled in understanding, he shrugged and continued to let his fingers stroke Chester's velvety snout and bridge of his long, wolf-like nose, "I mean... You'll come back periodically, won't you?"

"Yeah, there will be some shows that are in Game Central, so I'll be around," Berri assured with a shrug, though she heaved a shaky breath and felt tears sting her eyes, "I'm... Really going to miss you."

"...I'll miss you too, believe me," Turbo mumbled bashfully, he felt a grin sprawl his face in secretive scheming, "Y'think... You maybe can sneak away, sometimes? Come... Stay with me? I won't tell anyone you're in Sugar Rush."

Berri bit the edge of her pointer finger in mind-numbing contemplation, the fact that she was actually considering it all, she heaved a shaky giggle and shrugged.

"You know I can't say no to that, Bo," Berri staggered a small laugh and shook her head, she held her hand to her forehead and messily pressed her fingers through her lovely blue hair, "Turbo, I... I can't possibly sneak away, people would know where I was going."

"Oh, you mean fans would notice you?" Turbo wondered, Berri huffed a small noise of agreeing, though Turbo heaved a soft sigh and looked off in contemplation, "Well... You could very easily create an alter-ego. You can ask your dad all about that one."

"... Wait, what?" Berri huffed a confused giggle and almost didn't believe Turbo, here.

"Yeah, he used to hide his identity when him and your mother were first dating," Turbo nonchalantly continued on, information he garnered in much, much darker times, "He switched his hair color to black and went by 'Zane'. You could easily do the same thing... We could even hang out in the city, no one would know it's you."

Berri long blinked in confusion, as if she was just struck by lightning, an atom bomb went off in her brain. After about ten seconds of silence, Turbo huffed a shaky chuckle and adjusted the phone on his ear, for clarity.

"Come back to Arcade, Bear," Turbo staggered a hard laugh, to which Berri huffed a shaky giggle and hugged her arm about her middle in wistful delight, how badly she wanted to do a twirl, a romantic gesture she was certain was due to the swarm of butterflies that lined her stomach.

"W-We could totally do that," Berri whispered with a bashful, excited giggle.

"Why don't you pick a day to come over to my house, before you go on this tour of yours," Turbo daringly grinned as he sagged back into his couch, once more, "I'll set you up with a disguise... Whenever you need to escape, you have your out, you have my number, and... You know where my front door is."

Berri grinned and lulled her eyes closed, she could swear her heart was about to explode, and with everything she was feeling, she was entirely certain that every negative thought she had, about telling Turbo about touring, was now something she never had to worry about ever again. A weight lifted, she was certain she could fly to the moon. She bit her lip and hugged herself in giddy delight, she scoured her brain for the next time she could meet up with Turbo.

"I'll text you," Berri quietly assured, they both were all smiles, "You're... The best."

"That title goes to you, doll," Turbo's velvety voice soaked her soul in goodness, she clutched her heart and heaved a shaky breath of wistful, adoring delight.

As the two hung up the call, Turbo grinned in almost devious joy and eyed Chester, he waggled his eyebrows in cheesy, cocky cuteness and shrugged his masculine shoulders.

"The princess may be in another castle, but no one said she was trapped there," Turbo mumbled in delight, and it was with this bout of cockiness did he eagerly thumb to his and Gunner's brand new text box, he knew to keep this roll of dominance going, no matter what; a challenge he was certain Gunner wasn't even prepared for.

 _Black : You're welcome. I've sworn to protect Sugar Rush's royalty. If one blue hair on my princess is so much as bent, I have no problem going Turbo, once more. Good luck._


	113. Chapter 113

**Reviews :**

 **Romantic sapp :** Aww, yeah that's true. Turbo may be a recluse, but he definitely is not a push over.

 **Snake557 :** Aw, friend! No you haven't said anything wrong at all! I miss seeing your reviews. I hope you're doing alright :) I know you said you were busy with school.

* * *

 ***Chapter 113***

Days away from their very first concert inside EZ Living, Berri eased into the small section of dressing rooms the crew was given. Alongside a few outfits that were laid out for her, simply for dress rehearsals and fittings, she eyed her book bag, the one she had previously been taking to Academy. Although she promised herself, her family, and everyone important to her that she'd go back to Academy after touring, she felt a hard twinge of sadness come over her. How she missed snuggling into Turbo's hoodies, in her freezing classrooms. The select few classmates she really got along with, the wise teachers she sought knowledge from, the hour lunch break she got to enjoy with her group of self-programmed family, she sagged her shoulders and felt her heart ache in longing. As she eased for her bag, she held her breath and knew that she needed to clean her bag out for good. As hard as it'd be to get rid of loved school notebooks and the drop off of topics she had suddenly abandoned, she was well aware that going on tour with stark images of old, good memories, like such, would only take her out of her headspace. With great hesitancy, she tucked her long, straight blue hair behind her ears and reached for her bag.

Softly, she began to pull out the old, loved spiral notebooks that were nearly filled to the brim, they were stuffed with a few loose sheets of assignments and other scraps she had stuffed into the void that was her adorable sling bag, though in the fumble of mess, some papers slid out of her notebook. In a jolt of surprise, she raised her eyebrows and peered to the slop that gingerly floated to the ground with a feathery thud. Although she was prepared to see just a mess of now forgotten topics of school work, she felt her heart jump in remembrance, the very things she'd be caught doing, whilst not paying attention in class; songwriting. She furrowed her eyebrows and huffed a soft giggle of surprise as she reached down and picked up the few pieces of paper she nearly forgot about, a beautiful, fun song she had begun writing about a month ago, a secret love song in which swiftly reminded her why it was so ferociously tucked away in her notes; it was a love song for Turbo. Berri sagged, sat back on the couch her bag was on and hoped to User no one came by her dressing room anytime soon. She hummed the soft melody of the messy sheet music she had conjured, lovely memories of her easier days with just her and Turbo came rushing back to her, and although she knew she likely shouldn't try and bother Gunner with adding any more music to their line-up, she bit her lip and wondered just what this scenario would look like, in a perfect world.

Due to playing a whole skew of different, exciting, powerful songs alongside Gunner, Wren and Theo, she heaved a shaky sigh and felt her heart grow further sore for this lovely sheet music in her hands. A tune she nearly forgot, one she had practiced until her fingers nearly bled, she pondered potentially showing Turbo before she left, though she shook her head and thumbed to the end of the song; it was unfinished. With the sheet music in her lap, she wondered just how she could get away with practicing this song, how she could perfect it and one day play it for Turbo in private. She furrowed her eyebrows in further contemplation the second she could hear Wren's fingers pounding away on his keyboard, the chorus to one of their opening songs, he was busy making sure he had everything down to a T. It was clear he was busy, though due to the lack of drums or singing, Berri was confident Wren was practicing alone. Berri raised her eyebrows in coy scheming, grappled the sheet music, stood with purpose and eagerly swiped her beautiful acoustic guitar before heading out into the long, maze-like hallway. In search for Wren, she finally came to a backstage area, where Wren was set up and diligently studying his own sheet music, and although it looked as if Theo and Gunner would be joining him shortly, Berri swooped in to Wren's gravity and hoped to catch him in these moments of solitude.

"Wren, can you help me out real quick?" Berri stated as she shuffled across the backstage, Wren looked up from his sheet music, though his arms were crossed, as if he was deep in contemplation.

"What's up?" He huffed gently, he adjusted his thick black glasses and narrowed his gaze to assess his younger niece; she looked nervous, a bashfully cute smile that graced her cheeks, with her acoustic guitar saddled lazily over her back, haphazardly, she delicately began to hand Wren a few pages of her own sheet music, sheet music she looked as if she was wary to hand over.

"I, uh... I need you to sing these lines for me, I want to practice this, just really quick," Berri stated quietly, nearly as if she didn't want anyone else backstage to know this was, indeed, her very own music. Although hesitant about it, she handed Wren the sheet music; he cocked an eyebrow and glossed his sassy gaze over the scribbles of delicate sheet music.

"... YOU wrote this, Bear?" Wren wondered with a gentle lilt and a loving, curious smile to boot, though Berri shook her head and huffed an agitated sigh.

"It's... Just something silly I whipped up, I imagine someone on the baritone or bass end of the spectrum singing it," Berri rushed messily, bashfully. She could tell by the look of rising, sassy glee in Wren's eye that he was about to unload on her.

"Well, you know I'm not baritone or bass... And neither is Gunner," Wren grumbled as he raised his eyebrows and looked over the sheet music for a minute, though he squinted and beamed a curious smile into the papers, "Bear, you... You actually WROTE this? When were you going to tell Gunner?"

"I was going to surprise him with it, once it was all finished, but I have to practice it, so please help me," Berri suddenly rushed as she sloped her guitar over her front and took the position, and although she was expecting Wren to set the sheet music on his keyboard and begin sight-reading the nonsense, he cocked an eyebrow and gave her a loving, teasing smile.

"... These lyrics don't sound like a love song directed at Gunner, of all people," Wren stated coyly, though the look of gentle inquisition in his eyes told Berri that he was a safe spot for any impending confessions to be had, "You, uh... SURE Turbo's not supposed to sing this song with you? Or some other imaginary guy that maybe would fit this bill?"

"You think Bo's going to get his sorry ass out of Orion City, get on a stage in front of thousands and sing a song with me?" Berri choked, though she grimaced as a small crowd of stage crew began to bustle on by the two. She sunk into herself and quieted her conversation, "Not only would Turbo whole-heartidly disagree, I'm pretty sure Gunner would have my head."

"Hmm, well..." Wren shook his head and gave Berri a floored look of total delight, he gently splayed the sheet music on his keyboard, like Berri had been wanting, and gently placed his fingers over the proper keys, "Methinks you should stop messing around and just admit this song isn't meant for Gunner's eyes..."

"I just... Want to practice it, is all," Berri started to show signs of becoming flustered, she shook her head and heaved a shaky breath of regret. She long-blinked in a rise of sorrow and looked off, as if maybe she was certain that just practicing this song in secrecy would've been better. How desperately she had been trying to keep the idea of her and Turbo under wraps, now quickly back-fired on her with the look of frozen-solid suspicion in Wren's eyes. Berri nervously gripped the neck of her guitar and bashfully started to carry on, her demeanor visibly shrunk, "I-It's... I-I want to sort of surprise Gunner with it, maybe I can sing it at the end of one of our shows, y'know?"

Wren furrowed his eyebrows and peered down at the lyrics, gently written, ladened with love and urgency, Wren felt his heart sag in understanding. Although he was typically one to bark teasing notions at Berri, he finally peeled his eyes from the soft lyrics and peered to Berri in a roll of warmth. Berri's nervous, agitated blue eyes held tight to Wren's, as if to promise that this maybe stayed between them, and although she had already done herself a disservice by opening up to Theo, however trustworthy he was, the look of regret in her eye was palpable. Wren was certain she was back tracking, and although he wanted to pounce on her and get answers, he read the lyrics and could easily see where Berri's heart was. In a roll of further tenderness, Wren gently eased the sheet music to his keyboard, cleared his throat and cocked an eyebrow down to the mess of chicken scratch before him.

"'Here and Now' by a Ms. Berri Schweetz Kalivar," Wren delivered smoothly, he paused for a second and peered to Berri in cheeky delight, his eyes merely glanced to the pick around her neck, the one that read the same exact words as the title of her adorable love song.

"...Y-You think Gunner would let me sing it?" Berri nearly whispered in almost defeated urgency, as if she had maybe a shred of hope, the only thing she could hold onto; Wren choked a quiet chuckle, shook his head and looked down.

"... No, I don't think he'd let you, Bub," Wren mumbled in soft apology, he peered to Berri in soft desperation, "I-It wouldn't hurt to ask, but I don't think it's wise to spring this on him in the middle of a show... E-Especially with THESE kinds of lyrics."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Berri frowned in genuine concern, Wren picked up the sheet music in tenderness and waved it around a little.

"Berri... These are the prettiest, most thoughtful lyrics," Wren stated in warm confidence, he shook his head and scanned the page for a minute, "Bear, any fan of Gunner's would know, from a million miles away, that he didn't write this. Not only the fact that he didn't WRITE this, but the fact that this song doesn't fit Archived Chaos' genre, nor... Is this song even FOR Gunner. This is such a world of difference, and... Well..."

"It's... Fine, Wren, I just..." Berri staggered her words and was now used to feeling thwarted, though Wren shook his head and narrowed his gaze.

"This song is for Turbo, Bear," Wren completed warmly, he looked as if this sentiment was extremely bittersweet, "I'm not stupid... This is a love song for Turbo. Here and now? That's your guys' thing, your own inside joke... Sentiment. Although it'd be so awesome to see you play and sing this on stage, it just... Would be such a shame this incredible work of art goes to Gunner."

With her gaze aimlessly on her feet, she felt her skin prickle with Wren's words. With raised eyebrows, Berri peered up into Wren's eyes in soft, startled understanding. Wren urgently peered to her and softly shook his head, as if he was forevermore going to show his fierce loyalty to their first, original foursome, one that included Turbo and excluded Gunner. Wren huffed a shaky breath, looked off and grinned a nervous smile as he continued on.

"Ah, screw it, Bear... It wouldn't just be a shame, it'd be a crime. If you don't give this song to Turbo, it'd, well..." Wren adjusted his glasses on his nose and sighed in mild defeat, "I know I wouldn't be the only one disappointed."

"M-My goal was to play it on stage, to Gunner, but..." Berri grimaced and was thrilled their conversation was on the down low. She shrugged and gave Wren a nervous look of almost regretful scheming, "Hope to User that... Turbo maybe would catch the show on tv, and... He'd hear."

"I think that's something you need to play FOR him, in person, Bear," Wren cautioned, Berri sighed and looked off in rising dismay.

"If he ever leaves the game, then maybe," Berri muttered, "I wanted it to be a production, y'know... Complete with you and Theo."

"Is that why you want me to practice this with you?" Wren wondered tenderly, he scanned the lyrics in a lazy fashion, a silent form of admiring.

"Yeah," Berri sighed in defeat as she sagged her shoulders, "I-I... I know we already have all of our original songs to worry about, as well as... Deleters from other stations, and... Not to mention, getting too close to the wifi router."

"... Wait, what does the router have to do with anything?" Wren wondered nervously, Berri's eyes pierced his with knowledge.

"Well, my dad got wind that the router is plugged in to Arcadia Station," Berri warned in softness, "I-I'm nervous for our last show, because, well... It's LITERALLY one outlet away from where the deleters are coming from."

"Well, if Turbo isn't a hot topic for the tour in it's entirety, then I don't know who is," Wren mumbled, he gently splayed Berri's sheet music and prepared, once more, to maybe begin picking at it on his keyboard, "We have thirteen shows to practice this song, then, Bear... Maybe just debut it at the very end, our concert inside Arcadia will be our final, so in order to maybe not jeopardize the rest of the tour, we should maybe reveal it THERE."

"I thought you said I should play it to Turbo and Turbo only?" Berri wondered in mild confusion, though Wren shook his head and gestured his hands out to the sheet music.

"Well, clearly the only way you're going to play this to Turbo AND do it in an arena is by hoping that Turbo catches our last show, on tv, by some stroke of User," Wren rushed with a soft chuckle, he gestured to his chest and shook his head, "CLEARLY you and I need to have a heart to heart, shortly, but... If you want to do this, we have to do this fast, and secretly."

Berri smiled in softness and felt her heart begin to race in excitement, she was well aware Wren was the first to call anyone out on their shit, though she was also aware he was one of her rides or die. She scoffed a small laugh, scuffed her foot on the concrete underneath her and gently gripped the neck of her guitar.

"I can always count on you, Wren," Berri chimed warmly, "I appreciate your help... I hope Gunner won't be too upset."

"Well, maybe just ask if you can sing it at Arcadia, then," Wren shrugged, "The worst that can happen is he'd say no... But, then when Arcadia comes, we can just surprise the pants off of him and he won't know what hit him. The crowd will go nuts, we'll maybe get signed for more arenas and more games, Turbo will hopefully see it... It's a win win win."

"We have two months to really perfect this song, before Arcadia," Berri staggered nervously, "Y'think we can make it in time?"

"Considering we're going to be WITH Gunner for the next two to three months straight, I'd... Venture to say we'll make it by the skin of our teeth," Wren warned in gentle apprehension, though the twinkle in his eye proved to Berri that he was on board for the wild ride, "But that's what makes life interesting, then, I guess."


	114. Chapter 114

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Aww, lol! That's a really good assumption. Who knows what will happen, you guys will just have to find out ;)

 **Burgie :** YAY welcome back! Thank you :D And yes! It definitely will be explosive...

 **Jay Sketchin :** True to my nature, crap always gets pretty messy before it can be resolved. Only one knight in shining armor can win out in the end :D

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Her Breath, Her Land by Joris De Man (Horizon Zero Dawn OST)**

* * *

 ***Chapter 114***

"You get the naysayers, the haters, the posers, anyone who will do anything to make sure this concert is garbage on social media," Bedgy pressed on, she unfurled her beautiful grey wing in tender nonchalance as she sat with Berri and their team's makeup artist, an incredible worker whom of which Gunner hired to travel with them, an EZ Living resident named Joya. Bedgy sighed and lulled her large, beautiful grey owl eyes closed in whole dismay as she sat to Berri's right, in a production chair, "I kept reading online that somehow Sama was planning on sabotaging the show? Because she was jealous of you, Bear?"

"Yeah, what is up with that? Can't she piss off already?" Berri muttered as she closed her eyes and allowed Joya to continue pressing eye shadow onto her lids. Berri remained patiently still, though somehow, the feeling of being treated like royalty was now creeping over her head. Enjoying her princess status, paired with now being a celebrity, she felt a cocky air begin to seep right into her pores, something she almost began to proudly wear, "I'm super tired of hearing about her. Apparently, she won't leave Gunner alone. What was she like, Bedge?"

"Oh, Sama, she... I mean, to be honest, she seemed pretty put together and even keel," Bedgy shrugged as the three girls remained tucked away in Berri's lovely dressing room, and although the room was sound proof and void of any noise, the nonsense from the arena beyond them was palpable; filling to the brim with fans, a thunderous roar of excitement that Berri wondered if she was even prepared for. Bedgy pressed on in softness, almost in due regret, "She seemed troubled, as if maybe... She was being restrained. I just remember catching her, many times, tinkering around to her own little tunes, in her dressing rooms, whilst on tour. She sort of seemed sneaky about something, as if she had a plan up her sleeve, we never really knew."

"I heard she cheated on Gunner for Rye, the band's previous drummer?" Joya stated softly, she continued to prod at Berri's makeup, "I mean... That was all the tabloids stated, it was all gossip. I have no clue the real story."

"That's what Gunner said," Berri sighed, she finally reopened her eyes as Joya moved to work on another section of Berri's face, namely her eyebrows, "She was texting with him last week and was wanting to meet up with him."

"Whaaat," Joya drawled in surprise, she cocked an eyebrow and gently flicked her dark black hair over her shoulder, "Girl, I'd have been so mad."

"Oh, I was," Berri stabbed with a mean smile and a firm nod, somehow her's and Turbo's secret affairs wormed down to the bottom of her heart and promised to resurface later, something she didn't take seriously. Riding this celebrity train, she successfully delivered the sassiest eye roll, gave Bedgy a girly grin of delight and shrugged her dainty shoulders, "Gunner knows what's good for him. He denied her. Girl, bye."

"I wonder what would happen if you ever bumped into her," Bedgy's voice cautioned, she eyed Berri as if she maybe had more information about Sama than anyone did. Bedgy's grey eyes softened to Berri's, something Berri cued to, "I-I don't want to go around blaming Gunner, in that mess, but... Takes two to tango, love."

Berri softly narrowed her gaze and peered to Bedgy in tender confusion, though just as she was about to open her mouth and express further interest in Bedgy's gentle, ominous warning, there was a tender knock on Berri's dressing room door. Bedgy inhaled a deep breath, with feathers furled, her head turned around on her shoulders in a near one-eighty degree turn. With a gentle lift off, Bedgy opened her larger wing span and flitted across Berri's dressing room. Upon opening the door, all three girls were delighted to see Gunner, though he held his hand behind his back in boyish, smiling secrecy. Berri raised her eyebrows and looked over her shoulder, to him, in calm inquisition as Bedgy hopped on her clawed feet, mildly agitated.

"Hey, we're, uh... Half an hour away from show time," Gunner pressed gently with a smile, he wore a handsome grey button down shirt, with his sleeves rolled to his elbows.  
He also wore an edgy pair of torn black jeans and an old pair of high top chucks, with a rugged look, hair a delightful, ruffled mess, he looked ready for the stage. As he tenderly pressed into Berri's dressing room, he politely peered to Joya and Bedgy, "You girls mind if I have a moment alone with Berri? Just a moment..."

"Okay, but hurry, Gun, I still have a bit more touch ups," Joya cautioned gently as her and Bedgy began to lift and remove themselves from Berri's dressing room, and with a small moment of warm silence and the clack of the door behind both girls that left, Gunner heaved a shaky sigh and peered to Berri in unadulterated delight.

"W-Wow, Bear, you look... Like a vision," Gunner staggered through a shaky exhale of delight as he swathed his eyes up and down Berri in a smooth swoop of cocky cuteness, he wrinkled his nose at her and gave her a scheming smile as she stood, rolled her eyes in bashful grinning and began to approach Gunner, "Those people aren't going to know what hit 'em..."

"I'm VERY nervous," Berri staggered with a gentle laugh, as if to insinuate that no matter how awesome she looked, she still was petrified.

Crowned in an adorable little short sleeved jacket, black and lightly fringed at the seams, she wore a beautiful, low-cut grey flowy tank underneath, with a slick pair of shiny, skin-tight jeans. She moved across the tiled room to Gunner, the clack of her incredible, sleek pumps reverberated through the backs of their skulls as their gravity began to close in on one another. Her beautiful blue hair was straightened and recently trimmed, though it fell razor sharp down her back and to the very top of her waist line, she looked like a goddess ready to blow out eardrums. She cocked an eyebrow and gave Gunner a nervous smile, she shrugged in tenderness, as if to wonder what all the silence, here, was for.

"Youuu okay?" Berri pressed cheekily, she side-eyed Gunner as she gestured her hand a little, "My eyes are up here, babe."

"I-I'm sorry, you look... Incredible... Wow," Gunner scoffed a soft, shaky chuckle, and with said chuckle, he grinned in a dorky fashion and clearly couldn't get it together, "I-I... I assumed you'd probably be nervous, for this first show, but... I got you a little something. Hopefully something that quells your worries, a good luck charm that you can wear and know that, even though I'm on stage with you physically, I'm always with you, no matter what."

Berri raised her eyebrows in sweet surprise, though as Gunner drew his hand from behind his back, he pulled out a sleek, long black box. Berri softened in confusion, though as he gently revealed the box to her, and slowly opened the lid of said box, Berri gasped in surprise, covered her mouth and was floored to find an incredible necklace inside. Glistening with real diamonds, it was an awesome necklace that had dainty, long spikes down the chain, shroud in beautiful dark metal and kissed with at least a dozen big and little diamonds, all throughout the chain and metallic design, a kiss of maturity, hard edge and romance, all in one astounding piece of art. Berri huffed a shaky laugh of surprise and peered up into Gunner's warm, excited eyes.

"H-Holy User, Gunner, th-this is..." Berri couldn't find words, she blurt another laugh and didn't dare reach for it, for fear of potentially breaking it, for fear of maybe feeling unworthy of such an expensive piece of jewelry. Gunner beamed, and as he took the gorgeous necklace out of the box, he unclasped it and readied it for Berri's neck, "Th-that thing has like a thousand diamonds on it, h-how did you... I-I mean... I-I really shouldn't wear something THAT expensive on stage, Gun, I-I mean..."

"It's not going to disintegrate into thin air, Berri, I think it'll be okay around your neck," Gunner choked a small laugh as he eased deeper into her presence, and in doing so, he rested the heavy, cold necklace against her sternum and skillfully began to clasp it about the back of her neck, so she could properly wear it, "You deserve it... You've done a LOT of hard work, these past few weeks, and... You've made a lot of sacrifices. I just need you to know that I care."

"Wow, Gun, this is... Wow," Berri scoffed, she could feel her hands begin to shake in such a way she couldn't really comprehend, though as her bashful blue eyes peered up into Gunner's warm, inviting, honey-brown eyes, she felt her stomach dip in knowing, and it was only here did she finally understand maybe why she was beginning to tremble.

Although having nervously ducked out of two of Gunner's attempt at a first kiss, she could see the impending look in his eye. Although she was well aware she didn't owe Gunner anything, she felt her heart begin to swell in riled apprehension the second he warmly began to lean in. Her inner fangirl went nuts, she could hardly believe that her childhood celebrity crush was actually standing before her, gifting her with expensive jewelry, giving her all these raw opportunities, actually leaning in for a kiss, she raised her eyebrows in delight and was well aware she was not about to let her childhood fantasies go unrealized, though the second she could feel Gunner's warm breath on her cheeks, and the gravity of the two began to collide, she felt a strange wedge begin to form in her heart. With the gentle flutter of her eyes, she almost felt floored that this wasn't her first kiss, and with such thoughts, the very name of the person she now had everything to base off of came rushing her thoughts.

Although Berri only had one experience to go off of, she lulled her eyes closed and welcomed Gunner's loving, slow kiss to hers. Somehow she was struck with a whole slew of now varying opinions, she almost hated that this was now something she was doomed to be doing for the rest of her time with Gunner, just picking apart everything he did, every notion or gesture of love now was stacked against another man. Berri desperately tried to shove Turbo out of her mind, the fact that Gunner Ko now gently had her swept into a romantic kiss, a tilt of heads, a gentle grab of her hips in the same motion of her larger hands gingerly gripping his upper arms, Berri felt as if Turbo had potentially laid a curse on her. He was out to steal her first for everything, raising the bar impossibly high for other men, the lack of undying, romantic urgency in Gunner's disposition had Berri feeling as if she was now floating in space, anxiously waiting for Turbo to come scoop her up. Although a lovely experience, different than what she was used to, the two gingerly pulled apart in the soft stick of their parted lips. It was here did Berri feel further doomed, the raw fact that she didn't want to go diving into Gunner's romance like she did Turbo's. She almost felt angry at Turbo, somehow he had roped her in and now ruined her for every other man on the planet. Desperate to not wear her heart on her sleeve, Berri opened her mouth to say something and keep Gunner at the forefront, though Gunner pressed on in a whisper, eager to thwart all of Berri's plans.

"Berri, I-I... I need to tell you something," Gunner staggered nervously, more nervous than Berri had ever seen him before, and with such a raw show of emotion, Berri felt her whole world begin to turn upside down. She could almost taste the words about to come out of Gunner's mouth, and although she began to shrink into herself and pray to User that Gunner wasn't going to dive-bomb her, like such, he long-blinked in whole, concealed terror and, with a deep inhale, he puffed his chest and bravely pressed on in his warm confession, "...I love you."

Berri raised her eyebrows in solid surprise and now felt as if she was dizzy. Although she was floored to be apart of this dating life with Gunner, a fun and exciting experience of being a couple and holding hands and being romantic on the cover of magazines, she felt that sinking, blackening feeling, at the bottom of her heart, suddenly sky rocket in truth. She could feel her coding begin to desperately remind her of the whole entire realness going on inside of her heart, the desperation to crawl out of her soul and to forget the shiny diamonds, the screaming crowds, the hoards of paparazzi, the dazzling celebrity life, everything eagerly wormed back to the very thing her heart truly desired, everything her coding wanted and more, the one thing that hung in a lonely loft, high above Orion City. She was well aware this nonsense couldn't go on forever, and although she was eager to prolong this mess that she got herself into, for as long as possible, she knew she had to at least be honest with herself somewhere. She felt bad that it all had to come to a head right before their first show.

"W-Wow, Gun, I-I..." Berri felt her hands begin to shake, being swept in Gunner's loving arms, she rested the sides of her hands and fists against Gunner's lower chest and nervously allowed her eyes to scan his broad clavicles. She long-blinked in delirious surprise, she was certain she'd never hear those three words from anyone, anytime soon, and although she had love for Gunner, she felt her insides warn against lying to herself, and the people around her, any longer. She was well aware she'd likely be struck by lightning if she actually told Gunner she loved him in return, if those were, indeed, not her real feelings, "I... I really need to digest that, I mean... Wow, this is... A lot."

"Y-You, don't..." Gunner visibly shrunk, he looked defeated, Berri urgently rushed to his aid.

"N-No, Gun, I-I do, I just... This is a lot, all at once," Berri heaved a shaky breath, brushed her bangs out of her face and was well aware her face was likely as beet red a Gunner's, "I really... REALLY care about you, I just... I-I need to really think about this."

"What's there to think about?" Gunner worried, he remained soft in fear of scaring her away, though Berri's humble, apologetic eyes pierced Gunner's with a begging look of sorrow.

"I have... A lot going on in my mind, right now, and I just need to digest all of this," Berri's voice became a little bit more confident, due to it being the truth, "I-I've never received something so expensive, n-nor has any man told me they've loved me before, it's just... A lot."

"As well as your first kiss," Gunner stated in soft understanding, alongside a shrug, and although Berri bashfully looked off in mild disagreeing, she was relieved to find that Gunner didn't notice her physical show of feeling opposed to his statement, "I-It is a lot, on you, all at once, I'm... Sorry, Bear. I just... Needed you to know. I love you... I mean it."

"Thank you.. Let's... Just reconvene after the show, where I can settle and really be able to digest something like that," Berri rushed in soft knowing, she gestured to her closed dressing room door and shook her head, "The concert is all I can think about right now, I-I'm... I'm positive my hair is greying, as we speak."

"It'd look beautiful, either way," Gunner pressed in almost sorrowful warmth, though as he gently began to peel from Berri and ease to her dressing room, he gently gestured to her sternum and gave a humble smile, "That necklace looks kickass on you. I knew it would."

"It's AMAZING, Gunner, thank you," Berri staggered with a nervous smile, she delicately laid her fingers to her beautiful, new necklace, though in doing so, she felt her face get hot as her fingers glossed just what was underneath the mess of metal and diamonds; Turbo's guitar pick.

"You're welcome, love," Gunner concluded softly with a nod, he gently gestured to her room and heaved a shaky sigh, "We're convening in ten... I gotta go give Wren and Theo some love before the show."

"Hopefully it'll ALSO include a kiss," Berri stated with a giggle, he beamed in cheeky annoyance, it was here that Berri was thrilled that easily lightened the mood.

"Oh, you know it," Gunner teased, he gave Berri a humble wink and softly showed himself out of her dressing room.

Berri held her shoulders in a rigid position of clenched, unmitigated terror. Everything that was just glossed over her, every ounce of sincerity just lofted her way, she eased her eyes shut and now understood just how painful this game of cheating was. She looked down to her hands in mild confusion and felt her heart surge in her chest, a surge of an ironic twist of confusion and clarity. Although Berri felt the raw, new budding feelings of falling in love with Turbo, she grimaced and now felt bad for Gunner's very brave move here. Not only did it further confirm her feelings for Turbo, but it also pushed her deeper into her own grave, one she had dug herself. She gently held the sides of her head and lulled her eyes closed in warm regret, and although she felt terrible for not giving Gunner an 'I love you' in return, she gingerly peered to her agape dressing room door and felt confidence course through her. Although she was torn between two different worlds, she felt as if her heart had a mind of its own, it promised Berri that it would do anything and everything to remind her to stay true to herself. Something she was sure would one day see her into a lot of hot water.

* * *

 **A/N :**

 **Hey guys! Really quick... I just started dabbling in Twitch. I'm still brand new to it, but I will be streaming my WIPs of artwork regularly! My username is GreyUntold :D Hope to see you there! MUCH more to come!**


	115. Chapter 115

**Reviews :**

 **Jay Sketchin :** OWLS me too. I love owls. And bats! :D

 **Burgie :** hahaha too bad it actually does! xD

 **Nikki Firesong :** Aw, I'm REALLY glad you think that! I strive to make everyone relatable, in some way or another, so thank you for saying that! It means a lot to me. I don't want any of my characters to be perfect, I want them each to have their draw backs that potentially are frustrating to read about haha

 **Snake557 :** True, true. haha

 **Romantic sapp :** Haha aw thank you! I upload once every other day :D I think sometimes I upload later in the day than other times, but who knows.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Climbing the Ginso Tree - Ori and the Blind Forest OST**

* * *

 ***Chapter 115***

In the commotion of Berri's, Wren's and Theo's very first concert, Friday night into Saturday was full of celebration, which wound up going into the wee hours of the morning. Although the party was eventually brought back to Sugar Rush, Berri was disappointed to find that Turbo wasn't able to make it. Due to partaking in shady activity, her heart began to assure her that everyone around her was doing equally as shady things. A small bout of resentment began to form in the pit of her stomach, a weird twist of fate she was uncertain would happen towards Turbo. The whole idea of never leaving the game, and being hesitant to jump right into big gatherings had her heart doing somersaults of agitation. She knew, full well, something incredibly drastic would have to happen, in order to get Turbo to leave the game, and even then, she wasn't entirely positive of her findings.

In a gentle mosey from the palace's garage, Wren and Berri approached the palace's massive kitchen, down the long corridor. Although trying to forget any shred of her feelings for Turbo, she eyed the small arch way and area where the two first collided in an accidental exterior swap. Wren carried on with his pressing story, complete with hand gestures, though Berri sagged a little and allowed her mind to wander to just the kind of person she was, in that raw instance. So full of excitement for Academy, so brand new to the world, so hopeful and full of life, somehow she felt as if she had turned jaded. The experiences she had been through, the strife she had recently endured, and now the sticky love triangle she had saddled herself into, she lulled her eyes closed and nearly rolled them at herself. She could feel the frustration, in her heart, quickly begin to morph into a weird, insecure form of bitterness, and with such, she was wary to really let anyone in. Wren carried on, unabated, though as they neared the massive gape of an archway, that spilled into the sunny kitchen, they were noticed by Zed, Ralph and Vanellope.

"Hey, superstars," Ralph choked a laugh, he waved his hand and gave the two a kind grin, though only Wren really lit up in easy-going tenderness; Berri crossed her arms and felt a wall go up, a weird defense mechanism she had no clue why she was deploying in this instance.

"Do you want my autograph, uncle Ralph?" Wren stabbed with a wide, playful grin, and although Berri and Wren approached the hearth and massive kitchen island together, Berri's approach was walled off, something Zed silently cued to.

"Yes, absolutely, I'm you're hugest fan," Ralph beamed a cute grin and began to feel his overall's pockets with his larger hands, though he raised his eyebrows in tender sorrow and peered to Vanellope in playful scheming, "I don't have a pen..."

"Oh, stop, we helped raise these babes, you don't need their autograph, what the heck!" Vanellope barked with a laugh, everyone was all smiles, excluding Berri, who seemed to be on another level, almost a prissy air of solitude.

"Your guys' show last night was incredible," Zed assured warmly, he set down his cup of coffee and gave both Berri and Wren a warm smile, though Berri had her arms crossed, her nose nearly in the air as she looked off in mild disinterest; she wore an expensive jacket, the dazzle of diamonds around her neck, her hair was sleek and razor sharp down her back, as if she had maybe had it professionally done all over again. Zed crossed his strong arms and eyed his princess in fatherly scheming, "You enjoy yourself, Bear? You killed those guitar solos."

"I know, it was great," Berri chimed, words that typically would be paired with a humble tone and an air of softness, though she seemed sharp, agitated, and above all else, conceded. Zed furrowed his blue brows and felt the wave of frozen demeanors gloss the group, and what was shocking to him was the fact that said wave of apprehension included the ever-so-sassy Wren. Berri gingerly lofted the heavy mass of smooth, straight hair over her shoulder in a tender flick of accuracy and gingerly began to tidy the other strands that hung over her left side, a meticulous show of snooty care, "Would've been better if our sound technician had his shit together..."

"... I-It was a small mishap they couldn't control, Bear, you were there when we discussed it," Wren urged gently, he nervously glanced to Zed, Ralph and Vanellope, as if to nearly beg for clarity here; all three elders looked stunned in soft, sad confusion.

"Not like we had twelve thousand rehearsals to get out the kinks, but... Whatever," Berri shrugged and subtly glanced down to her nails, "It was a great show. Our next one will hopefully run smoother."

Zed froze and felt the weight of the kingdom ease onto his shoulders, and as Ralph and Vanellope nervously gave Zed their curious eye contact, Zed inhaled a deep breath through his nose and felt a strange sensation rush him. Although he was aware Berri was his baby girl, and would always remain such, he was floored to find that, in Berri's navigation through adulthood, he was still needing to reign her in and keep her in line. As a young girl, she had instances where she would sass either him or Tessa, and it was quickly defused, though as Zed peered to his gorgeous daughter, Sugar Rush's princess, he began to worry. How quick this fame went right to Berri's head, the raw fact that the materials and the adoring fans just blew up her head, he felt his stomach knot at the raw idea of the kingdom, one day, sliding right onto her own shoulders. Through a raspy exhale, Zed knew he likely needed to be the one to take Berri down a peg, no matter how difficult and heart wrenching it was, for both parties; he bravely held his hands to the counter's island and pierced his dominant, fatherly gaze in Berri's direction, eager to catch her line of sight.

"Berri, can I talk to you outside for a second, please?" Zed instructed, the tone in his voice was kind and gentle, though as Berri's predicted line of sight stabbed into her father's, hooked eye contact promised that this wasn't just a little chit-chat that he was preparing for her.

Zed was shocked that Berri remained frozen, with her arms crossed, for longer than five second. She held her piercing, vivid blue gaze into Zed's, a challenge of dominance, she glowered him a threatening look of near unmitigated authority, though just like Zed assumed and was prepared for, he easily won the battle the second Berri heaved a silent, annoyed sigh and averted her eyes to the island's counter tops. With a gentle grunt, and a look that nearly seemed as if she rolled her eyes, she removed her hip from the lean on the island and began to slowly glide in Zed's direction, towards the kitchen's gaping West exit. Zed removed himself as well, gave Ralph, Vanellope and Wren a kind smile and a head bob, and in his due, polite Kingly air, he softly ushered the three a notion of tenderness.

"Excuse us," Zed's warm voice glossed, and as he approached the main, double doors that lead to the near-never ending outdoor corridor, that lead to the recreational hall and the flyer's old enclosure of trees, he kindly held the door open for Berri and was thrilled the gentle clack of her heels hesitantly began to step outside.

As if uncertain how to even begin tackling this head on, Zed nervously sagged his hands into the pockets of his zipped up jacket. Although nearly all the snow, on the palace lot, had melted, Sugar Rush's crisp, Sunday morning air still held a bit of a bite. Zed cocked an eyebrow and gently peered to his beautiful younger daughter in his left peripheral as they very slowly began to walk the sunny, outdoor corridor, all clad in high, white arches. Berri's nervous eyes held forward in aimless defeat, the stress lines on her temples were visible, though not particularly flared. She was incredibly beautiful, though Zed felt his heart ache; she didn't look like herself. Her eyes looked shroud in uncertainty, as if she was definitely hiding something, and although Zed knew it wasn't his job to go prying, he knew he needed to do something to keep his precious kin grounded. Especially kin so important to Sugar Rush's success. Through a soft sigh, Zed opened his mouth and knew to tread lightly.

"Why don't you tell me a little of what's going on, Bear?" Zed wondered, his deep, fatherly voice coat her in goodness, though she desperately shrugged any help away.

"Nothing, dad," Berri snipped, she crossed her arms in further agitation; Zed furrowed his brow and wondered how he could switch up his game without being snippy right back at her, though he was wondering if he maybe didn't have a choice.

"Did your show REALLY not go as planned? Or are you maybe holding too high of expectations on workers trying to help you out?" Zed dared quietly, though Zed was absolutely floored to see Berri shoot him a dirty look.

"It went fine, just a certain few people probably should be let go if they can't do their job right," Berri stabbed, almost as if to beg Zed to get off the topic, though she flinched in whole surprise the second Zed allowed his loving, boyish, cool-dad nature unveil a true King underneath; he skillfully halted his footwork, kept a pointed finger low in Berri's direction and almost dared to lean a few inches deeper into her gravity.

"You may be a princess but that doesn't warrant you to be a brat," Zed's fatherly voice delivered in sharp, stern sincerity, and although the words stung, it was somehow laden with an incredible amount of love, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say this rush of new fame has gone to your head, and you're just out here riding the wave, huh?"

Berri froze in a show of now genuine terror and unraveled her arms, her now sad eyes hooked tight into Zed's in childlike fear, the same exact show of uncertainty that would unfold anytime Zed had to put on the King's crown, and although Berri had previously erected a huge, thick wall around her, it all came crumpling down with Zed's authoritative tsunami, a proverbial crash of nipping an issue right at the root. In this switch up of having power to suddenly having none of it, every single one of Berri's issues came rushing her like the flood of Zed's dominance, she did absolutely everything to keep her lip from quivering and her eyes from welling with tears. Every problem secretly laid on her heart immediately rose to the surface of her skin, desperate for consolidation and eradication. Impending meltdown in progress, she bit the tip of her tongue, concealed tight between her pursed, nervous look, and warily glanced about the features on Zed's face, as if she had been in a fog and Zed's sudden pop of fatherly sternness was what snapped her out of it. The picture perfect look of his vivid blue eyes staring her down in unwavering authority, Berri sagged her shoulders and inhaled a trembling breath that caught in the back of her throat.

"I-it's a lot to swallow, dad," Berri's voice crackled, pending sorrow that was due to overflow, though much to her nervous surprise, Zed continued to hover tight before her with said stern aura that Berri was certain he'd immediately drop.

"You are far too important to the thousands of people inside Sugar Rush, far too important to the people on palace grounds," Zed sharply carried on, he lightly shook his head and held unwavering eye contact with her as his stern tone carried on in an usher of whole love, "You are one of the most important people in my whole entire life, Berri Schweetz Kalivar. If I lose you to a screaming crowd and paparazzi cameras and a guy who shows no respect for us and diamonds that you probably don't even like, then I'd consider myself a failure."

Berri froze and felt their bubble grow thick with a weird mixture of love and frustration, and it was here did Berri understand that Zed was certainly going to get to the bottom of all of her problems. Just as suspected, Zed inhaled a trembling, almost angry breath through his nose, stood back, dropped his shoulders and allowed his height to return to normal. With arms behind his back in a tall, Kingly posture, he gazed into Berri's eyes, as if to narrowly take a sneak peak inside her soul, likely one of the only beings in Arcade Berri would allow to do so. Berri braved his eye contact, though she felt unworthy of it and finally peered down to their still feet.

"Dad, I'm... I-I'm really sorry," Berri staggered sincerely, the air of snotty attitude easily wiped off of her aura, something Zed could immediately sense and was eternally grateful for; with such a clean slate revealed, so quick, Zed dropped the stern act and softened his tone.

"Come. Walk with me," Zed lovingly instructed, still clad in an authoritative show of certainty.

Zed confidently stepped out to continue down the corridor in which Berri nervously jolted to keep up. She kept her eyes down in impending, teary sorrow and twiddled her fingers in a lack of security. Her shaky gaze glossed the lovely white tiles their feet clacked down, she felt entire uncertainty wash over her, knowing full well that Zed was likely about to worm a lot of quiet, secret information out of her. Although she maybe didn't want the whole world knowing she was masking her insecurity with forced confidence and a wave of snotty attitude, due to partaking in an unfaithful, dishonest, ongoing act, she softly dragged her nervous gaze to her father and assessed just what soul would be harboring all of the skeletons in her closet. Berri's pupils sharply tightened as sunlight beamed down on Sugar Rush's King. Zed looked forward, the vividness of his cerulean blue hair reminded Berri just where she should be centered, the two incredible people she was the combination of, and with such a gentle, easy silence between the two, she felt floored to have someone like Zed for a father. A powerful, fierce, loving individual who would clearly go to the ends of Arcade for the ones he loved; she felt her stomach knot with a hard truth, hard facts that she had unfortunately been treating one of her best friends like crap, as of late, someone so detrimental to Sugar Rush's well being.

"I remember the day your mother and I approached Ace about one day being King," Zed started with a defeated smile, he lovingly lofted his strong gaze to Berri in a teasing side-eye, "... He begged us not to hand him any more power than what we already had given him."

"... I-I can see that," Berri softened, she finally peaked a small smile, a smile that very easily mocked Zed's.

"I always told myself I wouldn't push the title of King or Queen onto any of my children... Rather untraditional, but I'm not about forcing a job on either of you two," Zed started, though he bobbed a nod and very gently lofted Berri a cute, knowing smile, "Although it's not forced... I do still have to ask the dreaded question."

"Are you asking me to be Queen, one day, dad?" Berri asked nonchalantly, she knew it was a topic of discussion, though she felt her heart begin to thud at the raw fact of it all.

"I am," Zed smiled in loving conclusion towards her, "It's nothing your mother and I will be ready to hand over, for years to come, but... Whenever that day DOES come, I need to know just who to hand that crown to. Someone worthy."

"I-I'd be honored, dad, you know I'd love that title, one day," Berri started with a nervous smile, though after what had just taken place between them, she sagged her shoulders and felt insecurity come rushing her, once more. She looked down and stumbled on her words, "I-If... You deemed me worthy, that is. I'm sure I would be, one day."

Zed furrowed his eyebrows and gently lofted his gaze to Berri in soft, smiling confusion, though as they finally eased out of the overhang of the outdoor corridor, the two squinted as the full beam of sunshine splayed across the two, as well as a whip of lovely, early springtime air. Zed inhaled a deep breath through his nose, glossed his eyes across the magnificent, gorgeous land all about them and finally dragged his eyes back to Berri's in cheeky delight as they came to a soft stop together.

"... Do YOU think you're worthy of it?" Zed inquired warmly, he held eye contact with Berri in tender curiosity, and it was here did Berri seem taken aback.

She sagged her shoulders and nervously looked down in a drawl of now defeated sorrow. Desperate to keep tears back, she looked off and was grateful the wind kissed her cheeks and dried her eyes. Gingerly, she tucked her gorgeous, long blue hair behind her ears and furrowed her eyebrows, inwardly scolding the wind for now not keeping said tears at bay. Her eyes welled with water, and though she did everything to keep her gaze away from her father in soft contemplation, Zed gently leaned in a little and cocked an eyebrow. Berri exhaled a shaky breath and softly peered to Zed in defeat, her trembling breath pressed Zed a loft of whole entire uncertainty.

"No, I... I don't," Berri whimpered, tears gently spilled down her cheeks. She shook her head and lulled her eyes closed as she continued on, "I've been a bitch to everyone, as of late, and I just... Don't think I deserve really anything, lately."

"Don't self-deprecate," Zed instructed gently, although he wanted to turn to goo and cradle his precious daughter in his arms, he remained still and stoic, though he couldn't help but reach out and gingerly wipe a tear from her cheek, "My love... You are more than worthy for that position... But if you do not want that title, I have a certain, handpicked individual who would step in and take care of it, for you."

"...Who?" Berri inquired nervously, almost feeling protective of her crown, though Zed gently gave her a knowing smirk and eased his hands into the front pockets of his dark grey jeans.

"... The man you're currently having a love affair with," Zed delivered smoothly, information he only really had inklings of, though with the way Berri's shocked eyes widened and her pale cheeks reddened, he scoffed a gentle laugh down to his feet and knew he had hit the bullseye, "I guess that's speculation, on my end, but... I wasn't crowned King for funsies."

Berri crossed her arms and now felt entirely exposed, though she almost felt relieved about it. She inhaled a deep breath, looked off and grew entirely agitated with bashful mannerisms. After a moment, Zed finally blurt a small chuckle, grappled Berri's upper arm and began to tug her into a loving hug, once and for all. Berri did all she could to not go clawing Zed's thick jacket off with the loving grapple of a hug she was desperate for, and as she buried her face into Zed's strong collar, as well as the top of his broad sternum, she shut her eyes tight and softly whispered him a girly plea of shushed cuteness.

"User, please don't tell anyone, dad," Berri's voice shook, though Zed eased a harder chuckle as his strong, fatherly arms came tight about Berri's shoulders.

"Ohhh, my sweet girl," Zed grumbled as he firmly held the back of her head and pushed a firm smooch into the side of her scalp. He heaved a hot sigh on the top of her head and kept his voice low, as his face was directly above her ear, "You're so silly, running off with a man that wants nothing more than to buy his way into your heart."

"I-It's... Not like that," Berri stumbled on her words as the two gently pulled away, though Zed gave her a stern look and almost firmly tapped a few of the cold diamonds around her neck.

"My babe, Turbo makes a VERY good amount of money doing what he does," Zed blurt a chuckle and gestured to the diamonds on Berri's neck, "Maybe he'd spoil you if you guys were actually an item, but... Methinks that money can't buy you love. Turbo's not stupid... He knows, full well, that money isn't the way into your heart."

"Who says he's trying to worm his way into my heart?" Berri grew defensive, she desperately tried to keep up the facade, the game of smoke and mirrors, though she knew it was hopeless against the King of literally everything.

"HE says, I'll have you know," Zed blurt a hard laugh and shook his head, and although he was wary to give out Turbo's business, he softened his voice for assurance, narrowed his gaze and gave Berri a sweet smile, "That man asked my permission to court you, given the right circumstances."

"...H-He DID?" Berri staggered in now whole, blushing surprise as she held her hand to her sternum, though she flinched as her fingers tapped the cold diamonds around her neck. She frowned and hesitated, she felt terrible for taking Turbo's guitar pick necklace off and now wondered if she could get away with wearing that on stage, instead, without Gunner being aware.

"Whatever you two have going on, I'm positive it's made that man's life," Zed shook his head and chuckled as he tucked his hands into his jean pockets a little tighter, "Usually I get up in arms about any guy that fancies my daughters, but... I've done life with that man. I've seen the intense amount of goodness in his heart."

"... Did you give him your blessing, dad?" Berri wondered in bashful stun, even still, she shook her head and felt her heart just swell with further love, guilt, desire, agitation, all of the above.

"I'd be an idiot not to, my babe," Zed eased carefully, he gave Berri a sweet, knowing smile and shook his head, "I told him given your consent, he has the King's blessing."

"That's... Huge, dad," Berri stated sorrowfully, he looked down to her hands and heaved a trembling sigh, "Guess... It was stupid of me to say yes to Gunner."

"Meh, I wouldn't say stupid, you're just having fun, life is very exciting for you right now... You're still young, you got swept into something awesome," Zed shrugged, he looked off and smiled in endearing understanding, "I get it... Everything's a whirlwind and you have an electric dude right in the palm of your hands... On top of that, Turbo is a hermit who refuses to leave the User-damned game. I get why you made your choice."

"Thanks, dad, it... Wasn't easy," Berri sighed, feeling glad that at least her actions were maybe justified, here, though she gave Zed a worried look as he continued on in soft caution.

"It's clear you have good insight," Zed pressed softly, though he side-eyed Berri in challenge and narrowed his gaze, "Though, you should really think about sharpening your foresight. If you genuinely want to be Queen, one day, you need to set yourself up for success, here and now."

Berri raised her eyebrows in thwarted surprise and held her breath. She was well aware her father had no clue about her's and Turbo's little inside joke, though somehow the words laid over her heart like a hot poker. Berri softened and felt as if the pressure was on, her stress marks were angrier than ever, she felt her heart do a giddy shake of confusion, and as Zed's eyes peered harder into hers, she felt as if she knew exactly what she had to do, no matter how devastating it'd be to Gunner, no matter what it'd do to the band, she held her breath and wondered if and when she should even begin thinking about taking her chances.

"You know you're loved Arcade wide, but..." Zed shrugged and gave her a soft, conclusory smirk of understanding, "Your feet will always lead you to where you're needed. The journey there isn't a path that anyone can mark for you... No one but yourself."


	116. Chapter 116

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Zed is a good papa. And, you guys will have to see ]

 **Awesome Stories May Occur :** Thank you for your review! We've already chatted via PM, thank you for understanding :) Also, thank you for your support on my wedding and etc.,! It's a common misconception that the Shiver name is pronounced just as it looks. Like shiver, but it's actually pronounced 'shy-ver'. Something I'll definitely have to get used to! I've witnessed Cory go through correcting people enough, I figure I better adopt that lifestyle now haha. Thanks again, friend! I'm so glad you were able to catch up. Hopefully you get to enjoy the story as it continues on.

 **Romantic sapp :** Aw thank you! I'm glad :D

 **Jay Sketchin :** He's a good pops! Thank you friend ;-;

 **Snake557 :** Aww. Thank you!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **For Sure by Carly Rae Jepsen**

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 **A/N :**

 **Hey guys! So sorry for the small gap, here. Cory's littlest brother's birthday was on Halloween and we spent half the weekend traveling a few hours south to go have a visit with Cory's father and brothers. It was a TON of fun, but I'm exhausted! Love those boys to death. It's cool having a clan of little brothers, suddenly. They're really funny and are super protective of me, so that's been a lot of fun to navigate. And each one of 'em is like over six foot tall, including Cory, so it'd be really fun going some place with them. I look like I hired a team of body guards xD**

 **Anyways - I usually upload every other day, on every even numbered day, but if there's a gap, it's because of busyness or family came into town or etc. - especially as the holidays near, there may be small gaps here and there. If I am to take a week or so hiatus, I'll make sure to let you guys know the date I'll be back. You know I'm always good on my word. Thanks for understanding guys! Enjoy!**

* * *

 ***Chapter 116***

Sugar Rush's cold, wintery bite finally began to let up as the spring months sprouted up with an abundance of rain and new, candy foliage about the game. Although Berri and her crew had only had one concert, they were set for a whopping five concerts inside Dance Dance Revolution over the course of the coming two weeks, all throughout the game. Having been spoiled by a code room, and all of it's wonderful teleporting abilities, Berri and crew now had to think about transportation, and just what that looked like throughout Dance Dance Revolution. With an incredible tour bus rented, bags packed and ready to head out the next morning, Berri began to run through a list of things she was certain she would forget if it weren't for writing it all down. Inside her haphazardly torn apart bedroom, Chester lay equally as chaotically on her unmade bed, Berri allowed her eyes to scan her bedroom in a soft show of contemplation, though it quickly sagged to that of confused concern. She heaved a soft sigh through her nose, lowered the messy notepad on her phone and gingerly reached for the guitar pick around her neck.

Thunder rolled across Sugar Rush's dark land as it lightly rained outside their glowing tower. She softly ran her thumb over the engraving and pondered a moment. Berri was well aware her and Turbo were prepared for an extended amount of time apart, and although she was thrilled that Turbo was prepared to secretly receive her whenever she needed an escape, she sagged her shoulders and looked off in continued regret. She wondered if leaving would just mess with her head, tangle her already sticky situation, and it was here did she promise herself that she'd only escape to Turbo's tower, mid-tour, if she had the ability to do so quickly, and if it were entirely necessary. She lulled her eyes closed and came to the conclusion that she had only just barely left that door ajar, and in the gentle swell of pain in her heart, she reopened her eyes in hesitation and was well aware she needed to properly say goodbye to Turbo before she was gone for two weeks. She bit her bottom lip and promised herself she wouldn't utilize Turbo's handy disguise, for her, unless she desperately needed. Although she looked off and began to ponder just what would possibly merit such an escape, she awkwardly dodged the topic as best as she could by busying herself with the gently glowing list she finally reopened.

"Alright, Chester... Hair dryer, can you say... Hair dryer?" Berri quietly giggled, she sighed and did everything to prolong maybe messaging Turbo and hesitantly going over to his place to say goodbye; Chester gently perked his ears and lazy glossed his blind eyes in her direction, though much to her delight, his impressive, broad ribcage inhaled a readied breath and his fang-filled mouth opened in a prepared, eager way.

"Blay-bler-ehr," Chester's deep voice chirped in whole confidence, Berri immediately doubled over laughing, and much to her whole surprise, Chester's figure shook an adorable, deep-toned, boyish giggle.

"Wow, bud, I mean... That wasn't the word 'hair dryer' AT ALL, but I'm still really proud of you," Berri continued to choke with laughter, her bare feet approached her billowy, messy bed in hesitancy, and as she plopped down on the bed next to Chester, her fingers began to aimlessly fiddle with the gorgeous pops of blue feathers that peaked out of Chester's lovely, dark orange mane on the scruff of his neck, "... Chessy, do you think it's a bad idea to... Well... Be with Turbo in this way?"

"Boh-boh," Chester mumbled as he sagged his ears, the only word that Berri understood to be Chester's way of saying 'Turbo'; Chester, although not clear in his opinions, still had a hesitant, cautionary air about himself as he properly sat up and crossed his massive, powerful paws to Berri's left.

"Boh-boh," Berri repeated in sighing, apathetic defeat as her eyes aimlessly got lost in his gloriously soft fur, her fingers gently stroked his lovely mane for long enough to get Chester to long-blink in drowsy contemplation, "I'm an idiot for doing this... I-I think I need to just... Go over to his loft and call it all off. I need to focus, and this is only going to distract me... Right?"

Chester finally opened his blind, foggy eyes and peered them to Berri in intelligent listening, and although Chester looked to be hesitant, he still sniffled his snout into her cheek and lovingly lapped at her skin. Although Berri scrunched and giggled at his affections, she could now feel Chester's conflicting disposition only heighten hers. She was well aware that Chester didn't like Gunner, and though he had eased up a little bit, when it came to Gunner, Berri knew that Chester would likely jump to team Turbo any day of the year. Berri rubbed her forehead in agitation, shook her head and lulled her eyes closed in defeat.

"You're probably the worst person to ask about this, huh," Berri mumbled, she finally unfolded her legs, stood from her bed and gently pulled out her phone.

Having to get up in the next seven hours, she eyed the clock in whole irritation and knew it was either go to sleep now, and miss out on saying a proper goodbye to Turbo, or sneaking away to his loft right now and risk losing another hour, or so, of sleep. Berri lulled her head back, heaved a silent groan of annoyance out to her dim bedroom and closed her eyes in irritation towards herself. She was aware that one day she'd likely run herself so far into the ground that climbing back out would be impossible, though she began to softly cross her room with purpose as she thumbed to her's and Turbo's text conversation; she knew today wasn't that day.

 _Blue : Hey Bo. I know this is like... Super last hour of me, but, I head out for our Dance Dance tour early tomorrow morning. I wanted to properly say goodbye to you and not just like... Some lousy text message._

Berri heaved a hot sigh through her nose and gently pressed her bare feet to her teleportation pad. Upon her soles easing onto the powered down pad, it gently hummed to life with a silver glow, and with such, a dimly lit holographic display flickered to life just to her right. Her pupils tightened a little as she eased her gaze to the glossary before her, and as she honed to Turbo's name plate on the list, she began to nibble the tip of her pointer finger in mild uncertainty. She glanced back to her unlocked phone and noticed Turbo was typing; her heart jolted the second he finally replied.

 _Black : Weird, perfect timing. C'mon over._

Berri furrowed her brow in soft confusion, though she didn't question his words. In a gentle tap, her silver coding was easily whisked away to his lonely teleportation pad, high above the city. Just as her coding came to grips with the game, she eased her body into the motion of stepping off of the teleportation pad, in Turbo's dim foyer, though she flinched in whole surprise and came face to face with the game's largest hermit. She tucked her arms to her chest in soft bashfulness, felt a breath catch in her throat and eased a cute smile of nervousness. Turbo looked equally as surprised, though he gestured his hand in a motion to encourage Berri to step off of the teleportation pad; as she did, Turbo successfully slipped something secret into his pocket, something Berri noticed but pretended not to.

"Why do you say perfect timing?" Berri inquired lightly, her ears popped with the sudden gain in altitude over the city.

"Because I was just about to text you and ask if I could come over, real quick... I-I have something I want to give you, but..." Turbo gestured his hand in rising bashfulness, shook his head and eased her a warm smile; it was only here did Berri feel her face heat up like the surface of the sun, the sheer fact that Turbo was draped in his comfortable red sweats, and nothing else. He gestured to his broad, masculine bare chest and shook his head through his adorably sweet gaze, "Y-You beat me to it. I, too, wanted to say a proper goodbye to you."

"Oh, I see," Berri stumbled, she looked down to their bare feet and now felt as if they both had no clue how to go about this. Their romantic tendencies seemed to be reset every single time they were with each other, as if each interaction was new, each scenario was something raw and fresh to be discovered. Berri heaved a shaky giggle as the silence between them was deafening, though she was thrilled Turbo's bashful grin lead her to believe he maybe thought the same thing, "W-Well, goodbye."

"Bye," Turbo blurt a hard chuckle and held out his hand for a handshake. Berri blurt a giggle and softly shook his hand, though after a moment, the two settled in softness and continued to hold each other's hand. Turbo sagged his shoulders as their mood softly dipped into warm understanding, and with Berri's nervous, bittersweet eye contact, Turbo gave her a knowing look and gingerly tugged on her hand, cuing to her that she was wanted in his tighter gravity. With an easy sag, Berri didn't waste time wrapping her arms about Turbo's warm, center. Although he wrapped his arms about her upper back and shoulders, and gave her a good, solid squeeze, he lulled his eyes closed and promised himself he wouldn't linger in this moment for too long. He pressed on warmly, his deep voice hovered over her ear like the cloak of a ghost, "You have that deleter protection?"

"I don't go anywhere without it," Berri assured gently as she allowed herself to relax in Turbo's furnace-like embrace, the warmth of his strong, solid figure against hers, she lulled her eyes closed tighter and was certain she could soak in it all day long, "... I-I'm really nervous."

"Why?" Turbo pressed sadly, he unleashed Berri from his grip and, although they kept a foot from each other, he still was able to peer down to her in an incredible amount of warmth and understanding, "You did so great at your last show, certainly you're not worried about the ones to come."

"I-I've just... Never been away from home for this long," Berri worried in a soft stagger of the potential of impending tears, something Turbo cued to; he shrugged and shook his head.

"You'll have Wren and Theo, you know any one of us, at the palace, are just a text message away," Turbo rushed to reassure, though as Berri quietly nodded, Turbo inhaled a shaky breath and reached into his pocket, "... If all else fails, you always have this..."

"... What's this?" Berri inquired lightly as Turbo warmly handed her what looked to be a hexagonal chip, though as Berri received it from Turbo's grip, she flinched at just how heavy it was, for how small it was. Able to easily fit in the palm of her hand, it weighed nearly a pound. She blurt a small giggle and ran her thumb over a small engraving over the top, clearly a button that could be pressed, carefully carved with the word 'Turbotastic'.

"That's your out," Turbo's deep, velvety voice eased her the conclusion, he gave her a poised look of boyish certainty through his irresistible, golden gaze, "You feel overwhelmed, you have a night you're able to escape, you make sure you're in private when you hit that button... Then you can 'go Turbo'."

"What does it do?" Berri eased in girly excitement as she peered down to the small talisman-like chip, she flipped it over and noticed the very faintly glowing silver circuitry on the backside.

"It has your disguise inside of it, it's made with your coding," Turbo tenderly explained, "You put on that disguise, you can go anywhere without being recognized... At least by fans and any potential staff or security guards. Don't let Gunner, Theo or Wren see you... They'll recognize you if you get too close."

"... Wow, s-so... What does this version of me look like, then?" Berri staggered with a nervous grin, she peered up to Turbo and realized that, if he made her this disguise without her hand being in it, he could've easily done anything to her appearance. Although Turbo choked a boyish laugh and opened his mouth to defend himself, Berri urgently pressed on, "You could've given me like two noses and neon pink hair or something stupid."

"Y-You won't be disappointed or freaked out, I promise," Turbo couldn't help but laugh, he warmly eased the chip a little deeper into her gravity and shook his head, "I promise... Just put on the disguise and show up. You don't even have to text me... My door is always open for you, you know that."

Berri peered down to the chip and, as her heart began to swell with anticipation for everything, she was entirely thrilled that Turbo went to such great lengths to make sure that she had a safe spot to unload or unwind, if even for a few hours. She finally gave Turbo her grateful gaze, shook her head in mild disbelief and cupped the chip to her chest in warm relief.

"Thank you, Turbo... Really," Berri sighed in conclusion, "This means a lot to me."

"Well... YOU mean a lot to me," Turbo staggered gently, though it was here did Berri notice he was beginning to show signs of nervousness. His hands began to lightly tremble, he looked off, as if he was searching or contemplating, and it was here did Berri hold her breath and feel a whole sweep of emotions rush her with hot understanding. With Turbo's gentle words, she narrowed her gaze a little and fully understood that he was hoping she read between the lines, here, "I-I... I typically don't go to such great lengths for just anyone. Only people I, well... Really c-care for."

Berri bobbed a nod and peered back down to the heavy chip in her hand. She felt her stomach knot, and was well aware what Turbo really wanted to say here. Although her head swam with all sorts of different notions, she felt her heart sink in the same rising spike of guilt. The raw fact that Gunner had confessed his love to her on the night of their first show, she bit her lip and was well aware she was in a sticky, conflicting situation where two hearts could easily be broken, here. She gingerly eased her mildly pleading gaze into Turbo's and almost silently begged him not to open the flood gates, to not use the dreaded L word she was doing everything to avoid, and although she could tell by the look in his eye that he understood her plea, she still narrowed her gaze in mild desperation and shook her head in an overflow of warmth.

"You mean a lot to me too, Turbo... Really," Berri eased in warm plea, she gripped the chip closer to her and stayed in his tight gravity, almost desperate to spill the beans, though she knew she would never bring herself to it. She could feel the pit of quicksand begin to climb up her ankles, she knew the more she moved, the more she reacted, the more she fell into this trap, the worse it'd be in the end. She knew squirming in quicksand would only make things worse, she knew to stiffen her upper lip and at least attempt to keep deeper feelings, here, at bay, "I really appreciate this. I won't tell a soul."

"Y'better not, I don't want Theo and Wren coming to me for disguises as well," Turbo mumbled, clearly in a teasing notion, he gestured his hand outwards, "Coming up with your disguise, alone, was hard enough as it was."

"...Okay, now I'm TERRIFIED to see what this disguise looks like," Berri choked a laugh, she began to sag herself closer to the teleportation pad; although she was certain they both wanted a kiss goodbye, she wondered if she should refrain.

"Don't be terrified, you'll be pleasantly surprised, I'm sure of it," Turbo warmly assured, and although he was visibly sad that she had escaped his gravity, he gently tucked his hands behind his back and quickly came to the conclusion that maybe a gentle pause on physical affection was likely best, "You be careful out there... It's a dark and scary Arcade outside of Sugar Rush."

"Like you would know," Berri stabbed playfully as her bare feet hit the teleportation pad, though Turbo blurt a warm laugh and shook his head.

"Ohhh I've had my fair share of happenings outside of Sugar Rush," Turbo gently defended, though as Berri thumbed to the button that lead to the teleportation pad in her bedroom, he gingerly wrinkled his fingers and gave her a loving smile, "Take care, Blue."

"Bye, Turbo," Berri chimed in a bittersweet way, and as her silver coding hesitantly climbed into gentle glitch lines and dissipated into thin air, Turbo sagged his hand to his side and slumped his shoulders in rising regret.

"... I love you," Turbo mumbled to himself in a sting of whole sorrow, true feelings he genuinely didn't want Berri to be aware of; he slowly turned to head back into his hideaway, sealed away from the world, a fate he was well aware he was only bringing onto himself.


	117. Chapter 117

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Aww, thank you ;_; I'm really glad you feel that way. I worry about it, a lot.

 **Jay Sketchin :** He's actually a lynchpin in Turbo's situation! He is true bab. If you guys appreciate him now, you'll come to REALLY appreciate him later :D His inner Lickity comes out, eventually lol

 **Romantic Sapp :** Haha you're not wrong! He definitely does his best to improve while she's gone.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **The Waters Cleansed Ft. Tom Boyd - Ori and the Blind Forest OST**

* * *

 ***Chapter 117***

In the gentle steps into sunny Game Central Station, Berri and Gunner softly began to pick up their pace. Although typically they'd be far more cautious about sinking into public areas, the Arcade was dead quiet due to quarter alerts coming in less than a minute. Berri tucked her blue hair behind her ears and nervously glossed her eyes down the station, towards her grandfather's game outlet. Upon saying her goodbyes to her parents, Chester, great aunts and uncles alike, Zed made aware to Berri that Ralph wanted to have a little chit chat with Berri before they head to Dance Dance Revolution. Although the two nervously hovered and began to very quietly talk in surfaced tension, Berri lightened the second she could see Ralph urgently peel from his outlet and march himself over in the direction of the two.

"Just made it, Papa," Berri chimed in excited delight as she held her hands up out of joy, and as Ralph's large, intimidating presence pushed closer to Berri's and Gunner's bubble, only Gunner began to figuratively shrink in a spike of nervousness.

"Thanks for waiting," Ralph huffed, mildly out of breath. He eased into their bubble and gently tucked his hand behind his back, "I-I... I have a small parting gift for you, Bear. I really don't know what the weather will be like, but... I-I just hope you take care and keep warm."

Berri held her eyes tight to her grandfather in whole delight, though she sagged in further, sweeter delight the second he revealed to Berri a brand new hoodie. Not just any hoodie, it was in the same exact plaid design as Ralph's game-day shirt. The inside was lined with the softest, cream fleece, all cutely detailed with darker cream buttons and details. Berri cupped her hands to her chest in whole delight and gave Ralph an adoring smile of entire gratitude. As Ralph handed her the hoodie, she graciously received it and wasted no time in putting it on. As she snuggled into the lovely fleece, she peered up to Ralph with a beam of a smile and shook her head.

"Grandpa," Berri urged in warm delight as she shook her head and softly peered to Gunner in sweetness; he beamed her an understanding smile and nodded in approval, "Wow, that was so sweet of you... I LOVE this."

"Just a little piece of home to take with you, y'know?" Ralph eased warmly, his massive hands and fingers reached out to so delicately tidy the hood behind Berri's head and neck, and although his disposition was tender and warm, he finally eyed Gunner and gave him a knowing smile, "I'm glad I was able to catch you two, before you left... You waiting on Wren and Theo?"

"Yeah, they should be out any second now," Berri nodded as she began to zip up her hoodie, it suited her well.

"Okay," Ralph bobbed a nod, though he finally peered his dominant gaze to Gunner's positioning and silently assessed his demeanor.

Confident, stood tall, proud and solid, Ralph was well aware Gunner was an able man, though Ralph softly glossed his nervous eyes to his precious granddaughter and felt his heart tug in nervousness. Although Ralph wasn't quite sure how to navigate all of this, due to having to recall letting Tessa run off with Zed, all those years ago, he inhaled a shaky breath and was glad that Wren and Theo quickly caught up with the two and began loving on Berri, due to her new hoodie. Ralph put his hands on his hips and knew he had to at least play a bit of a fatherly role, here. He was well aware Zed surely laid some ground rules into Gunner's ear, though Ralph gingerly gestured to Gunner's attention and knew he at least needed to ease his own mind.

"Hey, can I talk to you a second?" Ralph wondered, he tried to remain as non-threatening as he could; he was thrilled Gunner happily complied.

"Oh, sure," Gunner chimed with a shrug, and although Berri, Wren and Theo noticed Gunner and Ralph privately step aside, amidst Game Central Station's silent, golden tiles. Gunner nervously sagged his hands into his jacket's pockets and eyed Ralph's massive hands, although harmlessly hung by his sides, Gunner swallowed firmly and almost nervously glanced back to his three band mates, "I-Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah everything's fine, I just... I need some peace of mind," Ralph stated softly, under his breath, and as him and Gunner sunk into their own little private bubble, about two dozen feet away from the now loudly chattering Berri, Theo and Wren, Ralph sighed and gave Gunner an almost pleading look, "I just... I need you to promise me you're going to take good care of those kids. They're... Extremely important to all of us, and we're all worried sick that they'll be traipsing into a game they're not coded for."

"I promise," Gunner gently held his hand to his chest in honor and shook his head, though Ralph could almost see the exhaustion in Gunner's eyes, as if he maybe previously had gotten this talking to, "They'll be safe with me and my team. I promise we'll all look out for one another."

"We're really thrilled you four get to go out and chase this awesome dream, but... We're terrified, to be honest," Ralph huffed a shaky chuckle and looked back to Berri and crew; he was well aware he was the starting point for this nonsense, "Berri's grandmother and I, well... We've been through hell and back to bring these kids into the Arcade, to keep them safe from harm. I just... Need you to know that. We'd do anything to keep them from harm's way, and now that they're running off on their own, and with you, I just... Need you to hear me."

"Loud and clear, sir," Gunner assured, he bobbed a nervous nod and looked off, "To be frank, your pep talk has been a lot kinder than Zed's..."

"Bah, don't... Worry about Zed, he's just protective of his daughters, and rightfully so," Ralph cocked an eyebrow and Gunner a becomingly stern look, he shook his head and dared to grin amidst his following words, "Berri is, after all, Sugar Rush's next heir."

"... Berri has a sister? I-I thought she just had Ace?" Gunner staggered in gentle confusion, though Ralph bobbed a nod and knew to keep the story short and sweet.

"Libby, Ace's wife, was Tessa's and Zed's surrogate daughter," Ralph gently concluded, though Gunner raised his eyebrows in softness and peered back to Berri, almost in soft, sorrowful intrigue, as if he was now understanding that the unraveling layers, to Berri's family, was finally beginning to unwind a little, "Zed's just... Going through a bit of a hard time, letting Berri go, and... I-It's just a lot deeper than you'd know, so... Just know, Zed means well."

"He loves Berri, I understand," Gunner pressed tenderly, he gave Ralph a nervous smile and bobbed a nod, "I promise I'll take care of her."

"And she for you," Ralph put his hands on his hips and shrugged, "You all need to look out for each other... Just please bring them home in one piece, is all we ask."

"Yes, sir," Gunner tenderly assured, though he gently flinched as Ralph held out his massive hand for a handshake; as both men shook hands, Berri, Wren and Theo finally began to mosey over to the two.

"Secret secrets are no fun, secret secrets hurt someone," Berri mumbled in teasing delight as she shot Gunner and Ralph a knowing smile, though Ralph gingerly opened his arm and chest for her, for a proper goodbye hug.

"Ah, just threatening your boyfriend's life, nothing unusual," Ralph joked, he playfully nudged Gunner's upper arm, to which he was grateful got a nervous chuckle out of Gunner's rigid figure.

"Oh, like everyday," Berri choked in mild annoyance, and although she shot her grandfather a smile, she still looked equally as exhausted for the gentle reminders, in Gunner's direction.

"Please be safe," Ralph warmly concluded to the group as Berri followed through with Ralph's loving invitation and sagged into his warm, strong, massive embrace.

"We will, papa," Berri mumbled into his chest, she furrowed her eyebrows and, although she had been preparing for these goodbyes for days now, she somehow felt as if saying the last and official goodbye to the ultimate gatekeeper to Sugar Rush's whole core, she sagged in a premature yank of nauseating homesickness.

"Alright, go on, git," Ralph's voice croaked as he gave Berri one good, final squeeze, and as he warmly unhanded her and began to lovingly nudge her in the direction of Dance Dance, he urgently gestured to Wren and Theo, for hugs as well, "You guys have fun, kickass. We'll all be watching your shows from home, text as often as you can, come home if you absolutely need, you know the drill."

"Brush our teeth, comb our hair," Theo mumbled as he easily sagged into his grandfather's embrace, though Wren looked off teasingly and shrugged.

"We get it, uncle Ralph. Don't get too shit-faced, try not to stay out past four in the morning," Wren's sassy tone carried on, though Ralph grappled him into a firm hug and whispered onto the top of Wren's head.

"Stop adding anxiety to my anxiety," Ralph's whisper turned into an annoyed grumble as the group began to laugh, and without further ado, they began to quickly hustle over to their proper outlet, a game in which they'd spend the next two weeks inside. Ralph stood straighter and did absolutely everything he could to blink back tears, he kept his composure nicely, though still staggered on his words, "Y-You guys... Have fun, okay? Kick those stages asses, y'hear?"

"We will, papa, I love you!" Berri called over her shoulder with a tender wave, though she felt her heart sag with an even firmer tug of homesickness.

The gentle glisten of Game Central Station's gorgeous tiles, Ralph's tall figure stood with his hands on his hips in confidence, and as his larger hand finally wrinkled the group one final wave, Berri bit her lip and took in every single last instance of her grandfather's loving image. She gently tucked her fists deeper into the sleeves of her new, cozy hoodie and knew that the two weeks would fly by, in the blink of an eye. She averted her nervous gaze to Dance Dance's unfamiliar outlet with a refreshed inhale, and as Wren, Theo and Gunner loudly carried on, in a boyish show of new brotherhood, Berri silently gave Dance Dance's golden, shimmery outlet a silent hello, a silent plea to keep her and her new brood safe, a whisper of hopes that if she were to tell the game her secrets, that it'd keep them safe. Her larger wrecking hand gingerly glossed the golden metal of the outlet as they hustled inside, and with a whisk into the inner workings of the game, they set forth on their brand new adventure and didn't look back.

Like the majority of all games inside Litwak's, Dance Dance was set up with a main hub, a playing field where game day happened, though every single pixel beyond that was free game, quite literally. Due to the sheer amount of years the majority of Litwak's cabinets had been plugged in, small villages turned into towns, winding roads that eventually morphed into cities, bright lights and towering skyscrapers that proudly evolved into metropolises, each old game had a solid, established world beyond anything the humans, inside Litwak's Arcade, interacted with. Although Dance Dance didn't have a day and night cycle, similar to Fix-It Felix Jr., the gang found Dance Dance's atmosphere to be glowing with life and light. Amidst a colorful splay of aurora borealis, a never-ending sea of dimly lit colors splashed against a starry sky box of infinity, the group settled nicely into their tinted-windowed tour bus, a luxurious home on wheels that sailed amidst Dance Dance's darkened stretches of highway. En-route to their first show's location, Meridian City, they had a three hour bus ride. Although it was daytime, and quarter alerts were abundant, their surrounding scenery would deviously tell otherwise.

Warmly sat in her comfortable pair of dark grey sweats and her brand new Papa Ralph hoodie, Berri snuggled into one of the few bean bag chairs littered about the cozy narrows of their luxurious tour bus. She aimlessly thumbed her father a text message, kindly telling him how much she loved him and how much she was going to miss Sugar Rush, though with the sound of Gunner's, Bedgy's, Joya's, Theo's and Wren's warm, excited laughter amidst story telling and jokes galore, Berri was well aware that there was plenty here to curb her homesickness. She peered up from her phone and smiled to the chatty group about her, and although they were discouraged from singing or doing anything too strenuous, Gunner messily thumbed on one of his acoustic guitars and sang a dorky, playful tune that had Bedgy, Joya, Theo and Wren crippled with laughter. Berri giggled along and sagged, she felt her heart soar with excitement as her eyes finally glossed Dance Dance's gorgeous, dark and lively scenery, though somehow, she desperately tried to shake the feelings of immediate homesickness that did everything it could to remind her that they were no longer inside Sugar Rush.

Berri slumped her shoulders and furrowed her brows in mild contemplation. As she thumbed out of her's and Zed's messages, she went to her whole message list, complete with just who she had been recently messaging, and began to notice Turbo's messages creep farther to the bottom of the list, due to not recently texting with him. She knew messaging Turbo would only make her feel more homesick, he'd only say sweet, innocent things that would make her want to game jump all the more, and although she so badly wanted to reach out, she lulled her eyes closed and locked her phone, self control she knew would get easier to follow through with over time. She trailed her eyes to her small sling bag, near her bean bag chair, on the ground. Although it was tucked away, Berri could still see the very edge of the hexagonal chip that Turbo had given her, safely secured in her bag. It gently twinkled with the cabin lights all about them, as if to loft a wink in Berri's direction, a warm reminder that she could easily escape, whenever she wanted. With said notions that came to her, she furrowed her eyebrows and immediately went back on her word; she immediately unlocked her phone and allowed her fingers to eradicate all her hard work.

 _Blue : Real quick... I never really asked you how I go about getting back to Game Central Station, with my disguise. We're currently on our drive to Meridian City... A three hour drive from Dance Dance's entrance. I wish I had access to a code room..._

Berri peered down to her's and Turbo's messages in a soft slump of hot regret, and even furthermore at the raw fact that it was really early in the morning, and Turbo was likely still asleep. She heaved a hot sigh of defeat through her nose and figured she'd just get an answer later, though as she thumbed out of her messages app entirely, and prepared to maybe open another social media app, a small drop-down notification made itself present, proudly displaying a thought-out reply from none other than Turbo Black.

 _Black : Three hours? Yeah I don't know how anyone does anything without access to the code room. Now I feel like a privileged asshole. Thanks._

Berri beamed the widest smile and tried to conceal it, she heaved a silent giggle and sagged into herself as she urgently thumbed Turbo a message in response, praying he'd keep his phone handy.

 _Blue : You're so welcome. Please help me._

 _Black : Damn, you haven't been gone for longer than forty-five minutes and you already want to come home?_

Berri furrowed her eyebrows in teasing, scheming delight and looked off in warm contemplation; she wondered if she maybe shouldn't seem so readily available, like she'd been recently displaying.

 _Blue : No, no. I just got to thinking about it and it all hit me once I realized our drive takes three hours. I miss you and Sugar Rush and all, but I'm not taking anymore three hour drives unless I absolutely have to. It's boring!_

 _Black : Yeah, I wouldn't drive three hours to see me either. Turbo sucks, man. That guy's not worth it. EW._

Berri now did everything she could to choke back laughter, though she pulled it off as clearing her throat as she quickly did the most to get to her feet and stumble to the tour bus's bathroom. With a gentle slide of the smaller bathroom door, she locked it behind her, put the lid to the toilet seat down, so it was closed, and softly sat down; she was thankful she had afforded herself a shred of privacy.

 _Blue : Stoppp I'm trying not to laugh. What do I do? Is there anything I can do? Or is this device better reserved for locations where I can easily get to the game's outlet?_

 _Black : Ha ha, success. I'm here to blow your cover lol. I mean, you have incredible glitching abilities, Bear. I wouldn't put it past you that you could work some of that electric magic, y'got, there._

 _Blue : Electric magic_

 _Blue : I like that._

 _Black : I got ideas, alright? There's more than just glowing lightbulbs behind my eyeballs, okay?_

Berri now properly blurt a soft laugh and scrunched tight into herself, to get herself to stop from being too loud; she eagerly thumbed away at her's and Turbo's conversation, knowing full well that she should return from the bathroom, shortly.

 _Blue : Are you suggesting I glitch my way back to the game's entrance?_

 _Black : Well... I mean electricity does travel really fast. It'd be like teleporting, but without a code room. You'd just use the game's circuits as an avenue, and voila._

 _Blue : Hmm... I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Bo. You can go back to sleep now._

Berri heaved a hot sigh and locked her phone, though just as she stood and flushed the toilet, to make the scene believable, she cocked an eyebrow as her phone gingerly buzzed, once more.

 _Black : You know me too well. G'night, Bear._

 _Blue : Night. Give Chester a kiss for me._

 _Black : He'll probably chew my face off, but that's fine. Please attend my funeral._

Berri beamed a wide smile and finally shoved her phone into the hoodie pocket on her front, though as she gently swung open the bathroom door, she flinched in whole surprise as to just who was standing in the tight, semi-hidden, darkened corner of said bathroom nook. Wren stood poised, arms crossed, eyes glowered, eyebrow cocked, fully complete with a methodical foot tap of rising authority; Berri froze and felt her pupils tighten in a draw of discovered fear, though she firmly swallowed and did everything she could to get words out.

"H-Hey, y'good? You need to pee?" Berri blurt a chuckle and tried to reverse the annoyance back to Wren, though he tilted his head up in a dominant nod and kept his voice deep and low.

"Who're you talkin' to," Wren muttered in darkened annoyance, and although Berri lightly revealed a shred of trembling intimacy towards Turbo, she was well aware she had yet to entirely spill the beans to Wren; with a hyper-fixated gaze deep into her soul, Berri knew there was now no getting out of this one.


	118. Chapter 118

**Reviews**

 **Jay Sketchin :**

LMAO HE KNOOOWWWS.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **The Waters Cleansed ft. Tom Boyd by Ori and the Blind Forest OST**

* * *

 ***Chapter 118***

"Y'guys okay back there?" Gunner called through a hearty, cute, boyish laugh as he flagged his hand, though Berri choked an annoyed noise the second Wren began to nearly yank Berri deeper into the depths of the tour bus, a luxurious home on wheels.

"We're fine, we'll be right back," Wren called in warm nonchalance, though he grunted a noise as him and Berri tripped over each others feet in the confined hallway they traversed.

"What the heck are you guys doing?" Theo barked in smiling irritation, though as he stood to maybe see what the commotion was about, Wren urgently flagged him down and shook his head in a further show of forced nonchalance.

"NO, we're fine, I just... I need Berri to look at something really quick, it's embarrassing, leave us alone," Wren shouted in teasing urgency as he viciously shooed Theo away, he continued to keep Berri's upper arm in a death grip as he began to attempt to drag her to the farther, more private quarters of the tour bus, complete with two levels, each one being smaller confines of bedrooms for the crew, "Just... We'll be right back, its embarrassing, don't come back here."

"For User's sake, Wren, I'm POSITIVE that mole is benign," Theo barked in tired annoyance, and though Wren's face heated up, he rolled his eyes and vanished into the darkness with Berri.

"... You have a benign mole?" Berri choked in a laughing whisper as Wren finally was able to shove the two into the lower level bedroom and shut the door behind the two. Nearly still tripping over each other in the pitch black, Wren's hand urgently groped for a light switch. The second it came on, he huffed a raspy sigh, straightened his hair and gave Berri a firm glower of whole annoyance as she teasingly carried on, "I hope it's not on your butt, or something, cause, wow... I mean I love you and all, but I REALLY don't want to-"

"No, it's on the inside of my upper arm, I just said that to keep them away," Wren grunted in a raspy whisper as he furiously gestured his hands in sassy irritation, he shook his head and urgently peered tight to Berri's eyes as she visibly shrunk, he continued to whisper for secrecy's sake, "Berri, please tell me what's going on between you and Turbo, I know that's who you're talking to."

"Wren, it's really not a big deal, he just said something funny," Berri desperately tried to brush it off, she nervously glanced to the two decent sized beds in the small confines of the bedroom they had managed to smush into; a bedroom that Gunner and Berri very shyly agreed to share, the gentle shlep of duffles and blankets on their respective beds, Berri flinched once Wren put his hands on his hips and jut his neck out in a deeper glower of irritation towards Berri.

"I'm not letting you leave this bedroom until you tell me everything, Berri Schweetz Kalivar," Wren stabbed in a sharp whisper, he shook his head, and although Berri began to feel her heart race in desperate attempts to allude to Wren's piercingly beautiful blue eyes, she was well aware that he was most definitely telling her the truth, in this instance, "I'm tired of looking over and seeing you giggle to your phone screen, the how many times I've seen you play with that damned necklace that Turbo made for you... You do everything you can to not wear his hoodie every single day-"

"Wren, he's my best friend," Berri defended, they continued on in sharp whispering; Wren meanly narrowed his eyes in a glare.

"I'M your best friend," Wren pressed, knowing full well that Berri's and Turbo's relationship was far different.

"You can have more than one best friend, Wren," Berri pushed, Wren narrowed his gaze even further.

"But you can't have more than one boyfriend whilst keeping all your cute, dainty, virgin morals in tact," Wren volleyed, though just before Berri was due to retorting him another act of avoidance, he could see Berri's breaking point on the brim of overflowing, so he rushed to get a few more final words in, "If you're not going to just flat out tell me you can bet your ass I'll worm it out of you-"

"I'm in love with him, Wren, okay? Is that what you want to hear?" Berri stabbed seriously, still in a full whisper, though her voice trembled in a now very real show of raw uncertainty. She shook her head and was thrilled she got Wren to shut up, in whole stun, "I-I don't know what to do about it. I love Gunner, but... There's something so much deeper, with Turbo, and I'm just... Super conflicted. In way over my head."

Wren sagged back in his stance and relaxed in softness, though he shook his head and now narrowed his eyes in concerned sweetness as he pressed on in secrecy, "Bear, I... I had no clue you'd tell me something like THAT. You're in love with the guy? I-I thought maybe you were just sleeping with him, or something silly."

"... N-No, User, no, w-we haven't... D-Done anything like that, yet, wow," Berri staggered in girly defeat, a shyness that was clearly splashed in blushed embarrassment across her cute cheeks, the cast of the low, dim bedroom light on the single nightstand in between both Berri's and Gunner's bed.

"Yet," Wren choked and gave Berri a cute, cheeky side-eye; Berri largely rolled her eyes, and before she could rush to carry on, Wren interrupted her, "SO what have you done then? What do you do with a man you're in love with but can't have because you have a shiny lead singer rockstar as a boyfriend?"

"Wren, it's... Actually really fragile, and I don't even know how to comprehend any of this, myself," Berri whispered in gentle sadness; Wren eased up even further, noting her tone.

"Well, so... You're just not that into Gunner? What's the problem, here?" Wren navigated gently, he knew he was overbearing and instantaneously a handful, though with the way Berri's nervous eyes aimlessly peered down to her hands, he knew he really needed to reel it in. With as much warmth as he could muster, in such a shred of confined alone time he could afford the two, he lovingly eased his hand into hers and squeezed. The second he finally garnered her eye contact, once more, he shook his head and long-blinked in tender understanding, "You seem conflicted... I'm going to take a wild guess and say that one guy has what the other doesn't, and vice-versa."

"That's exactly it," Berri sighed in cold defeat as she peered into Wren's eyes in whole desperation, "I-I know it's really shitty of me, I know what I'm doing is wrong, I just... Both pros and cons seem to be weighted the same, it's... Really hard to navigate."

"Well, what are Turbo's cons?" Wren shrugged, he held up his pointer finger, to begin counting.

"He doesn't leave Sugar Rush, he can be moody," Berri listed nervously, though as she easily started and finished the list of cons, her eyes scanned the floor for more examples, ultimately coming up short; Wren shrugged and gestured his hand outward.

"Okay, moody hermit. What are Gunner's cons?" Wren held up his pointer finger, once more, though Berri heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes.

"He's a little controlling, he's wary of Turbo, he avoids my mom, dad and brother at ALL costs," Berri started to list, though as Wren opened his mouth to maybe assume her list was done, he flinched as she confidently pressed on, "He strangely gets upset if I don't hug him whilst we kiss. I don't understand that. He'll stop mid-kiss if my arms aren't finding their way around his neck."

"Okay, so we got four points. One of them is nit-picky, if I'm being honest, but it's fine," Wren shrugged and held up four fingers, "So... What are Gunner's pros?"

"Well, he's really warm and understanding... He's not afraid to go out in public, he's very sure of himself," Berri pressed in kindness, though her eyes hooked to Wren's in a rise of understanding, "He's pretty funny, he's very handsome... He's the one lead singer boy I've been crushing on for my whole life."

"I'm STILL crushing on him, do not tell Throttle," Wren muttered as he gestured his hand out and shrugged, "Okay, so you love the guy, he's sweet, he's tall, he's handsome, he says all the right things, he's got it all. You're with the guy that all the girls want, it's an amazing experience, yada yada. So, tell me Turbo's pros?"

Berri froze and peered to Wren in a further show of hot desperation, she eventually lulled her eyes closed and sagged her shoulders in a roll of defeat, and as realization began to lick at her heels, she looked down to the ground and shook her head. Wren sagged in her aura of defeat and finally gave her a knowing smile; he tilted his head, to hopefully gain eye contact, the twinkle in his gaze was loving and boyish with hot knowing.

"... Too many to count?" Wren whispered warmly, Berri finally peered her teary gaze to Wren's in further, crumpling defeat and nodded. Wren heaved a hot sigh through his nose and looked off in confusion, "I... Really don't know what to tell you, Bear. Turbo has the least amount of cons and the most pros, from the information you just gave me. I'd say you should either sit Gunner down, and just say you want to be friends, or..."

"Traipse around the Arcade with a long distance boyfriend that refuses to leave Sugar Rush?" Berri staggered in teary nervousness, she held back the tears though still sniffled as she looked up to the lower ceiling, "Even though Turbo has fewer cons, they're a lot heavier... A lot more detrimental."

"... This is tough," Wren put his hands on his hips and looked off, though he finally peered to Berri and shook his head, "You know I'm here to help you, Berri, you know that. I just want what's best for everything, but babe... You just told me something detrimental to all of this. You told me something that really eradicates every con you could ever discover about Turbo."

"What?" Berri quietly and bashfully questioned in sadness, Wren narrowed his loving gaze in assurance and nodded.

"You're in love with him," Wren eased in warm conclusion, he shook his head and side-eyed Berri in tenderness, "That's not something you should let your heart ignore..."

"What do I do, then?" Berri eased in a gentle swing of new motivation, she shook her head and now looked about the room in rushing confusion, "I-I don't WANT to dump Gunner... I genuinely enjoy being with him, truly I do."

"Not enough, apparently," Wren muttered in a sassy lilt of a tone, Berri rolled her eyes and looked off.

"I can't just dump him right in the beginning of our tour, you know how awkward that would be?" Berri urged nervously, though Wren shrugged and shook his head.

"Well, wouldn't it be more awkward if you got caught cheating?" Wren mumbled, he cocked an eyebrow and gave Berri an authoritative look, "Sure, maybe you and Turbo haven't had sex, but I can see that look in your eye. He's swept you off your feet, in that little loft of his, I can tell."

"He gave me my first kiss," Berri eased in defeat, though Wren bugged his eyes and shook his head.

"Uh, yeah. No wonder you're conflicted," Wren choked, he tried to remain quiet for the sake of their private conversation, "Berri... You either need to sit Gunner down and explain what's going on, or maybe tell Turbo that you need to be faithful to Gunner and lay off on the cheating."

"It'd be much easier to let Turbo down, to be honest," Berri frowned, she looked down her hands and lowered her voice to nearly quieter than a whisper, "I... Just don't want to."

"You can't have your cake and eat it too, Berri," Wren mumbled, though Berri gave Wren a sorrowful look and shook her head.

"Yeah, that one was Turbo's idea," Berri nervously revealed, Wren threw his hands up in irritated defeat as Berri rushed to carry on, "But he said that it's all my doing... It's all in my court, and I can quit it any time I want."

"Then quit it like a bad habit, Bear, you can't keep doing this to Gunner, he's faithful to you!" Wren urged quietly, to which Berri hung her head, peered to her hands and nodded.

"I know... I know what I've done is wrong," Berri mumbled, "I just... Know Turbo has it in him to leave the game."

"If he leaves the game, I can't imagine you'd be able to have your cake and eat it too without Gunner REALLY finding out," Wren whispered, though Berri rolled her eyes and looked off.

"I can't tell Gunner what I've been doing, he'd be so pissed at me," Berri mumbled, though Wren shook his head and eased his hand to Berri's upper arm.

"Don't tell him... Just... Stop seeing Turbo, romantically. You need to focus on the relationship you're already in, babe," Wren wisely eased, he shook his head and hooked his eyes to Berri's, "This isn't fair to anyone."

"Wren... Put yourself in my shoes," Berri whispered desperately, and although Wren looked confident of his own findings, he flinched and peered to Berri in a shrinking bout of lost dominance, "Pretend Gunner asked YOU out before Throttle could get to you... Pretend Throttle was the man you were in love with, but he REFUSED to leave the game, to come see your shows, to meet you at Academy, to do normal things about the Arcade. Please tell me you wouldn't be in the same pickle I'm in."

Wren frowned and peered hard into Berri's eyes, a sweep of understanding that leveled the playing field, Wren finally heaved a hot sigh through his nose and looked down to their fuzzy-sock covered feet. He eased his eyes closed in a rise of dread, and although he wanted to remain firmly planted in his words of wisdom, easily lofted to Berri, he looked off and to the side in a rise of now cold understanding. He bobbed a nod of defeat and shook his head, all in the same shrugging, conflicting motion.

"... Yeah, I'd... Be doing exactly what you're doing," Wren muttered in continued, whole defeat; Berri crossed her arms and peered to Wren in further desperation.

"And now Sama has come crawling back to him," Berri mumbled.

"He texts her?" Wren wondered in a spike of now irritated concern, though Berri shrugged and shook her head.

"Apparently," Berri chimed quietly in confusion, "I guess... She wanted to meet up with him, a few weeks ago, and he declined the hang out."

"Weird, why," Wren hissed in whole confusion, though Berri lulled her eyes closed and gently gripped Wren's arm back in a sense of urgency.

"Life sucks, I'm stressed... Turbo really brings me a lot of peace, he's a safe place for me," Berri begged warmly, "I need him... I can cut back on the romance, but in this weird time of looking out for deleters, and getting rid of my stress marks, and desperately trying to navigate this new life of ours... He's my rock. I can't just... Just...!"

"Bear, I'm not advising you to get rid of Turbo, altogether," Wren cautioned tenderly, "Just... You two are REALLY going to get hurt, over this. I'm warning you..."

"I'm doing everything in my power to keep us from getting hurt, trust me," Berri cooed nervously, "I just... He... Means so much to me."

"Well, then whatever you do after this tour, it needs to be with Turbo at the center," Wren muttered as he crossed his arms, "Even if you guys do spend a weird amount of time apart, it's clear it'd be worth it, to you... Am I right?"

Berri froze and peered hard into Wren's eyes, in whole entire confusion. She bobbed a nervous nod and now felt her heart race with further conflicting feelings. She was well aware she would never properly date Turbo, if he refused to leave Sugar Rush, though somehow, she desperately tried to open her mind to the idea and put herself in that position. She fingered her lip and wondered if a proper, adult conversation needed to happen with Gunner sooner than later. The thought of it all made her nauseous, she shut her eyes tight and tried to get all her ducks in a row, though Wren hissed her a noise of urgency.

"WELL?" Wren blurt quietly, Berri shook her head in discombobulated confusion.

"I-I don't know Wren, I... I have a lot to mull over, now," Berri staggered sorrowfully, "I... I have a huge decision to make, and that's terrifying. Right in the middle of our tour, avoiding deleters, staying in a game we're not coded for, for two weeks. It's a LOT."

"You made your bed, Bear," Wren stated sternly, to which Berri covered her face and shook her head.

"I can't lay in it, just yet. I CAN'T," Berri affirmed, to which Wren put his hands on his hips and shook his head at her, "I-I... I will... I'll choose one. I just... I can't think about it, today."

"Tomorrow?" Wren urged, Berri rolled her eyes and looked off.

"Maybe, I'm not making any promises," Berri muttered, though Wren gingerly held his thumb underneath Berri's chin and brought her line of sight back to his.

A beautiful, dewy, blue eyed being so full of potential and love, Berri nervously peered back to Wren in a stagger of unmitigated confusion. Wren could tell there was a lot of stress inside of her heart, a lot of regrets, a lot of poor decisions made on account of whimsy, the fleeting feelings of new love. Wren huffed a soft chuckle and shook his head in slow, rising, smiling concern for his favorite blue haired niece. He huffed a silent chuckle and gave her a small nod of affirmation."

"Well... Whatever you choose," Wren started in soft, bittersweet sorrow, his eyes peered deep into hers in understanding he desperately tried to reach for, "I know you'll make the right choice."


	119. Chapter 119

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Yyyyyep. And, it's actually not easy for me to write for, because I can't relate to her situation. Makes for a fun challenge!

 **Jay Sketchin :** Wren's a good boi ;-; I love him as well. Theo's her shoulder, and Wren is her kick in the pants haha.

 **faolan1230 :** Woohoo!

* * *

 ***Chapter 119***

In the vivid explosion of sensory overload, Gunner, with Berri tight on his arm, as well as Theo and Wren in tow, came easing out into a sea of flashing cameras, screaming fans, an adoring crowd that nearly were due to barreling over the barricades, ones of which Archived Chaos' security team did everything to guard and hold back. Berri beamed a wide smile and felt her heart race at the speed of light, the waves of hands, the flag of memorabilia just waiting to be signed, the speckles of dots permanently glued to her retinas due to the rapid fire flashes of paparazzi and news cameras. Although the crew had just gotten done with their fourth show, inside Dance Dance, Berri was well aware the team was allowed to wander about the sprawled carpet of a walkway, which lead to their stretch limo, the allowance to potentially meet and greet with fans that had done anything and everything to wait for a chance to meet either Gunner, Berri, Wren or Theo; a true celebrity status Berri was still certain wasn't a reality. The second she gently began to ease from Gunner's gentle grip, to a certain area of the crowd, said area began to scream and go bonkers over the sheer fact that Berri was approaching to love on some of her fans.

Upon approaching a barricade of excited fans, security hovered loosely about her, vigilant and prepared for anything, though as Berri began to grow heaps of confidence for this kind of rare interactions with her fans, they eased off more and more. In tenderness, a huge smile of gratitude plastered to her face, she lovingly approached a group of fans with their hands outstretched. Although scared to potentially be grabbed or tugged on, she was thrilled that, for the most part, her fans showed respect and only gripped her hand in excitement as she came by. With easiness, the gloss of her long, incredible, shiny blue hair, her chic outfit, the splash of lights all over her, she grinned with whole entire delight, a dream come true she never even realized she wanted up until this instance. Although still getting used to signing an official signature, she bit her lip in concentration and glossed a permanent marker over the broad of a girl's hot blue electric guitar, to be signed. Certain to look each fan in the eye and thank them, Berri did her best and was certain that, if left to her own devices, she could be on said carpet for days, loving on each and every single person that made time to come see their show.

Although Gunner was the main heartthrob of the group, Berri softly lofted her eyes over her shoulder and noticed Wren and Theo getting a very real amount of attention from some excited, squealing fangirls from across the way, though the second Berri could see Gunner softly sauntering over to her was the second the excited group, that she was just showing love to, began to freak out like never before. Berri blurt a soft laugh as Gunner approached, and although he raveled Berri into his arm, once more, he did his best to reach his hand out in the crowds him and Berri now began to pass, an easy task for him, a second nature he had been used to for almost two years now. Berri sagged into his protective side grip and looked up into the side of his face; a confident smile that sparkled, honey brown eyes that showed whole warmth, the easiness of his disposition made Berri feel strangely calm. As Wren and Theo regrouped with Berri and Gunner, they finally made a straight shot for the limo, patiently waiting, and eased into their luxurious ride, one by one.

"Holy User," Theo grunted as he adjusted himself, in his seat, though he ultimately slumped and began to brush the sweat off of his forehead, "That's the seventh time today that a girl has begged me to marry her."

"You should just start agreeing to it," Wren huffed a hard laugh and shook his head, "I get the same thing. Surely I'll break all the girls' hearts if ever paparazzi somehow gets a picture of Throttle and I."

"Yeah, then all the guys will be after you," Gunner huffed, everyone visibly relaxed as the limo slowly began to pull away from the arena they had just completed a show at; screaming fans could still be seen flagging their arms and calling their names through the extremely dark, tinted windows. Gunner breathed an exhausted chuckle and waved a little, even though he was well aware his fans couldn't see him, "Doesn't matter your orientation. There will always be someone after'yah."

"You would know, I guess," Wren eased in gentle defeat as he pulled his phone from his back pocket, with a grunt, and began thumbing away at a text message.

"Yyyep," Gunner chimed, he raised his eyebrows and softly eased his eyes to Berri's, a show of gentle love, "You did great, babe. You're becoming more confident."

"Thank you," Berri eased warmly, she tucked her blue hair behind her ears and was floored that a night of rest was ahead of them, "It's getting easier. I-I never thought, in my life, I'd hear the words 'princess Berri' so many times I don't even get that kind of attention in Sugar Rush."

"Well... NOW you would," Theo choked a small laugh, as did everyone, "You mean before you became a celebrity?"

"Well, yeah," Berri shrugged and sat back, though as her hand fell to her sides, on the leather seats she shared with Gunner, she raised her eyebrows in tenderness as Gunner's hand wormed into hers, laced fingers and everything. She tried to seem casual, though she cocked an eyebrow and peered to Gunner as he sat back, his head tilted in exhaustion, his prominent jaw line and adam's apple only barely illuminated by the darkened, passing street and city lights. Berri almost felt too exhausted to notice the butterflies in her stomach as she staggered to carry on, "I-I... I wish I could remember a time that I would go unnoticed."

"I thought about making a disguise for myself, but... I quite like the attention," Gunner stated in cocky cheek, it was clear he was just being playful, though he shot Berri a knowing grin and shrugged, "Some people thrive off of it, some don't. To each their own."

"Oh, I'd totally make myself a disguise," Theo mumbled as he rubbed his face in mild agitation, he lofted his emerald green gaze out the window and very gently began to crack said window, so to get some fresh, cool air to his face; the limo finally made it's way to faster speeds on a busy freeway, "I like to control when I'm noticed and when I'm not."

"Well, surely disguises would be easy for you guys to make, what with Sugar Rush's code room at your disposal," Gunner encouraged, though it was here did Berri hold her breath and understand that her very own disguise, of which Turbo created, was to be kept tightly under wraps. She furrowed her eyebrows in contemplation and wondered if she could somehow further aid in said secrecy.

"I don't mind the constant attention, I've been into Orion City, out and about... It's a lot of fun, everyone's so nice and excited to see me," Berri shrugged, she put on a big smile and was floored her words came out as convincing; Wren flagged his hand at her and rolled his eyes.

"Of course you'd feel that way, you're Sugar Rush's princess," Wren muttered, he gave her a loving smile, however much he teased.

"Even without my princess title or celebrity status, I'm a people person," Berri bragged, words that were definitely true, though she was glad it shoved the idea of a self-disguise deeper into the dark.

"I'm a home body," Theo grumbled, though he peaked a smile as he closed his eyes and continued to let the rushing, cool wind ease onto his face, the limo picked up speed as they head for the hotel the band would be staying in.

"You get that from grandpa, I think," Berri mumbled as she crossed her arms, though she gave Gunner a gentle smile and bobbed a nod, "I hope there's alcohol at the hotel, waiting for us. I could use a drink."

"I'm way ahead of you," Gunner assured, his deep voice glossed over Berri like a velvet cloak, the flicker of fleeting street and car lights glinted against his golden brown eyes as his dilated pupils honed in on her in the dark, "Remember our last show?"

"No," Theo blurt a hard laugh, everyone easily began to choke with laughter as Theo urgently gestured his hand in annoyance, "You're so on top of making sure there's alcohol, wherever we go, that the days are starting to blur."

"That's the point, this is hard work," Wren muttered with a daring smile as he eyed his band mates, "Everyone thinks these shows are just fun and games, for us. I'm LITERALLY about to pass out."

"We're almost there, guys, then we can relax," Gunner stated through a sigh, though he gently unhanded the weave of his and Berri's fingers and lofted his arm up and over her shoulders. In a gentle tug, he eased her deeper into her side and warmly pressed his lips into the top and side of her head and blue hair. As Theo and Wren began to bicker, Gunner's warm, tender voice remained low and gentle, just for her ears, "I claimed the suite, just for us... The penthouse shows the entirety of Goldwater City. The view is to die for."

"Really?" Berri pressed, though she furrowed her eyebrows, in the dark, and felt her stomach knot in nervousness; the whole idea that Gunner reserved a single bedroom for the two of them, had her sagging in hot confusion, a weird mixture of heart-fluttering excitement and a gentle gut feeling of red flags. She had no clue how to even begin navigating all of the feelings that began rushing her, though to come across nonchalant and figuring that she was just wound up from the concert, she put on a brave face and bobbed a gentle nod, "That sounds nice."

Although floored to maybe be on the brink of new things, with Gunner, Berri eased her blue eyes out the window and felt cursed. As city lights whizzed past, red brake lights eased into her existence like proverbial warnings, a hot poker that sagged between her eyes, she was well aware she was doomed, here. In the lull of her tired eye lids, all splayed with a gorgeous smokey eye and perfect winged liner, she exhaled every last ounce of oxygen in her body and wondered just when she got so wrapped up in confusion. The desire to touch and be touched, though she reopened her eyes and was well aware she was with the wrong being, a person she definitely had love for, though somehow not enough of it. Berri furrowed her eyebrows and wondered if just fooling around and having fun, in this stage of her life, would either bring her satisfaction or pure, inevitable destruction. She felt her heart jump at the urge to have a heart to heart, with someone, about all of this, and although she could simply only think of one genuine person to keep all of her tender secrets, said keeper of secrets was also the lion inside the den, patiently waiting to strike. Although biased, Berri was aware Turbo would at least attempt to remove himself from the equation, though she knew, without a doubt, it'd be impossible to do so constructively, wholly.

In the swing of heavy doors, the creak of metal that eased into luxurious, hidden hallways where celebrities would escape through in urgent desires to simply get upstairs, to their hotel room, without the hoard of screaming fans that did whatever they could to loiter and get an autograph, the gang snuck inside their resort of a temporary home. With the clack of Berri's heels, as well as the thuds of Theo's, Wren's and Gunner's shoes, they eased out of the elevator and onto the floor they shared with no one. As Berri's eyes sagged to their humble, temporary abode, she felt ease come over her. A golden room glossed with futuristic furniture, an adorable, modern kitchenette, and a view that Gunner promised would be to die for, Berri beamed the widest, laziest smile and lulled her eyes closed in whole relief; relief in the fact that she could now relax for the next twenty four hours without repercussion, without having to pratice her guitar, without having to stifle the fact that she couldn't sing on stage, she easily slumped to the nearby splay of couches and melted into the cushions.

"Hooooly User my feet are killing me," Berri muttered as her face sagged into the cushion, and as haphazardly as she could try to contain, she did whatever she could to kick off her gorgeous heels and worm out of her killer leather jacket, adorably cut and studded with dull, black spikes. She wrinkled her nose in pain as she accidentally laid on her long hair, though she peered over the back of the couch and watched as Gunner moseyed into the kitchen and prepared a few glasses, so the four could toast, "Alright, what's on the menu, then?"

"User, I don't even care, I just want it in my cup," Wren grumbled as he waggled about an empty, short glass, though he raised his eyebrows in renewed, prickled surprise and peered down to his illuminated phone, on the counter next to him, "OH! Throttle just arrived. He said security has him downstairs, I'm going to go grab him, real quick."

"OH I want to come! Throttle!" Berri chimed in a second wind of whole entire excitement, though she grunted a noise of irritation the second Wren began to very quickly head for the door.

"I'll be right back, guys," Wren called, to which Gunner and Theo kindly responded, though Berri fumbled to grapple for her heels, once more.

"WAIT I want to come with!" Berri called as their lovely, hotel room door easily slid open in a hover of a glide, in which Wren successfully began to leg it.

"Then keep up! I don't want security hovering for too long," Wren called as he turned a corner and was out of sight, though Berri squealed a noise of whole irritation the second the hotel room's futuristic door easily slid closed, sealing Berri, Gunner and Theo inside.

"Uhg, screw shoes, I don't even care," Berri muttered to herself as she easily schlepped her heels to the side and stumbled to access the hotel's sliding door, once more. It quickly slid open, upon her arrival, and as she darted out of the room, she cupped her hand over her jaw and called out to Wren, "Wait up!"

Berri huffed a soft giggle, though her bare feet came to a halt the second she peered down the shorter, dimly lit hallway that lead to the elevator. In the gentle part of the closing elevator doors, Wren's grinning face could be seen, cheekily egging her on with a tender wave of a few of his fingers, near his chin. Berri blurt an agitated noise, stomped her foot, and in quick thinking, she grunted in a firm push of a heavy, metal door to her left, which lead to a proper stairwell of a fire escape. With a scheming grin and a gentle giggle, she eased down a concrete, echoey hallway and was well aware she could possibly glitch-hop her way down the entirety of the seventeen flights of stairs this stairwell held, and easily beat Wren to wherever Throttle was. With success in the stomp of her feet, she puffed her chest, inhaled a deep breath, and with the gentle push of yet another heavy, metal door, the only thing in between her and the cascade of a stairwell, a glitch's playground, she sagged into another more abrupt turn of a hallway and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as her eyes adjusted to a darker field of existence.

Although still powering on, the fall of said stairwell now in her sights, off to her right, she felt a wave of confusion hit her retinas as the door firmly latched behind her. As if easing into slow motion, the sludge of somehow falling into a recap of memories, she eased her bare footwork to a halt and stared ahead in blinking confusion. There, before her, was none other than a deleter, and although Berri was absolutely sure the loud latch of the door and the abruptness of her arrival would cue it's attention, she froze, held her breath and was confused by the way it lazily sniffled at the ground, a sag of almost nonchalance it eked, Berri's spine stiffened as she did everything she could to so quietly back step and ease towards the door she had just burst forth. Although she quietly unlatched the door, the deleter perked up in gentleness and eased it's attention to Berri's soul; somehow Berri slowed her motion and peered back into the deleter's creepy eyes, from their dozen foot gap. The blaring warning signals screamed at her to high tail it out of there, every single last inch of her begged to retreat, though somehow, the rebellious kickstart in her heart urgently whispered 'what if'.

As if certain she had now officially lost her mind, she hesitated in her retreating motion and peered into the deleter's eyes in warm question. Although the last time she had encountered one of these guys was vicious, bloody and traumatizing, she froze and felt a strange sense of peace, the vibe between the two was calm and curious, simply as if she was in the presence of Chester, a bumbly being that only wanted love. Certain that she was now making a habit of encountering misunderstood beings and charming her way into their hearts, one rogue gamer at a time, she exhaled said held breath and finally felt control sag over her once wiggling, scared silver circuits. Although she was aware she had protection from Turbo's deleter resistant coding, so diligently created and placed into her own mainframe, she wondered if the act of easing back into the deleter's closer presence was suicidal. The strange urge to level with such a feared creature had the gentle seal of the door, she was previously trying to escape out of, now closing the two into the abandoned stairwell, something Berri was well aware was likely the beginning sentence of a death scene. Nonetheless, she bravely held her positioning and knew, if there was any chance to bridge the gap of confusion, it was here and now.

* * *

 **A/N :**

 **Huge announcement... SURPRISE!**

 _ **CORY AND I JUST GOT MARRIED!**_ _ *** 11/18/2019 ***_

 **My first duty as Queen is to leave you all with this TERRIBLE cliff hanger until the 22nd, this coming Friday. I'll be back then! Cause, I have to mentally download all of this. I mean it's really only something Cory and I have wanted for over half a decade now. I can't believe I'm a Mrs.**

 **Holyyyy moley.**

 **I'm a WIFE! AHHHHH!**


	120. Chapter 120

**A/N :**

 **Thank you guys SO MUCH for all the congrats and the love given, on account of my new marriage. It's such an awesome feeling, like wow. I thought Cory and I had a solid thing goin' and marriage only duplicated that feeling, tenfold. I'm just so fortunate... It's insane how magnified that feeling is. I appreciate the well wishes! Thanks guys :D  
**

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Completing the Circle ft. Rachel Mellis by Gareth Coker - Ori and the Blind Forest OST**

* * *

 ***Chapter 120***

In the trembling shakes of hot breath through her nose, Berri peered her terrified, curious gaze tight to the incredible beast before her. As her heart raced, she long blinked in a stupor of rising, suspended disbelief, as if she was somehow becoming slowly convinced that this nightmarish creature was somehow a vivid, nasty part of a bad dream she was currently held in. Although the pangs of fear plagued her, she somehow felt compelled to step forward, her lightly shaking hand held outwards in warm curiosity, as if to hope that this creature took note of her soft attempts at physical communication, like somehow it could understand the same loving, body language commands that any other normal creature would. Nonetheless, she shakily persisted.

This creature was a little smaller than Chester, though still exuded power. This deleter somehow looked friendly, the vertical pupils and golden eyes it had looked soft and curious, and as Berri dared to step closer, she could see the large nostril holes, on the end of it's long, narrow, horse-like head flare in soft, sniffling curiosity. It was a jet-black nightmare creature with a gorgeous splay of golden and cream markings mixed into it's matte black pelt, far different from the deleter Berri encountered on the train. As Berri grew within a few feet of it, she noticed deeper, more clearer details on this beautiful beast. It had long, gargoyle-like ears that gingerly peeled from it's skull, and like satellite dishes, they gently aimed at Berri to garner more information. Said creature slowly blinked and gave off an easy, tender vibe of solace, a strange aura to be radiating from such a creepy creature. Berri swallowed hard and felt the hairs on her arms begin to prickle in concern, as if the potential for touching this creature was not wise, though somehow she pressed on, knowing she had the deleter protection buried into her coding.

With a sharp, silent inhale through her nose and a hold of prepared deletion, Berri gingerly sagged her fingers to the snout of said creature. Much to her surprise, this deleter had soft, velvety, almost porcelain like skin. As the thumbprint ridges on her fingers eased over the whole of its snout, she could feel the faint grooves of hexagonal plates on the deleter's skin, as if to promise Berri that this creature was certainly capable of sinister, dark motives, though somehow, it had fallen out of routine. Berri felt her heart soar with a spike of curiosity, the whole idea now that she wasn't being deleted by touching this creature, she wondered now just where the origin of this stray was, the backstory to it's being, she shook her head amidst a surprise chuckle and was now determined to figure it out.

Whisked away to a painterly world of thought, a fleeting, cloud-filled daydream of warm wind and magical beasts, Berri eased her eyes shut and almost felt the daring idea of exterior swapping with this deleter come to the forefront of her mind. She warmly soaked her larger hand to the jaw of this beast and was surprised to feel the deleter nuzzle into her touch and shift on its' feet, so to ease deeper into her caring presence. A weird, persisting thought of belonging continued to soak deeper into the darker corners of Berri's heart, as if the dark side of her sky blue planet was itching to show her just what other kinds of realities were out there, what else this incredible Arcade had to offer, though just as she was about to become brave and exterior swap with the incredible beast before her, she was wildly jarred out of her thoughts the second her phone, in her back pocket, began to obnoxiously ring.

Berri flinched in a back-step of warning and firmly peered up into the deleter's eyes, as if she had a split second where she could've sworn the deleter was the one making such noises, though as it popped its' eyes open and urgently peered back to her, in the same rile of warm curiosity, Berri firmly grappled her phone and shakily answered the call; it was Gunner, and though she now wondered if she should high-tail it out of here, she hesitantly answered Gunner's call and began to stumble away from the warm interaction she just had with such a killer creature.

"H-Hey," Berri staggered in an down-stroke of desperately trying to yank herself back to the planet.

"Berri, where are you?" Gunner stabbed in a rise of terrified authority, "You can't just run off, like that, security is FREAKING out, right now, where the hell are you?"

"I-I..." Berri stumbled towards the door, and as her fingertips pressed to the large metal bar of the heavy door she had previous erupted from, she tossed her blue gaze over her shoulder, the flick of her vivid blue hair eased in a flurry of soft wait, and as her gaze glossed to the incredibly misunderstood creature across the gap, it sagged it's cute ears and drooped in mild disappointment, as if it were previously excited to be getting some positive attention from a stranger. Berri frowned and halted her footwork, and in such, she remained in the tight, stuffy breezeway with the deleter. She huffed a breath and tried to continue on with confidence, "I... I'm in the stairwell, I'm... If I tell you what's going on, you're never going to believe me."

"Which stairwell?" Gunner pushed in still concerned irritation, though as he said this, Berri flinched as the echoing sound of a heavy metal door could be heard flying open a few flights below her.

"I-I'm... I'm on OUR floor, but, wait," Berri staggered as she jolted to get to the railing of the catwalk her and the deleter were on, and as she peered down the insane seventeen-floor drop of a squared, spiral stairwell, she was thrilled she could see Gunner peering over and upwards, in her direction. Berri quickly hung up the call, flagged her arm and urged him to remain calm, "I-If you come up the stairs, do so cautiously, okay?"

"What's going on?" Gunner urged nervously, though as he removed himself from the gap, Berri could hear his footsteps, as well as Wren's and Throttle's, which included murmurs of their concerned, deep voices.

"You're not going to believe me, but... We're not in danger, so just..." Berri desperately tried to get words out as she tucked her hair behind her ears, she lofted her soft gaze to the deleter and eased a tender smile, "Don't panic."

"I'm not making any promises," Gunner muttered in whole entire irritation, graciously laced with raw concern, though as he rounded the last flight of stairs that lead straight to Berri, him, Wren and Throttle halted in their tracks and peered up the dozen or so steps, which lead straight to their impending doom. Gunner gently held his arm and hand out, to stop Wren and Throttle from continuing up the stairs, and with a choke of a silent breath, he began to shake the words out of his rib cage, "B-Berri... G-Get... Back..."

"No, we're not in danger, I-I know that doesn't make any sense, but..." Berri gestured to Gunner in soft plea and began to press closer to the deleter, a return of her presence that had the deleter's body posture rising in a positive, excited notion, "This one isn't dangerous. I was just petting it's snout, it's... It's not going to hurt us."

"Berri Schweetz Kalivar," Gunner demanded as he began to climb the steps with great caution, though as he watched Berri return her gentle grasp to the snout of the deleter, Gunner slowed his roll and glanced back to Wren and Throttle in whole entire disbelief, to which they bugged their eyes, shrugged and shook their heads in a camaraderie of terrified concern, "H-How... How is this possible, right now?"

"I have no clue, but... This one is different," Berri urged in a nod as she peered her concerned, urgent gaze straight into Gunner's soul, as if to beg for understanding, "I can't really explain it, but... This one LOOKS different, acts different..."

"This one looks different than the one you encountered on the train, Bear?" Wren asked in hot question as the three finally pressed up the stairs and joined Berri, and the deleter, on the final landing, big enough for everyone.

"Yes, this one... This one has a kinder gaze, its' markings are gold instead of red," Berri shrugged and shook her head, and as the three hovered about half a dozen feet from Berri and the deleter, they looked on in whole awe, as if to be entirely beside themselves. Berri gave the three boys an easy smile and somehow hovered closer to the deleter as it closed its eyes and lowered its head in soft calm "I... I was just about to exterior swap with it. I figured it'd give us answers."

"Berri," Gunner warned nervously, it was clear that in times of stress or danger, Gunner was the one to strongly caution against doing anything risky, whatsoever, though Throttle gingerly rested his pale white hand to Gunner's lower arm and allowed his wise eyes to kindly soak to Gunner's nervous, boyish gaze.

"Berri's right," Throttle's deep voice calmed, Gunner's eyes sagged to Throttle's confident square pupils, though after a moment, Throttle kindly gave Berri a bob of a nod and an encouraging smile, "Berri has a glitcher's intuition... She's the Queen's daughter. Certainly she knows what she's doing, here."

Berri and Wren raised their eyebrows in subtle sweetness, and as everyone finally peered their eyes to Berri, she softly inhaled a shaky breath as the never-ending, echo chamber of a stairwell went dead silent. Berri furrowed her eyebrows and softly averted her attention to the incredible, misunderstood creature before her, and as if to somehow plea for Berri to work her electric magic and see inside this creature's mind, it re-opened its eyes and hovered in patient wait. Berri softly shook her head in debate, and as this creatures hot breath splayed her sternum and chest, Berri confidently soaked her hand up the side of the deleter's face and stroked her thumb just under its eye. She contemplated her choice for a few more moments before she finally inhaled a shaky breath and knew she had to take the plunge in this once in a lifetime chance. In the lull of their closed eyes, Berri tenderly flared her silver coding and allowed her inner self to get lost inside this creature's wildly different exterior coding.

Upon sagging into the deleter's circuits, she instantly came into a swathe of information about said creature. Upon first discovering that this particular creature was female, Berri was also stunned to find that this creature was not simply a virus nor a deleter, but a strange breed of an anti-malware protector from the internet. Behind closed eyes, Berri furrowed her eyebrows in a sting of entire, bittersweet sorrow and gingerly continued to pet the side and gentle dip of the protector's face, and with a great push of courage and circuit doors that flew open, Berri bravely allowed herself to be nosey inside the protector's coding. As she wormed her way through fresh memory files, she flinched, behind her closed eyes, and came to a jumbled swathe of memories that began to play out before her. As her palm froze on the protector's soft, matte skin, she felt her heart begin to race at the raw images being displayed before her.

In a fuzzy show of a memory, she could see hundreds of these protectors, all clad in angry red markings she was used to seeing, though in the strange blur of darkness, the bumbling show of the herd somehow being corralled somewhere, this particular protector began to wander from the pack, as if to potentially play dumb in a much wiser great escape she had been likely planning. Although successful in getting away from the pack, Berri firmly flinched and was suddenly hit with jarring images and memory clips of fuzziness, a single individual stood towering in darkness, as if to scold this one particular protector for disobeying, and with such, she was robbed of a somehow integral piece of her coding by force, a vicious grunt, slice and grappling motion made by said tall, darkened silhouette of a man, someone unknown by Berri. In said firm yank, this protector's memories blipped in such a way that seemed to skip hours, days even. The next few jolts of memories were of a well-lit area inside Dance Dance, seemingly where said protector had now somehow been banished to, a lifetime of just aimless, purposeless wandering. In the sag out of the exterior swap, Berri pried her eyes open and ceased all coded activity with her newfound friend, a friend that simply had a number for a name, '18'.

"Holy sugar on toast," Berri hissed in a gentle huff of a nervous giggle as she finally took a small step back from the protector, whom of which she got to know decently well within those few moments of sacred telepathy.

"What happened?" Wren wondered in soft, shaking nervousness as Berri drew her eyes to him, as if the whole ordeal was bonkers.

"These creatures aren't deleters," Berri eased in a swathe of now mature knowledge, somehow it humbled her, she shook her head and looked to the ground as her shaky voice pressed on, "Th-they're anti-malware protectors..."

"Are you sure?" Throttle questioned in a rise of almost joyous concern, as if this was maybe wonderful news.

"I'm positive... This one is simply named 'eighteen'," Berri glossed her curious gaze to the incredible creature before her, and as she slid her hand back to the long snout of said creature, Berri furrowed her brow in contemplation and shook her head, "She... She tried to escape the lot of her kind... Someone is behind this operation, there... There were hundreds of these creatures being rallied by one guy."

"Great," Wren grunted as he tossed his hands up in lazy, haphazard irritation, "Super excited to tell Zed and Tess about all this, I mean really."

"And Turbo," Throttle muttered as he cocked an eyebrow and glossed his attention to Gunner, who stood in frozen disbelief.

"Well, did you see what the guy looked like?" Wren wondered, the five hovered tight to each other in whispering nervousness.

"No, just... A tall, dark silhouette. The game they were in was dark, a vast wasteland, there were hundreds of these protectors, but... All of them had those red markings, unlike the gold ones that Eighteen, here, has," Berri instructed as her pointer finger gingerly mapped out the gorgeous splays of golden marking all along Eighteen's jugular, "The man ripped something from Eighteen's being, like a nasty slicing motion..."

"... Is anything missing from this protector that was present on the one that attacked you on the train?" Throttle wondered as the three urgently began to assess Eighteen's being, though Berri furrowed her brow and looked off in now soft defeat.

"I... I was too busy trying to avoid it, I didn't get a good look at it, then," Berri huffed as she aimlessly peered to Eighteen's large, black, clawed paws, in which she gingerly shifted on. Berri nibbled on the end of her finger in hot thought and shook her head as she pressed on, "The only way I'd be able to tell is... If I looked back on the footage that mom and dad have."

"In the meantime," Gunner staggered in nervousness as they all peered to Berri's new, strange companion, "What do we, uh... Do with your new friend, here?"

Berri raised her eyebrows and peered to Eighteen in a soft dollop of delightful concern; she hovered in patient, silent wait, as if to somehow pray that Berri and crew would just adopt her into the family already, and although Berri was entirely certain that was to be an extremely tall order, Berri very quickly thought of just how useful it'd be to have one of these creatures, alive and well, something to bring back home, something for her mother and father to use in the attempt to solve this wild, weird mystery. Berri shrugged, beamed, eased her hand back to Eighteen's snout and gave all three boys a look of cute, smiling defeat.

"Find a place for her to sleep, what else?" Berri choked, to which Wren blurt a hard laugh.

"Uhhh NO, there's NO way I'm letting a deleter sleep in the same room as me," Gunner firmly argued n a spike of terror, to which Berri sagged.

"Protector," Throttle gently corrected.

"C'mon, I just got a whole entire reading on her, she's entirely harmless," Berri pleaded warmly, she shook her head and began to pat her pockets to see if she had her materializer on her, "I-I... I can put her inside my materializer, or something?"

"You can put living things inside your materializer?" Wren staggered in hot surprise, though Throttle grit his teeth and almost shook his head.

"Uhh, it's not wise," Throttle began to warn, though Berri took said soft warning and immediately dropped the idea, so to hopefully get her way.

"C'mon, Gun, we ALL have the protection in our coding, we have the beacon that Turbo coded for us," Berri rushed, though Gunner firmly looked off and shook his head in now caving frustration. Berri eased a gentle giggle and cupped Eighteen's chin, and with such, Eighteen meeped a small, curious noise of cuteness, "C'mon, Gun, she's harmless... Look at that cute face."

"I'm surprised you're saying all of this, Bear," Wren mumbled with a smile, though Berri shrugged and shook her head.

"It's not so scary once you reach an understanding," Berri softened, though Throttle shot Wren a knowing smile and bobbed a nod.

"A lot can be said through a few minutes of exterior swapping, babe," Throttle pressed, though Wren largely rolled his eyes and gestured outward.

"I wouldn't know!" Wren argued, though Gunner heaved a shaky sigh and gave Berri a nervous look of contemplation.

"I-I guess... It can stay in the hall, or something," Gunner staggered.

"I just don't want her to run off," Berri cooed in sorrow as she now lovingly and firmly stroked up Eighteen's snout, she lulled her eyes closed and sagged in Berri's comforting warmth, simply as if she was dealing with Chester or another one of the flyers back home.

"Berri has a point," Throttle instructed gently, and as Wren and Gunner nervously peered to Throttle's wise aura, he gave Berri a knowing smile and shook his head in disbelief, "This is pure gold we'd be bringing back to the figureheads of Sugar Rush... Live evidence."


	121. Chapter 121

**Reviews :**

 **Nikki Firesong :** Thank you SO MUCH! Yes, we're VERY excited! I didn't think it'd change much, but WOW. It's a world of difference. It's gunna be so good, I can feel it :D and, thank you for the review and the support! I'm excited to finally get into the meat of this story. I'm trying to be VERY careful in how I go about all of this. It's fun!

 **Burgie :** Thank you! And yes, I love Eighteen a lot. She's not a huge part of the story, but I definitely do appreciate her camaraderie she brings to the group. I should definitely draw a picture of her, shortly.

 **Snake557 :** Thank you friend! And yes, poor girl got lost from her pack. You'll find out more about her later!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Eyes Shut by Pixl**

 **Completing the Circle ft. Rachel Mellis - by Gareth Coker, Ori and the Blind Forest OST**

* * *

 ***Chapter 121***

In darkened hours of a still bristling cold Sugar Rush evening, Turbo's hull of a code room was alive with activity. With the crisp feel of electricity certainly due to fogging the glass of his spherical code room, in which overlooked Orion City, Turbo's furrowed expression was buried deep in circuited work. With splays of holograms all about him, drop down indexes hovering at the ready, his able hands eagerly blipped between scans and chores. With one screen eagerly illuminating Sugar Rush's core, inner workings, another hovered still on the very little information that said severed protector arm could provide him, as well as the bubbled version of the arm itself patiently hanging in wait, Turbo couldn't help but anxiously allow his eyes to dart to the other flickering screen he had on display to his farther left, amongst the many; this one was streaming Berri's final concert, in Dance Dance, live. Turbo swallowed hard and, every chance that he was able to see Berri's figure on stage, was another reason to count a billion blessings that she was still alive.

Among the chaos, he had a bigger visual representation of his phone's screen also on display, a proper show of his and Throttle's text conversation. Although the two went back and forth casually, he was thrilled Throttle was inside Dance Dance with the band, so to properly keep an eye on them and make sure everything went smoothy, especially since Berri decided it was a good idea to tag along a former deleter to their traveling group. Turbo could feel his forehead begin to get sticky with the neverending gloss and fade of beads of sweat, as if this was now a constant epicenter of his anxiety, the whole fact that Berri was swimming out in the world was bad enough. Turbo furrowed his brow in a pang of unadulterated surprise the second Throttle sent Turbo a photo of him cozily snuggled next to Eighteen, backstage Archived Chaos' currently live show. Turbo grit his teeth in a further drawn out spike of terror and could hardly believe what he was even seeing, here.

 _Tee : She's really cuddly, kind of like Chester. She also purrs! I don't know, Bo, you may be overreacting._

Turbo slowly shook his head, heaved a shaky breath and gingerly cued the glowing red holographic keyboard, amidst the zillions of twinking lights Orion City proudly displayed past his peripheral view. In rapid fire, he shot Throttle back an angry, floored message of whole terror and continued to shake his head amidst the constant quip of an 'mm-mm' grunting noise.

 _Turbo : There's no way in hell I'm allowing that thing near me. One wrong move and you're deleted, Throttle, I'm seriously panicking so badly right now_

 _Tee : Honest, Bo... She stayed with us for the past week, she's really friendly. Eighteen and Berri are fast friends and she's a nice stress reliever, especially after their shows. Her purr can put you to sleep instantly. She's like a giant, cuddly kitty._

 _Turbo : You can equate her to adorable, domestic animals all you want, Tee. Even if she IS seemingly harmless, she's a part of a bigger more dangerous brood, and who KNOWS who has tabs on her._

 _Tee : Berri exterior swapped with her the other day, I guess she went into Eighteen's memory files and saw a tall, dark figure. Indistinguishable._

Turbo huffed a loud, irritated noise, and upon a gentle back step, he viciously flagged his hands outwards in a haphazard show of entire irritation. With such flag of resistance, every single last holograph and screen of a proper, dazzling display immediately dissipated into confused, angry red pixels of fervor. Once the code room hummed said silent, neutral, stationary hum of pin-prickled readiness, Turbo urgently shoved his face into his palms and quickly realized, with the sheer amount of grime on his face and fingers, that he had been too anxious to shower, eat or properly sleep for days. The feeling of a proper, shaggy beard began to stubble his face in disarray, his golden eyes were muted in exhaustion, he peered his gaze down to his right and was sorrowful to see Chester, previously snoozing by his feet, now wide awake and poised in readiness. Although still curled on the ground in his lazy, dog-like spiral of comfort, his head, ears and blind eyes were held taught to Turbo in soft camaraderie. Turbo panted through his nose and urgently peered down to Chester in hot contemplation, and with a spike of adrenaline now bursting through him, he cued his hand outward in preparedness and felt his stomach dip in impending terror.

"Alright, Lash... If I know you well enough, I know you have something to do with this, you stupid bastard," Turbo's deep voice grumbled in irritation, his eyes fixated to the hurried spiral of holographic drop down indexes and confused blips of correction, Turbo furrowed his eyebrows into his crazed eyes and began to fumble through gamer files he was mildly unfamiliar with, due to not really coming down this path often; a forbidden path he had promised the King and Queen that he'd never traipse down. Turbo's growling, exhausted voice trailed on as he somehow felt as if he was slipping into a nightmare, his finger hovered over the very gamer's file he swore he'd never go nosing into, "If I can get to the bottom of this before that creature is brought into the game..."

Chester suddenly huffed a noise of gentle agitation as he very quickly got to his feet. Although he couldn't see what was going on, he flattened his ears, scurried to his bigger paws, tucked his wings tight to his being and began to nervously back step. As his ribcage gently tightened, he opened his fangs and softly, though urgently, uttered one of the only words he was confident in genuinely stating without much trouble.

"Turbo," Chester warned nervously, the depth of his voice had Turbo flinchingly glancing over his shoulder in a weird mix of tender delight and concern, though he furrowed his brow once more and urgently peered to his chore, at hand.

"It's fine, Chester, it's FINE," Turbo grunted in irritation, as if somehow getting closer and closer to Lash's coding was reverting him to the colder, hardened shell of a man he previously was, and as his near-crazed eyes dug tight into Lash's quivering, fragile little coded bubble of code room purgatory, something Tessa had so diligently shoved away for good, Turbo almost allowed a curious, devious smile sprawl his face as his finger pushed closer to the trembling 'open coding' button, patiently waiting for him to get this over with, "A-Alright, Lash... I-Imma let you out for JUST one second..."

Turbo gingerly lulled his eyes closed and did whatever he could to so daintily get his fingerprint sagged into the green-lit button of acceptance, just waiting to unleash Lash to the world, once more, though he was viciously jolted awake in a near blinding light of a burst, something that had his coding now held rigid in a death grip of paralysis. Turbo choked a noise as his dim code room suddenly illuminated with blinding white emergency lights, as if they were on a movie set and the house lights drew to a blinding power on at the end of a cut scene. Turbo choked a startled noise and pried his exhausted eyes open, and although it was previously just him and Chester in his darkened, sulking code room, he was floored to suddenly see Tessa's shorter stature suddenly gain height over him. The death grip of a lock her incredible silver circuits had on his exhausted, shaking figure forced him to kneel before her, the look in Tessa's eyes was that of entire authority and disappointment.

"Turbo Black, you mind telling me what the hell you think you're doing?" Tessa's stern voice glossed over Turbo like a boiling hot cup of coffee over his seemingly drunken adventures of grandeur, poised stoic above the entirety of the city, a quick slap to the face that was due to sober up even the delusional.

Turbo trembled in a rile of immediate regret, just what no sleep and pure, genuine exhaustion was now doing to him had him feeling the pit in his stomach morph into that of a black hole of dire urgency. He choked a noise of entire plea, and although Tessa's death grip, on his angry red coding, was beginning to ease up, he continued to sag deeper into a proper kneel of a grovel before his Queen. Turbo panted through his mouth in a gape of terror, and although it was collected, he was well aware he likely looked like an entire hot mess.

"You swore on your life that you wouldn't go nosing into Lash's coding, you want to take a second to explain yourself, Turbo?" Tessa barked in agitation, though it held that motherly bite of entire disappointment, a whole entire let down Turbo was well aware he only barely was able to redeem, from this stand point, simply a hair's length away from betraying the people he loved the most, Turbo allowed proper tears to well in his eyes, tears of entire remorse.

"Your Majesty," Turbo's trembling voice uttered, he shook his head and gingerly sagged his forehead to his code room tiles in a full bow of grovel, "I-I have no clue what came over me..."

"I'll tell you what came over you, the fact that you've been shelled away in this loft for DAYS," Tessa stabbed as she gestured out to Turbo's illuminated code room, and upon gentle realization, she held her hand out, cued Turbo's code box and immediately showered the code room with every single last one of Turbo's stats and vitals; she knew she shouldn't go nosing into private information, though due to Turbo's acting out, she furrowed her brows in concentration and was well aware she didn't have a choice, "Let's see... No reset for nearly four nights now, you've had approximately thirty two beers in this time span and almost four packs of cigarettes. The only proper meal you've had, if you can even call it that, was a bag of chips two hours ago."

Turbo trembled and could feel the weight of everything come over him, a swathe of pure exhaustion that only just came crumpling over him, and with the hot realization that Berri's mother was confidently standing over him in a show of entire authority, Sugar Rush's Queen, Turbo shut his eyes in dire remorse and knew he was doomed, here.

"If it weren't for all of these factors screwing with your judgement, Turbo, I'd have you thrown out of the branch of the royal family so quickly," Tessa urged dominantly as she pointed a finger down to Turbo's shaking figure, "Care to explain yourself, here? What the hell were you thinking, about to unbubble Lash like that? I'm grateful I got the warning signal before it was too late!"

"I-I just thought he might have information about the deleter Berri has now adopted," Turbo grunted, he dared to lift his head and gaze across his blinding code room, a blur of white beyond the peripheral of Tessa's bare feet, "I-I... I can't stand the thought of her bringing that thing into Sugar Rush."

"So, you'd rather unbubble Sugar Rush's greatest threat without consulting anyone about it first?" Tessa urged in dark irritation, and although she was making a point with Turbo remaining knelt and grovelled before her, she heaved a short sigh through her nose and got down to her knee, alongside Turbo. In a firm show of tough love, Tessa firmly gripped Turbo's shoulder and made him sit up, so she could get a good look into his eyes, "Turbo, what the hell happened to communicating? I understand how badly you want to unbubble Lash, and get information, but... You KNOW this is not how you get your way... This isn't how you get your ideas across, or get anyone on board, what the hell has gotten into you?!"

"I don't know, I don't know," Turbo blurt in a stagger of pure, divine exhaustion that now made itself very clear, "I-I have so much going on, through my brain... That stupid boy-band idiot just... Has everything that I want. I just... Feel as if I have nothing and EVERYTHING to lose."

"What is this all about?" Tessa urged nervously as the two finally locked eyes, and it was here did Turbo finally soften out of the rile of entire emotions he was now drowning in.

Turbo furrowed his brow and peered his teary eyes tight into Tessa's caring hazel orbs. The bright light illuminated her features, the tender look of authoritative concern that hung tight to her face assured Turbo that she was here to help, as if an angel to come properly assure him his wrongs could be reversed. He aimlessly peered about her gentle features, the wave of her long auburn hair, the comfortable green t-shirt and black sweats she was in, Turbo lulled his eyes closed and understood he had massively disrupted a likely quiet night inside, had previously been preparing for bed and readying themselves for another normal day to come. Turbo heaved a raspy sigh and collected his thoughts, he shook his head and felt as if he was now running on fumes.

"I just... Want to do something so grand, something that will really hook people's attention," Turbo's weakened voice eased in sorrow, he almost hung his head as Tessa's now softer, loving presence sagged into his, she fully understood that this wasn't simply a rebellious act, but a blindsided act leeching off of his pure exhaustion, "I wanted to get answers, I want... I want people to see me as a good guy, as a... Saving grace."

Tessa side-eyed him in cheeky, girly understanding, and as her larger hand lovingly gripped the girth of his broad, strong shoulder, she eased a tender giggle and tucked her messy hair behind her right ear as she warmly allowed non-verbal silence between them. She was entirely aware Turbo wasn't looking to impress the world, a mask of trying to cover his feelings for Berri was now unravelling and he knew it. A poor, uneducated job at trying to cover it all up, Tessa heaved a soft sigh of relief through her nose, looked off to the vast, twinkling city beyond his illuminated code room and felt her terrified veins wiggle with a sag of casual relief.

"You know Berri already sees you as a good guy... You know you already have her camaraderie," Tessa's warm, motherly voice soaked into Turbo's shivering soul, "You won't gain it by messily unbubbling someone you suspect MIGHT have answers."

"He has answers," Turbo darkly muttered, although still hovered in defeat.

"Well, then, if Lash DOES have answers, what in Sugar Rush's wild blue makes you believe he'll give YOU those answers?" Tessa instructed patiently, and as Turbo's shoulders sagged, Tessa was well aware Turbo likely hadn't even thought this far ahead, in his brilliant plan, "You betrayed him, Turbo... You stole the code room back from him, and gave it right to my mother... You and I both know that's something Lash is never going to forget."

Turbo felt his skin grow cold, his muted yellow eyes shakily lofted across his vivid white code room, straight to the gingerly lofted little code room bubble he had nearly ripped wide open. Lash's trembling, grey bubble, which hovered in frozen code room purgatory, almost screamed a deafening plea to unbubble him, to remind him where loyalties lay, to pray that Turbo would jump back into his corner and take the reigns once more, though as Turbo's eyes gingerly sagged to Tessa's gaze, he felt his darkened world gingerly lift with color. The way Tessa's familiar eyes pleadingly peered into his, the vividness of the golden flecks in her sincere gaze, the authentic aura she radiated, Turbo felt Berri's presence in this instance and tried his hardest to ease back a swathe of emotion that wanted to swallow him whole, a wave ridden on true, pristine exhaustion. Turbo heaved a shaky sigh and allowed Tessa's reasoning to gloss him.

"You're going to do extraordinary things, Turbo," Tessa almost whispered, the sincerity in her voice was palpable, she shook her head and leaned in a little closer, the narrow of her sweet gaze assured to him that she likely was the mother figure every single person needed, in their lives. He soaked in her presence and understood, in this raw instance, just what it was like to have a mother. Turbo felt his veins wiggle in the newfound feeling of truth that Tessa lofted in his direction, she squeezed Turbo's shoulder and pressed on in great warmth, "It doesn't matter what your past looks like... It doesn't matter what challenges lay before you. You're going to do great things..."

"... I almost made a massive mistake," Turbo mumbled in pure regret, to which Tessa bobbed a nod and heaved a shaky sigh.

"Turbo, if this is going to be a regular thing, we might need to dumb down some of the rights you have, inside the code room," Tessa warned tenderly, and although she gave Turbo a nervous look of authority, she almost seemed as if this was news she didn't want to deliver, "If you're going to let yourself slip into this dark of a void, this much of a downward spiral, maybe... Maybe you should take some time off."

"Your Majesty," Turbo agreed in whole entire defeat, and even though he wanted to desperately argue, he figured he didn't have a say; he felt hope come back to his circuits the second Tessa tilted her head in understanding, an even ground the two were on.

"I don't want to take work away from you, if that's only going to make matters worse," Tessa pressed in nervous curiosity, "Zed and I need to know we can trust you, here, Turbo... You've done nothing but made us proud for the almost year and half you've been in charge of this sector of the code room. I can see, here, this was just an extreme lapse in judgement, due to not properly taking care of yourself."

"You've given me enough days off, and a world of patience," Turbo's exhausted voice grumbled as Chester finally began to bravely saunter over to the two, "I just... Have so much on my mind, I just let myself go. It's not like me..."

"It's not," Tessa agreed nervously, she bobbed a nod and glanced to Chester's bumbling, slow-approaching presence, "Take the next day, or two, off... Catch up on sleep, take a shower, have a good meal. Berri will be home tomorrow evening, and... Maybe all of us can reconvene then."

"... I don't want that dreaded creature to be there," Turbo worried in boyish defeat, though Tessa shook her head and eased a small giggle.

"Do you trust Berri?" Tessa pressed cheekily, and though Turbo looked as if he was ready to go to war for Berri, he knew just what Tessa was insinuating, here; he sighed a long sigh, through his nose, and lulled his eyes in defeat.

"Yes, ma'am," Turbo croaked, to which Tessa shrugged.

"Then, we have to understand that Eighteen is important to Berri, now," Tessa assured nervously, "Trust me... Zed and I are pretty on edge about it, as well, but... Berri's a lot sharper than any of us give her credit for. If she thought this wasn't a wise thing to be doing, she wouldn't be doing it. Let's just... All get some rest, and after you've properly taken time to care for YOURSELF, then we can reconvene and take the steps to solving JUST what is going on."

"Okay," Turbo huffed in tender defeat, though Tessa could see the sheer relief in his demeanor, as if he maybe needed someone to instruct him to go do the daily, self care routines that were normal on a daily basis.

"You can't pour from an empty cup, Turbo," Tessa gingerly concluded, "My father always told me to look out for number one..."

"Whose that?" Turbo's deep voice warmly asked, to which Tessa gave him a coy smile and gingerly tapped her larger finger into the broad of Turbo's chest.

"Yourself."


	122. Chapter 122

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** LOL you're definitely not wrong there!

 **Burgie :** Aw. Yeah, he's pretty shy about watching Berri's shows, cause she insists actually being there is far better. Gets him into a bit of trouble haha

 **marinetanker97 :** Yeah, I try and keep up with continuity. It's just me, myself and I! Gets difficult sometimes. I'm like whoooooops, gotta bring this plot point home haha

 **Nikki Firesong :** Yeah, Turbo definitely is going through it. They eventually balance out, just the first time Berri's gone is the hardest.

 **Snake557 :** Yeah, Turbo would be in a whole world of hurt lol

 **SamanthaR1987 :** Aw WOW! Thanks for catching up, and from so far back! That's huge :D I'm glad you're enjoying everything so far!

* * *

 **A/N :** Hey guys! Sorry for the delay - we went out of town for Thanksgiving and I didn't make writing a priority, because I was visiting family I hadn't seen in a long while. I'll probably take a break for xmas and new years as well, the holidays always throws me off of my schedule - but I'll try and keep up! :) Thanks for understanding, guys! Hope everyone had a lovely holiday!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Coins In a Fountain by Passengers**

* * *

 ***Chapter 122***

Having arrived into Sugar Rush a lot later than had expected, Berri, Wren and Theo only finally got settled in their lovely palace tower nearing four in the morning. Caught in a whirl of travel, strict schedules, cameras, caked makeup and a whipping five performances, Berri was entirely certain she'd sleep herself silly. In the gentle flickers of Sugar Rush's mid morning sun, glints that cast into her tidy, nearly untouched bedroom, she wrinkled her nose and scanned her room for Chester. Having practiced saying certain words and phrases, with Chester, until she could keep her eyes open, she had fallen asleep with Chester tight by her side, though in the cast of lovely sunlight into her bedroom, Chester was gone. In the cracks of her elbows, she grunted as she hoisted herself up to a sitting position and relaxed with her arms tossed over her knees. Dressed in a cozy tank top and black sweats, her hair frizzed in lovely blue waves, its natural state, almost desperate to fight against the heat damage and every other unnatural thing done to it these past two weeks. Berri ran her fingers through her bangs and tidied it as much as she could, though in a pang of remembrance, she glossed her eyes to her phone and was well aware there was one person she was dying to see the most. Orion City's keeper.

In the gentle steps she took to get her bare feet to her teleportation pad, Berri transferred herself to the towers lovely, sunlit kitchen. Still untouched and kissed with the prettiest sunlight on the face of Arcade, Berri relished in the stillness, having been surrounded by nothing but noise these past two weeks. Berri had an inkling Chester had potentially let himself outside, though as she began to cross the kitchen and into the living quarters, with the tower's back door that lay just beyond, a light down their foyer's corridor caught her eye. The front door was just barely ajar, and although this typically would be a bad thing, due to letting out heated tower air, the wind that soothed through the breezeway made Berri's untamed hair flit in a flurry of renewal, cozy spring time air soaked into her circuits, easily reminding her the epicenter of her being, an embrace that Sugar Rush gave, as if to pleadingly hope Berri never forgot her roots. With a deep inhale through her nose, Berri pressed to the front door and carefully stepped outside to find Chester's whereabouts.

In the squint of sunlight that cast through the nearby trees and onto the fresh, new Sugar Rush candy grass, a lovely show of springtime pink buds that wormed out of the chocolate soil, Berri's eyes followed to where Turbo stood. She froze and watched as Chester firmly chucked Chester's ball far off into the near-rolling hills of grass the palace was crowned with. Underneath nearby trees sat residual piles of properly melting snow, but other than those touches of winter's clinging grip, spring was fully here. Chester huffed a loud noise of excitement and allowed his powerful legs to carry him forward, in the direction of the ball, his bat-like wings sprawling open with further fervor. Turbo huffed a silent chuckle to himself and tucked his hands into his jean's pockets, his back was to Berri's tower. Although Berri wanted to tease him and maybe plan a sneak attack, she allowed her bare feet to ease to the wood of her patio and crossed her arms. She inhaled a deep breath and gingerly called out to Turbo, who was about two dozen feet off, stood in the soil and grass.

"Didja miss me?" Berri eased with a cheeky smile, though her voice crackled from still waking up; Turbo raised his eyebrows in hot surprise and whirled around.

Turbo casted his golden gaze back to Berri's covered patio and felt his heart do a back flip. Although he knew she had come in very late the night prior, Turbo was certain he'd maybe not see her until later tonight, after she had caught up on sleep. The look in her eye, the smile on her face, it all read a very decent amount of quick-maturity, as if the trip about Dance Dance had likely humbled her. The look of softer wisdom in her being was palpable, her stance and posture was not so juvenile, and it was here did Turbo's heart begin to race. Well aware that it wasn't simply one thing or experience that matured a person, he wondered just what kinds of trails she had been through in order to eke this much of a change. Turbo beamed a bashful smile down to his feet and, although Berri began to cross the gap to him, he easily joined in her endeavor and held a smile in her direction. The two began to quietly laugh the second Berri began to run to him, and as he hurried his pace, he lulled his eyes closed in relief the second Berri raveled her arms about Turbo's neck and sunk into his strong, inviting embrace.

Turbo blurt a warm chuckle and squeezed his arms about Berri's being. A gentle sway and a squeeze the two gave one another, Turbo eased his eyes open and allowed his now hazy gaze to peer over her shoulder, past the fresh blue strands of her wavy hair. He furrowed his eyebrows and felt the lovely feelings he had very easily begin to dip into something a bit more sharp and thorny, a pain Berri plainly warned about. Turbo scrunched his eyes shut and clung onto Berri's figure, and trough a hot sigh, he knew this union was likely going to remain platonic. How desperately he wanted to whisk her away, and although he knew he could do so, very easily, and she would likely agree, he halted his desires and only wanted this all if she could officially be his, and not shared with another man. As hard as it'd be to explain to her, he wondered if he could get to the topic very slowly.

"More than you know," Turbo grumbled sweetly as the two pulled away, and in the gentle tug of Berri returning her arms and hands to herself, Turbo gingerly sagged his hands into his pockets and smiled into her lovely eyes. Although not officially his, he could tell, by the twinkle in her eyes, that a little piece of her would always be his, no matter what happened, "You KILLED those shows, Bear... I watched every single one."

"Y-You did?" Berri ogled as she sagged her shoulders and gave Turbo a soft look of glee, she finally beamed a bashful smile and peered off to Sugar Rush's glorious palace grounds, through the crisp spring air and bright sunshine, she was so excited to be back home. She lofted her tight gaze to Turbo's and began to brace for Chester's presence, which was now eagerly trotting back to the two with the retrieved ball, "You just... Watched it live?"

"Every single one," Turbo bobbed a nod he cocked an eyebrow and gave Berri a cheeky smile of understanding, "You really should be the one singing, Bear... You clearly can't help yourself."

"I-I know, I KNOW," Berri urged loudly as the two began to sweetly laugh, an understanding that Berri simply could hold back her other talents, "TRUST me, Gunner gives me shit for it all the time."

"... W-Wait, what?" Turbo pressed nervously, he shook his head and urgently peered into Berri's now apprehensive gaze, "He gives you shit for singing along?"

"Well, we're on stage, I'm supposed to just PLAY," Berri gestured downwards and messily pantomimed a guitar, "I'm not supposed to be singing. Wren is the back up vocals, cause he's a guy. My guitar's mic occasionally picks me up, and it just sounds messy, cause... Well..."

"I thought every show was wonderful, I kept wishing your mic was turned up," Turbo rushed to get in, clearly agitated, though he choked a noise and wobbled as Chester firmly nudged his snout, as well as the slobbery ball in his mouth, into Turbo's shoulder. Turbo raised his eyebrows, took the ball from Chester, reeled back a little and easily chucked the ball off into the great beyond; Chester barked an excited noise, and in a full pant, he tore off in the direction of the tossed ball. Turbo heaved a hard sigh and brought his attention back to Berri, "You can't possibly tell me that guy doesn't see your talent..."

"... I think he'd enjoy my talent if it wasn't constantly ruining shows or practices," Berri grumbled, she twiddled her fingers and looked down, "He may have quite enjoyed the idea of it all if I maybe... Reserved my singing for more candid times, and not for important shows or practices."

"He's kind of self centered," Turbo muttered, though he felt his face get hot the second Berri shot him a mildly protective look; he frowned and shook his head softly, "S-Sorry, Bear... I'm an outside perspective, but... I respect that he's your boyfriend."

"We fight over it, a lot," Berri sighed, she crossed her arms and looked across the palace's glorious lot, "I'm not positive how we'll get over it. I constantly am asking to sing at least ONE song on the tour, but... I get why it'd be too spontaneous, not rehearsed. I understand."

"Well... Hopefully one day you get through to him," Turbo grunted and shrugged, "Before someone else does..."

"What do you mean by that?" Berri prod, and though she continued to feel protective, she almost giggled and wondered just where Turbo was going with that notion.

"Nothing, I just... I think we need to... Sort of rethink what we have going on, here," Turbo mumbled softly, and with the switch up, Berri sagged and noted his seriousness.

"... Is everything okay?" Berri wondered softly.

"Everything's fine, I just... I have to be honest with you," Turbo stated in gentle regret, he looked down to his feet for a second before he finally peered his curious, golden gaze into Berri's, "I... I nearly lost my mind, the other night. I'm not positive if your mom told you, or not."

"She... May have mentioned Lash nearly being unbubbled," Berri blurt with a nervous giggle, she peered to Turbo in a pleading show of wanting answers, though as Turbo heaved a hot sigh and regretfully looked off, Berri softened and eased her hand to Turbo's forearm, "I... I know the root of this issue. And I know it's not simply the protector I brought home."

"Wh-where is it, by the way?" Turbo staggered nervously as he dart his eyes back to Berri's tower, the door hung ajar in the gentle, sunny breeze.

"Mom thought it'd be wise to bubble her," Berri eased sadly, she shrugged and allowed the bittersweet notion to age, "I... Really didn't want to, but we just don't know if something could go drastically wrong. My mom doesn't want anything else happening to the game, or Arcade."

"She's wise," Turbo pressed with a nod, "Her and Zed fought tooth and nail to keep the game safe. I'm sorry we had to bubble your friend."

"It's okay, mom said I can unbubble her in the security of the code room, as long as she's paused of her powers," Berri shrugged, "Maybe you can meet her tonight."

"What's tonight?" Turbo wondered gently, to which Berri averted her gaze tight to his.

"Palace meeting," Berri reminded, Turbo bobbed a firm nod and snapped his fingers.

"Right, forgot... It'll be good to get the rundown of what's going on," Turbo pressed, though he bashfully glanced in Berri's direction; she almost expectantly looked him in the eye and remained silent. Turbo swallowed hard and bashfully carried on, "Berri, I... I really struggled to focus, while you were gone, and... I'm beginning to think you were right, about that whole pain, thing..."

"My dad told me that I should work to hone my foresight," Berri stated regretfully, she sighed and looked down to her bare feet, her toes melted into Sugar Rush's velvety pink grass, "I guess... That was my first task. You and I..."

Turbo sighed and also looked down to their feet, a warm breeze that soaked between the two, and as Chester's pattering paws could be heard approaching, Turbo took advantage of the silence and quietly retrieved the ball Chester provided. In a firm grunt of a chuck, Chester barked a noise of glee and was easily off, once again. In the gentle swing back to normality, Turbo brought his eyes back to Berri and heaved a warm sigh through his mouth. He knew hwta had to be done, no matter how hard it'd be, he was well aware it was a must if their friendship was to remain in tact.

"Berri, I... I want US, and nothing more," Turbo bravely admitted, his voice began to shake, "I-I know I told you that you could have your cake and eat it, too, but... That was incredible selfish of me, and... I-I don't want that for us, any longer."

Berri furrowed her eyebrows in warm despair, an ironic state of feeling sad and relieved, all in one go. She knew she had come back to Sugar Rush with the same exact feelings, though somehow, having Turbo beat her to it, she felt her veins run cold in understanding that this was, indeed, real.

"If we're going to ever be a thing, I don't want another man to be in the picture," Turbo sagged, he looked off and shook his head, "Just... Spending these two weeks, imagining you in his arms, sleeping in his bed... I can't share someone so incredible, someone so valuable."

"Turbo, I-I... I can't-"

"I'm not asking you to leave Gunner, love," Turbo's sorrowful voice pressed in tenderness, he shook his head and gave her an apologetic smile, "I understand this is my battle... I have to fight for what I want, and... I-It's... Just going to be, well... Really difficult."

"... I understand," Berri concluded nervously, she looked down and sagged, although she thought it strange to feel heartbroken here, she scolded herself and was well aware this would be the outcome, something she had predicted.

"...But, not impossible," Turbo added, although his voice was low and soft, his smile and warmth held a great deal of promise, "I'll... I-I'll eventually leave the game."

"Y-You will?" Berri staggered in a now skyrocket of sweet release she had been dreaming of, she shook her head and felt her hands begin to shake, "Wh-when?"

"I'm not positive, I... I can't tell you when, cause even I don't know when," Turbo's voice began to lightly shake, he beamed a nervous smile down to their feet and shrugged, "I just... Need time. But, I don't want you to waste that time giving half of yourself to two guys. When the time comes, it'll just... All be right. Maybe not now, maybe not soon, but... You're my best friend, and I can't lose you to the silly notions I decided to put into your head, out of pure selfishness."

Berri peered to Turbo in a great show of warmth, the way. his confident eyes hooked into hers, Berri felt relief. Although she would easily pick Turbo over Gunner, she wondered if she should at least attempt to iron out the kinks her and Gunner had, rest assured a beautiful, exciting relationship would be underneath it all. She smiled down to her feet and felt more at ease than she had in a long while. The raw fact that Turbo was practically promising her his efforts, eventual upward spiral they both could fall into, she bashfully melted her eyes to the grass, underneath, and felt grateful that Turbo had now taken the pressure off of the two, and they could now carry on as what they were; the best of friends, with no expectations or deeper temptations to get distracted by. Berri inhaled a refreshed breath through her nose and gave Turbo a grateful smile, just what kind of a roller coaster their friendship had been on, how much it had already endured, she felt confident that one day, they'd make it.

"Thank you, Turbo," Berri warmly concluded in a gentle shake of her head, "I-I was going to present the same notion to you, because... Th-the strain, especially with the distance, is just... Too much to handle, right now."

"Well, we're free of it, now," Turbo stated softly, and although he was certain he'd be really sad that the romantic aspect was now sucked right out of their situation, he felt a weight lifted, as if they now could start over and do things right, whenever that situation presents itself, "You're now rid of my probably lasting-too-long kisses."

"It was fine, stop it," Berri blurt a laugh and swat at Turbo's shoulder, the two began to slowly mosey in the direction Chester was, far across the palace field.

"I'm rusty, but surely I wasn't half bad," Turbo mumbled cutely as they easily fell into step, the gentle trek they took together was kissed with renewing sunlight, "I mean, right?"

"Hmmm, I don't know," Berri fingered her lip and looked up, to which Turbo scoffed a noise, rolled his eyes and looked off in playful dismay. Berri blurt a hard laugh and nudged Turbo's shoulder, "You did fine, knock it off. You may think you're a rusty, dusty old fart, but I guarantee you'll make some woman very happy, one day."

Turbo eased her a warm smile and softened, and although this now was a silent, unspoken topic between them, he blurt a gentle chuckle and looked on, with Berri tight by his side, "That's definitely the plan."


	123. Chapter 123

**Reviews :**

 **SamanthaR1987 :** Aww, I'm so sorry! D: I understand. I have a very musical and artistic family, and singing is very important to me. So I can definitely relate!

 **faolan1230 :** LOL! Yeah, Turbo and Berri have done a decent amount of back and forth. There's not much more of it though, before they both go insane LMAO

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **blonde by Isaac Dunbar**

* * *

 ***Chapter 123***

Amidst twinkling code room lights, orbs and code boxes that illuminated Sugar Rush's black, starry night only added more magic to such a sweet, colorful atmosphere. Although a beautiful show, the code boxes hung in a poised readiness, a haunting show of just what kind of authority Berri's mother and father had on the code room. Everything held their tight attention to Sugar Rush's King and Queen, every single strand of binary, every rope of coding, every glistening box and orb of beauty knew it's roots, the epicenter of control both Tessa and Zed had over the game. The vast openness of the code room assured to Berri that the game was a free running, nearly sentient being, though had diligently chosen to follow the guiding, careful hands of its King and Queen. In the gentle, lively hum of the code room, Berri noted that the palace meeting was a little bit smaller than usual. Typically Nox, Koko, Throttle, Oliver and Emery had been sneaking into the meetings, so to linger in the back and simply observe, though tonight, the only beings present were Ralph, Rancis, Tessa, Zed, Berri, Turbo, Libby and Wren.

"The pool is a more fun place to be, in this time," Ralph grumbled, dutifully noting the pool party that was currently ensuing outside of the code room walls.

"You can go back to the party afterwards, dad, this is important," Tessa sighed softly, she rubbed her forehead and had a plethora of holographic screens before her. She thumbed through a few different screens, all pertaining to Eighteen's bubbled coding and every little detail in between. She shot her father a soft, apologetic smile and pressed deeper into her work, "Trust me, I want to get back to it, too."

"It's freezing in here," Berri grunted in mild irritation, she began to claw her wet hair from off of her upper arms and into a collected mass that hung down her back; they had been pulled from a fun night of swimming to properly follow through with this meeting, which had been pushed back an hour due to said fun pool party.

"You want my coat?" Turbo questioned in reserved warmth, a gentle hesitation he usually had around this many pairs of eyes, especially the attention of Berri's elders.

"Oh no, I'm okay, my hair is just cold cause it's wet," Berri shrugged, and although she eyed the cozy zip up Turbo was wearing, she knew soaking into potential boyfriend-esque routines, with Turbo, wasn't going to help their fresh start.

Turbo bobbed a conclusive nod and got the hint, he was well aware just why Berri denied said gentlemanly action, and although it was a mutual agreeing, he still looked down to his canvas shoes and felt the sting. The reality that they had taken a step back on everything, something they now couldn't get back unless a few terms and conditions were mutually agreed to. He heaved a silent, shaky sigh and looked out to the small group before him. Although he had bounced back from the night prior, the incident with Lash's purgatory bubble, he still felt his veins wiggle with the thought. He watched as Tessa successfully tabbed into memory and storage files, in Eighteen's coding, and although Turbo narrowed his gaze and got a decent show at Tessa's chore, he knew somehow that Eighteen's memory files were so incredibly valuable, so extremely fragile and detrimental to how they carried on. Turbo bit the inside of his lower lip, and although Berri silently hung close to him, alongside Wren and Libby, he felt as if his exterior walls were thickening; the urge to shake Zed and beg to unbubble Lash, he had the hugest inkling that somehow Lash would at least have heard of this nonsense.

"Alright, guys... I'm going to keep this short and sweet," Tessa eased with a very exhausted sigh. Although everyone had quickly thrown on warmer clothes on top of their swim suits, a slop of wet hair and the smell of clean, salty pool water that clung to everyone's skin, the aura in the code room was anything but that of a party. Turbo was the only one who had politely declined said pool party and was dressed like normal. Tessa tossed her drained eye contact to Zed, and then to Berri, "You all have probably heard about how Berri has adopted a creature we once labelled as a deleter."

"Y-You're not... Gunna unbubble her, are you?" Rancis staggered in a show of rising nervousness, him and Turbo anxiously caught eyes, as if they both were on the same page.

"She's harmless, dad, seriously?" Wren grunted in irritation, though he trailed said irritation with a laugh and a lazy cross of his arms; Rancis threw up his arms.

"The shit us elder gamers have been through?" Rancis started in a gentle uproar of dominance, to which Turbo finally blurt a proper chuckle of agreeing, alongside a bulge of his eyes and a gentle, nervous shake of his head.

"We've earned our nervousness," Ralph mumbled deeply to his grandaughter Berri and nephew Wren, "We've seen the Arcade, as well as this whole game, at its absolute worse."

"Fair," Berri diffused tenderly, she just barely elbowed Wren before she could see him want to potentially get up in arms about it.

"We've discovered that Eighteen is a form of malware protection, and she's definitely from the internet, clearly," Tessa's voice broadened and grew in a gentle bit of strength, as if it maybe took a bit of mustering to get going, here. She brought up a holographic projection of what she was looking at, a proper nose dive into Eighteen's foreign coding, "You can see, here, that she was unfortunately created in the dark web. User knows just what her breed was intended for, or what kind of operating system it was meant to be paired with, but somehow, this creature's coding is unstable."

"The toss up of using something created in the dark web," Ralph muttered, he crossed his arms and bit his lower lip in continuous rise of nervousness.

"Due to this creature's coding being so unstable, it's great at what it does, just..." Tessa trailed off and gestured to the beautiful splay of proper, modern coding, though Turbo cleared his throat and bravely finished Tessa's sentence.

"Terrible at keeping it to itself," Turbo eased, his deep voice glossed the group in poised understanding; Berri softly lofted a glance in his direction and almost felt her stomach clench into a knot at the raw aura Turbo exuded. He looked as if he was due to pouncing on the whole entire meeting, commandeer the lot of any information given, Berri bravely eased her hand to Turbo's lower arm and was thrilled said heavy disposition lifted at her warm touch. He raised his eyebrows in a softened show of fragile apprehension. He eased her a whisper, "I-I'm okay."

"Somehow, Eighteen's breed has fallen into the wrong hands, and due to just how easy they are to control, someone has turned them into self-programmed deleting machines," Tessa muttered, she gestured to old memory files, old memory strands that were highlighted in red, as opposed to newer memory files now highlighted in a lovely splay of gold.

"Reprogrammed to think that self-programmed gamers are the problem?" Libby pressed in the delicate cadence of her Teltokuan accent, she raised an eyebrow and glanced to Rancis and Turbo in curiosity, "Never had anything like this, all that time ago..."

Berri froze and softened in a slump of beginning to feel swallowed. She gingerly cocked an eyebrow and lofted her secretive eye contact in Libby's direction. Although not typically a hot topic on her mind, Berri very often forgot that Libby was, indeed, Turbo's ex girlfriend, previous swap mate, someone that did a shred of life with a very different, rebellious version of Turbo that Berri never got the pleasure of meeting. She stared at Libby's figure, a beautiful being with gorgeous, long white hair, the bold tattoo that clad down her left arm, the pierce of her blue eyes, the determined stare on her face, Berri felt swallowed by intimidation. Clearly a woman of great wisdom, the whole fact that she was only recently created, though had ages of old memories, from another life, Berri could hardly wrap her mind around it. A shred of her wanted to pry Libby for information on just what kind of a boyfriend Turbo could potentially be, though she figured she should likely worry about that at another time.

"We only had Turbo to worry about," Ralph grumbled, though he shot Turbo a tender smile of teasing; this finally lifted the heaviness off of the group, if only for a second.

"I'm not going to game jump anymore, I promise," Turbo muttered with a bashful smile as he shifted on his feet, though as Tessa's voice pressed on, Berri gingerly sunk her elbow into the cushion of Turbo's sleeved upper arm; he merely cocked an eyebrow and shot her a sly, cheeky look of smiling irritation, as if to tell her to playfully knock it off.

"I've... Yet to look into these videos of memory files, here, because, well..." Tessa trailed off and shrugged, she gestured out to the group and finished her statement through a tired sigh, "I figured the more eyes, the better."

"Wh-what exactly are we about to see, here?" Rancis worried as he sagged his hands into his jean's pockets, clearly out of forcing himself to not give off an antsy vibe.

"We're really not sure," Zed muttered, cueing to Tessa's mild exhaustion, he warmly took a stance next to Tessa and, out of the silent show of his body language alone, he warmly took over the speaking of said palace meeting, "I'd assume an every day look at Eighteen's memories. Who knows, really... We'll just have to watch a few clips and find out. Is everyone okay with that?"

"User, okay," Rancis mumbled in agitation, he nervously shot Ralph a look, as if to insinuate that he maybe wasn't okay with it.

"I-I was only able to see snippets of it all," Berri chimed as Zed began to slowly cue open a few different memory files, in the form of playable videos, "D-does... Does everyone have these playable memories, like this?"

"Yeah, of course," Zed bobbed a nod, and although he figured he was just asking a very simple question, he almost snuck a small smile in his daughter's direction once he noticed Berri and Turbo shoot each other looks of silent, eager understanding. Zed inhaled a shaky breath and hovered his finger over the play button, on one of the first memories available, "Alright... Ready, everyone?"

"Ready," Only Libby, Wren, Berri and Tessa meeped, and with the gentle push of a button, the video blipped into existence.

In flickers of dark blues and blacks, an eerie scenery displayed before the group. It was fuzzy and seemed to hop around in gentle glitches of fuzzy confusion, as if this memory was becoming faded and old. It was a dark, careening valley of steep buildings, deadened code boxes and lazy, dusty streets of nearly nothing, and although everyone looked mildly confused, Ralph only barely muttered the words 'dark web' to the group of confused individuals. Upon realization, the scene gently began to change to the bounces of another memory. Much clearer this time, it showed a sea of Eighteen's breed, thousands of protectors with the angry coat of red markings, they seemed to be in the process of being corralled to a massive warehouse like structure. The game they were in was very dark, a blackened environment that had Zed visibly shrinking into himself in nervous understanding. He covered his mouth, and it was here did Zed lull his eyes closed and feel waves of information hit his brain in a wash of cold dread.

Berri frowned and glanced to her parents in a spike of rising terror, her eyes fixated to the foreign structures, the haunting glow of the blue architectural lights, the gorgeous lightning storm that splayed the horizon, she held her breath and flinched as the memory quickly trailed into something else. In the angry rush of protectors that now began to be hurried into the building, Eighteen's line of sight gently lofted over her shoulder and to the right, as if to be curious of her surroundings. Her line of sight flinched the second a few loud, deep, angry voices began to loudly bicker off to the side. Eighteen urgently began to look around as protectors continued to plow past her in a hurried fashion. Eighteen's figure slowed, and in the easy pan of finally focusing on the noise of said individuals, a few figures were seen off to the side, loudly yelling at each other. Berri clenched her muscles so to lean in a little harder, though she firmly flinched the second Turbo's posture suddenly stiffened and took a firm few steps towards the larger projection of the video before the group.

Turbo held his breath and could hardly believe his eyes, could hardly even believe his luck, as if the universe leaned down and kissed him right on top of his head. Turbo long blinked in a spike of entire terror, whole, unadulterated sorrow, the sheer reality of just what he was looking at, his heart sank into a black void of horror. The thirty years he had been honing his senses and trusting his gut feelings, he clenched his teeth and was entirely certain that said honing had flawlessly come to fruition, here in this raw moment. The plain sight of his little brother, Lash, loudly arguing with a few officials from Tron, said barren landscape, Turbo began to feel the anger in his circuits sky rocket, and although he didn't want anyone to see that scary, angry red gaze of his, he was worried he wasn't able to hold it back. Turbo firmly pointed and suddenly shot his angry golden stare straight into the King's shivering blue orbs.

"I KNEW IT," Turbo stabbed in a firm tone, one that nearly rattled the nearby code boxes, and in a raw, cold switch up, Turbo was well aware he had fully deserved the right to commandeer the palace meeting, from here. In a flick of his finger and the work of his own code room magic, he quickly paused the video in the perfect placement, so where everyone could see Lash in plain sight. Turbo wrinkled his nose and firmly pointed up to the screen, "I was right this ENTIRE time. And NONE of you wanted to listen to me! I KNEW Lash had a hand in this bullshit!"

"Turbo," Tessa eased nervously, it was here did everyone freeze, the sudden tension between the King, Queen and one of their loyal right hand men, everyone softly glanced to Rancis and Ralph in sheer, frozen terror.

"Lash has the answers to all of this! He can tell us EVERYTHING going on, right now, and we can nip it right at the root," Turbo loudly argued, a very strange and jarring visual, from such a soft and reserved individual; it was clear this was not something to be taken lightly, due to just how up in arms Turbo was getting.

"Turbo, we can't just sit him down and reason with him," Zed easily matched Turbo's tone, volume and demeanor, and although everyone very quickly believed this would immediately shut Turbo up, everyone was shocked to find that it did the exact opposite. Turbo inhaled a deep breath and took a challenging step towards Zed, his locked elbow and firm finger still heavily pointed up at the paused video of Lash's very clearly, candid figure in Tron's dark atmosphere.

"If you want answers, we HAVE to try," Turbo firmly argued, though Berri finally yanked herself out of the frozen shock she had been sat in and began to slowly ease to Turbo's aid, as if maybe she could calm hm down, here; she flinched and halted her tender footwork the second her father closed his and Turbo's gap and raised his fatherly voice into Turbo's fight or flight disposition.

"If we unbubble Lash, the whole game will be at risk... The whole ARCADE," Zed loudly affirmed, he peered his dominant, angry gaze tight into Turbo's and felt a vein in his forehead begin to bulge in a rile of manly feuding.

"Just give me TWO MINUTES with him, I've lived with the guy for the past THIRTY YEARS," Turbo loudly pressed, he clenched his fist and began to show a desperate side of mild begging. He narrowed his gaze and, although he was properly affirming that he was praying for Zed's approval, it was clear that he was on the verge of potentially doing whatever he needed to do, outside of the King's go-ahead, "Just strip him of his abilities, put him in read-only, ANYTHING. Just... Let me SPEAK to him!"

"We can't trust him, Turbo, this is ludicrous. Whose to say he'd even give you the right information, let alone ANY?" Zed firmly argued, he gestured his hand outwards and was well aware the frozen-in-terror group, about the two, was now getting a proper show they didn't ask for, "You saw how hard we fought to bring the game to normality! You really want to erase all of that?!"

"Do you trust me?" Turbo firmly stabbed, both boys were now merely a foot from each other's faces in raw challenge, they hovered tight in a very close range of potential swings to be thrown, though they reserved any physical anger as best as they could; Zed firmly dart his eyes about Turbo's face and felt his mind race with the only answer he could give Turbo.

"Of course I do," Zed stabbed in a hiss of rising, defeated despair, a cold feeling of the raw terror that was felt in the act of handing over control.

"Then unbubble him," Turbo demanded in the grit of his teeth, and although both boys hung in tight, angry eye contact, Zed caved, took a step away and gingerly cued for the main code room's master orb.

"Zed, what are you doing?" Tessa rushed in a faint, hushed tone of no longer concealed terror; Zed furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head.

"Hold your breath, keep your wits about you," Zed grunted in whole entire irritation, the group froze in cold terror as Zed's dominant voice carried on, "Let's get this over with..."


	124. Chapter 124

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** Haha true. And yes, they definitely are. ;)

 **Nikki Firesong :** Aw thanks! Yes, I agree as well. I see both sides, but I definitely see Turbo's side a little bit more so haha

 **Snake557 :** Thank you! I try not to be too heavy handed with cliffhangers, but I think the drastic ones are fun every once in awhile :P

 **Burgie :** Aw lol! Well you'll definitely find out :)

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Shadows and Spirits by Imogen Heap (the music of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child)**

* * *

 **WARNING :**

 **This chapter contains some bits of stronger cursing in dialog than I usually will write for - Lash is the largest potty mouth out of all my characters _;**

* * *

 ***Chapter 124***

"Zed," Ralph warned in a spike of electrified fear that now drowned the code room, simply as if the lot of them were now trapped in this room and lava was about to start filling to the brim.

"You can't unbubble Lash," Rancis worried sharply, fear soaked the atmosphere.

"User, we're all in for it," Wren muttered through the tight grit of his teeth, though Turbo firmly shot Zed a look of almost agitated gratitude, to which Zed largely rolled his eyes, heaved a hard, long sigh and gingerly lofted his concerned gaze for Sugar Rush's Queen.

"He won't be able to do any harm," Berri loudly defended, though the whole group fell silent the second Tessa raised her hand and stepped forward; she leveled the panic with great ease, gestured out to the code room orb and finally eased her exhausted, concerned gaze straight for Turbos shivering soul.

"He won't be able to do any harm," Tessa softly repeated Berri's wise words, and as the group urgently began to stab terrified looks into each others, silent glances of whole agitation, Tessa sunk to the center of the group and gingerly began to accept the slowly sinking main code room orb into her hovering grasp, it twinkled like a shining star all alone in a pitch black night, the very orb Tessa retrieved upon winning the code room all that time ago. Tessa's warm, assuring voice carried on as she glossed the shivering group with reassurance, "He will be in a restricted mode, a plane of simply existing. He won't have any of his powers, and User forbid he tries to garner access to the code room, it won't recognize his coding. The only thing he can do is simply just... BE."

"I just don't know why we haven't done this sooner," Turbo dared, that thorny side of him now only rarely showed, though with his new boisterous attitude, he very quickly shrunk into himself and was well aware he needed to chill out the second that Zed shot him a fatherly look of stern authority.

"It's dangerous, even in a lowered read-only mode, Turbo," Zed defended as Turbo quickly looked down in immediate defeat. Zed shook his head and firmly carried on, "This is a fragile endeavor that isn't to be rushed or taken lightly. Everyone is to stay quiet, stay on their toes."

"He's not going to be happy," Turbo muttered nervously, and for the first time in this whole entire adventure, he felt nervousness cloak him; he softened from his defeated posture and now peered to Zed in a humbled show of boyish nervousness, as if maybe he had potentially beat his chest a little too hard, boomed his voice a little too loud, for everything underneath that was just a scared individual who missed his little brother dearly. Turbo was relieved Zed's fatherly gaze softened to Turbo's quivering golden orbs, and before Zed could ease off the sternness and reassure Turbo in warmth, Turbo shook his head and pressed on, "I betrayed him... I might as well have kicked him while he was down."

"Turbo, it's not betrayal," Zed instructed gently, his deep voice eased over the group and added a further show of warmth and assurance as Tessa hung frozen in baited wait, "You helped save Sugar Rush... One day, Lash will thank you."

"Maybe today," Libby stated hopefully as she eased Turbo a soft look of understanding.

"This is not going to be pretty," Tessa muttered as she carefully opened her familiar code room orb, and with a few tabs, she eased to a forbidden area of grey matter, the purgatory coding that only harbored one shivering little lost soul, Whiplash's nearly-banished coding. Tessa's almost shaking hands brought out Lash's grey code box, still alive and well, though lost in a never-ending plane of paused nothingness, "The lot of you might want to step back... This conversation really should only be for Turbo and his brother."

In the gentle shuffle of continued nervousness, everyone, excluding Turbo and Tessa, began to give the two a ten foot gap of distance. Turbo felt his palms begin to sweat, the blood leave his face, he flinched in raw nervousness and watched as Sugar Rush's far huger, more intimidating code room very easily began to loft the thousands of glowing code boxes into a higher, more out of reach, dimmed state. As if to be put on a lighter mode, every single code box lifted to the highest reaches of the glass dome above. The tiles on the perimeter of the spherical code room began to warmly glow, due to the lack of light from the code boxes. Although the main code room orb dimmed and began to float up to join the thousands of other code boxes, Tessa carefully held Lash's greyed code box, hovered above her larger hands. The dim lighting about her nervous hazel eyes stabbed into Turbo's with a show of hovering wariness, it was here did Turbo understand that he was a very valid piece of this hierarchy, the insane amount of trust literally everyone was resting at Turbo's feet, Tessa almost showed whole hesitation in handing Turbo Lash's quivering little code box.

"God speed," Tessa's womanly voice eased to Turbo, and it was here did Turbo flinch and understand that any reference of a higher power, above User, inside the Arcade, was a very serious statement to not be taken lightly.

Turbo raised his eyebrows and finally felt the weight of the whole entire situation plague him the second Tessa warmly eased Lash's code box into Turbo's able, grey hands. Turbo heaved a shaky sigh and softly peered down to Lash's still alive code box, the darker grey writing of his name gently pulsed in a warm light, assuring to everyone that he was alive and well, likely bored out of his mind, trapped inside his very own code box. Turbo swallowed hard and firmly took note of the second that Tessa began to back step and join the group in waiting for Turbo to get on with just what he had been wanting for a whole year now. Turbo inhaled a shaky breath, and with a gentle push of the center of Lash's code box, he straightened his arms and allowed the code box to open, once and for all.

Turbo raised his eyebrows in readiness, took a step backwards and felt his heart begin to race the second the code box began to gingerly write out every single strand of Lash's coding, and within seconds, the warm, lighter grey color of Lash's skin suddenly popped into existence, and he perked up in poised, almost delighted confusion. In the raw few moments Lash's powerful chest rose and fell, he eagerly peered to Turbo in a whole show of entire confusion as to just what emotion he should let rise first. In the first few moments, he eased a genuine smile, the faded, dark purple cy-bug markings, down his chin and all along his forehead, wrinkled with such a warm expression, though as Turbo held a nervous, small smile, he felt his heart begin to sink the second Lash's genuinely happy expression sagged to that of a rather mean, sarcastic smile of pure bitterness. Everyone froze in unadulterated concern the second Lash huffed a rather tired, shaky chuckle and shook his head.

"You must be so incredibly proud of yourself, huh," Lash pressed, his deeper voice croaked, the strange sensation of having another Turbotime boy speaking his own life into existence, it was here did Berri stare in whole entire fascination, her retinas soaked up absolutely everything this code room had to currently offer. A being she only ever visited in her nightmares, she felt her knees begin to tremble in fear. Lash gently shifted on his feet, tossed his eyes about the group and finally landed on Tessa, who stood a little bit closer to Lash from the rest of the group. Lash shook his head and still meanly smiled into the eyes of everyone he felt wronged by, he finally dragged said stewing, golden gaze straight for Turbo's nervous eyes, "I guess a year and a half of pure, torturous boredom is the limit, eh? I just... Should bookmark that as law? Should we write it in Sugar Rush's coding? A whole five hundred days of entire boredom while you fuckers just get on with your merry lives, huh?"

"I missed you," Turbo pressed softly, the near grumble in his voice lead everyone to believe that he was potentially used to this very brash and sharp side of Lash, something Turbo could navigate with his eyes closed.

"Yeah? I missed the sun, we all can't get our way around here, huh," Lash barked, though he finally eased a mean smile in Tessa's direction, "How's Queen life, there, your majesty?"

"Rewarding," Tessa gently replied, no trace of malice in her tone; Lash exaggerated a snarky gape and held his hand to his chest in apology.

"Forgive me, forgive me," Lash huffed, he then sarcastically curtsied, "Your... Majesty..."

"No need," Tessa soothed, Berri cocked an eyebrow and gently tossed her mother a cute, smug smile, the ability to keep a level head in the midst of a mortal enemy, Berri felt pride sweep her circuits.

"So, what, you dickheads decided to finally let me go? You gunna, I don't know... Let me live off in a little hut in the mountains and hope I somehow turn over a new leaf? Align ALL my chakras?"

"Yeah, that's exactly it, dude," Turbo grumbled, he shook his head and softly eyed his brother in still hand-shaking nervousness, "We just... Have a few questions for you. We just want to talk."

"Sure, let's talk, Turbo, let's talk," Lash huffed with a mean smile, he crossed his arms and narrowed his creepy golden gaze, and with said creepy golden gaze, he began to scan the group about Turbo; something that had Berri nearly shrinking in a spike of forgotten fear, "Let's see, you've gathered a very odd little crowd, here."

"Lash," Turbo urged gently, he took a step to the side and tried to regain Lash's attention, though he faltered a nervous sigh and knew that Lash likely had to get all of his sarcastic comments out, before he even thought about being reasoned with.

"Wow, y'got the Queen AND King," Lash staggered as he gestured towards Zed, "Finally put those Tron days behind you, Mr. Zedian?"

"It's not something I like to revisit," Zed muttered darkly, everyone, excluding Ralph, Tessa and Rancis, shot their curiously surprised looks in Zed's direction.

"Ralph, nice to see yah, surprised all those bricks haven't somehow become one with your brain, yet," Lash staggered a soft laugh, though the second he got to Rancis, he barked a surprised chuckle and gestured outwards, though everyone began to grow nervous the second Lash began to take a few steps in Rancis' direction, "Well, well... My old friend."

"We're not friends," Rancis stated deeply, almost under his breath, Lash gave him a sarcastically sorrowful look of pure, pitiful, eye-batting pettiness.

"Aw, but... We knew each other so well, we were practically... The same person," Lash grumbled with a now becoming mean grin, he side-eyed Rancis with his tired, creepy eyes and shrugged, "Good times."

Rancis held his breath and knew responding would only fuel the fire, so he dropped it; Berri felt her heart sink the second Lash finally dragged his gaze to Libby, and with a reel of whole entire confusion, Lash was finally stumped. He sagged his shoulders and narrowed his gaze to Libby's, and though he looked as if he was wondering just how he knew this particular person, Libby huffed a nervous noise, eased an uncomfortable smile and gingerly waved at her very long-lost friend. She almost shot Turbo a look of whole terror, the raw fact that Lash would now likely eat up this whole entire ordeal.

"Hey, Lash," Libby's voice soothed, to which Lash long-blinked in whole entire unadulterated surprise, he shook his head and now bugged his eyes in genuine bewilderment.

"Libby... Libby Von Swirlz, what the hell are YOU doing here?" Lash choked in cheeky terror, the raw fact that he was aware of Sweet Street's demise, before it took place, the raw fact that he could've saved everyone inside of Sweet Streets; Berri firmly took in this situation and was entirely certain Libby would hand Lash his ass, though she stood in poised grace, sapped in forgiveness, she radiated light.

"It's, well... A long story," Libby's shy voice pressed, and though Lash didn't pick up on her new accent, he beamed Turbo a wide smile and firmly gestured to Libby in smiling shock.

"Wow, well... That solves your silly coding issue, I'm sure THAT was the swap of the CENTURY," Lash barked with a hard laugh, to which Libby inhaled a shaky breath and looked down to her feet. Lash firmly shot Libby a bewildered smile and took note of her wedding ring, "Wow, AND you put a ring on it, Turbo? You never struck me as a man that was so... Domestic."

"W-We're not..." Turbo cleared his throat and was grateful Libby now shot him a nervous, understanding smile, as if to state that this wasn't just awkward for him; Lash furrowed his eyebrows and peered to Turbo in tender confusion.

"You mean to tell me... You spent THIRTY YEARS... Bitching to me, day in and day out, about HOW MUCH you missed this woman," Lash firmly gestured out to Libby's figure and ogled Turbo in dumbfounded surprise, "And the second you have her back in your grip, you... You really didn't get back together with her?"

"It's complicated, Lash, it's Libby's body, but a new, different soul," Turbo tenderly explained, "She has Libby's old memories, she was reborn inside Dead Zed. This is Kaji. We're not together, but she's a good friend."

"Man, that... That SUCKS for you, wow," Lash barked a hard laugh and held his forehead, "The second you're SURE you're about to get some, and bam... Taken right out from under you."

"Yeah, I'm SUPER devastated about it," Turbo stabbed in a now returning volley of mean, smiling fervor, "Cause, y'know, the only thing I care about is sex."

"Certainly was the song you sang for all those years, the second you have a chance to get your dick wet, it's just THWARTED, my User," Lash muttered through a guffaw of a chuckle, though Turbo lulled his eyes closed and shook his head.

"I was trapped with her coding, Lash, we've been over this," Turbo rushed in an irritated mutter.

"And what, now you're not?" Lash wondered in solid confusion, to which Turbo inhaled a deep breath and figured to keep this all light and dainty.

"Lash... Remember when I said we had a User in our midst?" Turbo uttered knowingly, and although Turbo was well aware he was setting himself up for failure with this question, he could now feel the digging sting hit him square between the eyes, the mean glower Lash sent in his direction.

"... Of course I remember," Lash stabbed, "It was moments before you stabbed me in the back."

Turbo held his breath and peered hard into his brother's eyes. Such a warm individual underneath that hardened layer of cold, misunderstood concrete. The cyb-bug markings on his face were right where Turbo remembered, how badly he wanted to scoop Lash into a brotherly hug and pray for his forgiveness, though he was well aware he wasn't going to get it anytime soon. Lash inhaled a deep breath and shook his head, his golden eyes peered back to Turbo in tender question, though the glower on his face promised Turbo that he was in a world of hurt; the notion that hurt people hurt people never rung truer than inside this raw situation. Lash shrugged, shook his head and gestured out, as if to wait for Turbo to explain himself.

"Ace reversed my coding, he's the User I was telling you about," Turbo warmly explained, "I have my original coding."

"Who the fuck is Ace?" Lash stabbed meanly through the grit of his teeth, though Libby confidently chimed in.

"My husband," Libby pressed firmly, though as Lash quickly peered to her in silenced surprise, Libby eased a smug smile and crossed her arms.

"... Oh, so NOW I see why chickie, here, doesn't want a sorry old turd, like YOU," Lash blurt with a becoming chuckle of whole entire mean delight, "She went and landed herself a full blown USER. I mean, shit! I'd sell my left nut to be with a User, wouldn't matter to me. Okay, okay, I'm understanding now... Ace reversed your coding because you respected the lady's decisions. That's super sweet of you, Turbo, really awe-worthy."

Turbo inhaled a deep breath and felt his veins wiggle with anger, though he calmed himself and looked down to his feet. As badly as he wanted to peer to Libby, or potentially Berri, he figured he'd at least attempt to keep this conversation centered. How easily it could spiral out of control, from here, was something Turbo was now scarily aware of. How awry this whole entire endeavor could go, he held his breath and finally brought his attention back to his brother, though just in time for Lash to rub dirt in the wound. Lash eased a soft chuckle and meanly carried on.

"After your thirty year long pity party with you, you and yourself, I can see why this amazing, beautiful creature moved on to MUCH greener pastures," Lash choked a laugh and softly peered back to Turbo in a show of tenderness, though his demeanor was just sapped in a mean spirited attitude of sticky venom, "Who would want to be with a cranky, ugly old bastard, such as yourself?"

"I would," Berri boldly assured, no single beat missed, unabated and unafraid, she was well aware this was exactly her place and it was well earned.

It was here did Berri suddenly feel decades of raw, well-aged wrecking power begin to gingerly ignite in her heart. How fervently her actions, to defend, lit the code room ablaze, any nightmarish memories of Lash were simply eradicated in the wake of her intended warpath. She clenched her fists, grit her teeth into a tight, rigid grip of her jaw and inhaled a slow, seething breath of stewing frustration. It was here did she see every single pair of eyes quickly hone to her in silent, unmitigated surprise, as if to be absolutely shocked that Berri, of all people, was first to lose their cool. Wren tenderly eased his hand to Berri's lower back and softly rubbed, he was well aware that Berri was now becoming extremely protective of Turbo, one more comment out of Lash's mouth was enough to make her forget that this nightmare of a person actually mattered to the individual she cared for the most. A lifetime of wrecking expertise began to slowly surge through Berri's veins, highways of information that so ardently strived to remind Sugar Rush's princess of her true roots, and it was in said flood of silver coding did she inhale a shaky breath and understand that, in this raw moment, Berri was certain that Lash had no clue what was coming for him.


	125. Chapter 125

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Yeah, he's literally got nothing to lose, so he's just gunna let his mouth run lol!

 **faolan1230 :** LMAO! AQUI Y AHORA I'm crying laughing hahah

 **Snake557 :** Too true :P

 **Nikki Firesong :** LOL! Yeah Berri definitely gives it to him. Tessa really no longer needs to go berserk on anyone, now that Berri shows her true colors, here.

* * *

 **A/N :**

 **I'm glad you guys are enjoying the drama so far! I'm going to put another WARNING here, to just remind everyone of the stronger-than-usual cussing that goes on, inside this chapter. That's all! :) Thanks guys!**

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Game Time ft. Ninja by 3LAU**

 **Ask Me Twice by Natiive and Effie Passero**

* * *

 ***Chapter 125***

Berri felt her face get hot, suddenly the room about her seemingly brightened in a white hot show of unadulterated shyness, and it was in this subtle outburst of rising frustration did she feel her stomach clench in immediate regret; not in the way of sticking up for Turbo, though doing so in this land mine of a group of individuals, which now included a very mouthy Turbotime foe. Berri swallowed hard, and although everyone nervously dragged their attention away from Berri and slowly to Lash's interpretation of this nonsense, Berri nervously slid her gaze to Turbo and bit her lower lip a little. In the catch of Turbo's golden eyes, he peered to her in a soft show of bittersweet, apologetic shock, as if to quietly convey that she really didn't need to stick her neck out so incredibly far. Nonetheless, he eased the peaks of a tender smile, just for her, to somehow prove to her that he was entirely flattered and grateful for her undying loyalty.

"Well," Lash huffed in a breath of a mean, airy chuckle. He raised his eyebrows, gave Turbo a wide, coy grin of rising glee and firmly back-handed Turbo's right peck, which had the sweet smile immediately wiped from his face in a flinch of a jarring back-step of mild surprise, though Turbo shut his eyes tight in impending irritation and was now fully prepared for Lash to have his way. Lash urgently peered to Berri and honed in on her, and it was here did Berri feel hot regret now swathe her soul in an easy gulp of death, Lash's sauntering figure very slowly began to prod its way closer to her, as if to wonder if he was allowed to move about the game, "Looks like you have a taker, Mr. Turbotastic."

"Leave her alone," Turbo stabbed firmly, his deep voice croaked to a depth of seriousness, the code room tiles nearly reverberated with the bass. Turbo felt beads of sweat crown his temples, his heart raced, the sheer fact that Berri had now suddenly put their little ember of love, in which they were trying to forget, right in the spotlight, center-stage.

"You want her for yourself, man, I get it, I get it, I'll keep my hands to myself," Lash cooed sweetly, though his words and demeanor were as sharp as daggers, "So sweet of you, there, miss... You mind telling me your name, then?"

"Berri," She stabbed, she glowered Lash down, though as he grew within five feet of her, she felt her airways tighten as vivid, nightmarish flashbacks began to desperately try to overtake her vision.

She heaved a shaky breath and desperately tried to peer into Lash's eyes with some form of reverence, the sheer fact that this lore-ridden being was now staring her dead in the face, a creature related to the one person she cared for the most, she felt her veins wiggle as every single last memory, from Sugar Rush's final winning battle, somehow came rushing back to her. Berri was well aware she had adopted memories from when she was simply a loading bar inside her mother's coding, though somehow, the raw fact that these adopted memories were something she could relive did not make the haunting experience, of Lash closing in on her, any easier. Lash looked the most like Turbo, which had Berri reeling, though his skin was a little lighter. He was about as tall as Nox, though he had Turbo's build. His short, lighter grey, scraggly hair looked unkept and not thought on, and although Berri was sure she'd find solace in his eyes, it was the one thing she now was nearly hyperventilating over. The very thing she had nightmares of, as a child, the very thing she struggled with in the venture of befriending Turbo. Lash's eyes were everything she was terrified of, a vision of horror now come true, right before her. Black slits that were more vertically rectangular than Turbo's, making it quite harder to navigate and decipher warmth, or any fragile human emotion, for that matter.

"... Have we met before?" Lash's voice croaked in genuine tenderness as he narrowed his gaze and side-eyed Sugar Rush's princess, though it was here did Berri see Tessa cover her face in a sag of dread, tight in her peripheral. Although Berri inhaled a shaky breath to try and confidently answer Lash's question, he huffed a falter of a statement, slowly shook his head in unmitigated surprise, crossed his arms and gingerly waggled his finger at Berri, "It's you... You're the one that ruined my plan."

"I said leave her ALONE," Turbo put firm, near-bellowing emphasis on his last word, and although Lash flinched and just barely looked over his shoulder, to his older brother, he brought his schemingly grinning smile back to Berri in a show of now taunting excitement.

"I'll be damned," Lash huffed in a breath of a small laugh as he shook his head in disbelief, once more, though he raised his eyebrow in poised delight and, although he gestured outwards to Berri, he firmly peered to the group about him, "I guess this is just what happens when illicit gamer breeding goes unchecked."

"We've met," Berri snipped in now a full-rise of wrecking hatred, she clenched her fists and almost wanted to warn the others, about her, that this could very easily get ugly; she was almost relieved to see Turbo now beginning to press closer to the two in an authoritative march of nervous determination.

"Oh I see what you're doing, here!" Lash blurt in a gentle breath of surprise, he urgently peered back to Turbo with a wide, scheming grin, one that way too easily mocked Turbo's lovely smile, something that Berri now felt entirely strange about. Turbo halted in his footsteps as Lash gingerly took a few paces back, so to get close enough to Turbo to, once again, backhand him on the chest, a brotherly swat of almost mocking approval, "You can't have the girl you want, so you're just... Worming your way up the royal ladder. Guy gets the princess, one day becomes King of Sugar Rush. A more... Civil and peaceful way of going about things, and... May TAKE you a long while, but-"

"Th-that's NOT the case, Lash," Turbo firmly argued, he urgently shook his head and pleadingly peered into Lash's eyes, "I genuinely like all of these people and wish no ill on them... Can we PLEASE stay on topic? I simply had a few questions for you, I wasn't wanting all of this other bullshit."

"Right, right, okay, sure," Lash guffawed, he flagged his hand downward at Turbo, as if to dismiss, and with a teasingly cheery smile, he almost lovingly pat Turbo's upper back and grimaced the group a fake smile of secretive, scheming glee, "He LOVES you guys, really. He'd make a GREAT King, can you imagine?"

Although Berri was entirely certain that her family members, gathered around, weren't gong to believe anything Lash was saying, she still felt entirely mortified. She held the sides of her head, shot Turbo an urgent look of whole apology, shook her head just barely and, in the midst of inhaling a shaky breath, she flinched once Lash darted his creepy eyes right into hers and began to return the few paces he had reversed, a direct path to her that he sought to complete.

"Sweet victory for nailing my knees to the floor and forcing me to grovel at your pretty little feet," Lash muttered through the grit of his smiling teeth, he seethed as he firmly pressed closer to Berri. He sharply pressed on, his furrowed brow easily showed a vein in the center of his forehead, "Now that you're all grown and aren't simply bringing your mother back from the dead by merely existing, due to the muddied nature of your coding... Why don't you go ahead and delete me, like you wanted to, all that time ago?"

"No one wanted to delete you," Berri argued gently, though she still shook with the onslaught of all sorts of emotions that coursed through her silver circuits, the stress marks on her temples began to flare in rippled surges of her accelerate heart rate.

"As if somehow coming out of that drama was what won the Queen a fucking Nobel Peace Prize," Lash choked a mean laugh, he gingerly lofted his gaze in Tessa's direction, she easily looked just as angry as Berri, though was doing a much better job at concealing it all, "How HONORABLE. The Queen spared a lost boy, she has SO much kindness in her heart!"

"Don't say one cross thing about my mother," Berri nearly growled, she clenched her fists and could hardly take the jabs being thrown at her loved ones, though Lash eased a chuckle and crossed his arms.

"Yeah, watch it," Zed muttered as he took a gentle step forward, and although him and Tessa had learned a great deal of rising above naysayers, he felt his blood begin to reach a boiling point.

"Oh, honey, I have absolutely nothing to lose anymore," Lash snapped, he widened his eyes and grew serious, and as he took a step deeper into Berri's now tighter vicinity, Berri felt her whole demeanor sag in entire fear, the reality of this nightmarish being now eking into her bubble, she felt as if her heart was about to stop entirely. Lash grit his teeth and carried on, unabated, hopelessly, "You go ahead and let Turbo worm his way into your heart, it's all a scheming joke to get the crown... You may have outsmarted me once, little girl, but I WILL have the last laugh..."

"Think what you will," Berri stabbed, she did anything and everything she could to use conclusory phrases to get Lash's cross-hairs off of her, once and for all.

"Tenderhearted people get absolutely no where in this world, Berri," Lash stated firmly in a quiet tone of a stabbing whisper, he leaned about a foot from Berri's face and just barely shook his head, his haunting gaze to her was entirely unwavering, "I'd watch your back. This is an infiltration you're clearly too stupid back away from. You could be a good little girl and actually talk to me and listen to reason... Unlike your mother. The conceded, royal bitch that she is."

With a soft inhale through the nose, Berri lulled her eyes closed, reeled her already clenched fist, hovered for a split second and simply prayed. In the gentle, twisting wind up that seemingly hung in slower than slow motion, Berri could feel every single last ounce of every relative before her so graciously gift her with every last pixel of the universe's energy, just for this one, single game-ending hit. With the bone crunching clench of her teeth, the sharp flex of her core, Berri easily careened her fist straight into Lash's jaw, sending him wobbling backwards with a pop of surprise that made the entire group jolt in unmitigated horror. Lash grunted a deep noise of pure, blind-sided surprise, and as Berri's clenched fist came back to her side, she inhaled a deep, shaky breath through her nose and honed in tight on her target. Seeing red, she pursued Lash in a quick few stomps of unstoppable rage, it plagued her unlike anything she had ever felt before.

"Say it again!" Berri shouted with every last pixel of energy in her chest, and though she now could feel Turbo's, Wren's and Rancis's hands firmly grapple her wrists, sides, lower arms and shoulders, to desperately try and restrain her, she urgently struggled past the mess of men and gave Lash a pure look of hatred. Turbo, Wren and Rancis were successful in holding her back, and though they all urgently tried to coo to Berri and get her to let up in her pursuit, they greatly struggled against her newfound, unleashed wrecking power. Berri panted through her nose, and the grit of her teeth, and as big tears of anger and frustration welled in her eyes, she staggered a deep inhale and let the whole, unrestrained power of her vocal chords just sap the entirety of the code room, "SAY IT AGAIN!"

"Fuck me twice," Lash hissed in a choke as he wobbled to get to his feet, he firmly rubbed his jaw, stretched it in a gape of unadulterated confusion and peered to Berri in now raw surprise, as if he was entirely certain he didn't see that coming, "Say it again?! I'll say it again! I'll say it over and over until it gets through your tiny-ass PEA BRAIN!"

"SAY IT!" Berri screamed, she was successful in giving Wren's chest a firm shove and getting his strong grip away from her, leaving Turbo and Rancis with not much man-power left to hold Berri's now writhing power back.

"You'll never amount to Queen under your mother's rule cause she's a selfish... Little... BITCH!" Lash's voice cracked in a bellow of mean, cackling delight, and it was here did Berri understand that the code room was now hers, for this raw instant.

With the firm, though lovingly restraining grip of Rancis's and Turbo's hands on Berri's lower arms, she clenched her teeth and was well aware she had to get out of their hold, though in such a way that was graceful. Berri inhaled yet another deep, seething breath through her nose and felt every last strand of her wrecking and glitching DNA melt together in harmony. Although she hadn't taken due time to really hone her wrecking skill, she did everything she could to merge both of her powers equally, to form a wrecking power that was on fire with electricity. In the swirl of jolting, coded, silver magic that swirled her circuits down her arm, she opened her palms wide and thrusted her arms and elbows straight into a lock, down and back behind her. With the earth shattering sound of code room tiles popping into a chaotic frenzy of wrecked ceramic, without even being touched, both Rancis and Turbo urgently stumbled backwards through the perfect, spherical destruction of pristine tiles, shards of ceramic that went flying in all directions, outwards from Berri and Lash.

Everyone urgently began to scramble away from the pop of chaos, mutters and grunts of concern, and in the now divide between the center of the fight, Berri honed in on her target and swiftly began to stomp her way towards Lash's now confused, discombobulated presence. He raised his eyebrows in unadulterated surprise, certain that a second generation self-programmed gamer wouldn't dream of having this strong of powers, Berri glowered him down with a look that could melt his soul in a second flat. She visibly grit her teeth, threw her right arm out, and with the weapon that was her molten silver coding, she wrinkled her nose in further hatred and allowed every single last one of Turbo's coding lessons rush her, in this instance. Within seconds flat, typically unheard of, she sourced Lash's core coding and dug in. Immediately, the two stressor marks, on his jugular, surfaced in two, larger, molten hot red honeycombs of dire urgency, and with Berri's unforgiving chokehold, his body went rigid in unadulterated, strangulated surprise.

"You had one chance to make this as easy as possible, and of course you decided to take the different route," Berri's trembling, livid voice shook the entire code room, and as she pressed within a few feet of Lash, his knees buckled and his limper lower body sagged to the ground as his stiff core, shoulders and upper body began to urgently struggle, his desperate grey hands began to claw at his own throat in entire confusion. Berri inhaled a trembling breath and noticed the code room immediately hone to her presence, the main code room orb hovered a dozen feet above her, as if to promise to everyone here that Berri had the floor, "You're going to give us the information we need before I rip the coding right out of you... Like what you did to me and my mother, all that time ago... And I PROMISE I won't make it quick."

"Wh-what information?" Lash barely wheezed, he narrowed his gaze in now pure, urgent struggle, he peered up to Berri in a rile of genuine terror.

"We know you have something to do with the deleters, the malware protection you helped garner from the dark web," Berri yelled down into Lash's face, she firmly pointed back and to her left all while keeping Lash in said choke hold. In the jostle of the toss of her eyesight over her shoulder, she firmly yanked Lash along with her, by nothing but the strict formation that her coding had on Lash's core coding. He grunted a sharp noise of pain, grimaced his eyes shut and was dragged on his knees a few feet. Berri firmly pointed in the direction of the still screenshot, of Lash inside Eighteen's memory, and firmly got back in his face, mid-point, "We have physical proof that you're behind all this bullshit. Now, give us the information we need."

"I-I wasn't in... Ch-charge of th-that," Lash's voice wheezed, he urgently held his throat with his trembling hands and peered up to Berri in a show of genuine plea, he shook his head a little and did what he could to swallow as Berri's coding remained firmly dug into his, her right hand hovered about a foot and a half from his now strained jugular, the pop of his veins and adams apple was painfully prominent, "I-I left... B-Before I had to..."

"To what!" Berri barked in whole frustration, she jostled Lash around in frustration.

"B-Before I had to t-turn Turbo in," Lash struggled to get out, he choked a noise and pleadingly peered to Berri in desperation, "I... I-I COULDN'T."

Berri grit her teeth in further irritation, though her coding now sapped with sorrow and confusion. In a firm swipe, she urgently thrusted Lash to the side and released him of the choke hold she had on his core coding, something that had every glitching master, in the room, wide eyed in froze surprise. Berri panted through her nose and turned around, her arms and hands shook as she looked about the disheveled, confused group about her. Turbo was the closest to her, had previously stepped his way through the wreckage of tile, his chest urgently rose and fell through his heavy, terrified breathing, his utterly concerned golden eyes peered hard into Berri's, a whole swathe of entire confusion. Lash urgently coughed a noise and rubbed his throat as he lay knelt on the tiles, though he finally dug his hateful gaze into the back of Berri's head.

"Y-You really think I rearranged the entire game to keep just YOU fools away?" Lash's deep and now raspy voice barked as he regained the ability, he shook his head and narrowed his grimacing, disturbed gaze, "No, no... If you really think I'm the bad guy in this sick and twisted tale, then you've ALL got another thing coming."

"Who is it," Berri stabbed in still heated frustration, though she peered hard into Turbo's eyes, who stood frozen about five feet from her, the closest from anybody.

"... Zed knew him well," Lash's voice grumbled to a depth of conclusion as he glowered his hateful, golden eyes to Zed's position on the grid; it was here did everyone nervously drag their molten gazes to their King in a wavering wobble of nearly betrayed confusion.

Zed held his ground, though also held his entirely confused eyes to Lash's, as if to question just who in Arcade this particular person could be, though before Zed could step about and begin to heavily question, Lash shot his mean, taunting gaze back to Berri, another tactic to fervently get the attention off of him, a scrambling notion of desperately attempting to bob and weave his way out of this mess.

"That's some serious coded skill, you have there, your highness," Lash's mean voice pressed quickly, he did his best to try and get to his feet with an exhausted grunt. He continued to rub his neck as he cocked an eyebrow in her direction, "I see Turbo has taught you well..."

Berri raised her eyebrows and fervently dug her now embarrassed and still heatedly frustrated gaze straight into Turbo's frozen disposition; they were forever the benchmarked topic of this ordeal. Berri sagged her shoulders in mild defeat and gave Turbo a mildly mortified look, as if to silently convey to him that she was well aware she was now putting their romantic affairs wide out in the open, a show of not thinking before she did or said anything. Turbo exhaled a shaky breath and gave her an equally as frustrated and nervous look, though his twinkling, golden gaze held to her in an overflow of forgiveness, as if to tell her that this was the price they paid for their secretive, romantic endeavors.

"I don't think I've ever even seen Turbo access core coding that quickly," Lash's voice deeply rasped, he sagged, as if he had potentially given up on fighting and now just wanted to poke at the open wound's of the fresh crew about him, a sick game of not giving a crap any longer, now that he's lost so badly. Lash cocked an eyebrow and eyed the back of Berri's head in gentle confusion, "Even with all the crap that I have done, doesn't even compare to the bullshit Turbo's caused for the Arcade."

Turbo sagged his shoulders and felt every single last pair of eyes, in the room, hone tight to him in tender confusion, and as him and Berri remained locked in molten, nervous eye contact, he could tell Berri was now becoming angry, once again. Turbo gingerly shook his head at Berri, to silently state to her that everything he was saying was strictly to get under her skin and nothing more.

"From the coded connection we had, I'd say its safe to say you've already fallen into Turbo's little trap," Lash grunted with a wide smile, he crossed his arms and glanced back and forth between Berri and Turbo, desperate to put the two on blast, "How much did he have to pay you to allow him to have his hands all over you, like that?"

"Th-thats... Not..." Turbo started, he heaved a shaky breath and now urgently glossed his eyes to Zed and Tessa, and although Turbo held his palm out and upwards, in pleading desperation, Zed shut his eyes in a lull of mild annoyance and shook his head at Turbo, as if to silently comfort Turbo in the fact that everyone inside the room was taking everything that Lash had to say with a grain of salt.

"Right, right, STRIKE that, your honor," Lash barked sarcastically as he urgently gestured towards Tessa and Zed, "Don't tell mommy and daddy about the mild fit of fooling around we did, huh."

"God dammit, Whiplash," Turbo grunted, and although he remained hovered before Berri, he shot Lash an urgent death stare of now destroyed, deflated irritation.

"Y'tell Berri about that secretive thirteenth stressor point just yet?" Lash side-eyed Turbo in cheeky, boyish delight, and although Turbo lulled his eyes closed in now molten embarrassment, he could feel Berri's furious aura before him remain, unwavering from said heated feelings.

"Y'know, if I played my CARDS right, Lash, then MAYBE I would've," Turbo barked in solid, sarcastic irritation, and although his words weren't far from the truth, he figured shooting Lash down with a bit of his own medicine would balance the scale; Lash narrowed his eyes in tender confusion and shook his head.

"I just don't understand it, Turbo's the hugest, meanest bad guy in this entire game... Wanted by confused, badass Tron do-gooders that have absolutely lost their minds," Lash pressed in a weird wave of warm sincerity, though he finished off his single strain of genuineness with a mean huff of a laugh, "That coded road goes both ways, sweets... You strangle me and I get a good look into just what makes you tick... Why on Earth is this sad sack of mistakes on your list of highest priorities?"

"Because I love him," Berri's now trembling voice stabbed confidently as she firmly opened her eyes and peered hard into Turbo's aura.

Turbo's gaze urgently blinked from Lash's figure and straight into Berri's eyes in a bout of prickled surprise. He raised his eyebrows and held his eyes firmly locked to Berri's in speechless shock, and although he had been feeling anger creeping up into his veins, he felt his heart suddenly jolt in a hot, reverberating cleanse. He huffed an audible exhale of sheer surprise and long-blinked his twinkling, golden gaze tight into Berri's trembling blue eyes, and though she looked entirely disheveled, wholly irritated and exhausted from everything she had just endured, the windows to her soul hooked tight to Turbo's gaze in such a clear, concise way, as if to assure him that this was the painful truth. Although Turbo wanted to forget the world about him and rush her with his own confessions, he froze and now felt heat sap his circuits in uncertainty, as if Berri's beautiful, honest confession wasn't simply to get a ball rolling, but more an act of getting a massive weight off of her chest, to prove a point and nothing more. The painful wall they now hit, together, Turbo sagged his shoulders and urgently peered into Berri's eyes as the code room fell silent, not even Lash had a retort. Just as he was about to reach his hand out to her and hopefully aid her rushing feelings, he largely flinched as Berri suddenly whirled around and firmly stomped in Lash's direction.

"If my parents let you free, and you're out roaming Orion City one day, just understand that you're on my hit list," Berri stabbed firmly as she pointed a finger deep into his face; Turbo reeled at the sight of Lash legitimately flinching in terrified surprise, an honest show of now just how secretly scared Lash was of Berri. Berri got in Lash's face and clenched her fists, "When you're out living your best life, getting yourself that latte, taking that stroll, turning over that dead leaf of yours... You watch your back... Cause I'll be there."

Lash raised his eyebrows and nervously peered hard into Berri's dominant gaze, and although he wanted to desperately bark back a retort and pretend that he wasn't scared, he remained frozen and felt as if this probably wasn't the best time to pretend to everyone that he was scared of nothing. Berri shot her eyes down and to her side, she expanded her rib cage and now allowed her voice to broaden the lot of every shivering soul inside the code room.

"Whatever was said inside this code room STAYS inside this code room," Berri bellowed in sharp, dominant assurance. She pointed down to the ground and cocked an eyebrow, "Do I make myself CLEAR?"

Everyone nervously mumbled notions of trembling agreeing, and upon Berri hearing no objection, she turned her glowering facial expression of pure hatred back to Lash's shaking soul, and with the zip of her silver coding, she skillfully utilized the code room's abilities and successfully teleported herself out of the likes of the person she was forever curious to meet, and now regretful that she did. Lash flinched in whole surprise, and as soon as Berri was deep in his face, she had vanished into thin air and was whisked away to wherever, certain that absolutely no one was brave enough to follow her.


	126. Chapter 126

**Reviews :**

 **Nikki Firesong :** LOL! Yeah Berri... Definitely is Tessa's daughter. More is expanded on the subject matter, this chapter is a bit fluffier, so to balance the drama lol.

 **marinetanker97 :** Thank you so much! I try to weave each story together seamlessly, even if it includes instances from two or three stories prior.

 **Snake557 :** Thank you so much!

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **The Blinded Forest by Gareth Coker**

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 ***Chapter 126***

After extensive research, hours of heavy, seething pacing, the crop circles she broodingly carved into the thickets of her bedroom rug was only the beginning. Berri's now dry and poofy hair was awry atop her head, though a dainty show of cuteness she didn't ever dare show anyone, ever since the look of mild disdain Gunner had gifted her. Knowing full well that she had abandoned her items back at the recreational hall, long before she left the pool party for said explosive palace meeting, she bit her lip and hovered over her teleportation pad, in her bedroom. It so gingerly blipped a few silver options, and although this teleportation pad was not nearly as heavy duty or advanced as the main pad, or even the pad inside her mother's and father's home, she still could easily navigate about the palace. Highlighted near the top, underneath Turbo's shining, glimmering name, was the title of the recreational hall, where she had left her hoodie and bag of pool side toiletries and essentials; things she hardly got to use due to abandoning the hangout so early in.

Knowing that likely no one of concern would be inside the recreational hall at this hour, which was nearing one in the morning, she bravely eased her finger into the holographic, glowing recreational hall button and was easily zipped away. Although a building's length away from simply walking, she furrowed her brow in determination and was sure to be in and out in merely seconds flat. Upon entering the still, dim recreational hall, she widened her eyes and did everything she could to ease her pupils into the darker surroundings. The only lights casted across the near-mirror like reflections of the marble tiles were the few little kitchen and stove lights that warmly illuminated the place. Although only dregs of said smaller lights were casted into the larger living area, off deeper in the main, massive room, Berri inhaled a deep breath and began to make a b-line straight for her stuff, which was left untouched on the recliner she had previously seen it on. With a skip and a hop, she easily clutched her bag, ripped her hoodie off the armrest of the recliner and whirled around. In the urgent, silent, ballet-like hover she swiftly accomplished back to the teleportation pad, still hot, glowing and waiting for her escape, Berri suddenly heard a tender voice from the kitchen, a voice that startled and soothed her shocked, baited figure all in one go.

"Your highness," Her velvety voice so tenderly and deeply cooed, Berri halted her silent, bare footwork and peered her nearly terrified eyes straight for the being inside the depths of the kitchen.

Stood with her arms crossed in tenderness, Tessa hovered near the kitchen island and deep inside the bend of the glossy counters, all that twinkled with said soft kitchen lights. Berri's eyes hooked tight to her mother's, hazel orbs that held in a sheer amount of wisdom, a swathe of growth, of lessons learned, of life lived, Tessa's posture read entire stillness, as if absolutely nothing, furthermore, could rock her from her confident stance. Berri heaved a shaky breath and nearly felt the urge to shoot her mother a dirty look and press on, though somehow, she felt a string of camaraderie tie the two. As princess to her Queen, Berri held her breath and bookmarked said dirty look. Instead, she eased Tessa a knowing look of forlorn concern, as if she knew her actions, against Lash, were likely a bit overdone. Berri sagged her shoulders and eased out of her sneaky, tender-footed escape posture, and instead she gently began to skulk in Tessa's direction. Tessa's warm smile proved that she was thrilled that nasty, teenaged looks weren't lofted her way, both women more than ready to set foot into a more mature mother-daughter relationship. Tessa heaved a gentle chuckle and side eyed her daughter as she neared the round of the island, and with a tender shlep of Berri's things to the nearby barstool, Berri nearly eased a shy smile down to the island's glossy counter.

"Your Majesty," Berri replied in a reversal of warmth, something that had Tessa silent for a second, as if to wonder just what realm she was in; Tessa eventually huffed another chuckle and shook her head.

"I knew you'd eventually come back for your things... Those were some big statements you ushered, tonight," Tessa pressed tenderly, although she was sure that Berri could easily shell up and become thorny, due to the hot subject of Turbo, Tessa was further surprised to see Berri bob a nervous nod.

"I... Maybe could have avoided letting my wrecking do the talking," Berri mumbled in gentle sorrow, though she flinched as Tessa blurt a soft laugh.

"Ohh, I remember those days," Tessa eased with a loving grin, her eyes smiled with the show of her teeth as her and Berri relaxed in each other's presence, "I still struggle with it, but... You'll learn to curb the need to deck anyone that says something snide or mean, in your direction."

"Mom, how... How could you have just sat back and listened to everything that asshole was saying?" Berri hissed in bewildered, eye-narrowed nervousness as she shook her head, though Tessa eased tighter into Berri's presence, around the bend of the island, and was eager to feel the natural, deep waves of Berri's irresistibly blue ocean of hair. Although Tessa was well aware she could restrain herself, she allowed her larger hand to lovingly tuck Berri's messy hair behind her ear, whilst failing due to just how poofy and thick it was. Berri long-blinked in tenderness and allowed her mother's doting presence, "H-He... He called you a bitch like twice, I just... Why wasn't dad throwing the first swings?"

"Well, you were closest to Lash," Tessa blurt a gentler laugh and continued to lovingly tend to Berri's hair, "I had to eventually hold your dad back, but... Bear, that 'asshole' isn't thinking. I mean... Put yourself in his shoes."

"I... I couldn't even begin to imagine doing that," Berri stabbed in irritation, though Tessa cocked an eyebrow at her and gently shrugged.

"It's a part of being in charge, hun... You have to take yourself out of the equation, no matter what," Tessa urged gently, the two held close eye contact, "Lash has been through a lifetime of hurt, far deeper than we imagine. Hurt people hurt people... You have to understand that everything he says is his own version of self defense."

"You weren't hurt by anything he said?" Berri wondered in further, whispering surprise.

"Well, no... Cause none of it is true," Tessa shrugged, she eased a gentle laugh and finally released the urge to dote on Berri's lovely hair, "I saved his life because I saw goodness in him. Yeah, I shoved him in purgatory, and... Maybe it was my mistake to keep him there for this long, but... Now we know we can unbubble him and have it not go entirely wrong. I know that he's grateful he was spared. He's just upset because, well... He was in a massive time-out, and you know... That's never fun."

"I hated it," Berri mumbled, Tessa eased a small laugh and shook her head.

"Ohh, both you kids hated it, you'd give me dirty looks until the end of time, but... You came out of it alive," Tessa huffed with a smile, "You learned, you grew, it humbled you. I saved Lash because I saw the good buried deep. I saved Lash because I, too, love Turbo... Maybe, erm... Not in the way YOU do, but-"

"M-mom," Berri staggered with a nervous huff as she bashfully looked down to her hands, she shook her head and wanted to press on, "Th-that..."

"Wasn't just for show, Berri," Tessa urged quietly, a stern bite to her voice, she shook her head gently and gave Berri a sneaky, smiling side-eye, "Everyone in that room promised to keep what you said a secret, but... That was huge. Even after you left, Turbo still looked shellshocked."

"Yeah, right after we both promised to just strictly be friends," Berri muttered, her voice trembled, as if she was on the verge of tears, though just as Tessa opened her mouth to usher in some promising advice, the teleportation pad suddenly hummed to life, causing both girls to urgently peer over and see just who was on their way.

"It's not like I asked him to stupidly rearrange to User-damned game for my sake," Turbo stabbed in quiet irritation as him and Rancis firmly stepped off the pad and began to head for the deeper end of the rec hall. Turbo gestured outwards as both men lazily looked down, near their firm steps, "You think I would've allowed that had I known they were simply after me?"

"No, you'd probably just leave everything the way it was and just use a forcefield," Rancis barked in stumped irritation, "I mean, right? That's logical."

"Yeah, Lash is anything but," Turbo mumbled in annoyance, "He's sort of an all or nothing kind of guy..."

"O-Oh, sorry ladies," Rancis blurt in stumbling concern, though the second Rancis cued to the two not being alone, he firmly nudged Turbo's lower arm and halted their rush in attempts to reach the other end of the larger recreational hall.

"Quite alright," Tessa eased warmly as they came to a boot-scuffing halt, though it was here did Tessa see Turbo very nervously hook eyes with Berri, a reeling show of unadulterated surprise, as if he maybe was certain he wouldn't be seeing her anytime soon. Tessa eased Rancis a concerned, almost uncertain smile, and as he just barely shrugged and shot Tessa a look as if to question just what to do now in this sticky situation, Tessa cleared her throat and tried to maneuver this situation with as much delicacy as possible, "Rancis, I was just going to text you. You have Lash still bubbled, right?"

"Yes, ma'am, the code room is on a strict lock down while his code box is still out," Rancis rushed to assure, though as Tessa stepped around Berri and pressed closer to Rancis, she gingerly gave Turbo a small smile and pat his shoulder.

"Turbo, take the night off. You've been through enough tonight," Tessa instructed gently, though Turbo huffed a stagger of a noise and gestured to Rancis in mild concern.

"Y-Your Majesty," Turbo warmly pleaded, as if he was now entirely out of sorts with the raw fact that Tessa was skillfully leaving him and Berri all alone, in her's and Rancis's impending departure, "W-we were going to do that rework of the infrastructure of Lash's code box-"

"Rancis and I have it covered, Bo," Tessa cooed with a small laugh as Rancis hesitantly began to turn to follow his Queen, he shot Turbo a knowing look and gently shrugged, though he shot Berri a concerned smile and gingerly waved. The second Tessa's and Rancis's feet hit the teleport pad, Tessa eased a small giggle and gestured to Berri in a great amount of cheek, "She won't bite, love."

"Y-Your Majesty," Turbo staggered in nervous conclusion as both Tessa and Rancis were off, and in the painful stillness of Turbo's now alone presence with the love of his life, he glossed his nervous, golden eyes to the glints of marble tiles underneath his feet; in a gentle drag, he finally peered back to Berri in still rolling, heightened emotion.

Stood frozen in delicate surprise, Berri looked equally as confused and shocked as Turbo did, as if Tessa so skillfully wriggled her way out of this perfect situation, neither beings felt as if they could even be mad. Berri long-blinked in Turbo's direction in poised maturity, she wore a comfortable black t-shirt and faded, dark green sweats that hugged her bare ankles. Her beautiful, thick blue hair waved down her back and shoulders in a show of raw, natural beauty, the way the light cast about Berri's face, Turbo felt his breath catch, his heart stop. He was certain that this fragile moment of truth could either strengthen their promise of just remaining friends, or shatter it entirely. He held his breath and, for the life of him, he could not decide whether or not he should take the plunge, confess his feelings right back to her, simply brush it off and painfully continue on, Turbo gently turned to face her, and upon apprehensively sinking into her gravity, Berri beamed a bashful smile to her feet and shook her head.

"I may not bite, but I clearly will swing," Berri's voice shook, Turbo eagerly cued to her and now noticed a very rare, shy and nervous side of Berri, one that didn't arise often; Turbo furrowed his brow and slowed his roll, he took in every single last ounce of this rare and newfound show of emotion she emit.

"I don't blame you, I would've swung, too," Turbo's deep voice croaked, he pressed closer to her and wondered just how close he could get without her firmly reminding him of his lousy friends-only boundary.

"T-Turbo, I'm... I'm so..." Berri heaved a shaky breath and looked off, in the glow of Turbo's golden eyes, he could easily see big tears well in her darting gaze. It was here that said show of shy nervousness was a fragile front, something to thinly veil the fact that she was about to melt into a pool of sorrow. Turbo felt his heart race in anticipation, and although he bit his lip and fought himself on this uneven ground they kept side-stepping, he dared to press closer to her and was well aware she needed some tender loving care, no matter their status. Berri hiccuped a sweet noise of nervousness as she tried to collect herself, she carried on in high-pitched cuteness, "I-I... I did and said a lot that just... P-Probably confused you, and..."

"It's okay, Berri," Turbo huffed in conclusion, he shook his head and gave her a gentlemanly smile, and although he stood a foot from her, he still kept his hands to himself, for this small amount of biding time, though she now tearfully carried on, cascades of droplets that gathered at her chin as her demeanor crumpled.

"I-I couldn't let him keep saying those awful things about you, and... I-I didn't want you to... F-Find out that way," Berri eased in now full on tears that rolled down her cheeks, though she sagged in Turbo's warm grasp as his loving, gentle, masculine hands so carefully cupped both of her cheeks.

"You've done more for my emotional wellbeing than anyone in this Arcade has ever done," Turbo gently assured, and as the two hovered tight in their golden glow, Turbo hovered over her face in a swathe of combined, warm breath, the half-moon gaze of their twinkling string of enchantment, Turbo felt bittersweet sorrow sting his heart as he just barely hung on to the words he so desperately wanted to return to Berri, full heartedly, "You... You made me believe in love, again. That's something I never thought I'd ever get back..."

"You deserve it," Berri squeaked in teary, crumpling sorrow, and though she wanted to remind Turbo of their pact, this fragile moment, frozen in time, felt similar to a small cheat-day of a romance-fasting diet. Berri staggered a noise and tried to compose herself, though she sagged her hands to the broad of Turbo's lower chest and was well aware she was now sending him a whole swathe of green-light signals, "I don't care what happens, I'll... I-I'll always protect you. Even if it is from your own brother."

"He's just a dumbass, he always says mean stuff like that," Turbo assured through a soft, warm laugh into Berri's face, in which she beamed a nervous smile and relished in his closeness, the insane, intimate proximity they had, Berri lulled her eyes closed in gentle, nervous wait, as if to signal to Turbo that she was allowing her fragile guard to come down, this one last time. Turbo long-blinked in nervous, heart racing anticipatory readiness, fully aware that this was only going to further confuse the two, only going to further allow more cheats to happen, though his strong thumbs gingerly stroked her cheeks and wiped her tears away as he continued on in a whisper of a conclusion, "You were really brave, tonight, and... I-I'm not sure what I could do to show my utmost gratitude."

"Just one," Berri whispered, almost mouthed in silence, she fluttered her eyes open and was now a blushing, nearly smiling mess, and although the two were swathed in exhaustion and confusion from the chaos that previously ensued, Turbo blurt a silent chuckle on Berri's face and just barely shook his head, certain the two were a safe spot for each other's worries.

"As your friend, and loyal subject, I'm going to have to ensure that explicit, clearly given, concise consent and permission is stated and requested," Turbo droned on in the monotony of red tape the two now had to messily dance around, though Berri lulled her eyes closed and whispered a small plea.

"One last kiss," Berri quietly and shyly requested, she shook her head and silently pressed on in a quick rush of dainty nervousness, "A-As friends, clearly."

"Just friends," Turbo silently assured, though as he lulled his eyes closed, he warmly cupped Berri's face with a little more fervor and tucked in for what he was certain would be the last kiss Berri could even barely afford him.

Like a dying breath, the two melted into a gentle head-tilt of glimmering romance, a very clear show of an unending love that only was half verbally expressed, though with the way Turbo passionately hovered over Berri's needy figure, the deep inhale of her sweet scent, the furrow of his brows in a rise of bittersweet sorrow, Berri was entirely certain the two could easily cave in on each other and just agree to carry on in the trudges of secret romance, everything on the table, no matter how sticky of a mess it would eventually become. With the gentle stir of their hands, the scoop of Turbo's arms that now desperately tried to crawl about Berri's back in a cradle of passion, Berri did everything to keep her hands from raveling Turbo's neck as their kiss quickly intensified, though as quickly as it sparked with fire, the two eagerly sought to cut it to the quick. With a gentle smack of their lips, the exhale of warm, soft breaths on each other's faces, they finally pulled apart in a throat-clearing type of way, the unglue of romance that so desperately wanted to take hold. Turbo cleared his throat, tried to pry his eyes from the back of his skull and bashfully rubbed the back of his head, the two daintily caught strings of coy, nervous eye contact as Berri gingerly began to tidy her hair.

"Y-You, uh..." Berri heaved a shaky breath and smiled a bashful grin down to her feet, "I-I'm... Glad you got to see your brother again, even... Through the mess, y'know."

"Yeah, me too," Turbo sighed, he, too, looked delightfully out of sorts as he desperately straightened his shirt and cleared his throat, once more. He finally gave Berri a gentle smile and bobbed her a nod, "Th-that... Wrecking move, you did, was out of this world. H-How did you even accomplish that?"

"I-I... Wish I could tell you, I was just so angry," Berri mumbled in melting delight, though she tried to contain herself amidst the gentle allowance of love she was glad they afforded each other, she felt it nice that it didn't harbor any guilt, this time around; although they were smart to now entirely dodge any romance talk, Turbo side-eyed her in smiling curiosity and shrugged.

"... D-Did you really mean what you said, back there?" Turbo pressed sweetly, though Berri coyly walled up and gave him a confused smile.

"Back where?" Berri wondered in dark cheek, though Turbo furrowed his brow and began to grow flustered.

"I-In... The code room, when you... Y-You told Lash that you, well... Love..." Turbo desperately stepped into his words, though he halted the second Berri shook her head and shrugged.

"I made clear that said conversation wasn't to leave the code room," Berri sneakily and quietly demanded, and though she was serious in her words, she gave Turbo a cheeky look of mild victory, to which Turbo sagged his shoulders and exhaled a faltered, irritated breath.

"Your highness," Turbo eased in smiling, annoyed defeat.

"So," Berri chirped in collected cuteness, though she still sniffled from the tears she shed previously, "You... Have plans to unbubble Lash anytime again? Certainly Nox and Throttle want to see him."

"Yeah, I... I was going to tell Nox and Throttle the news, tonight," Turbo sighed, he looked off and shrugged, "Zed said I could unbubble Lash tomorrow, as long as he's there with us four Turbotime boys... I-It's gunna be weird."

"Wish I could be there for it, but..." Berri bobbed a nod of understanding and sagged her shoulders, "I'm sure Lash hates my guts..."

"I wouldn't say hates," Turbo choked a small laughed, "Scared of, is more like it."

Berri gave Turbo a warm smile of understanding, and as the two hovered in a gentle bout of silence, an easy, non-verbal conversation they always had on repeat, Berri bobbed a small nod and bashfully looked down to her feet in warm conclusion. She finally gave Turbo her shimmering eye contact and narrowed her gaze in a show of overflowing, bittersweet understanding.

"Thank you," Berri's womanly voice coat Turbo's ears with goodness as she pressed into her show of gratitude, "For... Everything. For understanding, for... Going back on your word, for even just a few seconds."

"Don't mention it," Turbo's deep voice concluded, though as him and Berri cheekily caught eyes, Berri held her breath and understood that this was simply a kind gesture and a firm statement, all in one easy loft of his velvety voice.


	127. Chapter 127

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** LMAO wow, stressful joy. I'm glad you're at least having a good time? I think? hahaha

 **Snake557 :** Thank you! :D

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 **A/N :**

 **Sorry for the delay! I was sick all week, and this chapter is EXTREMELY important... So I wanted it to be perfect :D Enjoy guys~**

 **If you guys are confused by the end of this chapter... Go back to Chapter 143 of Defying Code ;)**

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **First Steps Into Sunken Glades by Gareth Coker**

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 ***Chapter 127***

With apprehensive footwork, Lash felt his golden eyes mute into a softer grey of solitude. Although surrounded by amazing men that were seemingly en route to helping Lash out, he still felt the weight of the code room's aura don a figurative glower of suspicious concern. The motion of Lash's footsteps following his three brothers, as well as Zed and Rancis, to the larger, rounded exit of the code room, had his heart racing faster and faster. Being in purgatory for so long, seeing just what the outside of the code room was to now look like frightened his very existence. He grit his teeth in frustration, knowing full well that Tessa and Zed had surely kissed the whole palace with beauty, with high, white walls, with warm lights and the smell of pure happiness, he knew he had every single last chance to potentially strive for what he wanted, deep down; a home.

After reuniting with Nox and Throttle, a near-teary event, a huddle of brothers that hadn't been seen in decades, Lash felt his veins wiggle with uncertainty. With Zed tight on his tail, Turbo and Rancis in confident steps before him, as well as Throttle and Nox on his either side, he warily was lead out of the code room for the first time in over a year. A decision made strictly for Lash's good behavior upon being unbubbled a second time, Zed made sure Lash was stripped down to nearly no privileges. Simply a being that existed, even reaching for a door handle would cause his coding to phase through it. Although a tangible being, escaping or trying to do physical harm was not even written in his coding. Zed kept a sharp eye on their newest addition, one that was definitively on house arrest. Lash furrowed his eyebrows in softened surprise and allowed his eyes to widen at the gentle glow of love him and the other five men, around him, eased into.

In the tender steps from the entrance to the code room, all the way to the palace's main teleportation hub, Lash's eyes lit up in delicate surprise. As everyone slowly piled into the teleportation pad, a massive display that could easily fit upwards of ten bodies, Zed gingerly wormed his way to the front and cued to the master key of way points only the King and Queen could access. A massive splay of waypoints that towered to the dome of the teleportation hub, Zed fingered his lip and contemplated his next move. While all four Turbotime boys, as well as Rancis, hung in baited wait behind him, Rancis gently cleared his throat and was well aware Zed was struggling to find a proper place to have this important, exclusive palace meeting, one that only included the six men present.

"Might I suggest Turbo's upstairs loft?" Rancis chimed warmly, he dart his curious attention to his partner in crime, Knights that upheld the game with equal fervor in two very different ways. Turbo raised his eyebrows in soft contemplation and shrugged in agreeing as Rancis rushed to press on, "Th-that is, if you're okay with it, Turbo. Otherwise, I'd suggest Tessa's and Zed's study. Somewhere secure, with tight access to a code room."

"But not too jail-like," Nox mumbled with a cheeky grin in Zed's direction; he noted Lash roll his eyes in mild embarrassment.

"I don't mind, we can go to my loft," Turbo eased gently, though Lash choked a nearly annoyed chuckle.

"Loft?" Lash curiously pressed, "Awful dainty and romantic of you, there, dude. That's not like you at all."

"You don't know me anymore, Lash," Turbo tenderly delivered, though in his cadence was such care, such warmth, as if to lay Lash to sleep in a bed of thorny flowers, Lash nearly recoiled at the gentle stab; something so soft yet so powerful, it left him speechless in confused reeling.

Zed raised his eyebrows due to Turbo's gentle, yet prickly words, and in the turn back to the splay of waypoints, hovered in the silver glow of the King's coding, Zed bit his lip and reserved a small laugh upon pressing his finger into the button of Turbo's home. With an easy zip of a coded flash, the six men were easily teleported to Turbo's second story loft, the bow of his upper-leveled living space that overlooked his couch-lined living room below, as well as had the best view of the city, including the palace, that anyone could dream of. As the six boys came into existence, bare feet on plush carpet, the dome of the glass that encompassed the very top of Turbo's sky scraper, the lovely glow of the late morning sun, Lash narrowed his gaze in bewilderment and held frozen for a moment as everyone else, around him, sagged into normality. Lash felt his heart thud in a further creep of confusion, as if his heart was begging him to succumb to the feeling of regret, the burn of sorrow that seemed to hover over him like a ghost, he nervously fiddled his fingers and allowed his expression to hang onto a disgruntled, bitter glower.

"Clearly," Lash retort, once and for all, the grumble of his voice had all five men gently lofting their gazes to him in concern.

Zed had hovered close, though Nox and Throttle moseyed the few feet away to sit on the bend of the sweeping, cozy sitting area that hung underneath Sugar Rush's morning glow. The splay of never-ending glass, over the place, sapped into Lash's retinas like a blank canvas. The only thing he has used to seeing, for the past year and a half, was white nothingness he was due to going crazy inside. Although Nox and Throttle sat down, with Rancis slowly in tow, Turbo and Zed stood near Lash, as if to make clear that not everyone could simply relax with Lash so blatantly outside of the code room. Lash got a good look around; the warm, homey touches inside Turbo's domain, such a stark difference from living in The End for so long. A cold and bitter state of existence Lash had thrusted the two into, somehow he wanted to keep secret just how jealous he was that this was Turbo's new life, a life Lash no longer was a part of, one he no longer had a grip on.

"Let's see, y'got a nice cozy couch here, easily could seat a whole army," Lash gestured out to where Nox and Throttle were sitting; although the two had reunited with Lash, not an hour or two prior, said greeting was not stable or as loving as maybe Nox and Throttle would've hoped. They sat in reserved nervousness, knowing that Lash was nearly filled to the brim with bitterness, and showing him an overflow of love likely would make things worse, due to his state. Lash inhaled a raspy breath and straightened his cream colored t-shirt, as well as a clean pair of faded grey jeans, a new pair of clothes given to him outside of purgatory. Lash went to ruffle his hair, though hesitated in remembrance that it had been tidied and cleaned, for him, in the code room. He grimaced in annoyance and allowed his creepy eyes to dart about Turbo's loft, he gestured firmly in staggered, beaming annoyance, "Wow, what a workstation... A whole twelve feet of desk, three monitors, and... What's THIS? HOUSE PLANTS?"

"Yeah, dude, there's this cool thing called FOLIAGE," Turbo barked in a short-fused rise of irritation, "Y'know, thing that grow outside of The End... A barren wasteland of snow and ice? Where nearly nothing should survive? The castle dangling on the edge, waiting to fall into a hell hole of no return?"

"Yeah, yeah, your life is just amazing and sunshine and house plants and bullshit, now, I get it," Lash snapped in dark, muttering irritation as he wormed closer to Turbo's lightly messy work station. Notepads, loose papers, an uncapped pen, an empty coffee mug, Lash's gentle fingers glossed over the details in mild musing. He finally outlined the dried crisps of a few coffee rings, on loose papers nearby, and narrowed his gaze in contemplation, "... Do you like this life, Turbo?"

"Of course I do," Turbo pressed in irritation, he shook his head and gave Lash a confused glower, "I was miserable, in The End. I was always out of the castle... You remember."

"Your grand adventures," Lash hissed in smiling, bittersweet remembrance, he finally lofted his curious gaze to Turbo's eyes and shook his head in wild confusion, "You'd run off for days on end, and then asked to be teleported home. You'd go to the weirdest reaches of Sugar Rush. I honestly thought you had lost your mind."

"I was doing myself a favor," Turbo grumbled, he caught eyes with Rancis and bobbed a gentle nod, "In all honesty, I was looking for Rancis, but like hell I'd ever tell you that."

"... You came looking for me?" Rancis wondered in soft concern, he laid his hand on his chest and choked a small chuckled, "I'm honored. I thought everyone had forgotten about me."

"Yeah, who could forget about you," Lash grunted in darkening irritation, he gave Rancis a firm glower and dared to take a few steps closer to Rancis, "Your stupid code box was the first thing I was shoved into, upon Ralph setting off that stupid... Diet Cola mountain beacon. You think I would've picked your code box to dwell in while I worked up my own strength?"

"No... I'm honored to be the lucky one chosen," Rancis stabbed in whole sarcasm, to which Lash wrinkled a mean, annoyed smile.

"So WHILE you guys just enjoy this brand new palace life, full of pristine walls and women that will clearly fall to their knees for you, are ALL you pricks just eating all of this up while you're well aware I'm just rotting in purgatory?" Lash barked in now cold irritation, he shot each of his brothers a dirty look.

"You were rotting in purgatory for the mess you made," Throttle's deep, reverberating voice suddenly dared; he stood with a grunt, brushed off his black slacks and allowed his haunting white eyes to stab into his little, long-lost brother's angry, scared eyes, "You were rotting in purgatory for making Vanellope give birth without the aid of the code room. You were rotting for splitting up families, for leaving everyone to barely survive in Sugar Rush's wild, for the amounts of sleepless, tearful nights nearly everyone had suffered due to your careless, selfish actions."

Lash glowered Throttle down and understood he secretly did have a leg to stand on, though Throttle expanded his rib cage and gave Lash an already exhausted, authoritative look as he pressed within Lash's bubble.

"And not all of us have women 'falling to their knees for us'," Throttle dared with a mean glower of a smile, to which Lash furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "You've had your head so far up your ass, you had NO clue that Turbo, as well as the rest of us, maybe enjoy this more domestic, beautiful and warm way of life. You have no clue just what great things have been happening around here. You'd have no clue that I have a boyfriend, you'd have NO clue that Nox has a swap mate."

Lash raised his eyebrows in unadulterated surprise and shot his eyes to his littlest brother, he gaped a little and huffed a noise to nervously protest, though Throttle waggled his hand and grabbed Lash's attention, once more.

"You're SO hung up on all of this being taboo... Lash, times have changed, we know how to avoid the opposed code deletion, we've grown and moved on," Throttle begged gently, "If anything, Turbo spearheaded this whole movement. By doing the unthinkable, by swapping with Libby, ALL those years ago, he started a movement... A movement to better times."

"HOW does that make things better?" Lash begged in irritation, to which Rancis cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows in plucked delight.

"You lived with Turbo for thirty years and didn't even THINK to ask just how wonderful swapping with someone is?" Rancis pressed with a blurt of a chuckle, to which everyone, excluding Lash, eased into soft laughter, "It's a risk, sure... If your swap mate dies, you spiral into sorrowful confusion, but... You get to share your EVERYTHING to the one person you adore. The love of your life. It's a rare feeling, but I wouldn't trade any of it for the world... It's why I so fervently fought for Tessa's code box, all that time ago. I understand how precious that life was... Her code box was created out of nothing but pure, selfless love."

"It's just unnatural," Lash muttered in weak defense, to which Zed gestured in rising confusion.

"Humans do it all the time," Zed staggered a soft laugh, "Sure, we're not humans, but... We were made by them. It's only natural to follow in their example."

"But... You just end up with creating half-lives, faux-codes," Lash urged genuinely, cueing to everyone here that he was simply riding on his own beliefs, entirely sapped with ignorance; everyone grit their teeth and nervously shot their eyes to Zed, who easily lay a Kingly glower deep into Lash's eyes.

"Every single being in this room is somehow tied to or involved with a self-programmed gamer," Zed growled in defense for not only his wife, but his children. He stared Lash down and was floored to find the confident glow, in Lash's eyes, gingerly sap out of his existence, "They will easily tell you that self-programmed gamers have more wit, more strength and more smarts than anyone in this Arcade."

Every single being, besides Zed and Lash, eagerly nodded in full agreeing to Zed's strong words; Lash blurt a small laugh and shrugged.

"I've learned SO much, from Koko," Nox pressed warmly as he finally stood and approached the group of five about him, "When our gamer powers mixed... Wow... I leveled UP. Hardcore."

"H-How could you just...?" Lash hissed in concern, he gestured his hands in softening curiosity, as if to show that he was more intrigued than disgusted; Nox shrugged and heaved a chuckle, as did Throttle and Turbo.

"I remember the days we used to sit at the very top of Vidrix tower and ponder what swapping codes even meant, and how dangerous and silly it seemed, but..." Nox shook his head and smiled into Lash's eyes, "It's really not that huge of a deal. I, too, could've sworn that spending all that time with Turbo would've taught you something."

"Same, how did you NOT have a million questions for him?" Throttle begged, "He was trapped with Libby's coding, for years, and you didn't think to ask him ONCE how that all made him feel?"

"I didn't even turn into a virus, like everyone assumed I would," Turbo grumbled as he crossed his arms.

"It was too much to swallow," Lash muttered in gentle defeat, though his brothers were still hot on the topic.

"Surely you pulled your head out of your ass for two seconds to ask if he was okay, I mean, come ON, Lash," Throttle firmly delivered, to which Lash's angry, feverous confidence suddenly rose from the dead.

"Maybe I didn't vocalize my concern, but I went above and beyond to figure out how to save him from the misery he was in," Lash firmly defended, the strength in his voice had everyone suddenly flinching in reeling, frozen concern. Lash inhaled a shaky breath, pointed down to the ground and glowered deep into Throttle's eyes, "I can't tell you how many times I sought just HOW to reverse his coding..."

"Only a User can do that," Zed mumbled in delicate concern, to which Lash shot him a cheeky, annoyed look and shook his head.

"Exactly why I was in and out of Tron like my whole life depended on it," Lash spat, "You don't think I didn't want my big brother back? How sad and sullen and exhausted he was every single day? After we got done muddying Rancis' coding and torturing the fuck out of everyone inside Sugar Rush, he wanted to be alone... He wanted nothing to do with the fun and games, anymore."

"I was trying to fill a void," Turbo muttered as he looked down, "Simply toying with and torturing everyone important to Sugar Rush and Dead Zed quickly lost its appeal."

"Yeah, and so did you," Lash stabbed meanly, and though Turbo took the jab like a man, he still shot Lash a dirty look, "I went to Tron to help you out. I went to see if there was ANY way we could get your coding back to normal."

"Not only did you not TELL me ANY of this, you weren't doing any of that for my benefit," Turbo barked in a spike of irritation, to which Throttle gently eased his masculine hand to Turbo's left shoulder, so to hopefully calm him, "You did it so I would hopefully pep up and jump right back into torturing everyone, like you loved to do. But the damage was already done... Everyone was already kicked out of Sugar Rush, split up, abandoned, locked out for good... And then you rearranged the game all to hell, what hope did ANY of us have?"

"Yeah, what was with putting the palace in The End, anyways?" Zed barked in irritation, "We ended up finding you, anyways."

"With my help," Rancis muttered as he eyed Lash in seething irritation, though Lash firmly gestured outwards.

"I was protecting Turbo," Lash stabbed, his voice crackled in desperation as everyone fell silent, "Look, I... I'm not good with my words. At first, it was just a way to have control, but... It quickly turned into a fight for Turbo's life."

"What? What do you mean?" Turbo huffed nervously as he now softly pressed closer to Lash, he shook his head in dire concern and peered his terrified eyes into Turbo's, "Lash, what aren't you telling me..."

Lash inhaled a shaky breath through his nose and urgently peered up into Turbo's eyes. Both boys hovered as if it was only yesterday that they had lived together. What thirty years looked like to simply a year of secluded purgatory, the spark in Lash's eyes was gone. Lash peered to Turbo in whole exhaustion, as if the massive time-out he was in softened his mean, edgy, otherwise bitey demeanor. Turbo gingerly shook his head and narrowed his gaze in desperation, a swathe of irritation, as if so much time had already been lost.

"Lash, y-you CAN'T keep doing this to us, you HAVE to tell us what's going on," Turbo begged nervously as he finally grappled Lash's left shoulder and jostled for emphasis. Lash heaved a shaky breath and begrudgingly looked off, "We've all pressed on, we've all rebuilt... We so desperately want to share this with you, but we CAN'T if you just hold on to all these secrets... You had THIRTY YEARS to get good, Lash."

"Aroq is in charge of this genocide," Lash muttered in soft honesty, a white flag of defeat he finally felt brave enough to raise, and with such information, Zed raised his eyebrows in frozen, unadulterated terror. Lash nervously gave Zed his grey, muted gaze and shook his head in tender apology, "I knew all about it and was... Too scared to step forth and try and stop it."

Zed huffed a shaky noise of a breath and excused himself from the tight circle. As Turbo unhanded Lash's shoulder, all five men peered to their King. Now disheveled and hovered by the balcony of Turbo's second story loft, a thin, golden railing that simply peered out to the city below, as well as Turbo's main living room, Zed sagged his face into his hand and shook his head in whole entire defeat. Lash swallowed nervously and felt his veins wiggle with release, though with said reveal, more information immediately came spilling to the forefront of his mind like a dam being broken, a stronghold that held tight for decades, only to come spilling all over the dry, thirsty land, desperate for relinquished life.

"I-I went to Tron to see if there was some way they had discovered a code-reversal process, like Users do... Aroq told me that... He'd let me out into the human world, to seek the answers, if only I..." Lash hesitated on his words and didn't dare look Turbo in the eye, his deep voice glossed Zed's back like a cold wave of sorrow, "... Turned Turbo over to him."

Turbo raised his eyebrows in soft horror and held his breath, and as the gang hovered in terrified silence, stolen glances of unmitigated horror, Turbo lulled his eyes closed and allowed every single little scenario of confusion finally come full circle as Lash desperately pressed on.

"Turbo is wanted... For causing so many games to go out of commission, gamers that escaped the unplug had found their way onto the internet and... Wanted revenge," Lash nervously danced about his words and swallowed hard as sunlight seemingly beamed down on him, a figurative spotlight of telling, centerstage of this whole mess, "The amount of money Aroq offered me was... Asinine, I couldn't even wrap my mind around how rich I'd suddenly be."

Turbo heaved a trembling breath and looked down to his feet, and although he had been doing well for himself in this conversation, his eyes finally began to well with tears the second he heard Lash's voice crumple in crackling, drowning sorrow.

"I couldn't turn over my big brother," Lash desperately held back his weeping, though he grit his teeth and finally stabbed his teary gaze in Turbo's direction, "He wanted me to turn Turbo over so they could properly fund their malware protection... Faux-code genocide. I only agreed so that I could sneak away without anyone seeing."

"You saved Turbo's life," Throttle mumbled in surprise, to which Lash whirled around and pointed a hefty finger in Zed's direction.

"I saved EVERYONE'S lives," Lash suddenly barked in a nasally tone as tears now streamed his cheeks, "I may have caused you all a year of grief, but I slowed down the funding process towards this genocide. All because your FRIEND is following in Clu's desperate desire for PERFECTION."

"Aroq is NOT my friend," Zed suddenly stabbed as he whirled around and pointed an even heftier finger back in Lash's face, "I once defended Tron with my life, I was promised that I could use the portal and escape, because I believed I had NOTHING! You want to know WHY I thought that?"

"Do not blame me for this," Lash viciously spat, to which Zed dared to get in Lash's face, teeth grit in whole anger.

"Because you BRAINWASHED me into believing my brothers didn't exist, you BRAINWASHED me into believing I was the biggest lowlife in the history of Arcade," Zed growled in Lash's face, "It wasn't until I met Tessa did I finally feel as if everything was coming together... It wasn't until I met Tessa did I decide that leaving maybe wasn't such a good plan. I was only friends with Aroq because I truly thought we were striving for greatness, the ability to come and go, from the human world, as we pleased. Don't you DARE group me in on his heinous plans to murder innocent lives, don't you DARE!"

"I may be dancing on the edge of good and evil, here, but I would never commit to the genocide he was for," Lash muttered in return, and although Zed was in his face, Lash didn't waver from his stance, "How could you go a whole entire year defending Tron, alongside other innocent games, and NOT KNOW that he was out for blood?"

"I didn't know everything about Aroq, just like he didn't know everything about me," Zed stated firmly, "He fought on account of his home game being unplugged from a virus."

"You know JUST what he deems a virus?" Lash suddenly barked in a new spark of fervor, "Self-programmed gamers! He thinks they're devil-spawn, created from selfish desires, created to muddy up our Arcade. Of course he's not going to just openly tell you that, the Arcade is filled with all sorts of self-programmed gamers. Those fuckers probably outnumber User-made gamers fifty to one!"

"If you were so against swapping, and everything that entailed, how come you secretly jumped to Turbo's aid?" Rancis pressed in whole, gentle confusion, hoping to ease the tension.

"Because I have a heart, believe it or NOT," Lash stabbed, and although he wasn't outwardly weeping, his eyes still held welled with tears as he shot Rancis a dirty look. He finally dragged his disheveled gaze to Turbo's frozen, shocked figure, "Because I love all of my brothers. It'd make me the richest, most sought-after celebrity on the face of Arcade, to turn Turbo over... But nothing was worth that. I... I couldn't go through with it."

"After all the other bullshit you pulled, I'm shocked," Throttle muttered in authoritative irritation, seemingly only him and Turbo were the only older beings, above him, that he allowed to lay dominance over his shivering soul.

"Everything else I did was out of pure jealousy," Lash mumbled as he looked off, though he finally narrowed his gaze and gave Turbo a look of pure detest, "You got the princess, you swapped with her... You were STUPID enough to let your jealousy over another racing game, that was plugged in, RUIN our lives, and you SOMEHOW came out on top, afterwards. Everything you touched was gold, every time the sun hit you, I was in your shadow... Withering away."

"Lash, you KNOW I didn't put you there-"

"I put myself there!" Lash suddenly barked as he blinked tears down his cheeks, he shook his head and firmly gestured outwards, "I'm well aware I put myself there... It all came to a head the second I had a choice... I could turn you in as a criminal and run away with all the money I could ever DREAM about, or..."

Turbo softened and peered his forlorn look right into his brother's eyes, everyone softened in the gentle silence of Lash's shaky inhale.

"I could just take us deeper into Sugar Rush's depths and... Hope to ride out this nonsense," Lash mumbled, to which Zed shook his head in irritation.

"Destroying Sugar Rush's integrity while you were at it," Zed quietly stabbed, to which Lash clenched his fists and barked Zed a firm retort.

"You'd do the SAME THING for your brothers and you KNOW it," Lash spat as he finally pointed another firm finger in Zed's direction; said notion had Zed silently looking off in defeated contemplation, "Aroq was terrified that a User had been let into Arcade, shortly after that all happened, he BEGGED me to turn Turbo over and to seek out the unborn User... He promised me a position as a Tron defender, he promised me all the money I could dream... He promised me so much real-estate on the internet, so many golden opportunities to finally shine in the sun and be OUT of Turbo's shadow..."

Nox, Throttle and Rancis sorrowfully peered to Turbo in cold surprise as everything unfolded, though Lash heaved a nasally sigh, shook his head and slumped his shoulders in defeat.

"I knew... I KNEW I was turning down the greatest opportunity... Singlehandedly the most incredible experience I'd ever get a grab at," Lash looked off in warm understanding and finally brought his gaze back to Turbo's in renewed, though stifled, love, "I... I would never forgive myself. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I had done something so treacherous. I ALREADY muddied up my life and tore a whole royal family apart... I couldn't adopt the idea that my brother would never forgive me, and I'd be on the leaderboards to this faux-code genocide. I couldn't..."

"I'm... I'm so shocked that you never told me ANY of this," Turbo mumbled in great sorrow, he shook his head and gave Lash a pleading look of desperation.

"All I wanted was to create a brand new metropolis, to combine all of Sugar Rush's cities and... Live like a King, for once," Lash muttered, "I'd give... ANYTHING, to have Turbotime back. I was promised the WORLD..."

"I'm surprised the notion of murdering innocent self-programmed gamers is what stopped you from living that life you wanted, from getting Turbotime back," Zed mumbled in dismay, "With how against it you were... I just don't understand."

"I didn't like the choices Turbo made, but... That doesn't mean I want to go around killing innocent lives," Lash stated as he sniffled and wiped his face free of tears, "I moved the palace to The End and... Pretended it was due to wanting a clean slate, so to make that huge, Sugar Rush city I desired, but..."

"... It was a ploy, so that Aroq could never find Turbo," Nox mumbled in soft, sorrowful understanding.

"It may have slowed Aroq down, but... It didn't stop him," Lash gestured out to the great sight of Orion City, below the six, "They didn't get the funds for Turbo's warrant, but... They still did everything they could to amass that nasty malware protection they had promised about. They did everything to make sure that every faux-code was enroute to being wiped out, alongside the single User that Zed and Tessa had brought into the Arcade... Aroq felt so betrayed, by you, Zed..."

"We didn't bring Ace into the Arcade on purpose," Zed corrected in a show of softening defeat, he looked off and finally lulled his eyes closed, "We were simply trying to erase Sugar Rush's issues, and... Ace hitched a ride."

"You were trying to get rid of me," Lash mumbled in softness, in understanding. He shook his head and finally shot Zed a cheeky smile, "I get it. I'd... I'd be trying to get rid of me, too..."

"None of this would have happened if I didn't get Turbotime unplugged," Turbo staggered with the promise of oncoming emotion. He looked down in hot regret and sighed a shaky breath, "I wish we could get it back..."

"Litwak still has it," Lash eased casually, to which Turbo's eyes popped open in hot surprise, the attention in the room suddenly sky rocketed.

"H-He... He DOES?" Turbo huffed shakily as he took a step closer to Lash, "H-How do you know this?"

"There was a lot I kept from you, Turbo... Aroq told me I could have everything I ever wanted, which included Turbotime," Lash muttered as he looked off, "I would rule Vidrix by myself... I'd basically take your place."

"Like you've always wanted," Throttle eased in mild irritation, to which Lash pleadingly peered to his eldest brother.

"The bottom line is, I didn't turn Turbo in... I couldn't follow through with all that garbage," Lash begged, "The process is slowed, because of my decision."

"But is well on its way to being fulfilled," Zed pressed, he gestured to himself and shook his head, "My daughter was nearly killed by one of those deleters... They're everywhere, and they have an invisibility power. One touch from them and they're gone."

"Oh, I know," Lash grumbled as he looked off, "I've seen them in action... I know what they're about. They're a simple malware protection rewired and reprogrammed to go after self-programmed gamers. I was there for the entirety of the amassment of them... That's the only reason I was able to escape. A few guards tried to get me to stay, but I managed to escape without confronting Aroq. I just... Took Turbo and ran."

"The End," Rancis cooed in sorrowful understanding, "The farthest reaches of the game..."

"So, how do we move forward, then?" Turbo urged, he peered to Zed in hot desperation and gestured out to the group, "The damage has been done, we now have all the information... How do we stop Aroq?"

"Y'can't just waltz into Tron and ask if he'll listen to reason," Lash muttered, to which Zed bobbed a nod of agreeing.

"He's... Pretty hard-headed, that one," Zed sighed, he lulled his eyes closed in regret and sagged his face into his hand, "Why didn't I see any of this coming... It was right in front of me..."

"Look, dude, I've spent the majority of my life looking back and feeling dire regret and over-analyzing JUST what I could've done RIGHT," Lash urged firmly, he gently glossed his now golden gaze to every being in the room and shook his head, "I know I've lost your guys' trust, entirely, and I understand the consequences with that, but... I hope at least one thing resonates from all that I said, if all else doesn't..."

"What?" Turbo pressed nervously, to which Lash inhaled a deep breath and glowered Orion City a look of understanding.

"We're running out of time to correct this mess both Turbo and I have created," Lash stated gently, he finally hooked his gaze into Turbo's and concluded his notion in a new swathe of uncomfortable warmth, "We started this bullshit... It's up to us to finish it."


	128. Chapter 128

**Reviews :**

 ** **Nikki Firesong :**** Thank you soooo much! You'll definitely find out :D Dunno how soon it'll be, but it will come lol.

 ** **Snake557 :**** Animals do not count! You'll learn about this later, there's a certain intelligence level that the malware protection seeks out, to delete. **  
**

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Trajectory Burn by Adam Young  
**

* * *

 ***Chapter 128***

"Hey, Gun," Berri eased in a low, tired voice. She raised her eyebrows in concern the second she heard Chester huff a noise of mild distaste, from across her dim bedroom.

"Hey, babe, you doin' okay?" Gunner's concerned voice eased over the phone, it was clear he was briskly walking some place. Berri heaved an exhausted sigh and shleped her piled school work onto her messy desk, she shook her head and went to answer Gunner's tender question, though he pressed on with a small chuckle, "You haven't responded to me all day long. Is everything alright?"

"It's been... Chaos over here," Berri muttered in whole irritation, she shook her head and sagged her face into her palm, and though she remained on the phone with Gunner, she put him on speaker phone and allowed her sleepy eyes to peer out to the darkening Sugar Rush sky, the stillness of the clear, dark minty blue the evening was settling into, she drowned her eyes in the misty trees of the flyer's old enclosure, "I mean... Not today, but yesterday was... Good User."

"What happened?" Gunner huffed, though he muttered a polite notion to a potential passerbyer he clearly eased around.

"You remember me telling you about Turbo's brother? How like... My mom won the game back from him right before I was born, saved Sugar Rush, all that drama?" Berri mumbled as she rubbed her eye.

"Yeah, Whiplash...? Right? I only ever really learned about Turbo at Academy, his brothers aren't mentioned very much," Gunner huffed with a small chuckle, the breeze in his speaker made clear that he was outside somewhere.

"Yeah, so... Lash was in code room purgatory, until... Last night," Berri grit her teeth and recalled everything that had taken place the night prior, though she had no clue he was then unbubbled, this morning, for such an important conversation, "It was... Explosive. He started bad-mouthing my mom and, well..."

"Yikes, babe," Gunner huffed with a small chuckle, he seemed as if he was hurrying, though before Berri could finally inquire about what he was up to, he perked up and calmed his voice, "You, uh, wanna go out for ice cream or something? To talk about it? I'm at the palace gates, by the way."

Berri raised her eyebrows in prickled surprise and quickly shot her eyes to her nearby clock. She furrowed her eyebrows in stunned surprise and felt the veins in her legs begin to tingle, the dilemma to maybe just invite Gunner inside and not go anywhere, or to jump up and attempt to get entirely ready in five minutes for a nice escape from the palace, she heaved a shaky breath and shrugged, and though she was tenderly going to deny the idea of leaving her house, Gunner rushed to her aid.

"Just throw on some nice jeans or whatever," Gunner chuckled, "Typically it wouldn't matter, but there will likely be paparazzi."

"Did you drive here?" Berri choked as she quickly was a smiling, stumbling mess over to her bathroom. Chester grunted her a noise of displeasure, though somehow, the prospect of sinking into fun pictures with fans, the superficial notions of being wrapped in Gunner's arms for crowds to see, the delicious tease of ice cream right on the horizon, she was glad Gunner was here to be her literal escape from everything haunting her, currently.

"Yeah, but I walked to the palace gates, I don't know... Your dad didn't seem to thrilled the last time I drove up to the gates, so," Gunner mumbled nervously, and though he kindly greet the few guards that likely were at the first gates of the palace, they knew exactly who he was and allowed him to loiter until Berri was ready to leave palace gates.

"Yeah, dad... Would probably prefer if you used the garage drive," Berri muttered with a small laugh, "He doesn't like tire markings on the palace's main entrance way, like that... Sorry, I must've failed to warn you."

"It's all good, I'm... Positive I'm on that guy's shit list, anyways," Gunner mumbled in soft sorrow.

"You're not wrong," Chester muttered with a great struggle, though a quick deliverance of clarity that Berri was able to catch; she gaped and shot Chester a wildly surprised, irritated look of whole displeasure.

"Chester B. Kalivar," Berri hissed in irritation, though low enough for Gunner to miss; Chester shot her a cheeky glower and finally turned his nose up at Berri, crossed paws and all.

"I'll be down here, babe, it's all good," Gunner huffed nervously, he began to lazily pace the well lit entrance area in unhurried expectation, he shook his head and looked off to Sugar Rush's gleaming moonlight, "Maybe one day that guy'll like me."

"H-He's just protective of me, don't beat yourself up about it," Berri staggered with a small chuckle as she pressed deeper into her bathroom and closet, though she could still hear Chester muttering things to himself, to test his new, still sloppy speaking ability.

"I will if you won't," Chester struggled, a mumbling, messy spill of desperately trying to get consonants and vowels to line up properly.

"I-I'll be down in five minutes," Berri urged loudly, so to drown out Chester's mutterings, though once she finally hung up with Gunner, she threw her head back and urgently called out to her ceiling, "CHESTER you will RUE the day Turbo taught you to talk!"

"Don't hate," Chester's unfamiliar, deep voice snipped clearly, something Berri rolled her eyes at, little cues and sneak-peaks as to just what words and phrases were maybe said around Turbo more so than others, she began to feel as if she was slowly becoming ganged up on.

Although Archived Chao's fanbase wasn't nearly as prominent was it would be inside of EZ Living or any other place where they've had tours or concerts, paparazzi still managed to sneakily follow Gunner all the way from his home game. Sat cozily inside one of Sugar Rush's ice cream shops, aptly named Gold Laced, both Berri and Gunner had done a decent amount of loving on their fans until Gunner's few security guards finally cut the crowd and allowed for Berri and Gunner to now enjoy some privacy, a small, dimmer corner of the luxurious, delicious-smelling bakery and ice cream shop in a more ritzier part of Orion City. Stationed just outside of Orion City's largest lake, they had a lovely view of the water, as well as the warm, twinkling boat lights on the horizon. Berri heaved a satisfied sigh and peered down to her half-eaten bowl of vanilla ice cream, drenched in decadent fudge and layered with warm, gooey brownie bits. The golden spoon sagged into the ice cream as she picked at it, off and on. The pristine white walls were so delicately laced with a gorgeous golden trim, the smaller ice cream shop now had to skillfully keep Archived Chaos' fans hovered outside so to keep business flowing.

"So, tell me more about this, erm... Explosive evening, then," Gunner started with a small chuckle; he wore a comfortable yellow hoodie, one of his favorites, properly plastered with a big, faded EZ Living logo right on the chest. His black hair was lightly messy, he happily chomped away at his wafflecone successfully stuffed to the brim with chocolate ice cream, alongside rainbow sprinkles.

"There's not much to tell," Berri cooed in defeat, she shook her head and lulled her eyes closed, and although a few fans loitered about the front of the shop, everyone was respectful enough to stay away from Berri's and Gunner's window, so they could simply enjoy their time together. Berri looked down into her bowl of ice cream and bashfully shook her head, she knew to skillfully leave out the details of her's and Turbo's messy affairs, "Lash was... Unbubbled, and then... I don't know, he got upset that he had been bubbled for so long, and started ragging on my mom, so, I... Punched him."

"Whoa, wait, WHAT?" Gunner choked with his mouth full; Berri blurt a soft laugh and watched as Gunner struggled to chew, swallow and collect himself, "Y-You... You actually punched him?"

"Made grandpa proud, for sure," Berri mumbled in dismay, towards herself, though she shrugged and heaved a long sigh, "I just... Have yet to really control my wrecking anger, and... All that fun stuff."

"W-wrecking anger?" Gunner staggered in warm concern, his honey-brown eyes hooked tight to Berri's eyes, he furrowed his brow in sweet sorrow and shook his head, "Th-that's new, is that something you've always had?"

"I mean, yeah, I'm related to Wreck-It Ralph, it's literally in my code," Berri mumbled, and although she wasn't upset at this notion, she still looked somber over the idea of it maybe impeding her judgement, for tough situations, such as the night prior. Berri felt an unusual, gentle wave of silence coming from Gunner, and although the notion of breezing past potential weaknesses, under her skin, was a normal thing to bookmark, she felt Gunner's eyes hone to her in expected wait, like a hot poker of entire concern. She raised her eyebrows in ginger surprise and gave Gunner a sheepish frown of uncertainty. She finally shrugged and looked about Gunner's face for a shred of potential camaraderie, "I-I mean...It's something I'm learning to curb, I just got extremely pissed because he like... Called my mom a bitch and all that fun stuff."

"O-Oh, wow, I mean... I guess I thought you meant you got irritated and threw hands cause he had a differing opinion," Gunner staggered with a small laugh and a shrug, and it was here did Berri furrow her eyebrows and begin to feel the potential for alienation coming on, "I was like, well geez, I'm... I'm scared to get into deeper, heavier fights with you for fear of it turning physical."

"N-No, I'm not like some sort of monster, you know me well enough, Gun," Berri gently protested as she softly shook her head, she eyed Gunner in cheeky, mildly irritated concern, "He's the man that literally robbed us of our home, and then upon being put in a time out for a long while, he had the audacity to just call my mom all kinds of terrible names."

"I see, I understand," Gunner cooed gently, though Berri could tell he was simply staggering a pacifying type of demeanor, so to get off of the fragile topic he could potentially show ignorance for, "Well, hopefully he's BACK in his purgatory hole where he, uh, maybe belongs?"

"Yeah, we bubbled him up," Berri mumbled as she shook her head, she lulled her eyes closed, "We only unbubbled him because we figured he'd have information about the malware protection... We snooped through Eighteen's memory files."

"Surely you guys got some information, then?" Gunner tread lightly, he continued to munch on his delicious treat whilst Berri aimlessly began to play with her food, a tell-tale sign of an entire loss of appetite.

"I... Would assume so, I stormed out before anything could be told to me," Berri side-stepped in nervousness, she shook her head and looked down, "I'm positive my mom and dad got a solid amount of info out of him, and I'll be filled in later."

"Well... All's well that ends well, then, I guess?" Gunner stated in genuine worry he tried to mask with a soft, serene smile of confidence, Berri gingerly glanced him a defeated smile.

"Of course," Berri meeped as she gingerly looked off and out the large, bay window they sat at.

Although the group of her's and Gunner's fans had begun to dissipate, a few still hung around in patient wait. Although a view of the street, sidewalk and lake-side board walk could easily be seen out the window her and Gunner were stationed at, she shifted in her seat and glossed her eyes in the direction of a seemingly bobbing, flickering few speckles of golden light that caught her attention. In nonchalance, Berri tossed her gaze over her right shoulder a little, certain that said golden lights were simply one of the smaller boat light's, coming to port, though in the staggering, quick glance she had, she felt her blood run cold at the sight plainly pressing down the sidewalk.

Dressed in warm, darker garb, Berri raised her eyebrows in unadulterated surprise and watched as none-other than Turbo, himself, press out of the overhang of delightful shops they were nestled into. He had a brown package tucked under his sleeved arm, his golden eyes glossed the place in tender nonchalance, the determined look in his eye looked casual yet full of purpose. He furrowed his eyebrows and rummaged his back pocket for a second before pulling out his keys and, in Berri's whole surprise, he clicked the remote, on his keys, and began to firmly step out to the long splay of parallel parked cars outside of the shops they were tucked into. Berri held her breath and did everything to attempt to collect her now confused, rushing thoughts. She furrowed her eyebrows in a ping of tender surprise, grief, confusion, bewilderment, it wasn't until she saw another similar man nervously tailing Turbo did she feel her heart drop in entire dread; none other than Lash, cautiously tight on Turbo's heels, he looked worried to even be alive.

Berri huffed a silent stagger of a noise and watched as Turbo and Lash casually sauntered towards a gorgeous vehicle, and with the press of Turbo's keys, the futuristic blip of orange running lights gently quipped in a flicker of a cuing noise, to state that the vehicle was unlocked. Berri was delighted that Gunner busied himself with the rest of his ice cream, because in the seconds she watched as Turbo and Lash causally sunk into the incredibly sleek, luxurious dark grey sports car, that clearly Turbo owned, Berri was certain her facial expression was that of spotting a ghost. Berri froze in hot confusion as the doors to Turbo's gorgeous coupe, to which she had never seen before, lifted open in gull-wing fashion on both sides. With Turbo confidently sagging into the driver's seat, he cranked the engine, a deeper, purr of an engine that rumbled Berri's core and easily reverberated off of the glass of the ice cream shop they were in. Said rumble of an engine got Gunner's attention, and much to Berri's relief, Turbo's door had sagged shut just as Gunner curiously peered outside.

"User, look at that," Gunner huffed in boyish excitement, "Holy shit, I... I don't think I've ever seen a Lumos up close, like this."

"L-lumos?" Berri staggered in concealed, terrified confusion as she shook her head, and as the headlights gently eased to a glow, Turbo gently revved the gas and, in a soft turn, he melted out into traffic and was gone.

"Really gorgeous sports car, I mean... That thing is so fast, it's hardly street legal," Gunner gushed with boyish delight, "They're stupid expensive, and... To have one, you have to take all these courses and sort of prove that you can handle such a vehicle, that you won't go tearing down the street, with that thing, but like... How could you resist? It's the fastest street-legal car in Arcade."

"Really?" Berri chimed in now drowning confusion as she watched Turbo's gorgeous, incredibly luxurious sports car practically hover away, simply gliding it's way so low to the asphalt.

"Yeah," Gunner huffed as he sat back and shook his head, "I always feel like a million bucks with my car, but then I'm reminded that THAT thing exists..."

"Huh," Berri huffed with a girly show of now irritated, smiling attitude, and as she watched Turbo's tail lights vanish into the distance, she furrowed her brow in scheming, unadulterated confusion; stun over the fact that Turbo owned such an incredible beast and she had no idea, as well as the raw fact that Lash was simply out and about, wandering the world without a single care.

Berri bit her lip and felt defeated by literally every single notion about her, the itching motion to now get home and call Turbo as soon as possible was thwarted with the notion that maybe she didn't know Turbo as well as she thought. The idea of it all made her feel extraordinarily conflicted, as if she was defeated and victorious, all in one fell swoop.


	129. Chapter 129

**Reviews :**

 **SamanthaR1987 :** Hahaha. It'll set sail soon enough, don't you worry :)

 **Snake557 :** Yeah, she gets pretty feisty about it haha.

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 **WARNING :**

 **The last half of this chapter has homosexual themes very briefly discussed (danced around, really), between Wren and Throttle, just for my more sensitive readers. Thank you!  
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* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Me the Machine by Imogen Heap  
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 ***Chapter 129***

"Dad," Berri urged in dire urgency, her urgent footwork pressed her into her parent's lovely, dim home and down into the larger span of a work den. There, at the stretch of a work table stood Rancis, Zed, Throttle, Nox and Wren, clearly a meeting that was previously focused but maybe turned a bit more lackadasical and was now meandering on warm, nonchalant conversation. Berri felt purpose in her step and was absolutely certain that the information, that she had secretly garnered on hers and Gunner's ice cream date, was about to rock the planet. As Berri burst into the lower-leveled, dim, inviting area, she was glad Zed's diligent, sharp eye contact immediately shot her way. She inhaled a shaky breath and shook her head, "Dad, I really need to talk to you."

"What's wrong?" Zed urged quietly, a soft tone of authority, he dropped his nonchalant smile, as well as his conversation with Throttle.

"Dad, Gunner and I were just near Cascadia Lake, at Gold Laced, and we saw Turbo... With Lash," Berri eased silently, and though the rest of the men, in the lazy group of conversing, easily lofted their curious eyes in Berri's and Zed's direction, they carried on with their topics, something Berri only barely noticed in her peripherals.

"Oh, babe," Zed huffed with a smile and a breath of relief, he sagged his masculine shoulders and adjusted his faded grey t-shirt in laziness, "You scared me. I know, I've instructed Turbo to keep Lash under his wing during the day. Lash will get bubbled whenever Turbo decides to go to sleep."

"... Wait, what?" Berri hissed in whole entire confusion, her pupils tightened, she nearly felt as if she was now being left behind, "Wh-why didn't anyone tell me? I had a damn-near panic attack seeing Turbo and Lash get into that... That... HELL of a car."

"Oh, Turbo's Lumos," Zed huffed a chuckle, shook his head, looked off and bugged his eyes in nervousness; him and Throttle easily shared apprehensive laughter, "I knew the second he had the money saved, he was going to take that course to get that space ship of a car. Doesn't drive it as often as I'm sure he'd like to, though."

"I remember the day he got that thing," Throttle choked a chuckle as him and Zed smiled and caught eyes, "I don't think I'd ever seen that idiot look so happy."

"Like a kid on Christmas," Zed huffed as he brought his sincere eyes back to Berri's, "Lash is in Turbo's supervision, we had a good, long meeting with Lash this morning and... Cleared a lot of things up."

"And that... Warrants him just loosely running around Orion City?" Berri urged, she had the desire to raise her voice, she felt as if she was left out of this decision-making, and due to it, she felt a brattier spirit come about.

"Babe, I'm... I'm sorry, Turbo's keeping him in line and is going to try and get him acclimated back into normal life," Zed stated cautiously, he flinched the second Berri cocked an eyebrow and gave her father a rather authoritative look of concern.

"And just who taught Turbo how to do that?" Berri wondered softly, though the challenge in her voice was apparent; she knew she shouldn't get so bent out of shape about it, though somehow, she felt entirely defensive about all of this. Zed raised his eyebrows in prickled concern and softly shot his nervous glance to Throttle, who tucked his shoulders up a bit and knew to stay out of this conversation.

"Berri, methinks you should go find your mother and maybe get more information from her," Zed stated in a low tone of wanting to potentially put out fires, though also was certain that any word out of his mouth would just end up fanning the flame, "I think you should trust Turbo with this task, hun."

"Turbo I trust, Lash?" Berri pressed in hovering wait as she gingerly pivoted to leave the calm, easiness of the work den. She gave her father a look of gentle irritation and began to walk away with purpose, "Not so much."

Zed inhaled a readied breath, so to call after her, though exhaled said breath in exasperated exhaustion, sagged his shoulders and shook his head in irritated defeat.

"Sounds like their ice-cream date might not have gone as planned," Throttle mumbled with a cheeky smile, to which Zed shot him a single nod of entire agreeing.

"Poor girl just has too much on her plate," Zed sighed, he shook his head and watched as Berri easily skipped a few steps up the stairs, leading to Tessa's and Zed's main corridor, of their lovely home. He finally shifted on his feet and began to mosey towards the work table, in which everyone was loosely around, he began to clean up a few papers whilst he lazily continued on, for Throttle to hear, "I'm hoping she mellows out after her tour. It seems to be causing her a great deal of stress."

"I don't think the tour alone is the only thing," Throttle mumbled in warm understanding, though he raised his eyebrows in prickled concern the second he saw Rancis, Nox and Wren begin to mosey towards the same exit that Berri escaped through; he was grateful that he caught eyes with Wren, and with such, Wren skillfully slipped out of the motion of leaving and hooked back around to wait for Throttle. With such, Rancis and Nox continued their riveting conversation and equally hooked back around, so to wait for everyone to join them.

"She's... Just figuring out her priorities," Zed concluded with a soft smile, he shook his head and gave Throttle a grateful smile, "I should probably go find Tessa before Berri explodes all over her..."

"You're a King AND a firefighter," Wren muttered with a cheeky smile as he sagged up to Throttle and Zed, he sagged his masculine hands into the pockets of his grey jeans, his tidy white button up showed the faint speckle of the sweet, faint vertical pinstripes down his chest.

"A job I signed up for," Zed stated in teasing regret as he raised his eyebrows, bobbed a nod of mild disinterest and finally brought his gentle, smiling gaze to Throttle and Wren, "It'll all be fine. I know having Lash out and about has put everyone on edge, no?"

"I'm relieved, but... You're not wrong," Throttle muttered with a shaky sigh as he gently eyed Wren in a glancing sweep of rising apprehension, said apprehension that Wren's intuitive nature immediately cued to, "I've missed Lash dearly, but... The guy is such a wild card, I just have no clue what this new-found freedom is going to do for him."

"Well, I trust Turbo will keep a heavy hand on him," Zed stated in warm confidence as he finally gathered the papers he was tidying, he stood up straight and gave Wren and Throttle a look of teasing apprehension, "If you'll excuse me... I need to go save my Queen from Sugar Rush's future Queen."

"User-speed," Wren mumbled with the bulge of his eyes, he blurt a chuckle as Zed playfully nudged his shoulder in the brushing motion of excusing himself from the conversation. Wren smiled and gave Throttle a refreshed look of newness, the topic of Lash being unbubbled set an electrifying air upon the place, though Throttle looked stiff as a board. Wren sagged his shoulders, shook his head and allowed Rancis's and Nox's eager conversing to drown out Wren's low, quiet words to Throttle's nervous disposition, "Y'okay babe? I... I'm sure this isn't easy for you."

"I-I'm okay, it just... Makes me nervous," Throttle heaved a shaky sigh, his shorter black hair had grown out a little and begun to hang over his thicker black eyebrows. Throttle's softly glowing white eyes, and black pixel-cubed pupils, nervously dimmed and peered into Wren's eyes in a secretive plea of urgency, "I-I know what that guy is capable of, and... That, alone, assures me that I'm going to get absolutely no sleep tonight."

"I'm sorry," Wren huffed softly, though as quickly as he was about to suggest maybe staying the night, he dart his eyes across the den and immediately halted himself. He bit his lip in quick thinking and gently side-stepped a potential quarry of more worries Throttle would likely be lofted with, the notion of potentially deeper romance, something neither boys had ever experienced or pursued, "I-Is there maybe... Some sort of coding exercise that Turbo or even Tessa can teach you? I have no clue what any of that entails, seeing that I can't glitch..."

"Well, neither can I," Throttle heaved a shaky breath and looked off; although not nearly as intuitive as Wren, he still easily caught on to Wren's shivering, secretive thoughts. How desperately Throttle wanted to jump out on a limb and bravely invite Wren to spend the night, an escape from Sugar Rush's cooler, spring time nights, Throttle's dimly glowing eyes scanned the ground in desperate searching, "I'm sure there's probably something Turbo can maybe do to my coding to ease my nerves... Or, maybe I can just go to Turbo's loft and actually BE with him and Lash... So I know what's going on, at all times, until I'm... Maybe more comfortable with this whole ordeal."

"Yeah, maybe, a hot cup of tea and a good night's sleep after that," Wren innocently suggested, how eagerly he wanted to dive into this fragile, new experience with Throttle, he could see Throttle's high walls go up. Due to instinct, Wren wondered if maybe he shouldn't go barreling down said wall, he wondered if Throttle's whole entire lifetime of inner turmoil, a whole entire near-forty years of hiding away maybe took a toll on Throttle's willingness to go diving head first into a foreign situation. Wren shrugged and gave Throttle a bashful smile, he wondered if he could at least try and be brave, "I-I give a pretty mean shoulder rub. If... There's anything you'd need me to do for you, you know I'm always here for you, Tee. It's my job as your boyfriend, y'know?"

"I-I appreciate it," Throttle mumbled nervously; he was well aware the two were now officially together, though somehow, hearing it out loud made him feel triggered, the urge to recoil and hide away, the idea that Wren was perfectly comfortable with this brave transition had him curling away even more so, an insecure wave of entire uncertainty. Throttle nervously put his hands in his pockets and bobbed Wren an appreciative nod, though he held an apologetic smile, "S-sorry, I just... I-I think I need some alone time. I'll maybe stop over to see Turbo and Lash before bed, just to ease my mind, but..."

"You don't need to justify yourself, babe, I understand," Wren cooed gently, and as warmly as he could, he gripped Throttle's lower arm and gave him a loving squeeze. The two hooked eyes, Wren's coy look of innocent cuteness had Throttle freezing in the midst of a switch-up, "Take as much time for yourself as you need."

"Thank you," Throttle sighed with a small smile and easily wormed his hand out of his pocket, so to gently hold Wren's hand, though in the fluid motion of Wren gripping Throttle's hand, Wren began to gently step away in the string of held hands until it was no longer possible.

Throttle raised his eyebrows and now felt thwarted by all of this. The secretive game of keep-away, that he was skillfully playing, now very easily swung in Wren's favor due to Wren throwing in the towel and not pushing the topic any farther. An easy show of genuine respect so successfully laced with a coy turn-around of skill. With Wren's gentle footsteps now parting from Throttle and escaping the den with Rancis and Nox, still easily lost in conversation, Throttle was well aware Wren had now put the ball in Throttle's court, that if Throttle wanted a shred of what Wren had to offer, he now had to be the one to go chasing after it; a notion he was entirely certain he wasn't capable of outside of sheer desperation, something that had begun to itch the undersides of his fragile red circuits.


	130. Chapter 130

**A/N :**

 **Hey guys! WOW. So sorry for such a smaller chapter. Coming off of a break is always weird, I have to find my footing and get back to it. I'm feeling confident though, and this year has started off SO well! I'm back on my normal upload schedule now :) Thanks for your patience guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Gold in a Brass Age by David Gray**

* * *

 ***Chapter 130***

Zed heaved a tired sigh and gently rounded the corner into his and Tessa's lovely, warmly lit corridor. Although he was certain Berri escaped to the kitchen and living room, where he assumed Tessa was, he scuffed his bare feet to the tiles in a halt and furrowed his brow in collected finding. He could clearly hear Berri's voice sharply complain to Tessa, from up her narrow stairwell, where her childhood bedroom lay. Zed grit his teeth and did his best to listen in, though as he made his way to the stairwell, he pushed on, knowing it was much better to just drop in on their conversation than eavesdrop on the sidelines. Through a silent sigh of mild annoyance, Zed eased his feet to the loved, glossy wood of Berri's spiral stairwell and eased into the gaping entrance of her old bedroom.

Although once a cluttered, cute and delightful mess of that of a budding teenaged girl, Tessa and zed had transformed Berri's old bedroom into a lovely work and reading nook, complete with a small sky light and an area for a few of Sugar Rush's rarest, most temperamental flora. zed glossed his eyes across the cozy place, complete with new bookshelves fully stocked, a workstation for Tessa and a lounging area for two, Berri seemingly interrupted Tessa's quiet reading time, for herself. With the way Tessa's curled legs and body was sagged into her cozy recliner, the wool socks on her tucked feet, the look of now bewildered, frazzled surprise amidst nervously sagging a bookmark into her half-read book, Berri stood before Tessa with her hands on her hips, Tessa's sharp attention upwards at Berri was none-other than confused urgency.

"If you guys just don't want to include me in on anything, anymore, then just SAY something," Berri concluded, clearly at the very dregs of a long-winded tirade of entire frustration, one with big hand gestures and a sorrowful tone; Tessa peered to Zed in a stun of nervous confusion and looked grateful that Zed presented himself inside the cozy nook, which was once calm and serene.

"Berri, we didn't exclude you from our decision about Lash on purpose," Zed firmly interjected, to which Berri whirled around in heated, irritated surprise. Although she was on a roll, Zed's presence sapped the hot energy right out of her, giving both her parent's the floor, "We were going to tell you, but... Berri, it's hard to really fully include you on palace life, right now."

"Why!" Berri urged in now genuine sadness as she slumped her shoulders, her hands hit her thighs in defeat, "Am I just... STILL too immature for all of this? What about that talk you gave me, a few weeks ago? I just don't understand..."

"Bear, I meant everything I said to you, during that little chat of ours," Zed side-eyed Berri, and although Zed was well aware that Berri likely understood Tessa's full knowledge of Berri's and Turbo's secretive affairs, he still treated the situation with delicacy, "I told you what to do to sharpen your foresight... But, who are we to cram MORE food onto your plate? More than you can even begin to digest?"

"What do you mean?" Berri begged sorrowfully, it was here did Tessa inhale a deep breath through her nose, steady her popped bubble of thoughts and put her book down on the smaller table next to her.

"You already have all of your touring to worry about, you have band mates and a boyfriend to take care of," Zed stated in a tone of defeat, he shook his head and peered his vivid blue eyes into Berri's with a great amount of tenderness, something Berri easily craved. She sagged her shoulders and was thwarted, due to her silence, "Whatever happens inside Sugar Rush is something that me, your mother, your great Uncle Rancis and Turbo all have control of. Turbo is a valuable asset to this game... He's one of the men at my right hand."

"So, you just... Set Lash FREE," Berri urgently gestured towards the gaping window, one of which overlooked half of the castle's pool and a sliver of the outdoor courtyard, which housed the cross-striped tree's blooms, "H-Him and Turbo are just... Just...!"

"Listen to me," Zed instructed gently, he warmly eased his hand to Berri's lower arm and hovered above her, so to show authority and give her security, in one fell swoop, "Turbo is in charge of Lash... Lash is nearly in read-only mode. He can hardly do anything without Turbo's assistance."

"He can't even physically grab door handles. He's one step above being a hologram," Tessa mumbled in cheeky delight, she remained quietly tucked in her peaceful little nook of books and warmth.

"But... WHY?" Berri urged nervously, she shook her head and averted her attention from Tessa, straight into Zed's soul, one more time.

"Berri... He's Turbo's brother, and he's clearly been through some crap," Zed mumbled, he shook his head and glanced to Tessa in understanding, "All of those TurboTime boys, me, Tessa and Rancis all had a meeting inside Turbo's loft, this morning. Lash gave us some heavy leads to just whose been setting those deleters free, inside Arcade. Lash was just a puzzle piece inside this nasty mess. He hid Sugar Rush away to protect Turbo and start new."

"Whose to say he won't do that AGAIN? NOW?" Berri urged again, she firmly pointed, once more, out the gaping window of beautiful scenery, though just as Zed was about to frustratingly explain himself to Berri, once more, Tessa tilted her head and coyly chimed in.

"Berri, do you trust Turbo?" Tessa eased warmly, Berri whirled her attention to her mother and nearly shot her an irritated look of thwarted stubbornness.

"Wh-why?" Berri staggered in frustration, Tessa shrugged her shoulders and briefly looked off.

"Simple. The adequate amount of worry you should hold on to is directly correlated to how much you trust Turbo," Tessa wisely soothed Berri's soul, something that had Berri's stiff shoulders sagging, "With how much you're freaking out, it's clear you maybe don't trust Turbo has much as you lead on, love."

Berri furrowed her eyebrows and now gave her mother a dirty look of mild betrayal, something a bratty child would potentially give, though before she allowed her old self to take over for good, Berri looked down to her feet and decided to take a deep breath of revival, or attempted as such. Tessa heaved a soft giggle and gave Zed and understanding smile of success.

"You clearly trust that man with your heart," Tessa so warmly concluded as her and Berri locked eyes, Berri's shivering orbs of continuously being discovered, she had no more rebuttals left inside of her trembling heart, "Your heart is worth far more than the entirety of Sugar Rush, love... Methinks you should take a step back and assess just who is in charge of this task, and his intentions with every single little branch connected to it."

* * *

With nervous footsteps, Throttle nearly scolded himself for being so hasty with his decisions. His heart raced as he teleported himself from his sleepy little teleport pad, allt hew ay to Turbo's dimly lit foyer sixty four floors above Orion City. He had previously sent Turbo a mildly urgent text message, simply stating that he needed to come over and have a chat; about what, Throttle left to Turbo's imagination for merely moments before his hesitant footsteps pressed to Turbo's front door. With it wide open and prepared for such a fragile guest, Throttle allowed himself inside with a weight comparable to a rushing, tropical storm. Upon pushing inside Turbo's warm home, he opened his mouth to sling a swathe of apology and urgency in Turbo's direction, though was thwarted the second both Turbo's and Lash's eyes stabbed in Throttle's quickly moving energy. Throttle froze and felt his heart shrivel back into his dark and lonely cave of nervousness.

"Tee," Turbo chimed warmly, though quickly noting the muted glow in Throttle's eyes, and the way both him and Lash almost meanly peered to each other, Turbo immediately understood that maybe inviting Throttle over, while Lash was still awake and unbubbled, likely wasn't the best thing he could've done.

"O-Oh, I... I-I can just come back later," Throttle staggered, clearly running on a whole rush of other thoughts, any words that came out of his mouth now were not filtered well, "I didn't realize Lash was still unbubbled."

"I can go?" Lash barked in a muttering stagger of irritation, he shot Turbo a disgruntled look, as if to clearly prove to Throttle that both of his younger brothers were potentially having a wonderful conversation prior to Throttle showing up.

"No, no," Turbo enforced, he gave Throttle a pleading look and gestured for him to approach, "Come on, enough of the tension... C'mere, Tee, everything's fine."

"Turbo, I really want to speak to you in private," Throttle urged nervously, his deep voice croaked as he began to hesitantly step closer to the entrance he just stormed through, now capable of fleeing at the drop of a hat.

"You really are gunna do that to me? Surely whatever you can say to Turbo, you can say to me," Lash grumbled in whole irritation as he slumped at Turbo's warmly lit kitchen island, he gestured his hand out to Throttle and pressed on with a cheeky smile of mild meanness, the faded cy-bug markings, on his face, only made him look more menacing, "We're both your younger brother's."

"You've had upwards of three decades-worth of life lived with Turbo," Throttle growled, he peered hard into Lash's eyes and began to feel confidence surge him, the prospects of his and Wren's romance teetering on the edge of success or failure is simply why Throttle began to feel his chest puff with dominance, a revival of one true understanding; he was purely ready to allow another soul into his own coding, something that surged his veins with purpose no matter who was on the other end of his sharp words, "You don't know me anymore. I'd like to tell Turbo something important, if you don't mind."

"Is everything okay?" Turbo pressed nervously, though he finally peeled his leaning upper body from his kitchen island, in preparation to cave and potentially bring Lash down to his code room, so to bubble him for the night.

"Just, please... I'd like privacy," Throttle continued on in dominant urgency, though so skillfully laced with poised wisdom; Lash shot Throttle and dirty look and hesitantly began to comply.

"What could you possibly have to tell Turbo that I wouldn't understand?" Lash delivered meanly, and it was here did Throttle furrow his eyebrows and allow the truth to spill out in the form of a full check-mate.

"I want to know how I can swap codes with Wren," Throttle stated through his grit teeth, the nastiest look he could deliver, a volley of information that had both Turbo and Lash frozen in their steps; Turbo finally heaved a small chuckle, placed his hand on his chest in delightful defeat and gave Throttle a proud look of cute surprise.

"Wow, Tee, that's... That's GREAT!" Turbo pressed in cautious excitement, though he could immediately see a look of confused dictate on Lash's face, urgently followed by a hot, angry swathe of full defense on Throttle's, Turbo grit his teeth and glanced between both of his brothers, knowing full well that he was now put in this Arcade to simply mediate the argument of the century.


	131. Chapter 131

**Song Listened To :**

 **Cry by The Used**

 **Trajectory Burn by Adam Young**

* * *

 ***WARNING***

 **This chapter, as well as the next one or two chapters, have homosexual themes all throughout it - If you're sensitive to it, check back to chapter 133 or so! Thanks for understanding!**

* * *

 ***Chapter 131***

"I'm so confused... I-I thought this was already common knowledge," Lash muttered in an irritated way, he shot Turbo a cocky smile and shrugged a little, "Why the big hoopla? Just... Invite Wren over and get it done with. Why is it a huge deal?"

"... Odd words, coming from the likes of you," Turbo eased on the gas, sagged his hip to the island's counter and crossed his arms. With the way Throttle was finally and firmly marching his way into the kitchen, Turbo understood that his role as host was now slowly beginning to sag to that of a quiet spectator and potential mediator. He cocked an eyebrow in Throttle's direction and was floored to see Throttle shed his spiky shell, one that reserved him at all costs. Turbo cleared his throat and glanced to both his older and younger brother, "I-It... It definitely is possible, and, fortunately, I think it might be easier than a normal, heterosexual swap."

"R-Really?" Throttle staggered in a split second of softened relief, though he flinched and scrunched his agitated positioning right back to the defense, the second Lash sat up a bit straighter and cleared his throat.

"You guys are so WEIRD, WHY would you want to weaken your coding by merging it with someone else's?" Lash complained in raw, irritated confusion, and although he had a billion years to ask Turbo all of these questions, he almost hesitantly peered to Turbo and hoped that his bigger brother wouldn't bring up said fact; he flinched the second Throttle very kindly did it for him in the form of a firm hand gesture in Turbo's direction.

"Lash... HOW many years did you have to ask Turbo that VERY question?" Throttle barked, to which only Turbo flinched in surprise, a sharper more aggressive stance that Throttle had taken here, he was certain he'd never see this kind of behavior in Throttle in a million years.

"It wasn't something I cared to ask," Lash barked back as he furrowed his eyebrows and glowered Throttle down, "I saw how miserable swapping with Libby made him. The answer was as clear as day... That's why you're so foolishly chasing after that swap. You didn't have time with Turbo to understand that it was the stupidest decision he's ever made."

"Whoa, whoa," Turbo urged in irritation, the few moments of spectating he had very quickly went out the window. He stiffened his spine in a stand and faced Lash with power, something that had Lash eagerly shrinking, "I never regretted swapping codes with Libby. Swapping is the coolest, most securing feeling anyone can go through. The hell's your problem?"

"Don't put words in his mouth," Throttle muttered to Lash as both him and Turbo stared Lash down.

"Look, I've been saddled with my own coding for my whole life, and I'm JUST fine," Lash muttered with a cheeky smile in Throttle's direction, and though he gestured to Turbo in nonchalance, he kept his eyes tight to his oldest brother's hauntingly white, glowing glare, "Why can't you just keep it simple between you and Wren? Why confuse it with mixed coding?"

"Because I love him," Throttle stabbed in confidence, something Turbo raised his eyebrows at; he was well aware the two were dating, though he had to wonder if the dreaded L word was given or not. Throttle inhaled a quick, shaky breath and leaned over the island, so to figuratively get in Lash's face, "Because I have someone to love. Because I want to further my intimate relationship with someone. Something you wouldn't even begin to understand."

"So you want to stick your dick in something other than your hand," Lash eased with mean delight alongside a shrug and a toss of his creepy, golden eyes up to Turbo's kitchen's ceiling.

"You're the only Turbotime guy left that's a virgin, how does that make you feel?" Throttle stabbed meanly, to which Turbo heaved a shaky sigh and gingerly gestured in Throttle's direction.

"Easy," Turbo mumbled, swiftly sinking back into his mediating mode, and although Throttle was right, Turbo felt his wing tightly come about Lash in a huge attempt to get Lash acclimated back into normal life; a rather hefty and fragile task.

"No, no, he's not wrong," Lash barked with a widening smile of mean delight, though it was clear he was about to blow, "Keep 'em comin', Tee, why don't you school me on this bullshit then, if you're so confident."

"It's a love outside of your family that you wouldn't understand, the urge to share your everything with someone because you adore them so much," Throttle quickly rattled off, the heat of all the years of being a professor, at End of Line Academy, very quickly glossed his figure with an infinite amount of wisdom, "You adopt everything they are, and they graciously accept everything YOU are. It's a shared experience of memory, skill, ability, self and love. It's no wonder you love yourself, so much. Like you said, all your dick has is your own User-damned hand."

"Why don't you come over here and say that without a counter between us?" Lash bobbed a nod as his eyes very quickly dipped from golden to that of a now stinging spark of hot orange; although Turbo remained still and was certain Throttle wouldn't jump at Lash's goading, he flinched in whole surprise and watched as Throttle firmly began to march around Turbo's kitchen island.

"WHOA whoa whoa, guys, come ON," Turbo stated in irritated urgency as he quickly rounded Lash and successfully got in between both of his brothers before Throttle rounded the island, though Throttle pressed on and hovered tight over Turbo's figure. In the gentle bob and weave of both Lash and Throttle, to attempt to get at each other, Turbo finally pushed on Throttle's chest and was glad he got his eldest brother's attention, "Knock it off, Tee, c'mon guys, don't be stupid about this."

"You two are the only ones stupid enough to even consider following through with a swap," Lash barked in a smiling show of mean irritation up into Throttle's soul, "Nox is a lost cause, and Turbo only just recently got his own coding back. Come ON guys, our coding is an ENTIRE rarity! And you're here wanting to muddy it with simpleton FAUX-CODES!"

"You have a big mouth for such a small minded dude," Turbo muttered darkly in whole irritation as he finally whirled around and grappled Lash's shirt with his fist. Lash bugged his eyes in boggled surprise as Turbo firmly jostled Lash about for a small second, as if to shake some sense into him, "I'm not going to keep saying it, so open your damned ears. Self-programmed gamers are stronger than User-made gamers because they are a whole combination of skill and ability. You're not just talking about Wren, in that statement."

"You're talking about Sugar Rush's princess," Throttle quickly added in heated debate as both him and Turbo hovered over Lash, who looked to be entirely humbled.

"It'd be an honor to swap with that woman," Turbo growled in Lash's face, "Don't you DARE call ANYONE on the palace grounds a simpleton. If there's anyone whose currently stuck in simpleton-dom, it's YOU. So why don't you sit down, shut up and LISTEN."

Turbo firmly shoved Lash back down to a sit right on his hard, red bar stool, and with a creak and a thump, Lash grunted with the force, sagged his shoulders and peered up to his bigger, much wiser brothers in astonished nervousness. Turbo put his hands on his hips and gently leaned in to Lash's face a little.

"And it's not simply for the fact that she's royalty. Had you been around for the past year and a half, you'd discover that I wanted NOTHING to do with ANYONE on the entire palace lot. I wanted to be left ENTIRELY alone," Turbo urged in Lash's face, to which Throttle shook his head and verbally rushed to Turbo's aid.

"It was Berri that kept bugging Turbo until he finally let his walls come down," Throttle explained, Lash nervously looked back and forth between his big brothers, his golden eyes muted in dim defeat.

"You wanna know why my walls came down?" Turbo huffed in quiet, scheming question, to which Lash only barely opened his mouth.

"Why-?"

"Because I fell in LOVE with her," Turbo growled as he clenched his fists, "She became my best friend and slowly, I fell hard. She could be the poorest commoner in ARCADE and I'd STILL want every single little PIECE of her underneath my skin."

"I-I get it," Lash mumbled in irritated defeat as Throttle and Turbo finally eased up, "Alright, you guys win... I-I'm sorry, I just... It's just odd, and I don't understand it."

"You don't understand it because you've never fallen in love with someone, clearly," Throttle muttered, though he shrugged and urgently peered to his little brother, "It's not to say you couldn't."

"Who KNOWS. If you behave and act right, maybe Zed and Tessa will let you live in the city, in peace," Turbo rushed as he gestured his hand out to the city below the three, "Maybe, just MAYBE, you'll meet a woman you find attractive."

"And befriend," Throttle added.

"And, what? Fall in love with?" Turbo quickly concluded, Lash nervously looked away and furrowed his eyebrows in now thwarted defeat, "Huh. What a wild idea."

"Then you'd be crawling back to us... Asking us just WHAT you have to do to get her coding into yours," Throttle muttered in understanding, to which Lash inhaled a shaky breath and shrugged.

"No one would like a sorry asshole like me. You set me free in the city, and I'd never see the light of day," Lash muttered, though Turbo and Throttle froze at his words, for merely moments, before both boys urgently burst out in ironic laughter. Lash furrowed his eyebrows sharply and shook his head in now cold, stewing irritation, "WHAT is so funny?"

"Hooo, Lash," Throttle wiped his eye as him and Turbo urgently caught glances, to which Turbo put his hands on his hips and shook his head as Throttle continued, "Turbo was singing the exact... Same... Song."

"What do you mean?" Lash worried in mumbling nervousness.

"After Berri, that silly little simpleton, THWARTED you as nothing but a loading, unborn code box, I begged Tessa to put me in the highest tower in Orion City and leave me ENTIRELY alone," Turbo rushed as he cocked an eyebrow, "The only person that didn't abide by that rule was Berri."

"She relentlessly wanted your friendship," Throttle chuckled, though Lash softened in now gentle curiosity.

"She banged down my walls until I didn't even have a choice," Turbo eased softly as he shook his head, though Lash nervously peered to Throttle and Turbo in a rare show of humility.

"S-So... You really didn't pursue her for the crown?" Lash wondered gently, Turbo and Throttle largely rolled their eyes and lulled their heads back in entire irritation.

"NO," Turbo and Throttle blurt at the same time, though Throttle gestured to himself.

"I became fast friends with Wren over a game of hide and seek the palace was having," Throttle put his hand on his chest and chuckled, "Everyone glitched away, to go hide, and it was just me and Wren left behind... Neither of us have gamer powers, and we bonded over something so small."

"Which eventually snowballed into, well... Where you two are headed now," Turbo shrugged, he eyed Lash in mean, smiling delight and shook his head, "You can strive for a normal, closed-off life all you want, but love will eventually come clawing your way."

"And once it does," Throttle grumbled as he rubbed his forehead, Turbo blurt a small laugh and shook his head, "You won't be able to escape it."

"Sounds... Terrifying, really," Lash mumbled, though Turbo shrugged and bobbed a nod.

"It is... I mean, look at us now. Throttle's here to figure out a homosexual swap, something that isn't extremely common," Turbo gestured to Throttle and peered into Lash's eyes, "And I, well... I'm not the focus, here, tonight."

"Methinks you SHOULD swap with Berri," Throttle muttered as Turbo furrowed his eyebrows and shot Throttle a wildly confused look of mild embarrassment.

"Doesn't... Berri have a boyfriend? Or, swapmate?" Lash cautiously pressed.

"She swapped with Gunner?" Throttle blurt in whole entire sadness as he urgently peered to Turbo; he shook his head and shut his eyes tight.

"NO, th-they're just... Dating," Turbo grunted as he flagged his hand, "This is about Throttle, leave me out of it."

"Just get it over with, dude," Lash blurt a laugh as Turbo finally peeled himself from Lash's front, and Throttle's warpath. He made his way around the island and began to cue up a few holograms, a gently glowing extension of his own shred of Sugar Rush's code room, all calmly lit in red holograms. Lash pressed his grey hands to the island's counter and gave Turbo a cheeky smile, "Just swap with Berri, if it's what you so desperately want. She won't WANT to think about Gunner, afterwards."

"Y'know, Lash, there's a LITTLE thing I like to call... Consent," Turbo cheekily narrowed his eyes and gave Lash a wide, mean grin, "I'm not a monster."

"But you two ARE in love," Throttle egged, to which Turbo shot him a look, as if to beg Throttle not to join in on Lash's antics.

"Just, SIT her down and... And... I don't know, you guys are the experts, here," Lash grumbled as he gestured his hand off in Turbo's and Throttle's separate directions.

"I'm not yet," Throttle muttered, "I had sex with a woman, once upon a time, but, now..."

"Yikes," Lash blurt a hard laugh and shot Throttle a knowing, cheeky grin of mean delight, and although Turbo knew not to add fuel to the fire, he grit his teeth and snorted a laugh he desperately tried to hold back, "Y'got a WHOLE different ball game, here... Get it? Ball game?"

"YEAH I get it, Whiplash, will you grow up?" Throttle grunted in now entire embarrassment, his sheet-white cheeks immediately flared in a bruised blush of entire shyness, something that Lash noted and surprisingly respected in the act of backing off.

"Goin' in the secret back entrance," Turbo muttered as he cleared his throat, and although he saw Throttle urgently narrow his glower and shoot it in his direction, he wheezed a laugh and pat his chest in stifling cheekiness, "Sorry, I... I had to get one in, sorry."

"How'd it make you feel, Bo?" Throttle barked in mortified irritation, to which Lash suddenly howled with laughter.

"Pretty great, not gunna lie," Turbo choked, he heaved a shaky, beaming sigh and began to pan through Throttle's pulled up displays and options. In sync with it all, Wren's quickly came to the forefront, as well, "Well, just feel grateful you know someone with a hand in the code room. A swap, between two men, is actually far easier to follow through with than, say, a man and a woman, or even two women. Y'got the long end of the stick, here, Tee."

"... W-was that a euphemism-?" Lash was urgently cut off.

"It BETTER NOT have been," Throttle stabbed in continued irritation, and although Turbo and Lash now easily enjoyed each other's camaraderie, Turbo sagged his shoulders and gave Throttle a kind, easy-going smile.

"Tee, RELAX. This is exciting, okay? This is a huge step, for you and Wren," Turbo cooed carefully, which thankfully had Throttle's shoulders un-tensing in a sag of mild relief, "Have you two discussed this, at all?"

"No, h-he... He saw how uptight I was at our small get-together, at Tessa's and Zed's house, and... H-He offered to come over and spend the night," Throttle mumbled in rising despair, he twiddled his long, gangly fingers before him and aimlessly looked down in sorrow, cueing both Turbo and Lash to drop their teasing antics, "He... Said he'd give me back rub, or whatever he could do, so to calm my nerves."

"Why are you so uptight?" Lash wondered genuinely, his tone was dull for curiosities sakes, to which Throttle finally shot Lash a look of mild irritation.

"Because YOU are unbubbled," Throttle grumbled, to which Lash rolled his eyes and looked off.

"So, you're going to have sex strictly because you're stressed out that I exist?" Lash muttered as he finally brought his cheeky, smiling demeanor back to Throttle's disposition, and before Throttle could unleash his temporarily short-fused self on Lash's quivering soul, Turbo stepped in.

"Lash, how many times do we have to tell you?" Turbo grunted, to which Lash threw his hands up in defeat and scrunched his eyes closed.

"I KNOW, it's for MANY reasons, it's because you love each other, I GOT THE PICTURE," Lash blurt loudly, to which Turbo stifled another laugh, the way Throttle looked off in huffy, bottle-necked irritation, Turbo cocked an eyebrow and now truly believed Throttle when he said Wren was concerned, and it was clear Throttle was in need of a point of safety, tonight.

"Throttle, it's as simple as me just swapping yours and Wren's source coding," Turbo cooed gently, to which Throttle raised his eyebrows in baited, curious, gleeful concern, "Unlike a man swapping with a woman as a self-programmed gamer to a user made gamer, two men swapping, no matter the coding orientation, is as easy as swapping the source code and, well... Going at it, no holds barred."

"N-No... Timed swap or ANYTHING?" Throttle wondered with a nervous tremble in his throat, it was here did his veins begin to surge with mild dread; dread at the raw fact that this was all becoming very real, very fast.

"It's all up to you and Wren, now," Turbo assured with a small chuckle as he showed both Throttle's and Wren's holographic, exterior displays, all cozily nestled with the other's source coding. Throttle raised his eyebrows and felt as if his feet was now glued to Turbo's tiles, though the pulse in his jugular was very clearly about to come bursting right out of his neck.

"So, what are you waiting for?" Lash barked, Throttle flinched and heaved a nervous breath of an inquiry, though Lash pretended to hold a phone up to his ear, "Uh, yeah, Wren? Can you stop by? I got a lil' somethin' for yah."

"THAT easy, huh," Throttle barked in hot irritation, to which Turbo shrugged and gave Throttle a cheeky look of kind delight.

"Hey, you DID say Wren offered," Turbo thwarted as Throttle nervously peered his anticipatory eyes straight into Turbo's, "Methinks Wren WANTS you to call and take him up on that there, uh... Back rub."


	132. Chapter 132

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Yeah, the boys definitely have it easy LOL!

 **I hope you guys are alright! Wishing everyone had a wonderful holiday and new years :)  
**

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Bloom by Troye Sivan**

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 **WARNING!**

 **This whole chapter is a sex scene ;) Enjoyyy**

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 ***Chapter 132***

 _Tee : I mean, it's not urgent or anything_

 _Tee : I just got to thinking what you told me earlier_

 _Tee : But like... You don't have to come over tonight, I'm sure you're annoyed of all of my anxiety_

 _Tee : You've probably busied yourself with something else, anyways, I understand._

 _Tee : When are you leaving again? For tour? Next week?_

 _Tee : Or did I hear wrong_

 _Tee : You think maybe Gunner will let me come the whole time, this time?_

 _Songbird : Throttle lol_

 _Songbird : Why don't you set your phone down and take like ten steps away from it?_

 _Songbird : I'll be over shortly. Right after I'm done dying laughing. The hell's gotten into you?_

Throttle huffed a hard sigh and haphazardly tossed his phone to his bed in full agitation. He shoved the base of his palms messily into his forehead and grit his teeth, with eyes scrunched he finally glossed his nervous eyes around his bedroom. Dimly lit, the cream curtains drawn, his bed was somehow tidily unmade in rich white and cream downs, the only light that agitated the shadows in the room was the flickers of lightning that threatened a proper rain storm, for the night. Throttle looked down at his body in curiosity and rested his hands on his bare center. Wearing only a comfortable pair of thin black sweat pants, he ruffled his black hair into some form of agitated tidiness and began to hurriedly move to his taller, greyish tan dresser. In the slide of one of the lower, heavier drawers, he began to rummage for a comfortable shirt to wear. He was well aware that both him and Wren would potentially slip into a more comfortable realm of living eventually, though he grit his teeth as the mere thought of sex easily caused his core to tense with terror.

Throttle opened an upper drawer, above where he was rummaging, and anxiously searched for a certain shirt, an agitated, unmitigated show of entirely tunnel visioning, he buried himself into his dresser, grit his teeth and desperately clawed for that one shirt he wanted to wear, a security net or sorts. In a groan of further irritation, he bent back over to rummage through the lower drawer, now on a pointless mission amidst clawing aside perfectly good casual shirts to wear. He bit his lip and incoherently mumbled rushing huffs of breathy notions to himself, he could see the intense, white glow of his eyes piercing into the darkness of his drawers. The second he heard Wren's tender, deep voice call his name from across his home, in his dimly lit foyer, Throttle jolted his head up, consequently smashing the back of his head on the opened drawer above him.

"For USER'S SAKE," Throttle hissed in a hard grapple of the back of his head, he scrunched into a loose kneeling ball on the ground, grit his teeth in sharp pain and held his breath to quell any further feeling.

"Babe?" Wren pressed nervously, his boots tenderly pressed into the soft, light wooden floors, though once he saw Throttle shirtless, tightly curled into a kneeling ball, white fingers even further white-knuckled through his thick black hair, Wren wrinkled his nose and huffed a small, incredulous chuckle, "Throttle, you, uh... You okay?"

"I-I'm fine, I'm fine," Throttle huffed in dry agitation as he finally stood, shirtless, before Wren. Wren cocked an eyebrow and glossed his eyes across Throttle's figure whilst his glowing white eyes were still painfully shut. Throttle, although a rather thin, lean and gangly stretch of sheet white skin, had the hints of muscles up his strong, underestimated core. With the trail of soft, black hair that trailed down from his bellybutton, his chest inhaled a deep, shaky breath as he finally removed his arms and hands from his head. He peered to Wren in pleading agitation and shook his head, "I-I'm out of sorts, kinda. I'm sorry, you... Didn't have to rush over."

"I wasn't doing anything else," Wren choked a laugh, and with the further show of proving he was going to easily get comfortable and stay awhile, Wren made himself comfortable on one of Throttle's nearby reading chairs and began to slowly take off his boots, the show of olive green wool socks underneath. He shook his head and gave Throttle his cheeky, glistening blue eyes in teasing glee, "You saved me from Berri's 'do you think Gunner is a good guy' game of twenty questions."

"... Gunner?" Throttle thinly wondered as he finally sagged his shoulders and gently tucked his shaking hands into his thin, black sweat pant's pockets.

"Yeah, I think she's just insecure because she's well aware she'd rather be with Turbo," Wren muttered as he finally slipped his left boot off, he then began taking off his brown jacket cooly clad with a few Sugar Rush patches that pertained to Rancis's and Taffyta's racing numbers and logos. He heaved a soft sigh, though Throttle watched as his thin, goldenrod colored shirt stretched across his pecks in the expansive motion he took to get his jacket off of his arms and back. He finally slumped it to the back rest of Throttle's cozy recliner and brought himself to a stand, he brushed his shirt free of wrinkles and continued on, "I think she just likes to hear herself talk herself into a rut of worry."

"And you just let it happen," Throttle muttered, to which inhaled a deep breath and finally blurt a hard chuckle in resonance of Throttle's words.

"Guess so," Wren stretched his arms above his head and finally came back down with a refreshed grunt, "Seems like I'm the go-to guy for worry warts. I guess tonight's your lucky night."

"Wh-why?" Throttle staggered in a spike of worry, he was well aware his face was likely permanently glued into a beet-red shade of morbid shyness.

"Because you're clearly worried about Lash? You had me over to talk about it, right?" Wren innocently worried, and it was here did Throttle hold his breath and catch eyes with Wren in a string of tender silence, a deafening drone of warm ambience filled to the brim with hot understanding, and although Throttle was well aware Wren wasn't one to push the envelope or get way too ahead of himself, due to Throttle's fragile nature, Throttle knew Wren wasn't stupid. The way a scheming, almost stifled smile came across Wren's handsome face, he side-eyed Throttle in sly knowing and finally took the first swing at breaking the ice that was the colossal iceberg in between both boys, "Maybe a back rub? A... Slow dance?"

"... That what you kids are calling it these days?" Throttle muttered in a forced show of entire disinterest, a defense mechanism he was well aware Wren knew his way around. He crossed his white arms and tenderly looked off towards the draped sliding glass doors of his balcony, thunder rumbled the room as his deep voice rode the coattails of it, "I just... Have a ton on my mind."

"Well, let's talk about it," Wren mumbled with a warm smile, he eyed Throttle and, as cautiously as he could, he approached Throttle's massive, cozy, unmade bed and sat cross-legged on the edge of it. A subtle way of setting the scene and making clear that there was no rush, here, "You're very clearly worried about Lash. Why don't you message Turbo and get some clarity, or some reassurance? I know Tessa and Zed wouldn't task Turbo with this if they didn't trust his judgment entirely, you know that."

"Yeah, I... I went over to his loft, to have a talk with him, and Lash was there, unbubbled," Throttle mumbled, his feeble attempt at putting up a wall was now thwarted by the adorable disposition Wren eked, a warm ball of blonde love, a head tilt of entire sincerity, his googly eyes of never-ending blue practically beckoned Throttle to come and get a closer look. Throttle inhaled a shaky breath and shut his eyes tight in wild dread, "I wasn't expecting him to just be... Sitting there, in the kitchen, with Turbo."

"It's weird to see him again, huh," Wren cooed in understanding, "Especially after everything he put, well... EVERYONE through. I'm sure it's hard."

"It is," Throttle urged as he took a step to the left and began to quietly and aimlessly pace, "I want so badly to rekindle my relationship with my little brother, like I've been able to do with Nox and Turbo, but... This one is definitely going to take time. I mean, we were going AT it."

"What happened? Wait, you were fighting?" Wren worried softly, he grappled his ankles and got into a cozier nestle of a sitting position in Throttle's beckoning downs; thunder hit the air, causing both boys to flinch.

"Yeah, I... I-I guess I brought up a rather hot topic," Throttle muttered in tender, scared reveal. He twiddled his fingers and looked down to his feet as his chest slowly expanded an inhale, "Something he's really not fond of."

"... Swapping?" Wren ventured innocently, to which Throttle held his breath and bobbed a nod amidst the gentle tuck of his bottom lip into his mouth, a soft show of vulnerable secrecy. Wren shook his head and gave Throttle a cute, understanding smile, "What, did the topic of Berri and Turbo come up, or something?"

"No, I... I brought it up," Throttle dared quietly, his glowing white eyes gingerly hooked straight into Wren's, and with such a gentle, loving sting of sincerity, Wren held his breath and raised his eyebrows in surprise. Throttle heaved a shaky sigh, shrugged his masculine shoulders and looked off, "I was hoping the conversation would just be Turbo and I, but... Lash insisted I open up."

"... Not really quite what he bargained for, huh," Wren hummed with great warmth as he, too, looked down to the ankles in which he still held his his able hands. He raised his eyebrows in blushing, tender delight and finally dragged his eyes back to his boyfriend, an incredible recluse with the ability to shell away nearly as great as Turbo's, though it was clear here that Throttle was radiating a rather minuscule glimpse of glowing potential, as if Wren had the key to his heart, and after all of this time, he was about to unload with his whole heart. Wren softened and gave Throttle an understanding, cheeky smile, "Doing a bit of studying, then? I'm assuming you wanted Turbo's advice for, well... Y-You and I."

"Yeah, I did," Throttle revealed softly as he bobbed a nod and dared to catch Wren's eye, he wrinkled him a nervous smile before his facial expression very quickly drooped to cold dread, a flurry of anger that Wren was well aware wasn't promised for eternity, "Lash certainly had the information banged into his thick skull. That poor guy... Really had no clue what swapping was even about."

"The experience of it all?" Wren pressed gently, he held the disposition of still water, he knew to be something that Throttle could easily mirror and he was glad he was successful, thus far.

"Yeah, that it's... Not a muddying experience, that self programmed gamers are actually a bit stronger than us User made gamers," Throttle warmly explained, he peered to Wren in mild desperation, narrowed his eyes and shook his head, "Lash kept pressing the fact that it was unnecessary, he doesn't understand that it's a special bond you share with someone. A permanent mixture with the person you care about."

"It's really not hard to understand," Wren argued with a sweet smile and a shrug of his muscular shoulders, "It's also a massive stress reliever. Poor Turbo can only pacify Berri with her core coding meditations."

"Pft, yeah... It's the most he can do, right now," Throttle muttered with a cute smile, though he finally furrowed his eyebrows and gestured his hands, "Lash just doesn't get it, but... Maybe one day he will."

"What, that it's typically what you end up doing in romantic relationships?" Wren pressed gently, Throttle nodded in frustration.

"I don't know how many times I had to keep reminding him that the hugest reason why I even bothered seeking said information was because I love you," Throttle rattled nonchalantly, though as he opened his mouth and faltered a breath to carry on, he raised his eyebrows in poised surprise and held his breath in a vacuum-sealed inhale of unmitigated horror. Wren double-took on Throttle's gaze and easily froze as well, and as thunder gently rumbled over the land, Throttle choked a noise of a terrified reversal, urgently gestured his hands and was well aware his sheet-white skin drew to a horrified shade of purple the second Wren began to slowly ease a sly, sweet grin in Throttle's direction, "I-I mean, I... User DAMMIT I wanted to tell you in SUCH a better way than that, what the hell is my PROBLEM!"

"Throttle," Wren choked a laugh and shook his head amidst a sweet, glowing beam of a smile, he finally got to his knees and prepared to escape the downs of Throttle's bed, though he remained knelt as Throttle urgently grappled his hair and began to angrily pace about his room.

"You make me crazy, I-I typically am so collected and quiet and, and...! Lonely and well-mannered," Throttle suddenly barked, to which Wren huffed a sigh of a laugh and slumped his hands to his thighs in defeat as Throttle's urgent pacing pressed on, nearly carving crop circles in his wooden floors, "You HAVE to know that ANYTHING we'd do, pertaining to swapping, is ANYTHING but well-mannered or, or... Collected, or QUIET-"

"Throttle," Wren barked a little louder, he eased a hard laugh and felt his heart race with the build up. He shook his head and urgently got in a few words, "That's why it's done in privacy between no one but you and I. You understand that anything that happens between us STAYS between us-"

"Lash is out for not even twenty four hours and his oldest brother is seeking out a tutorial for swapping codes with another MAN," Throttle's voice rasped with the escalated volume, the second lightning soaked the room, his vividly glowing white eyes eagerly hooked to Wren's with renewed, heightened, anxious energy, something Wren had never seen from Throttle before, "You hold my hand and say you'd do anything for me, y-you give that feeling of security I've never felt from anyone. You've assured and answered all the questions I had been asking myself for decades now... Too scared to do anything to seek validation for such feelings."

"Lash has no room to judge you," Wren assured with a small chuckle as he finally sat back down on his legs, though remained kneeling in readiness, "For all the shit he's done, he should be grateful that his brothers are eagerly searching for LOVE."

Throttle panted through his nose and kept his scared eyes tight to Wren's, and although Wren's disposition was that of calm easiness, an eagerness to explore his own being and love languages like he was born with confidence, Throttle almost glowered him down and wondered just how many damaged years he had over Wren, how many terrified nights of loneliness he had so securely fastened above Wren's existence. Throttle was well aware Wren wouldn't even begin to understand how scared he was, how much he had struggled through. Although the sheer amount of years and life experience between the two was what made up the difference, Throttle urgently peered into Wren's eyes and felt entire solace, a glowing being of warmth and goodness just ready to welcome Throttle home, once and for all. The years of self torture and nervousness finally coming to a head, right inside of this stormy evening, Throttle sagged his shoulders and nervously looked off. The feeling of Wren's warm eye contact on Throttle's cold, white skin was something that could easily be felt in the form of plagued goosebumps.

"Are you nervous?" Wren wondered in such softness, a cadence of true delicacy, as if he entirely understood this was a rather fragile predicament both boys were very easily approaching, a slippery slope the both of them were mere inches from. Throttle exhaled a shaky breath and bobbed a small nod, alongside an unsure shrug, his needy gaze hooked tight to Wren's as he sat up a little straighter and gave Throttle a warm look of forgiving, "Would it make you feel more at ease if I told you that I love you too?"

Throttle did everything in his power to stifle a gentle smile as he looked down to his feet. He sagged his hands into his thin black relaxing pants and, once more, bobbed a small nod of assurance. He heaved a shaky breath and finally gave Wren a glowing smile, the two shared in tender, enchanted silence, to which Wren finally huffed a small chuckle and gestured Throttle over; it was here did Throttle hold his breath, once more.

"C'mere, I don't bite," Wren blurt as his welcoming hand gesture of beckoning increased in impatient fervor, to which Throttle's bare feet finally pressed forward. Wren cocked an eyebrow and gave Throttle a playful, teasing side eye, "Unless y'like that sorta thing, huh?"

"Stop it," Throttle grunted with an annoyed smile as he lulled his eyes closed and approached the edge of the bed, where Wren sat. Wren finally eased a gentle noise and grappled Throttle's upper arm, and with a warm tug, he was successful in garnering Throttle's upper body to hover over the bed in a final succumb of his legs bending and causing the bed to warmly croak with both of their weight, once and for all. Throttle swallowed hard and shook his head, "I-I... I really have no clue what I'm doing, here."

"'Course you do," Wren chuckled, he shrugged as both boys crawled to normality, in Throttle's bed, though Wren lead the way and was successful in convincing the both of their bodies underneath Throttle's cozy, billowy downs. Wren grunted a noise, and before he could get comfortable, he began to try and unbuckle his pants and belt as nonchalantly as he could, out of sight, "And so do I. Because the both of us have never done anything like this before, that makes BOTH of us experts. Make sense?"

"... Not even a little," Throttle grumbled with a smile as he sagged the side of his head into his pillow and shut his eyes in wild, terrified apprehension. He was well aware Wren wouldn't dare shove Throttle into something he wasn't mentally ready for, though somehow, the act of it all had him frozen in fear.

"Well, what are you afraid of, then? Tell me," Wren eased confidently as he slopped his heavy pants out from the downs, to the side, and chucked them to the ground nearby. He eased an exhausted, long grunt of whole delight and snuggled into Throttle's comfortable, heavenly bed. He tucked his arm and hand underneath his pillow and lulled his eyes closed as he pressed on, "Y'afraid of... It being painful? The swap in general?"

"I guess, yeah," Throttle pressed shakily as he peered to Wren's face, his eyes were closed in nonchalant sleepiness, though Throttle wrinkled his nose and pressed on in grumbling nervousness, "Dude, if we were humans, our age difference would have us burned at the stake..."

"What? Seriously?" Wren popped open his eyes and furrowed his brows, he eased a contagious chuckle and finally half-sat up propped on his elbow, "You're, what... Thirty Arcade years older than me?"

"I'm thirty eight Arcade years old," Throttle muttered in entire dismay, to which Wren bugged his eyes and firmly sat up in a playful show of entire distraught.

"Th-thirty EIGHT?" Wren barked as he grappled Throttle's downs and urgently peered down to him in terror, and although Throttle's heart dropped in whole dread, he sagged in irritation and was wildly aware of Wren's playful nature. Wren urgently shook his head and bugged his eyes, "W-we can't go through with this, Throttle, you're WAY too old for me!"

"I'm saying," Throttle grumbled as he yanked his pillow out from under his own head and finally shoved it over his face. He continued on through the muffle of his pillow, which he was now suffocating himself with, "I met you when you were just born. You want to talk to ME about how odd this is?"

"Wait, really?" Wren pressed in seriousness as he dropped his playful act and shook his head, "There's clearly no limits, in Arcade. Age is, quite literally, just a number, here. Are you genuinely concerned about it? I mean, look at Nox and Koko... As well as Turbo and Berri."

"Turbo and Berri aren't a thing," Throttle mumbled, though he jolted as Wren ripped the pillow off of Throttle's face and leaned down a little.

"They are, and you know it," Wren muttered with a cheeky smile, to which Throttle sagged his arms and hands besides himself and inhaled a deep breath of concealed, playful irritation. Though Wren was certain that he'd likely be the ring leader in this circus, he sagged a little and wondered if he should leave room to give Throttle opportunity, pockets of confidence that came and went, Wren wondered if he'd jump up at the chance. Through the sag of his shoulders, Wren gently laid back down and peered to Throttle in warm curiosity as he snuggled deeper into Throttle's warm downs, "Did you... Really know me as a baby?"

"... I named you," Throttle pressed with a great amount of warmth as he closed his eyes, the room filled with tender silence, nothing but the gentle patter of rain and distant thunder across the land, Throttle finally peeled his eyes open and caught with Wren's entire warmth of a gaze. Wren peered to him in stunned humility and huffed a gentle chuckle of cute earnest, and as Throttle crowned a bashful smile and red cheeks, he exhaled a hard sigh and bobbed a nod, "Taffyta was having a hard time finding a name for you... She came over to my house, when we lived in Dead Zed, and I was telling her all about the cute little nest of house wrens that had made themselves cozy on my patio."

"... Really?" Wren pressed sweetly as he eagerly listened, though both boys wildly jolted as a massive bang of thunder suddenly crackled the whole room alive with energy. Out of entire habit, Wren urgently shoved himself tighter into Throttle's side and showed a genuine twinge of fear. With such, Throttle heaved a shaky breath and bashfully fastened his arms about Wren's shoulders in the jolting movement. Without question, Wren grumbled a noise and warmly buried his face into the broad of Throttle's chest, "Holy User, I hate thunderstorms..."

"I've gotcha," Throttle's soft voice concluded as he tucked his chin atop Wren's head and lulled his eyes closed, "... Since day one, I've been protective of you. I grew to really know and love Taffyta, on those days that your father was with the crew, lost inside Sugar Rush, looking for the castle. I guess some could think it weird that my... Pending swap mate was someone I cared for as a baby. Does sound strange, now that I say it out loud."

"It's not a big deal, it doesn't bother me if it doesn't bother you," Wren shrugged and closed his eyes, he relished in the feel of Throttle's surprisingly strong grip that came around him, he sighed into Throttle's collar and relaxed to his full extent, "I'm curious what the initial code swap even will feel like... Zed told me, once, that it felt like your spine was about to be ripped right out of your body."

"Well, why don't we find out?" Throttle mumbled sweetly, though he bugged his eyes the second Wren yanked his head back and shot him an incredulous look of stun. Throttle choked a noise and urgently shook his head, he figuratively ducked his head tight into his spiky shell, "I-I... N-No, that... That was WAY forward of me, and I'm sorry, I-I just-"

"I'm trying to figure you out, dude," Wren blurt a soft chuckle and sagged his head to Throttle's pillow, both boys hovered a few inches from each other's faces, though Throttle looked entirely mortified, "You're either painfully shy about EVERYTHING, or... Saying snippy little comments that somehow prove that you have a load of confidence, underneath all that fear."

"Y-Yeah, I... I don't know," Throttle mumbled nervously as he sagged and glossed his bashful eyes all about Wren's covered, broad collar. He inhaled a shaky breath and shrugged, "I don't know what I was trying to say, there."

"I do," Wren shrugged, he lovingly wrapped his arms about Throttle's middle and easily snuggled the whole front and center, of his body, tight into Throttle's. He heaved a hot sigh through his nose and warmly kissed Throttle's jaw, just one innocent smooch of cuddly love, "You should just come out with it, already. You want to get this show on the road, but you're scared to say anything cause you're worried you'll scare me away."

"... Nail on the head, I guess," Throttle muttered in soft sorrow as he squeezed his eyes shut and heaved a shaky sigh. He reopened his eyes and felt his heart begin to thud with entire nervousness the second he could feel the product of the prolonged cuddling, between him and Wren, begin to crop up. In a subtle act of not wanting to shove his feelings away any longer, Throttle did the next best thing he could think and just lay still, allow all the feelings to come rushing him, embrace this raw bout of change he wasn't certain if he was ready for or not. He swallowed hard and wrapped his arms about Wren's broad, strong upper back and felt chills go up his spine at the feeling of Wren's able palms on the sides of his hips, "I-I'm... Starting to wonder if nothing will scare you away, though."

"Nothing but the thunder," Wren assured deeply as he nestled his face into Throttle's throat, he hovered his hot breath above Throttle's adam's apple and jugular, the racing pulse through the arteries on his neck could easily be seen throbbing in nervousness, "I get the feeling that I'm not the only one that desires to be a top. Y'got that deep down, in there somewhere, dude?"

"I don't know," Throttle grumbled through a now widening, bashful smile, the urge to scrunch his shoulders, due to the tickling sensation of Wren's chin and facial hairs, had him shying away and succumbing to love, all in one action. Throttle heaved a shaky sigh and urgently gripped his arms about Wren, as if he was the only thing now holding him to the Arcade, lest he go flying away in a fit of losing his mind entirely. Throttle heaved a gentle chuckle and began to finally feel safe in the act of peeling off layers of fear, opening up was only just the beginning in this mess, "I-I'm never good in the spotlight."

"Stage fright?" Wren wondered dully, Throttle choked another laugh and felt his veins do a weird wiggle and jump the second Wren gingerly tugged Throttle's hips into his own; Throttle nearly felt his heart stop at the feeling of Wren's firm distention that was now urgently dug into the nook of his left hip bone.

"Something like that," Throttle breathed in an exhale of gathered wilting, he fluttered his eyes closed and felt his veins do a bunch of wiggly dances, the feeling of himself now drowning at Wren's touch, he squeezed his eyes shut in falling, horrific delight at the very feeling of Wren's strong and able hands doing everything they could to fish Throttle out of the buttons of his thin sweat pants.

"What would it take, then?" Wren's deep, crackly voice wondered in warm, whispering delight as he tucked his face into the underside of Throttle's jaw. Alongside a few firm, warm kisses into Throttle's ghostly white skin, he firmly gripped Throttle's distention and began to egg him on in the form of firm squeezes and strokes, hovered tight near the tip. Throttle gasped a small noise and clawed his hands into the backs of Wren's shoulder blades, his golden shirt urgently wrinkled under the power of Throttle's grippy hands and arms. Wren huffed a shaky breath of delight and smiled on Throttle's hot skin, he continued on in a tone of near-deathly delight, "What do I gotta do to see you unleash and truly be yourself?"

"I-I... I guess the promise that y-you... St-stay with me, forever," Throttle begged in a rasp of a whisper, he shut his eyes tight and felt his whole body and spine go stiff, how desperately he stifled the urge to thrust into Wren's hand was quickly being overridden with whole desire. He choked a noise and finally allowed himself a few gentle movements, to which Wren encouraged with a bit firmer hand gestures and squeezes, though as Wren's hot breath on Throttle's collar ceased in the act of verbally rushing to Throttle's aid, Throttle quickly squeaked another plea in, "L-Last time I-I did anything like this... I-It wasn't for the long haul..."

"Having the honor of sharing coding with such a rare individual?" Wren assured in a warm tone above a whisper, he lulled his eyes closed and snuggled into Throttle's body, both stiff and hot with stifled agitation, something Wren was certain was about to come bursting forth with purpose, "I'd do anything, Tee... You just say the word."

"Don't give me that license," Throttle huffed shakily as he softly plowed his forehead into the top of Wren's shoulder, he grit his teeth and now firmly thrust into the tight clench of Wren's hand, he could hardly keep himself concealed any longer.

"But I wanna see what you're made of," Wren playfully complained in a soft tone, he squeezed Throttle's throbbing distention a little harder and firmly grappled all the way down to the base of it, he gingerly sank his teeth into Throttle's collar and eased a cute, mean chuckle of delight as he pressed on, "You're clearly pent up... Why don't you just tell me what's wrong?"

"Everything," Throttle huffed over Wren's shoulder as sweat began to dot his forehead, he shakily continued to press deeper into Wren's hand before he shut his eyes tight and understood that enough was enough. He grit his teeth in gentle preparation and finally grappled the tops of Wren's shoulders, "Everything and nothing... I can't describe it."

"If you can't verbally describe it, then maybe just show me," Wren egged deeply, he blurt a gentle chuckle and was well aware his goading was just about to pay off, he cocked an eyebrow and finally returned his hand to Throttle's hip, as if to figuratively push Throttle right off of the cliff without a parachute.

Throttle grit his teeth and was well aware that anything to unfold, here, was something he absolutely prayed would fly. Although he figured he knew Wren really well, Throttle had absolutely no idea how Wren would figure being literally man handled. In a firm, though slow and loving shove, Throttle was successful in pulling Wren forward a bit, so to be comfortably laying on his stomach. Much to Throttle's entire delight, Wren very eagerly followed suit, as if he had somehow been praying for this moment. Throttle blurt a shaky chuckle as the two stirred under the heavy downs, lost in sheets and heat, Throttle eagerly found his way to Wren's backside and bit his lip in now continued terrified contemplation, a pure form of flying blind. Throttle huffed a shaky breath and grappled Wren's hips tight, and with a gentle shove, he did everything to prove to Wren that he was entirely in for it. Throttle clumsily sagged his torso over Wren's lower back and body as he tugged Wren's rear tight into his hips, and with Wren's gentle gasp of Throttle's name, Throttle choked a noise of nervous urgency and began to feel as if his coding was about to come climbing out of his throat.

In the sheer rush of excitement, Throttle felt the room spin, everything about this fragile moment somehow was only riding on the whole fact that Throttle was moving at full speed. He was well aware that faltering, here, would cause him to immediately overthink everything and halt production, due to nervousness. He shut his eyes tight and dug harder into Wren's rear in a rut of his skin against Wren's grey boxer briefs, now hopelessly wrinkling against Throttle's becoming aggressive fervor; his pulse surged in heart-palpitating excitement as Wren seemingly enjoyed Throttle's feisty side. Before Throttle could berate himself for not exposing this side of himself sooner, he shook his head and began to claw at the golden waist band of Wren's boxer briefs, and with a swift tug, Throttle was successful in yanking Wren's clothing down to the tense bend of his knees, ones of which were stirring into the downs and mattress underneath, a writhe of now-becoming desperation.

In the haze of it all, Throttle nervously glossed his faded gaze to the back of Wren's golden hair and head, he could see Wren almost nervously peering over his masculine shoulder in a rise of nervousness that he maybe was too stubborn to bring up, though with the way Wren's spine tensed in a back leaning nudge of inquiry, Throttle knew that Wren would easily speak up if something maybe wasn't right, if something wasn't going as planned. Throttle urgently grappled himself and glossed his uneducated gaze down to everything that he was about to put into motion, the key to everything beautiful and exciting right before him, and although he gently began to dig the tip of his distention into the curve of Wren's soft skin, Throttle bit his lip and felt his heart burst wide open upon hearing his own name shakily huff from the depths of Wren's deep voice. Throttle grappled Wren's hips and gently dug, a small warm up, though in full urgency to plow into this mess, Throttle's heightened, vividly glowing white eyes dart to his nightstand in continued desperation.

"A-Are you okay if... If I..." Throttle staggered his words and could hardly find his voice, his heart begged him to carry on and not cause any sort of pause for questioning his own sanity. As he leaned deeper into Wren's back, he flung his arm out, grunted a noise of reaching desperation and clumsily swung open the drawer of his smaller nightstand, thankfully close by.

"Throttle, if I wasn't okay with any of this I wouldn't be ass-first in your face, right now," Wren urgently choked through a shaky breath of a laugh. Throttle easily let the widest, most genuine smile burst forth from his figure, and as Wren noticed him pull a small bottle of lubricating lotion from his drawer, he cocked an eyebrow and watched as said bottle disappeared out of his line of sight. Wren huffed a shaky breath and tried, once more, to peer over his shoulder, "O-Oh, you mean like..."

"Please stop me," Throttle's voice crackled in rising desperation, his chest heaved gently with the urgency to catch his breath, and as he clumsily lathered lotion all over himself, as well as Wren, he shakily pressed his hand to his center and began to, once more, aim for the final dig into Wren's soul.

"S-stop you from literally going full throttle?" Wren choked in now serious realization, though he grappled the sheets and didn't hesitate in the form of ducking away or begging Throttle to stop, he tensed his masculine shoulders in nervous preparation as he felt the slippery amount of pressure softly begin to budge his body.

"Say the word," Throttle shakily begged through his teeth, he inhaled a trembling breath and was thrilled to hear Wren's anticipatory silence, and although Wren's figure looked rigid in nervousness, Throttle urgently heaved a few shaky breaths as he began to push past all the pressure Wren easily supplied.

Wren choked a noise of surprise and largely arched his back away from the hover of Throttle's torso, and as Throttle finally was well enough in to not need his hands for guidance anymore, he firmly gripped Wren's hips and hovered his hot, gaping, panting breaths in between Wren's shoulder blades. Upon the gentle sag of Throttle's groin and lower stomach flush to Wren's cheeks, Wren hurriedly huffed a few sharp breaths of painful delight as his thighs tensed into a straddle. Throttle choked a noise of entire surprise and fluttered his eyes closed in relieved desire, and although he was thrilled the two were just beginning to jump into this mess, he could feel his coding assure him that he was well beyond half way to completion, even in this raw few moments of first connection. Throttle huffed a shaky breath on the back of Wren's head and squinted into his golden hair in blurred, hazed delight. He desperately tried to get words out, a clumsy mess of panting both boys were now drowning in.

"I-I... User, I... Usually have a ton more st-stamina," Throttle begged messily, he narrowed his gaze and shook his head in gentle nervousness as he rushed to carry on, "Pl-please don't... Base all your opinions on... Wh-what happens right now-"

"Just go," Wren begged in a whining huff of trembling desperation, "I-I'm in the same boat as you, just go."

Throttle raised his eyebrows in surprised delight and allowed his hands to grip the dip of Wren's upper thigh to his hips, though before he could bite his lip and urgently heed Wren's words, Wren hurriedly thrust his hips back into Throttle's and gently pushed his upper body off of the bed for support. With such movement, Throttle dared to sag deeper into Wren's figure, and with Wren's shaking go-ahead, Throttle firmly clenched his teeth and allowed as much recoil as the extremely tight squeeze could allow. With a firm dig, Throttle felt his heart absolutely go wild with the sudden gasp from Wren's rib cage, shakily followed by the quivering exhale of Throttle's name from his mouth, the depths of his lovely, honey-sweet voice. Throttle shook his head in disbelief and hurried to get another dig in before the first round was well and over with.

Throttle lulled his eyes shut in whole desire and, as easily as he could, he sharply dug his knees into the bed, between Wren's wider straddle, and hopelessly dug against Wren's backside. His hands urgently clawed at Wren's bare thighs, the sag of his forehead into Wren's shoulder blade while Wren's deep, loud voice reverberated Throttle's name all over his bedroom walls. Alongside the rumble of the thunder and the raging storm outside, Throttle shoved Wren into the headboard, causing Wren to sag upwards against it in a defenseless position of sprawled helplessness. Throttle's hands fumbled to sag down Wren's strong core, and with one hand that quickly hooked tight to the same nook between his thigh and pelvis, Throttle's other hand urgently grappled Wren's throbbing, dangling distention. With firm, squeezing strokes, Throttle shakily groaned on the back of Wren's head and urgently continued to plow into Wren's hips, the bed loudly croaked with the continued movement.

Although merely a few minutes in, Throttle grit his teeth and felt a quick, familiar rush of coding as he firmly carried on. In the gentle stagger of Wren's name, as a desperate, kind warning, Wren clawed the wall he was being thrusted into and warmly begged for everything, the thud of the side of Wren's skull sagged to the headboard in sweet surrender as he closed his eyes and spread his trembling legs a little wider. With a bit more fervor in his thrusts, as well as his squeezing strokes on Wren's throbbing distention, Throttle grit his teeth and prepared for the spine-wrenching swap, something he was only used to experiencing on his own behalf. Although an easy, untimed mess, Throttle still felt the pop of unearthed coding come alive under his skin as he hopelessly unloaded everything he was made of, into Wren's writhing body. Throttle choked a noise of surprise and urgently drew his body even deeper into Wren, though with such a deeper press of energy, he felt Wren's body tense in rolling surprise, as if Throttle potentially pressed a certain on-switch.

Although now becoming exhausted from such a deliverance, and not even having a second to fully process the idea of brand new coding underneath his skin, Throttle bugged his eyes in surprise the second Wren suddenly backed harder into Throttle's body and forced him back into a gentle, sitting kneel. With no where to go, due to being glued to Throttle and their connection, Wren's body sagged into Throttle's lap in a squirm of rising desperation, and although Throttle sagged back and welcomed Wren's straddling, backwards position into his lap, Throttle bugged his eyes in hot realization and urgently continued to please Wren with his strong hand. Wren choked a noise and, as his sweaty back sagged into Throttle's broad chest, he raised his arms and hands up to hug the back of Throttle's neck and head. As Wren huffed a shaky noise of urgency, alongside his feverous squirming, Throttle supported Wren against him and bit his bottom lip in boggled concentration he had to pry from the depths of his brain. With Wren's powerful, heaving chest and squirming body that did everything it could to lift off of Throttle's hips, and sag back down in continued urgency, Wren suddenly choked a hard noise of surprise as he easily shot a hot mess of his own becoming up his own chest and center in a swathe of heightened excitement.

Wren loudly groaned his raspy pleas to the ceiling as he sagged the back of his head into Throttle's shoulder, and with Throttle's continued stroking and squeezing in all the right spots he knew well, both boys heavily panted in the gentle decline of movement, a sag into entire relief both boys were previously desperate for. Throttle shakily breathed onto Wren's broad shoulder and slowed down the movement of his hand, though their connection clenched and squeezed in a throbbing mess of brand new coding. Wren's raspy panting heavily pressed on, though as Throttle lulled his eyes closed and leaned in to smooch into the nook of Wren's neck, jaw and adam's apple, both boys began to gently ease shaky, surprised chuckles out into the atmosphere as thunder continued to softly roll across the unsettled land. Throttle gently continued to hold Wren, alongside the mess he made, though his free and clean hand lovingly rubbed up and down his left arm in a sweet show of camaraderie.

"Holy User," Wren huffed amidst still trying to catch his breath, he long-blinked in tender surprise as Throttle's rare, old coding flood his mainstream in a sticky mess of blood-orange honeycombs and circuits. Wren chuffed a noise of continued surprise and relished in every single last pixel Throttle was, he soaked in all the trembling, panting kisses Throttle easily supplied on his neck, jaw and the side of his face, "They weren't joking around... Th-this is wild..."

"Th-thank you for trusting me," Throttle's deep voice croaked in delight as Wren tried to pry his eyes open, though with such a brand new, strange feeling in his coding, he felt as if something had awakened in him, something he was not programmed for.

Throttle narrowed his gaze in cued suspicion and felt as if a light switch had been turned on, embedded deep inside his coding, and although Wren tenderly began to answer his inquiry, Throttle glossed his eyes across his bedroom in entire, unmitigated disbelief, the strange sensation of awakened powers coursed through his whole system, something he was well aware Wren was entirely cued to, as well.

* * *

 **A/N :**

 **Hey, as some of you may not know, I have a NSFW Twitter - my username there is NuudleDoodle, and I just recently uploaded fanart of this chapter to it, of Wren and Throttle ;) Enjoy!**


	133. Chapter 133

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Aww, I'm glad you feel that way! Thank you!

 **Snake557 :** LOL true! You'll see :D

 **JaySketchin :** YAY! I'm glad you feel that way! Woohoo!

 **Nikki Firesong :** Thank you so much! I'm happy you can see the growth that has happened, and needs to happen, between both boys. Much appreciated! Happy holidays! I'm glad you had an easy going end of the year :D

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Born to be Yours by Imagine Dragons and Kygo**

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 **WARNING :**

 **I know I said chapter 133 was going to be the last chapter that had WrenxThrottle fun times, but I'm sorry. This chapter has a little bit of fun times mixed in and I apologize. It's only really the first fourth of this chapter, but plot type stuff happens here, so... Don't leave entirely you guys AUHG I'M SORRY.**

 **I'm also sorry this chapter is tiny - I figured since the last chapter was like 10 years long, that this one would sort of balance it. I'll be back to normal with my next chapter, promise :)**

* * *

 ***Chapter 133***

In the raw sag of relief both boys were still gently suspended in, Wren gently pried open his eyes and inhaled a revived breath, upon collecting himself. Although sat in the mind-numbing rush of brand new coding, Wren furrowed his eyebrows in tender confusion and could feel Throttle's gentle thought stream, it was filled with a delightful sense of new, kissed maturity, prodding curiosity, rushing flits of questions that weren't coherent, at least yet. Wren inhaled a shaky breath and began to gently sit up and off of Throttle's lap, though in doing so, clearly jolted Throttle right out of his mumbling thought stream of confused processing.

"S-sorry, sorry, I..." Throttle choked a nervous noise and urgently grappled Wren's bare hips, and as he steadied Wren off of him, for good, Throttle sagged back onto his hand and heaved a shaky breath of boggled concern.

As Wren situated himself and pulled his boxer briefs back up to his hips, he sat back and finally turned to face Throttle in a show of warmth, though as the same exact notions began to hit Wren's coding, head on, both boys froze in soft surprise and peered to each other in mind-numbing surprise, an epiphany both boys had very slowly come to. Throttle looked down to his opened palm and felt his heart race at the sight underneath his pristine, ghostly white skin. Like a charge of electricity underneath a frosty show of fresh pores and pixels, a searing mix of his and Wren's coding melted together in a show of coding under the layer of Throttle's milky, white, fleshy fingerprints. As if an electric burner simply warming up and preparing for full heat, Throttle held his breath and urgently drew his surprised eyes to Wren's. Although both boys previously were due to assume the full-on cuddling position and relish in their new found swapped coding, they both sharply peered into each other's eyes in whole entire disbelief.

"I-I... I-I'm thirsty," Wren staggered through a shaky exhale of bewildered adornment, he cocked an eyebrow as both boys gently drew their eyes to Throttle's dimly lit nightstand, which properly held a gleaming glass of fresh water. Wren finally shot his curious, boggled eyes back to Throttle in hot understanding and remained frozen in a wild fit of uncertainty. Wren huffed a trembling breath and long-blinked alongside a nervous swallow, "Can you... Hand me that glass of water?"

"Yeah, sure," Throttle cued slowly, in cute nonchalance, though the hidden undertones in his deep voice assured to Wren that the both of them were very eagerly cued to the same exact situation happening between their bursting coding.

Assuring to Wren that this maybe wasn't all in his head, Wren urgently peered back to the glass of water and held his tight attention to it in curious, baited wait. With Wren being closest to the glass of water, any outside perspective would deem said favor, that Wren asked, a bit odd and redundant, though as Throttle stretched out his arm and reached his open palm towards the pristine glass of water, a whopping six feet away, he remained stationary, not even a single muscle flexed for leaning over to physically reach for the water. Within the milliseconds that Throttle had to hold his breath and somehow cue any ounce of powers he maybe hoped he had suddenly gained, the glass of water suddenly went rocketing for Throttle's being, and although it firmly sagged into Throttle's opened hand, the water, inside the cup, sharply splashed all over Throttle's face and front.

"... You have GOT to be shitting me," Wren suddenly blurt with a hard laugh of whole entire disbelief, he shook his head and stiffened his sitting position, though as Throttle opened his eyes and peered to Wren through the now slop of his wet black bangs, draped over his eyes and eyebrows, he beamed the widest grin of whole entire confusion. Wren looked down to his hands and began to feel a tremble in his voice present itself, a whole wash of unmitigated surprise that soaked both boys with glee, "W-We gained POWERS?"

"Telekinesis," Throttle hissed in a sigh of entire surprise, and as he peered down to the now empty glass in his hand, he shook his head and finally brought his shocked, glowing gaze tight to Wren's.

"HOW?!" Wren bellowed with a hard laugh as he sat up on his knees and gestured his arms and hands out wide in excited confusion.

"I have no freaking clue, I-I'd assume it has something to do with my brother's variations of teleportation coding," Throttle choked with a boyish laugh of entire glee, though he jolted with a hard grunt of a chuckle the second Wren glommed into Throttle's stiff, sitting posture. Both boys slopped down to the end of Throttle's bed in a huge hug of celebration, though Throttle waggled around the empty glass whilst keeping Wren tight in the grip of his other arm, "Y-You're telling me that we can just... GAIN powers?"

"This never happened to Penny or Orph," Wren huffed shakily as he gently pulled away from Throttle, both boys clumsily sat up and peered to each other in warm curiosity, "I don't understand..."

"... I think this is conversation for the higher-ups," Throttle pressed in excited urgency, though Wren firmly shook his head and gripped Throttle's lower arm.

"NO, keep it a secret," Wren hissed in boyish delight, to which Throttle slowed his roll and softened his gaze into Wren's eyes. Wren shook his head in continuing excitement and beamed Throttle a smile of devious scheming, "... We could have some fun with this."

"We could prank everyone left and right," Throttle urgently agreed, he narrowed his gaze in youthful excitement and beamed the widest, most genuine smile Wren had ever seen in his life, "No one would have a SINGLE clue as to what's going on... Oh, User, we gotta come up with a strategy."

"You're speakin' my language," Wren barked in entire excitement as Throttle suddenly jolted to get off the bed, Wren could hardly scramble fast enough to keep up, and as Throttle set the glass back down on the night stand, Wren skipped a few times to catch up to Throttle's quickening pace, "We should start with Berri first."

"Ooo, Berri and Turbo," Throttle gasped in excitement as he whirled around and pointed up, as if to have a light-bulb kind of moment. He beamed a devious smile and reached his hand out dramatically, and with such, a dark grey t-shirt, slopped in his still opened dresser drawers, suddenly flung in his direction and flopped into his open hand. He lazily twirled his shirt once or twice before he begun to put it on, once and for all, "Line up an instance to where they're shoved into a closet together, or something."

"And lock it," Wren urgently bobbed a nod, though he outstretched both of his hands and aimed his fresh, uneducated powers right for Throttle's body; Throttle widened his eyes in nervous, protesting surprise, and before he could get anything out, he suddenly was tripping over his own feet. In a gentle smush of both boy's bodies, Throttle slumped into Wren in a firm shove of deep grunts, and as Throttle caught his footing, he finally smirked down to Wren in cheeky delight and draped his lazy arms over the tops of Wren's shoulders. With the top of Wren's head coming barely to Throttle's chin, Wren carefully held Throttle's sides, to steady him, and peered up to him with a waggle of his eyebrows, "How pissed do you think they'd be?"

"Very," Throttle fingered his lip and looked about in continued, devious delight, a swathe of boyish fun easily soaked his coding, and although Wren was eagerly playing along, his patience had extended tenfold, a wise soak of Throttle's coding that very easily balanced both boys out int now well-rounded, fresh beings. Throttle gave Wren a creepy, teasing look of his glowing eyes and beamed a scheming smile, "It'll be our little secret."

"For how long?" Wren grunted with a small laugh as he lovingly wrapped his arms about Throttle's middle and now warmly relished in this brand new spark of matured love they easily sagged into, "Surely someone's going to discover that we're messing around... Both in and out of the bedroom, mind you."

"Whatever, once they find out, then it'll still be fun," Throttle shrugged, though Wren cocked an eyebrow and gave Throttle a teasingly serious glower of a smile.

"Yeah, until my dad catches wind," Wren mumbled, and with such a sag of words, Throttle froze in a pin-prickled sting of realization. Wren choked a sudden laugh, causing Throttle to flinch in now boyish nervousness, the glow in his eyes easily dimmed to growing terror, "Yeah, you might... Want to get with Orph, on that one. Orph and Penny were an item before Orph could really get dad's blessing."

"Shit... And here I am, doing the same exact thing, and then some," Throttle worried as he shook his head, "I-I meant no disrespect, this just... A-All happened... So fast."

"Well, dad really loves Turbo, and... In turn, likely loves the crap outta you," Wren shrugged, "I never properly told dad that you and I were even dating, but, I think he KNOWS about us-"

"I'm screwed," Throttle choked in dull nervousness as he looked off, though he flinched, once more, as Wren blurt a soft laugh.

"No you're not," Wren huffed and shook his head with a loving smile, "If it'll make you feel better, we can talk to my dad together."

"You think he'd take it well?" Throttle pressed nervously, the boyish excitement in his coding now easily masked by the decades of worry that had his mainframe under lock down.

"There's only one way to find out," Wren chimed in forced positivity, though both boys grit their teeth into smiles of well-concealed terror.


	134. Chapter 134

**Reviews :**

 **JaySketchin :** Let the pranks begin! LOL

 **Snake557 :** True, very true.

 **Burgie :** Yeah, Throttle definitely has it easy, compared to Orph, unfortunately.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Feeling of Falling by Cheat Codes Kim Petras**

* * *

 ***Chapter 134***

In the kind swish of her brilliant blue hair, the gentle, loving gloss of gratitude she overflowed her team's security with, sunlight glinted onto her gorgeous bare shoulders in kisses of freckles and beams through EZ Living's forever-summer leaves. Dressed in an adorable, goldenrod dress with dainty straps and an elegant flare that swished from her knees, her lazy beach sandals softly slapped against the glorious span of outdoor tiles that lined Gunner's palace of a mansion. Prepared for a lazy day with Gunner, and no one else, Berri kindly welcomed herself into Gunner's home, knowing full-well that he was to be expecting her sometime soon. With brave steps forward, Berri gingerly clutched the precious sheet music, the infamous song that she had secretly wrote for Turbo, though she'd never tell. Her eyes nervously scanned up to the sunny arches of Gunner's warm home, filled to the brim with natural light, though as she eased out of the larger, quiet foyer and down a certain corridor that lead to the home's main kitchen and living room, she furrowed her brow in tender confusion and could hear mild bickering between Bedgy and Gunner.

In a gentle, hesitant peak about the soft bend of Gunner's beige walls, she caught eyes with Bedgy's figure first, her agile like hops, on her owl talons, were cute in the bounds of gentle bobs she could afford to keep up with Gunner's urgent pacing; he was on the phone, an entirely disgruntled look on his face. Although now nervous to step out and inquire just what was going on, Berri made herself present, which was first noticed by Bedgy. Bedgy perked up a little and fluttered onto the kitchen's very large sprawl of an island and counter, easily a ten by fifteen slap of marble that was half-littered with paperwork of all sorts, a messy show of a promised lazy day now turned to work and anxiety. Bedgy's claws clacked to the marble as she nearly lost a few feathers in her urgent flapping, though before Berri could speak up, Bedgy shook her head and hooked her inquisitive grey eyes to Berri's.

"We're... Having a bit of a crisis," Bedgy muttered in nervousness, though she shrugged and gestured her beautiful wings, a little, "There's... Good and bad news."

"... What's the bad news?" Berri wondered in a grimace, and though Gunner noticed her presence and gave her a gentle wave, he returned to his glower of entire irritation and suddenly began to firmly argue with whoever was on the other end of said urgent phone call; Berri flinched and felt her heart sink in a spike of terror, the whole fact that Gunner's behavior, here, was something she didn't recognize in him, whatsoever.

"Pong pulled out for the next four shows on our tour," Bedgy stated in whole sorrow, to which Berri sagged her shoulders and slumped her fragile sheet music to her upper thigh in defeat. She gave Bedgy a look of terrified desperation, though before Berri could open her mouth and plea for a shred of hope in this situation, Bedgy shook her head and rushed to Berri's aid, "Fortunately, there are four venues in Dig Dug that have gladly picked us up."

"Oh... Phew," Berri sighed in nervous relief, though she cocked an eyebrow as Gunner's voice suddenly raised, though as the walls rattled, Gunner almost shot Berri and Bedgy a sheepish look of mild guilt before trailing closer to the mouth of the corridor Berri just entered into. Berri furrowed her brows and gave the back of Gunner's head a very displeased look of disappointment, though she finally brought her eyes back to Bedgy, "I guess... It'll be cool to poke around Dig Dug."

"Beyond the game play, it's an open-world format very similar to EZ Living, fortunately," Bedgy looked hopeful, and although Gunner's conversing calmed a bit, his tone was still unsettled and unpredictable.

"As opposed to Pong's dark and dreary atmosphere, huh," Berri wondered in soft curiosity, though she shrugged and gave Bedgy a cute smile, "I thought that game was way too old to have layers beyond the game's screen."

"No, it has a bit of cityscape behind it, but..." Bedgy trailed off in a sagging look of defeat, "They pulled out because they were worried about the amount of foot traffic in and out of their outlet. Such an old game has to really consider just the amount of power it can handle."

"They didn't think about that before signing on with us?" Berri wondered sharply, now beginning to feel the dregs of Gunner's frustration, she gestured towards where Gunner laid off to and shook her head, "Surely we're out a ton of money, right now, right? Is that why Cranky Kong, here, is about to light the house on fire?"

"Yeah, he's... Currently in the middle of damage control," Bedgy grimaced as Gunner's phone call began to wind down; he urgently continued to mutter conclusory telephone phrases, as if to hurriedly try and get off of the phone, complete with boyish, immature hand gestures of suggesting this conversation should be sped along and finished very shortly.

"Tour is in a few days," Berri started in a rise of tender nervousness, she shook her head as Bedgy cooed her a few notions of calming, though as Gunner finally got off the phone and came back to both girls, Berri's urgent gaze peered to Gunner's, and though she had her sheet music carefully tucked under her arm, she had momentarily forgotten about it, "Is everything going to be okay?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine, I have... A zillion calls to make," Gunner huffed in whole agitation, and though he had his phone unlocked and ready for his furious typing, he softly averted his gaze to the sheet music under Berri's arm and took note of said object, so to bring the topic up shortly. He shook his head and gave Berri an apologetic look, "I know you came over to relax, babe, but... I don't think it's going to happen, today."

"That's okay, is there something I can do to help out?" Berri rushed confidently as she gestured her hand to Bedgy and Gunner, himself, though she flinched the second Bedgy softly took flight across the massive room and began to head out.

"I'm going to go speak with security, real quick, about all this," Bedgy called in a flurry, "This changes everything."

"I-I'm glad Dig Dug picked us up, I'm sure that'll be fun," Berri stated confidently, though Gunner aimlessly nodded as he began to urgently type away, to whom, Berri had no clue.

"Yeah, it's... Similar to EZ Living, lots of sand, lots of cool beaches," Gunner pressed in disinterest, though he glowered his phone down and only glanced in Berri's direction, "Dammit, this... Isn't what we need just days before heading out."

"Seriously, I can... Help out, in any way," Berri urged gently, she tried to ease her disposition so to bring settle to the both of them, she gently stepped closer to Gunner and reached a soft hand for his, "I'm positive my parents could even help figure something out."

"They don't even like me, I doubt that'd go over well," Gunner muttered in irritated defeat, though Berri halted her movement for his hand and furrowed her eyebrows.

"... Don't like you?" Berri pressed in a gentle rise of now brewing agitation, though Gunner shot her an apologetic look and sagged his shoulders.

"I-I'm sorry baby, I'm just stressed out," Gunner eased nervously, and although he looked over Berri's adorable, beautiful outfit in a subtly eyeing way, he skipped over any complimentary phrases and sagged right into the sheet music under her arm, "What's... What's that?"

"Oh, it's... Some of my music," Berri pressed as carefully as she could, she knew the topic of singing any of her songs, on stage, were touchy, so she tip toed around the idea and prayed Gunner would at least be open to hearing what she had to say. She bravely began to unravel her sheet music, the love song she had secretly wrote for Turbo, though she gave Gunner her warm eye contact and smiled in whole innocence, "I... I figured maybe after we settle everything with Dig Dug and Pong, we can head to the studio and I can show you what I have, so far."

"... What are your intentions, here, Bear?" Gunner prod softly and carefully, he sagged his shoulders, and although he gave her his full attention it was authoritative, parental, disapproving.

"To... Show you some of my own talent, to maybe bounce ideas off of one another?" Berri stated in a tone that was becoming strong and sharp, she furrowed her eyebrows and almost dared to give Gunner a dirty look, "I just want to hang out with you and create with you. Is that too much to ask?"

"No, Bear, no... I'm really sorry, I'm just... So on edge," Gunner stated in nervous defeat as he only barely glanced down to her sheet music, gentle pieces of paper she had begun to fold back up and tuck into her safety, "Can we maybe do this tomorrow? I don't want the prospect of new music, right in the middle of touring, and this whole issue with Pong. It's just too much to wrap my mind around."

"... I understand," Berri bobbed a nod in soft disappointment, though she concealed her heart just a little more and gave him a wary look of becoming resentful. Gunner pleadingly looked into her eyes and gestured to his phone as he began to slowly step away.

"I'm going to go make a few calls, now, Bear... You can hang here, you're always welcome, you know that," Gunner assured as kindly as he could, he began to dial a certain number and step away for good as Berri remained motionless at his kitchen island, "I'll come back and check on you in a few minutes. Maybe we can do dinner, later. I can have a runner go get pizza from that one shop on the pier, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," Berri stated in now cold defeat with a small nod and a fake, little smile she was certain Gunner could sense wasn't genuine.

"Love you, be back soon," Gunner pressed sweetly, and although Berri wasn't on the terminology of returning the dreaded L word back to Gunner, he vanished before she could even have the opportunity to reply, had that been her desire.

Berri looked across Gunner's sunny, lovely home and held her breath in the sting. The more time went on, the more instances arose, the more difficult scenarios came about, assured Berri she had definitely made the wrong choice. She exhaled a shaky breath and nervously re-opened her sheet music. A burning, fun love song to the one man she was desperate for, though she would never reveal the extent of it to anyone, she furrowed her eyebrows and could feel the split beginning to impose on their plans. She finally peered to the empty archway, where Gunner had escaped to, and wondered just what kind of damage she'd end up doing if she broke up with Gunner mid-tour. She inhaled a shaky breath and contemplated her next move, just what kind of sincere apology would arise from Gunner, if any at all. She knew this was a difficult time for the band, though with the prospects of fresh, new venues lined up on the horizon, she felt the nagging feeling that maybe the guy she had prematurely fallen for wasn't up to her maturity level. As she began to softly and quietly sneak out of Gunner's house, so to return back to Sugar Rush, she tightly concealed the action of reaching out to the one individual she was well aware would easily meet her where she was at; she promised herself that escaping back to her tower, for a day of silence and self care, was the new plan on the horizon, and if Gunner wanted anything to do with it, he'd have to stick his neck out.

Upon teleporting to Sugar Rush's palace's main teleportation pad, she heaved an annoyed sigh and pressed into her mother's and father's quiet, pristine palace. With the prospects of game day currently happening, she was well aware the palace's kitchen was likely either vacant or only briefly holding a few straggling souls, here and there. As Sugar Rush's spring time was in full swing, the sun was high and warm in beams of lovely light into the palace's kitchen. Berri's plan was to nose about the palace's main fridge, a hot spot for shared goodies and delicious treats brought in potluck style every time the royal family had massive get-togethers, though as she sagged into the kitchen, she felt her pupils tighten at the raw sight of the two bodies near the kitchen's main, large hearth. Turbo's deep voice so tenderly and patiently explained to Lash just where everyone lived, just how life around here worked, just who cooked the best meals right at the very hearth they hovered over, and though Berri held her breath and was certain she could back-step and leave the kitchen without being seen, she gently gave the back of Lash's head a nervous look, from across the way, and wondered silently to herself; if Turbo could trust this incredibly misunderstood being, Berri felt as if she had no choice but to trust Lash as well. The itching desire to get inside of his mind and pick at his brain overrode the desire to slink back into the shadows.


	135. Chapter 135

**Reviews :**

 **Nikki Firesong :** You're definitely not wrong, there. She's closer to it than you think, though! Fortunately :)

 **TheDoctorDusty :** Hey friend, long time no see. I hope you're well. And, you're definitely not wrong about one of those two people, though she doesn't actively seek them out. More so bumps into them by coincidence. But, good on yah! :D

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Stick the Kettle On ft. Scouting for Girls by Lucy Spraggan**

* * *

 ***Chapter 135***

In the gut-clenching urge to firmly recoil, she halted said movement and dared to press into the beam of sunlight that so warmly splayed over her gorgeous shoulders and collarbones, her vivid blue hair popped in the ease of glinting light. She crossed her arms in nervous contemplation and side-eyed both boys stationed at the hearth. Turbo was dressed in a cream colored long-sleeved shirt, little frays of worn love showed at the cusps of his rolled-up sleeves. His deep, lovely, reverberating voice so softly echoed into the massive hearth as he pointed, his gentle ways of showing Lash around was endearing at the very least. Lash intently listened with his hands lazily in his grey jean pockets; he, too, wore a long sleeved shirt, though his was cleaner, a newer, stiff look about it. Both boys were lost in their own, quiet little world, it was clear Turbo was awaiting the opportunity to show Lash around the palace without the prospects of any of Sugar Rush's racers seeing him.

With the soft and silent press of her now bare feet, Berri approached the island closest to both boys and was a solid dozen or so feet away from them, on the other side of said slab of island. Berri continued to keep her arms crossed, her precious sheet music tucked under her upper arm and the side of her rib cage. Turbo's conversing became clearer as she got closer, and with such, she could hear him warmly explaining how delicious Taffyta's cooking was. Although she knew she shouldn't be, she was shocked to hear a much softer side of Lash, a gentle press of genuine inquiry as he looked about, though in his wandering gaze, he caught with the figure behind both boys and stiffened in a jolt of whirling around. With a gasp, Lash's dimly glowing golden eyes brightened in a spitfire show of surprise, though with such, his pupils narrowed a little, something Berri was absolutely not used to seeing, in either of the TurboTime boys. With such, she felt her stomach clench; he was the reason she was haunted with nightmares as a child, the perfect vision of her nightmares right before her nearly eradicated all of Turbo's hard work.

"O-Oh, Berri," Turbo staggered in surprise as he, too, peered to her in urgent surprise. How poised and still she was, Turbo felt his face get hot in nervousness as to just how long she had been standing there. Lash inhaled a shaky breath and scoot a little closer to his big brother, their height difference was entirely endearing; the tops of both Nox's and Lash's heads only reached the underside of Turbo's jaw. Turbo nervously jolt his vividly glowing eyes to Lash's, they both caught in a whirlwind of concerned anxiety, "I-I was just... Showing Lash around, is all."

"It's all good," Berri eased in a stand-offish manner, she cocked an eyebrow and softly looked Lash over. He nervously fiddled his fingers and seemed apprehensive to be in her presence, having firmly being reminded about their last encounter. Berri felt her heart sink in the sting of remembrance, and although she was still entirely miffed at Lash, she knew she needed to ease off, "Y-make it to the rec. hall yet?"

"Not yet," Turbo eased, he seemed to relax a little, though Lash remained still in terror, "What are you up to, then?"

"Well... I went to go hang out with Gunner, but... We received some bad news," Berri started nervously, to which Turbo furrowed his brow in rising concern, "Pong ducked out of hosting us for our next four shows..."

"Shit, Bear, that's terrible," Turbo huffed in genuine sorrow as he put his hand on his lower chest in a show of defeat, though Berri shrugged and heaved a shaky sigh.

"Yeah, we... We had Dig Dug pick us up, fortunately, but," Berri trailed off and shrugged a little, "Gunner was in a tizzy, and... I decided to leave cause I think I was making matters worse."

"How?" Turbo pressed in rising defense, the urge to rush to her aid; Lash only nervously peered back and forth between Turbo and Berri, their dozen foot gap between the marble slab of a kitchen island.

"I had some sheet music, of my own, that I wanted to discuss with him and I think I just... Made matters worse," Berri shrugged and looked off, though she felt her face get hot as she could practically feel the sheet music, tucked safely under her arm, begin to burn a hole through her dress. She bit her bottom lip in hot regret and was viciously reminded that said sheet music was for Turbo, and not to be revealed, "I-It's... No issue, I just came back home. I need a day to just relax, anyways."

"Well, uh... I would gladly offer you come hang out with us, but..." Turbo nervously tried not to gesture to Lash, who was very clearly listening and observing, and though the creepy look in his eyes, and on his face, was very blatant, Berri eyed him in stubborn curiosity and felt her heart sink at the genuine look of humility in his eyes. Turbo grit his teeth and pressed on in a staggering mess of uncertainty of just who to cater to, "I-I'm... I'm sure it'd be tense, if..."

"N-No, I... I really owe you both an apology," Berri started, she remained in her position, though she knew she owed it to everyone to approach Lash for a handshake of forgiveness, eventually. She nervously looked Lash in the eyes and shook her head, "It... Was immature of me to hit you, like that. I've never gotten physically angry with someone, like that, and I was way out of line... I'm sorry."

Lash raised his eyebrows in poised, boyish, dumbfounded surprise. He urgently looked up at Turbo for guidance and just barely shook his head in a rush of nervous confusion, though after a few moments of anxious silence, Turbo blurt a chuckle and urgently gestured out to Berri as he gave Lash a wide grin of cheeky understanding.

"Yes, YOU, she's talking to you," Turbo rushed with a loving laugh, Berri did everything she could to conceal a grin.

"O-OH, uh, uh..." Lash staggered, he rubbed the back of his head and peered into Berri's eyes, a whole slew of nervous tension between the two only continued to make this transition rocky. He inhaled a trembling breath and looked now to be entirely out of sorts, he shrugged and showed a more reserved act of uncertainty, as if the time to think had made him realize he wasn't as brave as he once thought, "I-It's... Okay, I said some terrible shit, I... Deserved it."

"We didn't start out on the right foot," Berri eased in a bittersweet show of gentle sorrow, though with uplift, she slowly pressed about the island and began to ease into Turbo's and Lash's bubble. Although Turbo's disposition opened up and very easily welcomed Berri's presence, Lash began to visibly shrink. Berri gently outreached her hand to Lash for a handshake, though now matter how softly she presented herself, Lash still largely flinched and looked as if he was becoming a wild animal backed into a corner. Berri heaved a gentle chuckle and peered to him curiously, "My name is Berri."

"For User's sake, man, she's not going to kill you," Turbo muttered with a soft laugh as he gripped Lash's shoulder and stood him to correction; Lash nervously peered into Berri's eyes and held a great amount of caution as he reached for her hand.

"Whiplash," His deep voice eased, his more square jaw line held the promise for housing a wonderful, boyish beam of a grin, though his expression easily harbored said bright potential of love in a show of entire apprehension. In the warm grip, squeeze and shake of Lash's and Berri's hand, he sagged his shoulders in a gentle show of relief and cleared his throat, "Y-You... Can call me Lash. Your highness."

"Just Berri," She quipped with a cheeky smile, to which Turbo largely rolled his eyes and cued to her fervor.

"She doesn't like titles," Turbo muttered in a very playful show of entire annoyance, though as Berri gingerly swat at Turbo's arm, he beamed a loving, playful smile and shook his head at her. Although Turbo had a good look at Berri, he finally allowed himself to secretively gloss her beautiful, curvy figure. The lovely goldenrod dress that showed off a peak of her knees and lower thighs, he held his breath and was only used to seeing her in winter attire, thick jeans and hoodies no matter what. He felt a lump gather in his throat as he desperately tried to get the compliment out of his body, "Y-You... You look great, I like the color of your dress."

"Matches your eyes, Turbo," Lash pressed in a spike of confident fervor he was known for. He cheekily beamed Turbo said wide smile Berri was certain was there somewhere, though he nudged the broad of Turbo's chest in a swat of brotherly love and gestured to Berri. In a blunt show of knowing exactly just what he was doing here, he choked Turbo a continuation of his teasing notions, "This is the woman you wanted to swap codes with, right?"

Berri sharply furrowed her eyebrows and felt her heart surge in a jolt of a thousand feelings, though as she gaped her mouth and huffed a stagger of a breath to urgently carry on, Turbo gripped the back of Lash's neck and sharply grit his teeth down into Lash's eyes. Lash choked a noise of painful protest but managed to let out a loud, excited laugh as Turbo began to slowly torture him in the way of squeezing the skin on the back of his thick neck.

"Hooo, aren't you just the best most incredible little brother I ever could ASK FOR," Turbo sharply pressed through the grit of his teeth, his eyes immediately washed to that of an entirely embarrassed, peachy glow of a blush. Lash blurt a hard laugh and tried to wiggle his way out of Turbo's firm grip.

"I-I'd love some company, now that I think about it," Berri eased with a small, bashful giggle. She eyed Turbo in a spike of now dire curiosity and felt her stomach clench in delight. She shyly tucked her beautiful hair behind her ear and shrugged, "My... My mother filled me in on everything you boys chatted about, pertaining to the deleters and everything in between. Surely there's things to be discussed, there?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," Turbo hurriedly pressed, he prayed that Lash would keep his fat mouth shut after his little quip, though as Berri eyed Turbo in shy cuteness, she could tell he was absolutely riddled with a very warm and cute amount of embarrassment. He straightened his shirt for good measure and nervously glanced in Berri's direction, "Wh-where would you like to go, then?"

"We can go back to your loft, if you'd like," Berri shrugged as she looked over her shoulder, in the direction of the palace's main teleportation pad. She brought her eyes back to Turbo's and nodded, hoping to get past the breeze of delightful awkwardness, "That sound good?"

"Yes, ma'am," Turbo concluded as he cleared his throat and bobbed her a nod of assurance, though Lash beamed him a cheeky smile and waggled his eyebrows the second Berri turned to make her way out of the kitchen. Turbo did everything he could to avoid glossing his eyes all along Berri's figure, which was now turned away from both boys, though he inhaled a shaky breath and stepped to keep up with Berri, a teasing show of leaving Lash entirely behind. He gingerly hovered to Berri's side and looked off in a mild show of trying to recover, "Please, uh... Don't listen to anything this psychopath says. I'm still trying to get him acclimated to the world about him, now. Much like an adorable baby bird."

"Sounds like someone I know well," Berri's sly, womanly voice coat over Turbo's shivering soul in a lace of permanent defeat, a check-mate over Turbo's heart.

"Damn, dude, quit while you're ahead, Jesus," Lash barked a choke of a laugh and sauntered behind the two, though Turbo sagged his shoulders, rolled his eyes and looked off in a spike of now prominent dread.

"It's okay, Bo, I won't think on it for a second," Berri chimed in a gentle switch up, she eyed Lash in cute delight and continued on, "I don't trust the source of which the information came from, anyways. I'm certain it's not true."

"Yeah," Turbo huffed in a show of gentle relief, though he furrowed his eyebrows and suddenly realized he had sank right into Berri's trap. He stiffened his spine and opened his mouth to urgently protest, though as he dart his panicked eyes to Berri's, to hurriedly assure her that he did, indeed, want to swap codes with her, he felt a whole flip flop of confusion go on in his brain. He staggered a nervous noise and carried on in a dopey, agitated fashion, "I-I mean... Well, no, but... Yeah, I-I guess I mean, like... Like-!"

"Dude you're TERRIBLE at this," Lash barked a hard laugh, so contagious that him and Berri easily howled with laughter.

Turbo stiffened his shoulders and urgently peered into the holographic display, a wash of cold embarrassment shroud him in a cloak of inner turmoil, something that now began to rot him from within, though before he could drown in his rapid-fire thoughts, Berri warmly sagged her hand to his clothed upper arm and gave him a loving smile of assurance.

"It's fine, it's no big deal," Berri warmly reassured, her loving eyes peered to his in a hopeful show of cuteness, and as they caught eyes in a string of nervous, bantering understanding, Berri gingerly sagged her finger into Turbo's name, on the glowing, holographic drop down of a menu before the three, carefully crafted into the palace's main teleportation pad.

Although the silence was awkward, for a few moments, the three easily came into Turbo's lovely home, though in going through all of their normal routines, Berri grit her teeth a little and realized that the majority of what Turbo and Berri did was something really only couples took part in. The second Berri unlocked Turbo's front door was the second that both Turbo and Berri grit their teeth harder and understood that they were only setting themselves up for further ridicule, from Lash. On cue, he heaved a snarky laugh and crossed his arms upon the three easing into Turbo's warmly lit kitchen.

"So, Berri, y'have a boyfriend, then I hear?" Lash pressed in a show of very fake innocence, to which Berri softly shot Turbo a nervous look of inquiry; Turbo raised his eyebrows and bashfully looked down, a mildly sorrowful look on his face, simply to express to Berri that he was to be left out of the topic of boyfriends.

"Yes, I do," Berri started confidently, though as the seconds ticked on with both boys' eyes now attentively honed to Berri's figure, she felt confidence slip from her. She heaved a shaky sigh and felt nervous to reveal said information to Turbo, though she lulled her eyes closed in impending regret and wondered if being vulnerable, here, would likely get Lash off of her's and Turbo's case, "We... Well... I probably will be rethinking things, soon, here."

"Aw, not working out?" Lash wondered nonchalantly, and though Berri was sure this would cue more teasing, she was floored to find that Lash was extremely careful with social cues; he peered to Berri in a show of genuine concern, she wondered if the few days that Lash had with Turbo had greatly helped with his anger, greatly helped him see just how harmoniously the world could revolve with everyone working together.

"I-I... I think it's just on my end, it's no big deal," Berri rushed in a slew of now impending nervousness. In a careless act of potentially being too comfortable in Turbo's home, she lazily set her folded sheet music to his island and began to busy herself with her mane of blue hair, she prepared to put it up into a lazy ponytail, "He's... Serious about the music coming in and out of the studio, and I guess... I have way too many ideas that impede on the well-being of the band, and the tour."

"Damn, sounds like the kiddo has a stick up his ass," Lash muttered, he cocked an eyebrow and shot Turbo a look of hot understanding, to which Turbo inhaled a shaky breath and began to busy himself with some dishes in his sink, as if to act disinterested, "You mean you have music you'd like to play? Stuff you created? Turbo filled me in on how all of this drama works, so... I'm still trying to get just what's going on, I'm well aware you're in a pretty popular band and are currently on tour."

"Yeah, so... I probably shouldn't be bringing up new music to talk about," Berri stated through a nervous smile of sheepishness, she crossed her arms and looked off in mild regret for even bringing anything up; Lash cocked an eyebrow and just barely glanced in Turbo's direction, knowing full well this was a hot topic, he tread lightly.

"How long have you and Gunner been together, then?" Lash nonchalantly wondered, he hoped to convey to Berri that he was simply creating small talk, though Turbo grit his teeth and glowered down the beautiful grey back splash of his kitchen sink.

"A few months now, we've been touring for about a month," Berri rattled gently, she heaved a soft sigh and eased Lash a small, stand-offish smile, as if to assure to him that this was getting awkward; Lash, although sharp with social cues, blatantly ignored Berri's silent request and eased back in the croak of the red bar stool he sat on.

"So, all you guys are a musical bunch but Mr. Hot Shot is the only one who can create music, then?" Lash barked, he trailed off in soft laughter as Turbo turned the water on a little harder, creating a bit more noise. Lash shook his head, and although both him and Berri weren't totally on even ground with each other, and Lash had little to no romantic experience with anyone, Lash raised his eyebrows and looked down with a widening, humble smile. Although Turbo's younger brother, he eked more of a vibe that Throttle often gave off, a tired, grouchy, grandfatherly disposition very quickly rose to the surface of Lash's seemingly calm aura, "Look, my dear, I have no experience when it comes to this huge, crazy thing we call life, but I do know that any one of my brothers can tell you that I am likely the sharpest knife in the drawer. How do you think I was able to accomplish all that I did, inside and outside of Sugar Rush? This whole game was mine, and there was little to nothing that ANY of you could do about it."

Berri kept her mouth shut and peered hard into Lash's eyes, however nightmarish they were, she held her breath and felt a pin-prickle show of worry now coat her trembling soul. Berri felt thwarted, for she knew that Lash wasn't on the topic of Sugar Rush, or anything that happened in the past. So slyly sneaking into the cracks of concrete that Berri desperately tried to seal permanently with cement, she sagged her shoulders and knew exactly where this conversation was going. Lash crossed his arms, cocked an eyebrow, cleared his throat within a small, grumbling chuckle and gave her an apologetic smile. Although not trying to be obvious, he longingly glanced in Turbo's direction, to which Berri hesitantly followed Lash's line of sight. She heaved a silent, shaky breath through her nose and could feel her world begin to quickly come crumbling down around her, Berri's own form of an Achilles heel that Lash so easily pinpointed, having been so far removed. Lash finally brought his creepy yet wise and strangely becoming gaze tight to Berri's shivering orbs.

"Listen, babe, you gotta do what you gotta do, but... I can tell you're becoming bent up about this," Lash grumbled, Berri caved and looked down in gentle defeat, though she stiffened and felt a strange sensation to urgently fight Lash's words; she knew it'd be futile, everything anyone had been telling her, anything she had been telling herself, was very quickly coming to a head with the sneakiest TurboTime guy around. Lash cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head in Turbo's direction for emphasis, though Turbo had urgently buried his attention into the dishes in his own sink, "I think it weird to wrap yourself up with someone who doesn't even see what potential there could be. I've come upon closed doors in my life, love, and... I can tell you from experience, barreling them down does more harm than good. You know how that goes."

Berri bobbed a nod and began to feel exposed, and in a swift, proverbial motion of throwing up every and all walls, she gently crossed her arms and looked across Turbo's lovely, inviting loft with the onset of the potential for billowing tears. She stiffened her upper lip and could feel Lash already beginning to choreograph his own victory dance, how easy it was for him to so sneakily read between the lines, how easy it was for him to pinpoint the entire, glaringly huge problem in Berri's life and easily supply her with a solution, she felt almost blindsided. Certain that things were due to come to a head sometime soon, she bit her lip and looked back to Turbo's door, eager to now escape and be alone for the day. Although the raw exposure was something that would help her grow, she felt her heart begin to ache in anxiety at the sheer thought of somehow worming her way out of Gunner's arms right in the middle of their tour. She heaved a shaky sigh and bobbed a nod of gentle defeat, and before she could properly bow out, she elegantly allowed Lash this victory with a bout of humility she had to practically claw from the depths of her being.

"We all make mistakes, and... I'll have to answer for mine eventually," Berri's gentle voice glossed the kitchen, and with such words, Turbo raised his eyebrows and halted his cleaning in the sink; with a soft gloss of his glowing, golden eyes over his shoulder, him and Berri held eyes in a string of bittersweet and sorrowful understanding, and before Turbo could unstick the cogs in his brain, Berri gave Lash a small, humble, defeated smile and began to slowly back-step towards Turbo's front door, "It... Was nice hanging with you guys, for a little bit, but... I have some work to do, at home. Thank you."

Lash sagged his shoulders and was well aware he struck a nerve, though as Berri gingerly saw herself out, Lash finally dragged his eyes to Turbo's in a string of near-apologetic cheek. Turbo urgently glowered him down in whole entire defeated irritation, though just as Lash beamed him a sheepish look and opened his mouth, Turbo urgently shook his head and now vigorously began to clean his dishes.

"No. NO, dude. No," Turbo barked suddenly down to the soapy water his hands and lower arms were drowning in. He continued to now angrily clean, "You're not allowed to socialize with my friends, anymore, you're BALLS terrible at it, for USER'S SAKE!"

"WHAT!" Lash whined in a boyish slop of drawling his words on, "I'm helping you out, here."

"You're only making her feel bad, Lash, that's not my intention," Turbo firmly argued, he urgently stopped what he was doing and gestured to his closed door with whole fervor, soapy water speckled his matte grey tiles, "I'm not trying to be forceful with her, I'm LETTING her live her life and do what she wants, okay?"

"I'm no master at romance, I guess you... You CLEARLY have it under control," Lash barked in now rising irritation, though Turbo firmly glowered Lash down and began to see the bridge of his nose kiss his skin a twinge of an angry orange.

"I DID have it under control until you blatantly made clear to her that I wanted to have sex with her," Turbo firmly argued with a hard point to his front door, once more, "Not only that, but probably made her feel like bullshit for her own decisions in life. I've NEVER seen her bow out of an argument THAT fast, dude, I hope you're ready to be bubbled for the night, because I'm done with you, right now."

"Hey, I did you a FAVOR," Lash choked in now smiling irritation, to which Turbo felt as if he suddenly had grown ten feet tall.

"How the HELL is THIS doing me a FAVOR," Turbo sharply bellowed, though Lash urgently pointed to the end of the island and beamed a sneaky, excited smile.

"Look what she left," Lash hissed in delight, and as both boys quickly peered to the end of the counter, in which Berri was previously standing, they both froze and took note that Berri had accidentally forgotten to take her precious sheet music with her.


	136. Chapter 136

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Yeah lash is still learning to play nice lol

 **Burgie :** You're not wrong!

* * *

 ***Chapter 136***

As both Lash and Turbo urgently peered to the far end of the island, Berri's fragile sheet music lay in suspended wait. Although both boys suddenly jolted to reach her sheet music first, Turbo halted his footwork in a fit of remembrance and returned to his sink to dry off his hands in nervousness. In the process of tearing his positioning from one end of the island to the other, Lash managed to knock over a bar stool and skid to the grey tiles underneath him. Like a cat simply clawing at a laser pointer, Lash's hands immediately tore through the sheet music, his golden eyes popped in a brilliant glow of surprise as he peered down at his hands, and with a hard sag of entire irritation over the sheer fact that his hands materialized through the sheet music, ultimately leaving it untouched, he glowered Turbo down and watched as Turbo tediously dried his hands and patiently made his way over to the sheet music. Lash grunted a noise of whole entire disinterest and crossed his arms.

"This sucks," Lash barked as Turbo cautiously approached Berri's still untouched sheet music, though Lash thrashed his hands against said sheet music and flailed, unabated; the gentle pieces of paper didn't even so much as waver from the air of his movement, "I can't touch anything, I can't open doors... You have to shut the bathroom door behind me and flush for me, you have to feed me, and NOW... I can't even spy into the readings of the girl you want for yourself?"

"Yeah, this isn't for you, so chill out," Turbo muttered in irritation, though as he gently picked up Berri's sheet music and held the folded, still concealed work before him, he furrowed his eyebrows and felt a strange sensation come over him.

Much like potentially reading one of Berri's diary entries, he felt guilt course his system as he hovered. He could see Lash's golden eyes, in his peripheral, dart back and forth in baited, curious wait, as if he was in full support of Turbo nosing through Berri's sheet music, though Turbo hovered in frozen wait, he battled his own thoughts in a fit of suspended silence. Lash grunted a noise and urgently gestured his hand, as if to tell Turbo to get on with it, though Turbo grit his teeth, lulled his eyes shut and inhaled a deep, long breath through his nose. As if maybe giving himself just a shred of allowance, here, he held his breath and felt as if maybe just seeing the song title would tide him over, though as he so carefully peeled just the upper part of the fold away, the blatant title of 'Here and Now', her infamous song for Turbo's heart only, Turbo urgently covered the sheet music back up and shook his head; he knew he had all the information he needed, here, in order to understand that this was entirely private, entirely off limits.

"Oh COME ON!" Lash firmly argued, though Turbo shook his head and gently stuck the sheet music into his back jean's pocket, a safe slip of security that poked out the back of his pants. Lash urgently clawed his hands right through it, causing his skin to confusedly sprawl with his own red honeycombs. Lash grunted an annoyed sigh with defeat and peered Turbo down, "You REALLY don't want to see her sheet music? At least let me look!"

"It's not fair to Berri, dude," Turbo gently defended, "I'll give it back to her later. It's not our sheet music to nose into, I'm sure it's personal and... I've already pushed my luck with that woman. I'm not about to break her trust."

"What makes you think you've even earned it?" Lash pushed with certainty as he crossed his arms and shrugged, "It's better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission. What do you owe her, anyways?"

Turbo furrowed his brow and eased both of his clean hands to his kitchen island's glossy swathe of a counter. He heaved a lot, raspy sigh through his nose, lulled his eyes closed in defeat and felt his heart beat in his chest. He was well aware this fragile sheet music was a song just for Turbo, and though he wanted to read the lyrics of her heart so badly, he reserved the urge to go diving into the secret desires of her heart, knowing full well she belonged to another man. Feeling his heart sink even further in a swath eof confusion and regret, Turbo shook his head and peered to his little brother, who now hovered in tender, though tired concern. The look on his face eased a mixture of understanding and impatience, a weird, ironic dollop of both worlds. Lash shrugged and shook his head in egging confusion, to which Turbo equally shrugged and shook his head back.

"I owe her a lot more than I think you'd begin to understand," Turbo's deep voice gently concluded, he cocked an eyebrow and gave Lash a stern look, "She and her mother singlehandedly saved Sugar Rush from you ultimately losing your mind and running away with the code room... Look around, Lash... I'm inside this loft, I have this fabulous job, I'm able to TALK to you right now because of Berri... Because she exists..."

Lash sighed through his nose and looked down and to his side in annoyed defeat. He gently tapped his thigh in aimless thought, bit his lip and looked across Turbo's cozy, spacious and inviting loft. All the things Turbo had been blessed with were strictly due to Berri saving Tessa's life, as unborn coding, and rescuing Sugar Rush's code room from Lash's crazy, yet good intentions. Lash felt defeat fall over him, and although he desperately wanted to argue Turbo's points and press the issue further, his golden eyes gently hooked with Turbo's in a wary show of understanding that finally crawled into his heart. He softened, and although both boys spent a great deal of time with each other, this was the first time Turbo ever felt comfortable sharing the depths of his heart with such a disagreeing soul, someone who previously despised the idea of swapping or anything that said romantic aspects could harbor.

"I love her, Lash," Turbo pressed gently, "You can't... Just go asking her about Gunner right in front of me, you can't just... Blatantly TELL her that she's the one I want to swap codes with, the one I want to BE with, the one... The one I can see myself marrying."

"Whoa, dude, THE Turbo? Taking a wife?" Lash suddenly felt his teasing tendencies rush back to him in the form of a beaming, cheeky smile. He shook his head as Turbo heaved a gentle sigh and looked off in whole, bashful defeat, "Change of heart, much?"

"Yeah, dude," Turbo eased in a desperate tone of bittersweet sorrow, to which Lash slowly softened his antics, once more, in the form of sagged shoulders and a gentler gaze of understanding, "I can see you're following suit, dude. You used to hate the entire hierarchy of Sugar Rush... But, look at you. You were yakking it up with Sugar Rush's princess like you were well on your way to wanting to be her friend."

"She's not so terrible," Lash muttered in gentle irritation as he looked off and poutingly crossed his arms.

"She's to be respected, no matter what," Turbo pressed as he gently pulled Berri's sheet music from his back pocket and jostled it about just barely, for emphasis, "You've played the role of a big brother, for all these years... Protecting me from the Arcade, but... I'm happy to take that role back, from you. I hope I can step up and be that good example of a big brother, to you. I still obviously have a lot to learn, but, Berri's taught me a lot."

"Like what?" Lash almost sneered, he didn't dare fully reveal his tenderhearted tendencies, even to someone he knew like the back of his hand.

"Like... Maybe the Arcade isn't such a terrible place, after all," Turbo muttered in gentle conclusion, though he shook his head in defeat and shut his eyes tight, "Although I still don't dare leave... I will one day. I have no choice."

"Why not?" Lash pressed nervously.

"It's probably one of the only ways that incredible woman will commit to me," Turbo huffed a nervous chuckle and peered to Lash with a small smile of dreaded understanding, "But, she's worth the risk. I don't think I'd ever be saying those words had it not been for her."

"Hey, you'll clearly do anything for sex," Lash put his hands up and shrugged, to which Turbo blurt an annoyed laugh and shook his head in whole dismay.

"That's not the only thing I'm after, but... I guess that may have a little something to do with it," Turbo admitted warmly, though he looked into Lash's eyes and narrowed his gaze in warm understanding, "It's a waiting game. Since Zed allowed me to give you access to a limited-use phone, why don't you do what you can to get to know her. Then come back to me and tell me you're brave enough to go nosing through her personal things."

"No, no, I'm not brave enough to do ANYTHING around that woman, she has a very mean right hook," Lash rushed through the grit of his teeth as he rubbed the left side of his jaw in eye-bugged surprise; Turbo laughed with a nod of agreeing as Lash nervously continued on with a cheeky smile, "Guess you wouldn't have to worry about her defending herself, if ever in danger."

"She's a firecracker of ability," Turbo sighed with a nod and a warm smile down to the concealed sheet music in his careful hands, "I don't doubt her for a second."

* * *

"Why am I so nervous," Wren hissed in entire agitation, he hugged his upper arms in a grapple of stiff nervousness and peered down the long, gloriously arched-ceiling wing of the main palace's core, the never-ending span of a hall that harbored half of the racer's homes, the left wing that hugged one half of the dome of the code room. Both Wren and Throttle began to stroll in a procrastinating mosey of nervousness as they ultimately made their way to Rancis and Taffyta's home, securely tucked away near the massive back doors that lead to the palace's main courtyard. Wren furrowed his eyebrows and peered up to Throttle in soft nervousness, "W-we're still keeping our new powers a secret, though, right?"

"Yeah, that I don't think we should tell anyone about if we're going to at least have some fun with it," Throttle nearly whispered, he shrugged and gave Wren a confident smile; he hardly seemed bothered, though Wren was well aware that once both boys were in Rancis's presence, they'd both be melted into a puddle of anxiety. Throttle shrugged his masculine shoulders and gave Wren a sweet look of encouragement, "C'mon, stop being so nervous. Your dad is really nice, and we get along. You really think he'd be opposed to this? He knows about us, right?"

"I-I mean, not blatantly, I've never like come out and told either of my parents that we were officially dating," Wren said softly, the glowing, pristine, white hall they moseyed down had walls that grappled on to every single syllable that was uttered; they slowly passed other racer's front doors, little nooks of foyers that were gorgeously lit and customized to fit the characteristics of each individual. Wren admired each door as they passed, though with each one that came and gone, they grew closer to Taffyta's and Rancis's lovely abode, "I think word just got around and they... Respected it. If they had a problem with us, I'm sure they would've said something by now. I've had many a family dinner, with the lot of them. Orph and Penny included."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Throttle pressed in whole confidence, though Wren cocked an eyebrow and gave Throttle a nervous look of near-smiling dread, though Throttle furrowed his black brow at him and gingerly shrugged, "Seriously, why are you so nervous? It's making ME nervous."

"We've swapped codes and now have swapped roles," Wren muttered in irritation, "Now you're the most confident person on the planet and I'm the hugest worry wart. GREAT."

"Seriously, it's going to be FINE," Throttle assured confidently, though Wren shot him a look of further dread.

"You understand what this means, right?" Wren wondered meekly, Throttle shrugged as the two finally slowed, Taffyta's and Rancis's lovely, large, round front door could be seen two dozen feet off, now.

"What?" Throttle wondered curiously, he frowned as the two slowed to a halt, though Wren cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head in the direction of his mother's and father's closed, inviting front door.

"We swapped codes... You understand my dad is going to have the 'taffy tree ring' talk with you," Wren muttered, though Throttle finally raised his eyebrows in curious surprise and looked over his shoulder, to Wren's parent's front door.

"... T-Taffy trees?" Throttle staggered in a now bleeding show of anxiety that was currently buried underneath all of Wren's confident, sunny coding.

"Orph had to do it for Penny," Wren muttered, he almost looked scared for Throttle, "Not only that, but ON the awkward, probably-to-soon topic of marriage... I'm sure my dad was likely wanting the Fluggerbutter name to pass on, through me."

"O-Oh you mean like..." Throttle now carried on in a full swathe of terror, he swallowed hard and shook his head as his nervous eyes peered hard into Wren's, "I-If I... A-Ask you to marry me? In the future?"

"If a husband is something you want, in the future," Wren largely shrugged and looked off, and although the two stumbled into this conversation with dry feet, both boys peered to each other in a sea of terror that began to swarm with little flits of warm love, "I wouldn't complain. I'm just warning you for what MIGHT come up."

"I-I didn't even consider that being a topic," Throttle staggered, and although not opposed, Wren's confident coding easily eked right out of his pores and evaporated in the form of Throttle now taking a few steps away from their destination, "M-Maybe we should... Rethink-"

"For User's sakes, we're already here, I already told mom and dad we were coming," Wren hissed quickly in frustration as he held his hand out, and without contact, he gently yanked Throttle forward in the bumbling act of their shared, brand new telikenises powers. Throttle choked a nervous chuckle and tried to straighten out his hair as the two finally began to ease just steps from Taffyta's and Rancis's quiet home. Wren inhaled a shaky breath and, although he hovered for a second and caught eyes with Throttle for assurance, he gingerly knocked on the large door with forced confidence and huffed Throttle a cheeky whisper of a conclusion, "Welp. It was nice knowin' yah."

* * *

 **A/N : Hey all, I have something to discuss.**

 **For this story, I really thought doing something different would be beneficial, but truth be told, it's made me feel distant from not only you guys, but my story. And it's really bumming me out.**

 **For the first 50 chapters, I decided to put a single chapter into comic form, and while it was a lot of fun, it was extremely time consuming and only made me feel extremely familiar with one chapter only.**

 **The sketchdumps helped me with continuity, and helped me connect with you guys, and although I STARTED the next comic, for chapters 50-100, I've decided to not carry it through.**

 **Instead, to make it up to you guys, I'll be opening my sketchdump requests. From chapter 1-100, you guys can request ANYTHING. When chapter 150 comes around, I'll reopen the requests for chapter 100-150, and we'll carry on with that routine. I may even start doing every 25 chapters, just to keep things fresh. It's never failed me in the past, and I'm open to admitting I was wrong in thinking this whole chapter-comic nonsense would help me flourish. If anything, it's made me feel farther from the story and from you guys.**

 **So, please forgive me. I give full permission to attack me with sketchdump requests, any and all.**

 **Also, I've decided, moving forward, that whoever is my hundredth reviewer, for each hundred that I get, will receive their sketchdump request as a full-blown digital painting. I'm 4 reviews away from 500 reviews, so whoever hits that 500 review WINS!**

 **aannnnnd GO.**


	137. Chapter 137

**Reviews :**

 **Leafy :** Thank you friend! I appreciate it. Lash can stand, he just can't really touch door handles or much of anything that isn't like a counter's surface or furniture. He can't really grab anything that he could use as a weapon, nor can he open or close doors. This isn't limited to sheet music that he shouldn't be nosing through :0)

 **Raven :** I'll add it to the list! I have plenty of unfinished pieces of deleters... I just have to finish and post them.

 **Faolan1230 :** Thank you so much! And, I'm so happy for you! That's awesome! I'll add your request to the list, though that's not really a scene in any of these chapters. I'll see if I can get around to it, that's a rather hefty request.

 **marinetanker97 :** Hey, **CONGRATS!** You're my **500th reviewer** :) You've won a full painting from me, from ANY scene in this whole story. You can PM your request or write it in a review. Thank you! :D

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **All I Believe In by Armadou Mariam The Magic Numbers**

* * *

 ***Chapter 137***

"Looks like y'got a little bit of muscle, there, Tee," Taffyta teased through the grit of her teeth, she desperately reserved the urge to burst out laughing as Throttle did what he could to kneed the dough on the island's lovely counters.

"Oh, come on, I'm getting it," Throttle urgently complained, he shot Taffyta a wide, snark smile and wrinkled his nose as he locked his elbows and began to kneed the dough a little bit harder. He grunted and put more of his back into it, laughter from Taffyta's and Rancis's warmly lit living room resonated to the rest of the home, Penny, Orph and Wren were inside their own riveting conversation. Throttle nervously peered over to the three, from far across the gap, and was certain that the three were laughing at him, though much to his relief, they weren't, "These are gunna be the best damn cinnamon rolls Sugar Rush ever did see."

"You can say that again," Taffyta urged, she tucked her white hair behind her ears and began to mosey to the other side of the island.

Taffyta's and Rancis's abode was just as pristine and lovely as the palace grounds itself. Clad with a pearly white kitchen and a warm living space, donned with high ceilings and crown molding, Rancis's and Taffyta's bedroom was secretly tucked away in a dim nook of an entry way, secluded and private from the main part of the house. Upon entering, the first stop was a conservative mud and laundry room, as well as the mouth of the sprawling kitchen complete with gorgeous, stainless steel appliances, a kitchen fit for all of Taffyta's baking needs. With the far end of the home swathed with a floor to ceiling glass window, that overlooked the palace grounds, warm porch lights dot their balcony; although every racer had a very similar home, corridors that hugged Sugar Rush's code room, each home was unique and special. It catered to everyone's needs in different ways, and although a kitchen was obviously standard, Taffyta's and Rancis's was definitely the crown jewel of their home. Throttle heaved a shaky chuckle and brushed his black hair from his forehead, causing flour to freckle his white nose. Nearly going cross-eyed, he huffed a breath through his nose and began to swipe at the flour, though he only made the mess worse.

"For User's sake," Taffyta barked a giggle and urgently handed Throttle a clean, dry dish rag, she shook her head and watched as he properly cleaned his face, big smile and all, "I-I just need to get the cinnamon sugar, and we can cut the individual strips out, once you're done, there."

"Where do you get your cinnamon sugar from?" Throttle lazily inquired, file and files of Sugar Rush knowledge came flooding his circuits, gifts from Wren's coding that came bursting like bubbles. Without thinking, Throttle nonchalantly pressed on with a sweet smile on his face, his eyes were fixated on the chore underneath him, "Beard Papa's? Or... More organic fields out past Stonecrest's previous spot, by the gum drop mountains?"

Taffyta furrowed her eyebrows and gently reached into the cabinet, though upon gently grabbing the billowy white packaging, which securely housed Sugar Rush's most delicious cinnamon sugar, her blue eyes glossed the adorable little logo in stunned surprise. A much smaller, family owned factory far off by said gum drop mountains, Stonecrest's secret little slice of heaven. Hard to find and even harder to come by and remember, no less, Taffyta felt her circuits gently freeze in stunned wondering. In a gentle slide of smiling suspicion, Taffyta dragged her eyes to Throttle's disposition at her kitchen island. Although he was a rather gangly, skinny individual, he pumped at the dough and showed hint of muscles in his biceps. He bit his lower lip in whole concentration and had a more confident glow about him. The gentle pierce of his eyes held purpose, delight, ones that were typically shroud in gloominess and reserved stillness, he looked alive with the sun. Taffyta cocked an eyebrow and knew exactly what was going on, here, though with a sly smile and a gentle clack of her gorgeous white cabinets, she began to bring the cinnamon sugar over to Throttle in forced nonchalance.

"Oh yeah, I always get the best stuff... I mean, Beard Papa OBVIOUSLY makes some good ingredients for sweets, but," Taffyta shrugged and heaved a gentle sigh as she stood within a few feet of Throttle, she patiently waited for him to finish what he was doing, "There's also this really good place just across the sugar sea, uhg... User... WHAT is it called again..."

"Is it near Snowcap Lookout?" Throttle continued on, not even aware that this random Sugar Rush knowledge just so happened to be sitting on his brain stem, just waiting to be used, so generously gifted to him from Wren's sunny coding, Throttle shrugged and heaved a soft chuckle as he continued on, "I mean, obviously... It'd be probably in that same little town, there, but that definitely is really hidden away. Snowcap Lookout is on that secluded Northern ridge of that... Main island inside Sugar Sea, right?"

Taffyta cocked an eyebrow and gingerly crossed her arms, though as Throttle's firm gaze down into his craft eagerly soaked into an aimless show of entire dread, self-discovery, Throttle heaved a shaky breath and allowed his elbows to lazily buckle into a show of now reclusive terror. With messy, flour-covered hands, he stood up straight, removed himself from the crest of the island and urgently peered down into Taffyta's suspecting gaze, he could feel his heart nearly stop at the dead realization that he had so subtly and so sneakily given himself away without even thinking about it. Throttle gestured to himself, careful to not get flour on his shirt, and though he failed, he urgently peered about the kitchen and began to silently stammer on words, he grasped at the beginning of maybe three or four different sentences before Taffyta blurt a gentle, silent giggle and shook her head at him.

"Had a craving for peanut butter, there, didja?" Taffyta stated dully, though her scheming, cute grin of delight held the aura, in the kitchen, at a warm temperature.

Throttle sagged his shoulders, heaved a long sigh through his nose and looked off in entire defeat. He shook his head, finally, and peered back to Taffyta in a pleading way.

"W-We came over tonight to eventually tell you and Rancis, I-I... I wasn't wanting to keep something like this from you two," Throttle begged nervously, he urgently peered into Taffyta's scheming eyes and felt terror plague him, "I-I guess I just... I was going to... For User's sake."

"Therrre's the Throttle I previously knew," Taffyta blurt a soft laugh, although she wanted to jump for joy and show Throttle just how exciting this was, she stifled her feelings and allowed the air to calm between the two. She tilted her head in gentle understanding and peered into Throttle's nervous eyes, he was frozen in his spot, "I was wondering why you seemed so sure of yourself, all night. I mean, I typically would've had to show you how to do this, at least five times, before you gained the confidence to do it yourself. Let alone get your hands dirty, like such."

"Y'caught me," Throttle stated through a shaky sigh as he bashfully peered off, his face was nearly beet red, though he jolted in surprise as Taffyta warmly raveled Throttle's mid-section into a tight, loving hug. Throttle raises his eyebrows in surprise and gently peered down to the top of Taffyta's head, and although he wanted to return the hug, he refrained due to his hands being covered in sticky flour. He opened his mouth and stumbled on a few more words, "Y-You're not mad? I... I'm really sorry I didn't really consult you or Rancis, first."

"Hey, to be frank, it's really none of our business," Taffyta eased a small chuckle, and though she slowly peeled from Throttle's inviting aura, she remained close and peered her gentle eyes up to Throttle's wavering, fragile yet beaming soul, a ray of sunshine Taffyta was more than familiar with, "It's... Something Rancis has sort of struggled with, and, though it's nice to know just who our kid's coding is permanently going to, it's not our decision to make."

"I-I know, I just... Didn't want you two to think we were being disrespectful," Throttle worried softly, he frowned and shook his head, "I-It... Just all happened so fast, and... Well..."

"Welcome to the family, Tee," Taffyta stated low, in great warmth, the twinkle in her eye proved to Throttle that she was entirely floored with this installment, though continued to keep a low profile for the sake of Penny and Orph in the living room, she cocked an eyebrow and noticed Rancis was all by his lonesome on the balcony, far beyond the living room.

"Thank you," Throttle eased through a sigh and a small smile, "I... Didn't plan any of this, you know. I-I don't want you to think that just because I basically named Wren meant that I like... Cl-claimed him, or something."

"No, that thought never crossed my mind," Taffyta wrinkled her nose and gave Throttle a warm, sneaky smile and side-eye, "Though, now that you say something..."

"C'mon," Throttle complained with a pleading smile, "That's not the case."

"I'm teasing," Taffyta giggled, she swat at Throttle's shoulder and gently peered to the chatty group in the living room, "You should tell Penny and Orph. They'll be thrilled."

"I-I thought I was lucky gaining my brothers back," Throttle huffed with a new sense of purpose, he expanded his chest and softened with Taffyta's encouraging words, though as he brought his attention back to her and continued on, his confidence began to slip, "I-It's nice to have family, to feel as if you belong."

"Yes, well," Taffyta sighed and nervously glossed her eyes beyond the living room, though she finally brought her sharp and cheekily nervous gaze back to Throttle's, "The hardest part is yet to come. Rancis is a tough cookie, my love."

Throttle held his breath and shot his piercing, pixel-cubed gaze across the way with nervousness. He was well aware Rancis was likely going to be the one and only to stir a commotion and potentially drill Throttle over the raw facts of just what would happen to him if he were to mess up his relationship with Wren, though somehow the fact that he was harboring Wren's coding, permanently, still wasn't enough to shake the fear from his fresh circuits. Throttle flinched the second Taffyta lovingly pat Throttle's upper back, as if to kindly remind Throttle to get a move on; she handed him said clean dish towel and gestured to the lonely soul beyond the bickering nonsense in the living room.

"Like a band-aid, babe," Taffyta mumbled with a girly, knowing smile.

* * *

 _LashedOut : Your highness_

 _LashedOut : GAH fuck you don't like that. Uh... Berri, sorry._

 _LashedOut : Am I doing this right? These aren't drafts or anything, are they?_

 _LashedOut : I'm... I'm in a weird plane of purgatory, one where the phone that Zed gave me actually works._

 _LashedOut : It didn't work yesterday. Longest 24 hours of my life._

 _LashedOut : Turbo got it to work. That guy knows everything._

Frozen for nearly thirty seconds straight, Berri cocked in eyebrow in horrified surprise and watched as Lash's little messages continued to gently vibrate her phone. She finally opened her message app and saw the conversation as a whole, and although she was well aware this was likely Lash's way of reaching out and attempting to rebuild bridges that were so badly burned and destroyed, Berri felt a weird, second wave of hatred climb over her. The weird way Lash kept inquiring about Gunner, the almost digging trait that Lash contained, Berri was certain Lash was strictly put on Arcade to unearth dirt on everyone and use it as potential black mail. She grit her teeth, and just as she went to put Lash's messages on mute and lock her phone, one last message came through.

 _LashedOut : Look, I'm just messaging you to apologize. I shouldn't have been asking you about your boyfriend when turbotastic-loverboy has very obvious feelings for you. I guess you could say it was insensitive of me. I was more the brawn behind any operation Turbo and I had. You can clearly see that Turbo was the brains. So, yeah. Sorry._

Berri sagged her shoulders and softened a little, and although she desperately wanted to continue through the motion of indefinitely muting Lash and locking her phone for the evening, she heaved a long sigh through her nose and peered about her tower's dim, still kitchen and living area. Low ground lamps, that were merely on timers and strictly on for the sake of seeing in the dark, cast shadows from nearby houseplants onto the walls. Warm, dim lighting that only was about as bright as a few candles flickered in the dark, though somehow inviting atmosphere, her heart began to gently thud in uncertainty. A strange bout of camaraderie, with Lash, suddenly began to stir in the depths of her heart. A common denominator they both had for one certain individual, how distanced they both were to each other, Berri bit her lip and wondered if there was a shred of an opportunity to confide in TurboTime's most estranged good guy gone bad and back again. In the motion of heading outside to reset her tower's teleportation pad, she eased down the foyer's corridor and swung open her massive front door.

Upon stepping into Sugar Rush's clean, spring time air, her bare feet sank into the cold stepping stones that were in the process of being overgrown by sweet grass. As she approached her teleportation pad, she suddenly flinched in surprise as it warmly lit up and materialized an individual, right before her. She tucked her arms to her chest, took a step or two backwards and huffed a small noise to let this individual know that she was present. It being nighttime, the only light present was that of her small tower's porch light, the fireflies about the palace grounds and the stars above. Her heart jolted in uncertain surprise the second Turbo stepped off the pad, though he flinched in whole surprise and stabbed his surprised, golden eyes tight to Berri's disposition. He clutched his chest and let out a hard, shaky groan of a chuckle, to which Berri scrunched her shoulders and easily blurt an apologetic giggle.

"Guh, for User's sake, Bear, you scared the shit out of me," Turbo hissed as he scrunched his eyes closed and shook his head, as if to regain himself; Berri blurt a louder laugh and shook her head in further apology as Turbo peeled open his eyes and inhaled a refreshed breath, "What's going on? Whatcha doing out here?"

"I just was coming out here to reset the pad," Berri chimed in gentle conclusion as she gestured to the dimly glowing pad behind Turbo, she tucked her hair behind her ears and inhaled a long, trembling breath of trying to collect herself, "It... Was being a little problematic, earlier, and refused to send Wren and Throttle to the palace's main port."

"Oh, really?" Turbo wondered softly as he turned around and peered down to the now powered off pad, him and Berri stood side by side amidst the lovely, twinkling fire flies, "Well... I guess let me know if it gives you any more trouble, I can look into it."

"Will do," Berri bobbed a nod and inhaled a small breath, she looked about the palace's dim, lovely lot, all twinkled with fire flies, like stars that hovered and bobbed about the cool grass. The skies were clear and dark, void of the moon, though the glinting glow of the fireflies, as well as Turbo's familiar golden glowing eyes, gave Berri a sense of peace. She crossed her arms and now eyed Turbo in tender, reserved wondering, "You, uh... You come to our pad for any particular reason?"

"Oh, I... I-I was just... Going to return this to you," Turbo stated as delicately as he could, and as he pulled Berri's still folded sheet music from his back pocket, Berri's whole posture went as stiff as a board, as flush and as white as a ghost. Turbo rushed to carry on, to ease her now trembling, embarrassed worries, "I-I DIDN'T open it, I promise, I... I figured it was private."

"It is, thank you," Berri urged in concealed terror as she gently, though swiftly, snatched the sheet music from Turbo's hand. She urgently held it close to her chest and peered up into Turbo's eyes in whole nervousness; she assumed Turbo was telling the truth, though she felt her heart race and was now unsure just what to believe, "I'm... I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Turbo staggered with a nervous smile and a shrug, he shook his head and opened his mouth to continue, though Berri softly back-stepped away from him in a creeping, agitated kind of way.

"Gunner messaged me earlier, and... I guess our tour got bumped up, due to switching venues," Berri rushed to continue, she held her sheet music tight to her and peered to Turbo in soft apology, "We leave, well... First thing tomorrow."

"Oh, User," Turbo mumbled in sharp surprise as held his hand out for Berri, as if to silently beg her to return to him, he frowned and sagged his shoulders, "I... I had a surprise for you, I was going to show you the improvement of my powers, tomorrow... Man."

"Y-you've been practicing?" Berri wondered in poised surprise as she halted her footwork and kept about half a dozen feet from Turbo's still disposition.

"Yeah, of course," Turbo pleaded with a small smile, though he sighed and looked down to his feet. His glowing eyes honed in on a few fireflies by his feet, "I guess I can show you when you come back home. How long are you going to be gone?"

"Just a week," Berri shrugged, she gave Turbo a kind smile and remained still, "Sorry, I... I was in the middle of packing, Wren just texted me and reminded me to come hard-reset the pad before him and Throttle came home."

"No, it's fine, I'll... I'll leave you to it," Turbo gently assured as he inhaled a shaky breath and began to step back to the teleportation pad, though as it illuminated with his presence, Berri sagged her shoulders and looked off in contemplative nervousness. Turbo gently gestured his hand in aimless uncertainty and carried on, "Just... Lemme know when you get back home, and we can have a get together, or something. I-It can exclude Lash, if that makes you more comfortable."

"... I'll think about it," Berri assured with a smile, she could feel her phone buzz in her pocket; she knew Lash's ears were likely ringing.

"Bye, Bear," Turbo concluded warmly as the teleport pad's holographic display flickered awake, though before Turbo could press his finger into his destination, Berri's soft footsteps pressed forward with confidence and sought out one final goodbye-hug.

With certainty, Berri was quick to wrap her arms around Turbo's center, her face found the comfortable nook between the center of Turbo's broad chest. Without being obvious, she inhaled a deep, long breath through her nose, of Turbo's human scent. She fluttered her eyes closed in secretive desire and sagged deeper into his embrace as his strong arms came about her shoulders. He huffed a small, quiet chuckle and was well aware the illuminated teleport pad made so the two were hugging in near-broad daylight, out in the open; anyone catching glances out their windows would, without a doubt, see the sight of the both of them, and although this typically would make Turbo entirely uncomfortable, he sagged his disposition and tugged her deeper into his chest and embrace. He smiled down into the crown of her head and, with eyes lulled closed and a sneaky inhale for himself, he eased a secretive, prolonged kiss to the top of her head.

"Be careful, out there," Turbo gently pressed in conclusory warning, a sweet gesture of care, he squeezed her little shoulders in a tug of his strong, capable arms, "Promise?"

"Promise," Berri sighed, the two peeled from each other in a slow-motion drag of regret, though Berri smiled up into Turbo's eyes and finally began to step away.

"You know where to find me, lest your tour becomes too much to handle," Turbo assured with a nod, Berri beamed down to her feet and tucked her hair behind her ears.

"You'd be my first stop," Berri warmly affirmed, and with such, Turbo returned his attention to the teleport pad's holographic display.

"See yah, Blue," Turbo concluded warmly, and with a whisk, his hot red coding was off in a flash.

As the teleportation pad dimmed and powered down, Berri exhaled a long sigh, turned to head back to her tower, clutched her sheet music and quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket. She raised her eyebrows and peered down to the message Lash had sent.

 _LashedOut : Hopefully Turbo returned that sheet music of yours like he swore he would._

Berri huffed a small giggle, shook her head and was quick to reply.

 _Blue : He did, and... Thanks for everything you said. It's gunna be hard to forget everything you've done to me, my family, and my future kingdom, but... I forgive you._

 _LashedOut : Oh, good, User._

 _LashedOut : Look, I did a lot of shit, but I just wanted, well... idk._

 _Blue : Everything we all have now? Everything we have been fighting for?_

 _LashedOut : Why don't you just... Tell me everything I've done that has upset you and we'll just go down the line and I'll explain myself. I'm not tired. I can do this for hours. I mean I did with Nox and Throttle and Turbo, and, well, clearly you're important, here_

Berri blurt a small laugh and welcomed herself back into her home, and a she locked the main door and pressed deeper into her warm abode, she thumbed back to Lash's rapid-fire messages; she was well aware he had absolutely nothing else to do but to just text people.

 _Berri : You want me to tell you everything that you've done to piss me off? Really?_

 _LashedOut : yeah yeah, just get it out._

 _Berri : Do you have two weeks?_

 _LashedOut : VERY funny. I mean, yes, I do, so... Get typin' toots._

Berri eased yet another laugh and teleported herself to her bedroom; upon easing into her warm room, she furrowed her eyebrows at herself and was shocked that Lash was getting this much of a positive reaction out of her. She peered down to her phone in curious wondering, a strange spark of a friendship that was as easy as ever, the dynamic of all of the TurboTime boys was something she meshed well with, she fingered her lip and wondered if she should at least attempt to turn over this new leaf with Sugar Rush's previously hugest enemy. Although she knew to keep her guard up, she was thrilled to find that she felt the urge to continue the conversation with Lash, a potential safe spot with the one person that previously knew Turbo better than anyone in Arcade; she knew to tread lightly, though somehow, the promise of a beautiful friendship easily presented itself to her in the strangest way possible.


	138. Chapter 138

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Aw I'm glad you feel that way. Thank you so much!

 **Snake557 :** Aw, poor ol' Rancis doesn't have as many worries as he did back in Rectifying Origin. He used to be all bark and bite, but surely he's settled a bit. You'll see ^_^

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 **Song Listened To :  
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 **Hurt Again by Julia Michaels  
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* * *

 ***Chapter 138***

In the stillness of Sugar Rush's crisp night, the gentle tap of Throttle's bare feet eased onto the soft, glossy patio, warmly lit with hanging twinkle lights and an atmosphere that hugged fireflies amidst the sweet grass below. With his hands nervously clenched inside his torn khaki's, Throttle gently pressed to Rancis's presence. His back was turned, he was leaned against the railing of the patio, his arms hugged himself as if to very secretly console, it was clear Rancis was lost in troubled thought and escaping the commotion, in the living room, was the only way to quiet the storm in his head. As non-intrusive as he could, Throttle cleared his throat and cocked an eyebrow as his glowing white gaze so gently sapped into Rancis's dark aura. Rancis's spine stiffened, he looked over his shoulder in prickled curiosity and gave Throttle a warm smile, nonetheless.

"Throttle," Rancis's deep voice chimed, he cleared his throat as well and returned his now warm gaze to the beautiful palace lot below, "I'm surprised you hadn't come out sooner. Such an introvert, as yourself, I was sure you'd be done with Orph, Penny and Wren long ago."

"I thought so too," Throttle agreed in a chuckle, though he immediately ate his words and realized just why he had so much more stamina for human interaction; Wren's extroverted coding gave him that much-needed amp of energy to socialize for far longer than he was used to. Because of this, Throttle nervously cleared his throat, again, hovered a few feet from Rancis's bigger, intimidating figure, Throttle's now agitated eyes scanned the horizon for answers, "I-I guess... I just... H-have developed a sense of-"

"Wren?" Rancis smoothly finished, he cocked an eyebrow and gave Throttle a stern look so skillfully laden inside a cheeky, boyish side eye; Throttle heaved a trembling breath and felt the confident glow of his white eyes suddenly dip in returned agitation. Rancis huffed a deep chuckle, shook his head and allowed his weathered gaze to share the horizon with Throttle's, "I don't think I've ever seen either you or Wren smile so much. It's like you both slept with hangers in your mouths. I may be only programmed to skillfully race, but I've adopted a few skills, in my time."

"... Sir," Throttle started with the touch of terror in the back of his trembling voice box, he struggled to swallow.

"You... Don't need to do that," Rancis stated in soft defeat, he shook his head and gave Throttle a gentle smile, "I know what you came out here for, and quite frankly, I was hoping you'd be brave enough."

Throttle kept his mouth shut and was well aware that anything said, here, would be on the record. He stiffened and allowed Rancis's still demeanor to climb over his quivering soul. He struggled to swallow, once again, and scanned the ground near his feet, he raised his eyebrows in humble nervousness, he somehow was surprised that his feet were still being held to the planet by gravity.

"... I meant no disrespect," Throttle so tenderly assured, the depth of his voice coat over Rancis like an apology directly from a gloomy, fluffy cloud.

"I know you didn't," Rancis warmly volleyed with a shrug, he shook his head and completed his statement through a sigh, "I think I've been so used to justifying my past, present and future, that... My children were really the only things I had control of, while they were growing up. We raised them well... I keep forgetting to acknowledge that, in their great upbringing, they've learned a thing or two, from their parents."

Throttle remained still and patiently allowed Rancis to slowly unload, like what was subconsciously promised. Rancis finally stood up straighter and rolled his long sleeves to his elbows.

"They've picked well for themselves," Rancis warmly concluded, he gave Throttle a gentle smile of approval and shrugged, "I try not to pat myself on the back very often, but... I think I'd allow myself some cockiness, here."

"You deserve it," Throttle gently agreed inside of a warm grumble of cuteness.

"I can't make these hard decisions for my kids, I just have to trust that they'll make the right decisions that best suit them," Rancis pressed warmly, the crackle of his deep voice eased in almost well-deserved defeat, the softness of his gaze assured Throttle that the challenge of raising children has softened his bitey, sharp and on-edge exterior, "I was a bit wary of Orph, for a hot minute, there, but..."

"He's a good guy," Throttle assured with a nod, his gaze glossed to the glass patio doors; both him and Rancis watched as Orph urgently flailed his hands from the living room, obviously him, Penny and Wren were inside a riveting game of charades, everyone howled with laughter, equally muffled from the closed glass.

"He is," Rancis blurt a raspy chuckle and watched as everyone had a grand time from something so simple, though Rancis gently dragged his eyes to Throttle's still disposition and was able to sneak a good glance into his soul, as his eyes were averted. Throttle's tall, gangly figure stood tall and confident, the sap of wisdom and hurt in his eyes was enough to assure Rancis that he had both feet on the ground. Rancis bobbed a small nod and looked down to his feet in welcomed defeat, "And so are you."

Throttle raised his eyebrows a little and felt his heart begin to thud in almost concern. As him and Rancis grabbed eyes, Throttle nearly reeled at just how easy this all was. He wondered if Rancis's now softened heart, towards his children's choices in life, somehow had Throttle squeaking by with so much ease. He almost felt bad for the huge chore that Orph had to go through, and though he was well aware there was nowhere to go but up, from here, he knew not to take this for granted, or take this acceptance for full license. Throttle sagged his shoulders and looked down with humility.

"I'm honored you feel that way," Throttle eased, he returned his gaze to Rancis's confident, fatherly stare, "I promise to take good care of Wren. I won't let you down."

"No, I know you won't," Rancis's crackly voice assured in warmth, he bobbed a nod and looked out to Sugar Rush's delicious, still palace grounds, "The pros and cons of sinking your teeth into the royal family, and it's extended branches, are that you have a sea of camaraderie... Or, a sea of warriors that will go to the ends of Arcade to right wrongs."

Throttle held his breath and was well aware just what Rancis was insinuating, here. A skipped chapter of asking permission, Throttle was certain he had now jumped straight into the part where begging for forgiveness was nipping at his heels, something he was sure he skirted right by, though Rancis's dark stare pierced his soul like a black sword dipped in venom.

"You dodged me once," Rancis darkly pressed, though he held a cheeky air about himself, as if desperate to make clear to Throttle that he wasn't a threat, yet anyways, "We Fluggerbutters hold tight to tradition. If you want that man as your husband, you have to go through what Orph and I had to go through. You can't, and won't, side step me, there. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," Throttle meeped nervously, he bobbed a nod and felt as if he had now entered a chapter tangled in vines and thorns, the sun was nowhere to be found. He swallowed hard and almost felt scared, now, to ask questions, yet he somehow mustered the courage, "Y-You mean... Th-the taffy trees...?"

"Is that a conversation you'd like to have now?" Rancis wondered, sure of himself, he puffed his chest a little and gave Throttle an uncertain side-eye, "Are you prepared to ask Wren to marry you not days after swapping codes?"

"Oh, no, sir, I-I... I'm..." Throttle felt every ounce of new, garnered confidence now sap right out of the soles of his feet; Rancis shook his head and eased a gentle chuckle.

"Both of you boys have a LOT to learn about each other," Rancis assured with a nod, "Spend your time with Wren's coding. Really get to know him. You have the advantage of so many Arcade years over him, but he is still a doughy, cute little dude with fresh eyes and rosy cheeks. He needs you..."

"... And I need him," Throttle gently assured, he looked off and felt his veins tremble.

"You've saddled each other with this brand new, seemingly permanent commitment," Rancis eased, he eyed Throttle with understanding, "You boys can do what you will with it, for however long, but the second marriage is upon you, I better be the first person you hit up."

"Yes, sir," Throttle urgently agreed in the softness of his nervous breath, he peered to Rancis in concealed terror and was well aware that Rancis's original warm front was likely used simply to lure Throttle in and make him feel welcomed.

"You've slipped around me once," Rancis darkly pressed, still coyly laden with his boyish, cheeky demeanor, "Don't let it happen again, please. I've loosened my fist, but I'd like the respect of communication when it comes to my children. You've seen eons more of this Arcade than I have, but this is something only a parent would understand. Please do not run through my red lights."

"It won't happen again," Throttle assured gently, he shrugged and nervously looked down, "I-I doubt you want my excuses."

"I'd like to hear one," Rancis almost cockily pressed, to which Throttle raised his eyebrows in poised terror.

"W-Well, I... W-We... Just got swept into it, and..." Throttle felt his face heat up, "I-If I'm being honest, I didn't think about anyone but Wren and I. I consulted Turbo for the logistics of it all, but otherwise..."

"And he's not going to stop you and make you come talk to me, first, I get it," Rancis blurt a soft laugh and shrugged, "It happened with Penny and Orph. Granted, that's a different situation, I still am sensitive to being side-stepped."

"Sir, if I'm being honest," Throttle felt bravery flood him, he softened his gaze to Rancis and was praying that he would be susceptible to criticism, here, "You're hard to approach. I don't think it was the first thing I thought of, because, well... You're very intimidating. You've earned that, as a parent, but... You're gaining family. Are you not?"

Rancis softened and looked down in a sag of the sting, he sunk his hands into his pockets and finally bobbed a nod of understanding. He peered his humble eyes into Throttle and allowed the sting to turn into a lesson, he was well aware he had an air of dominance over the lot of everyone, on palace grounds, being at Zed's right hand. He looked off and allowed Throttle's comforting silence to assure to Rancis that Throttle was not here to now rapid-fire attack Rancis's short comings and insecurities.

"Taffyta tells me that, all the time," Rancis mumbled, "She always tells me to ease up. You know my past... You know it's been hard for me. Lash and Turbo took advantage of me and my coding. I've only just recently felt as if I could fully forgive Turbo, for that. I do have walls I need to just let come down, for good, you're... Not wrong."

"I entirely understand," Throttle assured with a small nod, he looked down to his hands and inhaled a deep breath, "I knew that going into all of this. I was aware there'd be soreness, somewhere. I'm just... Glad we could reach an understanding."

"Just keep me in mind, that's all I ask," Rancis stated in warm conclusion, and with the weight lifted, he gently reached his hand for a handshake and finally eked genuine warmth, "Welcome to the family, Tee. We're happy to have you."

"Thank you," Throttle softly pressed as he hurried to gently shake Rancis's strong hand, they gripped in a hold of understanding and smiled into each others eyes, and it was here to Throttle feel the figurative sunshine beam down on him, through the thinning of thorns, "I won't let you down."

* * *

Although Berri's blue eyes pierced the lovely, sunny sands of Dig Dug's adorably pixelated horizons, far off, she felt the gloom deep inside her heart. Through a heavy, dry sigh, she glossed her eyes to her phone, void of new messages. She felt a weird drape come over her shoulders, their luxurious tour bus pressed on in eager anticipation to arrive to their very first venue, inside Dig Dug. Somehow, the cheeriness of the sandy, beachy atmosphere mocked her, a sunny plow of joy and happiness that was ready to just drown her confused soul with every ounce of happiness it had to offer, somehow the prospect of previously sinking into Pong's dark atmosphere was something she deeply missed, even having never been before. She narrowed her annoyed glower through the blinding light, she tucked her fists into her black hoodie and held onto gloom for as long as she possibly could; that is until a particularly sunny individual plopped down across from her, at the table she sat at.

"You look like you could use a friend," Throttle pressed gently, the glisten of his glowing eyes looked healthier and happier; he wore a cozy pull over, laden with grey plaids and frayed draw strings. Berri's soft, dreary eyes peered to Throttle in a show of concealed desperation, and with this, Throttle froze and halted any of his energetic, sudden movements. Amidst the hover of contemplation, he finally took a slow stand, from his heavily plopped down position, and like a ghost, he drifted to Berri's side of the table and so softly lowered to a sit right next to Sugar Rush's princess. With great ease, his arm came about the tops of her shoulders and, with no hesitation in his movements, he tucked Berri into a soft side hug, "Welp... I'm glad my intuition didn't steer me wrong."

"Thank Wren for it, I guess," Berri mumbled into the side of Throttle's chest; she snuck a smile as she could feel Throttle's spine go stiff in discovery, she eased a groggy giggle into his warm plaids and lulled her eyes closed. Throttle sagged in smiling, annoyed defeat and squeezed Berri a little closer, "You guys aren't subtle... I was going to wait for one of you boys to give away the other, so I could congratulate you, but... I'm tired of waiting. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Throttle warmly concluded as he eased off of Berri's figure, though he hovered close, he knew, full well, her spirit was down, "We can talk about that later... Are... Are you okay?"

"I'm not really sure," Berri mumbled, the bus picked up speed as it kept course with the double-laned traffic amidst the sunny, sandy nothingness of Dig Dug's interior world, the energy of the game began to almost force her deeper into her shell, something unlike herself, she grimaced and knew that bottling everything wasn't wise, "I guess I was really looking forward to touring Pong. It's probably the only game, in our Arcade, that's closest to Tron's atmosphere."

"Dark and gloomy," Throttle bobbed a nod; deeper inside the tour bus, Gunner, Theo and Wren could be heard loudly laughing about something. Throttle's and Berri's warm, soft conversation remained tight in their little bubble of platonic, intimate love, "You seem like you're craving it, right now. I'm sure this sand and sun is jarring, then."

"It is," Berri sighed.

"How come you're wanting to get as close as you can to Tron's atmosphere?" Throttle innocently wondered, though the anxious twiddling in Berri's fingers slowly gained.

"N-No reason, I just..." Berri shook her head and shelled off, though her glassy blue eyes began to lightly well with tears, cuing Throttle to freeze in nervous anticipation, "Throttle, have... Have you ever craved something you've never had?"

"Y-You mean like..." Throttle trailed off and looked about in guessing, genuine concern, though the second he locked eyes with Berri's, he realized this was her begging to be prod, begging to be pried open like a book, he froze and peered into her shelled exterior. He held his breath and remained silent with her, for a few moments. Almost as if she was trying to telepathically convey something to him, begging him to just guess what was on her mind, and with as much bravery as he could, he long-blinked in the continued solitude of their fragile conversation and so tenderly carried on, "...Turbo?"

Berri looked down, and in the motion, a few tears quickly dot the glossy table they sat at. Throttle heaved a shaky sigh and looked out to Dig Dug's lovely atmosphere, which now began to show promises of an ocean, on the horizon, which included fluffy palm trees. Throttle lulled his eyes closed in realization and shook his head, as if to state that enough was enough, he reopened his eyes and gingerly tucked his finger underneath Berri's chin.

"Babe, he knows your pain... I assure you he feels the same way," Throttle quietly urged, "Why wait any longer? Why torture yourself, at this point?"

"It's between the greater of two evils," Berri complained, she sniffled and rubbed her nose a little. She wiped her eyes, though her glassy eyes promised more tears, "Either I'm with a guy I don't love who literally has it all, or... I'm with a guy I love that..."

"... Turbo DOES have it all, and you know it," Throttle bravely stepped in, he inhaled a trembling breath and felt bad for being bold, though he cocked an eyebrow at her and gave her a cheeky smile; he knew that he'd back his younger brother, at all costs, especially over something that could potentially be so beautiful, "He maybe needs a push and a shove, but... Bear, you have control over this."

"Throttle, please... Please don't tell anyone, but," Berri trailed off and checked her surroundings, just to make sure they were the only ones around, "I'm... I'm thinking of taking a break from Gunner."

"Really?" Throttle pressed in a weird lull of excitement and sorrow; he was well aware the two had worked hard to get to where they were, and even though it gave room for Berri to collect herself and move on, he knew it would bring his precious friend pain. Something he didn't want for anyone.

"I just... Don't know when would be a good time," Berri trailed off, to which Throttle shrugged and looked off.

"There will never be a good time," Throttle assured nervously, he tucked some of Berri's messy blue hair behind her ear and tilted his head down, so to catch her line of sight. He warmly peered into her soul and shrugged, "You... You seem confused, Bear. Methinks maybe you should just be single, for a little while."

"I've considered," Berri mumbled, she looked exhausted. She bobbed a nod and gently shrugged, "I just don't want to cause drama on tour. Maybe... I'll hold on for a few more days and see how it goes, but..."

"You're going to have to sit him down, sooner or later," Throttle eased, he tried to be a safe point of interest, for Berri, a neutral ground. He knew he was biased towards Turbo, and would do anything to make it so the two were glued together, for good, though he could see Berri's husk of a figure, he was well aware she needed to likely shell away and be alone for a little while, no matter how selfishly he wanted her and Turbo to be whisked away forever, "I know whatever choice you make, it will be the right one. And, I'm always here for you."

"Thanks, Tee," Berri mumbled, her voice was nasally and stopped up, she inhaled a reviving breath through her mouth and finally gave Throttle a meek, teary smile, "I'm... I'm really glad you come on our tours with us, now. It's nice to have someone disconnected from the stage, someone to download with, y'know?"

"I'll be your rock," Throttle assured with a nod, and with such, Berri eagerly sagged into Throttle's warm side hug, once more, though Throttle did whatever he could to squeeze Berri into a fuller embrace. He tucked his chin to the top of her head and watched the sun and sand whisk by, outside, the highway of brightly colored cars that eased in and out of lanes, he tightly held Berri to him and allowed her to nuzzle her warm face into his collar for comfort, "... Turbo would look good on you, though. Just saying."

"NO boy would look good on me, right now, Tee, I'm over it," Berri muttered through a teary giggle, "Why do you boys suck."

"Oh, I can't relate, I'm so sorry," Throttle blurt a soft laugh, though he squeezed Berri a little tighter and smiled the widest, sweetest smile into her blue hair.

"I'm really happy for you and Wren," Berri warmly assured into the base of Throttle's shoulder, she sagged into his familiar self and, with eyes closed, she promised herself that she could just remain here forever, in Throttle's brotherly comfort. She shook her head and felt as if being in Throttle's shoes were worlds away, "I'm sure it's a magical feeling, huh."

"It's unlike anything," Throttle humbly assured, he knew not to get way too ahead of himself, here, so not to seem as if he was rubbing dirt in Berri's gaping wound, "This isn't about me, though... This is about you."

"It's okay, Tee," Berri mumbled with a smile, "One day, maybe I'll be able to relate."

"... It better be because of Turbo's coding," Throttle sneakily muttered, to which Berri blurt an annoyed laugh and followed it with an exhausted sigh.

"Let's put a pin in it," Berri sweetly mumbled.


	139. Chapter 139

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** Thank you! It's Berri Schweetz Kalivar and Turbo Cassius Black

 **Burgie :** That's sweet of you. Throttle definitely benefitted, that's for sure.

 **Nikki Firesong :** Thank you so much! Rancis is one of my favorite boys, he was the hardest to convince everyone to eventually love, but I'm glad it worked out.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Jumbo Pop Hustle by Michael Giacchino**

* * *

 ***Chapter 139***

"I'm so glad you're able to join us on these trips," Wren heaved a heavy, exhausted sigh; drowned in a lovely, glowing honeymoon phase, Wren snuggled into Throttle's chest as Throttle's strong hands quickly began to cocoon and bury the two underneath the heavenly downs of the resort they temporarily were stationed at. Throttle hummed an agreeing notion as Wren fluttered his eyes closed, amidst their nearly pitch black room, he mumbled a conclusion into the broad of Throttle's chest; both boys wore lazy t-shirts and underwear, "I got so sick and tired of seeing Gunner and Berri snuggle up and get all smoochy and gross together."

"Jealous much?" Throttle muttered with a snickering laugh, to which Wren rolled his eyes.

"Maybe? Sue me," Wren retort, the sheets rustled with the jostle of their mutual chuckling.

"Poor girl," Throttle sighed, and although he nuzzled his face into the top of Wren's white hair and figured said little quips and notions would eventually just lead to loving 'goodnight's' exchanged, he flinched in surprise as Wren pulled his head back and peered up to Throttle through the. gentle glow of his white eyes.

"Wait, what? Poor Berri?" Wren prod, though his statement would lead Throttle to believe he was bewildered that such an incredibly lucky girl could potentially be suffering, his tone proved to Throttle that Wren was on the same page, "You know something I don't?"

"I doubt it, it's not like they're secretive about it," Throttle muttered, he rolled his eyes and expectantly peered into Wren's eyes, though his cheeky demeanor shone through like a shiny coat of wax on a brand new car, "Gunner and Berri swapped codes."

"... Wait WHAT?!" Wren bellowed as he suddenly sat up, though Throttle hissed him to shut up and grappled his arm. Although successful for a moment, Throttle blurt a hard laugh and now had to urgently stop Wren from flinging the covers off the both of them, "That bitch, she RUINED TURBO'S CHANCES!"

"Wren I'M KIDDING!" Throttle was now wheezing with laughter as Wren dart his attention to Throttle's in entire, bewildered surprise. Throttle desperately tried to pull Wren back to bed, though both boys wound up knelt near the middle of it, amidst the chaotic swirl of sheets and downs, "I'm talking about Berri and Turbo."

"Berri and Turbo swapped codes?!" Wren nearly squealed, though Throttle urgently grappled Wren's upper arms and jostled him in urgency.

"For User's sake, this is a luxury resort and I'm certain the walls aren't paper thin, but you have GOT to stop shouting," Throttle hissed in a rush of urgency through is teeth; his bright, white eyes splayed a hefty, lovely glow all over Wren's front.

"What are you getting at?" Wren snapped in becoming-terror, he shook his head and peered tight to Throttle's glowing eyes.

"I'm saying that Berri and Turbo aren't subtle about their feelings for each other," Throttle rushed to quietly explain, he shook his head and kept Wren gripped in his strong hands, "No one has swapped codes except for you and me."

Although both boys hung in the gentle, still fresh realization of their new chapter of love, Wren allowed said hover of sweetness before he playfully side-eyed Throttle and obnoxiously waggled his eyebrows in boyish tease.

"Annnd I'm clearly still the only adult, here," Throttle huffed in defeat, he gently scoot off the bed and, although his words were strictly playful, Wren sagged his shoulders and watched as Throttle stood, "Look, I... Coming on these tours is fun and all, but I'm an outside perspective. And, FROM said perspective, I'm dying."

"Why? What happened?" Wren begged in mild annoyance.

"... Berri confided in me, earlier today," Throttle started, though Wren heaved a loud, grumbling sigh and lulled his head back in whole annoyance.

"She's in love with Turbo, Turbo's in love with her," Wren muttered in a rush as he lazily gestured his hands, "He won't leave Sugar Rush, she won't leave the air-headed lead singer boy, it's all a sick a twisted game of 'the floor is lava'. It's not our rollercoaster to ride."

Wren suddenly blurt a disgruntled noise of confusion as a few of their fluffy pillows suddenly rocketed into the back of his head. Wren jolted and shook his head in confusion, though once he unboggled his eyes and peered to Throttle, who was obviously the culprit due to their new telekinesis powers, Throttle pointed to Wren and took a few brooding steps closer to Wren's positioning on the bed; the hardwood underneath softly croaked.

"I'm not sitting back and watching as said air-headed lead singer boy continues to steal my future sister-in-law away from where she needs to be," Throttle demanded softly, "I'm on this tour for a reason. I have these new powers for a reason."

"Throttle, you're a fly on the wall while this... This... TRAIN WRECK rockets into outer space, okay?" Wren muttered with a cheeky smile as he tried to straighten his hair, "Pretty presumptuous of you to assume Berri will be your in-law."

"I guess just as presumptuous as saying that Turbo would be yours?" Throttle dared; Wren shot his surprised attention to Throttle's in stunned silence, to which Throttle crossed his arms with his little victory and shifted the positioning of his stance, "I'm not dead weight the band is just going to slosh around for tours. I'm here. I'm going to have some fun."

"What, with making sure every single last name, in the palace, is 'Black'?" Wren choked a small laugh and lightened up, though Throttle cocked an eyebrow and reached his hand towards their closed bedroom door. Although Wren awaited for Throttle to simply open the door via his brand new powers, Wren blinked in surprise as suddenly a living room lamp switched on, due to Throttle's doing. Wren huffed a noise of concern and shook his head in mild confusion, "D-Did you just turn on that light?"

"Our powers works through walls," Throttle whispered in scheming delight, "What-say we have some fun tonight..."

"You're kidding," Wren muttered, though his bright eyes proved that he was entirely on board, "You can just ask me to bend over, we... We don't have to go through the trouble of pranks."

"We can do both," Throttle dared with a shrug as Wren got out of bed, though as Wren approached, he gently nudged Throttle's chest with annoyance. Throttle choked a soft laugh and shook his head, "I, Throttle Black, am fully prepared to drive Gunner absolutely up a wall."

"Yeah, be prepared for him to take the princess with him," Wren muttered, "She scares easy. You may very well accidentally scare her RIGHT into Gunner's arms."

"... I didn't think that through," Throttle now muttered in dwindling defeat, to which Wren shook his head and now grappled the chest of Throttle's t-shirt, he began to drag Throttle closer to their closed bedroom door.

"Too late, I'm already out of bed," Wren mumbled, though he seemed thrilled that now silly pranks were on the agenda, for the night, "Let's get this over with."

* * *

"I'm beginning to wonder if we should hire a new driver," Gunner mumbled in annoyance, his voice trailed from the bathroom.

Berri sat on the edge of the bed in almost wary concern. Although her and Gunner had shared sleeping space before, it wasn't nearly this private. Berri's eyes glossed the lovely room with an even lovelier view, a massive king sized bed prepared and waiting for the both of them to climb into. Glossy, silk sheets and fluffy downs, Berri tucked her loose hair behind her ears and was well aware this little sleep over could slip into something she wasn't ready for. Trying to remain as cool and collected as she could, she cleared her throat and tossed her gaze back to the bathroom. Although the room was lit up, the bathroom splayed a healthy band of light all over the birch wood floors.

"Why? He was nice," Berri cooed softly, she heaved a soft sigh and knew she should at least dress down for the night; the past three times Gunner had tried to initiate something a little more intimate than simply kissing and hand holding, Berri swiftly gave him the excuse of being too sleepy. She wrinkled her nose and felt her heart thud, she knew she had likely wore down that excuse way too many times. As fun as being swept into romance was, for her, she sagged her shoulders and bit her lip; she knew she wasn't trying to kid herself any longer, and the raw desire to see Turbo's glowing eyes peering back at her was what she deeply desired.

"He kept trying to dodge road kill in the road, even if it would simply go underneath the bus," Gunner choked a small laugh, "Like... The tires wouldn't have hit it anyways."

"Maybe he loves animals," Berri shrugged, every ounce of her somehow wanted to disagree with everything Gunner was made of.

The second he stepped out of the bathroom, she felt a wave of understanding splay over her. She sagged her shoulders and was well aware the overwhelming urge to put their dwindling relationship to rest was now billowing to something far more eruptive than just a simple urge. She looked off after getting a healthy look at Gunner's figure; he was shirtless and in a pair of comfortable sweats, and although Berri felt the gentle sweep to clutch her collar and silently swoon, she furrowed her eyebrows as the feeling only just barely touched down on her heart before disintegrating into nothingness. She urgently furrowed her eyebrows in cold confusion and peered back to Gunner, though somehow, the subconscious game she had been playing with herself, for the entirety of her's and Gunner's relationship, was now something entirely blatant, something she now enjoyed doing, as if to escape. She cocked an eyebrow and allowed her mind to do whatever it could to imagine Turbo standing where Gunner was. She heaved a shaky sigh and was well aware this wasn't even something she tried to stifle, any longer. Her heart began to flutter with the idea, she almost blurt a small laugh at the sheer amount of freedom she was finally allowing herself.

"Maybe he needs a good talking to," Gunner muttered in mild annoyance, he gestured to his bare chest and gave Berri an urgent look, "His swerving made me spill hot coffee on myself. Look, I have this burn."

"I'm sorry, Gun," Berri stated in a pacifiable tone of sweetness, and although he had a nasty red mark down his forearm, Berri sighed and looked off in the mild exhaustion it took her to care.

She furrowed her eyebrows and now wondered even why she was kidding herself, any longer. She looked to Gunner's direction one last time before standing, and though she was about to open her mouth and suggest his difference between being in their band group, and behind closed doors, she flinched in surprise the second their larger lamp, across the room and delicately poised on their higher dresser, began to silently flicker. Both Gunner and Berri raised their eyebrows in frozen surprise and watched as the bulb flickered in agitation for a few moments before finally settling and glowing at it's normal beam. Berri cocked an eyebrow and dropped all of her conflicting thoughts for a second, she dragged her now curious gaze to Gunner, the air between them was now cold with the onset of full-blown terror.

"Uhhh... Any ideas what that could mean?" Berri's voice trembled, and though her brain assumed Gunner was due to puffing his chest and reassuring her that it could potentially be faulty wiring, he sunk into himself and urgently peered at the lamp in a spike of horror.

"I-I... Have no clue," Gunner staggered, "Maybe the bulb is bad?"

Berri furrowed her eyebrows and peered back to the lamp, and though the two hovered in about thirty seconds of silence, the second the bulb's light began to creepily flicker, once more, Gunner inhaled a shaky breath and took a step backwards in a rise of fear. Berri frowned and now began to feel the edges of her stomach begin to clench with the over-sensory show of the unknown, she peered back to Gunner in nervous question, her feet were glued to her positioning in fear of something else going wrong. Before Gunner could crawl back into the bathroom, however, said bathroom door behind him suddenly yanked shut and slammed as loud as it could, causing both him and Berri to jump nearly to the ceiling. Although Berri covered her mouth and griped a small complain, Gunner let out a high-pitched wail of a scream and urgently bounced away. Berri flinched in surprise as Gunner nearly body-slammed Berri and wrapped his trembling arms about her middle.

"Wh-what the hell is going on," Gunner's meek voice shook as he glanced down to Berri and then around the room in cold suspicion, "This room is haunted..."

"I-I... It's been fine all night," Berri worried, though they both gasped in surprise as suddenly the ceiling fan began to spin rapidly, from the dead stop it was previously at. Before Berri could get more words out, Gunner uttered a meep of terror and flung himself to their bedroom door. With a yank, he tossed himself out of the room and began to call back to Berri.

"I-I am NOT staying here one more second," Gunner pleaded as he began to cross the main living space, which was illuminated by a single living room light and the kitchenette's lovely glow of a stove light. Berri urgently scoot out of said potentially haunted bedroom and peered her bewildered gaze to the back of Gunner's head, though she noticed Wren and Throttle lazily stationed at the kitchenette's little island, having a midnight snack. Berri opened her mouth to speak, though Gunner flung their front door open and pointed back at Berri, who was far across the room, past Throttle and Wren, "I'm going to see about switching rooms. Y-You guys, just... Pack your things, and wake Theo, we're moving."

Before any words could be spoken, Gunner rushed out the door and down the hall, barefoot, shirtless and immediately out of sight. Just as the gentle-close of their heavy front door so softly clacked closed, Berri cocked an eyebrow and glossed her eyes to Throttle's and Wren's disposition in the kitchen. Although typically they'd be frozen in terror and out of sorts, still with cold confusion as to just what took place, Berri narrowed her gaze and noted that Wren continued to chew whatever he was eating, and Throttle was nonchalantly washing his hands in the kitchen sink; far more thoroughly than any normal person would. Berri inhaled a shaky breath and took note that any bulb flickering, door slamming and crazed ceiling fans immediately ceased, and with such, she eyed Wren and Throttle in a spike of hot suspicion. They avoided her eye contact, and it was here did Wren urgently try and get Berri's attention off of them.

"Sorry, Tee, what were you saying?" Wren mumbled nonchalantly as he continued to unpeel more of the banana he was munching on; Throttle bobbed a nod and continued to wash his hands, going on well over a minute now.

"Oh, oh, just that... I think that's the reason I became so allergic to pears," Throttle stated quietly, Wren frowned and shrugged as he took another bite of his snack, "I just ate myself silly of them, cause I had this one tree, on the Kalivar lot in Dead Zed, that grew pears like you wouldn't even believe."

"I wasn't aware you could just... Become so allergic to something after having so much of it," Wren concluded nervously, he eyed the banana he was half-way finished with.

Berri furrowed her eyebrows in contemplation and began to feel a weird, silent bout of camaraderie with Wren and Throttle. She knew she had absolutely no clue what was going on here, or how, but in some strange way, Berri felt relieved that Gunner had now left the hotel room in such a tizzy. Although Berri's heightened senses of being able to sniff out anyone's crap had her on full alert, she sagged her shoulders and almost gratefully snoozed all alarms. The air that Wren and Throttle radiated was that of two big brothers simply looking out for their precious princess, something Berri silently allowed. Although Throttle kindly glanced to her and continued on with his conversation with Wren, Berri bobbed them a small nod of gratitude, a quiet acknowledgement to their job well done, and quietly slipped back into said previously haunted bedroom. With a clack of said bedroom door, and a massive, luxurious room now all to herself, she heaved a huge sigh of relief and began to unwind in her own privacy, bedroom door locked and all.


	140. Chapter 140

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** Haha too true. Wren and Throttle definitely use that to their advantage.

 **Snake557 :** Yeah he's not the most stable guy, hopefully you guys are coming to find xD

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Hideaway by Grace Vanderwaal**

* * *

 ***Chapter 140***

Through a sharp inhale, Berri's groggy eyes gently peeped open in regained consciousness. She remained frozen and allowed her blurry eyes to assess her surroundings. Having to be in a different bedroom every single night, whilst touring, she felt as if her anxiety doubled due to the lack of solid stability. She'd long blink in tired, secretive dread, the idea of her warm bedroom, back inside Sugar Rush, just begged her to come home. In the gentle sit she managed, in the massive king bed she was previously sprawled in, she was floored to find that she was, indeed, still alone. As she hugged her bare arms in a sweeping, sleepy motion of wondering if she could maybe get away with snoozing, she rubbed her forehead and began to search for her phone instead. Secure on her charger, she almost rolled her eyes at the idea that said notion is a rarity, whilst on tour. The team drinking themselves silly, into the early morning hours, often lead to phones haphazardly strewn about the place, dying batteries, smudged screens and scuffed cases. As she delicately retrieved her phone from the base it was charging on, she smiled in unfamiliar warmth; how she craved the delicate, orderly softness of mornings, such as this one. Such a morning typically never presented itself, whilst on tour.

As she tapped the larger screen of her touch-screen phone, she furrowed her eyebrows in whole confusion over the fact that she had zero messages, not a single soul tried to bug her. She froze in a hovered stare over her phone, for a moment, before she softly side-eyed her device in disbelief and unlocked it. She tabbed to her messages, everything was untouched and unwavering from the day prior. She sagged her shoulders in almost warm relief, and as her curious eyes glanced about her softly lit luxurious bedroom, she relished in the early morning sun's rays. No matter how unfamiliar Dig Dug was, as well as this lonely master bedroom, she smiled in eagerness and found solace in the raw fact that no one was shaking her awake, her phone wasn't haphazardly buzzing from band assistants and drivers, security and the like. She glossed her eyes to the drawn curtains of her floor to ceiling bedroom window, the view was something she could hardly wrap her mind around, and as she stood to further inspect, she wondered just what other gems of delight she could be presented with in the such few moments of being awake, for the day.

Wearing nothing but a larger black t-shirt that kissed her upper thighs, her beautiful blue hair was a ruffled mess. She felt refreshed, something Throttle and Wren definitely afforded her, due to their antics the night prior. Although she wanted to question just how they were able to accomplish such an incredible prank, she lulled her eyes closed in sweet, cheeky annoyance and figured she just shouldn't question it. She tucked her hair behind her ears and finally crossed her arms in laziness, she peered out to the massive city they were stationed in for their very first show, inside Dig Dug. The sun glinted against the beautiful buildings, rudimentary and sleek in sophistication, it was the sweetest kiss of irony she ever did see. Just as she was to sag her shoulders for good and wonder how long she could hide-away from the world, she flinched in surprise as her phone began to buzz. Like a popped bubble of a day dream, she rolled her eyes and began to trudge back to the bed, where she left her phone. She reached for it and very quickly assumed that either Gunner, or someone else important to the band, was trying to contact her, though as she neared, she felt her pupils tighten in a spike of concern; the one person she wouldn't think would ever call her, in a million years, so plainly splashed across her home screen in dainty, vibrating wait.

"... Hello?" Berri mumbled quietly after she finally answered the call and brought her phone to her ear, smushed to her messy, pillowy blue hair.

"Oh, wow, you're awake?" Lash staggered in whole, boyish surprise; he blurt a chuckle that scarily mocked Turbo's contagious laughter, Berri froze in unadulterated surprise as he tenderly carried on, "I-I was entirely anticipating leaving a voicemail. I've never done this before, I was NOT ready for you to actually answer, what the hell."

"Y-Yeah, that's... How phones work," Berri muttered, though she beamed in sneaky cuteness, her tone gave it all away, "Is everything okay? How come you're calling me?"

"Yeah, I, well... Took over Sugar Rush again, I just wanted to keep you informed," Lash lazily mumbled, and although Berri felt her stomach dip in terror, she beamed in annoyance and glossed her eyes back to Dig Dug's beautiful view. Lash's deep voice tenderly breathed a small chuckle as Berri finally sighed an annoyed giggle in return, "I'm stuck in white-wall purgatory hell until your future husband wakes up."

"... F-Future husb-"

"So, wait, if you HADN'T have picked up, then... What would've happened?" Lash pressed curiously, "Okay, okay, hang up on me, I'll call back, but don't pick up this time."

"A dream," Berri wistfully sighed, she blurt a small giggle as Lash grunted an annoyed noise.

"Alright, wow, I thought we were friends," Lash muttered, Berri beamed a wider grin and looked down to her bare feet; of the non-stop texting her and Lash had been doing the day prior, she felt a strange tug in his direction. A brotherly bond of love and annoyance very quickly molded her heart to permanence, something she was entirely uncertain would ever happen.

"We are, don't tell anyone," Berri giggled quietly, her bare feet pressed closer to the window of her bedroom; her pupils tightened to the draw of sunshine she softly stepped into, "So, what's up? Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah, great," Lash pressed, "Like I said, waiting for the man upstairs to unbubble me. I'm bored. How's tour going?"

"Oh, well, I guess... It's..." Berri trailed in spot of empty, almost hot silence, something Lash eagerly cued to.

"Not sounding too good," Lash muttered, "That's what happens when you leave Sugar Rush, my babe."

"Oh, for User's sake, not YOU TOO," Berri choked in annoyance, she pressed her palm to the window and dared to look down; a very far drop from the height of their floor of the resort they stayed in.

"Oh-ho, me too," Lash barked with a hearty laugh, "What, Turbo sings the same song?"

"DOES he?" Berri barked quietly, she flinched in cold realization that she was on borrowed time, she peered to her closed and locked bedroom door and kept a listening ear out for shuffling on the other side of it, "I like to think he's living vicariously through me."

"We both are," Lash mumbled with a small chuckle, "One step outside and we're done for."

"Yeah, Throttle's had some really close calls," Berri muttered in annoyance, "He hardly made it to the resort with all his pixels in tact. He had four random gamers LUNGE at him with KNIVES."

"REALLY?" Lash blurt in terror, to which Berri clutched her stomach and wheezed with quiet laughter.

"No! What the hell, man," Berri wiped her eye and eased a few giggles into her fist, "Everyone here loves Throttle. Turbo's old racing coach... Who woulda thunk, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah, he's the greatest racer ever, it's an awesome tale," Lash muttered, Berri could practically see him roll his eyes, "Fucks up the whole Arcade and then I spend the following three decades protecting him from certain doom."

"A noble task, really," Berri sneered, she scuffed the shaggy, white carpet under her feet and eased a soft giggle amidst shrugged shoulders, "Ah, I wish you and Turbo could see this place."

"What game are you touring in again?" Lash gently wondered, Berri heaved a long, hot sigh and lulled her eyes closed.

"Dig Dug," She mumbled, "I wished it was Pong... Or, better yet, Tron."

"You don't want to be in Tron right now, trust me," Lash muttered darkly, his warm and cheery tone was laced in throughout his sneaky quips of blackened mystery, "Besides. Vidrix was far cooler than both Tron or Pong put together... Especially at night."

Berri fell silent and allowed their gentle string of understanding melt into their separated coding. She bit her lip in warm contemplation and knew, full well, she was dancing with the devil, here. Like a flickering flame that beckoned her fragile, moth-like heart to the alluring glow of knowledge behind Lash's golden eyes, she scrunched her eyes shut and exhaled a trembling breath of impending regret. She knew Lash was a wild card, someone that her mother and father didn't even fully trust. The raw fact that Turbo was still bubbling Lash at night, even when Zed and Tessa weren't watching, she finally inhaled a deep breath and straightened her posture in certainty that she was traipsing into a void of uncertainty.

"Wh-what... Do you know about..." Berri could hardly get the words to form in her mouth, though the second she could hear Lash exhale the breaths of a chuckle through his nose, she held her breath and peered out to Dig Dug's gloriously spanning city of sunny sand and golden buildings.

"Litwak's Arcade?" Lash finished tenderly, he breathed a small chuckle and grunted a small noise, as if to insinuate he had sat down and gotten comfortable, "I know that TurboTime still exists in Mr. Litwak's back room. Is that the answer you wanted?"

"... One of," Berri muttered nervously, Lash choked a small chuckle and so easily marinated into this conversation, as if he was just waiting for it to finally unfold.

"You want to know how to leave Tron, leave the Arcade's circuited grip, beg Litwak to plug TurboTime back in, gifting us TurboTime boys with, quite possibly, the gift of a lifetime?" Lash slowly sauntered on the words, trailing Berri to their climax, as if he was simply holding her hand to her impending doom. He sighed a chuckle and sounded as if he was rubbing his face in sleepy agitation, "You know, you can do FAR less to get into Turbo's pants, right?"

"Th-that's... Not what this-"

"That's entirely what this is about," Lash interrupted abruptly, though his tone was tender and cheeky in his conclusion, "Why else would you risk literally everything you faux-codes are made of? You'd be traipsing right into Aroq's trap, lest some miracle of User strokes you right across the forehead and you're successful in worming your merry-little-way around Aroq, to get to Tron's portal?"

"I..." Berri held her breath and felt discovered, every single little hope and curious wondering she had for this fragile situation was now dancing on display, right before her, and so tauntingly exposed.

"Girly, if you can find the key to that portal, and can somehow come up with a plan to get around THAT army of deleters," Lash trailed in almost smiling dread, he finally heaved a shaky chuckle and quieted his tone, "Well, you better take me with you, cause that'd be one hell of a ride."

"... Y-You'd go with me?" Berri pressed quietly, she eased further away from her bedroom door and quieted her tone to that above a whisper.

"Who else would? Your band mates are too dewy eyed, Turbo refuses to leave his HOUSE, it seems," Lash blurt a soft laugh and grunted a sigh, "... Your mother and father already went through hell and back making that journey. The fact that they came back, unscathed, with a full-blown User is beyond me, really."

Berri slumped her shoulder to a nearby wall and now aimlessly gazed out to the sunny city below, she remained quiet and allowed Lash's experience with this whole mess gloss her at a new angle. She furrowed her eyebrows and wondered just how she could even predict that she'd be having this very conversation with the person she used to despise the most. She shook her head in continued silence, disbelief this was happening, as Lash warmly continued on.

"Look, your parents and I don't really get along very well, but, if you're anything like them, well..." Lash trailed off, and though Berri furrowed her eyebrows and was prepared for an insult, Lash calmly pressed on in tenderness, "I'm confident you'd come back in one piece."

"Thanks, Lash," Berri sighed in gentle conclusion; the whole idea of making the ultimate game jump seemed too far out of reach, though the fact that Lash so easily stepped up to the plate to assure her that he'd join simultaneously thrilled and scared her. Berri shook her head and heaved a hard sigh, "I'd... Obviously wait until after touring, but... I appreciate the camaraderie, nonetheless."

"I'm shocked you actually trust me," Lash barked a soft laugh, and though Berri knew he was simply being genuinely surprised, she felt her stomach clench in the gut-wrenching realization that Lash was, indeed, the trickiest of bad guys still on lock down inside the very game he sought to isolate from everyone important to it; she bobbed a nod and figured their ebb and flow of platonic closeness and urgency in gaining distance was something their dynamic would hopefully even out, eventually.

"Noted," Berri muttered as she raised her eyebrows, looked down, peeled herself off the wall and knew getting all soft and gooey with a potential foe wasn't something she should be doing, right now.

"I'm not asking you to dive head first into a seemingly dangerous situation, with me," Lash mumbled sweetly, humility that had Berri doing a figurative double-take, "The fact that we're even having this conversation is enough for me. TurboTime was my home. I'd kill for a second chance at keeping it afloat. We really... We really fucked that up, didn't we."

"Yeah, you did," Berri cheekily agreed with a widening smile, she appreciated the tender moments of vulnerability such a sharp individual would allow, she sighed softly and shook her head as she finally yanked herself back to the planet, "Alright, well... I-I gotta go find Gunner, I should probably go."

"FIND Gunner? What happened?" Lash pressed curiously, Berri beamed and began to cross the bedroom so to put on decent clothes.

"Yeah, we... Had a bit of a poltergeist activity here, last night, and... I have no clue where he laid off to," Berri giggled, Lash blew a raspberry and grunted a noise of cheeky dismay.

"What a baby," Lash muttered, to which Berri rolled her eyes and bobbed a nod of agreeing.

"I'm beginning to think Throttle and Wren had something to do with it," Berri mumbled.

"Oh, not Throttle, he's too serious for nonsense like that," Lash muttered in annoyance, to which Berri froze and furrowed her brow in confused agreeing.

"... Yeah, you're right," Berri eased in tender bewilderment, she eased a soft giggle and was now aware that Lash had no clue that Throttle and Wren had swapped codes, "Either way, I gotta go figure out what's going on for the day."

"Alright, I'll be here, in purgatory hell, don't you worry!" Lash eased in forced cheeriness that easily dulled to a mutter, "Donnn't, youuuu, worry..."

"Oh, I'm worried," Berri volleyed with a giggle, to which Lash finally eased a genuine chuckle.

"Sing your heart out, Blue," Lash gently mumbled, to which Berri froze in prickled sorrow, and although she wanted to painfully remind Lash that she, indeed, had no spot on the stage for singing, she furrowed her eyebrows in a rise of determination and peered across the empty bedroom in warm realization.

"... I will," Berri assured confidently.


	141. Chapter 141

**Reviews :**

 **foalan1230 :** Thank you! I'm glad you feel that way.

 **Burgie :** Thank you! Yeah Lash is a bit of a wild card, but his and Berri's relationship comes a lot farther than this. :)

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Must Be Love by Christina Grimmie**

* * *

 ***Chapter 141***

"It's nice to have another guy on board," Gunner pressed with a kind smile, he shrugged his masculine shoulders and simply glanced in a nearby mirror to make sure his hair was tidy; Theo, Wren and Throttle loitered and lazily hung out, nearby. Gunner heaved a hard sigh and stood up, the four men were securely back stage, prepared for their very first show inside Dig Dug, the crowd beyond them could be heard excitedly preparing for their debut, something that was still a thrill to Throttle, but had softly numbed the band members. Throttle's eyes peered to Gunner in boyish, wide-eyed excitement as Gunner straightened out his opened button-down shirt, which showed a sexy, thinner undershirt across his broad chest. He eyed Throttle and waggled his finger in smiling anticipation, "Be thinking about where to go after the show. This is Dig Dug's largest city, so there's probably too many options, y'know?"

"Thanks for including me," Throttle smiled with a nod, Gunner shook his hand in a waggle, as if to express that it was no big thing, though he finally winced in agitation and scrunched his shoulder in a tight, painful kind of way. Throttle sagged his shoulders and frowned up to Gunner's disposition from the comfortable lounge chair he was slouched in, "Y'okay, there?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, uhg... I slept horribly," Gunner muttered as he grappled his neck and tried to work out a kink.

"Really? I slept like a BABY," Theo blurt with a hard laugh as he stood, he instinctively drummed out a small few pats of a rhythm onto his thighs and peered to Wren and Throttle for conclusion, "Those beds are so comfortable, don't you think?"

"Yeah, Throttle and I got in a solid nine hours, it was amazing," Wren choked a small laugh and did everything he could to seem unassuming, "You, uh... Kept up by a certain blue-haired princess?"

"No, the place is freaking HAUNTED," Gunner blurt in exhausted irritation, and with the way his eyes glossed Wren in desperate agitation, it was clear to all three boys that Gunner had probably gotten two hours of sleep, tops, "I went to the concierge to see about getting another room, but the hotel was booked out, filled to the brim... Likely for the concert."

"So what ended up happening?" Theo wondered in whole confusion, he shook his head and shrugged, "I was out like a light. If there was anything haunted in my room, it clearly didn't try hard enough, because I slept like a rock."

"Yeah, us too," Wren chimed gently with a shrug, Throttle shrugged as well, "We saw you leave and mention something about the place being haunted, but... Honestly, we had no issue."

"I came back to see about just forgetting about it and going to sleep, but... Berri had locked the door and the lights were out," Gunner frowned and looked down to his feet in brewing irritation, "I thought, for sure, she would've wanted to wait up for me. I ended up trying to sleep on the couch, but I was so on edge."

"Welp... At least we won't have that problem at the next place we go," Throttle shrugged, he curiously peered to Theo and Wren and sighed, "Tonight's a new night. Should be fine."

"Oh, yeah," Wren quickly agreed with a nod, and without sniffing out a single suspicious note, Gunner bobbed a nod and heaved a raspy sigh as he pressed towards the opened dressing room door, a much larger group room with lighted mirrors lining two opposing walls.

"Alright guys, I'm going to go check with the sound guys and make sure we're good to go," Gunner sighed as he hung in the door frame for a second, "Fifteen minutes and we should be ready, kay?"

"Heard," Wren quipped as Gunner quickly left, though with such, Theo furrowed his eyebrows in entire confusion and gave Throttle and Wren a look of worry.

"I'm kind of freaked out, now," Theo wondered nervously, "Had I realized the place was haunted, I probably would've been on edge, too."

"The place isn't haunted, Teddy, Throttle and I were just..." Wren halted his words, bugged his eyes and urgently peered down into Throttle's; their height difference was only opposing, in this instance, due to Wren's standing stance over Throttle's slouched, sitting position. Throttle equally gave Wren a look of poised urgency as both boys froze.

"You and Throttle were ...?" Theo dart his curious eyes between Wren and Throttle in anticipatory wait, though with the way Throttle's face began to turn red, Theo crossed his arms and peered to both boys down the bridge of his nose, "... Alright, what's going on with you two? Anything you maybe, uh... Need to fess up to?"

"Okay, Teddy, OKAY, I'll tell you what's going on, but you have to PROMISE you won't tell Berri or Gunner," Wren whispered as he shot his eyes to the gaping door frame, he softened his voice even more so, in the event that anyone passing by would hear them. As Wren leaned in, Throttle and Theo softly leaned in, as well, "Th-Throttle and I, sort of... Well..."

"...Pants-off dance-off, cool, cool," Theo nonchalantly bobbed a nod, though he shot Throttle a cheeky smile and waggled his eyebrows, "I'll bet fifty bucks Throttle topped'yah good and surprised the coding right outta y-"

"ENOUGH, enough, shh-gah," Wren urgently flagged his hands and muttered incoherent obscenities, all while keeping his voice at a sharp, irritated whisper. Throttle blurt a soft chuckle into his hand as he eased his palm over his forehead; Theo beamed said elated, cheeky smile into Wren's eyes as both boys' faces turned beet red, "Yes, we code swapped."

"Cool beans," Theo huffed as he stood up a little straighter, though he furrowed his eyebrows and peered to Wren in soft confusion, "What... Does that have to do with the haunting?"

"Because Throttle and I were the reason for all the poltergeist activity," Wren cocked an eyebrow, gave Theo a cheeky smile, and as he outreached his hand, a comb from far across the room suddenly rocketed straight for Wren's open palm, and the second it softly collided with his skin, Wren began to nonchalantly comb his razored white hair without so much as batting a lash, "Now, it all started in good fun, and... Quickly turned into us successfully getting Gunner out of the notions of getting Berri into the same bed as him."

"H-Holy shit, did you just...?" Theo bugged his eyes and urgently peered across the room, then into Throttle's elated eyes, and straight to Wren's boyish disposition, he calmly combed his hair with a cocky smile on his face.

"I did," Wren hummed knowingly, "Now... You keep quiet about this, and you can be in on the shenanigans. Berri's on the fence about leaving Gunner. Throttle and I think it'd be fun to maybe, I don't know... Speed the process along, a little. No harm in giving the poor girl a hand."

"Hoooho, you do NOT have to tell me twice," Theo hissed softly in grinning delight as he rubbed his hands together, "I may not have telekinetic powers, but I can still glitch and wreck. I'll do anything to help you guys out."

"You would ultimately be helping Berri split up with Gunner," Wren whispered as he lofted his gaze across the way, "You think you can live with yourself, at the end of the day, knowing that's what you're working towards?"

"Hey, I'm the only single one here, it's getting annoying," Theo muttered as he crossed his arms, though all three boys jumped in surprise the second Bedgy flitted past the room and chirped a noise of urgency.

"It's almost showtime boys! Places!" She called as she lost a grey feather along the way, though Wren beamed a cheery smile and called after her.

"Coming!" His voice carried, and as Throttle and Theo quickly got to their feet and began to shuffle towards the exit of the room, he eyed Throttle and Theo as they quickly tailed behind him, all three boys pressed out of the larger dressing room and down an airy hallway loudly littered with all sorts of different band and crew members, "We can talk more about it later, but for now... Pretend you know nothing."

"My lips are sealed," Theo grinned a closed-mouth smile and pretended to zip his lips shut.

"C'mon guys, showtime," Gunner suddenly stated with an exhausted smile as he gestured out to a lower level of the backstage, it peered up into the darkened abyss of their arena, with little glimpses of the massive, never-ending crowd and gorgeous display of stage lights, everyone perked up and began to press closer to their positions, their cues for entering the stage, a domain they knew so well.

"I'm here, I'm here!" Berri suddenly pressed as her gorgeous, tall heels clacked closer to the gathered group.

She looked like a vision, dressed in an awesome, though dainty rockstar ensemble, she wore a studded leather jacket cut in such a way that still kissed her with a feminine touch. Her gorgeous blue hair was straightened and razor sharp at the ends, with make up and everything else absolutely on point, Gunner most certainly stuck out like a sore thumb with the raw fact that he looked exhausted. Throttle inhaled a deep breath, broadened his chest, sagged his hands into his jean's pockets and eyed the band with a look of delightful pride.

"WELP. Go get'em, crew," Throttle chimed with a warm smile, "I'll be here, cheering the loudest."

"Thanks, man," Gunner pat Throttle's shoulder and gently pushed past him; one by one, everyone began to softly breeze past Throttle's standstill disposition.

"Thanks, babe," Wren eased lovingly, he stood on his tip-toes as both him and Throttle met in the middle for a quick smooch of a peck, to which Wren happily stepped away afterwards.

"Thanks, babe," Berri mocked, though she cutely stood on the tippiest point of her heels and gave Throttle's cheek a loving peck, to which Throttle smiled and bashfully looked down to his feet as Berri's figure quickly pressed on.

"Thanks, babe," Theo was quick to tease in a high-pitched voice, though as he sharply leaned in to obnoxiously give Throttle a messy kiss on the cheek, Throttle bugged his eyes and urgently ducked away.

"Yooo, man, not for you," Throttle barked a hard laugh as Theo grinned and was quickly whisked away, and though Throttle settled with a softening chuckle and a nostalgic gaze that chased after the four individuals that began to ease closer to the stage's gaping, beckoning lights, Throttle furrowed his eyebrows and caught with the sound and lighting crew off to his right.

Tucked away in a proper booth that overlooked the stage, Throttle cocked an eyebrow and sneakily stepped a little closer to the cracked door of the booth. Inside were three or four men that hovered about a huge display of a sound board, full of knobs, switches and levers, all needed for certain microphones, instruments and other aspects of the show, as well as all sorts of controls for the lighting and display boards, Throttle ogled the display in humility. Though people continued to bustle around, and the show was about to begin, he hovered in a grey area of quiet just outside the booth, unseen and unheard. He held his breath and looked over his shoulder as Berri, Wren, Theo and Gunner began to press onto the stage with fervor, urgency, a thrill for the crowd now going absolutely nuts, Throttle bit his lip and felt everyone around him ease into go-mode, a concentration that couldn't be shook. With such, he felt invincible, and although he was well aware to leave his and Wren's shenanigans for Gunner's personal life, Throttle cocked an eyebrow and laid eyes on two specific knobs and controls; ladened with tape clearly labelled, one for Gunner's microphone, and one for Berri's guitar, as well as nearby mics, Throttle felt his brand new coding surge through his system with hot knowing. He wondered just what kind of trouble he'd be in if he was discovered to purposefully muting Gunner's mic mid show, if he got caught.

* * *

"So, you're meaning to tell me, you WATCH her shows?" Lash pressed in irritation, "Instead of just, I don't know, GOING to one?"

"You know my stance," Turbo muttered in whole dullness, as if he's been over this before, though as him and Lash plopped down on his loveley red, sprawling couch, the game, underneath Turbo's sixty-fourth floor drop off, rumbled with the sound of a thunderstorm going on far below them.

"I know your stance, it's just confusing," Lash mumbled, he scratched his forehead in curiosity as Turbo turned the volume, on his television, up a few notches; Lash spoke over the noise, nonetheless, "You love that chick, don't you? I mean, isn't that what you do for someone like that?"

"I'm working up the courage, dude, it will happen," Turbo grumbled as he nervously straightened out his currently messy hair, "I watch her shows because this is the most I can afford, right now."

"You can afford a holy-shit Lumos, for crying out loud," Lash gestured his arm outward and sat up a little, "I THINK you can afford some concert tickets."

"MENTALLY, it's all I can mentally afford, for User's sake, will you just shut up and listen?" Turbo urged in irritation as he continued to turn the volume up, Lash finally gave up and sat back into Turbo's fluffy couch.

"What kind of music do they play, anyways?" Lash wondered in a grumbling way, he scratched the top of his head as the band quickly segued into their first song, one that Gunner was favored for, he sung his heart out, though Lash cocked an eyebrow and peered to Turbo in softness; it was clear that his eyes were honed in on the gorgeous, blue-haired guitarist on stage left.

"Eh, it's like... Rock, alternative, pop," Turbo listed gently with a shrug, he looked up in pondering and sighed, "I guess it really depends on the song, but I'd say either three of those genres would describe the band well."

"Alright, so see Berri plays the guitar," Lash chimed as he pointed, "Damn, she's... She's really good."

"That's not the only thing she's good at," Turbo mumbled in soft, dire desperation as he shook his head and alost dared to shut his eyes and allow his heart to wallow in lovestruck pain, "She can sing, too."

"She can?" Lash pressed curiously.

"Boy, can she," Turbo sighed.

"Well... Why isn't she?" Lash wondered nervously, "I told her to sing her heart out, today, and she said she would."

"... Wait, what?" Turbo urgently furrowed his eyebrows and peered hard into Lash's eyes, "You spoke to her today?"

"Yeah, I called her," Lash shrugged sheepishly, to which Turbo kept his eyes tight to Lash's in dire, shocked curiosity, "I-I didn't think she'd pick up!"

"I leave you with your phone for ONE night and you end up calling Sugar Rush's princess, one of Litwak's hugest stars, whilst she's on tour," Turbo listed, he finally blurt a chuckle and sagged back, "Some balls."

"Yeah, more than you got," Lash muttered, and though Turbo felt a knee-jerk reaction to counter Lash's retort and one-up him, the feeling fizzled, "Yeah, she... She said she'd sing her heart out, today."

"She meant figuratively," Turbo mumbled sorrowfully as he gently gestured, "Look at that poor girl. You see her singing along?"

"... Huh, yeah I do," Lash squinted his eyes and honed in on Berri's figure; she was urgently singing along and playing her heart out, the guitar made a world of noise, though her voice was empty, as if she maybe should have a mic up on her, though nothing was picking up the sheer power of her voice, the power that was clearly there.

"It's because Gunner doesn't let her sing," Turbo nearly growled, he glared Gunner's figure down and shook his head a little in disgust, "Don't ever get me in the same room as that guy..."

"Y-Yeah, we... We don't want you to see red, I would pay for that NOT to happen, okay?" Lash muttered nervously as he waggled his hand towards Turbo, as if to gesture him to calm down, "So, lover boy doesn't want a second singer. Can't he, I don't know... Let her solo or something?"

"You'd think," Turbo sighed, "I'm pretty sure Berri has been beating that horse dead for weeks now. I think this is the closest thing she could get to genuinely singing in front of an actual crowd.

"... Wait a second, wait," Lash furrowed his brow in a sharp spike of confusion, although both boys had been watching the routine of their show, agitation began to break out on stage; Gunner urgently looked as if to be loudly singing into his mic, though Wren's, Berri's and Theo's methodical music carried on without a care.

"What the heck is happening here?" Turbo pressed in confusion as him and Lash sat up straighter and peered to the television in poised bewilderment.

"Gunner's mic went out, it looks like," Lash staggered, he finally blurt a hard laugh and pointed, "Lookit, he's so scared right now, look look look! Lookit his face!"

Turbo huffed a shaky breath, a trail of a laugh, and as Lash's boyish, excited laughter began to billow into something heavier and shocked, Turbo felt his pupils tighten in a draw of surprise the second he saw Berri's quick thinking lead her just a handful of steps off to her left, closer to the center of the stage, and with as much gust as Turbo knew she had inside of her, she urgently continued to strum her hand at her guitar, her skillful fingers all up the neck of her guitar, her beautiful voice suddenly coated the arena in a ladened coat of warm clarity. Turbo raised his eyebrows in unmitigated surprise as Gunner was simply left, front and center stage, peering back at Berri in unadulterated shock as her gorgeous, powerful voice began to climb to a point of stability in pursuing the rest of the song with her own talent. Turbo nearly stood, his mouth agape, the crowd beyond them went absolutely wild as Berri, Wren and Theo so confidently carried on, without Gunner; they stood in hot confusion before the television, fully prepared for the press to have a field day with this perfect mistake.


	142. Chapter 142

**Reviews :**

 **TheDoctorDusty :** Woohoo!

 **Snake557 :** Hooo he does lmao!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Confident by Demi Lovato**

* * *

 ***Chapter 142***

In a seething explosion of fury, Gunner popped into the sound booth with a fire in his eyes. Running on such little sleep, alongside feeling humiliated on stage, his burning eyes immediately caught with the glistening looks of terror from the few sound guys, in the booth. With a hovering second of gaining clarity, Gunner deepened his glower and now began to budge into the mildly claustrophobic booth like a heavy, seeping presence of death himself. The sound guys urgently gestured to their board and pleadingly peered to Gunner in a show of entire apology, as if falling into routine with Gunner's hidden, angry antics. Gunner grit his teeth and was only patient enough to allow one of the sound guys to urgently get words out of their nervous demeanors.

"Man, I have NO clue what happened, y-your mic slid to the off position, a-and then the slider WOULDN'T budge!" One of the main sound guys nervously begged, he gently slid the slider of Gunner's microphone volume, it easily glided along the motherboard of knobs and cranks, without a single hitch. He urgently peered back to Gunner, and then to his other two assistants, "B-By the time it had freed itself, B-Berri had finished the song-"

"What are you playing at, here?" Gunner growled in whole entire frustration, as if this was the last straw with his current crew, he bravely grappled the neck of his sound guy's collar, to which his other two assistants urgently began to coo notions of deep plea, to pray that a fight didn't explode out of this mishap.

"Nothing, what the hell is your problem!" The main sound guy choked, he narrowed his gaze and urgently wormed his shirt out of Gunner's grappling fist. Collar now wrinkled, all three men took a few steps away from Gunner and peered up to him in whole surprise, a new wash of detest and bewilderment, he rubbed his sternum firmly and glared Gunner down, "Man, you don't pay us enough for this bullshit."

"Then GET OUT!" Gunner bellowed as he firmly pointed back to the gaping door of the smaller sound studio, and with a firm shove, all three men wasted absolutely no time in escaping Gunner's presence. Although laced with fear, the last guy out firmly nudged Gunner's shoulder with his own, causing a disgruntled noise to emit from Gunner's exhausted, furious figure.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Berri demanded in a flurry of rising, frustrated surprise; she was quickly trailed by Theo and Throttle.

"Nothing, NOTHING," Gunner barked meanly, he shot his burning red gaze to Berri, Theo and Throttle and firmly shook his head as he pushed out of the sound studio, he gestured back to the booth and grit his teeth, "Our sound crew bailed, which is awesome. Cause now we're fucked."

"Gunner," Berri stated in entire, disappointed surprise as she flinched and peered to him in shock. She shook her head and gestured to the now empty, unmanned booth, "What the hell are you thinking? Did you tell them to leave? I'm sure this was all just an accident! And it's no issue, Gun, I recovered the song. The longer we stay off that stage, the louder press is going to be."

Although Gunner opened his mouth to reply in a whole amount of frazzled anger, all four beings immediately froze at the true, ringing sound that echoed out into the night and far beyond. The massive crowd, the arena filled to the brim and then some, confidently and loudly began to chant Berri's name with fervor. Berri raised her eyebrows in poised surprise and wasn't quite sure what emotion to allow to rise, amidst Gunner's frustration, though before she could allow a wide smile to sprawl her face, Gunner grit his teeth in whole frustration and quickly began to storm back to the area of the stage's side entrance. Berri bit her lip and shot Theo and Throttle a look of knowing surprise, they equally peered back to her, as if the band had immediately hit jackpot.

"GET someone in that sound booth, NOW," Gunner barked as he firmly pointed back to the empty sound booth, "I need to find Bedgy."

"I-I got this, I got this," Throttle stated in full confidence as he pressed into the sound booth, and although he was certain Theo and Berri would potentially doubt his ability, here, he was shocked to glance over his shoulder and hear Berri and Theo ease him a few, apologetic notions of gratitude before vanishing. Throttle raised his eyebrows in poised surprise and now peered to the near hundreds of knobs and levers, all haphazardly displayed all over the sound board, though before he could allow terror to steer him away from this chore, he firmly shut the sound studio's door, took a seat at the main, empty chair, slopped on the pair of heavy-duty, provided headphones and glowered down the display before him, "Yeah, this is what I get, this is WHAT I GET for dicking around!"

Throttle heaved a shaky sigh and quickly got his bearings, and although all of this was entirely foreign to him, he eyed the lever dedicated for Gunner's mic and very quickly turned it all the way up, whilst muting the nearby microphones. Although his hands were shaking, he peered up to the monitor before him, which showed a proper display of the crew's glorious, beautiful stage, he finally sagged his face into his hands and heaved a trembling breath. Knowing he only had minutes to spare, he perked up, urgently dug into his pocket, for his phone, and called the one person he wondered would have a shred of information about the splays of chaotic knobs and blinking lights before him. With quick fingers, he dialed his younger brother's number and held his phone to his ear, his hand still a trembling mess.

"Tee, is everything okay?" Turbo answered the call, he blurt a shaky chuckle and, from the sounds of it, Turbo and Lash were well cued in to the chaos, their television could be heard rattling off now very rapidly covered press highlights, all assumptions and speculations loudly presented by journalists hovering nearby the concert's arena.

"Dude, the whole thing is my fault, it was entirely my fault, I'm such an IDIOT," Throttle hissed angrily, he scrunched his eyes tight and nudged his forehead with his fist.

"What are you saying?" Turbo blurt with an incredulous laugh, it was clear that Throttle wasn't on speaker with the way that Lash could be heard, in the background, asking Turbo just what Throttle was saying.

"Dude, I... I have to explain this fast, I don't have a lot of time," Throttle rushed, his now muted, terrified eyes glossed the vat of karma before him, the show was due to carrying on at any second, at his command, "Gunner just fired his sound crew and I'm at the helm."

"Why is that YOUR fault?" Turbo pressed, now in protective, brotherly irritation, "Why did Gunner put that on YOU? It's not your job, dude, get outta there!"

"I can't, I volunteered! AND, I CAUSED this!" Throttle bellowed in a spike of overflowing fear, excitement, adrenaline, anything and everything coursing through his blood stream at this second.

"HOW?" Turbo guffawed with a hard laugh of curious, smiling irritation.

"... Wren and I swapped codes, and for some weird, freaky reason, we both gained powers in the swap," Throttle rushed to explain, he grit his teeth in mild embarrassment and carried on, "W-We have telekinetic powers, I-I muted Gunner's mic from backstage, a two dozen foot gap."

"You... WHAT?" Turbo bellowed with a hard, excited, shocked laugh.

"I MUTED HIS MIC," Throttle bellowed in his own little sound proof bubble of a studio, he glowered down the screen before him and felt his pupils tighten at the sight of everyone gathering back on stage, the crowd went absolutely insane, "Shit, I gotta go, I-I... Turbo I don't know what the hell I'm doing, I don't know what the hell I'm doing!"

"Hey, hey, don't panic, leave me on the line," Turbo urgently pressed, he trailed an excited laugh and firmly pushed back into his living room to watch the show on his large screen; Lash could be heard urgently nagging Turbo for information on the side lines, "You don't want the dude to now have an aneurysm, just keep his mic ON from here on out... As much as I'd love you to do the opposite."

"I don't know what the hell I was thinking, dude, I just... User, I just..." Throttle grit his teeth and un-eared one side of his headphones, so he could keep talking to Turbo. He scrunched his phone between his shoulder and his jaw as his hands nervously got to work, "I just... I'd do anything for that girl, dude, she wants to sing so badly, I didn't even THINK about it jeopardizing the WHOLE show!"

"You're doing the Lord's work, Tee," Turbo muttered with a hard, boyish laugh, he eyed Lash and shook his head in bewildered delight.

"Pretty sure lover boy and Blue are done, after this," Throttle muttered in whole irritation as his eyes glanced back and forth between the chaos of knobs, as well as the display of the stage before him, "Don't thank me later. This isn't my proudest moment."

* * *

As the show went on, and everything bumpily got back on track, Throttle did his absolute best to practically fly blind. Although he had managed for the first ten proceeding minutes of the show, he was thrilled that Bedgy, and a few other crew members, came into the sound studio to urgently help out, and without another mishap, the show came to a final end. With a round of applause from the whole crew, a massive show of gratitude towards Throttle, he nearly sunk inside of himself and was well aware the universe would likely hand him his ass at a later point in time. In the overwhelming sea of Archived Chaos's fans urgently doing everything they could to get Berri's attention for autographs and the like, the crew was quickly whisked away, onto their tour bus, so to avoid press and paparazzi. Although Berri was well aware it was solid to avoid such things, for now, she almost glowered down the back of Gunner's head as they got situated on the bus and were prepared for take off. She knew full well that she had struck a nerve, with her initial save, and any ounce of higher praise that she received, over Gunner, was something he absolutely detested. His skin nearly boiled, and everyone could sense it.

"Dude, what a show," Theo mumbled with a long, hard sigh. He shook his head and flashed his lovely, hopeful, emerald green eyes in Berri's direction, "Good save, Bear... You killed it, and you really helped us recover."

"Yeah, man," Wren agreed, "I keep forgetting how wonderful your singing voice is."

"We don't hear enough of it," Bedgy chimed as gently as she could, though everyone flinched the second Gunner urgently stood and began to press closer to the driver's area of the massive, luxurious tour bus.

"Step on it," Gunner snapped tiredly, he glowered out the main windshield of the bus and let his eyes scan the freeway's large, green street signs, "I'm sure we'll be followed to our next destination, but the faster we go, the better. I don't care what you have to do to make that possible. Just do it."

"Hey, show-stopper," Berri finally felt brave, she furrowed her eyebrows and felt her blood rush in a hot wave of liquid fire, she finally got to her feet slowly and was thrilled to see Gunner nervously soften the second Berri's dominance suddenly glossed the place, "Why don't you tell us what has got you so incredibly bothered? Why you feel the need to be rude to our awesome crew?"

"We don't want to get pulled over," Bedgy tenderly warned as she sunk into her own grey feathers, though Gunner inhaled a raspy breath and finally peered his intimidating gaze into Berri's.

"... Can Berri and I please have a moment?" Gunner firmly pressed, and although he desperately tried to soften his gaze to Theo's, Wren's, Throttle's and Bedgy's nervous disposition, they all nervously got to their feet and very hesitantly left Berri and Gunner to their privacy. As they escaped to other quarters of their amazing tour bus, Gunner heaved a shaky breath and finally peered into Berri's eyes, blue orbs that were as cold as ice, "Babe, I'm... I'm really sorry for being such a jerk, just... Please understand. I was absolutely humiliated on stage."

"Gun, you humiliated yourself," Berri firmly stated, she shook her head and crossed her arms, "It was an honest mistake, and instead of taking it in stride and feeling grateful that someone was there to pick up the slack, you blew up and fired hard working, innocent individuals."

"You don't know what I went through, just then," Gunner growled as he firmly pointed down and to his side, "To hear them chanting YOUR name? As if I'm just chopped liver all of the sudden?"

"What's wrong with me having a little slice of the center stage, Gun? Is it REALLY that hard for you to share? You have it ALL the time," Berri argued in whole, stern irritation, to which Gunner softened his voice and aggressively took a gentle step in a hovering, ghostly aura, budged deep into Berri's personal bubble.

"If you think you can win over the crowd and boot me out of this band, you have another thing coming," Gunner huffed darkly, he furrowed his brow and gave Berri a mean look of whole defense, a thorny show of Gunner very simply defending himself, though Berri largely furrowed her eyebrows and gave him a bewildered look of mild disgust in his attitude.

"Yeah, that's EXACTLY what I'm trying to do, Gun, you CRACKED the code," Berri now loudly argued; she was thrilled this softened Gunner in a pleading sort of way, as if to now beg Berri to keep this conversation on the down low, though with such a show of vulnerability, Berri felt ten feet tall, "User-forbid I want to, I don't know... Work WITH you to make this band as great as it possibly can. I can sing. I KNOW I can sing. If you just let me in, we could book DOZENS more shows! Why is it so hard for you to realize and understand that you have band mates that are equally as talented as you?"

"I-I never said-"

"Are you insecure? Inferior? Do you have a POWER complex? Some strange fantasy of control you so desperately want played out?" Berri pressed louder, to which Gunner winced and delicately began to shush her in coos of tenderness he finally began to deploy, little flits of romance he urgently began to sprinkle into the conversation. As he warmly reached for her hand, so to calm her down, she swiftly yanked her hand out of his gravity and began to storm towards her larger travel backpack. Although their conversation was previously private, Throttle, Wren, Theo and Bedgy urgently scrambled back to the main living area to hopefully diffuse the commotion. Berri began to firmly and aggressively rummage through her bag as she called out over her shoulder, to the driver, "Take the next exit and let me off!"

"WHAT?" Everyone suddenly pressed in a spike of terror, they all urgently began to crowd Berri in terror, though the second she stood and glowered everyone down with a Queenly death stare of seriousness, everyone froze in unadulterated terror.

"Y-You can't just get off here, wh-where will you go? How... How will you get anywhere?" Wren now urgently began to beg quietly as Berri firmly pressed closer to the exit of the tour bus, and although the massive vehicle hadn't come to a stop yet, it was on its way to exiting the freeway and slowing down.

"I'm self sufficient, I have my phone, don't worry about me," Berri muttered in entire irritation, and as everyone quickly trailed her to the exit of the bus, she burst out the door the second the air brakes let out a loud hiss of pressure.

"Babe, come on, w-we can just TALK about this," Gunner urged in a spike of desperation as his boots scuffed against the gravel on the side of the off ramp, from the freeway. Berri whirled around and glowered at him as he rushed to continue, "Baby, it's just a misunderstanding... I-I feel as if I was targeted, I was humiliated!"

"And that gives you the right to nearly sabotage our show by getting rid of our ENTIRE sound crew?" Berri shouted loudly, Throttle and Theo quickly stepped outside as well, they all hovered a dozen feet from Berri's distanced disposition, "Poor Throttle had to pick up the pieces! EVERYONE rallied together to make it through, I saved that one song by simply jumping in. I wasn't there to steal your job or anything!"

"D-Don't... 'Poor Throttle' me," Throttle warily and quietly mumbled in a reserved show of guilt, something Wren eagerly cued to in the form of a firmly furrowed brow and a hard, suspicious side-eye.

"I panicked, okay? You can't just get off this bus, Berri, y-you'll get hurt, it's not safe... You don't know your way around Dig Dug, you'll be eaten alive!" Gunner urgently rushed, to which Berri shot him a dirty look of girly cheekiness.

"Bet," Berri huffed before, all at once, she pulled apart a sleek, black baton she had been holding fast to.

Before her materialized a gorgeous single-manned bike, very similar to the style of one of Tron's light cycles. In swiftness, she mounted the bike, revved the powerful growl of the engine and firmly peered back to the stunned group before her.

"BABE!" Gunner growled in a plea of a loud yell, over the bike's rumbling power.

"I don't want that title, any longer," Berri dared, and as she eased on the gas a little, she shot Gunner a deathly look of mild delight; with a choke of her gorgeous bike, all clad in a beautiful show of golden light, she was off like a rocket from a launch pad, dust spewed and all, off into the void of traffic beyond en route to User knows just where.


	143. Chapter 143

**Reviews :**

 **marinetanker97 :** Yes, Berri definitely still has a few things to learn, a bit more growing up to do, but she is well on her way :) And yes! I haven't forgotten! I think I'm going to lump it all into the 150 requests, since I'm only 7 chapters away from it :)

 **Nikki Firesong :** Thank you SO MUCH! That really means a lot to me! Gunner isn't out of the picture just yet! ;) He may be booted, but he's slick.

 **faolan1230 :** LOL! He nearly ruined their show! I'd be slightly pissed too! xD Thanks for your support :D

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Stick the Kettle On (ft. Scouting For Girls) by Lucy Spraggan**

* * *

 ***Chapter 143***

"It's not something I can explain, mom, I just... I feel so confused," Berri's gentle, exhausted voice meeped. Entirely nasally and stuffed up, she continued on through the continuous spill of tears down her cheeks, her bare feet paced, "I just left. I know I'll feel lonely come tomorrow morning, but I just... Left."

"Well, you're safe and secure where you are, just... Promise me you won't go ANYWHERE without security, Bear, you're outside Sugar Rush with no one but the small security team that followed you," Tessa warmly pressed, her and Zed were hovered tight to the phone, which was on speaker so they both could talk to their daughter. Tessa heaved a long, wary sigh and gazed across her's and Zed's dimly lit bedroom; they both were dressed down for the night and enjoying a lazy, rainy evening in their fluffy downs. Tessa almost bravely smiled, caught eyes with Zed and shook her head as she pressed on, to her lonely, lovely daughter, "Berri, I'm really... Really proud of you."

Berri's cold, bare feet scuffed to a stop on the glistening, still marble tiles under her feet. She peered about her current situation, and although she had taken a nearly hour-long excursion to the next city their up coming concert would be in, inside Dig Dug, she cooped up in a single studio hotel room in the center of town. A few men from her security team adamantly tracked her down and begged her to stay somewhere hulled up, in a place with high security. Not one to argue over the fact of not being found, Berri agreed to have said security team hover outside her hotel room's door and hallway for added safety. Berri grimaced a small noise of a cry and peered her wet eyes around her lovely little studio of a temporary room.

Her high heels were haphazardly thrusted to the kitchen's miniature mudroom, near the door of her room, such a tiny place had a lovely couch that folded out into a Queen bed, a television, a teensy bathroom and a view that was to die for. On top of the world, glistening city lights that made her heart just pang for that Orion City view, from a certain someone's sixty-fourth floor loft, she sagged to her kitchen counter a little and allowed herself to show vulnerability, to her parents. She let out a few sobs of exhaustion, both physically and mentally. With a plow of her palm into her forehead, her blue hair was wind whipped and now very messy and tangled. She had taken off her street clothes and stripped down to nothing but her normal black underwear and her massive black t-shirt, the one she had slept in the night prior. Bare legs that trembled over the cold kitchen tiles, she softly sobbed as she set her phone on the counter top. She was well aware her parents likely didn't want to deal with this, and she potentially needed to stiffen her upper lip and get a good night's sleep, though she peered her scared, glassy eyes to her illuminated phone and felt her heart crave the sound of her mother's voice.

"That... That must've been really difficult for you to do, hun," Tessa sighed, "To abandon the situation you were comfortable in, to run off and stick up for yourself, like that. Sounds like Gunner just... Has some soul searching he needs to do."

"Growing up, more like it," Zed muttered in cold annoyance, in plight of Gunner; Tessa shot him a dull look of understanding.

"Thanks for the emergency funds and... This light cycle, dad," Berri's voice wavered through her tears, she tried to collect herself, "When you gave it all to me, before our very first show in EZ Living, I... I was sort of insulted."

"I could tell," Zed mumbled gently with a small smile down to the phone Tessa held out for the both of them.

"... Now I understand what it was for," Berri mumbled weakly, her eyes peered across her smaller studio, the gorgeous sight before her comforted her in this trying, lonely time, "Thanks for looking out, dad... I... Would be no where without you guys."

"Hey, we... We just gave you that nudge," Zed chuckled, though Tessa gave him a surprise look as Zed, too, began to get choked up. He urgently cleared his voice and did everything to blink back tears, "Y-You... You did all the leg work from there, my love."

"Not you too, dad," Berri surprised herself by choking a small laugh and standing up a little bit straighter; Tessa and Zed easily joined in on her laughter, though Zed could be heard sniffling and trying to collect himself.

"I just love you, bub. You make Sugar Rush proud, okay?" Zed affirmed, he cleared his throat and continued on, "Just... Please be safe. Please keep in touch with your cousins and Throttle."

"And try and get some sleep," Tessa pressed, "Take time to be with yourself. It's okay to feel sad and to grieve the loss of yours and Gunner's relationship... But, pick yourself back up and press on. Don't stay and wallow in that feeling, don't allow yourself to be defeated."

"You're a Kalivar," Zed added, Berri crumpled into a smiling fit of tears as she could practically hear the smiling, loving tone in her father's voice, "Tough as nails, girly."

"Thanks, guys," Berri sighed a nasally, collected breath of relief and sagged her shoulders, though before she could continue on, she flinched in whole terror as there was suddenly a few gentle knocks on her studio's door. Berri raised an eyebrow in nervous surprise and froze in her positioning, though she was surprised that Tessa and Zed could hear said knock through their phone call.

"Who just knocked on your door?" Zed demanded nervously and quietly, the air of agitation very quickly came rushing back to the conversation, though as Berri so silently hovered to her door, so to look through the peep hole, she held her breath in anticipation.

As if something out of a comedy sketch, a warped, fish-eye sight of Wren, Theo and Throttle could be seen. Each boy was carrying a bag, or two, whilst security hung tight to them, as if to assure Berri's worries that these visitors weren't just anybody. Berri beamed a nervous, teary smile and quickly went to unlock the door.

"Bear?" Tessa nervously staggered, though as Berri unlocked and opened her door, she swung it slow and wide whilst she revealed her gentle answer.

"I-It's Wren, Throttle and Theo," Berri stated in a lilt of loving, surprised disbelief.

"Alright, chickie, we got a bone to pick with you," Wren blurt; all three boys looked mildly disheveled, each one grunted and picked up their bags, though Berri jolted in surprise the second Wren firmly let himself in without question, as did Theo and Throttle. Wren cocked an eyebrow, smiled a genuine smile down to Berri's phone, which was still extended in her hand and on speaker, "Hi Tessa and Zed, you guys like the show?"

"Did we?" Zed blurt a hard chuckle, Theo and Throttle grunted to get their stuff inside, though once in, they shut and locked the door behind them, "It's all Tess and I can talk about."

"Babe, who is all there with you?" Tessa worried above the chatter, though as Berri's red, glassy, swollen eyes gently glossed the group about her, she sagged her shoulders in warm relief and lulled her eyes closed in tenderness.

"It's just Sugar Rush, mom," Berri stated in warm, soft joy. Her eyes welled with tears, once more, the flood gates had long been opened, and with such a sweet notion to the group about her, Tessa and Zed both gently laughed on the speaker of Berri's phone.

"You guys take care of each other, now," Tessa stated gently as everyone finally tidied their stances about Berri's fragile disposition, "No matter what... Y'guys gotta have each other's backs."

"Yes ma'am," Theo warmly assured, and with such, Berri held her phone closer to her and lulled her eyes closed.

"I'll text you later, mom," Berri confirmed gently, she sagged her shoulders and heaved a nasally sigh of relief, "I love you."

"We love you too," Tessa concluded, and with such, everyone said their soft goodbye's to Sugar Rush's King and Queen, and Berri hung up the call.

In the still, calm silence of the studio, Berri gently set her phone to the kitchenette's little counter space and finally landed eyes on Wren. All three boys were dressed in their concert clothes, as if they had landed at their previous resort reservation, didn't dare to unpack, and high-tailed it out of there. Wren put his hands on his hips and eyed his barely younger second cousin. Berri looked entirely disheveled, make up-less and dressed in nothing but her big, baggy t-shirt, she almost pleadingly peered to Wren and didn't move a muscle, as if she was certain she maybe didn't deserve a hug for practically abandoning everyone. Berri sighed through her mouth, looked down to her bare feet and allowed the warm kitchen light to illuminate the becoming sappy group of lovey boys she was now thrusted into. Wren finally lifted his gaze, looked about Berri's small little studio, meant for one body, and heaved a long, raspy sigh.

"Welp... It's gunna have to do," Wren barked with a small laugh, to which Throttle and Theo beamed knowing smiles, "I don't think you'll particularly ENJOY three of your brothers to be invading your sleep space, and I can't guarantee you probably won't be farted on in the middle of the night, but..."

"Wren," Berri started through a nervous, small giggle down to her feet.

"Look, I'm pissed at you for running off, you could've been hurt," Wren firmly started, though he gently stepped into Berri's bubble, gripped her upper arm and was thrilled she finally stabbed her scared, teary eyes up into Wren's, "But, wherever you go... We'll follow."

Berri hovered in Wren's loving, brotherly presence, and as her gaze broadened to Theo's and Throttle's still, patient and warm dispositions behind and to Wren's sides, Berri felt a flood of further tears come on. In a crumpling mess, Berri grimaced a small cry and, in the act of going to cover her face to continue to softly cry, Wren was quick to tug Berri into a firm bear hug. In said tight squeeze of a sudden hug, Theo and Throttle urgently wasted absolutely no time in wrapping themselves inside the large group hug, and with Berri at the center, Wren heaved a hard, annoyed sigh and tucked his chin to the top of Berri's head. The group tightly wove Berri into their loving arms, a protective squeeze of brotherly love, fierce loyalty and protective dominance Berri easily allowed herself to be swallowed by. Wren gazed across Berri's little studio, a cozy little abode all four would call home for the next two nights, and although cramped, the view was to die for, and the company was perfect.

"You're our future Queen," Wren's deep voice was tender and certain, he lulled his eyes closed and soaked in the warmth of the still, squeezing group hug, "You know our allegiance is to you, no matter what."

"I needed this," Berri meeped through her tears, she squeaked a small few cries and buried her face into Wren's broad chest, and as all three boys did what they could to tenderly rub her arms, back and tidy her hair, Wren finally eased off of her a little, tilted his head down and gained her swollen, glassy eye contact. Berri rapidly inhaled in a cry-hiccup kind of way that she couldn't help, "Wh-what about... Gunner?"

"The second we got to the resort, he did nothing but give you terrible, back-handed compliments, so," Wren shrugged and locked eyes with Throttle, who grit his teeth and blurt a chuckle of understanding, "We left."

"It was either we leave, or... Wren and Theo murdered Gunner," Throttle choked a small laugh, to which Theo bobbed a nod of assurance and bugged his eyes, "Poor guy is just... In that four bedroom suite all by his little lonesome."

"And here all four of us are, in this silly studio meant for one," Berri complained in a slope of teary sorrow, though Wren firmly shook his head and caught Berri's chin with the side of his pointer finger in a hook.

"There's nowhere we'd rather be," Wren firmly assured as both beings locked eyes, "It's gunna be tight, but we'll have a world of fun. We don't have to adhere to Gunner's weird lights-out rule."

"Nor hear his random bouts of belting random notes out of nowhere," Theo mumbled.

"I wasn't too fond of how dirty he always left the bathroom, too," Throttle staggered nervously, "For such a cool dude, he's... He's kinda only got THAT on-lock. Which is deceiving."

"Yeah, the rest of us just suck all-around," Wren blurt with a hard laugh, to which he felt his heart soar at the fact that said outburst shook a genuine laugh and a smile out of Berri's figure.

"I don't want to think about Gunner right now," Berri muttered as she heaved a long sigh and pleadingly peered to Wren, "Can we just... Order some greasy food and sit on the kitchen floor and tell jokes or something? Like old times?"

"Anything you want," Wren assured, though he cocked an eyebrow and waggled his finger in pause, "But, first... I think a certain TurboTime guy has something to admit to you."

"What?" Throttle complained nervously, to which Theo eased a knowing laugh and covered his face. Berri curiously peered to Throttle and glanced back to Wren in warm confusion, "No, dude, come ON! Come on, I... It was a stupid decision and I don't want it brought up, right now, not while the wound is so fresh."

"Throttle," Wren argued as he gestured to Berri's disheveled demeanor, "Hate to say it babe, but, you spear-headed this WHOLE night. Now, why don't you tell Berri just how Gunner's mic got muted?"

Berri's gaze had gone from furrowed into Wren's eyes to lit up like the fourth of July, a wide, shocked gaze of whole entire bewilderment, she urgently peered into Throttle's eyes in pin-prickled, frozen shock. She finally gaped her mouth, covered it with both of her hands and watched as Throttle's smile crumpled to that of sheepish terror.

"Throttle, you DIDN'T," Berri hissed, she finally narrowed her gaze and shook her head in confusion, "Y-YOU muted Gunner's mic? How?... Why?"

Throttle's scrunched, sheepish grimace gently began to sag to that of a knowing, understanding frown as he softened his shoulders. He glanced all about Berri's face and felt his heart swell in her direction, a hot feeling he only really ever dedicated for his brothers, a yank and a tug his heart only easily swayed to when it came to the ones he considered family. With such a warm feeling that flood his coding with understanding, everyone softly peered to Throttle in question, and although they knew just why he had gotten Gunner into trouble, at the root of it, they still so patiently awaited his answer. Throttle held his breath and so gently shook his head. He shrugged slowly, glanced about Berri's shoulders in contemplation and finally gave her an honest look of warm humility.

"Because I love you," Throttle tenderly revealed. Berri softened her gaze into Throttle's and soaked in his deep, reverberating voice, "I have little brothers, and I love them to death but... There's a special duty a big brother has to a little sister. I know Ace has taken great care of you, as your big brother, but... I felt as if I owed it to you. I... Maybe should've just minded my own business and not jeopardized the entire show, but, I just couldn't sit back and watch you take second place, any longer. I wanted you to have that mic. You deserve that spot light. Of the weeks and months you've been on the side, strumming away, singing out into the void for no one to hear you."

"Tee, I... I can't believe you'd do that for me," Berri staggered nervously, she finally gave him a humble smile and lovingly peered up into his unsure, muted eyes, "That took guts, and... You didn't just jeopardize the show, but also the ability to even tour with us."

"Yeah, what have we learned?" Wren stabbed playfully, though he gave Throttle a look as if to assure him that messing with knobs and buttons, that he didn't know anything about, was unwise.

"I learned that... The good in you will always win out, but..." Throttle choked a laugh as Wren slumped his hand to his side and annoyedly looked off, "I knew I had to help it along."

"I don't think he's sorry for nearly jeopardizing the show, Wren," Theo muttered through a deep laugh, he gave Throttle a wide smile of encouragement as everyone burst out into louder laughter, something Wren finally caved too.

"I'm not," Throttle braved, he gave Berri a loving smile, "I was, but... Even though you've been crying and you're upset, I don't think I've seen you look so relieved in such a long time."

"He's right," Wren was quick to agree, which was telling due to how playfully aggravated he was at Throttle, in this instance.

"I'm feeling a LOT right now," Berri mumbled with a gentle chuckle as she rubbed her eye, she gave Throttle a sweet smile and narrowed her gaze, "And although a lot of it is just emotion that will come and go, I hope you know that I love you too..."

"You're my family, now," Throttle assured sweetly as he reached out and tenderly caught Berri by the shoulder, in a tug he successfully wrangled her into yet another hug, "I gotta protect you from all the baddies."

"Too true," Berri muttered as she sagged into the comfort of Throttle's embrace, though she popped her eyes open in a ping of curiosity and finally pulled her head away from Throttle's chest, "Wait a second... H-How did you even get into the sound booth to mute Gunner's mic in the first place?"

"Hoooooo boy," Wren dragged, Theo immediately burst out into hard laughter, to which Throttle sheepishly smiled into Berri's eyes.

"Tell'yah what," Throttle started, he peeled from Berri's hug and gingerly picked up Berri's still unlocked phone from the kitchenette's counters. He choked a small laugh, jostled Berri's phone around and was surprised he was actually getting away with swiping through Berri's phone, like such. She exhaustedly peered to him in question and let it happen, though she cocked an eyebrow in gentle confusion as he pressed on, "I'll tell you exactly how I accomplished muting Gunner's mic, iiiif... You give this person a call. A white-listed baddy, if you will."

Berri furrowed her eyebrows in further confusion as Throttle slid the phone back into her hands. Through her glassy gaze, she peered down to her phone and felt her heart quickly begin to climb from the slump of the pit of her being, straight into her throat, where it then began to throb with reignited purpose. Proudly displayed was Turbo's contact information, cozily nestled with his contact photo, an adorable selfie her and Turbo had taken weeks prior. He had successfully pulled her worn beanie over her eyes, and with his arm lovingly grappled about her neck and shoulder, cheeks smushed into each other's, grins and Turbo's glowing, confident eyes, Berri finally felt a wide, nervous, nostaglic grin nearly crack her face in half. A bittersweet moment of gentle solitude with her thoughts, something all three boys tenderly hovered in, Berri finally unglued her eyes from Turbo's contact information and peered up into Throttle's familiar eyes, those creepy square pupils she had come to know and love from every single TurboTime boy she had the pleasure of knowing.

"We're gunna go grab said greasy food, and when we come back, we can sit on the kitchen floor and talk about nothing," Throttle assured with a small chuckle, he shook his head and gestured down to Berri's phone, "In your given time of privacy, methinks a certain TurboTime guy would love to hear from you."

Berri heaved a shaky sigh and now felt a swell of brand new feelings coat her heart in a vat of giddy anxiety. She bobbed a nervous nod, peered down to Turbo's full name, splayed across her screen, and felt butterflies line her empty stomach. Although she was due to hitting a third wind, sometime soon, she already felt exhaustion promise her that she'd sleep very well tonight. Before she could somehow nervously weasel her way out of giving said shining individual the call of the century, Throttle gestured to Theo and Wren, they all loudly began to converse on just where they'd grab some grub. In the act of kindly beginning to bicker, they said their temporary goodbye's to Berri and, as quick as they arrived, they were gone.

Berri stood now motionless in her tiny, temporary kitchen, bare foot and hot. The warmth of all three boys' bodies radiated her once cold and lonely studio with all the glow and love in the entire Arcade. No longer did it feel like a stiff, cold place to lay her head, how quickly all three boys had the ability to make any four walls feel like home. She sagged her shoulders and felt whole, even in the midst of being heart broken, and although she was terrified to speak to Turbo in this instance, she lulled her eyes closed and urgently promised herself that she wouldn't rebound into Turbo. How delicate their relationship was already, she sagged her finger into the 'call' icon and assured herself that she'd tread lightly, from here on forward. With how fresh this wound was, she gently brought the phone to her ear and feared she'd only make it bigger, though with the sound of Turbo's warm, deep, familiar voice that tenderly soaked through her head upon picking up her call, she felt every pixel in her body firmly enlighten her with the fact that home didn't technically have to be a physical place. The simplest, shortest greeting from her very best friend was enough to assure her that she was home, safe and sound.


	144. Chapter 144

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** YES exactly! Love that

 **Snake557 :** I think we all do lol! It's been difficult to write for him, but interesting to say the least.

 **Nikki Firesong :** Aww thank you! :) Yeah, Zed definitely is protective of his princess.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Good Thing by Zedd & Kehlani**

* * *

 ***Chapter 144***

"Yes, I'd like to schedule an appointment with Dr. Black," Berri's sweet, gentle voice chimed in role-play. She wrinkled her nose and anticipated Turbo's confused silence, though after a few seconds, she lulled her eyes closed and moseyed in a slow pace about her smaller little living room. She could hear Turbo stifling a small laugh on the other end of the phone, though she rushed to carry on, "I-I know it's really last minute, but... Is there any way he can squeeze me in?"

"I'm not positive, let me look at his schedule," Turbo playfully muttered, he cleared his throat and made himself comfortable in his loft's large kitchen, one of his red bar stools could be heard gently croaking as he huffed a grunt with his sit. He ruffled through a few sheets of paper, on his kitchen island, for effect, "Welp... It looks like he's booked out for the next few weeks. Can I get your name? I can pen you in and give you a call if someone cancels."

"Sure, um... Berri Kalivar," Berri mumbled sorrowfully, a teasing notion they both so easily fell into, she beamed down to her feet and stifled a small giggle, as well.

"Wait... THE Berri Kalivar? Arcade's hugest pop star? Sugar Rush's princess? The voice heard 'round the world?" Turbo dramatized, he scoffed a noise and urgently ruffled the papers with vigor; Berri finally blurt out a hard laugh as Turbo staggered on in a teasing show of entire starstruck nervousness, "I-I'll clear Dr. Black's schedule right away, wow."

"Damn straight," Berri muttered teasingly, she crowned the widest smile and fiddled with the edges of her large shirt, which kissed her bare thighs.

"He'll be right with you," Turbo meeped in a higher voice, though after a few seconds, and a few more aggressive ruffles of the pointless papers on his kitchen island, he finally cleared his throat and playfully dropped his voice to a deep croak of authority, "Yes, Ms. Berri Schweetz Kalivar, what seems to be the problem?"

"Well, I just... I'm having a hard time," Berri pleaded in teasing nervousness, though as her eyes glossed the gorgeous city scape out below her, she softened her playful nature and felt her heart thud right out of her chest; Turbo's loving, tender voice surfaced in an easy show of understanding, their role-playing very warmly sauntered into something a bit more real.

"Tell me what's on your mind," Turbo's soft, deep voice huffed in quiet certainty, to which Berri inhaled a shaky breath and looked down to her bare feet.

"Well... I was in a whole predicament tonight that nearly cost us our entire show," Berri started, and although she was certain Turbo had his own opinions, she was grateful he patiently remained quiet to let her continue on, "My... Band mate fired our sound crew, I ran off because he was being a major dick to everyone, and... I dumped him because I have had enough."

"... What?" Turbo huffed in nervous, sorrowful disbelief.

"And now I'm... Stuck in this tiny little studio hotel high above on of Dig Dug's largest cities and..." Berri trailed off and felt hot tears sting her eyes, once more. She peered out to the glorious, twinkling sight below her and crumpled into a grimacing hiccup of soft, sweet tears, once more. She furrowed her eyebrows and inhaled a trembling breath as she now continued on through the straining, soft, sad wail of exhausted tears, "The only person I want to see, right now, is hundreds of Arcade miles away. I'd give anything for him to be here, right now."

Turbo could be heard exhaling a long, hot sigh through his nose in dreaded, sorrowful contemplation. Berri hiccuped a few, silent cries as Turbo remained silent and digested everything Berri had just said, and although his heart just broke at the sound of her sadness, he nervously peered out to his own glorious view, inside Sugar Rush, and grit his teeth in dire contemplation. The urge to forget all of his worries and finally flee the hill he was destined to die on, he shut his eyes tight and felt as if one more cry, from Berri's sweet soul, was due to pushing him off the edge. He finally collected his thoughts, looked down to his island's dark stone counters and exhaled a defeated breath of unadulterated conflicting tugs of thoughts.

"Bear, I'm... I'm so sorry," Turbo warmly staggered, "I'm positive leaving Gunner was really difficult."

"I-It would've been very difficult had I done it like, a month ago," Berri raised her voice in irritation towards herself, though she sighed a nasally sigh, shut her eyes and slumped her hand to her side. She shook her head and sagged her shoulders as her hot breath pressed against the glass of the floor to ceiling window she hovered before, "Tonight, not so much. I didn't think twice, I didn't look back."

"... Good for you," Turbo encouraged gently, though he nervously looked back to his own glorious sight, inside his loft, "Tell me, real quick, are you somewhere safe?"

"Yeah, yeah, I... I found myself a little hotel to stay in. A few men from our security team followed me, and... So did Theo, Throttle and Wren," Berri rushed with a sigh as she tried to collect herself.

"Oh good, good, that was my next question," Turbo blurt a small chuckle, "Those boys love you. I was certain they wouldn't let you get far all by yourself, like that."

"Yeah, they... They left to go grab some dinner," Berri staggered weakly, her exhausted eyes looked off, "I'm starving... And exhausted."

"Yeah, after an explosive show like that, I'm not surprised in the least," Turbo finally crowned a wide, excited smile and allowed the air to gingerly come back to their conversation, "Berri, you... KILLED it."

"... You really think so?" Berri asked with a swathe of nervous humility, to which Turbo blurt a soft laugh and was successful in getting a teary giggle from Berri's fragile figure; she plopped down on her lovely grey couch and tucked her knees to her chest in cute, giddy glee that finally kissed her skin.

"THINK so?" Turbo guffawed, he rolled his eyes and looked off in raw disbelief, "You were incredible. I mean, Lash and I were losing our minds. I could hardy believe what was happening."

"Yeah, we can thank Throttle, I guess," Berri mumbled with a wide smile, she twirled her hair and peered to her right, so she could still ogle the city view, "I just... Can't wait to come home. I really miss... Well... S-Sugar Rush and all, y'know."

"I don't blame you," Turbo side-stepped, he beamed a bashful smile down to the loose sheets of paper in front of him and aimlessly began to sort through them. He put Berri on speaker and set his phone down before him; confident of his actions, he was well aware Lash was bubbled and asleep for the night. He inhaled a brave breath and raised his eyebrows in gentle, boyish pursuit. He was well aware Berri was now single, and his time to strike was upon him, though he tread lightly. He held his breath and knew she needed time to grieve, and he'd have his chance to shoot his shot, but he still felt that twinge of a rush beg him not to let any opportunity slip out of his fingers, "... Sugar Rush misses you too, Bear."

"Really?" Berri huffed through an exhausted, relaxing sigh, "You think it's just Sugar Rush as a whole or, I don't know... I-Is there maybe... Certain people that miss-"

"Me, it's... Me," Turbo blurt a gentle chuckle, he cocked an eyebrow and aimlessly gazed across his kitchen. His heart began to aggressively thud in his chest, he furrowed his eyebrows and wondered just the depth and reality of this ordeal. In this fragile moment in time, not only did he now have the guts to properly pursue Berri, but she was now en route to being entirely emotionally available, "I miss you. Alright, Ms. Kalivar, your session is up. That'll be ten dollars."

"TEN?" Berri choked a laugh and sagged into the couch, she beamed a lovely, still teary smile and soaked into her's and Turbo's typical, loving banter, "Damn, you're cheap."

"Only to everybody but my girlfriend," Turbo stated nonchalantly, and although Berri raised her eyebrows in stunned, nervous surprise, she firmly then furrowed her brow in suspicion and huffed a shaky giggle.

"You don't have a girlfriend," Berri beamed in muttering, scheming delight.

"Yes I do," Turbo squeaked in smiling irritation, to which Berri began to lazily play with her hair.

"Oh yeah? What's her name," Berri mumbled as she cocked an eyebrow; the deafening silence, on the other end, was enough to assure her that Turbo was kidding.

"...B-Bailey," Turbo staggered through his white lies, to which Berri blurt a hard laugh and loudly repeated him in understanding, just what that name sounded like, "WHAT! It's true!"

"Well, I hope you and BAILEY are very happy together," Berri tried not to wheeze with laughter, she wiped her cheeks and eyes free of tears, both from laughter and previous sadness.

"Oh, we are," Turbo huffed in a pompous tone.

"I miss you too, Bo," Berri concluded with a gentle giggle, the two softened into a vat of enchanted warmth as Turbo finally eased a deep chuckle, an understanding that he was simply playing, and with Berri's sweet words, Turbo felt bravery soak him.

"I'd like to see you when you get home," Turbo eased warmly, "I... I'd love to cook you dinner. Would you be interested?"

"... Absolutely," Berri chimed, she tried not to seem to eager, and although her eyes sagged to the view outside and the pang of pain, from this crumbling evening, still had her heart sitting in an inch deep vat of molten lava, she inhaled a trembling breath and did everything to keep her head above water; she was well aware Turbo understood this notion in it's entirety, "We'll be home in three days."

"Three days too long," Turbo's warm voice coat the air in a depth-pressing lilt of charm, "I have a lot to show you."

"... Y-You do?" Berri huffed in a girly voice of now rushing, anticipatory excitement she tried to conceal; she furrowed her eyebrows in bashful surprise and wondered if she was either getting way too ahead of herself, or if Turbo was now eager to flaunt every last color his feathers could display.

"Well yeah, I've been practicing my powers," Turbo chimed innocently, Berri secretly sagged, rolled her eyes and smiled with a touch of relief. She placed her hand on her forehead in exasperation and beamed a dumb smile out to the room as Turbo cutely carried on, "Oh, oh! I've also been making headway on Chester's flight lessons. I can't wait to show you. But man, that guy has a mouth on him... The second we give him the ability to talk, he just has an opinion about EVERYTHING."

Berri sagged her shoulders and soaked in Turbo's palpable warmth. No matter what would ever happen between them, she lulled her eyes closed and was just grateful he so much as existed. She heaved a gentle giggle and was glad Turbo went silent, it was as if he could anticipate her mulling words to come. Berri shook her head and breathed a satisfied sigh as she carried her words with warmth and confidence, "Turbo, I'm... Really grateful for our friendship. You turned my night around with this phone call, alone. I really appreciate you, okay?"

"Nah, I'm... I'm just here," Turbo blurt a boyish chuckle, though he sighed and softened for Berri's sweet, serious notions, "I wouldn't have been able to do it without you, love."

Berri beamed a cute smile into the receiver and was entirely ready to get lost in Turbo's loving voice, though she popped up in whole surprise as her front door eagerly chimed an unlocking beep and swung open in excited fervor; Throttle, Wren and Theo loudly bickered as they pressed into the room with a hefty stack of about four pizza boxes. Berri urgently popped to a stand, almost as if she was maybe caught committing a crime. All three boys piled into the kitchen with louder, cuter notions of playful bickering, though the second Throttle glossed his gaze to Berri across the way and noticed her still holding her phone to her head, he beamed a wider smile and tilted his head up.

"Hey Bo, we got a crap ton of pizza, wish you were here!" Throttle pressed in sing-song, Berri beamed and pressed closer to the kitchen as she put her's and Turbo's call on speaker.

"Weird, Lash and I had pizza earlier tonight," Turbo laughed warmly, to which Theo and Wren eagerly smiled in Berri's direction.

"Y'see the show man?" Wren asked loudly, Turbo blurt a soft laugh of knowing, which caused everyone else, excluding Berri, to join in.

"Did I," Turbo chuckled, "It was incredible. All shows should exclude Gunner, jus'saying."

"Yeah, Berri carried us seamlessly," Theo encouraged as he waggled his eyebrows at her; she rolled her eyes and bashfully looked off, stifled grin and all.

"The voice of an angel," Turbo pressed in a gentlemanly tone, to which Wren, Throttle and Theo urgently raised their eyebrows in cute, prickled surprise and stabbed their curious gazes to Berri; she bashfully tucked her bottom lip into her mouth and looked down to the counter in mad, blushing shyness. Turbo cleared his throat and chuckled, "Alright, guys, I'mma head to bed."

"Party pooper," Wren spat playfully in a mutter.

"Uh, I prefer the term 'early bird'," Turbo corrected in a playfully pompous tone.

"Since WHEN?" Throttle's voice reverberated.

"I don't know, man, housing a fugitive is difficult," Turbo whined, everyone blurt out into soft laughter and kindly wished Turbo a good night, though in doing such, Berri removed Turbo from speaker, pressed the phone to her ear and began to step away from the kitchen; she was glad Wren, Throttle and Theo began to bicker and chatter amongst themselves, once more.

"Alright, Bo, I'll... I'll text you," Berri warmly pressed as she finally came to the gaping window, once more.

"Don't stress if you can't," Turbo eased gently, "Keep me updated on the touring situation, only if you can. I'm assuming you're not traveling with Gunner, any longer."

"Not if I can help it," Berri mumbled nervously, though Turbo did everything he could to keep the situation light.

"It's okay, we'll hang out Friday. It'll be great!" Turbo pressed cheerfully, though Berri furrowed her eyebrows and was curious if she heard his words wrong.

"I-It's a date?" Berri questioned gently, to which Turbo huffed a startled breath and began to nervously stagger about his next few choice of words.

"O-Oh, I mean... W-well, that's entirely up to you, you just... Got out of a relationship, Bear," Turbo fumbled, Berri looked across the city and felt her heart thud in bashful confusion, though Turbo jolted to continue on with confidence, "I-I'd... Consider it a date, unless you don't want that. It's... Really up to you if-"

"It's a date," Berri pressed bashfully, she smiled and sagged her shoulders; she scolded herself for going against her own word of taking things, here, very slowly.

"Yes ma'am," Turbo lilted in warm, bashful surprise, "I'll... I'll pick you up at the palace Friday evening, then."

"I'll be ready," Berri chimed nervously, she felt her veins wiggle in hot confusion; she was certain tomorrow morning, everything this night entailed would most certainly come rushing back to her in an overflow of further exhaustion, though for now, she lulled her eyes closed and rode the wave of simply running on fumes.

"Bye, Bear," Turbo's deep voice gently concluded.

"Bye, Bo," Berri volleyed lovingly, and as she hung up the call, she inhaled a deep, shaking breath and felt her pupils tighten with the raw sound of silence. Poised in terror, she whirled around and firmly took note of Throttle, Wren and Theo standing still in the kitchen, frozen with anticipation, they peered their surprised eyes to Berri in unadulterated bewilderment.

"Well, I guess the only way to get over a guy is to get underneath another," Wren choked a laugh, Throttle and Theo urgently joined, to which Berri desperately began to back track.

"I-It's just dinner, you guys, come ON," Berri argued with a bashful smile, "I can't have dinner with my best friend?"

"DINNER," Theo choked with a large display of air quotes, all three boys howled with laughter as they began to open the steamy pizza boxes.

"Yeah, he'll cook up SOMETHIN'," Wren exaggerated as he firmly popped the cap off of a beer bottle, bands of it all three boys successfully acquired.

"This is why I don't tell you guys anything," Berri chimed in girly irritation as she joined them in the kitchen.

"You won't have to," Throttle blurt with a small laugh as he glanced to Wren and Theo, he then fixated his gaze to Berri and shrugged, "It'll be written all over your face."


	145. Chapter 145

**Reviews :**

 **Nikki Firesong :** Aww, WOW! Thank you so much ;_; You don't know what that means to me.

 **faolan1230 :** LOL! Finally, huh :D I wish I could tell you that the Berbo ship all smooth sailing from here, but it's not xD

 **Snake557 :** Haha yes indeed, she does definitely get picked on :P

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Quarter Past Midnight by Bastille**

 **Kids by One Republic**

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 ***Chapter 145***

Although the next three days trudged by as slowly as could be, Berri could feel as if the universe had hit fast forward on her life the second she stepped into Sugar Rush. Although hot on the heels of the steep, inescapable, avalanching slope of a downgrade her and Gunner just previously went through, she felt as light as a feather. With the finale of their last two shows inside Dig Dug, an awkward amount of touring without Gunner or their typical crew, the fight and struggle it was for Berri, Wren, Theo and Throttle to so much as remain in the same room as Gunner, they powered through with smiles and remained on top of the drama. With the thought of never wanting to disappoint their fans tight at the forefront of their perspective, the end of the tour ended a bit more seamlessly than Berri anticipated. Delightfully surprised, and feeling as free as a bird, she did everything she could to spend as much time with her family, inside Sugar Rush, before tidily excusing herself to her hovering tower on the palace lot; easily believed that she was extremely exhausted and absolutely had to get home to shower and sleep, she trudged home in a forced show of exhaustion and exploded into purpose the second her feet pressed into her bedroom.

Thankful Chester was likely spending time with the rest of the flyers, in the enclosure on the palace lot, she urgently shoved into her room and hurriedly began to mutter to herself in a rushed show of excited terror. Extremely relieved to be back home, she inhaled a deep breath of the familiar, homey smell of her bedroom and felt her heart nearly thud straight out of her chest. She could hardly wait to press into Turbo's abode and melt into his aura for the rest of the night, an entire speckle of unadulterated solace on top of the world. She basically tossed herself into her closet, ripped her clothes off of herself and urgently poked her head out of her closet, so to get a good look at the beautiful wall clock hanging in her bathroom. She grit her teeth in urgency and hissed an obscenity to herself; with only fifteen minutes left to spare, she did everything she could to pick the perfect outfit for her's and Turbo's first date, something she had been thinking of for every single minute since it was decided.

In a clumsy rush to her nearby body mirror, it showed the closet behind her in mild disarray. She furrowed her eyebrows and peered to herself in the mirror, though she rolled her eyes and urgently began to rip the fresh pair of clothes off of her body, once more. Berri grunted in now loud irritation and rushed to find something else to wear. She shook her head at herself and felt foreign in this situation. She always figured that, eventually, they'd have a first date and it'd be something to prepare for, outfit wise, though now that it was all upon her, so quickly, she felt brain dead. Having thrown on a very nice pair of jeans and a comfortable, sleek black shirt that daintily gaped at the neck in a beautiful, elegant way, she shrugged and figured she shouldn't get way too dolled up. With the raw idea that Turbo was to be picking her up at the palace, she figured he'd be on his motorcycle, and should likely dress accordingly for the drive. In the swipe to throw on a cute pair of her favorite grey converse, she flinched in terrified surprise as her phone urgently began to ring. In a stumbling swipe, she peered to her screen and felt her heart thud in continuous nervousness, though she rolled her eyes in annoyance and picked up the call.

"Lash, what's up," Berri grunted, she tried to act nonchalant.

"You busy, my dude?" Lash mumbled nervously, to which Berri firmly nodded, bugged her eyes and wildly gestured her arms down to her phone.

"No, not at all," Berri chimed daintily, she put Lash on speaker, swiped her phone into her hand and began to rush out of her larger closet. She pressed to her beautiful, marbled vanity and sinks so she could begin tidying her hair, "What's up?"

"I... I've been sitting here for the last HOUR debating on whether I should call you and tell you this, or not, but..." Lash trailed on nervously, though Berri finally halted all movement and peered hard into her own blue eyes, in the mirror. She held her breath, and upon hearing her heart beat loudly pounding away in her ears, Lash cutely carried on, "Turbo is, well... Going out on a date with someone, right now."

Berri sagged her shoulders in whole entire relief, crowned a wide, glowing smile, lulled her eyes closed and felt joy soak her circuits. As desperately as she wanted to throw her arm up and proudly state that that said, certain someone was, indeed, herself, she felt honored by the fact that Turbo was keeping their brand new little embers of a certain something under wraps. She beamed down to her phone as Lash nervously hovered in wait.

"Oh, really?" Berri eased cutely, a nonchalant air she tried to uphold, "That's great, though! Why do you sound so upset about it? He deserves to get out and do something fun."

"... You're REALLY not upset about it?" Lash barked in whole confusion, "Just a few weeks ago, you told me, and everyone important to Sugar Rush, INCLUDING Turbo, that you loved the guy. Surely this isn't easy for you, what the hell?"

"I-I mean... It's not, but I don't control what the poor guy does," Berri shrugged, "I'm away from Sugar Rush a lot, he's probably... Getting restless, then."

Berri began to quickly comb her hair, though she figured she'd be throwing it into a sloppy bun so to wear a helmet on the motorcycle trek to Turbo's loft. She was aware that a simple teleport would suffice, though she was grateful Turbo was willing to go the lengths of crafting this as a proper date, something a bit more serious and not so nonchalant. Upon Berri getting lost in her thoughts, she sharply furrowed her brows and realized just how many seconds of silence had passed between her and Lash. Still on a brushing spree, she shot her gaze down to her phone and saw that she was still on a phone call with Lash. She flinched as Lash's deep voice finally pierced her echoey bathroom via her speaker phone.

"... That 'someone' is you, isn't it," Lash muttered in annoyance, though Berri could hear him smiling.

"Yes, it is," Berri mumbled cutely, she smiled at herself in the mirror and finished brushing her hair out. She stood up straighter, tidied her clothes and quickly looked at the clock, "He bubbled you, didn't he."

"Yes, like over an hour ago and I'm so irritated," Lash barked loudly, he was prepared to now take out his irritation on the one person that was the cause of this all, "Can't he come over to your house, or something? I live here, now, too!"

"Dude, you got a lot of your rights taken away when you tried to murder my mother and I," Berri snapped with a Queenly air, she cocked an eyebrow down to her phone, swiped it up, pressed out of her bathroom and began to turn lights out in preparation to leave; she spritzed herself with one single spray of her favorite perfume and ogled herself in the mirror, once more, to make sure she looked alright, "I think Turbo and I deserve a nice, quiet dinner together. You can handle being bubbled while Turbo and I... For User's sake... Figure out what the hell is going on, even."

"Yeah, haven't you two been playing cat and mouse for like a century now?" Lash muttered in irritation, Berri knew that Lash was well aware he didn't have a single leg to stand on, here.

"Something like that," Berri heaved a long sigh, she furrowed her brows, shook her head and scrunched her eyes shut, "I-I gotta go, Lash, I... I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, and by 'later' you mean after y'all would've swapped codes, gotten married and had a whole army of weird half-Turbo-looking children," Lash rushed, though he hovered in cheeky pondering and blurt a small, cute laugh, "Wow, what would one of your's and Turbo's babies even look like? What an interesting combo-"

"You're... Two HUNDRED steps ahead of even US, there, dude," Berri rushed, she was certain her face was a harsh shade of red. She breathed a shy, exasperated giggle and shook her head, "I'll text you later."

"Alright, fine," Lash grumbled as Berri finally was able to end their call, though not before he cheekily shouted, "Use protection!"

Berri hung up firmly and grit her teeth down to her phone. With a riled, revved grunt, she jostled about her phone in whole, blushing irritation and flinched in surprise the second a text message popped up on her screen. She stood up straighter and felt her pupils tighten at the message before her. One of the palace guards had cutely notified her that her ride was here, outside the palace's main gates, and with Turbo's sweet, gentlemanly arrival, she bit her lip and wondered just how real all of this would feel. She knew Turbo as a best friend, a lone soul high above Sugar Rush, a romantic fling in few-second flits of desperately trying to resist the urge to get together, for good; she almost felt nervous to get to know Turbo on a deeper level. One that went beyond simply flirting and stealing kisses, one that delved into chivalry, Kingly respect, she heaved a trembling breath as her shoes tapped into her room's teleportation pad. She lulled her eyes closed in entire nervousness and wondered just why she was so scared, she would be with the one person she missed the most. Someone she knew better than anyone. This strange transition from flirty friends to potential, impending commitment made her head spin.

In a skillful teleport to the gaping, front doors of the palace, she came into being and hovered, for a moment. She raised her eyebrows in gentle cuteness and peered back to the palace's glorious Great Hall; something that was kept from Sugar Rush's old castle, alongside the remodel, Berri peered back to the quiet emptiness in sweet, nostalgic readiness, as if the castle was cutely encouraging her to go, to run off and figure out the questions she had been asking herself for months now. As her hand hovered over the palace's massive double door's golden handle, she pressed down on the huge knob with the strength of her whole arm. With a firm push of the enormous front door, she gingerly stepped outside the palace's front, open-aired terrace of an entrance. In ginger curiosity, her eyes caught with the gorgeous white pillars, each lined with the touches of a confident blaze atop Sugar Rush's most delicious of giant marshmallows, Berri's eyes finally glossed past the palace's guards and to the sight patiently waiting in the sprawl of the palace's beautiful entrance.

Leaned against his incredible, powered-off bike, arms crossed, eyes aloft in aimless wandering, Turbo patiently stood. He wore an unzipped motorcycle jacket, a tighter black t-shirt underneath with his favorite pair of faded racing jeans. Berri immediately felt thrilled that she had picked the right attire, she knew, full well, Turbo wouldn't care what she wore to their date, though the fact that she could instinctually wear semi-casual attire to said first date had her confident that this night was going to go very well. Although the door silently opened, it firmly clacked shut, getting the attention of the guards, off to the side, as well as Turbo. He immediately released himself from his lazy lean, yanked his arms from his crossed position and straightened his clean jacket.

In the whirl of the gentle catch of their eyes, Berri felt the urge to glitch-hop the distance and bombard Turbo with a huge, glom of a hug, though she felt her coding bubble inside of her and urgently resist. She gently walked the gap in a steady pace, not too eager and not too nonchalant, she was glad Turbo caught on to her demeanor; as she almost silently proposed that the two of them were to potentially hit a reset on their flirtatious standing, to take a step back and maybe not act way too comfortable around each other. Although they both knew each other very well, Turbo also resisted the urge to dive headlong into a sweeping hug of her warm arms, he eagerly caught her subtle cues and adhered to it like his life depended on it. Easily soaking into the switch up, they still smiled into each other's eyes in knowing, festering, well-concealed eagerness, as if this feeling was way long over due. Trying to follow Berri's lead to take things one step at a time, Turbo felt an itch to at least get some sort of flirtatious notions in, no matter what.

"How... Do you keep getting prettier?" Turbo slowly wondered, although Berri sagged into a bashful smile and peered into Turbo's glowing eyes, she halted amidst the switch up and noted that Turbo was almost seriously asking her this question. Berri giggled and finally rolled her eyes in a loft of her gaze elsewhere, as if she was making clear that she teasingly didn't believe his words; he persisted, "No, I'm serious, what the heck?"

"Yeah, in the fifteen minutes I had to spare, to get ready, I look incredibly gorgeous in this casual outfit I picked," Berri grunted, clearly downplaying; her style was kissed with a cute, feminine show of daintiness, and although she wanted to continue loudly protesting Turbo's cute notions, she froze as he warmly scooped her left hand into his and began to slowly raise it up to himself.

"You're not wrong," Turbo mumbled, his deep voice coat the back of her left hand as his smiling lips gingerly pressed a warm kiss to the back of her hand.

Berri raised her eyebrows gently and felt her breath catch. Although not the first time Turbo had so sweetly kissed her hand, like such, this time he didn't succumb to a bow, he kept his spine straight and brought her hand to him. His golden eyes peered down to her in whole, warm confidence. A mildly cocky move for a first date, as well as the incredible stature she had over him, Berri felt as if the circumstance here was entirely different. She raised her eyebrows in poised surprise and peered up into Turbo's loving gaze, nothing but good intentions, though it was here did she feel her heart nearly stop in realization. A rather bold, silent statement he so simply gave to her, with nothing but body language, she quickly realized that his dominance laid the foundation for this instance, he claimed the night as his, something he now owned; flustered, she bashfully succumbed to said silent, massive conversation within the span of about five seconds. She understood that, from here on out, compliments volleyed were to be received and not shoved away; this night held a different air, this night was something Berri could tell that Turbo had been wanting for a very long time, now.

"... Thank you," Berri's womanly voice pressed in genuine love, she sagged her shoulders and almost felt entirely relieved to not really be in charge of the mood, tonight. She felt a wave of confidence eke off of Turbo as if he had uploaded a world of knowledge to his coding overnight. Turbo smiled into her eyes, lowered her hand and squeezed it in the continuous, warm grip he hand on her, something she easily returned. Berri inhaled a shaky breath and felt her heart throb in readiness, she peered to Turbo's bike and beamed, "I-I... I'm kind of nervous, here."

"Wait, why?" Turbo suddenly frowned as he froze, as if one single hiccup, in this night, was not something he wanted to think about affording.

"No, everything's fine, I just..." Berri skillfully deployed a move, her hand gingerly glossed down Turbo's upper arm and subtly squeezed, "I've never been on your bike, before. I've been on mine, and Wren's, but... Nothing THIS scarily fast."

"Are you worried?" Turbo patiently pressed, he glanced to his bike and huffed a gentle, humble chuckle, "It'll... It'll only go as fast as I allow it to. I can go a certain speed, if you'd prefer. Whatever you'd like."

Berri opened her mouth in a huff of nervousness, though she finally bit her lip and peered up into Turbo's confident, lovely, golden glowing eyes. He held fast to her, unwavering, patiently anticipating her decision; although Berri felt certain he was simply going to be in charge of everything, she held her breath and almost felt bad that she was tip toeing around Turbo's game plan. She heaved a gentle sigh through her nose and now understood the weight of this situation. She tried to wrap her head around the raw fact that, not only was she going on a date with the infamous Turbo, but she was about to get on the back of his bike; the greatest racer ever. She gently glossed her eyes down the incredible beast of a bike and understood that, no matter what would happen, Turbo would protect her. She lulled her eyes closed, gently rest her hand on the loved seat of Turbo's bike and gave him full eye contact, a humble smile of sweetness, the ability to let go of the control.

"No, no, I... I trust you," Berri assured warmly, and with such, she could see Turbo's confident demeanor rush back to him as he inhaled a deep breath and expanded his powerful, broad chest.

"It's not every day I get to transport precious cargo," Turbo chuckled, though he took a step back and gently began to take off his motorcycle jacket. With ease, he stepped into Berri's bubble and lovingly draped his jacket over her cute shoulders, and much to her surprise, she hovered for a moment before she finally succumbed to his silent request and slipped her arms into his jacket; she tried not to flutter her eyes at the irresistible scent it firmly radiated, likely her favorite thing in the whole world. Turbo gently helped her worm her way into it and securely began to zip it for her; once she finally did the rest, Turbo pulled out his materializer and effortlessly supplied the two with helmets, "I figured, y'know, if... This is going to be a proper date, I'd better do it right."

"I don't have any complaints," Berri huffed a small, surprised giggle, to which Turbo eased a playful smile and nervously shrugged.

"Yet," Turbo muttered, to which Berri gently swat his chest; he blurt a small chuckle and was thrilled the two could still fall into their easy, old habits of their close friendship.

"What's that supposed to mean! I'm not one to constantly complain about stuff," Berri beamed a wide smile, to which Turbo finally caved to his urges and lovingly pulled Berri into a warm almost-full hug.

"I was taking a stab at myself, love," Turbo choked a small laugh and was thrilled Berri wasted no time to sink into his warm side-embrace.

"I'm so sure," Berri muttered, she knew she couldn't wipe the grin from her face if her life depended on it.

"C'mon, I don't know about you, but I'm starving," Turbo mumbled cutely into the top of her lovely blue hair, and before he pulled away, he lovingly pressed a firm kiss into the side of her head, "No time to waste."

"Yes, sir," Berri lilted with cute anticipation, and with the mount they both took onto the back of Turbo's menacing bike, the palace trembled as Turbo turned the ignition.

"Thank you for flying Black Airlines tonight, Your Highness," Turbo chimed over the now evened out grumble of his idle bike; Berri blurt a hard laugh into the back of Turbo's head as they both began to secure their helmets over their heads. Turbo loudly chuckled and continued on, "We got a clear, lovely night here inside Sugar Rush, and hopefully, we won't run into any slow-driving snow birds. We'll be reaching our destination of Orion Tower within about twenty minutes... Ten if you're feeling brave."

"Just... Tell me where the emergency exits are," Berri loudly giggled at Turbo's sweet, charming notions, though before Turbo flipped his visor down, he gently shot Berri a cheeky look and cocked an eyebrow.

"There are none," Turbo mumbled through a cute, knowing smile as he finally flipped down his visor and prepared to grip the handles of his bike, "Hold on tight, babe."


	146. Chapter 146

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** YAYAYYAYAY I'm glad you're excited!And uhhhh... I'd say Berri's and Turbo's issues are a lot, well... Faster? and more explosive? Ace's and Libby's issue was very brooding, slow moving and not so time sensitive. You'll find that Berri's and Turbo's experience has a short fuse, and well... There's dynamite at the end of it o_o;

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Blinding Lights by The** **Weeknd**

 **Affection ft. Jack Newsome by Said the Sky Origami**

* * *

 ***Chapter 145***

In the few seconds of anticipation the two had, on the back of Turbo's bike, he kicked his kick stand away from the loved stone of Sugar Rush's palace's entrance. As if out of a dream, Berri did everything she could to subtly snuggle tight into Turbo's back, on his bike; a wide straddle that had her holding her breath in solid, bashful terror. She raised her eyebrows gently, and as if stuck inside of an out of body experience, Berri felt Turbo patiently hover in wait, he anticipated her grip about his mid section, and as she slowly gave it, she felt her head swim in weirdness. Having been so entirely used to easily securing her arms about Gunner's lean figure, she raised her eyebrows in poised, girly surprise and was floored to feel that, in her whole grip about Turbo's midsection, she could only grapple her wrists at the tightest. A solid figure of a hefty build, strong muscle that Berri could feel on his pecks and abs, she bugged her eyes a little and sagged her chest tight to Turbo's back. She held her breath and nervously shut her eyes tight the second Turbo's strong figure so gently leaned forward in warm anticipation, and as his bike's engine coughed a deep, angry growl of power, she inhaled a startled breath as the two popped forward in raw power. Like a rocket itching to burst through the planet's pull, the two were off in a gentle jolt of speed that Berri was entirely certain was the slowest Turbo allowed himself to go.

With the sound of the loud, vicious engine, the wind whipping right through the two, Berri held a rigid grip tight to Turbo's core and was floored to see just how fast the city was approaching. As they wound down the sloping mountains the palace sat on, she was thrilled Turbo skillfully navigated the dark, Sugar Rush's star kissed sky smiled upon them, and with Orion City's glow tight on the horizon, and approaching fast, Berri felt her pupils tighten with the rapidly approaching freeway that needed to be taken to get into the city. She did what she could to squeeze deeper into Turbo's body heat, she readjusted her arms about his broad center and chest, she bit her lip and dared to be a bit more curious with her hands. She flattened her palms and rested them flat on his core and muscular chest; she felt her face heat up the second she could only simply feel a deep, knowing chuckle emit from Turbo's being. His covered, helmeted head only gently glanced back to Berri, over his shoulder, to which she sheepishly gave Turbo's body a gripping squeeze of a hug. She, too, breathed a giggle and felt her heart soar at the insane speed they were fast approaching.

With skill, Turbo did what he could to navigate becoming-busy streets, and in a bend, he finally took the nearest on-ramp, an uphill slope into car-ridden chaos, high speed chases to different destinations. As they climbed the straight-away, the uphill on ramp that would eventually even, Berri bugged her eyes in nervousness as Turbo's masculine figure flexed in anticipation to merge into on coming vehicles, his strong shoulder blades pressed and squeezed against Berri's front, firmly glued to his being like her life literally depended on it. He firmly peered over his shoulder a few times, making sure the coast was clear, though the second he felt safe to ease into the rush of traffic, Berri huffed a nervous breath as his lean, into his bike, deepened to a flatter stance of anticipation. Clearly prepared for Berri to follow suit, she kept herself glued tight to his body and felt her core begin to merely shred to mincemeat the second Turbo revved the engine to much higher, angrier speeds. As his bike loudly howled a more aggressive growl of gained speed, the jolting movements of his bike shifting, Berri felt her heart rate shoot through the roof.

Now clinging to Turbo in a spike of unmitigated terror, a rush of excitement she was now positive she could never get enough of, she flinched in surprise as Turbo so easily glide his bike in and out of traffic, big and small cars easily came and went as he whizzed about traffic, a flawless navigation of weaving. With skillful maneuvering, Berri allowed herself to get lost in the passing lights, the rush of wind, the insane, loud growl of Turbo's beast of a bike, she felt doomed to this. Spoiled by Turbo's skills, things he kept stuffed deep down in the act of keeping his humility at the forefront, this only made Berri weaker for anything and everything unfolding. With a double-take, the two flew past a speed limit sign, which easily read seventy miles an hour, though with the speed Turbo was rocketing past everyone, a seamless zipper of gliding ease, Berri cocked an eyebrow and did what she could to read Turbo's speedometer. Easily and confidently reading a solid one hundred miles an hour, Berri froze and only gripped Turbo a bit harder.

Although a scary speed, and a terrifying show of risky weaving, Berri somehow felt entirely safe in this rare creature's care. Her insides did a tumultuous dance of glee, her rushing feeling urgently promised her that arriving to Turbo's house for a quiet, lovely dinner was going to be impossible to endure. The raw fact of squeezing, shooting adrenaline now coursing her coding, the ease of movement their bodies fell into together, in unison, Berri lulled her eyes closed in dire annoyance and knew exactly just what Turbo was doing here. Skillfully wowing her with things he never really boasted before, due to her previously unavailable status, Berri felt thwarted by the sheer amount of respect he must've had for her, so to carefully deploy said boastfulness upon her single self, and not when she was busy with another man. Berri easily peered forward and almost felt thrilled that Turbo was now confident enough to proudly display just what he was made of, to make clear just what he had to offer her, she squeezed his core a little harder, amidst the bending, leaning weaves of lane changes, and wondered if simply pouncing on him, upon arrival to his home, would be appropriate or not. How successfully he had her, hook line and sinker, she almost felt had.

Almost as fast as they entered the freeway, nearly five exits later, they finally approached theirs. Although due to slowing, Berri almost felt sad that the wild ride was now nearly over. With the gentle, lower grumble of Turbo's bike, and the easy glide to a upcoming red light, their slow motion tight lean into the body of the bike eased into a gentle sit. Frozen in stillness, the now hot grumble of his idle bike, Berri sat bug-eyed peering into the passing traffic in the intersection whilst they patiently waited for a green light. With arms still permanently latched to Turbo's torso, she cocked an eyebrow and eyed the side of his helmet in whole entire surprise. As cool as a cucumber, his rib cage slowly expanded with a relaxed inhale, whilst Berri was certain her chest cavity was forever clenched in a tight inhale of invigorated terror. Although the rest of the drive to Orion City's tallest tower was easy going, to Turbo's nest of a home she was familiar with, she felt as if she had somehow never been to this city before. With the way she now got a raw, fast and dirty look at it all, cradled tight to the fastest, scariest bike ever, as well as pinned to Arcade's hugest bad guy, Berri wondered just when she should potentially start pinching herself.

Although Berri wanted to readjust her arms and snuggle deeper into Turbo's powerful, broad back, she hesitated due to Turbo suddenly ducking down a familiar back alley. Once Berri counted the same 'ol four dumpsters that marked the secret entrance to Turbo's garage, high up above the clouds, she flinched in whole surprise the second he revved his bike, jostled his turn, sent the back tire of the bike in a drifting glide and completely one-eightied their way into the secretive little nook of a teleportation pad, nestled tight into the back and base of Orion City Tower. Berri jolted as the bike came to a sharp stop, though as the ground suddenly came aglow with Turbo's hot red coding, they suddenly were teleported straight to Turbo's still, well lit garage. With ease, Turbo powered off his bike, kicked the kick stand and gingerly hovered in tender wait, in preparation for Berri to dismount the bike first, though as more seconds went by, Turbo gently unfurled his hefty white helmet from his head and peered over his shoulder in cute curiosity.

"I-It's... A balmy seventy five degrees here in Turbo land, dinner will be served shortly, and, uh... We hope you've enjoyed your flight," Turbo chimed in a gentlemanly tone, to which Berri remained frozen in a tight grip about Turbo's torso, in a hard attempt to collect herself, "Please choose Black Airlines again, come back and see us."

Turbo raised his eyebrows a little harder, in pin-prickled delight and beamed a sweet smile to Berri over his shoulder. As easily as he could, he reached over his shoulder and flipped the thick visor, of Berri's helmet, to an upright slide. Upon seeing her cute eyes, she urgently peered up to him in bewildered, shell-shocked surprise, to which Turbo finally blurt a hard laugh and grinned. With warmth, he lovingly pat Berri's arms, which were still urgently clenched about his thick torso, and with such, she finally released herself in a wary show of cheeky uncertainty. Turbo finally relaxed his positioning once Berri made her way off of the bike first, and with a grapple of the helmet off of her head, she nervously peered about Turbo's garage and felt a weird, ironic sweep of familiarity and foreignness all in one go. The sheer idea that this was practically her second home, though the new route to get to said familiar abode was wild and weird. She long blinked in cute, delirious surprise and finally caught eyes with Turbo as he stood to correction and straightened out his shirt.

"... You were my very first passenger," Turbo gently admitted with a bashful, nervous smile, "H-How did I do?"

"Oh, amazing," Berri suddenly choked with a hard giggle, Turbo sagged his shoulders in relief and beamed as Berri hurried to carry on, "A rather terrifying ride, but... You did amazing."

"Okay, good," Turbo bobbed a conclusive nod and warmly took the helmet from Berri's hands, and with such a stark transition, he did absolutely everything to cater to her. Although he typically had this tone of a mind set, he rushed to up it to one hundred levels beyond what he'd ever do. He knew he'd do and say anything to make this night-in magical and relaxing for the one woman he adored the most, and although he wasn't expecting any form of romance on this fresh and new date, he somehow hoped it'd at least earn him brownie points, somewhere along the line. Turbo rushed to open his garage's side door for her, he welcomed her into his fresh, warm abode, a point on the map he was well aware Berri desired to be the most, "We don't... Have to go that route, to get you home. I'm sure you'd rather use the teleport pad to-"

"No, no," Berri interrupted in a firm, girly show of seriousness. She whirled around and peered Turbo in the eye, in exhilarated anticipation. She cupped her hands together as Turbo jolted to a stop, alongside her sudden, surprising movement, "I-I'd... I'd love a ride back to the palace."

"Oh, for real?" Turbo pressed with a curious, widening smile. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, at himself, bobbed a nod and looked off, "I... Still... Got it."

"Oh, stop," Berri guffawed as she gently swat Turbo's chest, and with ease, she soaked into his home with grateful fervor.

She heaved a long audible sigh and sagged her shoulders, she eased into Turbo's lovely home and felt chills of nostalgia crawl up her spine. Tidier and cleaner than usual, it still radiated Turbo's familiar scent, so many months of memories here inside these walls, Berri felt her heart urgently remind her that she was home. A sweep of love rushed over her, she was well aware there was absolutely nowhere she'd rather be right now. Every single wish her heart desperately cried out on her lonely nights, inside Dig Dug, all came rushing to fruition right before. Her ears prickled to the sound of Turbo nervously clearing his throat as he made his way into his kitchen. He quickly began to pull out a few pots and pans, as well as a few ingredients out of his fridge and cabinets, though in said rush of ironic easiness, he pulled out a bottle of wine alongside two beautiful wine glasses.

"Now, I... I entirely understand that this probably won't be nearly as fancy as any date Gunner has probably taken you out on, but hear me out," Turbo started in cute, confident boyish cheekiness. Berri slowly moseyed about Turbo's home, near the edge of the kitchen and hovered in a moseying glide near the steps down into his white carpeted living room. As if shroud in enchanted light, a beam of promised center stage Turbo took, Berri narrowed her gaze and felt as if her mind had finally come circle, with this mess. She eyed Turbo's masculine figure as his hands and arms so carefully began to pour the both of them a frosty glass of wine, she bit her lip and gently hooked her hand to the guitar pick safely secured around her neck. As if lost in the whirl of it all, the already magical night she was having, she lovingly peered in Turbo's direction as he cutely continued on, "I figured, since you've been literally all over the planet, lately... The LAST thing you wanted was to be seen in public. Which, hey. Works for me."

"You're not wrong," Berri mumbled with a small smile as she began to make her way to the kitchen island Turbo was stationed at, "Yeah, I'm... I was never really wowed by Gunner's antics. I mean, don't get me wrong. I was starstruck at first, and... The food was great."

"Yeah, but I'm sure it just involved stuffy waiters and a zillion different utensils," Turbo mumbled as he carefully watched how much wine he was pouring, though he finally capped the bottle and gave Berri his whole attention, whilst they delved into a rather sensitive topic.

"It did!" Berri urged with a wide, annoyed smile as she pointed to Turbo. He bobbed a knowing nod and desperately tried not to knock too hard on Gunner, and his lifestyle. He knew that even though Gunner and Berri were broken up, he still knew he needed to do everything he could to cater to Berri, "I don't know, I think... He very much enjoyed making clear just how much money he had, especially in the beginning of our relationship."

"That's not what it's all about, y'know? Money shouldn't be the core of someone's intentions," Turbo mumbled, and although he desperately tried not to blatantly continue painting himself in a beautiful light, in hopes of winning Berri over, he gently peered down to the fuller glasses of wine and back tracked. He inhaled a deep breath and knew, full well, he deserved this. He tenderly carried on, desperate to keep humility at the forefront of his words, "I'm sure Gunner is a great guy, in other aspects, but... It seems as if he lost himself in the fame and money. Firing your whole sound crew? Letting the most beautiful woman in this whole Arcade get away like that?"

Berri raised her eyebrows in poised, delicate surprise and peered to Turbo in soft, stunned knowing. She furrowed her brows in a gentle peer of disbelief, the way Turbo gazed back to her, the warmth his whole soul radiated, she felt like the biggest idiot on the whole planet. She sagged her shoulders, looked down and sorrowfully frowned. She knew she didn't deserve any of this tender, gentlemanly treatment from such an incredible person. She knew she had strung him along for so long, getting with Gunner, right in front of the one guy she knew she absolutely needed to be with, she scoffed a silent noise of detest at herself and figured slapping Turbo across the face a million times would've sufficed just as easily, in loo of her previous actions.

Turbo patiently peered to her in a string of warmth, the mature, kissed look upon her beautiful, womanly face, he narrowed his gaze and could swear his heart was about to come flying right out of his chest. He held his breath and did everything he could to conceal every single last ounce of love he had for this rare and beautiful creature, he knew it was way too soon after her heartbreak, how difficult it was to traverse just exactly when she'd be emotionally ready for another grand adventure, he bit his lower lip, once she looked away, and urgently contemplated the evening with great scrutiny. He inhaled a shaky breath and was prepared to hand her said frosty glass of wine, though he flinched the second she huffed a breath of a sigh and looked off, deeper into Turbo's home and farther away from his line of sight.

"Dammit," Berri staggered, she looked up and began to cutely and urgently fan her face. She raised her eyebrows and, although confused for a moment, Turbo quickly gathered that she was desperately trying to keep from crying, "I'm FINE, I just... Wow, this past tour was REALLY rough and I'm trying not to be a big baby about it."

"You can cry if you want to," Turbo rushed to assure, he heaved a shaky chuckle and bobbed a nod of understanding, "A roller coaster, I'm sure. You've been through a LOT, but I'm just so grateful that Theo and Wren and Throttle were there with y-"

"There was no where I'd rather be than here, with you," Berri gently interrupted, she lulled her eyes closed, shook her head and was now entirely unsuccessful in holding back tears. With the side of her hip leaned into Turbo's counter, she heaved another shaky breath and quickly slumped her shoulders in a sag of her face into her palms. Although her hands were opened wide, they were buried inside the sleeves of Turbo's cozy, faded, white motorcycle jacket, all clad with his name and familiar red colors, "I'm the hugest idiot, Turbo, I just... Can't believe myself."

"What do you mean?" Turbo pressed sorrowfully, he did whatever he could to keep his distance for as long as he physically could, though as Berri's demeanor began to crumple with the full weight of everything her previous tour consisted of, he heaved a hot sigh through his nose and threw in the towel. With urgency greatly masked by slow, tender ease, he closed their gap, "You're not an idiot, Berri."

"Yes I am, Turbo, I just can't believe I... Fell into that trap," Berri's nasally voice mumbled, she removed her hands from her face, though wiped a few tears from her jaw. She shook her head and peered her eyes in an aimless gloss on Turbo's broad chest. He hovered two feet from her, as if to make obvious that he was here to give an embrace if that's what she would desire, though remained still in tender wondering, a patience that maybe she would be just fine on her own. Berri shook her head and finally glossed her eyes up into Turbo's, the warm house lights behind him seemingly eased a halo of a glow about him, alongside the tender embers of his once terrifying gaze. Berri lulled her eyes in a long blink of further tears, she heaved a stuffy breath from her mouth and grimaced in tears she so desperately tried to conceal, though failed. She gingerly gestured out to Turbo as her lip quivered, "I just... Can't believe I didn't fully see what was right in front of me. I wasted so much time chasing after a celebrity crush that just so happened to miraculously like me back, that... I didn't even fully see the person standing right there, in front of me, all along."

Turbo patiently listened to her words, though he could swear he was just about to go backflipping across his loft. He remained cool and was urgently silent in tender standstill, as if maybe the longer he stayed silent, maybe the more information Berri would reveal; clearly stuffed, deep problems that she was desperate to get off of her chest. Turbo felt his heart break, however, the second Berri grimaced a tighter look of anguish and hiccuped a small, still exhausted cry. It was here did Turbo finally notice the ever-growing circuit lines that began to crown her temples in angry stress. She shook her head and peered her aimless, teary gaze into Turbo's chest as her nasally, sweet, gentle voice carried on in hot regret.

"I wasted so much time, Turbo, so much time...!" Berri's crackly, gentle voice so desperately pled, and it was here did Turbo scoff a cute laugh and finally encourage Berri's figure into an embrace.

"Baby, no time has been wasted," Turbo mumbled with a soft few chuckles as he easily sagged his strong arms about Berri's cute, trembling shoulders. She did everything she could to bury her face into Turbo's comfortable chest, she let out a few more quiet cries of grief and relief, she finally slid her arms tight about Turbo's chest cavity and kept him gripped to her in sweet desperation, as if this hug was now due to lasting for quite a long time. Turbo heaved a long, hard sigh as he tucked his chin securely to the top of her head, and with as much tender loving care in the world, he lulled his eyes closed, smiled in great warmth and began to so gently sway Berri from side to side, just barely. He inhaled a deep breath, and with the expansion of his broad chest, Berri nuzzled just a little deeper into his addicting, comforting presence and scent, "Quite the contrary... I mean, I'm here, and... You're here. We're with each other now. Isn't that all that matters?"

Berri nodded as she furrowed her eyebrows in bittersweet anguish and did her ultimate best to inhale a deep breath of relief through her nose. With said long, hot exhale through her mouth, her rigid figure finally sagged deeper into Turbo's warm, tight embrace, and with such centered solace, she finally felt her heart melt right into his, once and for all. A gentle permanence she was well aware she couldn't be pried from, this time around. She gently opened her eyes and rested her right ear right over Turbo's heart, so to listen in and be further soothed. Her gentle, teary gaze aimlessly peered out to his familiar kitchen, lit with the memory of the evening of her very first birthday, she felt her heart soar; everything in this instance felt right, and although she knew she'd be kicking herself for a very long time to come, for just how long it took to fully embrace these romantic feelings towards Turbo, she inhaled a brave breath and knew she should stick to Turbo's positive affirmations and make clear just exactly how she felt, here and now.

"Turbo?" Berri meeped in gentle, quiet question, to which Turbo raised his eyebrows in soft inquiry.

"Hmm?" His deep voice lilted, it coat the air with softness, his adam's apple gently glided up against the top of Berri's forehead, and with his eyes comfortably closed amidst their barely swaying hug, he could feel Berri's little body inhale a trembling, readied breath.

"I'm in love with you," Berri braved warmly, an almost bittersweet notion of a fragile reveal.

Turbo furrowed his eyebrows, popped his eyes open in hot, unadulterated shock and firmly peered across his beautiful home. With swaying that gently came to a halt, he froze and felt as if every single circuit in his body was now rigid in heart stopping surprise. With eyes glowing a gold as bright as the sun, his pupils dart about his home in scanning, unsure, delighted terror, as if he was entirely uncertain he'd ever hear those fragile, beautiful words come out of her mouth, and so soon, nonetheless. He assumed she'd say something a lot less heavy, something along those lines, though with something as weighted as such, he almost felt as if he didn't even deserve to be in the same room as her. Trying desperately to remain cool, he lulled his eyes closed in beaming, blushing delight and did what he could to squeeze Berri tighter into a scoop of a firm, strong, caring embrace. His deep voice so warmly shook a nervous, bashful chuckle from his chest, he could feel Berri's bashful smirk broaden into an equally as toothy grin deep into his chest, above his heart.

"Well, what a coincidence," Turbo's deep, reverberating voice eased in warm, teasing conclusion. His gentle fingers carefully began to tuck the long, beautiful blue strands of her hair behind her cute little ear, and as he nuzzled his face into the top and side of her head, he eased his finalizing words into her soul, a volleying conversation of full love he had been dreaming of for so long, now. He warmly held the back of Berri's head and lulled his eyes closed as his hot breath coat the side of her head, face and ear, "I'm in love with you, too."

Berri grinned and gripped her arms a bit tighter about Turbo's midsection, which then easily sagged to his hips. She heaved a long, audible sigh of relief and allowed her tears to sprinkle the chest of Turbo's shirt. Although a rather dangerous ploy, jumping right out of the frying pan and into the fire, she shook her head and argued with herself that this gem of a guy was worth it. Turbo heaved a gentle chuckle, with her audible noise of entire, unadulterated relief, and as Turbo grappled his arms about Berri's head, he firmly pressed a few playful, solid smooches into the top of Berri's forehead. She blurt a small, nasally giggle and finally gripped Turbo's sides with giddy fervor.

"... What now?" Berri huffed in soft laughter once Turbo finally released her head, he still hovered in their hug, he rested his hands in a gentle cup on the backs of her upper arms and looked off in teasing, boyish contemplation.

"Hmm... Welp, I was thinking maybe tonight we could go over a plan of action, when it comes to code swapping," Turbo stated in whole nonchalance, though he flinched and gave Berri a cheeky grin the second she double-took on him, furrowed her brow sharp in terrified, embarrassed confusion and finally crowned a glowing, confused, beaming smile of new nervousness.

"Whoa, w-wait... WHAT?" Berri choked a hard laugh, to which Turbo shook his head, lulled his eyes closed, smiled in softness and gently stroked Berri's upper arm with his thumb.

"I'm going to cook us a yummy meal, and you can tell me all about your next tour," Turbo assured seriously, in great warmth, to which Berri heaved a shaky sigh, bobbed a nod and eyed Turbo in bashful, curious giddiness.

"Okay, good, I can handle that," Berri choked a small laugh, and with such a sweet center-point of gained magnitude, the two finally stood on their fragile, albeit humble beginnings, once and for all.


	147. Chapter 147

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** YAY me too :D Aww, thanks. He definitely is a soft one.

 **Snake557 :** No he doesn't have it, he wouldn't fit into it anyways. He has much bigger, faster cars now :)

 **faolan1230 :** YAY Then this chapter will surely make you feel like that x10 haha. And, I won't spoil anything in that realm, but they rather quickly slope into past triggers, stuff y'all can probably already guess that Turbo is stubborn about. Gunner may have a role in it too lol.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Affection ft Jack Newsome by Said the Sky Origami**

* * *

I know this chapter is really long but I didn't have the heart to half it. I've been craving this Berbo romance for over a year now, and now that it's all finally upon us, I know I shouldn't hold back. These two are incredibly special to me, so any chapter where they have true romance, once and for all, I go all out. I hope you enjoy, you guys. This is really important to me, and really important for Turbo's character arc.

* * *

 ***Chapter 147***

Amidst a lovely dream, Berri furrowed her eyebrows and suddenly popped her blurry vision open in a heart pumping jolt of alertness. With the late springtime sunshine that glinted into her still bedroom, the sound of her ground fan hummed on high, though she furrowed her eyebrows and could hear a constant vibrating underneath her pillow, which also muffled a cute, familiar little tune. In a rush to grapple for her phone, she hurried to sit up, grabbed her vibrating phone, once and for all, and yanked it to correction. Hair a mess, bare bodied, she felt her heart begin to race in unadulterated anxiety, the idea of just who could be calling her had her in a whole panic. Any number of individuals who would urgently request her presence, yanking her from a beautiful day off, free of responsibilities, she froze in prickled delight as her eyes glossed the caller ID happily splayed across her phone; Turbo. She slumped her bare shoulders, sagged her hand into her billowy blankets and felt entire relief course her whole body. With great pleasure, she answered Turbo's call and wrinkled a sleepy smile down to her sheets.

"Hey," Berri trailed in groggy warmth.

"Hey, shit... I woke you up, didn't I," Turbo muttered softly, though Berri wrinkled her expression in curious cuteness as he could hear Turbo muttering some form of obscene annoyance to his younger brother, Lash, clearly unbubbled and ready to be a nuisance for the day.

"No, no, it's... It's okay," Berri sighed in whole relief, she eagerly sagged back to her bedding and gazed up at her beautiful bed's canopy, all sun lit and fluttering in the wind of her ground fan. She beamed a blushing, bashful smile and soaked in every single ounce of warmth Turbo's voice had to offer, "I really should get up, anyways. Bedgy messaged me last night, after you dropped me home. I guess she needs to meet with me in private, so... She'll be coming to Sugar Rush later on."

"Oh, odd," Turbo hummed, "Let me know how that goes. What do you think she wants?"

"Oh, I don't know, I don't care right now," Berri muttered, she slung her arm over her face and eyes, she sagged deeper into her bedding and beamed a sleepy smile as she dug into her billowy downs, "The only thing I care about, right now, is you."

"... Aw," Turbo mumbled sheepishly, " Well... Speaking of last night, I, uh... Well..."

"Yes?" Berri chimed in a trill of teasing knowing, though she removed her arm from her face and peered across her sunlit bedroom in dewy curiosity.

"I guess I just... Look, th-there was something I needed to tell you," Turbo eased in cute shyness, though Berri wrinkled her nose and beamed a wider smile.

"Spit it out, Casanova," Berri teasingly muttered, to which Turbo blurt a shy, shaky laugh and seemed to be becoming flustered.

"Can I just come over real quick? I'd... Rather talk to you about this in person-"

"NO!" Berri suddenly barked in terror as she yanked her blankets over her bare chest.

"NO, wow, NOT coming over, what the hell was I thinking?" Turbo firmly staggered in a spike of gentle terror, though Berri urgently shook her head and grew further flustered.

"No, no, I-I... You CAN just give me a minute, I'm naked," Berri muttered in nervous nonchalance, though she froze in now mortified shock and did whatever she could to either inhale air or get words out, though her body couldn't quite decide on just which one to do, first.

"Y-Yeah, I'm... REALLY unsure if you're testing me, or not, so I'll just come over once the coast is clear," Turbo blurt a now trembling laugh of entire, shy uncertainty; Berri grit her teeth in embarrassment and gently pounded her fist into her forehead.

"I-I just woke up, I-I didn't mean like... Wow, I'm just... Yeah," Berri huffed in nervousness, and though she urgently now began to crawl out of bed and grapple for clothes, nearby, she was surprised to hear Turbo's gentle, silent chuckle of a breath coat in courageous joy.

"... You sleep naked, Bear?" Turbo pressed in cute, nervous prodding, to which Berri felt her face nearly turn purple; she put Turbo on speaker, lofted her phone on her bed and began to urgently wrangle her legs into a pair of lazy sweats that were closest to her.

"Yeah, it's not... Really the most graceful way for you to get to know me a little deeper," Berri choked in grinning, bashful annoyance, though she was thrilled Turbo took it all in stride and breathed an easy-going laugh.

"It's okay, I sleep naked, too," Turbo mumbled, to which Berri fell to the ground mid-dressing and plopped to her rear. She froze, gazed across the room in an aimless, blushing stir of frenzied, confused emotions and allowed herself to just sit and try not to let her thoughts run away with her. Turbo eased a chuckle and nonchalantly carried on, "There. Now we're even. I actually think it's healthier to sleep naked, so... Guess we're on the right path."

"Yay, heh, do NOT go near that teleport pad," Berri snapped through the grit of her teeth, though she furiously put a t-shirt on and did everything she could to tidy her hair; she was thrilled Turbo was taking this all in stride, with the way his contagious laughter soaked their phone call.

"I will not go near that teleport pad, I promise," Turbo mumbled cheekily, though unbeknownst to Berri, he hovered in the foyer of his front door, just before his teleport pad. He breathed a small laugh and patiently waited for her approval, "Just say the word, Your Highness."

"Okay, you... You can come over, now," Berri finally grunted as she went to attempt to tidy her hair, though the second her nook of a teleport pad hummed to life, she quickly crossed her arms over her chest and bashfully peered across the way as Turbo came into existence, in her warm, sunny bedroom.

On top of the weird, shy topic they had awkwardly graced, Berri raised her eyebrows in poised surprise and watched as Turbo's lovely grey skin soaked into her bedroom, the only color missing from her chaotic explosion of a charming bedroom. Shirtless, he peered his handsome eyes in her direction, he wore nothing but his infamous, favorite pair of faded red sweats, the thick, black band of his boxer briefs could be seen peaking out of the thicker, loved rim of said sweat pants. Berri held her breath and nearly choked on her own spit, in the same instance, his becoming-sculpted body so tenderly pressed into her carpeted bedroom, though on the way to smiling into Berri's sleepy eyes, he slowed his roll and allowed his eyes to soak into the hull of Berri's personality, the beauty of her adorable bedroom, he stopped in his tracks and now curiously looked about without words.

"... You looking for something?" Berri wondered the second Turbo's gentle-natured spirit moved closer to her work desk.

A big, white, sprawling desk scattered with sheet music, her worn acoustic guitar was slumped against her desk's chair, and much to Turbo's surprise, there were a few paintings and doodles off to the side of the mess of sheet music. As Turbo's eyes curiously trailed the messy, organized chaos, he spot a few things; a hefty jar filled to the brim with very worn paint brushes, all vertically bunched together in a cute, clumsy mess. A water bowl with evaporated paint water, about an inch deep, though previously filled to the brim. A few knick-knacks from Sugar Rush's wild blue, some dainty hair accessories, scattered sticky notes and napkins all weathered with coffee rings and paint marks. Turbo softened and almost felt as if he had tread into Berri's diary, on display, though in the urge to reel away and assure himself that this all wasn't meant for him, he hovered in a bout of weirdness. He smiled down to Berri's little scribblings, and although he was sure Berri forgot that said scribbles were here, he was floored to find that she had written Turbo's name a few times, over and over, alongside some rushed doodles of dainty hearts. Turbo eased a sneaky, closed-mouth smile and warmly averted his gaze across Berri's bedroom, in her direction.

"If you were ever curious how my mind works, my desk is a very solid start into maybe ONE day understanding it all," Berri blurt a sleepy chuckle and rubbed her eye; Turbo gently to peer to her and felt continued, sweet solace in her shy presence. She held her arms rigid in a crossed, tight position over her breasts; it was clear to Turbo that she was potentially braless and likely had no clue how to navigate finally feeling entirely comfortable with Turbo, in this new aspect. He knew not to push it, he was well aware that maybe one day, they'd be beyond boundaries, though for now, he tread lightly.

"I think I've only ever been in your bedroom twice, now," Turbo huffed a deep chuckle and smiled at Berri's cute, sleepy figure; her hair was riled in deep, blue waves, a chaotic show of thickness Turbo was well aware that Berri got from both Tessa and Ralph. He eased a wider smile and began to cautiously press closer to her, he was praying that she'd let down at least one wall. Having successfully broken the barrier between just being friends, to being new lovers, Turbo knew the inner chambers of this whole mechanism held higher, tighter walls, ones that he'd have to conquer and earn in trust and valiant effort. Turbo finally glossed his eyes about Berri's sunny room, once again, "It suits you. You're adorable."

"Thanks," Berri mumbled in mild annoyance, though she gave him a cute, smug smile, knowing full well that Turbo was likely just trying to play up the wreck her bedroom was, "There's a reason you're not here often."

"Why, 'cause you think it's messy?" Turbo huffed as he sagged his masculine hands into his sweat's gaping pockets, Berri tightened the cross of her arms over her chest and scrunched her shoulders as he eased closer to her; she cocked an eyebrow and gave him a taunting smile.

"Cause you're a BOY," Berri blurt a hard giggle, to which Turbo furrowed his brow and succumbed to her playful nature, "I'm kidding, it's just... Yeah... I don't really let just any one up here."

"... Oh, really?" Turbo wondered tenderly, he now felt as if he needed to high-tail it out of here, as if to maybe consider if he was worthy, or not, "Am... Am I okay to-?"

"I wouldn't have allowed you over if I didn't want you in here, Bo," Berri mumbled, still groggy with obvious sleep deprivation. She lulled her eyes closed and, although prickly in the morning hours after lack of sleep, she still eased a gentle, closed-mouth smile and sighed through her nose, "Now, wh-what... Did you want to tell me?"

"O-Oh, right," Turbo huffed in a return of anxious nervousness. He gripped his pants, inside his sweat's pockets, and dart his eyes about in rising, stumped curiosity. He cocked an eyebrow and gave Berri a sheepish look, and although he had a rather large topic to bring about, he wondered if he should first put Berri into a better mood than what she was in now. He eased a gentle chuckle and fingered his lip in contemplation, "Let's see... Well, I wanted to ask you something when I dropped you off, last night, but since it started raining, you ran inside too quick and there was no chance for me to, well... Y'know."

"You could've come inside, I didn't know you still wanted to chat," Berri blurt a nervous giggle as Turbo seemingly stalled, she almost showed mild, cute annoyance to this, though she flinched the second Turbo snapped quietly and bobbed a nod.

"Here, this'll help. Let's recreate it, then," Turbo huffed cutely in conclusion, though Berri jolted in gentle surprise as Turbo suddenly turned around and showed Berri the broad of his bare back; likely forgetting it even existed, Berri's eyes were immediately met with the incredibly gorgeous back tattoo splayed all along his spine and shoulder blades. Berri raised her eyebrows in poised, silent surprise and eagerly ogled the amazing, intricate details that eased all around Turbo's broad, muscular back and shoulder blades, though before she could get lost in it all, Turbo gently held his hands and arms out a little, in anticipatory wait, he peered to her over his shoulder, "Okay, so... I rode you up to the palace gates, right?"

Berri froze in confusion, as to just what Turbo wanted, here, though she finally got it and heaved a small, tired giggle. She rolled her eyes, shook her head and gently unravelled her arms from the rigid positioning over her chest, and with such, she hesitated to sag her upper body into Turbo's bare back. Her face came eye level with the center of his shoulder blades, she smooshed her cheek to the center of it all and easily wrapped her arms about Turbo's bare torso. As if to pretend to be on the back of his bike, once more, Turbo cleared his throat and quietly made a cute little grumbly noise, in the back of his throat, as he began to take a few steps forward. He held his hands out a little, as if to pretend to hold onto handle bars, though he stumbled a bit as he and Berri maybe went five feet about the room and were brought back to Berri's sunny window. Berri blurt a sleepy laugh into Turbo's warm skin and hugged Turbo tight as she almost stumbled over the backs of his heels to keep up. He finally stopped before the splay of sunlight, pretended to power off the bike, and to avoid anymore pantomiming, he simply turned back around and faced Berri. She peered up to him with a new set of eyes, something Turbo was eternally grateful for; she looked a little more awake, a little more comfortable with this brand new, fragile transition, and with the potential for walls to come down, Berri didn't cross her arms, this time. Although tempting to glance down, Turbo kept his eyes strictly into Berri's.

"Okay, now what?" Berri prod tenderly, she finally felt crankiness slide away from her with the raw splay of sunlight that kissed Turbo's bare chest and face.

His typically glowing eyes were muted due to the sharp cut of sunlight on his face, leaving a very creepy, matte yellow of glassy eyes peering straight into her soul. Berri raised her eyebrows and remained stunned in his haunting eye contact, deep voids of strange, cubed, pixel pupils that typically came with a very lovely glow about it, so to give the illusion of a round, normal pupil. Berri curiously peered to his face, kissed with darker grey freckles on his nose and underneath his entirely creepy gaze, she hung on this rare creature's every single word, every single movement. She felt entranced with the way his broad chest expanded to inhale a nervous, smiling breath of readiness.

"I had a lot of fun, tonight," Turbo's deep voice so gently claimed Berri's heart, a gloss of enchantment, Berri simply melted in his gravity.

"Me too," Berri warmly agreed, she heaved a shaky breath and felt her skin wrinkle with goosebumps the second Turbo's hands warmly gripped hers; she furrowed her brow in rising, cute confusion and wondered just what this was all about.

"... Dammit, this is difficult," Turbo huffed a shaky breath, shook his head and allowed said matte, creepy gaze to gloss the shiny window a few feet behind Berri. She eased a small laugh and squeezed his hands, for it was in this raw instance did she have a huge inkling as to just what Turbo was going to ask.

"Why don't you just start with the obvious?" Berri chimed gently, though not so much in the way of telling Turbo what to say, and more in the way of potentially giving a prompt; unbeknownst to Berri, Turbo had a solid start for said prompt.

"I love you," He eased in kind warmth as he smiled into her eyes; she raised her eyebrows in bashful surprise, and although now not news to her, every single time it was said, from here on out, she wondered if it were simply whispers from a dream.

"I love you too," Berri eased confidently, her skin glowed with the splash of sunlight all over the top of her head. Her blue hair was aglow like cold fire. She smiled in wavering bashfulness, as if looking into Turbo's eyes, with said words being transferred, was foreign and surreal to such an extent that it was almost too hot to the touch.

"That's obvious," Turbo choked a contagious laugh, something Berri so easily succumbed too. She waggled her hands about, in Turbo's loving grip, and shook her head.

"Bo, I can't be THAT intimidating," Berri mumbled cutely, she tilted her head and gave Turbo the sweetest smile, brilliant blue eyes that the sunlight kissed glints of turquoise into.

"You're Sugar Rush's next Queen, yes, you're intimidating," Turbo rushed in a mumble of adamant, cute teasing. He wrinkled his nose and shook his head, "Not to mention, a celebrity. You really don't know the weight of all of this, do you."

"Clearly not, I'm half awake and I'm patiently waiting for what ever it is you're trying to ask me," Berri rushed, she sagged her shoulders and lulled her eyes closed in sleepy cuteness.

"I know this is soon. I know you just... Got out of a hard situation," Turbo started, he faltered on his words, he looked entirely shroud in rising, concealed terror as his eyes bashfully scanned Berri's shoulders and collar bone, as if her eye contact was to difficult to face, in this instance; Berri began to beam a cute, close-mouthed smile, she side-eyed Turbo in gentle understanding and let him carry on, anyways, "I.. I made a promise to myself. I promised that I wouldn't do this, or bring this upon you, but... I really just... Can't sit back and let you slip away from me, any longer. I'd be doing us a massive disservice... A-And, I know I have a lot of things to overcome, and a lot to work on, personally, but I just... I just..."

"You just... Hope that I, too, didn't make myself the same promises, you just hope that somehow me telling you, last night, that I was in love with you, wasn't all just a dream. You're hoping that my confession gives you license to pursue me, you hope that I'll say yes to becoming your girlfriend, once and for all?" Berri smartly listed, though her womanly voice coat over Turbo's shivering soul like a warm blanket.

Turbo remained frozen and was at least thrilled that she did all the leg work for him, though he somehow felt as if he should still actually ask the question. Like the beam of sunlight that cast upon them, Turbo held his breath and urgently peered down into Berri's eyes as his hands began to gently tremble. He inhaled a shaky breath and anticipated her every single word, her every move, it all hitched on this opportunity, and in the sweep of enchanting sunlight, the warmth of their aura, the gentle hum of Berri's ground fan in the background, the coziness of this sleepy morning, Turbo long blinked in sweet confirmation and sagged his shoulders alongside a trembling exhale.

"Well, it's a good thing all your hoping isn't all for naught," Berri's warm voice so gently concluded, and although Turbo still remained frozen, she could easily see the flicker of overjoyed excitement hit the glint of his yellow eyes.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Turbo's gentlemanly voice tenderly questioned, to which Berri lulled her eyes closed, grinned and bashfully nodded through her cute, messy, blue bangs.

"Yes," Berri stated, unflinchingly, and although the two hovered for a second, Berri winced in tender, delighted surprise the second Turbo carefully cupped Berri's jaws in his large, able hands and sagged into her gravity.

Berri fluttered her eyes closed as Turbo so confidently welcomed Berri into an innocent kiss, a warm, firm press of his lips to hers, she inhaled a deep breath through her nose and felt shocked by the rolling wave of romance that now flood her heart with certainty, something she had never quite felt before. A fire inside of her ignited unlike anything prior, and it was with Turbo's hot breath splayed on her face, the gentle tug Turbo's hands had on Berri's jaw and the back of her head, she felt suddenly desperate to soak into Turbo's glowing, seething warmth for the rest of eternity. A pull of gravity she felt doomed to crashing into, like craters on a lonely grey moon, she furrowed her eyebrows and felt as if she were merely drowning into the abyss of what true, genuine love actually felt like. A gift from the universe itself, she wondered if this was somehow the right time to soak into some genuine, tender loving care. As if being previously desperate to keep absolutely everyone at bay was likely not wise for her fragile, needy heart, she was floored her and Turbo were now hovering on the same page.

Although Turbo just barely tilted his head, eased off in a hover of sticky lips, he slowly dug in for seconds and kissed Berri's plump lips with adoring eagerness, something she so easily succumbed to. Although easily a slippery slope into a full make-out session, Berri inhaled a cue of a breath through her nose and placed her hands on Turbo's chest, a silent, show of an inquiry, a yellow light Turbo was very much in tune with. Turbo raised his eyebrows in gentle concern and eased his fervor. He pried his yellow eyes open and nervously peered down into Berri's fluttering gaze, he kept his hands lovingly held to Berri's face, cupped in a cute cradle of sweetness as she eased her bare hands to the hot skin on Turbo's sculpted, broad bare chest. Turbo long-blinked in cued alertness and froze, as if to potentially wonder if he had maybe done something wrong, though understood that yanking himself out of the equation could also make things worse, if that were the case. He hovered a few inches from her face and peered down to her in soft concern.

"What's wrong?" Turbo pressed, his deep voice hovered just above the hush of a whisper, his hot breath splayed her face, unabated; Berri nearly looked delightfully surprised, though a bittersweet air coat her shivering soul.

"...Y-You kissed me," Berri affirmed cutely, though still held fast to her nervous, bittersweet aura, Turbo furrowed his brow in cute obviousness and allowed his toothy smile to burst forth.

"... Of COURSE I kissed you, there's really nothing I'd rather be doing, right now," Turbo rushed quietly as he blurt a gentle laugh to Berri's warm cheeks, she relished in absolutely everything Turbo was, though she almost smiled out of sorrow as he cutely and nonchalantly carried on, "I-I wanted all of this last night but... Like I said, it was raining and I guess I just couldn't properly muster the courage to-"

"Gunner always refused to kiss me, in the morning, because of my morning breath," Berri staggered as her eyes began to become glassy, though it was in this gentle hover of fragility did Turbo's smile gently sag to that of a serious frown.

Turbo's yellow eyes peered hard into Berri's eyes in cold understanding, Berri's fragile little being stood before him, her womanly, beautiful face still cupped in his strong, able grey hands, and although Turbo did have to potentially agree that her morning breath was not the nicest thing on the planet, he felt a boiling rage begin to bubble in his heart. He remained frozen with Berri in tender contemplation, the shivering look of uncertainty on her sad little face, the glassy blue of her eyes, Turbo finally understood that this incredible little creature, hovered right in the palms of his hands, was lacking some serious loving. He wondered, now, just what other things Gunner did to potentially make her feel sad, make her feel worthless or a mild inconvenience, Turbo gently furrowed his brow and just barely shook his head down to her, though before he could potentially open his mouth and make verbally clear that, morning breath or not, she was worth kissing, he lulled his eyes closed and figured he should let his actions do the talking.

Through deep, reviving inhales of each other's lovely, or not so lovely scents, Turbo eagerly pushed his lips into Berri's and now tugged her face into his with gentle, warm fervor. He furrowed his eyebrows in a pang of now understanding said bittersweetness, radiating from Berri, though he allowed every ounce of love he had to just over fill her cup. He knew she desperately needed it, and although he didn't want to get to the root of every single little shattered area of her heart, right in this instance, he knew that, from here on out, an overflow of love was likely desired and required. Without any hesitations, without any form of disgust or any show of backing off, Turbo's strong, able arms and hands slid about Berri's middle and cradled her about her whole back, he was thrilled Berri's littler body sagged into his chest as he hovered over her in their deepening kiss, and it was here did Turbo smile on her lips; the way she finally began to come shyly crawling out of her shell proved to Turbo that Gunner's brash action, or inaction, was definitely reversible.

Berri smiled into their deepening kiss, she could feel her own heart nearly want to come climbing out of her throat, though she felt relieved that she wasn't the only one. The second her arms so warmly began to draw about Turbo's thick, strong neck, she could feel the pulse, in his jugular, throb with such a heightened intensity. Amidst tilted heads, a fragile push and pull of figuring each other out, a kiss that remained innocent and adoring, Berri felt exhaustion plague her once more, as if it were only now could she fall into a perfect slumber and awake refreshed. In the gentle segue of romance the two so easily marinated in, Turbo warmly and slowly parted their kiss, though as he barely peered down the bridge of his nose and to Berri's blushed, dewy cheeks, he saw them streamed with a few tears. He heaved a shaky breath of warm disbelief onto her face and gently slid his hands up to her jaws, once more, so he could stroke away her tears with his thumbs.

"You could have the worst morning breath on the face of this Arcade, and I'd still want to kiss you," Turbo whispered with a cute smile, he lulled his eyes closed and, although his hands so gently trembled as he held Berri's skull safely, he now felt safe to just allow these trembling, nervous emotions to be apparent. With how raw, real and upfront Berri was being with everything rested on her sleeve, Turbo knew that making absolutely clear just how heightened and nervous he was, would only bring about camaraderie.

"Thank you," Berri whimpered sweetly, she eased a shy laugh onto Turbo's jaw and cheeks, now a bit more comfortable with opening up a little and being her normal self, "You too."

"Methinks you should get some more sleep, tho, babe," Turbo pressed as they slowly began to sag out of the hover of potential kisses to be had. He eyed Berri as they gently released each other, and it was in said previous close proximity did Turbo notice the bags under her eyes, as well as the angry, stewing silver circuit marks that secretly lined her temples, "You, uh... You making any personal headway on your core coding meditations? It's been awhile since I've checked in, with you, on that."

"I don't know," Berri mumbled in sleepy embarrassment, proving to Turbo that she had been neglecting her mental health duties; Turbo crowned a wide, annoyed smile and gently took her hand in his.

"Allllright, c'mon, get back to bed," Turbo's deep voice pressed in a sweet tone of authority as he lead her back to her bed, and without question, Berri slowly crawled back in to her gorgeous, fluffy bedding all lined with huge, inviting pillows, down comforters and fleece throw blankets, all kissed with creams and peachy tones, though Turbo took note of her dark grey fitted sheet; he beamed a sneaky smile and casually tucked Berri in, knowing he probably should now see himself out. He softly eased out of her presence as she begn to firmly fluff her pillows and situate her bedding, about her. Her attention was buried into making sure her little nest was cozy enough to fall back asleep in. Turbo's bare feet slowly pressed closer to the teleportation nook in the corner of her bedroom, housed in the lovely white walls and secured in permanence, he pulled out his phone and looked at the time, "I'll call you in a few hours if you're not already awake, but... Methinks you should really catch up on sleep while you can."

"Babe?" Berri called in a spike of calm, girly sorrow, and with the switch up, Turbo halted his footwork and whirled about to catch his eyes with Berri's.

He raised his eyebrows in anticipatory wait and held his breath, though he froze at the vision before him. Sat upright in the nestle of her lovely sheets, her arm was outstretched, as if she had halted her movements in confusion as to just what Turbo was doing. Her beautiful blue hair cascaded down her t-shirt covered chest and shoulders, a messy show of gorgeous sleepiness, innocence that she radiated at all times, she sorrowfully peered in Turbo's directions and looked mildly dejected. He gingerly rested his hand to his own bare chest and faltered on a sentence that simply only escaped his mouth as a huff of hot, cute confusion. Turbo shook his head in further question and wondered now just what her desire was, he bit his lip and wondered just how many nasty land mines Gunner had unfortunately left behind. Turbo opened his mouth and knew he needed to be brave, though he also knew now that he potentially needed to heighten his intuition and prepare his heart and mind for the responsibility of having a brand new shiny girlfriend; the future Queen, no less.

"Yes?" Turbo pressed lightly and lovingly, making clear he was available, though Berri bashfully looked about her bedding with a frown and finally gave Turbo her curious, almost hesitant eye contact.

"... Can we cuddle?" Berri wondered nervously, still held in a frozen bubble of caution, something Turbo was now shocked to see from such a fiery individual.

It was here did Turbo understand that Berri had slowly and successfully let him in to an inner wall. What she typically showed on the daily was a bratty, fun loving firecracker of a woman so confidently rocketing into adulthood and then some, though something Turbo wasn't anticipating was this entirely adorable, shy and fragile gem of a woman underneath the mask of raging fire. A shivering single beam of blue light, a calm at the center of the raging storm, Turbo sagged in her beauty and now felt honored that she was fully succumbing to everything they were destined to be, and then some. How cutely she peered to him in stillness he had never seen out of her, like a clean mirror just anticipating Turbo's every single move, he rested the tenseness of his chest and shoulders and, although his heart raced with curious anticipation, he began to so softly press closer to Berri's bed, a simple bow to her every adorable plea inside their new commitment; something he was entirely certain he was really rusty at.

"By all means," Turbo quietly mumbled with a sleepy smile, himself, and as he so bravely welcomed himself into Berri's bed, he now wondered if the pounding of his heart, inside his ears, would cease any time soon, "I-I... Keep forgetting that I'm now allowed to all of this, as your new boyfriend."

"That's why I asked," Berri eased with a kind smile, her cheeks were forever kissed with a bashful blush, she continued to fluff and settle her sleeping area as Turbo's warm mass of a presence so slowly and cautiously closed in on her.

He lovingly smiled to Berri and cautiously pressed closer to her as he lifted her comfortable, billowy downs. With ease, Berri laid her fluffy hair and head deep into her pillow, gave Turbo a cute, shy, grateful smile and was unflinching about welcoming his body into her personal space. Turbo heaved a shaky breath and rested his head on her pillow, as well, they cautiously and almost clumsily tried not to get too tangled in each other's limbs, though he held his breath and was shocked with the needy assertiveness she crowned. Eager to get as comfortable as she possibly could, she snuggled deeper into Turbo's larger body, wrapped an arm about his thicker, bare middle and dared to melt her legs in a mesh between his, so to become entirely tangled, something they bashfully avoided for a few seconds. Turbo heaved an obvious, trembling breath and carefully wrapped his arms about Berri's upper back, she snuggled deep into his embrace and fluttered her eyes with relief. They remained face to face, though hovered mere inches from each other. Any shred of cuddling they had endured previously wasn't nearly so intimate, nearly so tangled or romantic, they allowed all physical walls to come down, any form of nervous, spread apart hand holding, they kept each other at, melted away.

The sunlight glinted in their direction, highlighting the cute, faint freckles on the sides of Berri's eyes, though also the faint stress marks that eased from her temples, near her eyes and into her hair line. Turbo gingerly pulled the comfortable blankets to their shoulders and nestled the two deeper into each other's warmth, and although he desperately wanted to pursue the conversation of her stress marks, he held off. Although something he now could romantically help her out with, he held off for the sheer fact that he had been harboring secretive information about said stressor marks, a hidden mark that she likely didn't know about. One that only really needed involvement inside of a code swap. Turbo felt his palms become sweaty, he desperately tried to even out his breathing, he did absolutely everything he could to remain cool, and although he was successful, he knew he should likely hold off on anything too much deeper than simply cuddling, for now. The way Berri sagged into his body, the way the hum of her ground fan so easily began to lull the two into the perfect slumber, Turbo followed Berri's idea and allowed his eyes to ease closed amidst the warm, loving sunlight. With a few final smooches of easy warmth into the bridge of Berri's cute little nose, he squeezed his brand new girlfriend deep into his chest and eased a silent promise out to the universe, before slipping into warm, easy slumber. A promise that this time, he'd give it his all, that this time, he wouldn't let this opportunity slip from his grip, no matter what.


	148. Chapter 148

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Aww I'm so glad you think so :D

 **faolan1230 :** LOL she's actually not the one to kick his ass into high gear, believe it or not haha

 **Snake557 :** Thank you so much! I'm glad, okay good haha. Phew

 **Nikki Firesong :** Aw, yay! I'm relieved you guys are enjoying it, thank goodness. And, yes! That is actually expanded on, sharp intuition :)

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **No Promises ft. Demi Lovato by Cheat Codes**

* * *

 ***Chapter 148***

As if so tenderly being released from the misty clutches of a warm, fluffy cloud, Berri furrowed her eyebrows in a ping of returning to her own body. With eyes still sleepily glued shut, she inhaled a deep breath through her nose and so tenderly went to stir in her fluffy downs. Amidst the soft readjustment of her legs, dream-like memories came rushing back to her as she could feel another pair of warm limbs entirely entangled in hers. She furrowed her brows in tender confusion, though as she opened her nearly sealed-shut eyes, she got a blurry look of her surroundings. Rested nearly on top of Turbo's body, sagged deep into his warm, broad bare chest, Berri got her bearings and quickly gathered that she was rested between his legs, her upper body almost entirely on top of his, as well. Turbo rested on his back, his head was tilted all the way back, his mouth was tenderly agape. His strong, handsome chest so evenly and deeply rose and fell with the steady inhale of his snoozing slumber, only the faintest, cutest rasp of a breath could be heard emitting from his figure. Berri froze and allowed the weight of the situation to soak into her being, she remembered everything that was now upon them, everything they had so successfully dove into, once and for all, and it was with all of these brand new lovely memories did Berri ease back down into Turbo's body.

What usually would be swiftly re-situating herself and bashfully attempting to forget this all ever happened, she allowed her limbs and body to discover Turbo's body just a little more. With shins and knees that gingerly buckled and sagged deeper into a tangled mess of sheets, sweats and skin, she beamed a sneaky smile as her feet brushed his. Her arms and hands rested tight to his strong sides, she rested her messy bed head and ear right over his heart, and as if in a girly, teenaged dream, she fluttered her eyes closed and really marinated in the rawest form of giddy love she had ever felt in her entire life. She gently opened her eyes and peered to Turbo's sculpted chest in now aimless, almost sorrowful contemplation. Her gentle touch began to so delicately map out the curves and dips of the muscles on Turbo's bare core, riddled with adorable, thick little black hairs that grew into a bit of a thicker patch around and below his belly button. She felt her face get hot as she shut her eyes and reacted on a reflex to shove any further thoughts away, though as she cautiously hovered in the raw feeling, once and for all, she finally realized that she was welcome to all of this, every single last feeling this hot, burning love consisted of.

Berri heaved a shaky breath and finally, once and for all, allowed herself to ease into foreign territory, in her mind. Forbidden topics she desperately used to shove away, for the sheer fact of being with another man, she wondered just why she never truly allowed herself to ponder her's and Turbo's potential love, and every single little act or notion it entailed. Terrified to even allow herself to trek down that path, she held her breath and finally took the mental plunge. Really feeling the solidity of Turbo's body beneath her, the sheer power his build exuded, even in such a powered down form, she heaved a shaky, sleepy breath in dreamy delight and was grateful for every single little aspect of this incredible creature she now could entirely call hers. A weird concept she was sure would never find its way to light, she felt relieved all of this was finally real. Berri relished in his intense body heat, her little body rose and fell against his powerful chest, his rhythmic breathing and the lovely sound of his slow heart beat, Berri hardly noticed that the two had successfully slept the entire day away, and her once sunny bedroom was now so lovely glossed in rising twilight.

In the act of forgetting absolutely everything this day would've potentially offered, she allowed herself to get comfortable in her's and Turbo's tangle of bedding and clothes for yet another round of snoozing, peaceful hours. Fully prepared to just sleep and stay here, with the one man she truly could never get enough of, she closed her eyes tight and snuggled into Turbo's masculine, powerful figure, once and for all, a deep settle of one final stir into deeper slumber. Merely seconds into said calm stillness, Berri felt her heart jolt in rocketed anxiety the second her phone began to angrily buzz for the first time all day. With silver coding that came alive, underneath all of her secretive, hidden girly thoughts of bubbling feelings, she glitched in a rocketed frenzy of shock and flood Turbo with her raw coding. In a painful pop of opposed coding, angry red honeycombs and frozen silver circuits that collided head on, Berri jolted to a half-sit and squinted in nervous shock the second Berri's dark room suddenly splayed with the dim glow of Turbo's now awakened eyes and soul.

"I-It's just my phone," Berri muttered in now incoherent, girly terror as she remained hovered in Turbo's gravity, nearly on top of him. Turbo huffed a nervous breath of bashful inquiry, stiffened his legs in a jolt of confusion and did what he could to so tenderly grip Berri's upper arms, as if to be entirely surprised they had stirred to this sleeping position.

"Who is it?" Turbo's very deep, sleepy voice croaked to octaves far deeper than he typically sport, in a more awake state. He lulled his glowing, golden eyes shut and rubbed his forehead in sleepy cuteness as Berri fumbled to reach for her phone, tucked on the other side of her pillows and bed.

"... It's Wren," Berri sighed in relief, though without any form of thinking or planning, on her end, she answered the call and gently rested her forearm to Turbo's broad, strong chest in a leaning half-sit, "Hey, Wren."

"Hey, you, uh... Okay?" Wren blurt a chuckle, though Berri yanked her phone away and now urgently sifted through the few notifications; him Bedgy and Theo had been texting her in confusion all day long. Berri lulled her eyes closed in now anxious dread and felt terrible for allowing her and Turbo to entirely sleep the whole day way. Berri quickly brought her phone back to her ear as she could hear Wren talking, once more; Turbo propped his elbow deep into the pillow he had been resting on, in which he grunted a small, deep noise and half-sat up, with Berri, they both still remained tangled and covered deep in blankets as Wren pressed on, "We've been texting you all day. I know you wanted to literally do nothing today, but we're kind of worried about you."

"I'm sorry Wren, I'm sorry," Berri started, though Wren blurt a nervous laugh and carried on; it was clear Bedgy and Theo were with him, due to their soft conversing in the background, "Where are you?"

"We're downstairs in the kitchen, waiting for you, we said we'd be meeting at six, remember?" Wren pressed in boyish irritation, "Where are you? What have you been doing?"

"Sorry, sorry... We were just sleeping," Berri mumbled in a groggy way, though with such poor choice of words, Berri popped her eyes open in stark, terrified surprise and could feel the hot glow of Turbo's eyes do the exact same thing; cloaked in the light of Turbo's glowing eyes, Berri inhaled a shaky breath, shook her head in Turbo's direction and now began to stagger simply hot huffs of air out of her lungs in whole, revealed, discovered terror.

"... WE?" Wren stabbed curiously, Berri could hear Wren's grin from a million miles away, "Whose WE?"

Turbo cocked an eyebrow and peered to Berri in hot anticipation, for Wren's conversing could be heard, loud and clear, even if he wasn't on speaker. Berri firmly peered her eyes tight into Turbo's, in hot question. She was certain the two were going to keep their brand new relationship on the down low, for fear of the media potentially going nuts, for fear of her whole family having a hay day and bringing far more attention to the two, than wanted, though with such a stark reveal, Berri wondered if she could possibly have Wren, Theo and Bedgy just keep it quiet, for the time being. Turbo shrugged, shook his head and then finally gave Berri a hopeful smile, as if to assure her that if she spilled the beans, he'd be okay with it. Berri felt her heart thud in excited anticipation and finally stammered on more words, though Wren firmly interrupted her.

"If I come up there and find GUNNER in your bedroom, Berri, I swear to USER!" Wren shouted in whole, brotherly irritation; Theo could be heard, in the background, loudly questioning if Berri had Gunner upstairs.

"I-It's... Me and my boyfriend," Berri begged nervously, she gave Turbo a concerned smirk of uncertainty and shrugged, though she finally heaved a gentle grunt, pushed herself to a sit and, with a gentle grapple of their hands, she helped Turbo up as well.

"The only man that should be up there is Turbo," Theo barked with a sharp laugh, to which Bedgy's voice could be heard nervously inquiring about the infamous Turbo Black.

Turbo beamed a smug smile and narrowed his eyes in Berri's direction. He crossed his arms, raised his eyebrows and, held tight to his smug, sneering smile, he shook his head in Berri's direction as if to feel privileged to have someone in full agreeing to the two finally getting together.

"I-I'll be right down, my User," Berri mumbled in now sleepy, confused crankiness.

"Bring the mystery man with you," Wren stabbed in annoyance, "It BETTER be Turbo!"

Berri gently hung up on Wren, sagged her phone to her lap and now peered up into Turbo's glowing, loving, sleepy eyes in whole, terrified confusion. Turbo eased his smug smile to something far more understanding and sweet, and as he warmly ran his hands down Berri's upper arms, to her lower arms and sagged firmly into her own hands, he lulled his eyes closed, shook his head and heaved a groggy sigh out before the two.

"If we don't go down there, ALL of them are going to come up here," Turbo's deep, sleepy voice almost shook the organs in Berri's rib cage, like the bass of a speaker.

"Turbo, I... I'm really nervous," Berri staggered in poised, sudden fear, Turbo furrowed his brow and softened.

"Why? What for?" He warmly questioned, in the now dusty, turning cogs of his brain, he blinked firmly a few times and begged himself to wake up, further; he was well aware that every single moment, every issue between him and Berri, was now heightened and detrimental.

"... I just... Wanted to keep this new love, we had, to ourselves," Berri tenderly whispered, the look of sorrowful anxiousness coat her cute face, the glow of Turbo's eyes cast upon her freckles in glints of gold.

"But why?" Turbo hissed softly as he narrowed his gaze and gave her an encouraging smile, "I want to stand on mountains and scream it to the sky... I know you want that too."

"I do, I do, I just..." Berri shook her head and furrowed her brow in a spike of well-deserved fear, "If... Gunner finds out, I mean, I just... I have to do five more shows, with the guy, and I just-"

"If Gunner so much as looks at you wrong, I will be there to hand him his ass," Turbo's deep voice muttered in a rile of massively pent up protection, a shield of undying defense he had for his future Queen, he gently gripped Berri's hands, peered hard into her eyes and shook his head, "I-I don't care if it's going to take a miracle, I would cross stations to hand him his ass if he ever hurts you."

"I just... Want to keep it between Wren, Theo and Bedgy," Berri whispered nervously, "We can tell people after our tour is over. I want to end this tour as seamlessly and quietly as possible. Gunner would be so pissed at me."

"Ohh, let him try," Turbo furrowed his brow sharply and shook his head, "I won't allow it. He has absolutely no clue who he's dealing with."

"Turbo, you wouldn't harm a fly," Berri mumbled, though she somehow secretly wondered if she was underestimating him; before Turbo could firmly argue her, the two flinched in surprise the second her teleportation pad lovingly chimed a doorbell noise, a typical sound that came from the main hub, downstairs, as if to request approval to arrive into her private space. This being something Berri had to physically approve of, she heaved a hot sigh through her nose, urgently glanced to her teleportation pad and then back into Turbo's eyes in whole desperation, "Wh-what do we do?"

"We go down there," Turbo shrugged, she peered to her in soft question and shook his head, "Are you proud to be my girlfriend?"

"There's no question," Berri eased honestly, though she still looked nervous; Turbo smiled warmly into her adorable eyes.

"Then, let's go," Turbo stated simply, he shrugged once more, and with his nonchalant, intoxicating positivity, Berri long-blinked in surprise and was floored at just how easy this all actually was. With further easiness, Turbo gripped her hands and helped the two out of the clutches of her lovely, welcoming bed. He gently began to lead the two through her dim room and to her teleportation pad, and as his loving eyes kept their golden glow down to her cute figure, he smiled in further warmth, "Don't worry about what anyone thinks... And, if Gunner finds out and raises hell, then... He'll have to deal with the devil, himself."

"Not you," Berri huffed with a soft smile as their bare feet pressed into Berri's dim teleportation pad.

"I'm a game ender," Turbo muttered, he now was entirely certain Berri wholly underestimated him; somehow an endearing notion, he almost didn't want Berri to witness his full, secretive red-rage mode, "He'd find out real quick that you're not to be messed with, with me behind you."

"Thank you," Berri sighed as she lovingly pat the center of Turbo's broad, bare chest, and as the two soaked in the golden glow of the nook they stood in, due to Turbo's prominently illuminated eyes, Berri heaved a shaky sigh and began to cue up the holographic display of her intelligent teleportation pad, so to head downstairs, to their small, adoring crowd, once and for all.

* * *

 **A/N :**

 **HEY ALL! Just to let you know, come chapter 150, I'm going to be opening up a STORY WIDE sketch dump! ANYTHING from chapter 1-150! So, on the review page of chapter 150, you can let me have it. But, until then, be thinking what scenes and snippets you guys would like to see drawn! :D**


	149. Chapter 149

**Reviews :**

 **Nikki Firesong :** You hit every nail on the head, there :D There's a TON left for Berri and Turbo. A ton. I'm afraid OOTB will very quickly be as large as RO. I'm almost confident of it. Also, I appreciate it! I don't question my drive for it. I think I just press on for myself, and as much as there have been readers and reviewers over the course of the (almost) decade of this saga, that have tried to steer it in their own direction, I just keep listening to my own voice. It's really benefited me. I appreciate your love and support! Truly! THANK YOU

 **faloan1230 :** YAYAYAYYAY! And, I'm not sure what you mean by that but Lash is not currently present in these chapters xD

 **Snake557 :** It won't be! Bedgy's met Turbo prior, it's explained in this chapter :)

 **AppleHomeRepairs :** thank you so much! I'm honored.

 **Raven :** 1\. thank you so much! 2. Yes, you're not wrong. 3. I'm pretty sure that's already happened in this story, as well as RO, but that's okay! 4. I understand, there's only so much plot to dig through. 5. Chepi is not an integral part of the story anymore, nor is Ace and Libby, but rest assured, Chepi is doing just fine.

 **marinetanker97 :** Hey! Thank you so much! Much appreciated.

* * *

 ***Chapter 149***

"Please be Turbo please be Turbo," Theo muttered through the grit of his gap-toothed smile as he crossed his fingers; Bedgy gently eyed him and nervously tucked her head deep into the feathers of her wings and neck.

"I-I've never met Turbo, before," Bedgy started warily.

"I swear if Gunner comes off of this pad," Wren barked in whole irritation as he pulled away from Theo and Bedgy's presence, in their cozy tower's warmly lit kitchen. Wren clenched his fists, held them to his sides and angrily glared down the pad as he came within a few feet of it, though as it chimed the arrival of a certain two individuals, Wren deepened his glower and prepared for Gunner's presence to eke into his hot, seething wall of frustration. He inhaled a deep, readied breath, though the second the coding and small bout of blinding light, from the teleportation pad, gently eased away and revealed Turbo's and Berri's cute, sleepy faces, Wren sagged his shoulders in unadulterated surprise and urgently gestured his hands out towards the two, "Holy USER!"

"I KNEW IT!" Theo barked loudly, and before Turbo and Berri could even say anything, both Theo and Wren hooped and hollered loudly with whole entire glee. Berri blurt a hard, nervous laugh as her and Turbo almost hesitantly and shyly made their way off of the teleportation pad.

"Wowwww shirtless and all," Wren muttered with a wide smile to Turbo, he elbowed Turbo's side a few times as Turbo's much taller, bigger figure slowly pushed past Wren and eased into the well lit kitchen; something the two sleepily squinted at, "Just what were you two up to, on top of the palace world, there?"

"SLEEPING," Berri choked in mad, blushing embarrassment as she eased closer to the kitchen's bend of a counter, into Bedgy's stunned, curious presence.

"Oh, I'm so sure," Wren teased, his eyes were lit up in relieved glee, as were Theo's, and though Turbo knew their excited antics were strictly because they were entirely floored that Turbo and Berri were finally an item, Turbo shot Wren a cheeky look of challenge and was well aware he was now here to protect and preserve Berri's feelings, no matter the cost; he gently slung his larger, masculine arm over Wren's shoulders, and with a yank, he saddled Wren into a skillful headlock, causing Wren's big blue eyes to bulge in surprise.

"Listen, if Berri and I were doing something ELSE, up there, I wouldn't look so exhausted," Turbo sharply whispered through a wide smile down to the top of Wren's head, though clearly loud enough for everyone else to hear. He cocked an eyebrow and met with Wren's gaze, a brotherly show of dominance Turbo was more than willing to deploy all over Wren's hyper, bubbling personality, "Stamina is my secret weapon, 'round here, you know how long I've been at this crazy thing called life?"

"Yeah, yeah, you're an ancient relic, we get it," Wren choked a hard laugh and tried to squirm from Turbo's grip, to which he was finally freed from.

"THE ancient relic," Turbo's deeper voice pressed in mild, smiling irritation for his bumbling little brother figure, though in the end, he and Wren gave each other a firm few loving, quick pats on the back. Turbo finally smiled in Theo's and Bedgy's direction, though she nervously hovered tight to Berri's presence on the counter tops. Only standing about two to three feet tall, her little barn-owl self ruffled into her snowy grey feathers in whole nervousness, to which Turbo almost anticipated. He gently placed his hand on his bare chest and gave Bedgy a soft smile, "Hey, I'm... Turbo. We've met before, but, it was a long time ago."

"Now I-I remember, but," Bedgy started nervously, she glanced in Berri's direction, for assurance. Berri bobbed Bedgy a small nod, alongside a cute, affirming smile, as if to promise Bedgy that Turbo wouldn't bite, "If I do recall, you didn't... SAY you were Turbo."

"I introduced myself as Bo, probably," Turbo mumbled in smiling knowing, he shrugged and glanced to Wren and Theo, he still desperately tried to further wake up, "That was when Archived Chaos played in Sugar Rush."

"We never played in Sugar Rush," Berri stated with a confused, furrowed expression, though Bedgy shook her head and gestured her wing out, a little.

"Before you, Wren and Theo were a thing," Bedgy eased quietly, though she eyed Turbo in gentle curiosity, as well as Berri, "So, you two are..."

"Together?" Theo wondered in a cute, hopeful nature as he leaned his upper body and elbows to the counter's bend, he sat hovered on the opposite side of Turbo, Berri and Wren, in smiling, anticipatory wait, "Like TOGETHER-together?"

"Yes," Berri affirmed gently, though with a lilt of sweet confidence, something Turbo softly hovered in grateful hesitation, he smiled into her eyes, once they met his, and felt his coding settle in such a way that really only Berri could bring about.

"Well, maybe ACT like it?" Theo urgently gestured to the two, "Hug, or something, this is AWESOME!"

"Am I MISSING something?" Bedgy stabbed nervously, and though Berri and Turbo had taken a step towards each other, they froze in unadulterated, cold confusion as everyone dropped their joyous demeanors and now nervously peered in Bedgy's direction, uncertain of what to do or say now. She gestured her wings to Berri and Turbo, in a rile of whole bewilderment and shook her head, "I-I mean... You JUST got out of a relationship with Gunner, and now you're... Diving into another one? With someone you don't maybe know too well?"

"Oh, she doesn't know," Turbo mumbled cutely as Berri softly peered up into his eyes in dewy concern.

"No, she REALLY doesn't know," Wren muttered as he placed his hands on his hips and gave Turbo and Berri a stern look of cute authority, "Theo and I have kept our mouths SHUT on your guys' CONSTANT goo-goo eyes."

"Turbo and Berri go wayyy back," Theo assured to Bedgy, who still hovered in prickly irritation, she began to soften with everyone's assurance.

"They've been to and from for this whole year, thus far," Wren mumbled, he continued to eye the two in only playful irritation.

"I've known Turbo my entire life," Berri assured to Bedgy's warm, nervous, motherly demeanor. Her soft grey eyes glued to Berri's in thawing concern, "He's... He's my BEST friend. We've, well..."

"Been wanting this for longer than I think either of us would've lead on," Turbo mumbled bashfully as he looked down to his feet and inhaled a deep breath, "Gunner swept you away, and I just... Tried not to give up."

"I guess... I can see how that would be disheartening," Bedgy finally eased, her thorns finally faded away, "A huge celebrity comes along and suddenly Berri's just whisked about the whole of Arcade."

"Not the easiest thing to endure," Turbo sighed, he caught eyes with Berri in a rise of heart, though she peered to him in collected, sorrowful nervousness, as if she was now eager to get to the root of the many things weighing Turbo down; troubles and struggle that he likely would need some tender loving care to push through, once and for all, something she was adamant to help him through.

"Well... All I want is for you to be happy, Berri," Bedgy stated in warm nervousness as she peered into Berri's eyes, "Gunner's, just... Really hit a weird season of life. I think it's probably best that he has his alone time. He's been in a weird, angry head space, and... I-I've seen the way he treats you."

"... How does he treat her?" Turbo's deep, authoritative voice popped like a rumble of thunder over the land, something everyone suddenly sat frozen in, Turbo's golden eyes hooked tight into Bedgy's with purpose, as if he was entirely ready to go to war for Berri's fragile feelings, her tender heart underneath all that raging fire, a precious gem he was now due to diligently defend at all costs.

"Take it easy," Berri cooed to him as she finally closed the gap and gently grabbed Turbo hand, he softened and peered down to her in sorrowful question.

"No, this is a real thing, I keep getting these little snippets of conversation proving to me that that guy treated you like crap, all this time," Turbo pressed with now riling fervor, something to which Wren and Theo grit their teeth to and stole apprehensive glances towards each other, "I need you to promise me that he will leave you alone, from here on out, cause you know exactly who he'd be dealing with."

"H-he's... I don't think Gunner would dream of it," Bedgy blurt a soft, surprised laugh.

"You'd leave the game, Bo?" Wren pressed gently, his humble eyes peered to Turbo in hot question, to which Berri urgently peered up into Turbo's eyes in girly, curious plea.

"I-I... I would," Turbo staggered on his verbal promise, though he nervously peered into Berri's eyes as if to beg her to continue to be patient, "I-It'd be REALLY difficult for me, but..."

"Thank you," Berri eased in humble warmth, and though she wanted to delve deeper into said notion, something that was due to come bubbling over, she held her thoughts on the matter, for now, and softly lofted her eyes to Bedgy in mild plea, "Gunner's, well... Aside from the crap he's done and the drama we've dealt with on tour, he IS a good guy. He just... Is in a bad headspace, as of late."

"He's really shattered," Bedgy stated cautiously, she eyed Turbo in continued caution and knew to tread lightly, "I think breaking up with him, right in the middle of tour like this, was really terrible for his drive, but I understand you needing to defend and protect yourself. Like I said, I saw how tumultuous your guys' relationship was becoming. The same things happened between him and Sama. I keep telling him not to date his band members, and this is the second time he didn't listen to me."

"Sama," Theo's deep voice trailed in dreamy delight as he sagged on the counter tops, to which everyone peered to him with wide, curious smiles and small laughs of inquiry.

"Ah yeah, Teddy?" Wren prod as he crossed his arms, Theo eagerly nodded and beamed a wide smile.

"She's beautiful. I've had a crush on that woman for as long as I can even remember," Theo stated in star-struck cuteness, though everyone eased into and out of said notions due to how disconnected Sama was from Archived Chaos; let alone the fact that no one, but Bedgy, knew her.

"She was a gem," Bedgy stated in gentle sorrow as she looked down and to the side, to which Berri furrowed her brow and felt a weird switch up come about.

"... She cheated on Gunner, didn't she?" Berri wondered tenderly, though with the way Bedgy's gorgeous owl eyes hovered into the windows of Berri's soul, Berri felt her skin grow cold with realization.

"Bear, I'm not sure I should really be disclosing anything, of that nature," Bedgy stated in a soft sigh of defeated regret as she looked down and shook her head, she repositioned her taloned feet on the counter and ruffled her feathers a little as her chest expanded with a deep inhale, "It takes two to tango. Sama was fiery and fun, but... You know, first hand, just how insecure and anxious Gunner is."

"He questioned everything," Berri stated in understanding, she furrowed her brow and softly peered up to Turbo in warm inquiry as he inhaled an audible breath to chime in.

"Sounds like he hasn't had an easy go," Turbo mumbled warmly, somehow now feeling the need to somehow level with Gunner; it was here did everyone understand that Gunner likely had been given the short end of the stick, and emotional trauma was probably something that shroud him daily.

"He's been through it... I think his saving grace, here, is that you're still around," Bedgy shrugged, "Him and Sama broke up, and... I guess she just bailed out immediately. You, at least, have the integrity to finish out the tour, like a unit."

"He was pretty devastated to lose you, Bear, but," Wren shrugged and glanced in Turbo's direction, "I mean, come on. This poor guy's been wanting your hand for User knows how long now."

"It sucked to watch, we almost didn't want to hang out with you two, anymore," Theo blurt a laugh, to which Turbo bashfully smiled and peered in Berri's direction.

"I just... Have been battling with just what I need and want," Berri stated clearly as she heaved a refreshed sigh and looked down, "The beginning of mine and Gunner's relationship was fun and exciting, but... It just so quickly turned into a battle, as if I was there to steal his lime light. Turbo and I have a much deeper friendship, at the root. I think... That's something Gunner and I lacked."

"How quickly you and Gunner sort of grew apart was what shocked me," Bedgy stated with a look of humility and a bob of a nod, "I mean, him and Sama ran in circles for at least two years. They were constantly off and on until, one day..."

"It was too much, ho I know," Berri bugged her eyes and bobbed a nod, to which Turbo gently peered to her in learning, tender curiosity, he mentally took notes.

"He's very sensitive to being booted out of the band, which... Is the reason I wanted to hold this meeting," Bedgy started cautiously, to which everyone furrowed their brows in a spike of tender confusion and peered to Bedgy in anticipation.

"Wait, what... What are you getting at?" Berri wondered in prickled, scared softness, and it was in Bedgy's silence did Turbo sharply gather just the booming conversation currently pending; he raised his eyebrows, looked down to his feet and, it was here, did Turbo now begin to feel a shred of pity for Gunner.

"Y'caught yourself a sharp one, Bear," Bedgy mumbled only to Berri, though obviously loud enough for everyone to hear; she unfurled her wing and gestured to Turbo as everyone softly peered to him in curious smiles. He looked up from his feet in cute, pinpointed concern and dart his eyes between Berri and Bedgy as the wisest owl, of the group, carried on, "He's not even apart of this equation and he knows what's going on."

"From what I can gather, from what you just said..." Turbo trailed nervously, he eyed Berri in mild, almost smiling regret and shrugged, "I-I mean, Bear, that concert inside Dig Dug... You stole the audience away and took them on a wild, one minute ride they clearly never forgot."

"It's... ALL the press can talk about. I've shielded you four from the FLOOD of inquiry, from so many different media platforms," Bedgy rushed with a nervous chuckle, Berri peered to her in humble curiosity, shrugged and shook her head as Bedgy pressed on kindly, "Berri... Those people want you at the center stage, your voice sparked a fire."

"I-I can't possibly boot Gunner out of there, Bedgy," Berri rushed softly as she shook her head, "As desperately as I would want that microphone, I just... Can't do that to Gunner. I already broke the poor guy's heart, I can't just shoo him away."

"No one's asking you to do that, I just needed to come here to at least ask you to consider what the integrity of your stronghold looks like after our tour," Bedgy mumbled, she almost began to feel nervous even bringing these ideas to the table, "Berri, if you decide to abandon Archived Chaos and pursue your own situation, the team is willing to follow you to it and support you where you need it."

"What?" Berri hissed in whole joy, sorrow, confusion, she shook her head as she glossed her gaze to Wren and Theo, who eagerly peered back to her in hot surprise, as well, "Bedgy, I couldn't... Possibly..."

"You were going to anyways, Berri, this has been our issue for the last three years," Bedgy muttered, "The band has gone through more drummers and guitarists and pianists than we can even really keep up with to properly uphold the band's name..."

"It does look messy to have so many different musicians filtered in and out," Theo muttered nervously, to which Berri glossed her humbled gaze to Bedgy's in rising excitement, though it was very easily mixed with defeat.

"What... About Gunner?" Berri prod, she was glad Turbo wasn't getting up in arms, here; once someone she was committed to, once someone she felt on the same page with, she shook her head and was positive that she at least still cared about his wellbeing, "What will he do? Where will he go?"

"Berri, that boy has enough money for three of his own life times... He will be just fine," Bedgy pressed, "We have the right not to sign him back, he's the common denominator in these issues. Our ratings were tanking until you came along, we were losing sales in tickets for touring, Berri... The second you took that mic and lit the world on fire, we had venues calling US. Arcadia Station even wondered if we could add four more shows to the end of our tour, because of this."

"Did you?" Turbo pressed in smiling excitement, to which Bedgy smiled back and shook her head.

"No way, I want that fresh beginning to be reserved for Berri," Bedgy stated in a lilt of rising hope, burning excitement that came rushing back to the group, and with Wren's and Theo's grins that met with fervor that was palpable, though Berri still looked as if she was having a hard time climbing over the walls everyone easily began to burst through.

"Bedgy, I just... Really feel terrible about ditching Gunner like this," Berri worried, to which the lit fire, in the conversation, gently fizzled, once more as everyone sagged their shoulders in warm defeat.

"Babe, he's... He's been getting into a lot of hot water, lately, he's really struggling with a lot," Bedgy worried, "Honestly, I know he's amazing at singing, and getting his talent out there has benefitted him. He's lately been pretty rude to fans, and is not himself. I don't want you to take ownership of this, but dumping him has only added to it. The guy needs a hiatus, while you guys carry on."

"Who knows, maybe one day, he can circle back once he's in a better headspace," Wren encouraged gently, he almost nervously peered to Turbo in questioning, to see if he'd potentially object, though he was delightfully surprised to see Turbo bob a small nod of hesitant agreeing.

"And you two can SHARE the mic," Turbo muttered as he sternly eyed Bedgy, simply as if to make clear, to the one being in this group that didn't know him well enough, that Turbo meant business, here.

"I think that's fair," Berri nodded with a shrug, she shook her head and lulled her eyes closed, "I can't believe I'd be able to finally sing... What a dream."

"The Arcade wants it, desperately," Bedgy blurt a small laugh, "You guys see what happens when you guys jump on stage."

"Berri, Berri, Berri," Wren mocked in a hiss of pretending to yell in chant, though he gave Berri a kind smile and bobbed her a nod as everyone warmly laughed in her direction, "Bedgy's telling the truth... You really carried that mishap, you carried the rest of the song beautifully."

"You were amazing," Turbo encouraged, "That role was meant for you, I always told you."

"Thank you," Berri sighed with a small smile, though Bedgy gave her a nervous look of a grimace and shrugged.

"Unfortunately... We have to break this news, to Gunner, tomorrow morning," Bedgy finally revealed, to which the whole group went quiet; after ten seconds, Turbo finally was the one to blow a soft raspberry and trail it with a nervous chuckle of stifled terror.

"Wow," Turbo huffed with a sheepish look of continued apprehension, to which Berri went bug-eyed and shook her head.

"H-How the HELL are we supposed to do that?" Berri worried sadly, "Sorry, Gun, y'gotta go, the press is starting to not really agree with you being at the center."

"Berri, he's going to be relieved," Bedgy assured tenderly, "He told me, earlier today, that he wished he could eventually take time for himself, to make his own music and shell away from touring or creating with other bandmates. If we give him this hiatus, this mental health break, I don't think he's going to argue."

"You really don't think?" Berri worried tenderly, to which Bedgy shrugged a little.

"I'm sure it might sting if he figures that we're sort of moving on without him, for the time being, but..." Bedgy sighed and looked off in clarity, "He's going to benefit from some alone time, and I think he's realizing that. You've realized you deserve better, you've found it, you're on your way to powering on to better, bigger things."

"You've already trail-blazed your way to what you feel you deserve, anyways," Theo shrugged, he smiled and gently gestured in Turbo's direction, "I think we just need to be straight forward and honest with Gunner, close the book on this season of life. We can all relax after tour, and us three can quickly pick back up afterwards while he takes time to figure himself out."

"Who knows what the future holds, but for now," Bedgy gingerly rested her wing to Berri's little shoulder and was able to garner her whole attention, "The Arcade wants Berri Schweetz Kalivar on that mic. We can't ignore them any longer. We'll finish this tour holding fast to each other, and break peacefully afterwards. Gunner deserves a break, he's been doing this for so many years straight, without a break, he's beyond the stages of a full burn-out."

"Welp... Tomorrow's going to be fun," Wren muttered, to which everyone eased into nervous chuckling.

"Yeah, considering I slept the day away, I'm not going to be able to go to sleep tonight," Berri rushed in anxiousness, "I'll pull an all-nighter and, by the time the meeting with Gunner comes, I'll be falling asleep on all you guys. Great."

"You'll be okay," Turbo assured to her warmly, to which he finally held onto her upper arm and pulled her closer to his body, slowly. Following his lead, she finally sagged into his embrace and bashfully tucked her face into the broad of his bare chest, in front of everyone, to which they loudly cooed obnoxiously little lovely comments towards the two.

"Ugh, finally, we've been wanting this for forever now," Theo rushed as he urgently gestured to the two, in which Wren bobbed a nod; Bedgy curiously looked on, though she smiled and finally observed just how excited everyone was for Turbo and Berri to be an item, she eased up a bit and lovingly peered in Turbo's and Berri's direction.

"Don't you two break up, now," Wren shuttered at the thought, "I-I don't think the Arcade could handle all the sad songs that followed."

"Ohhh you're dating a musician, now, dude," Theo muttered with a wide, cheeky grin, "She's gunna write secret songs about you."

"Well, two can play at that game, cause I'm ALSO a musician," Turbo retort proudly as he lovingly wrapped his arms about Berri's head and shoulders, though as he went to press a few kisses into the top of Berri's soft forehead, Bedgy double-took on Turbo and gave him an excited, bewildered look.

"W-wait, you play?" Bedgy pressed in now rising fervor, to which Turbo almost bashful regret revealing.

"Y-Yeah, guitar," Turbo staggered with a sheepish smile as everyone now eagerly laid eyes to him in shock, "I also... Sing."

"SINCE WHEN?" Wren shrieked, everyone howled with laughter, though Berri only sneakily giggled into Turbo's chest and hugged him tighter.

"You just opened a can of worms, babe," Berri muttered with a grin, "You know they won't leave you alone, now."


	150. Chapter 150

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** YAY :D

 **Nikki Firesong :** Aww, yay! I'm so glad you feel that way. Yes, OOTB definitely has a lot more inside of it. I'd say we're about half way through the story. This story has about 3 climaxes. I'm excited :D We're upon our first climax, within the next maybe, idk... 20 chapters? It's comin'. And yes, as for Gunner, I tried to make his character as raw as possible. I'm absolutely positive musicians deal with all sorts of mental downfalls, especially if they're insecure or have other things really going on behind the scenes. I tried to put myself in that headspace and I'm glad it's playing out.

 **faolan1230 :** Thank you! And no, it's not Lash. Well... Lemme rephrase, Lash isn't the driving force, but he's present in the situation. It's someone you probably would expect lol. Also, no. I will not be touching on Minty or Swizzle, unless I feel lead. I don't plan for the smaller couples in my stories. I have ONE main couple I drive home, and whatever couples trickle along the way, well then so be it. Some have larger roles, others don't. Swizzle and Minty, no, not so much. I haven't spoken about them in nearly 100 chapters. The Users are a tiny bit more prominent, and Ace and Libby have roles coming up, here, but no, none of them are my focal any longer. I go wherever my heart feels lead - I can't predict it, and I can't explain it. I also am at the end of my rope justifying it xD Just know that I care about each and every one of my characters. Just some I focus on and care about a bit harder.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Worse Things Than Love ft. Natalie La Rose by Timeflies**

* * *

 ***Chapter 150***

With confidence that seemingly melted right from the edges of his broad shoulders, Turbo strolled down the familiar, loved sidewalk to his favorite destination. The first place, in this entire city, outside of palace dwellers, that became his fast friends, Sugarbucks stood proud in the early morning sun. It's massive sprawl of glistening windows glinted against said splay of sunlight, its massive green umbrellas already shaded a few early birds that cozily sat in the lovely, late spring weather, they sipped on their coffees and read the daily newspaper. Turbo inhaled a deep breath, removed his sunglasses, tucked them into the gape of the chest of his cream, short sleeved button up and gently began to pull his phone out of his grey, lightly torn and faded motorcycle jeans. He gladly held the door open for another customer, coming into the shop, gave a warm smile, caught eyes and graciously received said individuals quiet and kind 'thank you' for the held door.

As if kissed by the sun, moon and stars themselves, Turbo inhaled a deep breath of Sugarbucks' intoxicating scent of creamy, delicious coffee that soaked his whole being. Upon coming inside, he could see the crew busy towards the end of their peak, though with the slow of customers now well on their way to work, they noticed Turbo's presence and eagerly greeted him in welcome into the building. Turbo beamed a wide smile, waved to his friends behind the bar and allowed his shoes to tap to a halt as he got in line behind the single person he let in before him. He looked down at his phone and gently began to type a cute message to Berri. The first message of the morning, he politely asked if she was awake. Knowing full well she likely had a very hard time getting to sleep, he still insisted she be left alone and to at least lay in bed and try to snooze, eventually. Feeling good about potentially being successful, he figured he'd wake up early, get ahead Berri and gift her with a strong coffee to get her through the day.

"Bo!" Bug stated with a wide, adorable toothy grin. His little ears perked high in anticipation as he quickly grappled a hot cup and began to scribble on it, "Got your regular, Americano with two pumps of white mocha, nothing more, nothing less."

"Amazing," Turbo grumbled with a gentle chuckle, though as Bug began to type said order into the computer and begin to finalize it, Turbo inhaled a trembling breath, readied himself and gave Bug a sheepish, humbled look of cute knowing, "I... I actually have another order."

"Oh, two drinks at once, I like your style," Bug choked a nervous laugh, though he went to grab another hot cup and almost nervously stopped to give Turbo an unsure smirk, "I mean... I can always just add extra espresso to your drink, Turbo, I really... Don't know if TWO whole Americanos is a good idea."

"No, no, this... Second drink isn't for me, it's for my, well... Girlfriend," Turbo stated cheekily; he knew he could just so simply place an order for Berri, and the crew wouldn't ask questions, though somehow, the confidence that radiated his whole soul, he felt as if it would likely be a disservice to his good mood if he didn't love on Berri a little, behind her back. To Turbo's delight, Bug, as well as the girl on bar closest to the two, dropped their expressions and peered to Turbo in stunned, cute surprise.

"GIRLFRIEND! Wowww," Bug eased in almost star-struck delight, he flattened his ears and side-eyed Turbo, "'Bout time this old dog learned some new tricks. So, this lucky lady, what does SHE want to drink?"

"She wants a cold brew with sweet cream and white mocha," Turbo diligently listed; although Berri usually got something a little bit less aggressive, he was well aware she'd need the caffeine to get through the day.

"Mhmm, okay, okay, got it," Bug diligently listed the drink recipe on the side of the cup, though he perked up and hovered his sharpie over the top space on the empty cup in anticipatory wait, "What's her name?"

"... Berri," Turbo blurt proudly, though as Bug wrote only the letter 'B' on the cup, he raised his eyebrows in shocked stun, peered to Turbo in a rile of hot understanding and sagged the cup to the counter.

"Y-You...!" Bug exclaimed, "Oh, WOW! You went ahead and made it official, then!"

"I had no choice," Turbo blurt a shaky laugh and beamed the widest smile, "I was going to wait, cause she just got out of a relationship, but it just kind of fell together."

"As it should," Bug beamed the widest, toothiest little grin of entire delight, as if this news made his whole day. He very sweetly wrote Berri's name at the top, and followed it with large font that read 'love, Turbo', "I couldn't be happier for you two. Congrats!"

"Thank you! Today is literally day two," Turbo choked a small laugh as he finished his transaction with Bug and gave him a knowing look.

"Wow, two day anniversary and you're getting her this yummy coffee," Bug waggled his eyebrows, "What's anniversary day THREE gunna look like?"

"Only tomorrow will tell," Turbo's deep voice coat Bug with cute tease as he playfully waggled his eyebrows and stepped out of line; Bug blurt a cute laugh as Turbo walked off, he kindly greet the customer behind Turbo as they temporarily part ways; Turbo raised his eyebrows as his phone buzzed.

 _Blue : Hardly... I'm so anxious to see Gunner, this sucks. My stress marks are going out of control._

 _Blue : I really don't know how long our meeting is going to be, but I'm assuming you're down to hang out afterwards? Wren and Theo won't shut up about you. They miss you so much. We all really do need a hang out, y'know?_

 _Black : Absolutely. I have a meeting with your dad in an hour. Do you have a second to meet with me? I just wanted to send you off._

 _Blue : Oh, sure. I just woke up, though, do you mean right this second?_

 _Black : No, not right this second. Wanna meet me at your front door in five minutes? That doable?_

 _Blue : Yeah babe I'll be there :)_

"Turbo and Berri," The one barista, near the hand out plane, kindly called; she set down both his and Berri's delicious drinks and gave Turbo a knowing wink and a smile.

"Thanks, guys!" Turbo eased in cuteness as he swiped up the drinks, plunged a straw into Berri's frosty drink and began to quickly head out the door; as everyone eagerly and kindly called their 'goodbye's' behind him, he nearly skipped out the door and wondered just what the heck was in the water, the pep in his step was springy enough to go bouncing to the moon with. He pushed into Sugar Rush's sunshine with a wide grin he couldn't wipe from his face, he could hardly wait to give Berri her little send-off.

Although she was on day two of her's and Turbo's brand new, shiny relationship, Berri heaved a long, wistful sigh and felt her heart do a bunch of giddy backflips at the idea of being able to see Turbo before she ran off to EZ Living. Although still on the high of excitement, she could feel the little embers of worry begin to spark; the idea of going on tours and leaving Turbo behind, she could feel sadness begin to knock on her door, though she viciously shoved it away. She begged for her heart to let her enjoy this sweet, well-deserved honeymoon phase, and any issues that rose later on, she'd tackle with Turbo side by side. Adamant to allow herself to enjoy everything this beautiful, golden relationship had to offer, she quickly threw on a tank top and grey, skin-tight leggings, popped into the kitchen, briefly stated her cute good morning greeting to Wren and Theo and eagerly pushed down the corridor that lead to their front door foyer. Thankful that Theo and Wren didn't follow her, she unlocked her front door and cautiously opened it as Sugar Rush's sweet, spring time breeze suddenly whisked into her lovely tower, a breeze strong enough to make the door heavy against the press of her hands.

With curious eyes, she only peeked outside and got a good look about her grassy little lot, right outside her tower, though it was just in time to see Turbo's figure casually step off the teleportation pad two dozen feet from their beautiful front patio and front door over hang. She raised her eyebrows in cute, prickled, sleepy surprise and felt her heart do an entire backflip of unadulterated glee. Turbo's extraordinarily handsome figure softly sauntered across the pathway and the palace's green grass, he finally caught eyes with her as he approached the small, few-stepped stoop up to her front door, and with the press of their gravities coming closer to each other, Berri grinned, stepped out of the front door and figured she'd attempt to meet Turbo half way. It was only once he began to cutely spring up the few steps did she notice that he was holding something behind his back, reserved in cute surprise. Berri raised her eyebrows and curiously peered to him as her bare feet stopped on the last step before the porch stepped down into the few beats into the grass.

"I can't believe I get to greet you like this, now," Turbo mumbled in a love-struck groan of delirious cuteness as he pressed up the few steps, closer to Berri's beautiful figure. He peered up to her and held his breath, the beautiful wave of her long, luscious blue hair, the hug of her tight clothes against her gorgeous, curvy figure, the dewy look of sleepiness in her eyes, he shook his head and could hardly believe this incredible being was all his.

"Greet me like what?" Berri chimed innocently as her smile gently sagged to a look of cute, girly question, though as Turbo finally reached her level and gained nearly a whole foot over her, their normal height difference, she fluttered her eyes in whole surprise with the raw fact that Turbo's continuous press, into her gravity, didn't cease at normal talking distance.

With an overflow of sunny confidence, Turbo's free hand so lovingly cupped the back and side of the right side of Berri's head and jaw, and with a sweep of tender correction, he tilted his head to her left and so easily coerced Berri into a romantic, swept up kiss. Berri raised her eyebrows in whole surprise, sagged the delicate press of her hands to Turbo's strong chest and easily inhaled a deep, long breath of want and cute, innocent desire through her nose. Turbo held her face to his and so gently tasted her lips, though his fervor held that bite of passion as he opened his mouth a little further and pressed a tiny bit deeper into their kiss. With the tilt of their heads and the gentle scrunch of their noses into each other's cheek, Berri let a shaky exhale of a girly giggle escape her chest cavity as she easily draped her arms about Turbo's thicker, strong neck and broad shoulders. Still held securely in his able left hand, to Berri's right cheek and jaw, he slowly parted their kiss in the silent smack of sticky lips and hovered over her with a honey-glow of a rosy gloss down onto her cheeks, the mood of his character easily shone through the visible mood ring that was the color of his glowing eyes.

"... Like that," Turbo's grumbly voice just barely eased above a whisper, to which they both crowned wide, toothy, dorky smiles of love-struck cuteness. Berri heaved a shaky sigh, trailed it with a still sleepy giggle and could feel herself falling even harder for this raw and romantic side of Turbo, the very idea that he had all of this inside him, all along, made Berri regret not diving into his love, head first, long ago. Turbo gingerly stroked her cheek with his thumb and, as if he couldn't resist, he leaned down once more and puckered a few more warm, firm kisses to her plump lips; he finally mumbled her a notion through the trail of their last few pushes of pecks, "I gotcha something to get you through the morning."

"Whatd'yah get me?" Berri mumbled in almost delirious, smiling delight, though she fluttered her eyes in a blinking mess of trying to gain her bearings as Turbo slowly pulled away and revealed to her the largest size of a very frosty, creamy, delicious cold brew. Berri raised her eyebrows in surprised delight, though it very quickly sagged to that of poised, bittersweet gratitude as she gave Turbo a look of unmitigated relief, "Bo, you've saved me. You've literally saved me."

"I know you can take care of yourself, but I figured I'd help you along," Turbo's gentlemanly voice pressed down to her in sweet solitude, and as she graciously received the drink and began to move the straw to her mouth, he began to back-step down the stoop he had just skipped up, not seconds prior, "Careful, I got you something stronger than what you normally get."

"Y-You did?" Berri wondered in nervous smiling, and though she didn't want to part from Turbo, just yet, she knew that she needed to get ready to go, and Turbo previously mentioned a meeting with Sugar Rush's King.

"It's a cold brew, a LOT stronger than iced coffee," Turbo called as he now began to press in the direction of the grassy sprawl of land that cut the palace lot in half; he began to back step, so to continue speaking to Berri, though he talked a bit louder, "It'll keep you going. Just text me once you're done, okay, babe?"

"I will, thank you!" Berri called as she gently waved in blushing, girly delight. She inhaled a readied breath and allowed her next statement to so oddly, yet delightfully, come flying right out of her figure, like she had been practicing for months now, "I love you!"

"I love you more," Turbo chimed with a smile, though he noticed Berri open her mouth and begin to retort, to which he firmly pointed and gave her a teasingly stern look of a challenging side-eye, "Don't argue me, missy."

Berri huffed a hard sigh through her grin and finally allowed her hand to slump to her side in defeat. She giggled and watched as Turbo gave her a loving, cute smile before turning heel and heading in the direction of the long, outdoor corridor that lead to the palace's main kitchen and West Wing. Before she could get too lost in watching him walk away, she flinched in surprise the second he looked as if to bring his hand to his mouth. Suddenly a sharp, loud call of a whistle could be heard reverberating off of the palace walls in a bounce, from leagues away, and before Berri knew it, she could hear a thunderous stagger of familiar paws come pounding from out of the enclosure, nearby. Chester, Marble and Balba eagerly stampeded in Turbo's direction, each one of them a babbling, excited mess, especially Chester. As Lickity, Boss and Royal could eventually be seen catching up with the rest of the gang, Berri raised her eyebrows in cute surprise and watched the cute, vanishing show before her.

Like puppies trailing their pack leader, all of the incredible beasts of flyers diligently kept to Turbo's heels as Turbo and Chester loudly began to bicker in a cute, brotherly way, Boss's deep bellowing voice chimed in, as well. A mess of wings, tails and limbs that hovered about Turbo's sunbeam of a confident figure, Berri side-eyed the situation and continued to hold on to a bewildered grin of whole delight. As if this label, that was finally put on the two, had given Turbo wings, Berri felt relieved that he had come flying out of his shell. She took a swig of her delicious coffee, raised her eyebrows in the kick of it, choked a small laugh and looked down at the frosty cup, though she halted in pin-prickled, cute delight. She softened in sweetness as she read the cute little message left for her on the side of her cup, she finally sagged her shoulders and looked back in the direction of Turbo's vanishing figure, among the flyers that loudly bombarded him with friendly, excited antics. She heaved a shaky breath and held the coffee closer to her chest, she felt her veins wiggle with the overflow of love Turbo had on tap, just for her. She wondered just what could possibly happen from here, if it were already this easy and amazing. In the melt of love she so easily soaked in, she almost forgot that she had any troubles outside of Sugar Rush, as if this band meeting, with Gunner, couldn't even touch her due to the amount of sunshine Turbo had just so ironically supplied her with.

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 **A/N : ALRIGHT GUYS! Chapter 150! Go ahead and submit your sketchdump ideas, can be from ANY chapter in this book! Hit me with 'em! :D**


	151. Chapter 151

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Haha true. And, there is no voting system this time around. It's a sketchdump request, so you can ask whatever you'd like.

 **BanannaSammich :** I've added your requests! Thanks so much!

 **faolan1230 :** It's all good, no worries :) I'm lad you're enjoying everything so far!

 **Nikki Firesong :** Than you so much! YAY I know I'm so glad I can finally write for them. I've added all your requests to my list! Thank you again :D

 **marinetanker97 :** I have a few pics of Gunner coming in the sketch dump :D I never really focused on him, huh. Whoops lol. Also, I finished your painting request! I posted it to my Instagram, username Vyntastic :)

 **Burgie :** That's SO sweet! And yes, your request has been added! :D

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **In Great Strides by Joris De Man The Flight**

* * *

 ***Chapter 151***

Turbo inhaled a shaky breath and, although he was entirely thrilled to have a temporary distraction of flyers to lead him to the West Wing of the castle, he was thrilled the loud, busy conversation of the flyers began to drift away in the way of cute distractions all six beasts fell into. He eventually veered his way on towards Tessa's and Zed's tower, hidden deep in the flyer's old shroud of trees, and as his boots pressed through the thicket of jungle canopies and lovely flora galore, the breeze whisked through his dusty hair in the act of pressing closer to Zed's and Tessa's little tower, a little faster. Although he played down said silly little meeting, to Berri, he began to feel his veins wiggle in fear at just how detrimental said meeting genuinely was. As Turbo eased into the small, outdoor nook of a teleportation pad, one that acted like a doorbell for Tessa's and Zed's front door of a foyer nearly seven stories above his very head, he began to feel nauseous.

Before his boots came in contact with the teleport pad, he cocked an eyebrow and peered over his shoulder in mild contemplation; it wasn't too late to turn back, now. Although suspended in mild contemplation, he gently shook his head and basically forced himself onto the teleportation pad. Within seconds, his ancient coding was sucked up into the power of the King's home, a palpable electric sting that physically reminded Turbo just who was in charge, though the second he unboggled his eyes and was greet with Zed's sweet, still disposition, Turbo sagged his shoulders with a widening smile.

"Hey, man," Zed smiled as he gave Turbo's shoulder a friendly pat, which then morphed into a brotherly grip of a handshake and brief side-hug.

"Hey, thanks for... Meeting with me," Turbo breathed kindly, though Zed immediately cued to the shy nervousness in Turbo's demeanor, the show of a dim look in his eye, Turbo inhaled a shaky breath as the two gently moseyed down the King and Queen's lovely foyer. Turbo looked cleanly dressed, smelled good, seemed intent on sneakily impressing either someone or someones. Although Zed gently eyed Turbo in curiosity, Turbo tenderly pressed on, "Sorry it's sort of short notice, but... This is important."

"Clearly, Ace just messaged me and told me him and Libby were coming, too," Zed wondered gently, and as him and Turbo eased into the sag of a few, wide steps into their lovely work den, all splayed with gorgeous floor to ceiling windows, Turbo's eyes glossed the area and caught with the Queen's figure, across the way.

"Ralph and Rancis, too," Turbo pressed with a shaky inhale, to which Zed furrowed his eyebrows in mild confusion, not as if Zed didn't want said guys at the meeting, but more so just why they were coming.

"... This meeting have anything to do with a certain blue babe?" Tessa inquired lightly, her intelligent eyes tightly hooked to Turbo's as both men neared, enough to nearly stop Turbo in his tracks.

"Yeah," Turbo eased as humbly as he could, he bobbed a nod and assessed just what Tessa was up to; although before a hefty display of code room, holographic menus and splays of work, she began to diligently sort and put everything away, so to focus her attention on the meeting at hand.

Tessa raised her eyebrows, pursed a knowing smile and looked down to just what she was doing. The coy look of cute contemplation in Tessa's eyes, snippets of Berri's own fragile, cheeky demeanor shone through beautifully in both of her parents, something that always easily had Turbo's knees buckled with humility. Turbo gently sagged his hands into his jean's front pockets and tried to remain as nonchalant and cool as he could, though before he could open his mouth and pretend to be as such, more presences made themselves known in Zed's and Tessa's lovely foyer, from across the way and up the few splays of steps. Ace and Ralph loudly bickered in a cute, boyish show of banter. With the Arcade day Sunday in full force, everyone was looking forward to a day of rest, even inside of this meeting that Turbo called.

"Hey, guys," Ace chimed happily as him, Ralph and Libby strolled in.

"Hey, Bub," Tessa smiled to her first born as she finally was able to put her work away and greet her approaching family; as everyone said their hello's and gave their warm, light hugs of greetings, Turbo held his breath and felt his stomach clench into an oblivion, especially with Libby's presence.

"This one wants to have another wrecking competition," Ralph barked in annoyance as he gestured to Ace, though as Libby strolled up, she crossed her arms and tilted her head up, as if to gesture to her own self.

"Why, so I can win again?" Libby pressed with a wide, confident smile, he adorable accent coat the air in goodness, and with such notions, Turbo raised his eyebrows in prickled surprise and felt his memories rush him, old and new.

Ace, a gentleman at his very core, kindly gave his wife a sweet smile, looked down in a bow of defeat and bobbed a nod to her, as if to prove that she could easily out-wreck every single wrecker on the lot, though strictly for the cute notion and excluding her incredible, shared User powers. Turbo watched the two carefully, he was very swiftly and painfully reminded that Libby was a glitcher, wrecker and a User due to such an amazing swap; all things Turbo could very easily gain amidst a swap with Berri, except User powers. He held his breath and peered to Libby in raw curiosity; once a being that had Turbo's careful time warping powers, and nothing more, he felt a strange sting of uncertainty cloak him. How easily he'd be indoctrinated into the fold, though proving himself worthy to such a powerful, tight-knit group had him feeling like an alien on a far away planet.

"Dude, you look like you're about to crap your own pants," Rancis suddenly muttered to Turbo's left; having snuck in, Turbo flinched in surprise and inhaled a shaky breath, alongside a chuckle.

"I-I am," Turbo beamed a bashful smile and watched as everyone continued to chatter, though it came to a gentle lull as Zed kindly diverted the group's attention to Turbo.

"Well, you called this meeting, my guy," Zed stated with easiness, a sag of warmth he put over the place, and as everyone gathered in a loose, standing circle, everyone honed their intelligent eyes tight to Turbo in readiness and smiled in warm, gooey anticipation. Zed crossed his arms as everyone got comfortable, where they were stood, he gestured out towards Turbo and showed an insane amount of respect to give Turbo the floor underneath his own roof, "What's going on?"

"How's the city?" Ralph wondered softly, everyone's patient dispositions proved to Turbo that they were fresh and ready for whatever information he was due to giving them, though with all eyes on him, he felt the glow leave his eyes immediately.

Having worked with Turbo for a length of time now, Tessa cued to the mood ring switch and was glad to catch eyes with Turbo. She softened her expression, tilted her head down in the form of a single nod of assurance and very gently gestured her hand to her own chest cavity, cueing Turbo to pay attention to her, for a moment. Tessa finally lifted her head a little and very visibly inhaled a soft, silent breath. With the expansion of her rib cage, Turbo shakily followed suit and allowed Tessa's motherly care to soak his fragile being. With such an inhale, the glow just barely came back to Turbo's eyes; he bashfully glossed the group and wondered just what kind of realm he had to be in to put himself in this detrimental of a position. Simply wanting to surround himself with the people Berri cared about the most and make sure they were all on the same page as him, he began to mildly panic and wonder if maybe this was all either too soon or unnecessary. With the fumbling press forward, he figured there was no other way to find out other than to just simply state what was on his heart and find out.

"I-I'm sorry I'm... Really nervous," Turbo's voice crackled, he cleared his throat, looked down and raised his eyebrows in prickled terror.

"Is everything okay?" Rancis pressed warily, he dart his eyes to Zed in rising concern, and while Turbo wasn't looking, Zed gently gestured his hand downward and gave Rancis a small nod, as if to assure Rancis that he had potentially predicted the topic of this meeting, and it was nothing to be concerned over.

"Everything's..." Turbo started softly, he raised his eyebrows in a sudden rush of tender easiness and sagged his shoulders. As his love for Berri hit him head on, he huffed a shaky breath, shook his head and furrowed his eyebrows amidst a nervous, bashful smile and sprawled his face, "... Great. Everything's great."

"Phew," Ralph huffed as he blew a raspberry, "Dude, you freaked me out."

"Yeah, man, I'm over here panicking," Ace blurt a small laugh, to which everyone softened and was all smiles.

"Why is everything so great?" Zed pressed knowingly as he crossed his arms and tilted his head up, "Tell us."

Turbo exhaled a trembling breath, looked down to everyone's feet in contemplation of his next move and felt his heart beat clear out of his chest. Although the words came rushing to him in flits of confused babbling, pieces of a puzzle he knew he had to somehow get out, he staggered to desperately fit the jigsaw together to be cohesive. He bit his lip and so easily did what he could to collect his scared, rushing thoughts, though it all blew away with the wind the second he looked about the group. He caught eyes with everyone, Ace, Zed, Tessa, Libby, Ralph and Rancis; all incredibly important people, not only to Berri, but to Sugar Rush. Turbo felt the sudden weight of his and Berri's brand new relationship, and although he wanted to respect Berri's wish for it all to be a secret, he knew he had to have good standing with the people above him in order for all of this to go smoothly, and as planned.

"I-I'm... Not sure if Berri told you guys, or not, but... Berri dumped Gunner," Turbo started, to which the air in the group began to shift in a gentle tilt of final understanding; Rancis easily cut the tension by knifing his hand in a quick sloping motion.

"... SWOOP," Rancis blurt in a hiss, to which everyone easily blurt out into understanding laughter; Turbo beamed a wide, bashful smile down to his feet and felt the confident glow come back to his eyes, and with Rancis's notion, Turbo barely bobbed a nod of agreeing.

"I hung out with Berri last night, and, well," Turbo knew he likely shouldn't hang on to this information any longer, especially on this note, he twiddled his fingers in nervousness and finally caught eyes with Zed and Tessa, as well as the gentle glances to everyone else. He pressed on with confidence, though he fumbled on his words in a spike of well-concealed terror, "She... She confessed her love to me."

Everyone froze in prickled, palpable, positive surprise with raised eyerbows and stolen glances. Turbo blurt a shaky, bashful chuckle and looked down to his feet in further contemplation of his next words.

"Now, I usually... Am a slow moving creature when it comes to huge decisions, especially due to how tumultuous my past was BECAUSE of fast, not thought-through decisions," Turbo rushed nervously, he gestured his hands a little and caught eyes with Zed, the most important person in this room. He heaved a shaky breath and allowed Zed's vivid blue, haunting gaze of whole authority to pierce Turbo's soul clean through, "But... I made a fast decision. One I have been thinking about and wanting for forever now."

"You swapped codes with my baby sister, didn't you," Ace stated in stern seriousness, as if he was somehow pleased and irritated about this notion, all in one go, though Turbo huffed a shaky breath and put his hands up.

"N-No, no, not at all," Turbo rushed in a now avalanche of terror that began to splay over his poor soul, and before Turbo could press on, Zed gently held his hand to Ace's broad, muscular shoulder and jostled him a little; everyone blurt into easy laughter as Ace sagged his demeanor and laid off the protective big brother, guard dog role.

"Easy, man," Zed choked a small laugh, "Even if she did, said baby sister is a whole adult and can make big decisions, like that."

"Sorry," Ace mumbled in gentle defeat, he gave Turbo an apologetic look.

"No, I... I asked her to be my girlfriend," Turbo continued, though he hovered on the notion for a second and was well aware said idea was coming, eventually, though he cocked an eyebrow and, although his eyes glossed about the room, he caught with Zed and felt as brave as he ever would, in this raw moment, "But... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about asking her to be something more than just that."

Like he assumed, everyone raised their eyebrows in prickled, cute surprise and donned elated, bewildered smiles of positivity. With gentle murmurs of surprise, stolen glances about the group, Turbo shakily carried on.

"I know it's... WAY too soon, we're literally only in day two of this ridiculously fragile situation, but," Turbo shook his head and peered about the group with raw, whole humility, "I wanted to get the approval of everyone here, important to Sugar Rush. Important to Berri... So that I can focus on bettering myself. On making mine and Berri's relationship strong."

"... It's already really strong, is it not?" Libby wondered cutely, after a few beats of silence between the group, and although Turbo assumed Libby, of all people, wouldn't have a loud opinion, he reeled in tender surprise and was very quickly wondered just why he maybe thought that. With the kind of past him and Libby had, he was almost glad Libby took a tender step into the circle and pressed closer to Turbo, "I see how you two are, around each other. You two are the best of friends. She obviously wanted YOU over a hunk of a rockstar... That's a lotta love, there, Bo."

Turbo bobbed a small nod and eagerly hooked his attention to Libby, who continued to press closer. Someone who previously knew Turbo better than anyone, he suddenly felt this rush of a craving to get Libby's whole approval, first and foremost. With Libby's tender, fragile demeanor, the fiery look of sass and strength in her blue eyes, she smiled into Turbo's trembling disposition and, within reaching him, she finally grappled his left hand in her right one and squeezed.

"This is extremely noble of you, to come before the men higher than you, like this," Libby started as she turned to face Zed, Rancis, Ace and Ralph, all eagerly watching this meeting unfold. She gently smiled into Turbo's eyes, once more, and cupped his hand in both of hers, as if to wish a healthy amount of love and good energy into his shaky soul, as if she knew he needed this boost, "Turbo, we may have had a rocky relationship, and we may have had our struggles and skeletons, but... Even with the thirty years of distance and growth, even back then, you treated me like the rarest gem on the face of this green Earth, let alone Arcade."

Turbo sagged his shoulders in gentle relief and heaved a shaky breath as he allowed his hand to be encompassed by Libby's small ones, laden with all the love in the world, she hovered near him like a guardian angel, here to help him through this scary meeting and to guide him with all the tender loving care in the world.

"I know for a fact you will treat Sugar Rush's blue princess with a world of love and care, I know it," Libby bobbed a certain nod, though she gently averted her gaze to Zed's, as if to assure him further, "I know I don't really talk about mine and Turbo's past relationship much, because, well... He's my ex-boyfriend, and it wasn't ever relevant, but..."

"It sort of is, now, as weird as that sounds," Ace mumbled with a small smile and a bob of a nod, "You used to be in Berri's shoes, to some form of an extent."

"Circumstances are different, but you do have a wealth of knowledge, here," Zed crossed his arms and eyed his surrogate daughter. He gave Turbo a cheeky smile, shrugged and finally peered his curious, prodding eyes tight to Libby's, "Since Turbo has now subjected himself for us to pass judgement on whether he'd make a good fit for Sugar Rush's hierarchy, I think I speak for everyone, here, when I say your opinion, on the matter, is likely the most important."

"Agreed," Ralph bobbed a nod, to which Rancis and Tessa caught eyes in a string of silent approval; Turbo raised his eyebrows in prickled nervousness and swallowed hard.

"For User's sake, please go easy," Turbo whispered to Libby, though playfully loud enough for everyone to hear; with success, the group gently eased into understanding laughter, and as Libby beamed Turbo a sweet smile, she shook her head and lulled her eyes closed.

"Dad, I... I unfortunately can't give you my opinion," Libby's delicate tone pressed, she peered back to Zed in bittersweet understanding, "If I were to give you an opinion based on mine and Turbo's relationship, from thirty years ago, well... I don't think you'd like it."

"Great, love this for me," Turbo mumbled, he inhaled a shaky sigh and caught eyes with everyone, he eked an air of continued playfulness, hoping it'd ease the tension, "Welp. It's been great guys. Sorry for the inconvenience."

"Stop it," Tessa blurt a laugh and gestured her hand for Libby to carry on.

"... But, if I were to give you my opinion of Turbo now, well," Libby beamed a kind smile glanced to Turbo, shrugged and gestured out to everyone else, "You guys already know. He's kind, patient, understanding..."

"Handsome," Rancis piped in a girly tone as he cupped his hands together; everyone easily began to rise in a fit of laughter, though Zed sighed with a wide smile and crossed his arms.

"Turbo, you know full well that all of us have been patiently waiting for you and Berri to figure this whole thing out," Zed chuckled, "You've already asked my permission to court the princess, and you have my answer."

"In which I'm grateful, but... This time feels different," Turbo pressed as sweetly as he could, though before he could press on, Ralph cleared his throat and gave Turbo a knowing look.

"You're in need of a ring, aren't you," Ralph's deep, gentle voice concluded; everyone fell silent and peered to Turbo in a roll of clarity.

"... I am," Turbo declared gently, to which everyone continued to sag into smiles of cute knowing, "I know it's so soon, and... I'm... Not planning on proposing to her anytime soon, but I just want that security. I want everyone here to know my intentions. I... I can't let her get away, again, it was pure torture."

"I don't know how you survived, honestly," Ace mumbled with a cute smile, to which Libby gave Turbo's hand one final squeeze and glanced back to her own husband.

"Marriage is fun, and for you, it'd come with a whole new title," Libby instructed gently as he innocently peered into Turbo's eyes, "You wouldn't be a Knight anymore. You'd be a Prince."

"You all suck," Rancis choked in a mutter, to which everyone burst into understanding laughter towards Sugar Rush's first, noble Knight; Ralph beamed him a brotherly smile and yanked him into a side hug amidst his massive wrecking arm.

"This is really soon, and really fresh," Zed started sweetly in a lilt of caution, "You know that poor girl is going to want you to go to her concerts... She's going to want to see Arcade with you. You have a WORLD of comfort zones to step out of before that Queen, in her own right, will allow you to put a ring on her finger."

"Yes, sir," Turbo huffed with a tremble in the back of his throat; the idea of leaving Sugar Rush terrified him, though the fact that there were now witnesses to attest that he was up for it had his head swimming.

"You both have done a very fair amount of growing up, without each other," Zed warmly concluded with a small nod, "I think now is a great time to do another solid fair amount of growing WITH each other. Wherever that may be."

"You will survive, I PROMISE," Libby firmly encouraged with a hard giggle as she gave Turbo's hand one last jostle, and with such, Turbo blurt shaky laugh and bobbed a nod.

"So, you want to join the ranks, you want to dive into the wonderful world of Sugar Rush because, clearly, the women are irresistible," Ralph muttered in gentle irritation, he shot his son-in-law a dull look of pure playfulness, to which Zed crowned the widest, cheekiest smile whilst yanking Tessa into a loving, firm side hug. Everyone blurt out into laughter, to which Turbo shakily joined, though he flinched in rising fear as Ralph dared to break from his end of the circle and honed in tight to Turbo's demeanor, which trembled but held fast to his stance, "As Sugar Rush's very first King, excluding King Candy's tirade of pink-walled nonsense..."

"Salmon," Turbo muttered through his teeth, a huff of a breath that ended with a small chuckle, something he heard for years, from his younger brother.

"You will have to go through me, if you want to put a ring on Sugar Rush's princess's finger," Ralph listed diligently as he came within feet of Turbo, put his hands on his hips and gave Turbo a kind smile, though it held an air of challenge, "And, per tradition, that ring has to be earned from the one candy cane tree that started this nonsense."

"Cross-stripe," Zed hissed with a smile as he gently jostled Tessa's left hand about a little, easily showing her beautiful wedding and engagement ring, the swirls of creams, reds, oranges and teals all clad together gorgeously.

"When are you going to propose?" Rancis wondered as he crossed his arms and peered to Turbo in kind expectancy, though Turbo felt all the air in his chest cavity vacate, he could swear his vision was about to fish-eye.

"I-I... I haven't thought on it, yet," Turbo staggered nervously, "I just wanted to gain approval so that I can begin planning, but... I-I want to court Berri for a little while before, well... Wow..."

"Yeah, that's a lot to swallow, you said today is day TWO?" Ace blurt as he tilted his head in cute curiosity, to which Turbo now sank his shaking hands into his jeans.

"Dayyyy two," Turbo eased shakily with a nervous smile, though he flinched as Ralph gently rested his larger hand on Turbo's shoulder and steadied his world, once and for all.

"Noble of you, to rally us around," Ralph's caring voice pressed with a small smile, though he still held an authoritative air and continued on, "Methinks you, Zed and I should have a proper chat sometime soon, 'round the ol' cross-striped tree. Get to the root of this all."

"No pun intended," Turbo cheesed, hoping to cut the tension; he was glad it at least got dorky smiles out of Zed, Libby and Ace.

"Gotta shake you up and put you in the hot seat," Ralph teased as he jostled Turbo's shoulder, and although everyone in the group laughed and had a kind, good air about themselves, Turbo grit his teeth and was well aware there was a lot of truth and honest intentions in Ralph's playful statement.

"No matter what... It'll be great to have you a part of the family," Tessa chimed cutely, she finally unglued herself from Zed's loving grip and came into Turbo's bubble. Turbo raised his eyebrows and gently peered down into the Queen's eyes. Although a little bit shorter than Berri, her hazel eyes still held the same intensity of charm and fire that Berri's did. Tessa gently gripped Turbo's upper arm, in a loving squeeze, and shook her head in mild impatience, "It's about time that poor girl had a heart to heart with you, once and for all. She's been on about you for... Well..."

"User, since before she turned one, you remember that evening she bumped into Turbo, when we were all playing hide and seek in the palace? Like... LITERALLY bumped into him?" Zed choked as he gestured to Turbo and caught eyes with Tessa.

"Oh yeah, I heard all about that," Rancis choked a small laugh and crossed his arms, everyone began to cutely chime in their thoughts.

"W-wait, you did?" Turbo bashfully wondered as he looked about the group in prickled embarrassment.

"Hooo yeah," Zed grumbled, he shook his head and laughed, "Poor girl wouldn't quit talking about you. Pretty sure she just showed up to your door, unannounced finally."

"I demand answers!" Tessa stomped her foot quietly and blurt a giggle, to which Turbo huffed a soft, airy laugh, looked down to his feet and gently pulled out his car keys; the small guitar pick he had cutely fashioned as a key chain, he furrowed his eyebrows in warm nostalgia and felt his heart swell in adoring anticipation.

"Here and now," Turbo eased quietly, and although the group hovered in the sweetness, Turbo inhaled a deep breath and gently peered into Ralph's eyes with warm confidence, "Just name a time and place to grill the crap out of me. I'll do whatever it takes to have that incredible woman by my side."

"Good man," Ralph grumbled with a smile as he gestured a finger in Turbo's direction, the group was alive with the hot topic, "How's next Sunday?"

"... N-Next week?" Turbo tried not to look too deflated, though he held his breath and was well aware Ralph knew just what he was doing, here; playing with his food before he devoured.

"Yeah, gives you a week to... Prepare," Ralph shrugged with a cheeky smile, to which Rancis and Zed bugged their eyes and subtly peered to each other, both knowing just how protective Ralph was of the women in his brood.

"Yes, sir," Turbo's voice audibly shook; somehow he glanced to Zed for a shred of help, and though Zed gave him a meek smile, he was well aware both men would likely be prepared with hard questions for Turbo's dusty, fragile old soul.


	152. Chapter 152

**Reviews :**

 **faloan1230 :** AMAZING.

 **Nikki Firesong :** LMAO SWOOP. I adore Rancis. And, THANK YOU! I'm glad you feel that way :)

 **Snake557 :** Oh sure! I can add both of your ideas to the pile :D I'm half way done with the sketch dump, I can't wait to upload it for all you guys to see!

 **Burgie :** Yes indeed xD That's gunna take him nearly getting thrown off of his tower LMAO.

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Capsize by FRENSHIP Emily Warren**

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 ***Chapter 152***

Trying to hide the peppy skip in her step, the caffeinated rush of goodness Turbo had so kindly provided her, Berri did everything she could to calmly stroll into Gunner's glorious, lovely, massive home with Wren and Theo. Dressed in a cute, white sun dress, more than ready for summer to be well on its way, she eased into the foyer and began to fall into the motions of taking off her shoes. She stopped herself in the prickled, hot sensation of now not having the right, here, as Gunner's girlfriend. Although she could easily slip her shoes off and just remain comfortable, she bit her lip as Theo and Wren tenderly pressed on in quietness. Frozen in hot contemplation, she inhaled a shaky breath and looked down at her now half empty cold brew, all frosted in sweat and swirled with creamy goodness she was quickly devouring. On the side of the cup was a cute little scribble, from Bug, that read 'Berri, love Turbo'. She clenched her teeth and felt the whole weight of moving on, so quickly. The reverberating bass of terror that now plagued her, she made sure the writing, on her cup, faced her at all times.

Glossed in a wave of guilt, she felt her heart dip into dread. How easy it was to just escape into Turbo's arms and not really have to worry too heavily about feeling lonely, about heartbreak, about feeling let go of, she bit her lip and now dreaded seeing Gunner, strictly for the fact that she felt pressed to profusely apologize. The times he texted her and she either vaguely replied or flat out ignored, she swallowed hard and now felt the delicious cold brew, in her stomach, begin to taunt her in the form of nausea. As if to state that although her dewy new love and adventure with Turbo was going to be great, and just what she needed, she grit her teeth and wondered now if she should be a shoulder for Gunner. If she should assure him that she was still a friend, and that she still cared about his well being, even if they weren't dating any longer. In the sag of all three bodies into Gunner's sunny kitchen, he stood with Bedgy, and it was here did Berri do her best to get a quick, immediate reading of him in the soft moments he hadn't noticed the three, just yet.

Berri raised her eyebrows in soft surprise and was at least happy to see Gunner standing straight in confidence, he looked in good health, put together well, as if he had gotten decent sleep. Although still stepping into this, in whole apprehension, she felt her insides loosen at least a little. With her coffee tucked tight to herself, she bit her lip as the three pressed deeper into the kitchen, getting Gunner's and Bedgy's attention. Gunner raised his eyebrows in poised tenderness, though his eyes immediately hooked to Berri's. Berri almost flinched in riled surprise; with the types of begging messages Gunner had been sending her, teary emojis and notions of entire sorrow, Berri was sure Gunner would look a lot more sunken in on himself. As dewy and prepped as he would typically look to go on stage, he tried not to give the group too wide of a smile. Berri continued to reel in tender surprise, and although she was relieved to see Gunner bouncing back faster than she thought, she almost felt a strange sensation of deceit. She narrowed her eyes in Gunner's direction and felt a wave of uneasiness climb over her.

"Hey, guys," Gunner pressed in a deep tone of whole understanding, he heaved a hot sigh through his nose and softly eyed Bedgy, "I... I know you three came over to discuss some things with me, but... Bedgy beat you to it."

"... Oh," Berri chimed in furrowed, hot concern; Bedgy shrugged her feathers in sheepish cuteness and gave Berri a look of nervous plea.

"I figured it'd be easier to prep Gunner for this conversation, just the two of us," Bedgy warned with a tone of soft humility, she apologetically looked to Gunner, and then to Berri, "I hope that was alright... I'm aware I didn't ask."

"No, no, that's... That's fine," Berri sighed as she brushed her beautiful blue hair aside and tucked behind her ear, "I was actually really nervous for this meeting, I was dreading the topic. I don't... Want... Anyone to be upset."

"I'm not upset," Gunner sighed, he looked down to his hands and long blinked, as if he could look potentially upset and relieved, all at once, "I... I've been stuffing my needs for far too long, I think it's a good time to take some space and just rest."

"You've been going for so long, man," Wren's deep voice carefully encouraged, he shrugged and softly eyed Theo in cautiousness, however, "I mean, hey... You rest up, we'll carry on, and maybe once you feel reset and fresh for the stage, we can all reconvene, y'know?"

"I'd love that," Gunner stated in calm, rested easiness, something Berri almost began to grow suspicious of, though she smiled through her emotions.

"I'm... Shocked you're taking this SO well," Berri cutely agreed with a shrug of her shoulders, she maneuvered the conversation with the skill of an agile, glitching master.

"I guess just the security that you guys will be there, when I come back, is what really helps," Gunner eased, though he almost frowned in Berri's direction, as if he could potentially segue into a double meaning, here. He bobbed her a small nod and began to show the dregs of sorrow Berri was curious its whereabouts, "I... Have a lot of personal crap to unbury and work on. Too much to explain."

"Don't we all," Berri concluded warmly, "I just hope there are no hard feelings. We'll finish this tour with a bang, and it'll be great, y'know?"

"Yeah, we... We killed those last few shows in Dig Dug, given... The circumstances," Gunner pressed in a shaky tone as he swallowed hard and bobbed a nod, he almost nervously peered to Bedgy; she eyed him in curious softness and shifted on her talons, on Gunner's beautiful kitchen island.

"Welp... This was easy," Theo choked a hard laugh and gestured out to the group before him, and although he was well aware Gunner and Berri likely had a lot to discuss, he wondered if easing into a more normal lifestyle, with the band, would make the transition a lot less rocky. Theo shrugged and cutely looked about the group, "Y'guys wanna go get lunch, or something? Maybe discuss our next four shows and... The future of the band? It doesn't have to be a big scary conversation."

"Sure, I'd love that," Gunner nodded, he immediately peered to Berri for assurance, something she diligently and intuitively took note of.

Although experts at navigating paparazzi, the band cautiously made their way into the public eye, certain the crowds would go nuts and beg for autographs and the like. True to routine, the four diligently loved on adoring fans, did everything they could to stay within the confines of their team's security, all while desperately doing everything they could to understand that this would very shortly not be their reality any longer. Berri did everything she could to stay out of reach of Gunner, however difficult she found it to be. Although their break up went public, and shook the Arcade, she was at least thrilled the two could carry on as friends, which seemed to satiate fans and hardcore shippers of both of them as a couple. Although the paparazzi went nuts with hot, goading questions for the two, they skillfully dodged bullets and wormed their way through the sea of grabby hands. Much to Berri's surprise, Gunner handled it with poise and grace, like the man she wondered was underneath all that smoldering style and big talk.

After the gang ate on a private terrace at one of their favorite, luxurious restaurants, which overlooked one of EZ Living's many beaches, the gang decided to loiter on said private terrace and continue on with visiting and discussing their next tour. Although mildly dreading it, Berri could tell Wren and Theo were doing anything and everything to get her and Gunner alone in a small shred of privacy, almost as if Wren and Theo wanted Berri and Gunner to settle their differences and make the rest of this tour seamless and easy. Simply as if said shred of privacy would benefit absolutely everyone; although Berri largely dreaded it, she leaned her elbows to the railing her and Gunner stood at, a railing in which Wren and Theo were now quickly vanishing from in pretending to go off, on the other end of the terrace, to look at something Theo spotted on the water. Simply a ploy for Berri and Gunner to be left alone, and with success, Berri fluttered her eyes as her hair whisked in the ocean breeze, she sheepishly glanced to Gunner's figure and began to feel herself shrink in nervousness.

"You, uh... Excited for our next tour, then?" Gunner eased warmly, a tender friendship they were trying to relearn; Berri bobbed an eager nod.

"Castle Run? It'll be cool to see just what other castles look like, outside of Sugar Rush's palace, y'know?" Berri chimed, her eyes lit up with innocent excitement, "Wh-when was it plugged in, again?"

"A few months ago, actually," Gunner bobbed a small nod and chuckled, "The whole hierarchy there is pretty intense, I've heard. The whole castle is COVERED with gargoyles... I guess they're, like... The baddies, in the game, but are the castle's protectors otherwise."

"Oh, really?" Berri pressed gently, she desperately tried to keep a light air between the two, "Our palace doesn't have gargoyles... It'd be cool to meet some of them, you think we'd be able to?"

"I'm sure I could work my magic," Gunner's deep voice pressed in tease as he gave Berri a coy look, though he flattened his expression quick and wiped the smoldering look of whole seduction sent Berri's way. He cleared his throat and nervously looked off, "Y-Yeah, I could... Ask."

"Cool," Berri bobbed a gentle nod and felt her face heat up. As much as she wasn't attracted to Gunner, any longer, she still felt a weird pull towards him, having been involved with him for the past few months. The urge to rub his arm, to soak into his gentle hugs, she frowned and softly looked him over. There were certain aspects about him that she began to quietly miss, though as she peered out to the glistening, sunny ocean far before them, she raised her eyebrows and was very quickly reminded of just who was waiting back inside Sugar Rush for her; a man that could very easily encompass everything Gunner was made of, and then some, tenfold. She bashfully smiled down to her feet and tried to remain cool as she carried on, "I... I hope you're doing okay, Gun. I'm... I'm really sorry for how poorly I handled, well... Our break up. I could've, well... Approached you softer than what I did."

"Nah, it's... It's my fault, you reacted that way because I was making your life hard," Gunner mumbled as he heaved a shaky breath and sagged to the railing. He cocked an eyebrow and kindly gave her a loving smile, "You had to do what was best for you, I get it. I... Made an ass of myself. Who would want to be strapped to someone like that?"

"Gun, it's not like that," Berri guffawed softly, she shook her head and narrowed her eyes, "I think we just... Both want different things. I really care about you, but I have to take care of myself, too, y'know? Just because you weren't right for me doesn't mean you won't be right for someone, some day, right? I mean, can you REALLY see yourself becoming Sugar Rush's King?"

"... I could rock a crown," Gunner shrugged, to which he grinned Berri a teasing smile as she smirked and rolled her eyes, "I get you... I... Needed that kick in the pants."

"Happy to give it, my dude," Berri muttered with a cheeky side-eye, to which Gunner blurt an easy laugh and shrugged.

"You probably already have other guys pining after you, anyways, huh? Got a brand new secret boyfriend I don't know about?" Gunner wondered lightly; so lightly that Berri cocked an eyebrow and rapid-fire contemplated her next move with skill and bravery.

"... I do, actually," Berri chimed honestly, though with the way Gunner shot her an annoyed smile of disbelief, Berri stood in solidarity, understanding wholly that no matter what, Gunner would have never taken her seriously. Even inside instances of light-heartedness.

"DO you, now," Gunner muttered with an unwavering, annoyed smile, "What's this guy's name, then? Hmm?"

"You would probably know him as Turbo Black," Berri eased, she felt a weight suddenly lifted, a proud sport of her new beau, she beamed him a closed-mouth smile and shrugged as Gunner now silently peered to her in questioning contemplation. She giggled and looked off, "You asked, I answered."

"Turbo," Gunner choked an annoyed laugh, "THE Turbo, the game ender, the devil himself... Sure. You keep on... Telling yourself that THE Turbo Black is your BOYFRIEND, Berri."

"Easy," Berri snipped with a sweet, coy smile, though Gunner beamed in continued disbelief.

"Aw, Bear. I'll believe it when I see it, then, I guess," Gunner stated in calm, smiling easiness, as if he was absolutely still certain Berri was full of it, though with his notions, Berri raised her eyebrows in poised, thwarted surprise and felt her insides do a hard backflip; she knew, full well, Turbo wouldn't leave the game to simply convince Gunner that they were dating, lest the whole thing end in a firey mess of clawing dominance, heightened testosterone, a fight to the death for the princess, a battle Berri was absolutely certain of just who the victor would be.

"Maybe try holding your breath a little longer, then, I guess," Berri chalked up, though she bit her tongue and wondered just what she was even saying, here.

"I think I'm going to sell my house," Gunner changed the topic, further convincing Berri that he entirely didn't believe her, whatsoever; she was almost grateful he segued off of the topic, anyways, "I found this smaller property over on Keppel Crest. I think... I'll escape there and... Collect myself."

"That sounds like a good idea," Berri tenderly encouraged, though she raised her eyebrows in tender surprise the second Gunner warmly took her hand in his.

"Berri, please promise me something..." Gunner eased sweetly, his honey gold eyes peered into Berri's with a vast amount of sincerity, genuineness that won Berri over in the first place. She sagged her shoulders and remained hovered in Gunner's softness, she furrowed her brows and tried to show a visible amount of mental distance, however, as he pressed on, "Please promise that you'll wait for me... While I take this year to... Figure my shit out. I just can't turn back around to find you gone, I'd... Be devastated."

"Gunner, I... I JUST made clear to you that I have another priority," Berri danced about the words, she huffed them out of her mouth like a whisper, though she furrowed her eyebrows the second Gunner shut his eyes tight, shook his head and breathed a hard chuckle.

"Please, HONESTLY look me in the eye and swear, on your life, that you are Turbo Black's girlfriend," Gunner pressed sharply, a stark switch up, he blurt an incredulous chuckle and looked past Berri in a continued rile of cocky disbelief, "I feel STUPID saying it."

Berri raised her blue eyebrows in poised seriousness, softly leaned in for emphasis, firmly blinked her eyes and huffed Gunner a quiet, deathly statement of girly glee, "I swear on my life that I am Turbo Black's girlfriend."

"Alright, alright, Mrs. Berri Black, I get it," Gunner wheezed a soft laugh and shook his head, he lovingly squeezed Berri's hand and gave her and cute look of challenge, "Playing hard to get, I see, I understand. It's fine... Ill just... Touch base with you after my break, and see what other excuse you have for me then, love."

"I think it's so cute that you ACTUALLY don't believe me," Berri eased sweetly, she shook her head and was almost entirely genuine with her statements; the raw fact that she knew, deep in her heart, that she was telling the truth, she now felt entirely off the hook for the sheer fact that Gunner foolishly didn't believe her, "But, hey. That's fine. Believe what you want."

"Like I said, babe, I'll believe it when I see it," Gunner repeated; words to thwart Berri's happiness.

"... Maybe don't hold your breath," Berri muttered off to the ocean after Gunner peeled from her in coy cuteness; she glowered down the beautiful ocean waves and now felt caught between a rock and a hard place. She knew Turbo would eventually leave Sugar Rush, though there was no telling just how far he'd distance himself from said base of safety, and for just what reason. She bit her lip and knew, at least sometime in her span of a lifetime, it'd happen, though waiting for it was now digging deeper into whole agonizing isolation.


	153. Chapter 153

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Heeeheee... Y'all don't even know.

 **faolan1230 :** Yeahhhhhh trust me, it's a rude awakening for everyone involved lmao. T'is not pretty! I can hardly wait.

 **Nikki Firesong :** Yyyep, Gunner's digging himself a grave at this point. It's fine LOL. And, it's no worries! That's so sweet of you to say that. Libby could've reemed him for sure. He previously wasn't the best boyfriend ever, so it definitely was nice of Libby to go easy. Turbo gets put in the hot seat when he meets with Ralph and Zed tho so Libby's probably like ehhh... I'll go easy on you, cause you're about to feel pain shortly haha.

 **Burgie :** Yep :( Poor girl's about to hit a breaking point.

 **AppleHomeRepairs :** Nope, my husband is the only person that gets chapters before release. I write and edit this for fun. I realize I probably miss some things but I'm not pressed about it. Thank you, tho!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Riding the Wind ft. Rachel Mellis by Gareth Coker**

* * *

 ***Chapter 153***

"You think it should start in minor and then eventually draw into major tones?" Berri's voice fell short due to the sound proofing inside her own little humble studio, right inside her tower on palace grounds. Her and Turbo sat inside the dregs of this lovely, warm, rainy Sunday evening, clad in comfortable sweats and t-shirts, the both of them held fast to their favorite acoustic guitars. Berri gingerly strummed a chord and curiously peered into Turbo's glowing, expecting eye contact. He bobbed a nod and shrugged, he grunted to lean over and gently fix the capo on the neck of Berri's acoustic guitar.

"Try it in A minor first," Turbo's deep voice so quietly glossed Berri's bare arm as they sat close, though she was up on a bit of a taller stool. Berri furrowed her eyebrows and strummed the gentle, sweet few chords of the tender beginning of a song they dared to create together, "Yeah, that's perfect. That little tune intro, you start us out and I come in later. Yeah?"

"Cool... Now to add words," Berri mumbled in smiling dread, though both beings gently flinched in surprise the second the oven, from down the studio's open-aired little corridor, and across the main room of their lovely abode, began to chime in a countdown; Turbo bobbed a nod, shrugged and cutely strummed said chords they were just discussing.

" _The browwwwnies,_ " He pressed in a drawl of depth as he lulled his eyes closed and pretended to give his notion depth and heart. Berri blurt a hard laugh, to which Turbo finally beamed and eased a chuckle as well, the two quickly garnered motion and cautiously rested their guitars on their stands.

"Yay," Berri meeped as she stood and stretched her arms a bit, "I want all the corner pieces."

"... I'm sorry, what?" Turbo choked in a furrowed look of whole tease, his hard, smiling glower now dug into the top of Berri's head as she cutely scrunched her shoulders and began to tip-toe past her foe of a boyfriend. He huffed a chuckle and began to quickly keep in tow with her, though she began to nervously giggle and walk just a little faster through the studio's corridor, her bare feet slapped to the tiles underneath. Turbo waggled his finger and allowed his eyes to gloss to the opening of the other end of the corridor as they came into the lovely main room of Berri's tower, a massive room with a peaked ceiling with one half entirely glass, dim house lights that soaked the cozy furniture with love, Turbo heaved a content sigh and lulled his eyes closed in the revisit of cheeky irritation, "You are such a freak. Everyone knows the center pieces are the BEST."

"I'm wondering why you're complaining," Berri mumbled in cheeky cuteness, though she raised her eyebrows in sweet surprise the second she saw Theo's taller figure recoil from a hunched position inside of the opened fridge. He raised his eyebrows in curiousness as Berri came sliding into the kitchen, "THEO tell him that the corner pieces, of the brownies, are the best."

"Oh, no, the center is the best, I'm not an idiot," Theo uttered with clear certainty as he shut the fridge and laid a hand to his chest, to which Turbo narrowed his eyes and warmly eased into Theo's bigger presence. With emphasis, Turbo lovingly hovered his hand to the back of Theo's shoulder and gave him a brotherly jostle.

"Thank. You." Turbo huffed quietly to which Theo and Turbo now diverted their cute attention to their princess; Berri largely rolled her eyes, grabbed an oven mit and began to open the oven in preparation to take out the delicious cinnamon sugar brownies her and Turbo prepared.

"Whatever, more for me," Berri muttered, to which Theo shrugged and looked off.

"Look, the center is gooey and delicious and soft," Turbo pressed with fervor as he sagged into Berri's presence, and although he lovingly rested his hand to Berri's lower back and pointed down into the steamy tray of unimaginably delicious brownies, Berri froze and peered hard into the tray, where Turbo's finger was pointing, "You REALLY would choose the crusty edges over the gooey center?"

"Yes! It's the perfect mixture of chewy and gooey, c'mon," Berri argued with a small giggle, "I really don't know why you're trying to change my mind. In my opinion, you should be GRATEFUL you chose me as your girlfriend, because now... We won't ever fight about who gets the center pieces, or who gets the edges."

Theo raised his eyebrows and softly began to step away in cute defeat, to which Turbo's soft, prickled silence spoke a million words. Berri's adorable little face peered up into Turbo's glowing orbs with victory, to which she scrunched her shoulders, huffed a girly giggle and began to carefully cut the brownies into smaller squares, so they could pick on it for the rest of the night. Turbo bobbed a small nod, shrugged and watched as Berri skillfully sliced the mass of brownies into easy bites, he finally rolled his eyes, lulled them shut and crowned a loving, defeated smile.

"Yeah, she won," Theo mumbled in cute irritation, to which Turbo inhaled a long, deep breath through his nose.

"I chose well," Turbo mumbled warmly as he leaned into Berri for a small side hug, as she continued to cut, he exhaled said breath into the top of her head as he planted a few kisses into the side of her head and lovely smelling, clean, blue hair.

Berri smiled down into her chore and muscled her way through cutting the brownies, though she felt her face get hot at the feel of Turbo's broad, masculine hand lovingly gripped in the small of her back. Relishing in the feel of his fingertips on her body, she inhaled a huff of a breath as his touch soon lifted and was gone. She bit her lip in what looked to be concentration, though she felt as if ever since her and Turbo had gotten together, he had been easing just enough physical contact her way to just barely satiate her. In these fleeting moments of being in public, or not necessarily being alone, she understood the notion, though, outside of their lounging nap taken the day prior, she felt as if she was teasingly fighting to ease deeper into his touch, for longer. As if he had set this upon her, to crave his skin, to constantly be on the lookout, a mature approach at delving into the stickier, more intimate aspects of their romance. Turbo kindly struck up a conversation with Theo, leaving Berri at the stove with her teeth nervously clenched in secretive plotting.

"So, Berri told me a little bit about your guys' meeting with Gunner," Turbo started warmly as Theo eased around the bend of the counter, out of the kitchen. Theo plopped down at the cozy bench, in which lined the entirety of the slanted glass wall they were housed underneath. He rested his larger arms on the counter's bend, which connected to said long sitting area. He rolled the sleeves of his cozy, faded grey hoodie, rubbed his eye in sleepiness and bobbed a small nod, though before he could continue, Turbo sagged his hands to the counter, shifted on his feet in a lean and gave Theo a worried smile, "I guess he took it all well, but... I don't know, something inside me is certain that guy is going to snap."

"He... Has the tendency, I mean Berri can tell you all about it," Theo mumbled, though Turbo sharply furrowed his eyebrows and stabbed his eyes to the back of Berri's head; she urgently peered over her shoulder, into Theo's and Turbo's direction.

"H-He does, but more so towards staff members," Berri rushed, she could feel the heated embers of Turbo's gaze begin to threaten protective anger, "He's slow to anger at US, unless something detrimental happens, but... Man, he'll fire just about ANYONE."

"It really... Makes me wonder about Sama," Theo started carefully, he tried to seem nonchalant, though as Berri brought the tray of cut up brownies to the main bend of the island, where Turbo and Theo were positioned across from each other, Berri came to Turbo's side and offered him one of the center pieces. With a kind notion of gratitude, down to her, Berri then offered Theo a piece. The three happily munched, though Theo continued on with his mouth slightly full, "I've seen interviews with that girl... I've watched that girl play and interact with her other band members. I just... Can't imagine her doing something so heinous as to cheat on Gunner and bail out."

"You never really know someone until..." Berri trailed off and gently shrugged, though she chewed and finally peered her curious attention deep into Theo's eyes. She halted her sharp opinions and began to tread lightly. She knew, out of anyone she toured with, Theo was the one to show the sharpest intuition, the guru of reading energies and being right every single time, as if his coding had a sixth sense lobbed into it, as if he could read people's intentions right on their sleeve. Berri allowed herself to wholly soften and tuned in to Theo's shivering opinions, something so fragile as to include his celebrity crush. As easy as it potentially would be for Theo to be biased towards the woman of his own liking, Berri knew Theo to be fair and true. Berri furrowed her brow and allowed her wall to come down, something Theo's intelligent, brilliant emerald eyes hooked to in sharp understanding, "Teddy, you... You seem to be holding fast to Sama. Is there a reason? Other than, well, you're hardcore crushing?"

"Boy, am I," Theo huffed a bashful chuckle and looked down to his hands, though he furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head, "I know meeting her would be impossible, though. I just... Get this feeling that maybe she was wronged. You see Gunner's track record. It just... All seems fishy. I wonder if she was booted."

"You don't think she cheated on Gunner?" Turbo wondered tenderly, to which Theo heaved a shaky sigh and shrugged his large shoulders, his wrecking hands opened in softness as he peered into his palms aimlessly.

"Well... You heard Bedgy, yesterday. Sama and Gunner were off and on for two years," Theo stated gently, his deep voice coat Berri and Turbo with a shred of new understanding, something the two lay vulnerable in, "If Sama WANTED to run away with another man, methinks she would've just broken it off with Gunner, like they had been doing."

"Press stated she cheated on Gunner with the drummer, Rye," Berri wondered nervously, to which Theo lulled his eyes closed and shook his head.

"I did research... Rye and Sama are distant cousins, they lived together," Theo gently thwarted, to which Berri raised her eyebrows in soft surprise, "That's why press had a hay-day. The two were never caught hanging out with just each other, outside of the band. So, when they caught Sama and Rye going home together, well..."

"Of course the media is going to run with that," Turbo muttered, he shook his head and eyed Berri, "They'll chalk up ANY story and make it seem huger and scarier than it is. You remember that one day you wore my hoodie to Academy and paparazzi gotcha?"

"Hooo man, Gunner was SO pissed," Theo choked a small laugh, held his forehead and shook his head; Berri rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"I remember," Berri muttered, "I groveled for days. I had to pretend that my father's right hand man left his hoodie at the palace on accident, long ago, and I just commandeered it."

"I think the media has made that poor guy super insecure," Turbo mumbled in sorrowful understanding, "Now you see why I don't leave..."

"... No, I DON'T see why you don't leave," Berri stabbed in rising irritation as she dug a gentle glower into Turbo's becoming-dimmer eyes; he shut his mouth and looked down, as if to quietly convey he entirely regretted bringing up the topic, though he was grateful Theo carried the conversation elsewhere.

"I... Have a question, for both of you," Theo stated tenderly, and it was here did Turbo and Berri drop the very beginning sparks of feuding and hone their gently surprised attention tight to Theo's serious disposition, an air he didn't radiate often, "I-I guess it's... More a question for Berri, but... How did you work up the courage to actually pursue Turbo like you did? Like, before you knew him at all?"

Berri raised her eyebrows, sagged her shoulders and gently looked up and into Turbo's eyes. As they caught gazes, softened with the return of his confident, golden glow, he gave her a warm, small, expectant smile and so patiently waited for her answer, as if to cutely wonder just how she'd reply here. Berri, with her arms crossed, inhaled a deep breath and aimlessly let her eyes gloss Turbo's chest, collar and shoulders in the sink of deep thought. She long blinked in cute pondering and finally eased a soft shrug, her bare shoulders wormed the straps of her thin tank top.

"I think my desire for getting answer overrode my nervousness," Berri pressed softly, she felt her face heat up as she gave Theo her confident stare, though she now diligently avoided eye contact with Turbo, "I... Had a HUGE crush on Turbo, though, so it was definitely difficult. I think I just got so fed up with him bobbing and weaving through castle meetings, I could HARDLY say two words to the guy before he ran off. I finally got so frustrated that I invited myself over to his house and demanded answers."

"You did?" Theo choked a laugh and peered to Turbo in warm expectancy, to which Turbo bobbed a knowing nod, heaved a hard sigh and beamed in remembrance to the sweet nostalgia.

"Boy did she," Turbo mumbled cutely.

"He was having such a lovely evening by himself with a good book and a cozy blanket, all in his sweats and such," Berri giggled and peered to Turbo in a loft of warm love, she shook her head and felt her heart swell in adoration, "Your loft smelled SO good, I was shocked you even let me in."

"I didn't want to," Turbo mumbled bashfully, he shook his head and gave Berri a sweet smile, "You very quickly garnered my attention, though... It wasn't too long after that did I feel myself falling. I remember the morning I fell in love with you."

"User, I wish it was that easy, for me," Theo huffed softly with a frown, he gestured to Turbo and Berri and now garnered a sadder tone of the conversation, "I-I'm REALLY glad you guys are pairing off and finding love, and... Especially you two, but... Touring with you, Gunner, Wren and Throttle has been, well... Really lonely..."

"... Teddy," Berri whined in a soft show of tender, sorrowful guilt as she sagged her shoulders, "Babe, I'm so sorry... I-I... Didn't even consider."

"Why would you? It's not your duty to worry about whether or not I find love," Theo shrugged and looked down with a bashful, adorable smile, one that very easily showed Ralph and Oliver through his demeanor, clear as day; Berri felt her heart swell with an unfathomable amount of love for her cousin.

"Theo, you could for SURE find Sama," Turbo encouraged with a lilt of uplifting, and to his surprise, Theo's brilliant green eyes hooked tight to Turbo's with the return of fragile, nervous, shy hope.

"Y-You think?" Theo staggered.

"Dude, you're a celebrity," Turbo shrugged and gave Theo an encouraging gesture of assurance, "I'm positive if you 'accidentally' bumped into her, in EZ Living, she would recognize you and you could go from there. She lives in EZ Living, right?"

"Yeah, she does," Berri pressed with excitement, "Teddy... It's not easy, but if you want something, you just kind of have to thrust yourself into it, sometimes..."

"Lest it thrusts itself right into you," Turbo mumbled as he gave Berri a very teasing side-eye of cute annoyance; he choked a laugh as Berri finally swat at his chest in a show of having had enough of his banter.

"I just... Sense she has another side to her story," Theo stated in a renewal of cuteness, though he still looked down in rising defeat, "Gunner always spoke so terribly about her, but... I see her in those interviews, I see her at past shows."

"Yeah, she did seem very feisty, but... Extremely caring, and warm towards people. ESPECIALLY her fans," Berri furrowed her brow in rising confusion, to which Theo bobbed a nod and looked down.

"Alright, well... Thanks guys," Theo mumbled with a calm smile sent in Turbo's and Berri's directions, "I appreciate it. I'll leave you two alone."

"You don't have to, Teddy, if you're feeling lonely," Berri rushed in nervous encouragement, to which Turbo bobbed a nod. Berri gestured to Turbo and was thrilled to feel the air about him immediately agree with everything Berri was about to say, "Theo, just cause... Turbo and I are now involved and all that fun stuff, doesn't mean we don't want to hang out with you anymore."

"Quite the contrary, dude, you're still our best friend," Turbo warmly encouraged, though Theo gave both beings, before him, a smug smile and dart his eyes between the two.

"Naw, y'all are just in that awkward 'don't want to be left alone' stage of the beginning of your relationship, huh," Theo cheesed a wide, cute smile, to which Berri sharply raised her eyebrows and felt her face get hot.

"Th-Theo, that's... Not it-" Berri was cut off.

"Yes it is, your face is turning red," Theo mumbled as he cutely gestured to Berri, though he quickly brought it right to Turbo and allowed his excitement and fervor to rise, "And look! Turbo's eyes are glowing that peachy... Blushy color when he's embarrassed or shy."

"They're really not, though," Turbo stabbed with a hard, incredulous laugh, though he shut his eyes tight, so no one could see his eyes anymore, and shook his head, "See?"

"So, what color would your guys' coding be if you swapped, then?" Theo wondered causally, to which Berri bugged her eyes and shot Theo a look as if to warn him that he was about to be dead meat; Turbo huffed a shaky breath and, although a cute, bashful smile sprawled his face, he spoke without thinking, nor opening his eyes.

"Rose gold," Turbo mumbled warmly, though Berri bugged her eyes farther and shot her wholly embarrassed attention tight to Turbo's disposition, to her left; Theo choked a hard laugh, which caused Turbo's eyes to pop open in surprise. His dewy, blushing gaze hovered to Berri's in boyish, innocent surprise, though he shrugged and shook his head in delightful shyness, "What! I-It's... True?"

"W-We only know that because Turbo helps me with my core coding meditations, i-it requires an exterior swap," Berri rushed in a begging tone, though she flagged her hand in Theo's direction as he began to chuckle in a boyish way and point at Berri's madly blushing cheeks, "Oh, SHUT UP!"

"I am so sure," Theo cheesed as he began to stand, though he watched as Turbo's and Berri's once comfortable presence now seemed strained and nervous, in each other's bubbles. Theo huffed a small laugh and began to ease towards the teleport pad, "You two behave, now. We still on for our hang out, tomorrow, at Turbo's place?"

"Yes," Turbo assured, though he gave Theo a playfully dull look of mild, smiling annoyance; Theo cheekily disregarded said look, saluted both beings and stepped his heavy feet onto the kitchen's main teleportation pad, inside the lovely, high-arched nook.

"Ta-ta," Theo chimed dorkily as his lovely, olive green coding quickly sprawled his body, he vanished into thin air, clearly teleported to his bedroom a few floors up.

"That... Wasn't awkward at all," Berri huffed in hot irritation as she bashfully peered down to the tray of brownies before her, though she raised her eyebrows in nervous surprise the second Turbo so warmly laid his grey hand onto hers, on the counter.

"As 'not' awkward as that was... He's reminded me that we definitely need to revisit said core stressors, love," Turbo's deep voice instructed with warm care, he was careful not to touch too heavily on any romantic notions, here. He took note of the much fainter stress marks on Berri's temples, and although they seemed to be dimmed for the time being, Turbo knew he needed to help her along with getting her stress levels under control.

"I-I've... Really dropped the ball, on it all," Berri mumbled bashfully as she allowed Turbo's warm, understanding presence to eradicate any awkwardness Theo had cutely laid over the place.

"I'm here to help," Turbo's deep voice coat Berri's soul in sweet goodness, to which she peered her curious, bashful gaze into his, once and for all, "C'mon. Let's head to my place. Get you back on track."


	154. Chapter 154

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** True xD You'll come to find Turbo is very good at picking on Berri. As kindly as he can, that is.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **There's No Way ft. Julia Michaels by LAUV**

* * *

 ***Chapter 154***

"Alright, pop quiz," Turbo's deep voice eased in cuteness, he glanced to Berri over his shoulder and was thrilled her little, bare feet pattered after him, through his lovely, dim loft. The light emanating through was strictly from the glow of Orion City, far below. His golden gaze illuminated the hallway they trekked down, forked from between his bedroom and the infamous spiral staircase that lead up to Turbo's typically sunny, sky-room of a work area. They ducked down the rather secretive separate hallway and straight for the teleport pad that lead to his own code room, one floor down. Due to the constraints of the hallway, Turbo pressed his feet onto the small pad, turned around, and opened his arm in anticipation for Berri's body to join his on the pad. He raised his eyebrows in cute, expectant surprise and relished in the draw her body did to ease closer to his, "State the three classes of coding."

"For User's sake," Berri hissed in mild, playful irritation, and upon the lull of her closed eyes, she warmly sagged into Turbo's broad chest, wrapped her arms tight about his torso and heaved a hot sigh into his sternum. She bit her lip in thought, though she flinched the second Turbo cued the two to teleport one floor below, to his dim, warm, lovely code room. With the hum of familiar electricity, the two eased out of each others arms and kept a light air about them. Berri fingered her lip in contemplation, and although she tried to think on it all, the view from Turbo's code room, as well as Turbo's masculine, handsome figure walking away from her stance, in pursuit of his shred of the code room's orb, heavily distracted her. Berri cocked an eyebrow and secretively eyed his rear as he walked off. With a huff of a shy, shaky giggle, she lulled her eyes closed and relished in her sly, girly thoughts, "I-I... I know the first one, for exterior coding. Isn't it... Cognizance Class?"

"Yep, good job," Turbo shot her a smile over his broad shoulder, his code room just barely illuminated upon him waking up the core orb of his own shred of Sugar Rush's heart. He bobbed an expectant nod and carefully began to cue up Berri's coding information, "What about interior coding?"

"User... I-I know this, don't tell me," Berri held her breath and looked off, though she finally began to mosey to Turbo's positioning and aimlessly looked off in further thought, "I-It... Starts with a V, right?"

"Right," Turbo egged gently, he cocked an eyebrow and gave her a kind, expectant smile.

"... Visceral Class?" Berri narrowed her gaze in cute uncertainty, though she stiffened her spine in a perk of confidence the second Turbo bobbed a nod and smiled into her eyes.

"And the last? Core coding?" Turbo wondered sweetly, though Berri looked down in an already-stumped kind of manner; she sagged her shoulders, to boot.

"I-I... Forget," Berri sighed softly, she shook her head and gently hooked her eyes in Turbo's, and although he gave her a kind smile of displeased defeat, she shook her head and perked up, once more; her eyes illuminated with the warmth of the code room that enveloped them in love, "I-I remember what each stressor represents! Well... The ones you showed me, previously."

"The Quintessence Class," Turbo tenderly pressed, his careful hand brought up Berri's coding with a gentle, glowing lull, and as he began to fill the gap between the two, his bare feet tenderly pressed on with purpose, she slowly followed suit. He gestured to her coding, and although it still was a fragile predicament, he felt confident Berri would give him her coded permission, like last time, to politely nose about her sensitive inner-most code stream. With no hesitation, this time around, Berri confidently pressed the button aptly labelled 'allow', to which a few tiers of larger, messier indexes and menus opened up. Turbo bobbed a nod and, although he hovered her information off to the side, he kept it close to relevance later on, "Tell me what you remember, and I'll fill in the gaps."

"I remember you stated that the two stressors, on my temples, act as a recording agent. It remembers everything I see, documents the positive and negative, and my coding reacts accordingly... Mainly where dreams and nightmares originate," Berri smartly listed, the two fell into a rhythm of tenderness, a teacher to his pupil, he cutely watched her mannerisms with a world of patience and allowed her to carry on with the homework he had previously left her with, "The two stressors on the bottoms of the feet are what ground you, keep you rooted and stable in unstable situations. The heart stressor, is, well..."

"Hunger," Turbo cheekily joked, he huffed a small laugh and shook his head as Berri shot him an annoyed smile. He gestured his hand a little, and although he almost had no clue how to properly move this little lesson forward, he cocked an eyebrow and was glad he found a little sneak way, "Hunger does actually play in to one of the stressors."

"I'm going to guess it's the one on your stomach," Berri muttered dully, though still held with a positive, twinkling smile; Turbo chuckled and bobbed a nod, though before going any further with this little lesson, he inhaled a deep breath and eyed Berri in cute suspicion.

"While we're doing all this talking, about stressors, can you cue yours up? Like last time?" Turbo wondered gently, he cocked an eyebrow and gave Berri a sweet look of curiosity.

In the recall of the last time they were in this predicament together, Berri held her breath and felt a rush of sudden nervousness come to her. The act of the two partaking in an exterior swap, though included with their core coding, Berri knew there were far too many more secrets, inside of her, that she didn't exactly want Turbo to know right now. Shy, adamant desires she was well aware would eventually come spilling out, though somehow, she peered up into Turbo's eyes with tender question. Somehow unravelling herself and mentally explaining to Turbo every tedious detail of desire, every single little butterfly that lined her stomach, she was aware the core coding swap would be on par with laying each butterfly flat and scanning the intricate details of each wing. Kissed with golden desire, the gentle glow of Turbo's eyes that splayed her skin, she held her breath and almost had the urge to deny Turbo's gentle, polite request. She feared he, too, would cue his coding up, once more, and they'd be back to where they were last time, though this time, Berri was well aware there absolutely had to be stressors that involved sexual desire, tension and release. How desperately she wanted to avoid it, she inhaled a shaky breath and felt brave standing up for her shivering feelings, here.

"Turbo, I... C-Can you maybe just tell me what other stressors we'll be focusing on? I-Instead of showing me?" Berri pressed as gently and nervously as she could, her twinkling eyes hooked into Turbo's with hot knowing, though Turbo long-blinked in warm, surprised understanding, as if suddenly her skin glistened like the most delicate porcelain.

"Absolutely," Turbo eased, he sagged his shoulders and now suddenly felt as if their relationship was hot to the touch, something that needed to be left to burn by itself for a second. He inhaled a shaky breath and now felt a very odd vibe come off of Berri, almost as if she didn't want to be read, whether that be mentally or physically. Turbo cleared his throat and took one slow, careful step away from Berri, he hoped to convey that he was now going to be doing anything and everything to not be overbearing, "Let's see... The stressor on your stomach deals with a mixture of different things. Although it does deal with hunger, it wouldn't be the same as physical hunger, like the thing you satiate with food."

"... Drive, then?" Berri quietly questioned, Turbo felt the gears in his brain run a million miles a minute with the way Berri's now stand-offish, nervous demeanor was not letting up.

"Exactly," Turbo cooed cautiously, he donned an easy smile, he did everything to radiate softness, though Berri's stiff, nervous disposition persisted, "It's fueled by determination, it's flared by motivation, but can easily be soured by greed. It's an easy scale to tip, sometimes people are driven by things that will only benefit themselves."

"I'm hyper aware of that," Berri mumbled as she looked down to her fingers, in which she aimlessly twiddled, "I... I sometimes wonder if yanking the mic more in my direction was selfish. Ever since that one show, where Gunner's mic went out, I've... Really reflected on that."

"... What place did that dominance come from? A place of greed?" Turbo carefully questioned, he side-eyed Berri in warmth and smiled, "Or were you simply standing up for yourself?"

Berri raised her eyebrows in warm contemplation, as if maybe she hadn't thought of it that way. She bobbed a gentle nod and finally gave Turbo a smile of a little bit of relief. Although Berri showed a shred normalcy, Turbo felt suddenly stumped by her switch up, here, as if he was now reminding himself just what it meant to keep up with a woman, once more. He furrowed his eyebrows tenderly and debated asking her about the shy nervousness she now eagerly radiated, though he wondered if holding off would be wise. He assumed that if it were to come bubbling over, she'd reveal just why she was acting so strange, though he was also aware that there was a fine line, here. In a weird fit of now worrying himself into a hole, he lulled his eyes closed and begged himself not to become so hyper-aware of everything. How desperate he was to make sure that his and Berri's relationship ran smoothly, he knew he needed to not be so critical of every change in tone or inflection, such scrutiny would drive the both of them mad, he was certain.

"I think the latter," Turbo concluded with soft warmth, he very easily hid his agitation, though he almost began to feel restless due to the fact that said agitation was due to her switch in energy. How desperately he now wanted to ask just why she suddenly shut him out to said core coding practice, he inhaled a shaky breath and tried not to feel mildly hurt. He tried his best to assume that it was nothing personal, and to lay off. With forced easiness, he looked about his code room a little and finally hooked his eyes into Berri's, yet again, "The... Much larger stressor mark on your back signifies trust, what makes you stay and fight and what makes you retreat with flight."

"... Kind of like instinct?" Berri pondered softly, still a reserved show of contemplative shyness. Turbo now took note of her full body language; arms crossed, feet together, shoulders mildly scrunched, all things that added up to closed-off demeanor, though the only thing that tipped Turbo off was now the hard, red blush across her cheeks.

"Exactly like instinct," Turbo smiled, he narrowed his gaze and now began to try and piece the puzzle together. The way she reserved herself in cute, shy bashfulness, so unlike her fiery typical self, he felt his heart begin to thump in his chest; a strange desire for this adorable, shy little version of the Berri he knew and loved, he was almost floored straight into an outward facial expression of bewilderment. Although feeling a strange bout of a craving for this fragile angle of Berri, he did everything he could to remain calm and still for her, "As if you have a physical pair of wings. Do you use them to fly away in a hard situation? Or do you use them to shield yourself and fight? It could easily be soured by putting your trust into people, or situations, that aren't technically trustworthy. Thus, clouding your judgement and making it harder to really decipher intention."

"D-Did we already cover the ones on the jugular?" Berri wondered daintily after a moment of soaking in all of Turbo's knowledge, though he furrowed his brow in gentle contemplation and looked off.

"I'm not positive we did," Turbo pressed, though with Berri's reserved, nervous demeanor really not letting up, he felt his curiosity brim over the edge. He tenderly carried on, though he knew he was on the brink of finally just coming out with it and asking her plainly what he maybe did wrong, here, "It deals with voice, something I think would resonate well with you, due to your singing and your desire to be heard. It could... Be soured by maybe not being taken seriously in certain situations, or your opinion and needs being shut out."

"I know that well," Berri muttered in quiet, seething irritation as she looked off, and although Turbo knew she was directing said frustration towards Gunner, he inhaled a deep breath and could feel current and past insecurities begin to bubble right into her's and Turbo's fresh, brand new relationship; something he was determined to not allow.

"I think you could probably practice soothing THIS stressor, right here in this instance," Turbo stated as gently as he could, though he did what he could to hold a mild, authoritative air over Berri, a teachable moment that could very easily morph into a gentle growth of a branch off of their brand new bud of their relationship.

"... What do you mean?" Berri wondered in a switch up of mild, annoyed defensiveness; she eased a toothy smile, as if to silently guffaw at Turbo's brave insinuation and instruction.

"Well... You were previously in a really good mood until I suggested you cueing up your core coding," Turbo stated knowingly, he did everything he could to not come across as accusatory. Much to his nervous surprise, Berri began to look further agitated, and though he pressed on, Berri's fiery personality now came about in a roll of pent up frustration Turbo had no idea how to navigate.

"It's personal, that's a lot to ask," Berri almost meanly snapped, to which Turbo gingerly sagged his shoulders and held his hands up; it was here in this hot moment of debate did he quickly realize Berri wasn't arguing with him, she was arguing with Gunner. She was a different woman from the last time they sat in this tender predicament.

"... Hun," Turbo warmly cautioned, a soft, deep tone of a reminder, he felt relief the second Berri halted in the angry words about to come flying out of her mouth. The second she realized Turbo wasn't going to climb all over her and argue her until the morning light, she furrowed her eyebrows in warm confusion and finally looked Turbo in the eye. Turbo exhaled a shaky chuckle and now felt scared to even move, "I'm... I'm not your enemy here, babe, I'm just curious what that was about. I'm not mad at all. You're right, that is personal, and I didn't expect you to just... Open up, like that. I should've been more sensitive about it, maybe."

"N-No, no, you were fine, I just..." Berri held her forehead and now took a small step away, she shook her head and sheepishly gave Turbo a frown of nervous, shy apology, "Sorry, I'm used to putting up a MUCH bigger fight when it comes to things I need, or being heard."

"Okay, so utilize that feeling, here and now," Turbo's deep voice pressed knowingly; he was glad said word choice had Berri's curious, nervous eyes firmly glued to his in frozen, shivering delight. Turbo warmly placed a hand to his broad chest and shook his head, "Clearly something triggered you, there... I asked something of you, something personal, and you wanted to deny me, so you did... Which I respect. Did you assume I was going to argue you?"

Berri nervously eased a short, few nods of quick agreeing with a tight-lipped look of continued reservedness.

"Is this something Gunner would usually do?" Turbo pressed in a rise of seething frustration, though he so skillfully kept it under wraps, "Berri, you tell me just what you need, I'm not going to go banging on a door that is closed. That's counterintuitive. You said no, and I complied. Why would I argue you on something like that? That doesn't benefit either of us."

"Sorry, it's... Just what I'm used to," Berri mumbled as she shyly looked down with a frown, "I've... Had to deny a lot, from Gunner, and it made him mad. I'm REALLY not trying to bring baggage into our relationship, Bo, just... Forget it happened."

Turbo softened and peered to Berri's still demeanor. A woman born of fire, he almost felt heartbroken with how frozen and stagnant she seemed inside of these road blocks. Although every relationship is a learning process, one of love, hurt and healing, Turbo held his breath and wondered if Berri went through a bit more psychological manipulation than she ever lead on. Although due to making Turbo's life a little harder, he inhaled a deep breath and smiled at the idea of wanting to go above and beyond for this incredible woman that almost nervously had finally fallen into his arms, where she belonged. Although life lessons were dragged into it, hard ones that would take time to bounce back from, Turbo knew he could so easily help her along, hands down.

"... He was pushy with you, wasn't he," Turbo mumbled sorrowfully, he tried to keep it light, though he knew he hit jackpot the second Berri eased another nod and looked off.

"He... Eventually got the hint and laid off, but," Berri sighed, she shook her head and lulled her eyes closed, "Y'know, the phrase 'I'm so stressed out' heard so many times, from him, was beginning to feel too much like he was expecting me to comply and be his stress reliever. I may be the granddaughter of one of the fastest racers in this Arcade, but... There are certain things, I think, that deserve a much slower speed."

"... I wholeheartedly agree," Turbo pressed quietly as he looked down with a relieved smile; he was thrilled the two were, at least, on the same page, "Well... I'm glad I can teach you more about these stressors, because then you can rely on yourself. You have to find peace and happiness within. It wasn't fair of Gunner to expect you to fill his cup, like that."

"So unfair, right?" Berri began to open up, slowly but surely; she finally unravelled her arms and donned a small smile to her feet, "Thanks for understanding. Sorry I... Got upset."

"You had every right," Turbo assured with a nod, "I'm not hurt over it. Don't fret."

Berri bobbed a small nod and tucked her hair behind her ears with a shaky exhale of relief. She finally raised her eyebrows and peered to Turbo with great warmth. How patiently he began to sift through a few options, in Berri's splayed coding, how easy this all was, Berri sagged her shoulders and now felt bad for feeling the need to lash out at such a patient, caring creature. How reserved and closed off she previously was, she sagged her shoulders and felt as if she could finally begin contemplating opening up, once more. She was very well aware Turbo was a safe spot, though she was still thrilled they were not inside of an exterior core coding swap, right at this moment. Turbo bobbed a nod and finally gave her a small, curious look.

"O-On that note... Should we stop here?" Turbo cautiously pressed, "I'm going to be frank with you... The last two stressors, that we haven't discussed, involve the idea of sex and, well... The pleasure that brings. If that makes you uncomfortable, we can save it for another time. Or... Never. It's your choice."

Berri raised her eyebrows in prickled surprise and was floored at Turbo's shivering bravery. As the two caught eyes in a string of frozen fervor, Berri held her breath and hung on the wavering, negative connotations of the forbidden word Turbo meekly uttered; 'never'. Berri bashfully glossed her eyes to Turbo's broad chest, the splay of his masculine clavicles, the way he exuded all of Arcade's power by just a simple, steady, slow inhale, Berri finally eased her eye contact to his glowing gaze, once and for all. She knew, even without an exterior swap inside each other's thought stream, she could so easily feel just what Turbo was thinking; she was well aware the road went both ways. As much as Berri wanted to jump away from the hot topic and save it for a rainy day, she bashfully looked down to her hands, inhaled a brave breath and knew she had to eventually dive into this sensitive, raw topic with Turbo as her new, romantic partner.

"Never," Berri breathed in disbelief, repeating Turbo's one, detrimental word. She narrowed her gaze and cheekily gave it to Turbo in loving confidence, "Do you really think, given our circumstance, that 'never' is realistic, here?"

Turbo raised his eyebrows in poised surprise and could feel his gaze becoming blushed in a glow of nervousness. He heaved a silent, shaky breath of unmitigated terror, shyness, joy, and relief, all in one exhale, though he lulled his eyes closed in a long-blink of disbelief that this conversation was genuinely unfolding, his deep voice pressed on in cute defeat, "...No, ma'am."

"It's not that it makes me uncomfortable, I just..." Berri staggered in smiling nervousness as she finally looked down; the brave eye contact she previously had faltered back to the side, to Turbo's lovely, matte white tiles of his dim code room, "I don't want to be so much of an open book, anymore, Bo. I love that my glitching powers makes for perfect communication, but... I don't want you to know exactly what I'm thinking, right now."

Turbo remained frozen and hovered in her fragile words, she shrugged and eased a small, cute giggle.

"There's something to be said for how long we've been at this romance, of ours, no matter how blatant... That we've danced around the notion of sex, or anything pertaining," Berri smiled warmly, though she rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Outside of Lash's stupid statements."

"I... I learned my lesson, from my previous relationship," Turbo chuckled, his deep voice glossed his code room in reverberating goodness of bass and depth. His smile was contagious, the peachy glow of his eyes assured Berri that they were both dancing on the notions of their impending fall into deeper romance, though it was light hearted and enjoyable, "Libby and I swapped within days of simply KNOWING each other. It was fast and immediate and... Reckless. I've... Really enjoyed getting to really know you, Bear. As a gamer, as a best friend..."

Berri smiled and allowed Turbo to tenderly carry on, she relished in his familiar voice, the gloss of his lovely eyes into hers, she felt at ease, once and for all.

"... As a lover," Turbo bashfully pressed, his voice croaked with depth, as if too shy to allow his voice to even properly work. He heaved a trembling breath, raised his eyebrows and looked down at his hands, his aimlessly twiddling fingers, "And, eventually, a swap-mate."

Berri crowned a wide, bashful grin down to her feet and tucked her hair behind her ears. She finally eased to a smirk, narrowed her gaze and returned said cheeky, bashful overflow of cuteness to Turbo, and although she so badly wanted to just unload every single last inch of desire into his shivering soul, she greatly refrained. The powerful, still stance of his masculine, handsome figure, the willingness in his golden eyes, the haunting glow about his dim code room, Berri felt the universe bevel beneath the code room they hovered in. With the twinkling lights of the city beyond Turbo's darker figure, the kiss of silver coding, that was Berri's code box and menus, that hovered to his right and glossed his matte grey skin in a swathe of love, Berri felt a swell of emotion hit her all at once. Flattened in a wash of understanding just how heavy this moment was, she heaved a shaky sigh and looked down, once again, she could feel her hands begin to shake.

"... I'd like that," Berri eased in warm honestly, a gentle kiss of maturity that coat her womanly voice, she bobbed a small nod and finally gave Turbo another bashful smile of conclusory cuteness, "Can we maybe just... Hold off on the demonstration?"

Turbo raised his thick eyebrows in a slow sweep of gentle surprise, to which Berri felt her heart jump clear out of her chest.

"EXPLANATION," Berri choked, she shook her head and clutched her chest in unmitigated embarrassment, "Explanation, wow... I-I meant... Explanation."

"We can hold off," Turbo choked a small laugh and eyed her in curious cuteness, he smiled with his eyes entirely, the adorable, fleeting warmth of shyness she was entirely capable had Turbo feeling drawn in, although her fiery, outspoken side is what attracted him initially, he somehow felt floored at the idea of the bashful and timid side of her that was ultimately reeling him in, for good, the final nail in the coffin, the one last item to get his heart really pumping. He gingerly began to scroll through a few options inside Berri's coding, though with such, he continued on in innocent warmth that was so easily laced with seductive leads, "You just let me know whenever you're willing to carry on, then. I'm ready for yah."

Berri now could swear her vision was about to fish-eye, and with all of the advancements from Gunner she was so used to shoving away, she felt a knee-jerk reaction to urgently decline Turbo's cute little request, a gentle way of reassuring her that a pin was put in it. She cocked an eyebrow and gave Turbo a cheeky look, her confident, teasing, girly side easily began to rise beyond all of the nauseating feelings of impending passion.

"I'd better study, the final sounds like it'll be really... Difficult," Berri muttered with a smile and a chuckle she couldn't stifle to save her life; something Turbo easily cued to.

"Wowww," Turbo blurt, he gestured his arm out to her with a boyish grin, "So it's gunna be like that, huh? You been talking to Lash, lately?"

"Guilty," Berri beamed an easy, wide smile, a carefree feeling of genuine happiness she had forgotten all about, until this instance.


	155. Chapter 155

**Reviews :**

 **Nikki Firesong :** That's true. Aw, I'm glad you feel that way. Thank you so much! Turbo just doesn't want to mess up his chance so he's doing anything and everything to make sure she's satisfied lol

 **faolan1230 :** Aww wow, that's an OLD call back. I definitely wasn't referring to that, but it definitely could be applicable here haha. Thank you!

 **Burgie :** I'm glad you feel that way! Turbo's walking on eggshells hahaha

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Remember You by Conro**

 **A Yearning for the Sky by Gareth Coker (first half of the song)**

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 ***Chapter 155***

"Please, explain this to me again, I'm DESPERATELY trying to be open minded, here," Lash grunted as he finally pushed himself to a proper sit. He flinched as Turbo's figure brushed past him, both boys were situated in Turbo's sunny bedroom, and although it was a casual Monday, Turbo almost nervously began to tidy his bedroom. He ruffled his dusty hair in a nearby mirror and took a second to attempt to tidy any mild imperfections on the skin of his face, all in erratic nervousness. Lash scoffed a laugh, waggled his hand and urgently shook his head, "Damn, man, it's a CASUAL HANGOUT. You look fine, I doubt Berri will be suddenly scrutinizing your every single move, man. Lay off."

"I don't know what's come over me," Turbo mumbled in the dregs of a long, hot sigh, his deep voice reverberated against the glass of the mirror he was close up on, though he finally rolled his gold eyes, stepped away and straightened his casual tank top; a white, lazy shirt with a thick red stripe down the middle, his infamous design, "It's like a spell. I'm warning you, don't ever fall in love. You'll start doing shit you had no clue was inside you."

"You didn't have any of these feelings with Libby all that time ago?" Lash wondered curiously, to which Turbo avoided eye contact and vanished into his bathroom, around the bend, though his voice was still heard as he shyly pressed on to his little brother.

"I did, it just... Was all so quick, I didn't have time to swallow it all," Turbo muttered, though at a volume that could still be heard. Lash raised his eyebrows in a curious press, leaned forward a little and stared down the gape of his opened bathroom door, "We only knew each other for one night before our codes were one. After all that nonsense, there's not many surprises left. Not that that's a bad thing, it just... I don't know..."

"How long have you known Berri now?" Lash wondered, and though there was a small gap of silence, Lash finally rolled his eyes the second he heard the toilet flush. Upon waiting for Turbo to finish his business, the bathroom's sink faucet finally cut and Turbo emerged with a hand towel idly drying his grey hands. He heaved a long, hard sigh, looked down, and finally hooked his nervous, shy eyes to Lash's.

"It's awkward, but since she was a baby," Turbo muttered, "I only ever really saw her maybe once or twice in the year of her childhood. As an adult? I've known her maybe a month before her first birthday."

"Yikes, man," Lash grit his teeth and blurt a hard laugh, and though Turbo was previously phased, he shrugged Lash's comment off his shoulder, folded the hand towel he used and turned his bathroom light off.

"I don't really care about it any longer," Turbo mumbled with a small smile, "We're both adults. She's an incredible woman and I'm honored to even so much as KNOW her."

"Bizarre you haven't swapped codes with her yet, due to your track record," Lash muttered, though he jolted to a stand the second Turbo looked as if he was prepared to leave his bedroom and ease into the main rooms of his home. Just like he thought, Lash quickly tailed after Turbo once his figure hurried out of his bedroom. Lash choked a small laugh and tried to keep up with Turbo's anxious figure, "Don't you like... WANT to swap codes with Berri? What's the hold up? Well, rather... What's the desire, there? I've never understood."

"I can't explain it to someone whose never experienced it, man," Turbo muttered, he knew exactly where this conversation was going.

"Well... Pretend you're talking to Berri," Lash shrugged as both men eased into the kitchen, and although Turbo looked as if he was en route to busying himself with another cleaning chore, he cocked an eyebrow, slowed his roll, shot his little brother a cheeky grin and hovered amidst their now becoming fragile conversation. Lash shrugged and halted his footwork as both men finally faced each other, though he cupped his hands to his chin and began to bat his eyelashes, as if to pretend to be incredibly girly, "Pretend I'm... Sugar Rush's cute, innocent, virgin princess. Explain to me how this works Turbo-senpai!"

"You done?" Turbo quipped, he held fast to a dull, annoyed smile.

"TEACH ME!" Lash thrusted his hands to his chest and finally blurt a loud, hearty laugh, one of which Turbo couldn't resist joining in on any longer.

"I don't know, man, explaining that to Berri would be a lot easier than explaining it to YOU," Turbo choked in still smiling irritation.

"Why, cause it would eventually LEAD to something?" Lash muttered, Turbo shrugged and bobbed a nod.

"Who knows, hopefully?" Turbo left it open ended, he desperately did what he could to remain nonchalant all while fervently protecting Berri's character, "It's a mix of thought stream, of coding, of... SELF. Everything that person knows, suddenly you know. You gain their gamer powers and vice versa. You literally become one unit of coding. A magical experience. Hopefully, one day, you'll understand."

"Ehh, I'm... Cool with the idea of sex, but swapping codes?" Lash wrinkled his nose and shook his head, "I'll stick with the code blocking technique."

"Ho, dude, good luck, then," Turbo raised his eyebrows and heaved a hard laugh, "Your balls will hate you."

"Wait, what?" Lash furrowed his brow in hard, uneducated confusion, though Turbo raised his hands in sheepish delight, as if to playfully wash his hands clean of this conversation.

"I know nothing," Turbo smiled innocently, though both men flinched in gentle surprise the second Turbo's massive wall of a front door slid open. The first being to eagerly welcome themselves inside was none other than Chester's bumbling figure.

"TURBO," Chester's deep voice barked in boyish delight, Turbo perked up and beamed a wide, neverending smile as Chester's fumbling paws did what they could to grip to his matte grey tiles, "I missed you!"

"Hey, bud, I missed you too," Turbo stated with a great deal of warmth, and as Berri, Wren and Theo slowly came filing in after Chester's heavy, fast tirade of excitement, Lash jolted in surprise and urgently gestured out to the group.

"Sh-she literally HAS A KEY... TO YOUR HOUSE!" Lash uttered in a high pitch whine of smiling confusion, though Turbo choked a laugh as Chester did his usual show of affection, face and snout shoved firmly into Turbo's front and center. Turbo urgently pet and ruffled the top of Chester's furry head and ears while Chester did everything he could to shower his favorite TurboTime guy with love. Turbo finally cocked an eyebrow and shot Lash a confused look of smiling glee, to which Berri, Wren and Theo finally eased up with slow footwork, casual demeanors and easy smiles.

"Uh yeah? She's my girlfriend," Turbo defended gently, "She's actually had a key for a LONG time, now."

"It's been since New Years, I believe," Berri eased with a smile as she crossed her arms, "What're you boys up to?"

"Oh, we're just talking about you and Turbo swapping codes," Lash stated plainly, and although Turbo felt his heart jolt in whole entire surprise, he almost shot Berri a dull look of casual annoyance, as if this hot topic didn't have to be so scary, nor did it have to be anything that anyone else had control of.

"Ah yeah?" Berri chimed in authoritative delight as she tilted her head up, narrowed her gaze and peered to Lash down the bridge of her nose, "Why don't you tell me why you think that's any of your business?"

"I-I... I guess it's not, we just-"

"I know, full well, Turbo didn't initiate that conversation, and whatever was said was likely you attempting to pour gasoline on the fire whilst poor Turbo tried to stamp it out," Berri eased in energetic, cute delight; she shrugged her bare shoulders, and it was here did everyone hone their attention to their future Queen as she slowly began to press closer to Lash in deathly, awakened delight. Turbo raised his eyebrows in cute surprise and eyed her in warmth, she wore a casual, dark grey tank top and a comfortable pair of white sweat pants that cuffed at her ankles. With a thick, dark blue racing stripe down her thighs, she looked ready for an easy going day of potential, lazy adventures wherever her group would take her to. She gently tucked her long, glorious blue hair behind her ears and began to press into Lash's bubble with a show of almost sisterly dominance, the blue fire in her eyes raged with smiling, Queenly delight, "If you really want to get an idea of what a code swap is like, then all you have to do is ask."

Before Lash could question her, Berri gently reached out, cued her glorious silver coding and grappled Lash's lower arm. In a jolt of searing, uncooperative electricity, Berri's and Lash's coding buzzed in a glitching show of rose-gold honeycombs and grid lines, something that nearly shocked the pants right off of Lash. Just as soon as she initiated the spark, she gently eased her hand away and ceased activity. Lash urgently panted through his nose and now looked entirely humbled as he peered into Berri's eyes, in whole shock. Purely speechless, the golden glow in his eyes dimmed to that of reserved shyness, to which Turbo, Wren and Theo eagerly looked on in unadulterated shock. Turbo's warm house lights flickered with the small bout of chaos, though the second everything reverted to normal, Berri shrugged and looked entirely unfazed. She shook her head and long-blinked in anticipatory wait.

"Well? Everything you ever thought it'd be? Got a shred of useful information lobbed into your brain, there?" Berri chimed with an unwavering smile and demeanor; Turbo crossed his masculine arms and beamed a smug, proud smile as Berri hovered over Lash's now shivering existence.

"I-I f-feel... Exposed," Lash's voice crackled in smiling nervousness as he nearly shrunk into himself, though it was here did Berri lean in close and huff a conclusion to the grey skin on his face.

"Oh do you?" Berri nearly whispered, everyone held their breath to continue to hear Berri's scheming, sisterly demands in Lash's shaking presence, "Now how about you imagine how Turbo and I feel, right now."

Frozen, Lash only dart his eyes to Turbo's in a shred of curious nervousness. Everyone remained still in contemplation, though Lash flinched and brought his nervous gaze back to Berri's as she so softly and sweetly carried on.

"Why don't you leave the swapping to the code experts, my love," Berri tenderly laid Lash in his grave, to which he somehow felt weird complying to.

"That stuff's personal," Chester's deep voice mumbled, though Lash largely flinched as Chester had made his way around Turbo's kitchen island and to Lash's backside. The brunt of Chester's wet dog nose gently nudged into the back of Lash's elbow; although Chester was typically wary of strangers, Berri knew to take Chester's opinion to heart. The fact that Chester's easy demeanor was light and happy, around Lash, assured her that she didn't have too much to worry about; a mild bout of wrangling this lost and chaotic soul desperately needed.

"Yeah, didn't you and Throttle get into it because of this topic?" Wren wondered cheekily, he side-eyed Lash with a smile and waggled his fingers, "You understand that you and I are technically code-related, now, right?"

"Yeah, I'm still trying to figure that one out," Lash muttered in humbled curiosity, his face washed clear of any teasing, mean-spirited antics, "I just have a lot of questions."

"Well, why don't I sit you down later tonight and we can have THE TALK," Turbo muttered in a deep, fatherly tone as he waggled his finger in Lash's direction; everyone eased into knowing laughter, Berri finally eased out of Lash's bubble and relaxed her hip against Turbo's dark marbled kitchen island.

"For User's SAKE I know how it WORKS," Lash argued in now rising fervor, he choked an embarrassed laugh as the group began to relax. Lash finally began to ruffle his hand to the top of Chester's head, which was gently bowed and awaiting further pets, "Just the whole... Code swapping nonsense, it's just... Guh."

"Something to come to terms with," Wren shrugged, "You'll understand when you're older."

"Alright, dude, gotta bubble you," Turbo mumbled with a smile as everyone finally eased out of laughter, though Lash perked up in sorrowful dread and peered to Turbo in urgent confusion.

"WHAT? C'mon, man, y'can't just let your girlfriend come at me like that and then abandon me," Lash playfully argued as he gestured to Berri, though Turbo inhaled a deep breath and tried to curb his annoyance.

"Okay, one, I don't control her. Two, she has a name, and three," Turbo held up his fingers, he froze in suspense and eased a cheeky, boyish smile as everyone hovered in wait, "Yes I can."

"Damn," Theo choked a laugh and looked down, Berri eased a smug smile and looked off to Turbo's tidy, sunny living room, as well as the glorious, familiar view out his windows.

"You REALLY can't bring me along? This sucks," Lash genuinely complained, and it was here did Berri soften and peer to Lash in a rise of sorrow. Although she wasn't going to switch up her game and potentially insist he come with the five on their adventures, outside of the safety of Turbo's loft, she long-blinked in the feelings of a softened heart and put a pin in the idea. The desperation in Lash's eyes, the desire to at least attempt to be welcomed to the public, once more, Lash finally peered to Berri in mild desperation, causing Berri's idle gaze to sharpen, "Where are you guys even going?"

"We're going to spend the day practicing my powers," Turbo mumbled innocently, "I've... Been practicing, otherwise, I just want to show the gang my progress, and practice my powers with a larger group. We're going to be all about the area, I don't think... Zed would appreciate... Well..."

"Whatever, it's fine," Lash mumbled, and although his nervous eyes dragged about the tight-knit friend and family group before him, he wondered if he would ever fit back in. They all peered back at him with a shred of feeling potentially stumped, as if they were conflicted on just what to do. Although this gave Lash hope, he was well aware Zed's ultimate word would win out, and having Lash given the ability to roam free with the gang would likely not go over well. Lash heaved a hot sigh through his nose and tried to seem as if he wasn't pressed, he raised his hand, shook his head and lulled his eyes closed, "I guess... Tell me all about it once you guys come home."

"We always do," Berri mumbled gently, although a twinge of annoyance coat her voice, she still gave Lash an apologetic look and shrugged, "It won't be forever."

"Y'sure?" Lash retort softly, almost seriously, though as Turbo pulled up the remote access to the code room, via his phone, he cocked an eyebrow and gave Lash a wide, cheeky smile.

"That's exactly what I always told you when I told you we'd find Libby again. I said this wouldn't be forever," Turbo quickly retort, immediately thwarting any form of argument Lash could think about forming. Lash looked down and bobbed a soft nod of defeated humility, "And, here we are... Berri's right. It won't be forever."

"Alright, go on, at least I can call y'all and annoy the piss outta yah," Lash barked in smiling irritation as he waggled his hand.

"Got that right," Berri choked a laugh, and as everyone else joined in laughter, Turbo diligently pressed the finalized button to bubble Lash; his red honeycombs suddenly swarmed his tangible body and flickered in a show of light until he was sealed away and vanished for good.

"HOKAY, that wasn't awkward at all," Turbo stated in a refreshed voice of pitched sarcasm, he raised his eyebrows and gave Theo, Berri, Wren and Chester a kind, renewed smile, to which he almost apologetically sagged to cute embarrassment, "Sorry, for... Well..."

"He's not good with social cues," Wren chimed, he crossed his arms, "As much as I'd love to be besties with my other future brother in law, maybe, uh... He'll be last on the list, for now."

"'Till he gets his act together," Theo mumbled as he eyed Berri with a knowing smile.

"Y'know, the isolation wasn't good to either of us," Turbo held his hands out and chuckled, "We both, well... Handled it very differently. While I took time to center myself and attempt to not go bat-shit insane with trapped, swapped coding, he, well... Pretended to be King of the world and now doesn't know how to censor himself."

"God love him," Berri shrugged, everyone eased into soft laughter.

"Maybe one day we can all kumbaya but, for now," Wren shrugged, though everyone expectantly and excitedly peered to Turbo in a cute, pin-prickled way of understanding, "We're yours, for the day."

Turbo sagged his shoulders and eased the group a smile. The sunny glow about everyone, as well as his home, Turbo softened and relished this moment. For the first time in months, he had his four best friends right before him, available, free for the whole day, not a single responsibility to drag them away from him. He almost felt bittersweet tears form in his eyes, the wave of remembrance he had from previous 'no responsibility' hangouts they used to have. How desperately he missed these days, and as his golden eyes softly sagged from one person to the next, he took note of how sharp, aged and mature each person, before him, had gotten. Dewy, intelligent gazes now so full of life experience and wisdom, the previous image he had of these three youngsters before him held much heavier, naive expressions, nervous eyes, ruffled unkept hair, Turbo lulled his eyes closed finally and relished in the weight of this tight circle of family he had commandeered. The image before him now of proud members of society, beautiful features, sharp intuition, Turbo felt honored to be in their presence. He sagged his hands into his jean's front pockets, heaved a conclusory sigh and smiled down to his feet.

"It feels so good to hear you say that," Turbo mumbled sorrowfully, to which Berri, Wren and Theo now almost sadly peered to each other in warm understanding.

"Bo," Berri cooed softly, to which Wren inhaled a deep breath and shook his head.

"This touring nonsense really has robbed us of proper hang out time," Wren eased in knowing, he caught eyes with Turbo and gave him an apologetic smile, "But... Where we can make time, it becomes all the more special, y'know?"

"And, as you just said... It won't be forever," Theo cutely eased with great intellect, he eyed Turbo with soft knowing and relished in the way everyone fell silent and absorbed every single word being uttered, here and now.

"Thanks, guys," Turbo sighed, he shook his head and nervously glanced in Berri's direction, "One day it won't be so hard."

"One day, when?" Berri muttered in brewing irritation, to which Theo and Wren were well aware this could quickly turn into a feud.

"Alright, no fighting today, just fun," Wren flagged his hand as Turbo shot Berri an almost sad look of nervous understanding.

"I'm not fighting," Berri defended in a high pitch tone of innocence, she raised her hands and only just barely got away with said notion due to cutting said impending argument right here, at the quick.

"You two kiss and make up, no tension today, c'mon," Theo urged as he gently nudged Berri's shoulder, though both Berri and Turbo caught eyes in shy cuteness.

"Because you guys are so adamant about Turbo and I somehow physically proving to you two that we're dating, I'm going to make it harder on you and BET you that neither of you will ever see Turbo and I kiss," Berri rushed with girly delight, right on the coattails of her Queenly dominant stance with Lash, not minutes prior. Wren, Theo and Turbo urgently peered to her, though each guy held a different aura of tension, "I don't like PDA anyways, so... The most you'll get out of Turbo and I is a high five and a hug. Kapiche?"

Turbo gently raised his hand for a high five, to which Berri firmly adhered to in the form of a loud slap of their hands. Turbo choked a laugh, shook his head and smiled to Wren and Theo with apology.

"You heard the lady," Turbo mumbled, and although he wasn't too opposed to public displays of affection, he almost felt relieved, as if this took a weight off of their friend group and held healthy boundaries.

"Will you at least tell us how long you two have been in cahoots? Cause we KNOW it hasn't only been THREE DAYS," Wren argued with a laugh as everyone eased up.

"Try three months," Chester's deep, bellowing, unfamiliar voice mumbled; everyone easily shot him looks of incredulous disbelief and blurt out into laughter.

"We had our first kiss awhile ago and that's ALL I'm going to reveal, now can we DROP it?" Berri laughed, she tidied her hair in a flustered way and peered to Turbo in urgency, as if to ask for help, "It's not the world's business, sheesh, everyone is so nosey."

"You're a celebrity, get used to it," Wren muttered in retort, though he eyed Berri and knew, full well, in the secrecy of their intimate, girly talks that surely Wren could privately ease more information out of her, "Fine then, tell us, Turbo what you have in store for us today."

"Business, as usual," Turbo's becoming confident, powerful, masculine voice eased over the group in a solitary cloak of goodness, something Berri nearly fluttered her eyelashes to in girly desire. Turbo gently began to press out of the loose group, inside of his kitchen, and to the more open, ambiguous area of his grey, matte tiles. An area that was sprawling, in between his kitchen, dining area and the steps down to his carpeted living space. He turned about, faced everyone with a smile and met eyes with each curious creature that tailed him like submissive wolves to a pack leader. Turbo held out his arms and inhaled a deep breath, "Though, you guys wouldn't know that. I'm never with you."

"Come off of it, already," Wren barked with a hard laugh as he was first to approach Turbo; he gave him a brotherly nudge of a swat on his upper arm and, although both boys wobbled slightly, they came to correction in a show of cute smiles, the air was filled with sunny banter, something Theo, Berri and Chester sagged deeper into.

"For the past few tours you guys have been on, I've been here, diligently practicing my own core powers," Turbo smiled, he held out his palms for instruction, though everyone hovered in cute, anticipatory wait, "I'm getting good... With ease, I can back track a whole day. I mean, a few months ago, I couldn't even go back fifteen minutes."

"So... You PHYSICALLY time travel, but the world around you just keeps on," Theo wondered as he gestured his hand a little, though he nervously glanced down to Turbo's open palm, just what powers lay underneath his beautiful grey skin, no one knew entirely.

"Right... Something I've been working on is including everyone in my bubble, as well," Turbo braved, and as he gestured for everyone to come in close, they nervously and quickly did so.

Berri curiously peered to Turbo with a proud, incredulous gaze, she watched as everyone, including Chester, came in tight. Turbo lulled his golden, glowing eyes shut, inhaled a deep breath through his nose, expanded his broad chest and skillfully cued his incredible powers. Berri flinched as the wind suddenly whisked about them, and with a great amount of grace and agility, Turbo was successful in getting his entire little group teleported to the roof of his tower, the outdoor abode where only Turbo, Berri and Chester had gone. Berri flinched as the near-summer sun smiled down on them, her pupils tightened in a draw as she peered about and felt her heart surge. She quickly recalled the last time her and Turbo were up here, they endured the tower's first rain storm, as well as their very first kiss. Berri flinched once more the second Wren and Theo now boyishly began to loudly whoop with excitement, they peered to Turbo in unadulterated surprise.

"Holy CRAP let's go again!" Theo urged as he grappled Turbos upper arm, jostled him and finally looked about Turbo's glorious tower top.

"I don't think I've ever been up here," Wren hissed in bewildered delight as him and Theo now began to slowly make their way to the very edge, the higher railing of the tower's incredible sixty-four floor drop.

Berri raised her eyebrows in windswept delight and watched as Turbo proudly joined them, alongside Chester. As her beautiful blue hair whipped about, she watched Turbo move through the sunlight that kissed his matte grey skin, the muted yellow of his eyes scanned his territory, the whole of Orion City. A beautiful, sprawling, eclectic city full of sweet and sour delight, she shone underneath the morning sun. The five softly pressed to the railing, though Berri fixated her gaze to the Kingly individual next to her. A being of incredible purpose and strength, yet an immovable force of unending softness and love, she felt her heart swell with a swirl of regret and relief. How fervently she continued to kick herself for not falling into Turbo's grasp sooner, though how relieved she was now to finally be at this rare individual's side. His fierce, protective gaze sprawled upon his domain far below, a sense of overflowing pride and ownership he was very obviously confident in, Berri only finally noticed she had been idly clutching her heart in an overflow of girly desire. She finally huffed a breath, cleared her throat and straightened her shirt. She flinched as Turbo's deep voice pierced the rushing wind, something Sugar Rush could hardly even begin to try to contain.

"I'm nervous to try this whole endeavor with a whole group, like such, but... I have to start somewhere," Turbo stated to the group with a small, knowing smile, "Hope you guys are up for the ride."

"Hell yeah," Theo urged with a very adamant sting of adventurous excitement, something that very easily remained glued to the group of best friends.

"Just so long as I don't get lost in some weird time warp, or something crazy," Wren choked in bewildered nervousness as him and Turbo shared a laugh.

"I've even been trying to get Chester comfortable with the idea of flying," Turbo braved as he looked over his shoulder, his eyes glossed Berri with sweetness and finally hooked to Chester's figure.

"I'll open my wings," Chester barked in cute, nervous irritation, though with his statement, he ironically tucked his beautiful, tightly wound wings more snug to his fluffy, lithe body. His incredible orange and blue colors popped underneath Sugar Rush's beautiful sunshine, "Nothing more!"

"Wow, Chessy, progress," Berri muttered in smiling sarcasm, to which Chester chuffed a hard breath out his snout and flattened his ears in boyish defiance. Berri opened her mouth to continue talking, though she double-took in surprise as to just what she saw beyond Chester's figure. She dropped her teasing notions and gestured out to the rest of the sprawling tower top, one that Turbo had successfully made homey, in a strange way, "Hey, wait a second... I didn't know you had a POOL up here?"

"Oh, yeah," Turbo chirped in excitement, he gestured over to a very massive, rectangular divide in the tower. Although his pool was all set up, it was tightly sealed over the top. Surrounding it was a comfortable lounge area, and further down the straight of the sealed off pool looked to be a smaller, covered, romantic-looking nook, possibly meant to have a waterfall curtain for added privacy, though everything was turned off. Turbo rested his hand to his broad chest and smiled to his friends, "I figured, hey... Summer is upon us. I know there's always the possibility of being able to swim at the palace, but, I figured I'd make a second getaway for those that want to escape palace grounds."

"Uh, YEAH, count me in," Berri raised her hand in girlish excitement, though she cocked an eyebrow and peered to Turbo in sweet, scheming curiosity; she opened her mouth to kindly test Turbo, here, though Theo cut her off.

"I second that," Theo barked.

"Third," Wren chimed as he crossed his arms and eyed Turbo in grateful excitement.

"What other surprises do you have up your sleeve?" Berri wondered in sassy, girly authority as she put her hands on her hips and shook her head, though Turbo shrugged, held out his hands, once more, and looked about his group of friends.

Turbo chuckled and trailed his confident aura with a quip of boyish warmth, "Why don't we find out?"


	156. Chapter 156

**Reviews :**

 **Awesome Stories May Occur :** Thanks so much! When Tessa time travelled, it was within the code room's data, and not on her own powers or accord. Turbo can't physically go back in time, he can just reroute to where he last was. Similar to teleportation, kind of like a personal rewind, except it has to be in actions he's already made and places he's already visited. I can add your request to the list, and also, Mara does indeed get a love interest. I'm still working out THOSE details, but I already have the guy picked... And y'all have already met him ;)

 **Snake557 :** Thank you! And yes, Chessy is a big fluffy boi

 **faolan1230 :** Haha yeah I would be too. Thank you!

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Flying with Mother by John Powell**

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 ***Chapter 156***

"Alright, guys, keep your wits about you," Turbo declared confidently out to his small group, everyone eagerly peered to him in a show of cute, nervous anticipation. He cleared his throat and was thrilled everyone came in close, including Chester's larger body, "We're about to visit some of the places I've been within the last week, or two. Some of it includes public places, others, places in the palace. I'll start small, and we'll go farther from there."

"Are there any side effects?" Wren worried with a sheepish smile.

"Will we get separated?" Theo staggered, the group was now alive with riled worry.

"You don't think... Maybe one of us should be left in the code room, just in case?" Berri wrinkled her nose and shrugged in cute, worrisome delight; she tried not to act as if she doubted Turbo's ability.

"I have remote control to my share of the code room, no matter where I am," Turbo soothed his friends, though he ominously held his hands out, palms up, something Wren and Theo diligently took note of by darting their eyes down to Turbo's hands, and back up to his face, as if to silently inquire just what was going to take place, "SHOULD we get separated, which... Is highly unlikely, I can teleport us all back together."

"What if we ALL get separated," Berri staggered with a small, nervous laugh.

"Wait, we're going in public?" Wren worried, he gestured to him Theo and Berri, "What if WE are noticed?"

"Turbo will just zap us away," Theo shrugged, though he warily glanced in Turbo's direction, "I mean, right? You're not planning on having us STAY at any of these locations at any given time, right?"

"Just loiter for a second, get our bearings," Turbo shook his head, though he rolled his eyes, sagged his shoulders and deflated through a hearty, annoyed laugh, "Come ON you guys, it's going to be fun. I just want to show you guys my improvement. I promise I won't torture any of you."

"Alright, alright, come on, let's go," Berri quipped as she flagged her hands downward and took another step closer to Turbo's presence, she cutely wrinkled her nose and requested above a whisper, "Do the thing."

Turbo raised an eyebrow and gave her a sly, expectant smile, and with a deep inhale, he steadied his powers and allowed his deep voice to utter a small notion of timeless energy, "Turbotastic."

Berri scrunched her eyes tight in a nervous overflow, with the sound of rushing wind, she felt her skin prickle with goosebumps. The heightened feel of electricity in the air, she began to feel her heart race with the familiar feel of it all. Knowing full well that said coding, said rush of power, was strictly under the umbrella of Turbo's ancient, powerful coding, she relished in the static of it all, like being enveloped by a bolt of hot lightning, the strange desire to fall into it's strength for an eternity. With the rush of everything that buzzed their senses, the group suddenly came to a weird calm. Berri inhaled a startled breath, fluttered her eyes open a little and was delighted to find the group now in the employee parking lot behind Sugarbucks. Everyone in the group, excluding Turbo, straightened from their nervous, hunched positions and finally got a good look about.

"Sugarbucks," Wren mumbled, he crossed his arms and kindly gave Turbo a knowing smile of pure tease, "Wow, so adventurous."

"This isn't the only place I've been!" Turbo argued with a hard laugh as the group relaxed in a small sag, to which Chester waggled his head a little and straightened out the beautiful red and orange fur on his neck and mane.

"Twenty bucks we only go to places in the palace," Theo muttered, though everyone tightened in a draw of suspended terror as Turbo held out his palms, once more, cueing to everyone that they were about to back track.

In the rush of warping that the gang was finally beginning to get used to, the electricity in their ears warbled in a mix of crackled lightning and reversed conversation. Berri dared to open her eyes amidst the short transition and was floored to find a splay of color, light and indistinguishable places, like traveling on board a rainbow in the midst of a terrifying lightning storm. Before she could allow terror to plague her, she shut her eyes tight in the thud of arriving at their next destination and eased to a sag of softness. Berri fluttered open her eyes and felt her brain immediately recognize the sound of what seemed to be the whirring of an air compressor, the clanking of power tools and other automobile equipment, Berri inhaled a shaky breath and tenderly looked about a massive, unfamiliar warehouse and auto parts store.

"Hey, Turbo," A grungy looking technician, from two dozen feet away, loudly called with a wave of his clawed hand and arm.

"Bobby," Turbo happily called as he straightened and softly waved, and although Wren, Theo and Berri looked to be entirely shellshocked, Turbo looked as comfortable as ever. A few stragglers of customers, nearby, stopped and ogled the group in a soft show of surprise, though somehow, the mechanics and shops associates looked as if they were unphased, as if this was potentially a common occurrence for them, for Turbo to be popping up in random places and times, like such.

"Hows the Lumos now that it's outfitted with turbo?" Bobby's deep voice wondered as he stood calmly with another customer, and although the customer looked stunned by the whole ordeal, the two casually carried on their conversation.

"Drives like a dream, appreciated your help with it," Turbo pressed with whole confidence, and it was here did Berri furrow her eyebrows in a roll of entire disbelief and hone her whole attention to her boyfriend; someone who was entirely terrified to go out in public, once upon a time, "I can build an engine from the ground up, but I'm useless when it comes to the brand."

"Americans," Bobby scoffed with a gesture, though he cocked an eyebrow and finally smiled towards the small group Turbo had with him, which included the big and bumbling Chester, "Whose your friends?"

"Ah, my best guy friends, and lovely girlfriend," Turbo introduced gently as he warmly placed his masculine hand on the broad of Berri's lower back, "Got Wren, Theo, Chester here, and, princess Berri."

"I-I was just about to say," Bobby mumbled in almost star struck, smiling nervousness, "Why don't you warn me before you bring royalty in here? Let alone celebrities? The place looks like garbage! I coulda, I don't know... Tidied at least a little."

"Hey, Turbo," Another mechanic, from across the way, loudly called with excitement, to which Turbo perked up and waved a little.

"Clyde, my man," Turbo volleyed, though he finally cocked an eyebrow and shot Wren a cheeky, dominant look of challenge, his deep voice pressed in Wren's direction with whole authority, "You were saying?"

"Oh, shut up, just zoom us off to your next stop," Wren muttered in irritation, though him, Wren, Theo and Berri kindly waved at a few customers that happily looked on in starstruck glee.

"See yah, guys!" Turbo called, and in a sting of lightning, the gang was off, once more.

With a hard laugh and a scrunched demeanor of whole excitement, the group was quickly warped into the nonsense of humming electricity once more, and although Berri could feel herself itching to get closer to Turbo, amidst these bouts of rapid travel, she relished in the feeling of his coding every time they were zipped off to another location. The warm enveloping embrace of his powers, Berri felt her breath becoming short, soon to be entirely taken away. With the strange feelings finally becoming the norm, the group was suddenly thrusted into the fluorescent isles of a smaller convenient store near Orion City's tallest tower, an easy stop for Turbo. Berri perked up in tender curiosity and looked around, specifically the isle they were easily plopped right into.

"And, here I thought that you code room shop," Theo blurt with a soft laugh, they looked around in wariness and was delighted to find that no one was in the isle with them.

"Hair care isle," Chester muttered in cute delight as he inhaled a few hard sniffles, his snout was pressed into the bend of a few bottles of men's shampoo.

"How did you know that?" Theo wondered incredulously, even Chester furrowed his furry brow and shot Theo a bewildered smile through blind, foggy eyes.

"Theo, what happens to all of your senses if one sense is eradicated?" Wren mumbled as he crossed his arms and gestured to Chester's more than capable snout, "Everything else is heightened. The boy can smell."

"User can I, this isle is over-stimulating," Chester finally wrinkled his snout, flatted his ears and softly nudged the whole front of his wolf-like face into Turbo's center; Turbo easily smiled and rubbed the top of Chester's head in a show of brotherly love.

"Gotta keep that hair lookin' good, then, I guess?" Berri chimed with a cute smile as she crossed her arms and looked up at Turbo through sweet, girly, twinkling eyes.

"It ain't gettin' any greyer, babe," Wren barked with a soft laugh as Turbo bashfully rubbed the back of his head and eased the group a sheepish smile, "So, this adventure has very quickly turned into... A day in the life of Turbo."

"I warned you, this is where I've been in the past week or two," Turbo argued cutely, though just as another customer walked by, far down the isle, Turbo inhaled a deep breath and opened his palms up and out, a gentle bout of preparation that had the group of four, about him, quickly tucking closer in readiness.

As the transition from being grounded, to being thrusted into a wave of a lightning storm, got a bit easier, the group lazily loosened their nervous huddles about each other. Although Berri was sure this could cause some issue, she was well aware Turbo would speak up if something were to go wrong. In the fourth pop of arrival, everyone grunted amidst the soft landing, the clearing of the air, and in the fluttering eyes of confusion and the scent that hit her brain, Berri furrowed her brows in whole, unadulterated confusion and was shocked to find that Turbo had previously visited her mother's and father's home.

"Uncle Zed," Theo chimed in boyish uncertainty, a wide smile to boot, and although Zed was tucked inside his and Tessa's lovely work den, all splayed with the gorgeous span of floor to ceiling windows, he hardly looked up from his work, a hefty mess of holographic charts and the like.

"Don't worry, I warned him that we might pop in," Turbo mumbled cutely, he playfully saluted Zed in an act of whole bravery, and with said rush of boyish challenge, he cocked an eyebrow and easily shot Zed a wide, knowing smile of a greeting, "Dad."

"Son," Zed's deep, reverberating, authoritative voice volleyed in said greeting, though his nonplussed mumble proved that Turbo was almost pushing the envelope with said pet name.

Berri raised her eyebrows in whole entire surprise, a stark splash of red easily crowned her cheeks, and although she only had enough time to look back and forth between Turbo and her own father, across the stretch, Turbo opened his palms, once more, and time warped the five away. In the thrust of movement, Berri finally popped open her eyes in unadulterated surprise and was now even further embarrassed to find that Turbo had brought the group back to her own bedroom. Berri huffed a sigh of agitation, held her forehead and almost shot Turbo a look of shy urgency.

"Hoookay, so what have you been doing in HERE, then, might I ask?" Wren loudly asked, the group of five now crowded in Berri's lightly messy bedroom, which wasn't entirely suitable for four bodies plus a whole lykata; Turbo sauntered to Berri's cozy, billowy lounge chair, sat down, lugged his left ankle over his right knee, carefully swung her favorite acoustic guitar over his lap and struck a beautiful, single chord of ringing clarity.

" _It's none of your business,_ " Turbo deep voice beautifully sang out to the room, in which Berri, Chester and Theo suddenly erupted into happy, knowing laughter.

"It IS my business, you've brought us ON this field trip of yours!" Wren shouted as he gestured his arms out in rising, playful anger, though he did whatever he could to stifle a widening, curious smile, "WHEN were you going to tell us you literally have the singing voice of an angel. WHEN."

"Also when you got so comfortable with the King that calling him DAD was easy for you?" Berri choked with a wide, incredulous smile, Turbo held his breath and raised his eyebrows in now pin-prickled surprise, he slowly returned Berri's beautiful guitar back to the stand it was resting on.

"And he called you SON," Theo blurt, everyone was now lost in bewildered laughter.

"I just got brave," Turbo mumbled as he slowly stood, though he bashfully glanced in Berri's direction and inhaled a deep breath as his eyes stabbed to Wren's, once more, "And, to answer your question, I was in here on Saturday. Napping. Happy?"

"Hmm," Wren hummed aggressively as he crossed his arms and side-eyed Turbo with a widening grin of boyish, sneaky charm, "Likely story."

"Think what you will," Turbo shrugged with a cocky smile, though everyone flinched in stiffened surprise as he held his palms out and upwards, once more, "Hold on to yourselves."

With the continuous rush of wind and electricity, Berri fluttered her eyes and suddenly felt the kiss of Sugar Rush's warm sun hit her skin, though in the weird toss about this time around, she felt their arrival become sloppy and uneducated. Berri grunted a noise of uncertainty and was suddenly thrusted to the ground, thick, though soft Sugar Rush grass all ladened with sweet golds and greens. Just barely catching herself on her hands and knees, she huffed a noise of uncertainty and urgently looked up to find that her group had been scattered. Turbo, maybe three dozen feet away, sat up in dire worry and peered about, Chester's tail, paws and wings flailed until he brought himself up on all four paws, and as Chester's cute, bumbling figure bounced his way over to where Wren was, Berri held her breath and very quickly realized that Theo was missing.

"We lost Theo!" Berri urged in a spike of terror as she quickly got to her feet, though as she rushed to where Turbo was sitting, she came within a few feet of him and noticed he was already cueing up his shared, remote portion of the code room via hot red holograms.

"It's okay, I'm sure he's safe," Turbo mumbled as he finally attempted to bring himself to a stand. With Berri's assistance, he got to his feet and looked up and around. Underneath a very large, billowy plains tree, all clad with golden leaves that twinkled in the sun, Turbo furrowed his eyebrows in whole entire confusion and lofted his muted, matte yellow gaze across the stretch of unending plains they were in. The palace was far in the distance, with Orion City on the other side of it, twinkling in the sunshine. Turbo huffed a shaky chuckle and shook his head, "How did we get way out here?"

"You've never been over here before?" Berri wondered as she winced and pulled a long, sturdy golden stick out of her blue hair.

"Please tell me why the HELL you were all the way out here in the middle of nowhere, dude," Wren loudly blurt in now entire irritation as he stumbled over to the two, though everyone jolted as Chester nudged his nose into Berri's backside and then into Turbo's chest and center as a proper show of just how bumbling he was, due to his blindness.

"I wasn't," Turbo mumbled in curiosity as he assessed Berri, Wren and Chester, to make sure they were physically okay. He inhaled a deep, refreshed breath and finally looked back down to the smaller hologram out before him, "Welp... I found where Theo went."

"Where?" Wren wondered as he crossed his arms, though he took this opportunity to get a good look around as they lingered in the sprawl of shade their lone tree provided.

"He's back in Sugarbucks' parking lot," Turbo mumbled cutely as Berri retrieved her phone from her pocket and began to text Theo, just to potentially ease his mind. Turbo smiled with positivity and heaved a long, relieved sigh, "Y'think maybe we could see if he'd grab us drinks?"

"Ooo, yes," Wren motioned his hand towards Turbo.

"Puppiccino," Chester mumbled as he lowered his head between Berri and Turbo, he finally relaxed on his four paws and hovered with the group in gentle waiting.

"Maybe we can all go later tonight," Turbo suggested cutely, "You guys don't have a single clue how much I missed you all. Even doing mundane things is a blast."

Berri sagged and softly peered to Turbo over her shoulder with a nervous frown, and although she was expecting Turbo's demeanor to be also deflated, she flinched in surprise to see him smiling into the holographic display before him. As hard as she tried to stifle it, his contagious smile so easily spread to her with purpose, she finally allowed a sweet smile to crown her warm cheeks. With his eyes confidently glued to his craft, he tilted his head and gestured his hand a little, so to continue on.

"Sorry I kinda got a little sloppy, there," Turbo mumbled with a small, bashful smile, though Berri jolted her eyes down to her phone the second Turbo's eye contact lofted in her direction; she feared being caught ogling him, "I-It's... Actually relatively easy doing this whole time warp thing with a group. I was certain I wouldn't have this much success."

"You're more confident in yourself," Wren eased knowingly with a shrug, to which Berri warmly returned her cute eye contact back to Turbo's.

"Wren's right, babe," Berri's low voice soothed as lovingly as she could, and with such, Turbo sagged his shoulders and faced the two with a humble look of gratitude.

"I-I guess... I have a lot to be happy about," Turbo shrugged, and although him and Berri caught eyes in the whirl of swirling, impending romance, he gave her a sweet smile and a certain look, as if to promise that maybe later they could fill each other's cups. He expanded his chest for a deep inhale and looked back down to the red holographic display before successfully cueing it away, "I'm going to teleport the lot of us to the palace's code room... We can go from there."

"Where WERE you trying to take us?" Wren questioned, though they huddled close in a tight circle of nervousness as Turbo successfully whisked the four away, and with said achievement, they reopened their eyes to the lovely, still, humming vibration of Sugar Rush's massive, beautiful code room. Wren raised his eyebrows in poised surprise and looked all about the glowing code boxes, the hundreds and thousands that twinkled like burning stars against Sugar Rush's glowing sunshine, "W-Wow... I-It's been awhile since I've been inside the code room."

"I love it in here," Berri sighed in relaxed serenity, she allowed her beautiful eyes to get lost in the gorgeous splay of code boxes, all surging with electricity and purpose.

"Far more majestic than my little code room," Turbo mumbled as he, too, looked up, though Berri eyed him and noted he still had on that confident, sweet smile. She long-blinked in cuteness, and before she could even begin thinking about how to navigate asking Turbo the reasoning he decided to call Zed 'dad', the code room suddenly buzzed with extra life.

"... Oh COME ON," Theo barked in whole irritation as he materialized into the code room. He threw his hands up and huffed a hard chuckle as Turbo, Berri, Wren and Chester began to slowly press closer to him, "I was just about to order myself a drink!"

"Oh, my bad," Turbo mumbled cutely, he shrugged and gave Theo an excited look, "We were going to go to Sugarbucks later. Maybe we could do something else, in the city, as well, later tonight."

"Like what? We'll be recognized everywhere," Theo uttered almost sadly, and though the group was in the rush of being tossed about Sugar Rush, everyone hovered in each others presence in an unspoken bout of stillness.

"I think there are parts of Orion City that are more outskirts, rural parts where we may not be as recognized," Berri chimed with a shrug, she tried her hardest to keep the air positive between everyone.

"I'll ask this again," Wren mumbled in playful annoyance, "Where, exactly, were you trying to take us before Theo was almost treated to Sugarbucks and the rest of us weren't?"

"Oh, the palace's front gates," Turbo mumbled, though he bashfully glanced in Berri's direction.

"Why were you at the palace's front gates?" Wren wondered, though Turbo inhaled a shaky breath and opened his palms, once more. Wren raised his eyebrows in prickled surprise as everyone stiffened and stepped in closer to Turbo, "Shit, warn us first!"

Everyone blurt out into laughter that easily got warbled and mixed with the buzz of electricity as they time warped to a different location, though in the suddenly whirl of a destination drop, Turbo felt his face get hot as to just where they had been placed. Desperate to try and get his bearings and get a grip on just the locations he'd like to be taken to, he had tried to aim for the palace's rec hall and was nearly embarrassed to find that the dewy group had been placed right at the trunk of Ralph's and Vanellope's gorgeous cross-striped tree; an infamous tree that was dedicated to the love of all royalty in palace walls, a tree in which the bark was earned for the crafting of an engagement ring to Sugar Rush's proceeding queen or princess, something that Turbo was entirely certain the group would catch on to. With a nervous choke, and trying not to seem too obvious, Turbo urgently did what he could to teleport the group anywhere but the location they were daintily placed at, and in the throw around, everyone was messily thrusted back to the golden fields they had just returned from.

A scattered, thrown mess easily fifty feet from each other, Turbo huffed a choke, sat up in the golden grass and nervously looked about in dwindling confidence. He was relieved to find that everyone had teleported to this particular location in one piece, and as Chester barked a notion of cute irritation, him, Berri and Theo began to clumsily stand and help each other up from far across the golden fields they had been tossed to. Turbo heaved a shaky sigh and got a good look about his location, though he flinched in surprise once he noticed the palace was an entire world closer than last time, nearly less than a mile from their position. With a firm sag of his shoulders in whole annoyance, Turbo groaned a noise and clumsily got to a stand. Whilst brushing the grass and chocolate dirt off of his pants, he flinched in startled surprise the second Wren's voice tenderly pressed on in much closer proximity than Turbo was expecting.

"Caught'ya red handed," Wren mumbled sweetly, though somehow his voice was laced with authority; Turbo jolted and peered hard into Wren's eyes as he, too, brushed dirt and grass off of his knees and legs.

"Yeah, I know, not the most graceful landing," Turbo huffed under his breath, he could feel his face get hot, he held his breath and knew he'd do anything to worm his way out of this impending, serious conversation Wren was sharp enough to sniff out, "I need a smoke after all this nonsense-"

"Hey," Wren snapped, almost darkly; this was enough to snap Turbo out of his shy maneuvering, and with such, Turbo raised his eyebrows and glued his muted, frozen eyes deep into Wren's. Wren stood, his white hair sharply glistened in the glorious Sugar Rush sunshine, his handsome, electric eyes hooked tight into Turbo's with a wave of whole authority, and with a great deal of bravery, Wren raised his eyebrows in dominant surge and gestured his hand out in Berri's direction, "There something you maybe want to tell me? Fill me in on?"

Turbo faltered and felt a weird sense of fear plague him. He was aware he had likely stupidly given away the fact that he was en route to one day asking Berri to marry him, though the weight of it all suddenly came sinking down on his shoulders. As Sugar Rush's future King, he locked eyes with Wren and knew that said decision didn't just include him and Berri, it included everyone in some way, shape or form. Wren eased a confident smile, side-eyed Turbo in still dominant, sweet knowing and began to very slowly step away from Turbo. Berri, Chester and Theo began to loudly laugh and chatter amongst themselves as they called to Turbo's and Wren's location, from far off, though they ultimately began to march towards the palace grounds on their own. Wren began to step out of the shade of the nearby tree they were in, he gestured a little and peered back to Turbo with a knowing smile.

"C'mon," Wren's deep voice warmly chimed, "Just us. Walk and talk."

* * *

 **A/N :**

 **Hey guys~ I drew THREE pieces of fanart for this very special, important chapter. They're on my deviantART, username Vyntresser. They're titled in order, from oldest to newest.**

 **Just Us**

 **Ol' Reliable**

 **Good News Bad News (taken place in the next chapter)**


	157. Chapter 157

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Aww wow, thank you so much! That means a lot to me.

 **faolan1230 :** True. He's got Taffyta's coding, after all xD

 **Nikki Firesong :** He's definitely taking the slow and steady role seriously, something that eventually drives Berri nuts, but for now, they're both sort of just feeling it out slowly. As if I haven't prolonged the two for long enough haha. Thank you for your kind words!

 **Snake557 :** Yep! :) Thank you!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Luma Pools by Gareth Coker**

* * *

 ***Chapter 157***

"Tell me, friend," Wren's deep, cute voice pressed with a lilt of warm knowing. Both him and Turbo pressed on through the golden grass, out of earshot of Berri, Theo and Chester. As both men fell into step with each other, Turbo bashfully raised his eyebrows, kept his head down and softly peered to Wren out of the corner of his eye. The smile Wren donned, the bob of knowing, Turbo was well aware they both were secretively on the same page. Although Turbo felt confident this would now be a smooth, quick conversation, he almost wanted to warp the two into a frozen bubble of time stood still, to relish in this sweet moment. A brotherly friendship the both began to comfortably sag into, Turbo was well aware Wren was due to becoming a very solid figure in his life. However slow and steady it was, Turbo hovered in Wren's sunny, loving, sassy aura as he cutely pressed on, "You call the King of Sugar Rush your father and zip us right to the base of Ralph and Vanellope's romantic cross-striped tree..."

"All signs point North," Turbo's grumbly voice teased, they kept their conversation quiet and were thrilled to hear Berri, Theo and Chester loudly laugh and bicker, far ahead of them.

"You've clearly covered your bases when it comes to approval and rings," Wren started tenderly, "From Knight to Prince to King... It's clear who you're appointing as Queen."

"Blue," Turbo eased in cute knowing with a nod, his golden eyes pierced the golden plain and landed on Berri's beautiful blue hair, a gem of a bride he was hoping would one day come to fruition.

"Y'got a lot of colors to choose from, for the people who would ultimately surround you... White, grey, green," Wren started with a small chuckle and a shrug, and although Turbo furrowed his eyebrows in tender confusion, both boys caught eyes in sweetness as Wren carried on with as much humility as possible, "...Do I qualify some sort of formal interview for the position of your right hand man?"

Turbo raised his eyebrows and now quickly gathered what this was suddenly all about. Wren's dewy, though fierce gaze gently peered into Turbo's soul in tender question. They pressed on through the grass with locked eyes of brotherly understanding, though Turbo finally scoffed a small, incredulous laugh and looked down to his feet. Stunned that he even was now in this position, where he'd be honored a group of men and women to be his team, to be at his hands, Turbo bugged his eyes, bobbed a nod and inhaled a deep, shaky breath of full realization. He quickly had to remove the fact that not only would he be gaining Berri as a bride, as an eventual queen, though also a dozen other people underneath him and at the ready. Turbo quickly scanned potential men to be his right hand men, though the one that Turbo would put at the very tippy top of that list was fortunately the man hovered a foot from him, in rhythm with his footsteps, in total sync with the path Turbo was paving. Turbo finally long-blinked in understanding and gave Wren a sweet, humble smile, full of gratitude.

"Of course you do," Turbo's deep voice pressed, and although he had stature over Wren, as one of Sugar Rush's Knights, he raised his eyebrows, alongside a smug, closed-mouth smile and gave Wren a sneaky side eye, his dominant air now playfully hovered over Wren even further, "We can even so much as start the interview process right now. Why don't you tell me a bit about why you think you'd be qualified to be at my right hand, once I'm eventually King?"

"Well, first off, I'd like to make clear that no proposal planning should happen without my consultant," Wren smartly listed, he so easily reversed the air of dominance so that it hovered in his favor, though he was well aware it'd probably only be temporary, "I'm sure you were going to talk with me about it, anyhow? You're not only marrying my little cousin, but she's my best friend... I consider her a sister."

"I was due to having a really important talk with Ralph and Zed, this coming Sunday," Turbo mumbled down to his feet with a smile, he finally shot Wren a teasing glower, though his grin remained, "You were next on the list, dude. I'm sorry, but I think Berri's father and grandfather should get my attention first and foremost. As well as Ace."

"Okay, you're off the hook for that," Wren muttered with a bashful smile as he looked off, though his smile only broadened as Turbo blurt a boyish laugh and nudged Wren's shoulder, "I'd be qualified to be at your right hand because... Although I don't talk much about it, I've had a wonderful example, my whole life... Just what it takes to be a, well... Guardian angel, for lack of better words."

"Rancis is a good man," Turbo's deep voice softly assured, he looked forward and was thrilled to see that Berri, Theo and Chester continued to keep a far distance, they joked and laughed as they pressed on, "He's done well for Sugar Rush, and for Ralph, when he was King. I share that honor with him, now, but I know he could easily do it all singlehandedly. I'm sure you'd definitely follow in his footsteps."

"Not only that, but, in case it's not clear," Wren started as he laid his hand ot his broad chest, he gave Turbo a cheeky grin and waggled his eyebrows, "I have all of Throttle's timeless wisdom."

"Ho boy," Turbo huffed, both boys loudly laughed as Turbo scrunched his eyes shut and shook his head, "I guess you're not wrong!"

"I'm never wrong," Wren chimed as he pointed, "You can ask Throttle, he'd agree."

"I bet he would," Turbo mumbled in the trail of their laughter, he shook his head and sagged in Wren's loving, palpable presence.

"I'd keep your feet on the ground, I'm purebred Sugar Rush," Wren started smartly as he gave Turbo a confident, sweet smile, "I have roots in the hierarchy, and although I may not be royalty... I'd still do whatever I could to make you proud."

Turbo raised his eyebrows and softened his gaze into Wren's eyes, their boyish conversation gently waved in and out of seriousness, though as Turbo hovered in Wren's sweetness, he could see Wren's cheeky statement, about Throttle's coding, come to fruition, right before his eyes. Somehow crowned with a halo of infinite knowledge, Turbo could see Throttle's own soul somehow emanating from Wren's becoming-intuitive gaze. Turbo knew, full well, he'd be stupid not to have someone as sharp and dedicated, as Wren, by his side, and although he hadn't yet thought about these tiny details, outside of the woman he'd want to end up with, he heaved a shaky breath and was well aware this now encompassed a larger team of dedicated individuals. Turbo finally huffed a soft, quiet breath of a laugh through his nose and long blinked in understanding, his golden eyes glossed aimlessly across Wren's broad chest and clavicles, and just as he was due to opening his mouth and lofting Wren the position, hands down, Wren pointed in cheekiness and beamed a cute smile.

"I also know how to sword fight, believe it or not," Wren rushed, to which Turbo faltered and furrowed his eyebrows.

"You do?" Turbo choked a laugh, Wren bobbed a nod, rolled his eyes and looked off.

"I don't like talking about it," Wren mumbled, "It's... Also been a long time since I've practiced, but... Yeah. My dad taught Penny and I everything we know."

"That's right," Turbo sighed and looked ahead with a nod, he wrinkled his nose and gave Wren a snarky side-eye, "Your new telekinetic powers probably replaced sword fighting, though, huh."

"Ehh... It could, but I'm sure my dad would be really sad if I ever stopped practicing with him, whenever I can," Wren rushed meekly with a shrug, "I like it, anyhow. Good way to get out any anger or frustrations."

"I'd be willing to bet," Turbo's deep voice warmly concluded, and with a gentle bout of silence between both boys, he was well aware Wren was hovered in cute wait. Turbo finally peered back to Wren's shivering, curious eyes and peaked Wren a toothy smile, "So... How soon can you start?"

Wren raised his eyebrows and firmly stabbed his bewildered gaze into Turbo's, and as they held eyes, Turbo finally beamed a wider smile and blurt a laugh as Wren's facial expression sloped from incredulous disbelief to almost smiling annoyance.

"As soon as you're crowned King, my dude, you just say the word," Wren choked a small, happy laugh and looked up to Sugar Rush's wild blue, he looked as light as a feather.

"... I don't need a crown in order to need a right hand man," Turbo mumbled cutely, he eyed Wren and narrowed his gaze, "I clearly need as much help as I can get, I'm a wreck."

"Ho, you will be," Wren grunted with a wide smile he couldn't stifle to save his life.

"Can you start today?" Turbo cheesed, he shrugged and looked about before giving Wren a cute, knowing smile, "A position just opened up."

"I can start right now," Wren chimed in a sassy tone of polite sweetness as he bobbed his head.

"Good deal," Turbo chuckled as he held out his hand, for a handshake, though as Wren eagerly gripped and both men firmly shook, their footwork tenderly slowed.

Although they shook twice, Turbo reached his other hand out and gave Wren a pat on the backside of his shoulder, both boys leaned in to a boyish, quick side hug, though in the hover of their handshake still firmly clenched, Turbo softened and peered down into Wren's eyes with an overflow of brotherly love. With the same fervor dealt from Wren, they both quickly sagged back into each other's tight gravity and welcomed a full, firm embrace. Turbo heaved a small chuckle over the top of Wren's shoulder and squeezed him tight, and with the gentle tug of their strong arms amidst a rather vulnerable show of love and affection, Turbo allowed his eyes to gloss the glorious palace beyond them, an incredible strong hold that would one day be his to care for. He firmly pat Wren's upper back and mumbled him a sweet notion of quiet, bashful secrecy.

"Love you, man," Turbo's deep voice pressed, and with one last squeeze and a few firm pats to each other's upper backs, they slowly sagged out of each other's warm embrace.

"Love you too," Wren mumbled bashfully, and though they both eased away entirely, Wren grunted a startled laugh once Turbo pat his upper arm and gave him a playful shove.

"Now get away from me," Turbo muttered with a playful smile, to which Wren sharply furrowed his eyebrows and nearly gaped with a laugh.

"You GUYS," Berri drawled in teasing, girly delight, "Aw, when's the wedding? I was waiting for you boys to kiss!"

"Very funny," Wren barked as Berri, Theo and Chester finally had turned heel and was due to closing the gap between the two groups, though they had begun doing this the second Wren and Turbo were preoccupied amidst their handshakes and hug.

"What's going on?" Theo wondered with an equally as confused laugh.

"Oh, Wren was just saying how he's with Throttle but really I'm the TurboTime guy he's after," Turbo stated in funny nonchalance; Wren cocked an eyebrow and shot Turbo a teasing look of whole offense.

"Wren, he's mine, back off," Berri teasingly snapped as she crossed her arms, though Turbo threw up his hands and began to walk away from the group.

"You jerk," Wren choked with a wide, playful grin, though Turbo looked over his shoulder and gave Wren a sweet smile of understanding as everyone began to press towards the palace, once more.

"Okay, but what was that really about?" Berri finally mumbled to Turbo as him and Chester began to lead the way; Wren and Theo loudly began to bicker amongst themselves.

"He just wanted dating advice," Turbo eased quietly, him, Berri and Chester were now successfully out of earshot of Theo's and Wren's now louder chattering.

"Day four and you're already handing out dating advice?" Berri sneered as she gave Turbo a sarcastically impressed look, though Turbo opened his mouth to retort, Chester huffed a hard noise of a laugh and successfully nudged the side of his whole skull into Turbo's side, which caused him to falter on his words in a wobble of attempting to catch his footing, "Guess you, well... Did have a relationship before me. Foot in mouth."

"I-it's all good," Turbo chuckled as he finally steadied himself and firmly wrapped his arm and hand about the underside of Chester's jaw as they walked side by side. He firmly cupped his hand around and about the top of Chester's snout, gave the side of Chester's broad, dark nose a few firm smooches and allowed the two to cozy up whilst they walked, "I wouldn't be so quick to be confident about it all, just yet, but considering Throttle's my brother..."

"I was gunna say," Berri included with a shrug, and as the two walked, they eagerly peered to the palace they began to slowly and finally approach. Although they could've easily teleported to it, Berri quite enjoyed the small walk in the sunshine. With the gorgeous spires that glinted against the sun, the lovely palace flags that slowly brisked in the breeze with pride, Berri inhaled a deep breath and silently appreciated her lovely home. In the gentle draw, Turbo gave his adoring gaze to Berri, from the beautiful palace she continued to ogle. He sneakily admired her and smiled a cute, lovestruck little grin of delight, he hung on Berri's every impending word as she inhaled a readied breath and so softly pressed on, "You're really getting good, with those powers, babe. I mean, really good."

"Y'think so?" Turbo pressed with warm humility, he softened and soaked in all of her admiration.

"I know so," Berri chimed as her vivid, near-turquoise eyes pierced his with love and confidence, she bobbed a nod and finally began to sag into his side a little. With the almost seductive draw of her hand into his, they warmly fell into rhythm with each other and intertwined their fingers in a slow sink of desire. She gave him a cute, innocent smile and shrugged her sun-kissed bare shoulders, "I'd like to see how far back you can eventually go, I guess that is until we... Well..."

"... Until we what?" Turbo wondered cutely, he squeezed her hand as the three continued to walk, though Berri shook her head and looked off, her cheeks began to turn red, cueing Turbo into believing she potentially almost got ahead of herself. He raised his eyebrows in now dire, nervous curiosity and gave her a mildly exagerated look of anticipatory wait, "Oh, c'mon, don't leave me hanging, like that, what were you going to say?"

"No, it was... Really forward, just forget it," Berri mumbled with a nervous, reserved smile, and though Turbo huffed a shaky noise of playful annoyance, Chester perked his ears, bared his incredible, scary fangs in a wide smile and uttered a deep notion of no return.

"Until you guys swap codes and have to relearn everything," Chester smoothly grumbled, his deep voice pressed on with confidence, though some vowels and consonants he easily flubbed in a cute, uneducated way.

"That... Yeah," Berri cutely chirped as she tucked her hair behind her left ear and eagerly looked off, though Turbo eyed her in cute delight and tried his hardest to reserve the widest, most playfully annoyed smile.

"You're really cute when you're nervous," Turbo dared sweetly, his deep voice coat her heart like a cloak of comfort, though Chester finally huffed a hard grunt of a noise, lifted his head in irritation, lightly sprawled his wings, raised his hackles and finally did what he could to trot forward and away from the two.

"No more mushiness!" Chester yelled teasingly, to which Turbo and Berri jolted with his reaction and blurt out laughing.

"Bo, what do you mean by that?" Berri giggled nervously as Turbo unravelled their fingers and swung his arm across Berri's little shoulders, he lovingly pulled her into a side hug as the two continued walking.

"It's different, you're usually so upfront with words," Turbo mumbled into the top of her head as he finally eased a small kiss, or two, into her beautiful blue hair. Berri bashfully smiled into the side of Turbo's chest as she wrapped her arm about his thicker body and strong back, she bit her lower lip and watched as Chester continued to aimlessly trot away, in which Turbo pressed on in secretive warmth, "It's sweet to see a different side of you."

"Careful what you wish for," Berri meekly uttered through a bashful smile as she lulled her eyes shut and continued on her pace, next to Turbo, with his guidance, "I'll stop talking altogether."

"Bo, where to next?!" Theo suddenly called from two dozen feet back, to which Turbo stood up a little straighter and eased out of his and Berri's romantic little bubble.

"Sugarbucks?" Turbo suggested with a wide grin, to which Theo loudly agreed.

"You really wanna add caffeine to all this nonsense, Turbo?" Wren called in authoritative snarkiness, to which Turbo shrugged and shot both boys a daring smile.

"Well, sure, why not?" Turbo braved, his grin remained, unabated, "It's not every day we get to faff around and do whatever we want, now, is it?"


	158. Chapter 158

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** Aww, :( Wow. thank you so much. I'm really glad all you guys have rallied around me for so long, and kept me going with all the positive and lovely reviews. It really motivates me to keep going, and I'm honored to have lovely friends, such as yourself! Thank you, again!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **We'll Be Alright by Travie McCoy**

 **My Gun by Tove Lo**

* * *

 ***Chapter 158***

"The acoustics in here are AMAZINNNNG" Wren suddenly yelled, loud in a held note of a perfect tone; the four were alive with energy inside Turbo's glow of a code room, and although the city below was twinkling against the stark, black, nighttime sky, Turbo's typically dim code room was fully lit in a bright, radiant beam of warmth.

"Flawlessly designed," Turbo's deep voice pressed into a nearby microphone, the glass of his code room nearly bevelled with the hefty loft of bass his voice provided. Turbo cocked an eyebrow and shot Berri a sweet smile, "By Queen Tessa herself."

"You think she just KNEW you were a singing, guitar playing maniac?" Berri wondered as she flicked her long blue hair over her shoulder and adjusted her favorite lime green guitar over her chest, the strap dug between her breasts in a cheeky show of flirty power she knew she so easily held over Turbo. She shot him a coy smile and shrugged her bare shoulders, "Or just plain coincidence?"

"Who knows," Turbo grumbled as he leaned away from the mic and heaved a satisfied sigh, he eyed each of his friends and gestured his hands outwards, "I've been DREAMING of a jam session like this, you guys."

"I really don't know why you didn't speak up sooner, my guy," Wren mumbled as he took his huge, over-ear headphones off and gently set them to the sound board he was comfortably lounged at. He swirled on his spin-stool and beamed Turbo a cheeky smile, "Look, I didn't want to say anything, but you know, full well, our contract is ending with Gunner."

"For User's sakes, you want ME to join you guys on stage," Turbo muttered with a wide, almost incredulous smile, though Berri raised her eyebrows in gentle, hopeful desire and side-eyed Turbo in curious wondering, though she deflated the second Turbo rolled his eyes and finally gave Wren a cheeky look of detest, "I'd be gunned down immediately."

"By Gunner? Or," Theo trailed in sarcastic curiosity.

"Hey, offer still stands, you heard it here first," Wren raised his hands, to which Theo gently set down his drum sticks and got to his feet.

"Yeah, man, you and Berri could sing together," Theo encouraged lovingly as he gestured to Berri with a sweet smile, "Or you could trade off-"

"Let's table it, Teddy," Berri stabbed with whole, agitated annoyance, though she so cleverly laced it with a sweet smile and a small shake of cute disapproval, it was clear to every man before her that she was easily masking a brewing problem, underneath her peachy skin, though she shrugged in nonchalance and gently set her guitar in a nearby stand. She took a few steps closer to all three boys and was careful not to trip over haphazardous chords strewn about, a mess that proved their jam session was entirely impromptu, "I'm getting hungry, quite frankly."

"I'm also out of coffee," Theo mumbled as he jostled around his large, empty iced cup from Sugarbucks, in which everyone urgently shot him annoyed smiles.

"Teddy, Sugarbucks is closed and that is your THIRD cold brew today," Wren stabbed with a hard laugh, to which everyone eagerly smiled, "I'm sorry, but we're cutting you off."

"Whyyy, you give them money they give you coffee," Theo playfully whined, and though Berri and Wren opened their mouths to protest, Turbo gestured to Theo and chuckled.

"C'mon, get the poor boy some more coffee," Turbo pleaded cutely, Theo's emerald eyes lit up in Turbo's direction.

"Guys, I got Turbo Black on my side, sorry, end of discussion," Theo rushed as he crossed his large wrecking arms and stood up straight, "He's the end all, I require coffee."

"Uh, sorry, THIS one is the end all," Wren staggered as he gestured his thumb in Berri's direction, "She has higher stature over Turbo."

"Yeah, not for long," Theo muttered through the grit of his teeth, to which Berri gaped in whole annoyance; before she could loudly retort in full, Turbo flagged his arms and blurt a hard chuckle as he stepped deeper into their circle.

"Alright, alright, why don't we... I don't know..." Turbo looked about in quick contemplation and shrugged, "Get some coffee and something to eat at Kiki-Market, come back, maybe go for a swim, jam out some more..."

"Kiki-Market, I forgot all about that place," Wren cooed in soft surprise as he lit up, to which Theo furrowed his brow in confusion.

"The one by the palace closes at ten... It's almost midnight," Theo mumbled, though Turbo cocked an eyebrow and waggled his finger.

"There's one off Tamiami Trail that's open twenty four seven," Turbo rushed in sly knowing as he beamed Theo a cute smile, "Guys, this is my city. Anything you want. It's yours."

"Alright, well then why don't we leave now, and YOU drive us there," Wren started, though Turbo snapped his fingers.

"Done," Turbo cutely concluded.

"... In your Lumos," Wren finished with a sneaky smile and a side-eye; Berri and Theo raised their eyebrows in anticipation and watched as Turbo's demeanor sank.

"... Undone," Turbo retracted, to which Berri and Theo blurt out into hard laughter, though Wren sagged his shoulders in irritation.

"I was MEANING to ask you about that," Theo pointed in Turbo's direction.

"Yeah, same," Berri chimed in sweet, girly annoyance with a shoulder shrug to boot. She gave Turbo a knowing look and shook her head, "You're suddenly best friends with everyone in town and somehow forget to tell us you own one of the most luxurious, fastest, street-legal sports car in Arcade? Y'just... Kinda forgot about it, then?"

"I call shot gun," Wren called, to which Berri and Theo gaped and loudly began to argue him.

"HOLD IT," Turbo shouted as he held up his hands.

"He's my boyfriend," Berri muttered to Wren through the grit of her teeth.

"Yeah well he's my code-brother," Wren stabbed back.

"Just take me, leave these idiots here," Theo complained, all in good fun, he wildly flagged his hand in Berri's and Wren's direction and shook his head, "Easy!"

"Here's an easier solution," Turbo shrugged, "Sorry, not happening. I value the interior too much to let you monkeys inside of it. Sans Berri."

"WHAT?" Wren shrieked, to which Berri perked up and fluttered her eyelashes in Wren's direction; she topped it with a cute kiss she blew in Wren's direction, the final nail in the coffin, "Oh, kiss my ass, princess."

"So why don't you and I just go?" Berri cued in cute seductive girliness, she shrugged and knew her taunting only made Theo and Wren more uncomfortable, "Maybe get lost on the way home?"

"Barf," Theo bellowed.

"I will call Zed right now and... I'll..." Wren faltered on a threat, to which Berri ogled him in sarcastic terror.

"Oh NO, not my father! O-Or you'll WHAT?" She begged in further dripping sarcasm as she cupped her hands together, she quickly dropped it and shot Wren a dirty look of playfulness, "You could so much as tell him Turbo has me skinny dipping upstairs and he'd mute your notifications without blinking."

"On THAT note," Turbo squeaked as he raised his eyebrows and held two thumbs up, "We'll take my normal car! Congrats, you all get to keep your lives."

"Normal car," Wren spat in irritation as Theo eagerly tailed Turbo like a puppy, they all eventually moseyed to the glowing, readied teleport pad, "Oh, look at me, I'm Turbo, I'm secretly filthy rich and have a car for every occasion."

"List 'em," Turbo's deep voice dared as everyone piled onto the teleport pad, though as they were quickly whisked away and crammed into the smaller hallway of Turbo's main house, they softly squirmed in pushes and shoves before finally coming to normality.

"I've got my going out and driving car for doing nothing but going out and driving," Wren continued on in a pompous voice of full on brotherly teasing, everyone slowly sauntered into Turbo's warmly lit kitchen and began to lazily put on their shoes and light jackets, over their comfortable sweats and lazy clothes; an aura each person so easily donned. Wren upped the sass and pretended to flex his arm muscles, "I've got my MAN car for PICKING UP CHICKS."

"Man car," Turbo repeated dully, though he huffed a soft laugh as everyone eventually piled into Turbo's garage.

"I've got ten motorcycles, each a different color for my many moods," Wren spat in further irritation, all in good fun; Turbo's garage lights gently flickered on with a hum, and although Turbo's small garage was empty, Berri cocked an eyebrow and softly shot the back of Turbo's head a suspecting look, knowing, full well, all of Wren's sarcastic banter, about limitless vehicles, was probably not far from the truth.

"I have three," Turbo mumbled cutely, he desperately tried to remain humble, every single last shred of secrets he held on to were now beginning to unravel before his eyes; he hovered near the wall shared with the garage's side door, and with such, he cued a single screen and began to sort through a few options.

"I've got my Lumos... Or DO I?" Wren choked with a wide smile as he eyed Berri and Theo, all three beings hugged the wall Turbo was on due to uncertainty; they were well aware Turbo was going to simply materialize in whichever vehicle he chose, something that would require a wide berth, "Maybe it's all just RUSE."

"Yes, it's all fake," Turbo mumbled with a small nod, "I just have one go-kart we'll have to pile in. Turbotastic."

The group loudly laughed at Turbo's infectious humor. Berri cocked an eyebrow and softly let Wren carry on in banter, though as she gently slid her gaze to Turbo's positioning and kept quiet, she held her breath and watched as Turbo sifted through a few options, on the smaller screen he hovered near. His fierce, golden eyes hooked to what he was doing in full concentration, though he skillfully kept up with Wren's quips with cute little mumbles and small nods, his plump, dark grey lips curled into a few handsome, cheeky smiles as Wren loudly pressed on. Berri hovered with baited breath, and just as she landed her eyes on the screen Turbo was on, she could see him sift through the few options of vehicles he had; her heart leaped clear out of her chest the second he scrolled past a smaller, gridded image of his gorgeous sports car, the infamous Lumos that was a hot topic. She averted her eyes back to Turbo and felt her heart thud, she wondered when she could bravely ask for a ride in it, if that were to be an option on another night where they were alone. Berri diligently tucked the idea away and promised herself she'd cough up the courage to ask Turbo about it, sometime in the future.

Everyone largely flinched the second Turbo easily materialized a vehicle square in the center of his humble garage, a buzz of electricity that easily popped the gorgeous beast of a machine into existence, and although it wasn't the fantasized-about Lumos, it still was a sleek, beautiful, expensive-looking black car that held tight to the ground. Dangerously fast looking, crowned with gorgeous, glassy grey headlights and a tint that was nearly as black as the car itself, everyone raised their eyebrows in unadulterated surprise and choked into shocked silence. Berri bugged her eyes and clutched her chest in a spike of bewilderment and quickly looked back at Turbo, though he raised his eyebrows in almost dewy, nervous surprise.

"... Not good enough?" Turbo worried innocently, though everyone choked surprised laughter.

"Not GOOD enough?" Theo barked, "How much is Uncle Zed paying you?!"

"See why I don't like talking about it?" Turbo pressed in now rising, bashful irritation, though everyone almost apprehensively pushed closer to the pristine, seemingly untouched vehicle, "I don't want to be treated differently because of it. I spoil myself with cars, my hobby and, what used to be my livelihood. Otherwise, I do what I can to live within my means."

"Wow, Bo, this is incredible," Berri chimed in soft, unmitigated surprise as she eased closer to the car's wide splay of an engine bay, her fingers delicately traced the sleek, aerodynamic curves of the hood as she looked down to her reflection in the flawless paint job, "You deserve these things, though... You work hard for it. Guys, my dad doesn't pay Turbo for nothing."

"Thank you," Turbo pressed warmly as he sagged his hands into the pockets of his favorite lazy sweats, he felt his heart begin to thud in nervousness, the raw fact that he has never once had passengers, save for Lash the one or two times they went out together.

"Again, I call shotgun, losers," Wren stabbed in a playfully mean tone as he began to press closer to the car, though Turbo stiffened and felt the whole desire to make clear just who was in charge of this adventure.

For the raw fact of wanting to cater to his friends, the desire to cater to the most important person in the group quickly overrode his desire to be entirely liked. Although lackadaisical for nearly everything in his life, he knew this predicament was his own doing, and the urge to keep an air of respect, all around, sat at the forefront of Turbo's every single move. Turbo hovered in frozen silence and immediately set an air upon the place, so palpable, everyone softly peered their curious attention to Turbo in hovering, expectant wait and allowed a twinge of delighted worry to soak the garage's still air.

"Wren, I think we should give the front seat to the lady present," Turbo's deep voice almost playfully lofted in Wren's direction in a wave of soft seriousness, something that halted Wren in his tracks.

"Fine," Wren sighed in innocent defeat as he slowly moseyed about the car and passed the front passenger seat door; he hovered by the back passenger seat's door and bashfully peered to everyone in a show of almost cute, embarrassed defeat.

"Aw, Wren, you can have it on the way home," Berri staggered in a warm, encouraging tone, to which Turbo bobbed a nod and peered to her, as if to suggest the decision was hers entirely.

"Why, so Turbo can hold my hand instead of yours?" Wren stabbed with a revived laugh, Berri sagged her shoulders and glossed her aimless gaze across the garage in a slump of irritation.

"Or thigh," Theo muttered, Berri gaped and felt her face get hot, though she flinched the second Turbo gingerly took her hand in his and began to slowly lead her to the front seat, about the engine of Turbo's glorious vehicle.

"C'monnn, let's hurry and get some goodies so we can come back and continue hanging out, I don't want this night to end," Turbo mumbled cutely as he came upon the door, gently opened it in a wide swing and politely let Berri inside, "Your Highness."

Berri raised her eyebrows in bashful surprise and carefully let herself into the car with a sit, and once she was entirely inside, Turbo softly shut her door and inhaled a deep, confident breath. He jolted the second he caught eyes with Wren, who expectantly awaited for his door to be opened, as well; his arms tightly crossed his chest, he cocked a blonde eyebrow and shot Turbo a cheeky smile alongside a shrug. Turbo grunted an irritated noise, firmly opened Wren's door, behind Berri's, and largely jostled Wren's shoulder about, which easily got a loud chuckle out of him whilst wiping the sassy look clean from his face. Turbo playfully grit his teeth and huffed Wren a loud, annoyed notion of tease.

"GET in the car, you freak house," Turbo stabbed, though he trailed with a chuckle as he shut Wren's door, upon seeing it was clear; Turbo was glad Theo let himself in, behind the driver's seat, and with swift footwork, Turbo finally made it to the driver's side and hopped in, "Alright, my dudes, we value the interior of this car, as well, so let's... Play nice."

"Wowww, leather interior, hand stitched craftsmanship, limousine tint, dim interior cup holder lights, even a screen on the back of the headrests," Wren listed, he waggled his eyebrows and tried to peer to Theo in the dark, only catching the splash of the garage light on his green hair and peachy skin of his face, "Whatcha got up there, Bear, a space ship?"

"Yes, a space ship and a whole entire Skittles machine," Berri quipped playfully, though she flinched in surprise the second Turbo simply pressed a button on the gorgeous, futuristic dash and the engine roared to life.

"OH, Skittles, put that on the list," Theo hissed in excitement.

Berri sagged into the comfortable, large seat and inhaled a deep, shaky breath. She raised an eyebrow and softly peered to Turbo as he skillfully pressed a few buttons, he exhaled a satisfied breath, to which Berri took note of the sly, anticipatory curl of his lips which broadened into a smaller smile that crowned his handsome face. His golden eyes intelligently glossed his dash and gages, all splayed with the same gorgeous, golden light his eyes emanated, Berri held her breath and felt her heart begin to pound with a rush of excitement she knew she had to desperately conceal. Although she was well aware she didn't know Turbo as well as she would like to, she continued to secretly peer to him in the sweep of exhilarating thoughts and feelings, knowing full well that this was all a lesson in looking for the sheer fact that Turbo was not verbally going to talk himself up. All in humble actions, Berri flinched in further, soft surprise as Turbo inhaled a deep breath and skillfully used his incredible gamer powers to warp the gang to the small alcove of an entrance at the very bottom of his tower, a familiar back alley Berri was beginning to enjoy being in.

"Alright my guys, and my lovely lady, I got three rules," Turbo's deep voice pressed, Berri eased a knowing smile and eyed Turbo as she relished in all of this lovely confidence he radiated, she gladly soaked in all of it, knowing full well that she would happily drown in it if need be, "Rule number one... If you shit your pants in my car, you're responsible for cleaning it up."

"... Wait WHAT?" Wren huffed nervously, though Theo howled with laughter as Turbo skillfully shifted gears and eased on the gas. With the tight turn out of the deep, dark alcove, he carefully eased into the dimly lit alley way behind his building and in between the neighboring sky scraper.

"Rule number two," Turbo listed confidently, his lovely, golden glowing eyes softly glanced into Berri's eyes in a show of coy, seductive goodness, though tame enough for Wren and Theo to easily miss; Berri could swear her heart was in her throat as Turbo pressed a little harder on the gas and shifted the manual transmission to correction once, "You have TWO, count 'em, TWO designated 'oh shit' handles nearby. Source them, hold them, love them, know them well."

"I-I don't like where this is going, let me out, LET ME OUT," Wren barked sarcastically, though Berri suddenly blurt a hard laugh the second both her and Turbo could hear Wren and Theo scrounging for said handles in the backseat, aptly placed above each of their windows and in the nook of their respective door handles.

"It was nice knowing you, Wren," Theo dramatically whined through a soft laugh, and though Berri joined in, she flinched in gentle surprise the second Turbo skillfully rolled to the gape of the alley way and stopped in preparation to melt into the city's still hectic, nighttime traffic.

"What's rule number three?" Wren squeaked in playful terror as Turbo eased the car to a stop.

Patiently awaiting a gap in the stillness, Turbo warmly sagged his hand from the idly shaking ball of his stick shift to the gentle curve of Berri's lower left thigh, just above her knee. In poised stillness, Berri raised her eyebrow and softly glanced her gaze down to her lap as her heart urgently did what it could to climb up her throat and out of her body. She tightly held her breath and relished in the feeling of Turbo's broad, strong, masculine hand that so tenderly and bravely held her knee, an idle show of giving just a kiss of love in a situation where his hand was temporarily free. In the fifteen seconds he hovered in a gentle show of love, Berri adamantly allowed his boldness, though just as she was maybe about to ease her hand on top of his and assure that said physical touch was desired, he softly removed his hand, firmly grappled the gear shift, pushed on the clutch and finally began to ease out into cleared traffic. Berri could practically see the glower of a scheming smile from the light emanating his eyes, alone.

"Don't forget to breathe," Turbo sneakily mumbled with a cute smile, and although Berri was prepared for his speed-demon tendencies and braced herself accordingly, she was floored that Wren and Theo now had a legitimate back seat to this nonsense. Turbo's deep voice pressed a warm, reverberating conclusion before the engine of his incredible car took over, "Enjoy your flight."


	159. Chapter 159

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** Haha that's funny. Thank you!

 **Burgie :** Too true ;)

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Trust My Lonely by Allesia Cara**

* * *

 ***Chapter 159***

"Alright, let me out, let me out, LET ME OUT," Wren begged in a rush of shaking playfulness, and although his fervor was enough to light the back seat on fire, he gently tugged twice on the handle of his door. Once Turbo put the car in park and unlocked all the doors, Wren nearly flew out of the car's body. Everyone was lost in laughter as they slowly followed suit, and with all doors closed, Turbo clicked his keys and locked his incredible car with a blip of a noise of affirmation. Wren urgently continued on, "I-I'll clean up my mess, later, Turbo, wow. I'm just... SO grateful to be back on land."

"The car never left the ground," Turbo assured with a hard laugh as the group slowly convened near the hot hood of Turbo's now silent car, a steaming beast that worked hard on the journey to get here, clear across the city.

"I HIGHLY doubt that," Wren urged in whole irritation, he hugged his arms over his chest in a rather aggressive, reserved arms-crossed position.

"Bo, there was one point where you were pushing eighty in a fifty," Berri muttered cutely, and although she was growing to crave his fast though careful driving, she eyed him and wondered if he had any speeding tickets under his belt.

"I would've kept going if Wren didn't start crying," Turbo mumbled, all in a playful air, the four had their hair suddenly brisked in a sharp wave of a nighttime breeze that wafted by, the cooler air had the four relishing in the wonderful weather as they stood in near solidarity in Kiki-Market's massive, empty parking lot.

Although Turbo didn't park incredibly close, the gang didn't mind the moseying walk to the hot white glowing entrance of said open twenty-four seven convenience and grocery store. Turbo sagged his hands into his pockets and heaved a satisfied sigh, he lived up these mundane little outings as much as he could, for he knew that once his three best friends were lost to the clutches of Arcade for weeks on end, he'd be without these silly, ordinary tasks; ones that would eternally count in the bank of lovely memories he was holding fast to.

"Yeah man I'm pretty sure I blacked out," Theo muttered as he came alongside Turbo's left, with Berri on Turbo's right and Wren nervously hunkered to Berri's right. Theo furrowed his eyebrows and kindly leaned forward, so to eye Berri as they walked, "Bear, you seemed as cool as a cucumber. What was that all about?"

"I've been on the back of Bo's bike, this drive was nothing," Berri blurt nonchalantly, though she pursed her lips in sealed, bashful retraction and nervously glanced to Turbo and Theo, who both peered to her in different mixes of bewilderment and stifled cuteness.

"HAVE you now?" Theo's voice pitched in a high tone of entire, boyish sarcasm, to which Turbo lulled his glowing eyes closed and heaved a long, hot sigh through his nose.

"We're not very subtle, are we," Turbo's deep voice grumbled in cuteness, to Berri, as he warmly reached out and lovingly locked her palm in his; without hesitation, she easily gripped her hand in his and gave him a cute look of apologetic girliness.

"Guh, you guys are GROSS," Theo only teased, though his booming voice echoed against the front of the massive store they rapidly approached; although there were customers and a handful of parked cars in the lot, the group was silently assured they likely wouldn't be bothered on this outing.

"Okay, do you WANT us to act like a couple or not?" Berri barked back, though trailed with a bashful laugh of irritation, she jostled about her's and Turbo's gripped hand with fervor that Turbo allowed in the form of letting his whole arm go limp, "There is no in between! Either we hold hands and say stupid little mushy things to each other, or not at all. You guys need to make up your minds."

"I wanted ONE KISS to PROVE you guys were together," Theo held up a finger, though Turbo gave him a cheeky smile and shook his head.

"Aw, Teddy, if all you wanted was a kiss, I'll happily oblige," Turbo cooed sweetly, though as he let go of Berri's hand, he began to inch closer to Theo in a show of entire playfulness that Theo finally caught on to.

"DUDE?!" Theo screeched as he ducked away from Turbo, who obnoxiously puckered his lips, though he softened back to his normal, smiling self the second Theo took about five urgent, annoyed paces away from Turbo.

"C'mon, man, just one," Turbo continued to coo, noticing that it was causing Theo to wig out; Theo barked Turbo a few sharp orders to urgently stay away, though both boys took off as Turbo began to playfully chase after Theo, he nearly tripped over his own feet trying to avoid Turbo's skillful footwork.

"BERRI!" Theo squealed nervously from now a decent gap the boys put between Berri and Wren, "Come get y'man!"

"You just let me know whenever you need swapping advice," Wren mumbled warmly in an almost wistful sigh as he lovingly linked arms with Berri; she raised her eyebrows and bashfully peered to her right, where Wren was now linked to her, she tried to hide a smile as he continued, "It's not all A, B, C, believe it or not. Takes some... Timing."

"Time management, even," Berri added, to which Wren raised his eyebrows in prickled surprise and bobbed a cute, sassy nod with a shrug.

"The girl's studied up," Wren chimed with a chuckle to which Berri shrugged and sagged into Wren's loving warmth, "How are you two doing?"

"It's... Amazing," Berri stated through a small sigh, she watched as Turbo and Theo finally settled their playful differences, from out of earshot. This was clear due to the lull of Turbo's arm over Theo's shoulder, they continued on in a brotherly shrug of moseying cuteness as they approached the store front first, "I guess I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself. I mean... Six months ago, I would've thought it was a dream to call Gunner my boyfriend, but..."

"But, now," Wren cocked an eyebrow and watched as Turbo and Theo continued on, though Wren halted his sweet notions and muttered an honest quip of certainty, "Damn, Turbo's got a nice ass."

"... Okay, for the last time, he is MINE," Berri barked as she grappled Wren's arm and jostled him, to which Wren wildly rolled his eyes and heaved a loud, annoyed sigh.

"Ohh for User's sakes, I can appreciate a good butt, okay? He's all yours, I'm happy with my own TurboTime boy, anyways," Wren choked, they both were lost in girly laughter, "Besides. Turbo's got too much body, for my liking. I like 'em skinny."

"Somewhere, Throttle's ears are ringing," Berri mumbled as she looked to the store front they came upon, in which Turbo and Theo were now long gone, "You're right about that, though... I'm so used to Gunner's thin figure, that when Turbo gives me a hug, it's the weirdest thing. I'm like, geez, where did all this chest and body and ARMS come from?"

"Turbo's tall, strong, hefty," Wren bobbed a nod and gave Berri a coy look of knowing, the store's bright light cast upon the two as they eased into the breezeway of the store front, right into the automatic sliding doors that chimed their presence, "Y'know what that means..."

"I'll side step your innuendos all night long, Wren," Berri stated in cheeky annoyance, the two continued to keep their arms linked out of love, "Don't... Think Turbo and I are quite ready for that, anyways."

"Oh, come on, everyone's ready for sex," Wren blurt, he kept his tone down and winced a little as a cashier kindly welcomed them in; a much older lady, certainly not in the line of recognizing celebrities. Wren sweetly waved to her as him and Berri pushed into the store, though Turbo and Theo were still long gone, "... Is it just me?"

"Yeah, just you," Berri giggled as she sagged into Wren's side, she was happy to have a moment alone with him. Without words, their feet began to find the section of the store that had all the beauty and hair care products, "I mean, hey, it'd be cool to, well... Share codes with Turbo, but, man, we're on like day four, here. Too fast."

"Then you don't want to know how fast Throttle and I moved," Wren grit his teeth and cocked an eyebrow in Berri's direction.

"Wren, you didn't," Berri muttered in irritation as they locked eyes.

"Yeah, he kissed me, so I blew him," Wren couldn't stifle laughter, in which Berri gaped and unhanded Wren's arm in a teasing fit of whole, annoyed disgust; Wren was nearly inconsolable as he carried on, they stumbled into a makeup aisle, "That's a natural progression! C'mon!"

"Dammit, Wren, I don't even have words," Berri choked a laugh and crossed her arms, she lightly shivered as she began to aimlessly look about the selection around them, "I wouldn't dream of moving that fast... You're a lot braver than I am."

"I wouldn't say brave, Throttle and I are different. It just felt right, so we went for it. You have to do what feels right for you and Turbo," Wren shrugged as they two continued to slowly saunter and meander with each other, "You moved pretty slow with Gunner, too, huh."

"That's a different story. It's because, well..." Berri nervously faltered as they rounded a corner and now began to just head straight, the whole length of the store hugged with fully stocked end caps.

"You loved Turbo all along," Wren eased knowingly, he waggled his eyebrows and shot Berri a cheeky smile which only broadened once they caught eyes, "Hey, you had a fun run. I'm sure it was cool dating your celebrity crush, at least you guys ended cordially."

"As cordially as we could," Berri muttered, their lazy shoes gently slapped the polished, though worn grocery store tiles, though far across the store, Turbo's and Theo's laugh could be heard carrying.

"What do you think Gunner would say if he found out you were dating Turbo? THE Turbo?" Wren hissed in nervousness as he bugged his eyes and gave Berri a curious look, though she gave him a dull, annoyed glower in return.

"I told him," Berri muttered, though she flinched as Wren perked up in prickled fear.

"You WHAT?" Wren hissed, "What did Gunner say?!"

"He didn't believe me," Berri slowly cheesed a sly smile and shrugged in exaggeration, "I told him the truth! He didn't want to believe me!"

"He thought you were kidding, didn't he," Wren gaped, Berri bobbed a nod and gave a smaller shrug, this time.

"Beats me! My conscious is clear," Berri shrugged her cute shoulders and giggled, though both her and Wren largely jolted in whole surprise, which included a scared pop of Berri's shivering silver pixels in a glitching mess.

"BEAR don't say yes to Theo, just don't," Turbo suddenly huffed under his breath, his powerful chest expanded in heaves as he softly panted, though Berri flinched in surprise to notice a dainty toy of a princess hat atop his head, clearly meant for children and clearly way too small for his head.

"You look beautiful in that hat, Bo," Wren muttered in smiling delight as he crossed his arms and shot Turbo and Berri sneaky smiles, to which Berri covered her mouth and stifled hard laughter.

"Thanks, it compliments my jaw line," Turbo's deep voice pressed in innocent cuteness.

"Berri, it's not fair, Turbo is much faster than me," Theo heavily panted as he finally rounded the corner, though he was holding a massive family size pack of Skittles, like he had promised himself, "Berri, please let me get this, please."

"Teddy, no, cause then you'll eat it ALL tonight and you'll spend the early hours of tomorrow morning barfing your brains out," Berri firmly instructed, she gave Theo a conclusory, authoritative smile, "Get the smaller pack, love."

"Hah," Turbo huffed with a wide smile; so wide, Berri nearly hovered in a lesson in looking, simply as if she had never seen such a wide, happy smile crowned on his handsome face, a smile so wide that she only just now noticed the cute prominence of his sharp canines.

"How old are you, again?" Wren stated in pure tease, though Turbo raised his eyebrows in prickled delight, looked off in thought and eventually furrowed his eyebrows in silent counting; he finally perked up and bobbed a nod of cute certainty.

"Uh thirty seven, but I'll be thirty eight next Wednesday," Turbo huffed with said wide, glowing smile, his golden eyes hooked tight to Wren's, though he flinched the second Theo began to quickly hurry off, in which Turbo jolted to keep up.

"Maybe ACT IT? Thirty seven, my ass..." Wren quietly called after them, though he raised his eyebrows and gave Berri a sweet, scheming smile, "Next Wednesday, huh? Birthday boy may, uh... Want some cake?"

"Stop it," Berri muffled in now blushing irritation as she began to storm off in the opposite direction Turbo and Theo scrambled off to.

"Oh, come on, one week isn't enough time to muster some courage?" Wren chimed cutely as he skipped to keep up with Berri's adamant footwork.

"It's not about courage, Wren, it's... It's much larger than that," Berri sighed in whole irritation, she whirled around, stopped and finally faced Wren, once and for all, causing him to come to a quick halt. He blinked a few times, in flustered confusion, and inhaled a shaky breath as Berri sorrowfully continued on, "It's... It's-!"

"License?" Wren side-eyed Berri and waggled his eyebrows in suspicious knowing, to which Berri heaved a long, hot sigh through her mouth and looked off, "You're not going to give it all up until he comes out of hiding, huh."

"... Is that mean?" Berri narrowed her gaze and felt a weird bought of guilt come over her, she wondered if maybe she was scrutinizing it all a little too tightly.

"I mean, no, it's not mean," Wren shrugged and looked off in contemplation, "I know for a FACT that guy isn't going to garner the bravery to leave Sugar Rush by the time next Wednesday comes around."

"We'll be long gone, then, on tour," Berri complained sorrowfully, though Wren waggled his finger knowingly.

"C'mon, babe, surely there are, well... Other things," Wren tip-toed around the topic, though he was floored to have Berri's unwavering, bashful eye contact, as if to prove here that she was at least contemplating what he had to say, "You don't have to fully give it up, or swap codes. Just have some fun... Poor guy's been without love for a looong time. I know it'd mean the world coming from you, obviously."

"... I'll think about it," Berri sighed, she shook her head and lulled her eyes closed, "It'd have to wait until we got home, though, I can't just leave in the middle of tour."

"I guess you're right," Wren mumbled, though as the two continued to slowly stroll alongside the echoes of laughter from Turbo and Theo, Berri bit her lip and felt her memory spark her a kind reminder; the small device Turbo had fashioned together for her, the secretive disguise made simply for coming and going from tour whenever she wanted, unnoticed and unseen. She hovered on the feeling of wanting to plunge into a detrimental decision, and only time would tell if she could muster up the courage to follow through with said alter-ego switch over.


	160. Chapter 160

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** Yes! I'm excited to finally write about it :D Hopefully you guys enjoy.

 **faolan1230 :** LMAO I'm glad you guys got a laugh outta that xD I had a ton of fun writing the previous chapter. Wren is the sassy gay friend everyone needs in their life.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Myself by Bazzi**

* * *

 ***Chapter 160***

Although not used often, Zed did whatever he could to hold occasional palace meetings inside the one stronghold the palace held its roots tight to; Sugar Rush's Great Hall shone in all of it's nighttime beauty, the glorious chandeliers twinkled against the polished, nearly mirror-like light brown tiles underneath. Zed's firm footsteps head across the massive place, he knew he was late for said meeting of the minds, though he was glad the group waited up for him. He inhaled a deep, nervous breath and in the minute walk it took to cross the incredible, majestic beauty of the palace's Great Hall, he felt hesitancy in his footsteps. A roll of nervousness the second his eyes glossed to the figureheads above him, predecessors that he still considered higher royalty, Ralph, Vanellope, Taffyta and Rancis lounged amidst the Great Hall's gorgeous sprawl of a meeting area. Amongst them was Ace, Tessa and Libby, and although Zed felt comfort wash over him, he almost tripped over his own feet the second he saw Wren amidst the group, warmly chatting with Taffyta.

"Sorry I'm late," Zed's deep voice glossed the group, a large, haphazard strew of organized chaos about the seating area's luxurious sweeps of dark cushioned couches and ottomans, a lazy sprawl of nighttime goodness underneath the Great Hall's welcoming glow.

Zed's silver coding licked about in a wig of certainty as he pressed into the skillful dome of silence Tessa had laid over the group, an easy bubble of coming and going, though no sound could be heard outside of it. Zed smiled at Tessa's handiwork and was thrilled that, if there were to be any stragglers passing through the Great Hall, their palace meeting would be confidential. Zed was thrilled all lazy conversation came to the gentle drum of a halt and all eyes were on Sugar Rush's King. Although not nearly his first or second rodeo, with these palace meetings, Zed inhaled a shaky breath and felt a wiggle of weirdness come over him with the very notion that Wren was included, here, in this rather sensitive and extremely confidential meeting. He cocked an eyebrow and tried not to seem too pushy or critical, though he gave Wren his gentle, hesitant eye contact and just barely shook his head in warm confusion.

"Wren, I... I didn't know you'd be coming to this meeting," Zed started, he huffed a nervous chuckle and confusedly glanced into Rancis's eyes for answers, "This... Conversation is sort of, well... Sensitive, it involves Berri."

"Right, and I'll be damned if I'm not the one designing Berri's wedding dress," Wren stated with great zest, a dollop of cheeky sass only really he and Taffyta could get away with; this was proven with the wide smile of approval Taffyta immediately donned.

"O-oh, he knows," Zed staggered with a widening, nervous smile, to which Ralph raised his hand a little.

"KNOWS?" Ralph choked with a small laugh, he gestured to Wren's dewy point on the map and eased a small smile, "Mr. Game Ender promised Wren a position at his right hand."

Zed raised his eyebrows in dewy, collected surprise and held his breath. As him and Wren caught eyes, he very quickly understood that this conversation was slipping away from him. He choked a small laugh and shook his head, "Well, damn. The guy moves fast."

"I don't think Turbo immediately planned on telling me about him and Berri, but..." Wren narrowed his gaze and cheekily looked off, "He kind of spoiled it when he was showing us how far along he had come with his powers. Not only did we teleport to your work room, where he called you dad, but our next few stops, after that, was Ralph's and Vanellope's cross stripe tree."

"Also dubbed, wedding ring tree," Vanellope chimed as she raised a finger, the group roused into soft laughter.

"Poor guy," Libby huffed sweetly as she held her hand to her cheek, her and Tessa shared a side-eye of cute, apologetic, bittersweet notions.

"Turbo promised to have you as his right hand man," Zed stated with a bob of a nod as he sagged his hands into his pockets, he gave Wren a sweet smile down to his sitting figure, he remained standing while everyone else eagerly looked on from their comfortable positions. He smiled into Wren's eyes, a capable young man with a whole wealth of knowledge and wit under his belt, and although his soul still held a solid about of naivety, Zed inhaled a deep breath and was well aware experience here, inside these meetings, alongside his father, was key. Zed gestured to Rancis and gave Wren a teasing smile, "Y'got the perfect mentor, for that kinda thing, bud."

"You guys can appoint whichever guy to have at your right hand," Rancis's voice deeply pressed in a volley of seasoned, well deserved cockiness, "But I will forever and always be the official right hand man."

"That's true. You can also have more than one, like with my two, Rancis and Turbo," Zed pointed gently and gave Rancis a kind smile full of gratitude, though he sagged his hands back into his faded grey jean's pockets and bobbed a soft nod as he eagerly held everyone's attentions, "I'm glad you guys all could make it here, to this meeting, on such short notice... And, Wren, I'm glad you're here, too. We could use your perspective on this."

"Where do we start?" Ace's soft and sweet voice chimed in, he raised his thick, dark blue eyebrows and peered to his father for guidance, "Surely, we're not worried about Turbo proving himself, any longer..."

"The kid's got a different field of legwork to travel, now," Ralph grumbled, although not particularly excited about all this, he still hovered in baited wait next to Vanellope.

"As we all know, Turbo pulled a handful of us aside, a few days ago, and very bravely asked for Berri's hand in marriage, now that they're officially together in courtship. I think that... We need to start at the root of this. We know Turbo well... He's a hermit, before he knew Berri, he didn't come down from that tower for SHIT," Zed spat with a hiss of a laugh, this caused the group to lighten with an equal fervor of laughter. Zed chuckled and held his hand to his chest, "I don't think we need to be concerned with Turbo wanting to simply be King and snatch Sugar Rush away."

"He's got a third of the code room in his possession," Tessa mumbled knowingly, she shrugged and glanced her attention in her mother's and father's direction, the only two beings here that were quiet with likely secretive worry, "He could easily wrestle it away from us, has had MANY opportunities. It's been... A long road of relinquishing trust, to him, but..."

"Every time we were proven that Turbo was genuinely here to help, it was easier to warm up to leaving him in charge of bigger, scarier things," Zed bobbed a nod in Tessa's direction, a gentle wave of agreeing between the two ultimate heads.

"I think Turbo and Berri have their own little issues to work out, but otherwise," Zed shrugged, puffed his cheeks in an act of holding his breath and finally popped it with an exhale of exasperated, sweet defeat, "I'm... Not sure if it's naive of me, but, I adore the guy. He treats Berri with a world of respect, he keeps her grounded, I never thought my own right hand man would end up potentially being my son-in-law."

"List the cons," Vanellope quietly snipped from the depths of her seemingly brewing confusion, she pierced her hazel eyes into Zed's with whole authority, something Zed knew he needed to challenge, here, as politely as he could.

"List the cons of Turbo marrying my daughter?" Zed stated with his chest, bravery he so easily exuded, and with his choice words, Vanellope eased a small, nervous smile and shrugged.

"Zed... I'm not here to make your life hard. We were wary of a bad guy marrying OUR daughter, and it all turned out splendid," Vanellope cooed, she could tell a show of arms was due to present itself eventually, she was well aware she needed to extinguish even the idea of any started fires, "I'm not worried about Turbo, my love... I don't know Turbo as well as say you, or Tessa, or especially Wren, and I know in my heart that man would treat Berri to a world of well-seasoned love."

Everyone warmly nodded, though they kept their nervous eyes gripped to Sugar Rush's previous Queen in baited wait.

"I'm worried about the lost boy he's taken under his wing," Vanellope darkly continued, "Turbo has a heart of gold. He's proven he's here for Sugar Rush, and I truly do believe that man would make a fantastic King. He already does a solid amount for the game, and it's been REALLY hard to wrap my mind around the fact that Turbo, of all people, has a shred of MY code room... But..."

Zed swallowed and furrowed his bright blue brows in tender nervousness, he was well aware this wasn't a battle for Turbo's winning colors, but more for the notion if Lash behaved himself. Zed bobbed a small nod as the group fell nervously silent, he looked down and off to the Great Hall's gorgeous, glistening tiles, Vanellope's wise, gentle voice glossed over Zed's figure like the cloak of a ghost, a chilly embrace of cold, hard truth.

"So long as him and Lash are tightly woven into each other's pasts, and apparently futures, there's going to be trouble," Vanellope cautioned, Zed finally gave her his electric blue eye contact and sighed a long, hot sigh through his nose, "Turbo needs to understand that asking to be added to Sugar Rush's small group of Princes comes with a price. It means distancing himself from gamers that could have harrowing plans for Sugar Rush."

"We know what Lash is capable of," Ace's deep voice pressed in a wary tone, he cocked an eyebrow and glanced to his mother, "He... He'll just... Delete people, without thinking twice."

Tessa huffed a long sigh through her nose and lulled her eyes closed; it was here did Vanellope skillfully lay a reality check over the group, something they definitely needed.

"So, what do we suggest, then," Zed started in a second wind of confidence. He bobbed a nod, inhaled a deep breath and glossed his energetic eyes about the group. He knew he was the core of this kingdom's success, which started with just who he passed responsibility off to, "I can instruct Turbo to keep his relationship with Lash separate from his work, or... We can... Very easily keep Lash on this dumbed down vow of rights, he has, and let him loose."

"Neither is wise, dad," Libby chimed in with warm urgency as she raised her little hand and inhaled a shaky breath; everyone raised their eyebrows and softly peered to Libby in sharp curiosity, to which she diligently carried on the second she had Zed's full, concerned eye contact, "Lash is the resentful type... You isolate him, or dumb him down, and he will eventually turn on you. He's the kind of individual that, unfortunately, needs to be nurtured through his struggles and his... Fumbling inability to come to grips with reality. Leave him in the dust, and, well..."

"... C'mon, you saw how he handled Turbo always winning," Rancis's grumbly voice ushered in lazy, knowing, nonchalance.

"That guy does not like to be labelled an afterthought," Vanellope urged through a nervous giggle as she shrugged, she fixed her black hair in a tuck behind her cute ears, and though she gave Zed a toothy, youthful smile, her eyes sharply stabbed his with Queenly caution, "I'm warning you, Zed... I've been around the track more times than anyone, here, 'cept maybe Libby..."

"If there's any beings here that have the sharpest intuition, here, when it comes to Lash, it's Libby, mom and Wren," Tessa wisely appointed, though Zed furrowed his eyebrows in warm confusion and peered to Wren in a stark switch up of genuine bewilderment.

"Hi, currently swimming in TurboTime coding and a wealth of knowledge, how yah doin'," Wren stated in a sassy tone as he waggled his fingers.

"Boy, just give us the information," Taffyta stifled a small laugh and nudged Wren's shoulder.

"I... Can't speak from experience, and I obviously don't know Lash personally, but from the memories and decades of information Throttle has given to me, I... I think Libby is right," Wren warmly navigated with a great deal of dolloped maturity, a card he was very smart with, something he pulled out in times of detriment, something that immediately held the attention of the crowd he was in, "Aunt Vanellope is right to be worried, that guy is a bit of a wild card, but Libby is right when it comes to handling him. He shouldn't be left for isolation, or left to his own devices... He's the last person we should try to forget about. Telling Turbo to distance himself from Lash will only make Turbo sad, and Lash vengeful."

"He's already got the shortest fuse of anyone in this entire Arcade," Ace muttered through the grit of his teeth.

"I was just recently with him and Turbo," Wren laid his hand to his broad chest and shook his head, "He's... WILDLY misunderstood. Turbo did himself a service by attempting to come to grips with himself, in all those lost years. Lash took the hit, Lash is the one dealing with the largest amount of grief and emotional trauma."

"Lash did what he could to protect Turbo, he hid him away," Libby pressed softly, almost pleadingly, "He had to be strong for Turbo... I'm sure all those stuffed emotions messes with one's psyche."

"Although Lash is tricky to navigate, I can see that spark of honesty in his eyes," Wren stated in warm honesty, he long blinked and remained soft as Zed's shivering orbs held tight to Turbo's future go-to guy, someone Zed now had to quickly appoint as well, even if it was just a mental exercise for now, "It's going to take a lot of coddling... But we CAN'T push him away. It will surely be Sugar Rush's eventual downfall."

"It's probably what Lash wants, though," Zed challenged nervously, "For Turbo to marry into royalty, the palace gains a new King eventually, and once Turbo has his hand in EVERYTHING, there's Lash... Whispering in his ear."

"Then you don't know Turbo like I do," Wren gently defended as he shook his head, "I know Turbo would NEVER betray you guys. I know he'd make sure Lash was kept a safe distance away, but not to the point where he's shut out. Lash needs to feel important, and, I'm sorry... But after thirty years of maybe NOT feeling important, shouldn't we be catering to him?"

"Catering to him?" Vanellope furrowed her eyebrows, though she flinched the second Wren stabbed his almost authoritative eyes straight into his aunt's, something that had Vanellope reeling.

"That man deleted my mother and unborn sister," Ace hurried to defend, the group began to show signs of getting unforgiving and riled.

"Haven't we been over all of this?" Wren argued with fervor, something Rancis now cued to in the form of a cocked eyebrow and a side-eye of almost smiling, scheming surprise.

"How do we know he can even be trusted?" Zed stated firmly, though everyone largely flinched the second Wren sharply stood up.

Everyone urgently fell silent in a quick quip of held breath as Wren firmly dug his now full-challenge gaze straight into Zed's, and although he was well aware the King had the high ground no matter what, Wren still furrowed his brow and gave Zed a look of almost pleading urgency.

"Why don't you ask the man you assigned to your right hand?" Wren darkly wondered, his figure stood strong, he gently shook his head as Zed raised his eyebrows in soft, sorrowful surprise, as if to collect his thoughts in bewildered nervousness, "You can trust Turbo and his judgement, right?"

"Wholly," Zed's deep voice concluded in soft defeat as he looked down a little, and although he stood his ground and exuded Sugar Rush's power, Wren gently took a step closer to Zed and sassily narrowed his gaze.

"Then, end of discussion," Wren softly ended above a whisper, though in the roll of eye contact that strung in a molten string of eventual disconnect, Wren firmly stepped away, eased out of Tessa's confidential, silver coded bubble of silence and confidently began to leave the group behind.

Zed raised his eyebrows and held his breath, and although he typically wasn't fond of being challenged, like such, he sagged his shoulders and exhaled a long, hot sigh of exasperated bewilderment. He softly peered to the dewy, prickled group about him, still frozen with Wren's outburst. Much more used to a cute, bubbly, sassy version of Wren, seeing a stronghold of walls and king's men come flying out of Wren's disposition was an almost delightful switch up of blossoming maturity, no matter if Zed's authority was mildly trampled on in the aftermath. Zed nervously peered to Rancis, a very important figurehead in the palace, still the top dog when it came to overseeing the safety of the group, Rancis bobbed Zed a small nod and heaved a chuckle, the first noise to come out of the group, once and for all.

"Well? You heard the man," Rancis barked a continued laugh, he grunted to a lazy stand and stretched, "What should we do for dinner?"

"Really?" Vanellope complained, to which Rancis turned around and began to show the same fervor that Wren was delivering, something that everyone now cautiously cued to.

"Hey, hey, I see where everyone's coming from," Rancis held his hands up, though he gave Vanellope a coy look of cute cheek and shook his head, "But, Wren's right. Zed can honestly say that he WHOLLY trusts Turbo and his judgement, all signs point North. End of discussion. There's not much to go with beyond that."

"I guess... It's just hard, we don't know Turbo all too well," Ralph mumbled as him and Vanellope caught eyes in well-deserved nervousness.

"Well, take it from me, I'm with the guy every single day," Rancis laid his hand on his chest and shrugged, "Not only that, but... So is Wren, whether it be physically or through close contact through the phone. Whenever I'm with Turbo, Wren's name is mentioned at least a dozen times. They're good buds... I think outside of Berri and Turbo's brothers, Wren is probably the closest to him."

"I trust that to be true, Turbo just needs to be more present" Vanellope eased as she crossed her arms and shrugged, to which Tessa also slowly stood and stretched in a lazy show of the group beginning to dissipate.

"I agree with you," Tessa mumbled, "The boy's come around a LOT more than he used to, but... I think that's maybe something that needs to be discussed with him."

"Zed, Rancis, Ace and I have a private meeting with him, this Sunday, about all of this," Ralph bobbed a nod and heaved a tired, raspy sigh as Vanellope honed her eyes to him for reassurance, "We'll iron everything out with him, them."

"Hot seat time," Rancis chimed as he rubbed his hands together in scheming eagerness, "I love me some good hazing."

"Boy don't you," Zed muttered as he side eyed Rancis with a nervous smile, "I remember our little pow-wow before I became King."

"Poor Zeddy boy now has a different perspective," Rancis grunted as he eased into Zed's presence, firmly pat the broad of Zed's chest and gave him a firm lug of a side hug both men adhered to with smiles and huffs of laughter, "Also pretty cool that my son has the ability to leave the King of Sugar Rush thwarted and speechless."

"I'm humble enough to admit defeat, Ranc," Zed mumbled in mild annoyance as the group began to stand and nervously chatter a bit, "Probably should... Clear the air with him, huh."

"Leave Wren alone for twenty four hours, trust me," Taffyta warned with a small giggle, "I learned that the hard way."


	161. Chapter 161

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** That's true! Everyone's got a bit of work to do, in this department of trust lol

 **Burgie :** Definitely a reoccurring theme, here, in Wrecking Limits Land :P Thank you!

 **Nikki Firesong :** Hey! Thank you for asking! I'm doing okay, I'm currently on day 9 of a quarantine. I have a month of paid leave I was allowed to take, so I'm just at home :) Getting paid to write and draw to my heart's content. Can't complain! And, thank you for the lovely feedback, as always! I appreciate your insight as such, every character definitely has their own conclusions to draw and opinions to form. Sunday is going to be a buuuusyyy day for Turbo, for sure!

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Smoke ft. Amanda Fondell by Didrick**

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 ***Chapter 161***

 _Imdead : Hey man, got a few minutes to chat?_

Wren cocked an eyebrow and froze in suspended terror; he knew that, a few days prior, he puffed his chest and felt pretty awesome standing up to Sugar Rush's King, though as the minutes, hours and days slowly crept by, Wren began to feel the onset of dread eventually swallow him whole into a vat of entire guilt, with only hindsight as his view. Wren inhaled a trembling breath and gently took off his big, over-ear headphones, he sat comfortably on his unmade bed in nothing but a lazy t-shirt crowned with a hole near the gape of his collar, and lazy grey sweats. As he quickly did what he could to scoot his laptop off of his knee and grapple for his phone, so he could give this conversation his undivided attention, his phone buzzed once more.

 _Imdead : You're leaving for tour tomorrow, right?_

Wren furrowed his brow and felt a strange urge to distance himself from Zed, he shook his head and began to nervously reply a short quip of a response.

 _Songbird : Sorry Zed, I don't have time. I'm busy packing for tour._

Wren locked his phone shoved it into his pocket and felt a strange sweep of victory crown him proverbial king, any notion of terror or nervousness now was very quickly replaced with a vapid dollop of previously visited cockiness. He knew it wouldn't last forever, though felt good riding out the dregs of whatever power he could grapple to, in this instance. Due for a victory snack, congratulating himself likely a little too soon, Wren pushed any issues to the wayside and marched to his teleportation pad, in his bedroom. Upon teleporting to the empty kitchen and main room downstairs, he inhaled a deep, refreshed breath and let his eyes gloss the sunny place, kissed with Sugar Rush's warm, evening glow. In the gentle trail of his vivid eyes that glossed the kitchen, he felt his heart nearly come bursting out of his chest in a spark of entire terror at the icy blue gaze locked tight to his in a show of fatherly authority. Wren choked a noise, clutched his chest, jolted in a knee-jerk reaction of horror and finally shut his eyes tight as he hunkered into the kitchen's main teleportation pad for safety.

"HOLY shit, dude?" Wren staggered firmly in whole, scared irritation; Zed huffed a cocky chuckle and softly stood from the bend of the island's bar-like counter, he straightened out his shirt and slowly began to mosey from the gap to come into full view. Wren sharply furrowed his eyebrows and now sent Zed a rather frustrated glower of shaky, discombobulated irritation, his words carried on in uneducated grasping strictly out of shaken bewilderment, "I-I thought I locked the front door?"

Zed cocked an eyebrow and crowned a dominant, cheeky grin of annoyed delight, he inhaled a breath and tried not to laugh at Wren's clearly embarrassed spouts of words, "In case you forgot, I'm the pony-master in this grand ol' circus, my guy. I didn't even consider the front door. I built this damned tower, mind you."

Wren exhaled a shaky breath through his nose and knew his words were stupid; he nervously glossed his eyes to Zed's broad chest and shoulders in aimless worry, he knew he needed to somehow match Zed's energy. He stiffened, stepped out of the teleportation pad and began to hurriedly stomp towards their glossy, stainless steel refrigerator.

"Forgive me," Wren submitted, he could practically feel the entire Earth bevel underneath Zed's even still, calm disposition, still held Kingly with whole power; Wren avoided eye contact and opened the fridge.

"Wren," Zed stated knowingly, though his tone held great warmth, as if to kindly remind Wren that he wasn't here to fight or punish, he heaved a soft sigh and trailed it with a small chuckle, "Please, can I have your attention for just a minute?"

Wren frowned and now felt entire, immediate guilt as he finally threw in the towel, closed the fridge, turned around and stepped closer to the kitchen's island, across from Zed's stance. He faced Zed and held his breath, his wavering eyes peered into Zed's wholly for the first time in this encounter, and with such, Wren felt a wiggle of comfort in it. Although Berri was womanly and had beautiful, soft facial features, Wren held his breath and examined Zed's face in almost neediness, the way him and Berri were nearly spitting image, Wren heaved a shaky sigh and patiently soaked in Zed's familiar, still presence. Eyes that hooked tight to Wren's like Berri's would, filled with such depth and intuition, the inquisitive narrow of his lids in a squint had Wren reeling, even their mannerisms were so scarily similar. Zed finally smiled, something he very easily gifted to Berri, as well. He breathed a knowing chuckle, in Wren's direction, crossed his arms and leaned the side of his hip into the counter he was nearest in a relaxing stance.

"I wanted to let you know that I'm impressed with you," Zed's deep voice pressed as calmly and gently as he could, he was well aware Wren's feelings here were fragile, he hoped lofting a compliment his way would help him open up; like suspected, Wren's eyes brightened, if just a little, and hooked into Zed's once again.

"H-How?" Wren staggered as he furrowed his brow, Zed shrugged and chuckled as he aimlessly looked down to his feet in contemplation.

"I may be a softy, but I know standing up to me couldn't've been an easy task," Zed mumbled with a cute smile, he finally returned his gaze to Wren's, "You stood your ground against someone with much higher authority than you, and defended someone you vowed a valuable piece of your loyalty to. That took guts. You really are Rancis's son."

Wren softened and looked down to his able hands, his forearms and elbows lay planted into the cold counter he rested against. He inhaled a shaky breath, bobbed a nod and lulled his eyes closed in knowing.

"It was a lose lose, for me," Wren mumbled cutely, he finally crowned a smile, "I either hesitantly agreed with you and lost sleep over not defending my best friend and disregarding my morals, or... I defended my best friend to my whole ability and voiced that I disagreed with you. The entire King of Sugar Rush."

"... I don't think I'd view that as a lose-lose, Wren," Zed chuckled, he shook his head and gave Wren a cheeky smile of squinting delight, "Your choice was a win-win. You defended Turbo behind his back and stuck to your guns. Doesn't matter who it's against. Just because I'm King doesn't mean I'm always right, or have the right to claim that I am, over everyone under my word."

"Are you saying you were wrong?" Wren dared, he gave Zed a look of humble curiosity, to which Zed nodded with a shrug and looked off in exasperated contemplation.

"I'm saying... You're right that I should trust my gut and trust Turbo, for he hasn't given us reason to NOT trust him, but..." Zed trailed with a sigh and hesitantly pressed on, "I still think we should be wary of Lash."

"I never said we shouldn't be," Wren defended gently, he stood up a bit straighter and cleared his throat, "I said we shouldn't isolate him or keep him at arm's length."

"I agree," Zed's deep voice tenderly concluded, his twinkling blue eyes peered to Wren in soft curiosity, "Turbo chose well to keep you close by, and although I will be wary of Lash for a long while, I... I'm protective of my kingdom. I'm protective of my swap mate, my children, my family. Lash robbed me of all of those things, in one form or another."

"You have every right to be nervous," Wren mumbled with a conclusory nod as he looked back down to his hands, on the cold counter below him, "I didn't mean to cause a scene. That was immature of me."

"It's understandable, you were frustrated," Zed shrugged, "Been there, done that."

"Really?" Wren tenderly wondered, Zed blurt a knowing laugh and heavily nodded.

"Ho yeah. Ralph and I have gone toe-to-toe many-a palace meeting," Zed grunted with continued laughter, he wrinkled his nose and fixed a few vivid blue strands of his hair that got in his line of sight, "I guess it's different with my father-in-law. Something you won't have to worry about."

"I may not eventually have a father-in-law, but I will have three new bigger brothers," Wren bugged his eyes and peered to Zed in a spike of nervousness, "I have one big sister. I have to learn how to navigate three other dudes, all who love Throttle more than the next."

"Yeah, you got your hands full with all those guys, they're a fun bunch," Zed bobbed a nod and gave Wren a sweet smile, "You'll be just fine. Nox is harmless, Turbo's your best friend, and, well... I guess just keep your eye on Lash."

"I guess him and Berri are actually getting on pretty well," Wren mumbled, he wondered if he was potentially telling on Berri, here, though he carried on, "Sometimes Lash calls her while we're on off hours, on tour. She laughs and jokes and they talk about nothing for a decent amount of time. Another reason why I'm not... Particularly worried about it all. I feel Berri has solid judgement on this kind of thing, right?"

"Yeah, she does," Zed furrowed his brow in now whole, reeling contemplation, his considerate eyes aimlessly glossed the kitchen behind Wren in thought as he carefully carried on, "She used to be so scared of all of the TurboTime men, when she was younger. Had horrid nightmares because of the memory Tessa unfortunately gifted to her, whilst she was pregnant with Berri. The memory of being deleted at Lash's will... If she's really warmed up to Lash like you say she has..."

"Don't take my word for it," Wren gently held up his hands, and though he opened his mouth to continue on, both men faltered in curiosity the second the tower's front door could be heard nonchalantly being unlocked from the outside.

Although said individual entering the building was out of sight, their entry into the building was easy going and casual, as if the person lived here. Wren and Zed hovered in tender, listening silence in anticipation for just who would be rounding the dimmer corridor's soft bend, though as said person approached, heavier footsteps gently slapped the tiles, cueing to both men that this individual was bare foot, furthering their clues of knowing that this person was comfortable here. Wren furrowed his brow in prickled, cute confusion and wondered if this person was potentially Throttle, due to Berri and Theo being upstairs packing, though the second this still hidden individual began to softly and cutely mumble the chorus of a sweet song, Wren raised his eyebrows in hard surprise and understood this individual's voice to be Turbo's. A deep press of sweet, hushed and mumbled words of beautiful singing, a depth of bass that even still reverberated the walls at such a quiet volume, Wren wrinkled a smile as Turbo's figure finally came about the corner.

In the lazy jostle of an added tinkering noise, Turbo swirled his keys on the key ring about his pointer finger, held nonchalantly up in the air before him. Upon seeing Zed's and Wren's silent, still figures, he immediately halted his jolt of shocked footwork, ceased his mumbly, deep singing, raised his eyebrows in prickled, concealed fear and pursed his lips in a manner of almost looking as if he was caught committing a crime. Turbo huffed a shaky breath, eased his keys into his lazy red sweat's pockets and rested his free hand on his broad chest, which was only lazily clothed with a thin, loose white tank that draped his strong, grey collar bones. Turbo crowned a small, sheepish smile and felt a weird wiggle of misstepping come over him as his eyes glanced between Wren's and Zed's. He huffed a nervous chuckle and wondered if he should likely leave the tower, he was well aware he potentially didn't have to explain himself to Zed, in the form of just why he was here at the gang's tower, though in the act of trying to find stable ground to stand on, he staggered a few nervous notions out to the two men before him.

"H-Hey, guys," Turbo cleared his throat and bravely pressed into the kitchen, his aura radiated uncertainty, "Wh-what're you doing here? Am I interrupting something?"

"No, we're just having a little chat," Zed stated with certainty, a confident being without even so much as trying, he shot Wren a small smile and volleyed said sting, confident eye contact back to Turbo's orbs in unwavering challenge, "What're YOU doing here?"

"I-I was just... W-Well," Turbo swallowed hard, eased his nervous hands into his pockets in hopes that if no one saw them trembling, no one would know how uncertain he was in this instance.

"Say it with your chest, bud, what are you up to?" Zed choked a small laugh, gestured to his own chest, held his head high and tried to lead by example.

"Berri, I'm... Here to see Berri," Turbo finally blurt with a nervous chuckle as he bashfully rubbed the back of his head, "I'm here to help her pack."

"How dare you," Wren muttered, to which him and Zed shared a good laugh.

"I'm surprised she didn't just tell you to use her teleport pad, the one in her bedroom," Zed delicately inquired, though Turbo raised his eyebrows a little and was at least surprised to be proven that Zed wasn't going to be overbearing in their brand new relationship, for every other person that was nosey about just what the two did behind closed doors, he was floored Zed was not one of them.

"O-Oh, she... Does, sometimes," Turbo so carefully revealed, he eyed Zed with gentle uncertainty and shrugged, "I always ask to use that teleport pad, before using it, but... She gave me a key to the tower to make life a little easier. I can just... Come inside the tower and she can come down from her room once she's decent, or ready, or whatever. No pressure."

"Is this a new installment?" Wren wondered cutely, to which Turbo shot him a dull look of mild, playful, smiling annoyance.

"Considering that our relationship is a new installment, yeah, it comes with new boundaries," Turbo jabbed, he crowned a cute, bashful smile and finally welcomed himself to Wren's and Zed's bubble, once and for all. He leaned his hands to the larger island's counter they shared and gave the two a curious smile, the evening sunshine hit the glow of his eyes just right, ultimately muting said glow altogether, leaving a creepy matte yellow that hugged crisp, black square pupils, "Not... That it's a bad thing that you're here, but... How come you're here, Zed?"

"Well, since everyone in Sugar Rush's hierarchy, excluding Berri, knows about your, well... Proposals, I discovered that you appointed Wren to be at your right hand," Zed stated cutely, to which Wren bashfully looked down to his hands and felt a wash of being discovered come over him. Zed's fatherly voiced pressed on, "We held an impromptu palace meeting last night, which... If I'm being honest, involved you and the notion of you being Sugar Rush's future, and, well... From the abrupt conclusion of the meeting, I was quickly made aware that you have picked well for yourself."

"Ah yeah?" Turbo pressed cutely, he eyed Wren in soft, teasing suspicion as Wren only barely glanced in his direction, a swathe of shyness coat his sunny soul, "How do you figure?"

"Turbo, any man that is willing to defend you in your absence is a man you do not want to let loose from your court," Zed stated wisely with a small nod, "We're all wary of Lash, I lost track of what was important in all of this, and... Wren was quick to bring it all back around, again, in your honor."

"Thanks, man," Turbo pressed in cute, gentle surprise as he gave Wren a smile full of elated gratitude, and though Wren bobbed a bashful nod and finally gave Turbo a humble smile, Turbo furrowed his brow and gave Zed a curiously apprehensive look of a narrowing gaze, "You're wary of Lash? I mean, I understand why, but... I-Is there anything I can do to make it easier on everyone?"

"Oh it's... Likely not something I should discuss, here, without Ralph, Rancis and Ace," Zed sighed nonchalantly, though he gave Turbo a sweet smile, "The meeting was just a formality... Make sure everyone was on the same page before we dove into our gathering coming up, this Sunday."

"WHY do I have to be on tour when all the fun happens," Wren grumbled, he eyed Turbo in annoyance, "Can you call me directly after, or something?"

"Yeah, I'll call you, crying," Turbo mumbled nervously, though Zed blurt a laugh and shook his head as both men before him eased into cute smiles.

"It's not like that," Zed heaved a chuckle and shook his head amidst a wide grin that mocked Berri's.

"I can't imagine you, of all people, CRYING," Wren spout, he wrinkled his nose and peered to Turbo, as if to attempt to imagine it.

"Doesn't happen often," Turbo mumbled cutely, though he furrowed his brow and gave Wren an annoyed smile.

"I've seen you cry," Zed muttered cheekily as he looked off, a playful air of snootiness, to which Wren gaped and shot Turbo a look of surprise.

"What? Why? When?" Wren quickly spout in high pitched frenzy, to which Turbo lazily bobbed his head and shrugged.

"Who, Where," Turbo listed in a mutter, Zed choked a laugh.

"It's not important, I've tortured the lot of you for long enough," Zed mumbled as he began to stand, so to officially see himself out, though in the tense of his core to bring himself to a stand, the kitchen's hub of a teleport pad gently buzzed and revealed said blue haired beauty of a hot topic, as of late.

All cozily dressed in a lovely, lazy, yellow sweater and faded, light brown sweats, Berri gently stepped off the pad coincidentally mumbling the same little tune Turbo was previously singing, and in the single step off the pad, Berri jolted in silver glitch lines and froze as solid as a statue. With the peer of said three men back at her, all with a different twinkle of concern in their eye, Berri raised her eyebrows in girly, prickled surprise and peered to Turbo, then Wren, and finally her father. She exhaled a shaky breath, bashfully tucked her hair behind her ears and finally dart her eyes about in whole, girly suspicion. She gently crossed her arms, her beautiful, natural, wavy blue hair tucked into the folds of her lazy, quick seal of her arms and the thick, yellow cloth of her sweater.

"What's going on, here?" Berri pressed in a gentle ease of authority, as high of a stature Zed had over literally everyone, the gang knew that the women on palace grounds held rank, no matter what. All three boys' eyes looked down in a cute, nervous act of being discovered as Berri hurriedly pressed on, "Such a valiant 'meeting of the minds', surely I should be involved. What's being discussed?"

"Oh, I went with Rancis this morning on a trip about Orion City's perimeter. We got a bit swamped with a few of the city's needs and thought it'd be helpful to have a third set of eyes, with us," Turbo so skillfully maneuvered, something that had Zed giving Turbo a secretive look of floored, impressed bewilderment. Turbo softly radiated honesty, though it was soiled by the sheepish smile he crowned, something Zed was certain Berri would navigate like Turbo wouldn't believe, "We were just asking if Wren would like to join. Something Zed would oversee."

"That's bullshit," Berri snipped quickly through a pursed look of seriousness, a deathly look of Queenly authority, to which Zed choked a hard laugh and shook his head.

"It's not bullshit, love, that's a real thing," Zed pressed firmly with a wide smile; in any other case, Zed would willingly let Berri climb all over Turbo and set him straight, though in this fragile predicament, Zed knew he needed to keep Turbo's secret just that. Zed firmly stood and softly peered to Wren, praying he'd play along, "Wren, you good for that first Sunday you're back in Sugar Rush, then?"

"Yeah, I'll be there," Wren cooly stated with a small nod, to which Berri furrowed her brows and looked about the group in nervous contemplation, as if she was certain she could sniff lies from a million miles away; having known just how the game, the code room and the city ran, she took a proverbial step back and wondered if her ducks had fallen out of the row they were so tidily in. Wren inhaled a deep breath and acted nonchalantly, as if to pretend they were genuinely in the depths of said unassuming conversation, "You want me to take the northern side of the city, then?"

"Yeah, that whole bend, Rancis usually has the eastern bend, where the freeway hugs, and Turbo usually takes the south and the west, the closest to his tower," Zed lazily instructed with hand movements, and though Wren nodded and was eager to continue playing along, the conversation softly dipped to a gentle stop, in which Turbo furrowed his brow and gave Berri a cheeky look of playful hurt.

"Ouch, by the way," Turbo muttered in her direction, and with such, Berri softened and felt bad for potentially thwarting Turbo's words.

"I-I'm... I'm sorry, I'm in a mood," Berri mumbled as she put her hand to her forehead, though it was here did Turbo see the angry splay of stress marks on her temples. Turbo gingerly opened his arm to her and was glad she eased closer to him. She finally sagged into his arm for a tight side hug, their adorable height difference, so close and tucked tight into each other, now had Zed and Wren staring in warm, unassuming curiosity, "Gunner won't stop texting me."

"Gunner?" Turbo pressed in a rise of becoming-firm annoyance as he peered to Wren over the top of Berri's fluffy blue head of hair. He gently squeezed her into his chest as her littler arms came about his middle, she sighed and lulled her eyes closed as he carried on, "Want me to text him?"

"Hoo kay, I'm leaving before the tower burns down," Zed blurt a chuckle and held his hands up in defense, he began to slowly mosey towards the gape of the entry corridor and smiled back at the group, "See you guys later, and, seriously... Please don't burn the tower down."

"I won't let him," Wren mumbled to Zed with a lazy smile and a gentle wave of his hand, to which Zed chuckled and kindly saw himself out.

"What's he saying to you?" Turbo pressed in stern frustration as he tilted his head down and tried to gain eye contact with Berri, though she sagged and slumped her shoulders, as if to show exhaustion.

"You're not gunna like it," Berri concluded in exasperated defeat.


	162. Chapter 162

**Reviews :**

 **Burgie :** He wants too many things lmao

 **faolan1230 :** Begone thot hahahhahaha

 **Nikki Firesong :** Yeah they're both incredibly sharp, but Berri is definitely always one step ahead of nearly everyone haha

 **Snake557 :** I'm glad you enjoyed it! And yeah, Gunner doesn't know when to quit.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Break My Heart Again by FINNEAS**

* * *

 ***Chapter 162***

"Is he making your life hard? What's he saying to you?" Turbo pressed darkly, his eyes glossed the dim, quaint and beautiful splay of Berri's slightly messy bedroom and work area; evening sunlight glinted across her unmade covers, her figure slowly eased off of the teleport pad in a mass of blue hair that cascaded down her back in a fluffy, beautiful mess of waves and kinks. Turbo cocked an eyebrow and just barely followed in her footsteps, though not nearly as fast; he began to feel helpless, "I-I... Berri, I just need to know you'll be safe, on this tour."

"Oh, I'll be safe from harm, alright," Berri assured in hot irritation, she whirled around and began to dig her phone from her baggy sweats, and as she gently cued to her's and Gunner's previous text conversation, she slouched her phone into Turbo's hand without any form of hesitation.

Turbo reeled in hot surprise, flinched and peered down to Berri's open display and unlocked phone in his hand. Unflinching as to how easily she slid her private device right into Turbo's care, she whirled around with a hard eye-roll and left Turbo to view the entirety of her's and Gunner's text conversation. Turbo swallowed a gulp of heart thumping dread. He raised his eyebrows in dewy nervousness, looked down to the gentle glow of her phone and scanned the details of the text conversation. Plainly listed as 'Gunner', in her phone, he smirked and was well aware it used to say 'Gunn' with a heart emoji. He held his breath in hard contemplation, and although he hesitated, he wondered just what she had him listed as, in her contacts, if it included a nickname or anything of that nature. He shook his head and knew he shouldn't pry, he kept his nose to the delicate conversation Berri had entrusted to him whilst she began to rummage with her opened duffle of folded clothes.

"Good morning babe, I'm excited to go on this next tour with you. I really have been thinking about it, and I'm wondering if I can somehow convince you to stay with me the first night of tour?" Turbo lilted as he read Gunner's first message, he furrowed his eyebrows and began to feel whole, protective rage begin to crawl over him; he did everything he could to keep his eyes golden, he narrowed and inhaled a shaky breath as he continued on, Berri rustled her drawers and continued to begrudgingly pack with thumps of frustration, "I really think we just need to unwind with each other. We've said a lot of hurtful things and I just don't want to lose you. Please Bear, at least consider it. Let me please just at least show you the kind of boyfriend I really can be. I didn't even, well... Get a chance to do anything romantic for you. I really thought we were getting somewhere that one night, the night you suddenly started to feel ill."

Turbo furrowed his brow and did everything he could to not crown a wide smile, though he finally shot Berri an incredulous smirk and shook his head in prodding, boyish cuteness, "... Did Gunner try to come on to you? And... You didn't want that so you cock-blocked him with the 'I don't feel well' trick?"

"I had run out of excuses," Berri muttered dully as she continued to pack, Turbo peered to her in lovely surprise and enjoyed watching her poofy hair fluff about with her firm movements. Berri raised her eyebrows in tender, bashful defeat and almost eased a shy giggle, "Guess you know my secrets, now."

"Gunn, I already told you, I have a boyfriend," Turbo read Berri's side of the conversation through a chuckle, though he jolted and urgently peered to Berri in hot surprise, "Bear, you... You told Gunner about me?"

"COURSE I told Gunner about you!" Berri urged, she hooked her eyes to Turbo's, across the stretch, and shook her head, "He didn't believe me, he STILL doesn't believe me. Read on, you'll see."

"Gunn, I already told you, I have a boyfriend, and I don't think he'd be too happy to hear you're still trying to get at me, even after I made clear that it was over," Turbo pressed, he inhaled a deep breath, readjusted his arm, eased deeper into Berri's lovely, warm room and approached the footboard of her beautiful, massive bed, "Wren, Theo, Throttle and I have our own accommodations planned, I will be staying with those three boys. I don't feel comfortable being alone with you, especially in that aspect, Gunn. I'm sorry I was never clear with you, about your advances, but I wasn't ready for that step. I should've been straight forward with you and I'm sorry I wasn't."

"You really lead me on, Bear, it sucks trying and trying again to further things only to be met with a wall," Turbo repeated Gunner's message, he furrowed his eyebrows in rising disgust and shook his head as he broke into his own, irritated narrative, "Lead him on? Does the kid not know how to read signs? Pretty sure he'd be made WELL aware if he was wanted in bed."

"I'd make it clear if I DID, guess I dropped the ball. I didn't know how to properly let him down without him getting mad," Berri muttered in hot irritation as she continued to pack her things in a huff, she heaved a raspy sigh, tucked her hair behind her ears and began to make her way to her bathroom. She switched the light on and disappeared, though Turbo continued on, knowing she was still in earshot.

"I guess... What I'm saying is, I'm frustrated that I never got to show you just what I was made of. What does this new guy have that I don't? If there even IS a new guy," Turbo completed Gunner's previous length of message, and though Turbo felt a curl of a smile grace his face, he tried to only humbly carry on with now Berri's reply, "I'm not lying to you, Gunner. There is someone else and what we do is none of your business."

Turbo raised his eyebrows in soft, collected surprise and sagged his shoulders as he quietly read the rest of her message to himself, in his head.

 _Blue : The difference between you two is, he's patient. Not once has he pushed me to do something I was uncomfortable with or felt I couldn't say no to without him getting mad. It's not about just sex, Gunner. I'm sure it's all good fun, and I'm obviously not opposed to it, but you really can't expect people to get there just as quick as you did. It was a huge turn off, Gunn. Dare I say it was a major reason why we didn't go the distance. You were so desperate for it, it really clouded everything. I need space from being entirely alone with you. It doesn't make me comfortable, so please don't ask me anymore._

"Blue, I had no clue this whole thing was THIS deep," Turbo's deep voice cautiously pressed, "For a guy that has it all, it's... Weird to see just how empty he is. He's trying to fill a void. I guess, what I want to know is..."

Turbo halted his words and held his breath. He wondered if maybe he was pulling a Gunner and stepping far too deep into a topic he wasn't allowed to, though he inhaled a shaky breath and wondered if he could be brave, here. As gentlemanly as he could, he lulled his eyes closed and so carefully picked his words, he was well aware he still had a lot to learn about Berri, and she for him, and with such notions, he knew they most definitely had to start somewhere. He reopened his eyes and softly peered to the gentle stream of light from her bathroom, the large, gaping archway that didn't have a door, he could see her little, faint shadow crossing the bathroom in small trips of gathering items to pack. He began to cautiously step closer to the gape of the warm glow of her bathroom light, his heart began to pound with anticipation as he left her's and Gunner's conversation opened in his palm.

"Why... DIDN'T you ever succumb to Gunner's advances?" Turbo wondered delicately, he bravely peered into the bathroom and glossed his eyes to Berri's figure; she stood at her massive sprawl of a pearly counter, and sink, with her hands planted on the cold gloss of it, her aimless eyes peered into her empty bathroom sink in hot contemplation of their conversation. Turbo raised his eyebrows in prickled surprise and was now floored to find that said question, said conversation, halted her frantic packing movements. He eased into the doorway and kept his cautious eyes glued to her figure, the gorgeous, fuzzy waves of blue that cascaded down her arms, back and chest. Turbo gingerly shook his head and lulled his eyes closed in a long blink of sweet, innocent curiosity, "If... You really liked the guy, and were all on board for everything a relationship entailed, well... How come... It never got to that point of intimacy?"

Berri's mature gaze finally drew up from the sink to the plant of her right hand into the counter, and in an aimless gloss of contemplation, her idle stare mixed about the different hair and skin care products haphazardly lined across her counter top. She dared a small smile, though it was clear she was hiding a twinge of confused sorrow. She exhaled a small chuckle of a sigh through her nose, shook her head and pondered Turbo's so careful choice of words, though as Turbo held frozen in hot anticipation of her answer, she finally glued her vivid, icy blue eyes into his golden orbs of suspension. She dared to give him a mildly annoyed smile, shook her head and finally glossed her idle gaze to his strong clavicles, the loose, white straps of his thin tank, she felt her face turn pink.

"Because, you... Ruined me," Berri pressed lightly, simply as if this wasn't a bad thing, she breathed an incredulous, irritated giggle, looked back down to her sink, shifted on her feet and stood up a bit straighter, "You ruined me for other men without even touching me."

Turbo frowned and nervously looked about her figure and the counter before her, as if to desperately claw for an answer, an apology, he inhaled a shaky breath through his mouth and began to stumble on a breath of words he was desperate to get out, though she quietly interrupted his effort.

"You don't need to apologize," Berri quickly countered with an almost sorrowful smile into his flinching eyes, he halted his attempt to press footwork closer to her, he gave her an apologetic frown and felt every single circuit and honeycomb in his body wiggle with cute confusion. Berri inhaled a shaky breath and shook her head, "You were my first kiss, and... I-I didn't want any of my other firsts to be with anyone else, after that."

"Berri," Turbo huffed shakily with a bashful smile down to his feet, he shook his head as if to politely state he had his answer and she didn't need to reveal more of her heart, if that was something she didn't want to do.

"There were many reasons why I left Gunner, and... You're the main reason," Berri quietly admitted as Turbo remained still, with her's and Gunner's conversation still wide open. He nervously glanced down to it and could see Gunner continue to argue her and try to reason with her, though he inhaled a deep breath through his nose and peered deep into her eyes as their string of contact met in a fluid gloss of enchantment, "You can trust me while I'm away, simply because you exist. I'm thankful for you, I'm thankful for your patience and your understanding. I'm sure... This isn't easy for you."

"You're worth it," Turbo huffed carefully, he shook his head and narrowed his gaze in further, protective, boiling rage, "He shows you no respect. If you need me to, I can message him and tell him to back off."

"He'd get the hint, for sure," Berri beamed a cute smile and looked down to her counter, once more. She softly shook her head and lulled her eyes closed, "You can do whatever you'd like. I try to remain civil with him, I just think it's frustrating that he thinks getting physical is going to magically solve our problems."

"As a guy, I can unfortunately see where he's coming from," Turbo muttered in mild dismay, "It's a way of giving you something you need, it's healing, it's loving, it's pleasurable for both parties, but... You're right. It puts a bandaid on a gaping wound. It'll fix everything for the night, but the next morning..."

"Yeah, I... I try to keep the thought of 'the next morning' in my head, otherwise, I probably would've regressed and just gotten it over with simply for the high of it all," Berri mumbled in soft scolding, towards herself, as she crossed her arms and continued to avoid eye contact with Turbo.

Turbo softly looked down, though snuck her a cute side-eye from her tender reveal. She looked reserved, nervous, almost as if she maybe was worried she had said too much. All a part of finally opening up to each other, Turbo inhaled a shaky breath and wondered if he should give back. As carefully and slowly as he could, he stepped deeper into her bathroom and sagged her still unlocked phone to the bathroom counter. He exhaled a long, soft sigh through his mouth, eased his hands into the gape of his sweat's pockets and stood a few feet from Berri's still reserved stance; he hovered to a stop and tilted his head to show her curiosity, something she cued to in the form of a bashful, glancing smile of gentle, silent apology. Turbo's smile broadened in cuteness as they marinated in each other's warm presence.

"I may have lost all my firsts to my past, but... Please understand," Turbo shook his head and gave her a look of raw, nervous humility, "That was all over thirty years ago... I think it's safe to consider all my firsts reset."

"Oh psh," Berri playfully disregarded as she rolled her eyes, looked off and eased a sneaky, blushing smile off to the other side of her bathroom; Turbo blurt a chuckle and shook his head.

"I'm serious, I don't know what the hell I'm doing any longer," Turbo pleaded with a broader laugh as her smile grew into the divots of her blushing cheeks.

"Well, I guess I'm yours to fool," Berri stated playfully, though her voice softened to serious conclusion as she eased her bashful eye contact up into his, once and for all, "I'm... Really going to miss you. This is the first time being separated as a couple. It's going to be rough."

"Naw, we'll stay in touch," Turbo shook his head and gave her a confident look of affirmation, "Any chance you get a second to spare, you can call me. I don't care what time it is, you call me. And we can talk for as long as you want. Even video chat, we can do it all."

"I'd like that," Berri stated in rising sorrow, she began to fiddle her fingers in aimless nervousness as she inhaled a shaky breath to continue on, "Bo, I'm... Really upset I'm going to be gone on your birthday."

"No, don't be, I don't really celebrate anyways," Turbo guffawed with a confident smile as he waggled his hand, "Lash, Nox and I will probably have a drink, hang with Chester, it'll be fine. We can celebrate when you get home."

"You made me feel so special ON my birthday, though," Berri pleaded with a frown, to which Turbo finally filled their gap and tenderly cupped Berri's jaws in his masculine hands.

"Hey," Turbo cooed with soft warmth, like dark, warm honey over her cold, blue soul, she peered her shivering, icy eyes into the heat of his glowing orbs and sagged her demeanor into his care, once and for all. Turbo breathed a silent chuckle and shook his head, "You are such a worry wart. Don't worry about any of it, I'm serious. Just call me, that's all I need. There's no pressure on your end, Bear, I've spent the last thirty years not celebrating my birthday. It's really no big deal... Partly because me and all three of my brothers all have the same birthday."

"You do?" Berri furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head.

"May first, the day TurboTime was released and plugged in," Turbo shrugged in smiling nonchalance and shook his head, "It's really no issue. I feel birthdays are properly reserved for self programmed gamers. You have a genuine day of legitimate birth. Me, well... It was just the day we were plugged in."

"It's still special," Berri pleaded warmly as she finally rested her hands to Turbo's broad chest, "You're... Special. I just want that to be clear."

"It is," Turbo smiled, he warmly smooched the bridge and top of Berri's cute nose once or twice and hovered over her sweetly, "Now, stop worrying. Let's get you packed up and ready to go, okay? Have you had dinner yet?"

"No," Berri mumbled cutely, she sagged into Turbo's irresistible warmth with a flutter of her eyes, to which Turbo cued to.

"Why don't you let me cook you something," Turbo mumbled into the bridge of her nose, once more, and in the indulgence of soft, warm smooches to her nose and finally her cheeks, he cutely smiled once she scrunched her shoulders and began to giggle in the flutter of it all, "You're probably going to eat trash fast food on your trip, so... I might as well send you off well."

"That's nice of you," Berri mumbled, though she stood on her tip toes the second Turbo's warm, cute and gentle smooches finally found her lips. In the soft, silent inhales through their noses, the slow slide of arms and the shifting of their stance, they sagged into a few innocent smooches of warm, slow delight. The two just barely parted in the sag of Turbo's arms about her lower back, she furrowed her brow and gave her parted, aimless gaze to the illuminated, darker freckles on Turbo's grey cheeks, just barely aglow with his also parted, golden gaze, "I'm... Really going to miss you."

"Me too," Turbo pressed in a sorrowful whisper, "I mean, I always do, but... This time's going to be rough. We'll make it work."

"I'll be back in two weeks," Berri sighed as they eased out of each other's tighter hover, she sagged back down to her flat stance and was again eye level with Turbo's upper chest, "It'll seem like an eternity."

"Well, if things get hairy, you know you have that disguise I gave you," Turbo shrugged, "I mean... Don't freely use it, but... In a dire situation where you need to get away, you know what to do, love."

"I haven't forgotten," Berri eased in quiet, cute nonchalance with a small nod, though she looked off a little and pondered harder on the subject; her heart began to thud with the ideas that came flooding her, she hoped that somewhere along her next tour, there'd be an opportunity to potentially slip away for a secret night out.


	163. Chapter 163

**Reviews :**

 **Nikki Firesong :** Aww that's so sweet! He'll make a good hubby for sure. And, you're absolutely right! All valid points. Thank you so much! :D

 **faolan1230 :** LMAO Gunner's not brave enough to be to loud about his frustrations, he knows full well his whole crew is Berri-centered and he's losing control of it quick.

 **Snake557 :** Yes, it's getting there. There are about 3 climaxes, in this story - 1st one is right around the bend!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Tie Me Down ft. Elley Duhé (Blanke remix)**

* * *

 ***Chapter 163***

"I can do this, I can do this," Turbo muttered to himself under his breath, his voice just barely trembled, he could feel his core remain tight and tense in a ball of now hours of gathered anxiety and stress.

In due diligence, he gently peered to his phone's clock and took note that he was about five minutes early for such an important meeting awaiting his special arrival. Through the falter of air that shook out of his lungs, Turbo lulled his eyes closed in mild dread and finally looked down to himself, to assess. Wearing a tidy pair of faded black jeans, the least tattered pair he owned, and a nice button down shirt, he straightened out the fabric and finally sagged his finger into his clean, trimmed and groomed hair. He knew he didn't need to physically impress the men in Berri's life, awaiting his arrival, awaiting to put his wits to the test, though he figured it wouldn't hurt to at least look more put together than usual. In the still silence he had in his own foyer, the dim room about him warmly and silently assured him that he'd be okay. With bravery he attempted to force, he eased his feet onto his foyer's illuminated teleport pad, brought up the holographic cues and nervously hovered his finger over the button clearly labelled for Sugar Rush's main code room. With the blip of information, his hot, red honeycombs were whisked away and immediately blipped to the code room's wonderful, irresistible glow.

"There he is," Zed chimed with a wide smile, and as Turbo peeled his eyes opened and looked about his new surroundings, he held his breath and took note of the faces a dozen or so feet from him; in the sag of a switch up, Turbo immediately took note that everyone was present. Ralph, Ace, Zed, Rancis and Oliver who understood his importance in this meeting, as well.

"Lookin' sharp, my man," Rancis grumbled as Turbo gently stepped off the pad and joined the loose group.

"New hair cut?" Ace cutely smiled and gave Turbo a teasing side eye as both men lazily shook hands and pat each other's arms, in a brotherly fashion.

"Maybe," Turbo muttered with a bashful smile, his dewy, golden eyes nervously looked to each man in the group, a hover of a strong hold, and it was in this raw instance of a gathering did Turbo feel every single wiggle of fear vanish; every being about him radiated positivity, and what used to be a teasing notion of previous caution, as if this meeting could get explosive, Turbo was well aware that was now all a brotherly facade.

"You look good, how you feeling?" Ralph grunted as he gently straightened out his shirt; everyone looked equally as dressed, a casual toss of a more thought out splay of outfits, than typically sported from day to day.

"Great," Turbo huffed through a long sigh as he bobbed a nod, and though he stood proud, he began to sink into himself and now wondered if he possibly shouldn't get too comfortable.

"Yeah? How come?" Ralph wondered tightly, his smile was curious and authoritative, something that immediately cued Turbo into understanding that he shouldn't congratulate himself too quickly, here.

"Dad," Oliver grunted with a wide, irritated smile, something Ace cued to, as well.

"What?" Ralph's face sloped to genuine, annoyed concern as he gestured out to Turbo, "I'm curious!"

"I guess, because..." Turbo exhaled a shaky breath and now felt every single pair of eyes hit him in tight inquisition. Zed gently crossed his arms as he stood opposite Turbo, from the lazy, loose circle all six men had formed with each other, in the center of the King's glowing, gorgeous code room.

Turbo raised his eyebrows in poised readiness and felt every single last letter of his notes leave his brain. Although something he was terrified would happen, he sagged his shoulders and lulled his eyes closed as his heart finally spoke courage into his thought stream. He eased a warm smile and finally looked about to all the men that hovered tight to him, hung close on his every single word. Ralph and Zed peered to him in gentle authority, an aura Rancis mildly radiated as well, though Ace and Oliver peered their sweet, dewy eyes tight to Turbo in an overflow of positive warmth; every single gaze of eye contact held a different twinge of emotion, a well rounded group of individuals that Turbo suddenly felt glued to. It was in this instance did Turbo finally feel proper putting himself in the future position as King, it was here did he feel as if he could entirely see himself with that crown, once and for all, and with the rush of joy, he heaved a small chuckle and hovered for a single moment longer.

"Because... Berri has such an incredible support system, here," Turbo eased in soft humility as he gestured out to the group, "There are a lot of people in the Arcade that can only really rely on one or two people, but Berri? Not only does she have her entire future Kingdom, but... This ring of men here, this formidable stronghold, I mean... She's probably the luckiest girl on Earth."

"... I didn't even think about it, that way," Rancis muttered in immediate defeat as he shot his gaze tight to Zed's, as if to assure Zed that he came into this meeting hot with hard questions and a fatherly display, though Turbo was due to thwarting all of it.

"Me neither," Oliver mumbled with a sweet smile, him and Ace caught glances.

"We're all so important to her, each individual in such strong, different ways," Turbo warmly pressed as he eased his hand to the broad of his chest. He huffed a nervous chuckle and looked down to his feet as he rode out the dregs of his courage, "I'm sorry, I just... You guys can throw your fireballs at me and... Nail me to the ground and assure me that you'll beat me to a pulp if I ever THINK about breaking her heart, but... I'm just so grateful she has all of you guys, all of us, to protect her and make her feel safe."

"User dammit," Ralph grunted as he gestured up and outwards, towards Turbo; the whole group erupted into laughter, excluding Turbo, who flinched in raw surprise and raised his eyebrows in prickled, frozen, boyish cuteness, "You're making this difficult!"

"Yeah, we were all prepared to put you in the hot seat," Zed cutely mumbled down to his feet, shook his head, crossed his arms and inhaled a deep, refreshed breath. He gave Turbo his warm, loving eye contact, narrowed his gaze and shook his head in the switch up, "But, I think... You're very well aware you'd be in deep shit if you were to hurt Berri. You knew that from the day Sugar Rush was saved, the day we handed you our trust."

"I don't think anything we'd have to say to you would even be news," Oliver spout a soft laugh, shrugged and caught eyes with Rancis, who bobbed an annoyed nod.

"You can still put me in the hot seat, if you want," Turbo suggested nervously, he shrugged and breathed a soft chuckle as Rancis urgently bobbed another nod and shot Zed a wide, boyish grin, something Zed guffawed at and waved him off.

"I'm not going to put him in the hot seat, Ranc," Zed choked a laugh, to which Rancis rolled his eyes and peered to Turbo in a playful show of whole entire begrudged annoyance, "YOU can later, if you want, okay? You can take him out back and beat him up and watch as he hands you your ass in return, okay?"

"Don't underestimate me," Turbo muttered teasingly towards Rancis, to which Rancis gave him a brotherly shove; both guys quietly bickered in a show of pure tease, for a moment, before settling.

"I'll make you a deal," Zed chimed cutely with a shrug, though he raised his finger and softly glanced about the group of men before stabbing his dominant eye contact tight to Turbo's, "We'll let you pick the bark off Ralph's and Vanellope's cross-striped tree if you can correctly answer this ONE question."

"Yes, sir," Turbo bobbed a nervous nod and now felt his stomach clench in becoming dread; everyone fell silent and peered to Zed in hard curiosity, a stark switch up of tight camaraderie all the men had, before Turbo, their eyes now honed to Zed as if they were being treated to this question for the first time, as well.

"So, we all know that Ralph and Vanellope will always be the game's top predecessors, as will Libby, in a way," Zed shrugged, the group began to softly dissipate in a spread of a few tender back steps as Zed very slowly part the circle in careful footwork towards Turbo. Zed gently tucked his arms behind his back, side-eyed Turbo in rising cheekiness and pressed closer across the gap, "You have Ace and Oliver as your fellow princes, Rancis will happily go back to being the ONLY Knight in shining armor..."

"Damn straight," Rancis chuffed in playful irritation as he crossed his arms; the group lightly laughed as Turbo finally halted a few feet before Turbo and stared him down in authoritative, smiling sternness.

"Y'got all pieces on the board with names, y'got knights and pawns and king-side castles galore," Zed's deep voice silenced the code room, Turbo raised his eyebrows in prickled fear as Zed inhaled a deep breath and narrowed his gaze in silent, scheming death, "Who is your Queen?"

"Berri," Turbo pressed in a knee-jerk reaction, something of which he firmly held his breath for.

Ralph threw his arm up in continued irritation, whirled around and began to stomp away in defeat, something everyone flinched in surprise to, though in the roll of only playful, teasing irritation, everyone began to laugh at Ralph's expense.

"You had to have given him the answer," Ralph grunted loudly as he began to open a few code room indexes, all holographic menus he was very well versed in, "You might as well give him this whole damned tree while we're at it!"

"Good answer," Zed mumbled in smiling, conclusory delight towards Turbo, "Tessa may be THE Queen, we're both in charge of this nonsense, but..."

"Wife takes precedence," Ace chimed with a nod and a warm smile.

"Happy wife, happy life," Oliver added, to which Rancis looked up in hot, playful irritation and lulled his head back.

"They'll be quick to remind you, too," Rancis grunted, and it was here did Turbo very quickly remember that every guy, in this supportive group, was happily married.

"For User's sakes," Turbo huffed a shaky laugh, rubbed the back of his head and watched as Ralph continued to fumble with a few options his nose was buried in, though the group slowly began to move closer to Ralph's positioning in the code room, "It was all down to one, single word... Had you have said whose THE Queen, as opposed to MY Queen..."

"Hopefully my men will help me in defending the true Queen, but... We all have our own women to hold upon on a pedestal, in their own right," Zed affirmed warmly as he gently took Turbo literally and figuratively under his wing, a gentle toss of his strong arm lazily over the tops of Turbo's shoulder had the two strolling to Ralph's positioning in unison.

"Does this feel different, Turbo?" Oliver wondered gently, though just as he asked said warm question, everyone largely flinched as Ralph finally got the coding to do what he wanted.

In a sudden zip of coding, Ralph was successful in bringing his and Vanellope's gorgeous sprawl of an infamous tree into the code room. Although just barely kissing the highest reach of the code room's dome, said incredible sprawl of colorful, cross-striped branches just cozily fit inside the glass. Ralph put his hands on his hips as everyone eagerly and quietly gawked upwards at the incredible girth and span of the colorful beast, truly an incredible work of art to behold. With the code boxes gently twinkling underneath the span of said incredible speckles of color, Turbo sagged his shoulders and peered up to his own shred of destiny, so lovingly intertwined with every soul he shared this space with. A majestic sight, a true, entire honor, Turbo shook his head, lulled his eyes in a slow, long blink of unmitigated disbelief and allowed his thoughts to slow to true, still realization. He inhaled a slow breath and steadied his eagerness, he warmly answered Oliver's question with calm, stoic confidence.

"World's difference," Turbo's deep voice concluded, he furrowed his eyebrows in a bittersweet sting of love and shook his head, "I didn't like being in charge all by my lonesome... I didn't enjoy the fact that it was a robbed crown."

"This time, it's earned," Zed affirmed as everyone peered upwards with delight, the tree glowed with all of Sugar Rush's pride and success, though Zed gently tilted his head upwards, towards the tree, and gave Turbo a wrinkled smile of sweet, conclusory delight, "See a branch y'like?"

Turbo huffed a shaky breath as everyone hovered near and eagerly peered up. Although each of these men had their pick at just which branch would perfectly represent their own beauty, their own Queen, Turbo held his breath and felt his golden eyes gloss every single gorgeous branch in a gentle sting of rising dread. Although gorgeous in swirls of equal amounts of creams, reds, oranges, teals and peachy goodness as far as the eye could see, Turbo furrowed his brow in a further sag of defeat and felt as if none of these branches represented his own blue beauty. He held his breath and softly looked off in hot contemplation, though as the group noted his prolonged silence and averted their attention to Sugar Rush's impending new prince, they softened and began to grow prickled with worry.

"What's wrong?" Ace prod warmly, though as Turbo's eyes glossed the thick, incredible trunk of a tree, hefty swirls of oranges, reds and whites, Turbo held his breath and realized something detrimental.

Although the silence, from Turbo, was deafening, his golden eyes eagerly trained to Ralph's in a rise of sweeping realization, and in the few steps he took to get to Ralph, who stood proudly at the trunk of his beloved tree, Turbo rested his hand on his chest and humbly stood before Ralph in tender question.

"I have an idea," Turbo pressed in soft caution, he shook his head and remained still, "Can I show you?"

Ralph hung quiet for a second and peered hard into Turbo's eyes. Although handing over a solid amount of the code room was safely guarded by Tessa's and Zed's buffer, Ralph stood by his strong, yet trembling, beloved tree and felt as if this beast was solely his responsibility. A strong, noble man that had finally begun to come into his own, Turbo's glowing eyes hooked into Ralph's in whole honesty, whole humility, as if to quietly assure Ralph that this fragile hand-over was a safe and secure one. Although Ralph looked up to his beautiful, massive tree, he heaved a hard, raspy sigh, warmly pat the massive trunk with his large, wrecking hand, and lulled his eyes closed in conclusory defeat. He bobbed Turbo a nod of gentle agreeing and finally took a few steps away, so Turbo could follow through with his own plan, stuck tightly in his head.

"She's all yours," Ralph concluded in a total show of release, and with their string of appreciative, sweet eye contact, Turbo bobbed a nod of assurance and carefully took the holographic display and control panel Ralph was previously hovered near.

Turbo inhaled a deep breath, peered hard into the controls and was well aware this whole thing was easy as pie, though he could feel his hands tremble at just how detrimental this all was. As he exhaled a long, deep breath and prod through a few code room options, as well as the infrastructure of Ralph's incredible cross-striped tree, Turbo narrowed his gaze in uncertain hopefulness and confidently pressed a single button with a shove. All at once, the code room's incredible flooring flickered into an invisible display of added light, and though the group flinched in terrified surprise and looked down in further shock, the group froze in unmitigated surprise as to just what Turbo had uncovered. With a wide beam of a smile that crowned Turbo's face, the whole group eagerly cooed loud notions of unadulterated bewilderment for what lay below the cross-striped tree typically visible pop of warm colors. In a winding, twisting display of gorgeous, thick, near-chaotic roots was the incredible, kaleidoscope of colors. With oranges and reds that dripped below the soil to meet rich teals and cerulean blues, alongside creamy, peachy whites that kissed to eventual soft greys, it all came together with the infamous, teal cross-stripe that very confidently swirled about the roots in a rich, rosey gold, a jackpot of color Turbo was banking on.

"Holy User in the sky," Oliver huffed through a shaky chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm right here," Ace muttered in a knee-jerk reaction, though everyone was all smiles.

Turbo inhaled a shaky breath through his nose, broadened his chest in a show of whole power, his demeanor exuded potential, something to which everyone finally dragged their eyes to in a roll of continued, unmitigated surprise. Turbo humbly eased everyone a wide smile of cute, prickled delight, knowing full well he had entirely found what he was looking for, and as the group began to mutter cute notions of success to each other and ease laughter for Turbo's insane success, Turbo held his head high and felt the code room eagerly hang tight to his command.

"I'd like the bark of the roots, for Berri's ring," Turbo proclaimed with confidence, he bobbed a single nod and held frozen in cute wait, "May I?"

"Take your pick, son," Zed gestured downwards with an incredulous laugh, he shook his head and desperately tried to wrap his mind around this nonsense, how sharp witted and quick Turbo was to think of something so hidden and out of sight, though with Zed's word, Turbo inhaled another readied breath and began to quickly lower the flooring of the code room so that the tree's roots were fully exposed to the room.

Once to the very bottom of the roots, everyone nervously looked up and could now see the entire height of the incredible beast of a tree. Nearly tripling in height, the trees roots splayed in a gorgeous gradient of lighter colors near the top, down to the richer, cooler colors to the tips of the roots. Once eye level with the very last tip of the longest root, Turbo held his eyes tight to the beautiful, darker bark. Charcoal greys swirled with the lovely bright blues and the single swirl of peachy, vibrant gold, Turbo shook his head and wondered if this was even all real. As his hand carefully reached for the very first root of this incredible tree, this priceless gift Ralph had graciously shared with every man under Sugar Rush's hierarchy, Turbo held his breath as he wrapped his strong hand about the root. With a careful break, he was successful in snatching half a foot of bark for his own, impending project, and with his spoils, he took a few steps back, silently thanked the tree for its sacrifice and did what he could to return the code room to normality. In the whisk of shrinking the code room back down to size and securely placing the tree back to where it belongs on palace grounds, the code room once again shone with code boxes and nothing more; the group was silent in still, unmitigated bewilderment.

"... Well THAT'S new," Rancis choked a laugh, shook his head and eyed Ralph in a cute manner, "Just be thankful YOUR tree doesn't have taffies, you ALL would be screwed."

"Yeah, I worry about Throttle, frankly," Oliver muttered, though as Turbo pressed closer to the collected group of men, he was thrilled to feel Ralph's demeanor soften to goo, as opposed to his mildly walled off disposition up until now.

"That was quick thinking," Ralph admitted with a humbled smile, he bobbed a nod and gently gestured to the gorgeous bark in Turbo's hand, still apart of the same tree, though the color was so starkly and beautifully different, "There's... There's literally no other piece you could've picked that could've been better, for you and Berri as a unit."

"Yeah, that was really smart," Ace encouraged as he crossed his larger arms and bobbed an affirming nod.

"She's going to die," Rancis assured with a nod, "Those colors are AWESOME."

"It suits you two," Zed's deep voice concluded as he held his hand to Turbo's shoulder, he peered hard into Turbo's eyes, jostled a wide smile out of him and breathed a heavy chuckle of warm relief, "Welcome aboard, dude."

"Y'ever think you'd be a husband one day?" Ace pressed cheekily as everyone gathered a little tighter about Zed and Turbo.

"Mr. and Mrs. Black," Oliver cheesed, he beamed a wide grin as he firmly pat Turbo's upper back.

"Feels good," Turbo concluded with a shaky sigh and a humble smile about his peers, he finally peered down to the gorgeous bark and bobbed a confident nod, "I can't wait to give her this ring..."

"How're you going to propose? Have you decided?" Rancis questioned as everyone cutely hovered about Turbo in quiet anticipation, though Turbo furrowed his brow in nervous contemplation and nodded.

"Yeah, I've decided," Turbo mumbled, he sneakily peered to everyone in nervous cheek, "Won't be easy..."

"... You're going to propose once you leave the game, aren't you," Zed mumbled with a knowing smile, to which everyone lit up; Turbo nodded and kept his eyes trained to the gorgeous bark still in his hand.

"I don't have a clue when, but... It'll be soon," Turbo affirmed nervously, "I can't wait like this, any longer, I... I just need to man up and do it."

"Yeah, man," Zed encouraged with a small laugh as everyone eagerly volleyed similar, uplifting notions his way, "That'll knock her off her feet. Ball's in your court now, dude."

"Shoot your shot," Ralph mumbled with a side-eye and a sneaky curl of a smile, and though Turbo nervously looked about the group and was well aware the work was now his, from here on out, he still felt relieved that everyone here had his back, no matter what.

"Now, go call Wren, the poor boy would've killed to be here, doing this," Rancis choked with a hard nod as he began to wave his hand in Turbo's direction, and with the encouragement of the group, Turbo staggered a few notions of entire gratitude and began to nervously back step towards the code room's teleportation pad. Turbo's wide, excited smile was warm and new, revived and glowing, he eagerly pulled out his phone and thumbed a few options, and in no time, he had his phone tucked to his ear as he urgently began to call Wren. In the whisk of his red coding, he teleported away, once and for all, leaving the group quietly to themselves. Rancis heaved a long, conclusory sigh and patiently eyed Zed in a mild settle of concerned sternness, "... We never prod him for Lash's sake, Zed."

"Yeah, that was my doing," Zed stated with a nod as he smiled at the softly dimming, empty teleportation pad. He inhaled a deep, satisfied breath, faced the men before him and hooked confident eye contact with each one, "Before tonight, I felt as if Lash was Turbo's responsibility, but I've been really thinking on Wren's words..."

Everyone softly held silent and patiently waited for Zed's continuing, wise statements, although their eyes still held with impending questions they were previously going to ask Turbo, they now laid them at Zed's feet and wondered just where he'd steer them, next.

"We can't isolate Lash, we can't treat him lesser... He did some REALLY messed up things, but there is no sense in continuing to treat him like a monster," Zed concluded as he sighed and briefly looked down to his feet in contemplation, "That's a conversation we have to have with Lash, personally. Maybe include Turbo, but we need to give Lash the decency. Tessa spared him, all that time ago. She started this trend, and..."

"... We need to finish it," Ace affirmed warmly with a nod, he eagerly peered into his father's eyes with diligent, loyal fervor and smiled, "I don't think this is a matter of trusting Turbo, or not. It's clear where his allegiance very firmly lies."

"Thanks, man," Rancis mumbled to Zed with a sneaky smile, to which Zed furrowed his brow and peered to Rancis in soft humility.

"For what?" Zed questioned, Rancis shrugged and glanced to Ralph in softness.

"You honor me by honoring my son's word," Rancis pressed seriously, he bobbed Zed a nod and looked down in warm humility, "Thank you."

"No need," Zed affirmed gently, he pat Rancis's upper back firmly as the two hovered in a brotherly air of agreeing, though Ralph finally inhaled a deep breath and bobbed a nod.

"Alright, all in favor of getting right to the source of this worry, and just talking to Lash himself, hands in," Ralph grunted in playful annoyance, though as he laid his massive hand face down, in the center of the group, Ace, Oliver and Rancis firmly sagged their hands to the top of Ralph's hand, which easily encompassed theirs in size. Ralph raised his eyebrows and peered to Zed in confidence, a wall that finally had come down, the show of putting his whole trust in Zed's decision making, he gave Zed a cheeky smile and tilted his head down towards the pile of hands awaiting his, "Well? King's rule, c'mon man, you're the deciding factor."

Zed firmly sagged his hand to the top of the pile and breathed a small chuckle of relief; although a joyous night that was first to set sail ablaze with fire-filled sails, Zed was thrilled it simmered to a rather ceremonial gathering, a welcoming of new blood, of new family, something the infamous cross-striped tree now eagerly boasted in full fulfillment of its accomplished mission, previously unbeknownst to everyone. Sugar Rush's code room proudly glowed under hard decision making, new branches being grown from the royalty it so meticulously cared for, the shining opportunities that Sugar Rush's future King had set in place, for himself, Zed was certain these next few weeks wouldn't dare have a single dull moment.


	164. Chapter 164

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** Aww thank you! Yeah this tree is getting a lot of distance with these guys, huh LOL

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Feel Good** **ft. Daya** **by Griffin Illenium**

 **How Do You Sleep? by Sam Smith**

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 ***Chapter 164***

Buried in work for the day, a busy Monday morning, Zed hovered in his and Tessa's lovely, sunny, pearly white kitchen. An open-aired, breezy day added with opened window and the lovely sound of chirping birds on the palace's gorgeous, green lot that seemingly beveled on forever. Zed inhaled a deep, refreshed breath and relished in the smell of Tessa's breakfast cooking on the stove. Having just woken up an hour or so ago, him and Tessa were still lounged in cozy, lazy pj's, their bed head a mess. Although the two hadn't spoken much in the dregs of still waking up, the air in the room was palpable with easy love, a seamless day of calm before Tessa went off to Academy and Zed diligently handled matters inside Sugar Rush with Turbo and Rancis. Just before the thoughts could quietly flit through his mind, Zed flinched in surprise the second his phone began to cutely tinker a familiar ring.

"... I thought you kept your phone on the 'do not disturb' mode this early, bub," Tessa's half awake, groggy voice pressed in softness, though she furrowed her eyebrows and turned to peer to Zed at their glossy kitchen island, where he comfortably sat buried in his busy work.

"It rings for certain people no matter what time it is," Zed relayed quietly, his deep voice crackled in morning sleepiness, though he raised his eyebrows in a prickle of rising fear and gave Tessa a becoming-awake look of billowing concern, "... It's Berri."

"THIS early?" Tessa pressed in the beginning tone of cute, annoyed curiosity, though both parents quickly peered to each other in hot, knowing concern and dropped what they were doing as Zed picked up his phone.

"Hey, babe," Zed pressed deeply, he tried to sound collected and un-anticipatory , though he lulled his eyes closed, scrunched his face and simply awaited terrible news, somehow.

"Hi, papa," Berri's cute voice daintily pressed in a soft lilt of unassuming sweetness, though Zed nervously reopened his eyes and peered to Tessa in a draw of halted confusion.

"Heyyy," Zed cooed, he huffed a nervous chuckle and tried to not be so on edge whilst his precious daughter and extended family was away, "What's going on? You... Never call this early, is everything okay?"

"I'm fine, dad, I just... Miss you," Berri mumbled, Zed lulled his eyes closed in relief and tenderly waved Tessa off to silently assure to her that Berri was just fine. Tessa exhaled a shaky breath, nodded and returned to her sizzling, delicious smelling breakfast food on the stove, "It's... Only been a few days but this trip feels different, I just really miss Sugar Rush."

"Well, you've been gone a lot lately, it's probably just catching up to you," Zed assured sweetly, he rubbed his eye in grogginess he now had to also shake on top of the spike of anxiety brought upon him. He gently lowered his work, a few dimly glowing holographic displays before him, everything minimized in easiness as he put Berri first, "I'm sure Castle Run is cool though, huh? Your mother and I had a meeting there, with their hierarchy, a few weeks back. Pretty cool game, yeah?"

"It's beautiful, dad, since all of our shows are within fifty miles of their castle, they're letting us stay within the castle walls for the duration of our tour," Berri chimed in calm excitement, "It's weird being in another castle, though, this one's so... Medieval and old. I miss mom's designs. So modern and open and airy."

"Well, it's good to get out there and see what the Arcade is made of, love," Zed mumbled as he settled his mind, once and for all, and was glad to have the gentle distraction. He fiddled with the stylus laying on top of his digital pad, an aimless act of keeping his free hand busy as his eyes idly gazed to the beautiful, white marble counters he sat at, "Soak it all in. I'm thrilled you'll be safe there. How's Teddy, Tee and Wren holding up?"

"Great, they gave us four a suite, inside the castle, that overlooks their city, high above everything," Berri chimed cutely, "Not... Nearly as grand as Orion City, but it's still really beautiful. Lots of really green, rolling hills. Pretty mystical and magical. There's this layer of fog every morning, it's pretty cool."

"It's gorgeous, isn't it," Zed cooed lazily with a widening smile, every second he had of his precious daughter's voice he relished in, "You, uh... You and Gunner doing alright?"

"Yeah, he's staying in a different section of the castle closer to Bedgy's room," Berri mumbled with an annoyed giggle, "He's... Behaving. We're cool, we just try and keep things light hearted."

"Yeah, cause I'll come beat his ass," Zed just barely muttered under his breath, though he flinched in surprise the second Tessa softly whirled her attention over her shoulder and grit her teeth through a shush she sent him, alongside an incredulous giggle; Zed grinned in sheepish, scheming delight and shot Tessa a face of pure test, Tessa's playful glower persisted, so he stuck his tongue out at her in their childish banter.

"Dad," Berri huffed in annoyance, "What have you guys been up to, then? Any palace meetings?"

Zed felt his pupils tighten in a draw of immediately understanding just what this call was about, and with such, he immediately stiffened his defenses. He raised his eyebrows in poised delight and peered to the back of Tessa's head; both women, in his life, were incredibly sharp, they were born with an innate sense of sniffing out people's crap, how nearly impossible it was to sneak absolutely anything past them, Zed began to feel the pressure cave in on him, all at once. He cleared his throat to buy himself time and raised his eyebrows in nervous dewiness. He knew he had to remain one step ahead of Berri, one of the sharpest, wittiest girls in this whole Arcade.

"Oh yeah, we had one last night," Zed mumbled nonchalantly, "Just the usual, y'know. We miss having you there."

"Just a plain 'ol meeting?" Berri cooed cutely, Zed felt his airways tighten in a draw of impending terror, "I asked Turbo the same thing and he, well... Usually is far more descriptive with what happens in the meetings I miss."

"Oh, odd," Zed chirped in unassuming delight, "We just continued on with the notions of Wren joining Turbo and Rancis for their typical Knightly duties, y'know. Ralph also mentioned maybe considering broadening the city limits closer to Sugar Sun island. Now that it's warming up, and the city is expanding, it'd be cool to include the ocean and the island off to the North, y'know?"

"Sugar Sun," Berri cooed in bittersweet remembrance, "User, I LOVED that place, I'm glad you reminded me. That's a really good idea. Surely Turbo was all over that, huh?"

"Yeah, we didn't touch on it much, but it'll be bound to come up," Zed assured; it was here did Tessa nervously peer to Zed over her bare shoulder, she grit her teeth and was well aware Zed was now slipping into boiling water, "Listen, bub, I gotta continue wrapping up these morning routines, here, and send your mom off to Academy. Just call me whenever you can, do you have a show tonight?"

"No, none tonight, we have one tomorrow night," Berri sighed, almost in defeat, she cutely perked up and eased her lovely voice in a lilt of happiness, "Tell mom I say hi. I love you guys."

"We love you, Blue, be safe," Zed assured with a nod.

"Bye, dad," Berri concluded warmly.

"Bye," Zed stated with all the easiness in the world, though he cocked an eyebrow, ended the call, stabbed his now terrified blue eyes to Tessa's now full eye contact and heaved a shaky sigh, "Damn, the girl is a whole Arcade station and I don't know how many game miles away and she... She's STILL able to sense when there's a shift in dynamics."

"Don't you dare look at me," Tessa muttered as she brought her hot cup of frothy, creamy coffee to her mouth and took a slow swig.

"She knows something's up," Zed huffed shakily as he pulled up his and Turbo's messages, "I'd better... At least warn Turbo so we're on the same page."

"So you boys can continue to unspool the same exact lies and hopefully get Berri off of your scents?" Tessa muttered in irritation, "Look, the best way to get her off of your guy's butts is to drop it altogether. Stop trying to dance around her with lies. It doesn't work... I know, first hand."

"What?" Zed muttered in defeated sorrow as he peered to Tessa in a twinge of cute discovery, Tessa shrugged her cute, bare shoulders, she wore lazy grey sweats and a faded orange tank top; amidst her messy spill of gorgeous, wavy auburn hair, her freckled, peachy skin glistened in Sugar Rush's glinted morning sunlight.

"The more you guys try to cover your tracks and pretend that Turbo DOESN'T have something up his sleeve, the more she's going to go full-blood hound and sniff out the surprise. You want it to remain a surprise, then drop it," Tessa bobbed a nod, "Forget it exists. Berri's the Queen of discovering lies or tales, I wouldn't take the chance of it, I'm serious."

"Yes ma'am," Zed mumbled in irritation as he eyed Tessa in cute, smiling, scheming delight; he was well aware, here, that Tessa was now speaking from her own experiences. He had to wonder how many birthday or Christmas surprises were ruined due to Zed trying too hard to obviously hide it.

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In a string of mild irritation, Berri continued to daintily strum away at her own adorable tune on her acoustic guitar. Although she kept it close and claimed it as her very own, she plucked at the loved strings and sneakily adored that Turbo had let her borrow it, as a way of being close whilst they were so far from each other. The rustic, smokey grey wood of the acoustic guitar faintly held the smell of his cinnamon pipe tobacco, she used the little pick that he had gifted her, the necklace set from Chester's gorgeous scales all engraved with their infamous saying. She soaked into her own little world of secretive Turbo-laced items and did everything she could to drown out Gunner's voice. Theo, Wren, Throttle, Bedgy and Gunner all lazily hung out in one of Castle Run's gorgeous gathering rooms. Crowned with arched, wooden ceilings all kissed with old stone and a roaring fire at the edge of their lovely sprawl of a lazy seating area, the group was ready to relax for the evening and mentally prepare for their first Castle Run show the night to follow.

Berri sat secluded in her sweats and a tank, her fingers delicately plucked at a few chords for her's and Turbo's lovely song. Although previously a surprise to him, it was spoiled due to misunderstanding and the two agreed to learn it together. Berri promised she would practice her parts whilst she was gone, though as the group before them loudly bantered and chattered in a rouse of laughter-filled halls, Berri understood that secluding herself in a noisy group probably wasn't wise. Though, she knew running off would only draw attention to herself, she did everything she could to just focus on herself and not bring too much attention to the idea of conversing with Gunner anymore than she had to. She drowned in the quiet little melody she just barely mumbled in sing-song to herself, she fumbled on a few chords and bit her lip as she strained to peer down to her phone; Turbo had kindly digitized her sheet music to make life a little bit easier for the two.

"Right Berri?" Gunner loudly pressed with a hard laugh, though as he firmly peered over to her, he rolled his eyes, lazily stood and gestured to her with gust, "C'mon, babe, put that guitar down and come hang with us, what're you doing over here, anyways?"

"I'm just fooling around," Berri mumbled in a rise of thorniness, something that had quickly developed with their break up, and although they were civil with each other, anytime he requested something of her was immediately met with firm resistance. She shook her head and tried to show full reserve and prayed he'd get the hint, yet he didn't.

"Well, then, it can wait," Gunner smiled warmly, he tried to seem light hearted, though it was absolutely apparent there was an underlying tone of mild desperation. Any attempt he made to seem nonchalant and carefree, hard work to do anything to regain her curious, bashful eye contact, Berri could tell he was coming to the end of his rope every time his advances and attempts went blissfully unnoticed. He pressed closer to her and warmly gripped her hand, to which she grunted a noise of quiet annoyance and was clumsily brought to a stand, "We were just about to discuss the plan for tomorrow. I actually wanted to show you a few things I was thinking of doing, on stage."

"Maybe try, I don't know, interacting with the people in the front row?" Wren uttered in a teasing, authoritative tone as he cocked an eyebrow and gave Gunner a cheeky grin, "Those peeps pay too good of money to go home having not at least received a hand touch or grab."

"Remember when Berri tried?" Theo mumbled with a sweet smile, to which Berri gaped and shook her head amidst sitting down next to Throttle on the massive sprawl of a cozy couch.

"Yeah! Cause Gunner WON'T!" Berri choked a hard laugh and urgently gestured towards Gunner; the group was all smiles, though Berri could feel the tension between the two rise.

"I-I just don't want to get sick," Gunner mumbled as he shook his head and sheepishly peered to Bedgy; she rolled her eyes and looked up in mild, smiling annoyance.

"You're not going to get sick," Bedgy eased as the group quietly laughed at Gunner's words.

"It makes them really happy, Gun, c'mon, you should at least try it one time," Berri pleaded with a warm smile, it took everything inside her to at least show some semblance of normality. Marinating in said silicone feeling for a little too long, she perked up and gestured to her guitar as she grappled the neck of it and waggled her free hand to the group, "Oh, oh! I actually accidentally cued my glitching powers, the other day, while I was playing, and I did this REALLY cool thing I actually wanted to try out on stage-"

"No, Bear, that's stuff we have to run by the production team," Gunner snapped, though as everyone nervously peered to him in pinpricked concern, he heaved a shaky chuckle and tried to reign in the fact that his fuse was nearly gone, "I-I mean... Th-they have a certain thing going, with the lights and sound. We don't want to throw them off."

"Or throw them out," Theo just barely muttered in Wren's direction, under his breath; both boys stifled laughter.

"Oh, forgive me, your majesty," Berri quipped in a venture to prove that her fuse was far shorter than Gunner's, she gently stood and felt purpose flood her veins, "User forbid I maybe mouth a few words on stage, too, hmm?"

"Guys, guys, c'mon," Bedgy warned; she was well aware things were tense, though she frilled her grey feathers in agitation and mild nervousness at the raw fact that maybe all of these kids weren't on the same page like she previously thought.

"Oh, that'd win 'em," Gunner prod as he crossed his arms, though before he could open his mouth and thwart Berri's upward presence, she allowed her glitching powers to lightly flood the place with silver light, and in a skillful act of practiced power, she urgently strummed a few confident chords on Turbo's perfectly tuned, loved guitar, causing the strings to vibrate and eagerly come alive with her silver coding, as well; the sound that emanated, due to this, was nothing short of unadulterated, electric magic that everyone went wide-eyed at.

"Holy shit, that was AWESOME!" Wren encouraged, though Berri beamed at him and could tell his excitement was entirely genuine and not just there to stroke Berri's ego in front of Gunner.

"Ho yeah, we gotta incorporate that, somewhere in the shows," Theo bobbed a nod and gently opened his palms so that his lovely olive green coding sprawled his skin, "Think it'd work on my drum set?"

"Yeah, and then I can work my magic hands free," Wren waggled his eyebrows and gently wiggled his fingers about in equal fervor, though Gunner clumsily grappled the neck of Berri's guitar and now lost all marbles in this game.

"Where did you get this ratty old thing?" Gunner chimed in venomous delight, he cocked an eyebrow at Berri and shook his head in desperation to change the topic, "Surely it's not something you hand picked. It looks old as shit."

"It's Turbo's, and he entrusted me with it, so hands off," Berri snipped as she gently took a step away and got clear of Gunner's hand, though he crossed his arms and peered to Berri down the bridge of his nose in scheming delight, his once lovely, honey golden eyes now speckled sticky with taunt.

"Oh, oh, right, TURBO," Gunner choked a small laugh and glossed his eyes in Wren's, Throttle's and Theo's direction, somehow expecting them to look equally as incredulous, though their demeanor's flat lined as the idea of their future King was now dangling and ready to be plucked at like it was all a joke. Gunner heaved a shaky breath and apprehensively scanned the now quiet group, "You're... You're REALLY gunna stick with the idea that you're dating that... That... Game ending SNAKE?"

"That's my little brother you're talking about," Throttle's deep voice suddenly pressed in a sharp, quick tone of whole authority, something that had Wren, Bedgy and Theo flinching in hot surprise with equally as glued, bewildered eye contact in his direction.

"Easy, guys, c'mon," Wren garbled as he gently held Throttle's upper arm, though he furrowed his eyebrows and shot Gunner a look of mild irritation.

"It's fine if you don't believe me, Gunner, I don't care anymore," Berri muttered as she began to storm off and out of the room, and though Gunner began to show all sorts of signs of nervousness, reeling, desperate back tracking, he still chased Berri's figure with a mean look of distaste.

"I'm sorry, Berri, it's just IMPOSSIBLE to believe," Gunner stabbed, "Kind of childish of you to make up the fact that you're dating Turbo. Isn't that guy like... Your dad's helper? Pretty sure your dad would have his head. Isn't that like... Conflict of interest?"

"Hooo boy," Wren huffed softly as he sagged and held his hand to his face in defeat.

"Just call him, it's true!" Theo urged loudly, though everyone began to jolt into action as Berri turned to continue stepping away, guitar in hand.

"You guys do whatever you want, I'm going to bed, leave me alone," Berri stabbed in rising anger as her bare feet slapped out of the larger gathering room and out of sight.

"Wait, wait! It's ringing," Wren hurried as he raised his arm and hoped this would bring Berri back, though as everyone hovered and awaited for Turbo to answer the call, Wren bit his lip and put in on speaker; as silent and frozen as could be, Gunner held his nervous eyes tight to Wren's outstretched phone, though much to Wren's whole dismay, Turbo's answering machine cutely mumbled the group a quick notion.

"Hey, it's Turbo, everyone panic," Turbo's deep, methodical voice so sweetly grumbled with the trail of an annoyed chuckle, though the second the sharp, annoying beep of the beginning of said voicemail began, Wren inhaled a raspy breath and felt his crazed eyes peer down to his illuminated phone.

"THE ONE TIME YOU DON'T ANSWER YOUR PHONE!" Wren urgently shouted into the receiver before hanging up the call; Theo was lost in hard laughter, something Throttle eventually succumbed to with a wide, annoyed smile.

"Typical," Gunner hissed with an annoyed smile, "I'm sorry, guys. I keep telling Berri... I'll see it when I believe it. It's been a whole week and still nothing. Throttle comes to these tours, why can't Turbo, then?"

"He has work to do in Sugar Rush... I set my two students up with work to do while I'm gone," Throttle instrumentally volleyed, a skill of being an Academy teacher for so long.

"SURELY Zed could cut him some slack," Gunner retorted, though Throttle's calm disposition continued to lay over Gunner in wise, seasoned arguing skills.

"Well, Turbo is now in line to be Sugar Rush's next King. He takes this very seriously, and as much as he'd love to be here to put you in your place, he has bigger fish to fry, at the moment," Throttle's smooth voice continued to lay Gunner in his grave. Throttle inhaled a deep breath, stood and cheekily gave Gunner an annoyed smile, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I don't want to be in the same room as someone who has the guts to trash one of the greatest guys I know, to his own big brother."

"I'm... Sorry, Throttle, I just..." Gunner looked remorseful, though Throttle kindly lulled his eyes closed, shrugged, tucked his arms behind his back and was thrilled Wren and Theo softly stood, so to join Throttle's idea in leaving.

"Besides. The term snake is a very, well... Broad statement," Throttle snottily looked off, and though he wasn't nearly as intimidating as Turbo, himself, he did a very good job rising to the occasion and mildly getting in Gunner's face, "Next time, try something with a little bit more gust, perhaps a viper? King cobra? Now THOSE are game enders."

"Tee," Gunner pressed in a soft sink of understood guilt, he shook his head and opened his mouth to huff words of apology, though Throttle softly turned to leave, which had Theo and Wren slowly trailing in apprehension.

"Might I suggest remaining on Berri's good side by maybe not shitting on the important people in her life?" Throttle sweetly rested his final notion over Gunner's quivering soul, and with a kind smile, the group slowly left to join Berri upstairs; Gunner sagged his shoulders and was left with Bedgy, who peered to him in silent, begrudging disappointment.

With a hard thrust, Berri flung open her bedroom door, grit her teeth in a rile of boiling, wrecking rage, and with as much force as she could without ruining the beautiful room she had been gifted, she sharply slammed the door with a loud, reverberating bang. Berri panted through her nose, softly set down Turbo's guitar and now paced her beautiful bedroom with rage that could easily plow crop circles into the wood below. With her jaw clenched into an oblivion, as well as her fists, she shook her head, lulled her eyes closed in a tight squeeze and finally grappled her bag. Knowing said disguise device was only hers for a rainy day, only for emergencies, she ripped through her smaller, slouchy every day bag, poured out a few oddities and necessities in said bag before she finally reached the depth of it. As her fingers graced the glossy, heavy metal of said hexagonal device, she inhaled a trembling breath and finally pulled it out for the first time since Turbo gave it to her, all those weeks ago.

Berri held her breath and glossed her fingers over the beautiful etchings, the engraving of the clean words 'here and now' professionally carved into the on switch, she sagged her shoulders, slumped to a sit on her beautiful, billowy bed and ran through just what she wanted, in this instance. She furrowed her eyebrows and felt hatred for absolutely everyone, in this moment. How badly she just wanted to escape and be with no one she knew, not even Turbo, she long blinked in soft contemplation and peered to Turbo's guitar carefully rested against her tall, beautiful dark wooden dresser, all clad with a few of her sundries and hair accessories. She felt her heart begin to pound, how desperate she was to get in front of a crowd and sing, to get the stress out of her system, to freely sing to a group and not be shushed or shot dirty looks, she bit her lip in further contemplation and began to thumb through the browser on her phone. Quick to scour the web for places that would potentially hold an open mic, she narrowed down her search inside Sugar Rush. Desperate to at least be in her point of origin, her sweet and safe spot, she thumbed through a few bars and clubs that all had open availability for open mics.

In the lull of contemplation, Berri sagged her phone to her lap, peered back down to the disguise device in her other hand and finally to the beautiful guitar that lay in anxious, forbidden wait, desperate for her to act either now or never, she shut her eyes tight and wrinkled her nose in the hover of coming to the brink. With a hot spout of a scoff in entire defeat, she urgently came to a stand, rushed to her bedroom door, locked it with purpose and quickly began to change into street clothes. She sunk into a pair of her favorite black skinny jeans, all torn up the knees and thighs, alongside her favorite black body suit that her jeans went over. A thin, black strappy piece that she typically paired with a jacket on stage, she shook her head and allowed herself to be reckless in this raw act of defiance, and promised she'd go in nothing more than what she was wearing. With haste, she began to quickly pack a few essential things into her materializer, which included her light cycle, Turbo's guitar, her phone and some money.

With a firm swig of the water on her nightstand, she quickly flipped off the light of her bedroom and eased into her bathroom. She shut and locked the door behind her, sagged her full materializer into her back pocket, eased to the double sinked counter of her bathroom and stood before herself in the mirror. Berri huffed a shaky breath, tilted her head up and peered hard into her own eyes, in her reflection. She shook her head angrily, at herself, and muttered herself a few notions of pleading, as if to hopefully convince herself not to chicken out, here. She nervously bounced on her feet and took note of her beautiful, straightened, glossy blue hair that cascaded down her bare arms and shoulders, which kissed and curved down the round of her chest and hovered even with the tops of her thighs, she inhaled a shaky breath and looked down to the sneaky talisman in her hand, just begging to be used. She scrunched her face in terrified anticipation as to just what could come out the other end of this disguise-fest, though she figured she'd better act fast and find out now. With a firm jolt of a press and eyes shut tight, she choked a silent inhale of surprise as a jolt of familiar electricity quickly coursed her silver coding with purpose, like a caged, wild animal awaiting this moment of freedom.


	165. Chapter 165

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** The time has come to PUSH THE BUTTON lmao!

 **Snake557 :** True! Gunner's just got a ton of baggage that's finally coming out of the terminal lmao. His flight got delayed.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Amateurs ft. Lights by Sleepy Tom**

 **Something the Way You Move by Ellie Goulding**

* * *

 ***Chapter 165***

Berri faltered a nervous step back, looked down to her feet in a rise of desperately trying to collect herself and inhaled a trembling breath that caught at the back of her throat. She long blinked in pinpricked confusion and looked down to her body; whilst still wearing the same clothes, still barefoot and fresh in her own skin, she furrowed her eyebrows in a mild sink of dread and firmly looked to herself in the mirror, absolutely certain this whole thing didn't work. She opened her mouth to firmly protest in raw, billowed irritation, though the woman peering back at her in the mirror halted in a jolt of surprise and urgently held tight eye contact. Berri choked an elated giggle, gasped and stepped closer to her reflection. In a stark switch up, Berri's hair had been chopped off just above shoulder length and changed to a darker, chocolate brown. It waved in the natural state her hair usually eased into, the vividness of her blue eyes was softly dulled to a lovely hazel grey, speckled with darker kisses of grey and gold about her pupil. She huffed another shaky, silent giggle and felt the very odd, short length of her new hair, the only two things different about her somehow made a world of difference, something she was certain would do the trick, out in public. Berri inhaled a deep breath, confidently peered to herself in the mirror, bobbed an affirming nod and beamed in collected, devious delight.

"Thank you, Mr. Turbo Black, you have earned yourself a make out session," Berri muttered playfully to herself, though she raised her eyebrows and quickly gathered the disguise device, as well as her materializer as she sneakily mumbled on, "Maybe more."

Just as Berri was due to rushing out the door and potentially sneaking out of the calm and quiet castle, she jolted in terror, hovered her hand over her bedroom door and hung in the dark in collected, frozen fear. The voices of Theo, Throttle and Wren came back into their apartment suite, and though she could hear them press closer to her bedroom door in quiet contemplation, she sagged her shoulders in relief the second she heard Throttle's sweet, reasonable voice politely tell both boys to kindly leave Berri be for the night. She bit her lip and hissed herself a silent obscenity over the fact that she was trapped in her bedroom, though as her eyes scanned the sealed balcony of her bedroom, she drew to the conclusion that they were way too high up to simply escape out the window. She raised her eyebrows and finally drew to the notion that Turbo had suggested, all that time ago, by using the avenues of electricity that coursed all through the game, all through Arcade. With silent footwork that pressed back into her now nearly pitch black bathroom, she sagged her materializer into her back pocket, held her breath and let the dim glow of her silver coding, on her palms, mildly illuminate her surroundings; she eyed the double outlet, on the wall, and bit her lip in a spike of adrenaline that came rushing to her.

Through a tight, readied inhale, she sagged into a simple wave of coded, silver electricity and allowed her energy to bounce straight into the outlet. Although only really in a state of consciousness, an out of body experience, she perceived this now simple, coded world through this brand new game's fresh grid. Within seconds, Berri's live-wired coding shot from the high floors her band resided on to the bounce of the electricity given to the castle's beautiful, ground foyer. Knowing there was no time to waste, Berri did everything she could to simply bounce from power source to power source. Certain that she had now travelled far enough away from the main castle, Berri began to feel a wiggle of claustrophobia take over her typically freed coding. Although Berri forced herself to suck it up and was prepared to travel this whole electric ride to Castle Run's gaping outlet entrance, she popped out of the loose wiring of a nearby bus stop's sparking overhead light. With a spill of silver coding and sparks that suddenly splayed the asphalt with a pop and a jolt of crawling lightning, Berri huffed a noise of unadulterated shock, fumbled on her feet and urgently began to peer about her surroundings.

"Whoa, whoa, miss, you okay?" A nearby gamer pressed in hot concern; a bipedal gargoyle, a foot or two taller than Berri, quickly eased his presence over to her and hovered with his beautiful set of grey wings popped in hot concern, "Th-that was a nasty spill, are you hurt?"

"No, I'm not hurt, I'm okay," Berri panted as she peered up into this gargoyle's curiously odd looking eyes; similar to Turbo's, his faintly glowing, pale peachy colored eyes had dark pupils that were simply cross hairs, unimaginably hard to look into and even harder to read, though Berri was relieved his demeanor was warm and welcoming. Berri halted in hot concern and now felt the dregs of confusion continue to plague her, and it was in this raw instance of panting bewilderment did she realize something crucial; this individual had no clue who Berri was, the first victim to her dainty disguise was a success. Berri straightened her short hair and felt odd at just how light her head had become, "D-Do you know who I am?"

"No, miss, I... You just POPPED out of that light, it scared the crap right out of us," He pressed in a bark of a laugh as he gestured to the few other gargoyles patiently waiting at the rather grungy, run down bus stop, though it was here did Berri's vision broaden to more than just the bus stop before her.

Hung about a mile up the hill was Castle Run's beautiful, haunting castle amidst the humid fog. Berri exhaled a shaky breath and felt all eyes on her, though not in the way she was typically met with. They curiously stared at her like she was deranged, as if they were very due to keeping their distance, though Berri huffed a hard giggle, pat herself down in continued bewilderment and finally gripped her short, dark hair.

"Holy shit it WORKED," Berri huffed in hard, elated girliness. She giggled with panting excitement, grappled said stranger's upper arms, jostled him a little and beamed her grey eyes tight to his, "Thank you!"

"Y-You're welcome," He mumbled nervously, though everyone at the bus stop watched the strange sight of Berri pulling the wand of her light cycle out of her materializer, unveiling the incredible beast, revving the engine and speeding off down the road like the bolt of silver lightning she had so quickly become.

Berri cranked the bike's speed as fast as she could. Although the hilly terrain made for some slowing and nervous maneuvering, she kept the game's gaping entrance, in the distance, tight in her line of sight. She was well aware she'd have to then travel to the game station over, Game Central, in order to get to Sugar Rush, though she felt confidence absolutely flood her being as she rocketed down the smooth, freshly paved asphalt, a narrow road that eventually lead to Castle Run's main city. She continued to divert through the woods and travelled the single highways that came and went from the entrance, a weave about gorgeous, haunting, old trees, the splay of her bike's headlights through the humid, misty fog had her eyes held tight ahead in full concentration and purpose, she felt her rebellious heart beg her to just keep driving until Orion City was eventually in her sights.

* * *

"Bo! We're gunna head across the street, y'comin man?" Bug called over the gentle amount of noise.

"Damn, no, I can't keep up," Turbo blurt with a hearty laugh as he leaned back on the bar stool he was on. Him, Bug and a few other coworkers of Bug's hit Orion City's streets in early celebration for Turbo's birthday. Monday being his day off, they figured tonight would be best to have a guys night out for Turbo, something he desperately needed.

"Y'sure man?" Bug wondered cutely, he softly flattened his ears as a few of the other guys began to lightly and playfully hound Turbo for not joining; Turbo choked a louder laugh and smiled wider than he had, in awhile.

"Nah, man, I'm showing my age, I guess," Turbo beamed, he jostled the half empty glass of alcohol he had been taking his time with and shot Bug a sweet smile, "You guys carry on, I should probably head home anyways. My little brother is probably bored out of his mind."

"Alright, Bo," Bug sighed with a conclusory smile. The group of guys had probably bar-hopped twice before Turbo was now due to tapping out, and though the night was still young for Bug and crew, Turbo was relieved he got to spend an hour, or two, with some buddies, good food, drinks and a fun and lively crowd deep inside his own city. Bug warmly pat Turbo's upper arm in a brotherly way, gestured to the tab and tried to get the bartender's attention, "Get another, it's on me."

"Bug, seriously," Turbo huffed a cheekier laugh, shook his head at the merely glancing, busy bartender and gently eased Bug's arm down, "I can hold my liquor, but I gotta drive home."

"Alright, alright, fine," Bug rolled his eyes and smiled into Turbo's eyes, "Y'gunna see Berri on your birthday at all? I know she's on tour, but is there ANY way she can slip away?"

"She can, but I wouldn't want her to jeopardize her tour for that," Turbo stated with warm honesty as he shrugged and raised his eyebrows in surprise; with the crew here, at this bar and club, as lively as ever, the crowd closer to the stage and deeper into the building began to loudly cheer and clap for the open mic and karaoke line-up happening on stage. Turbo merely glanced over his shoulder to witness said contestant wave to the crowd in gratitude and begin to gather their own instruments and equipment, "I'll see her after her tour, it's no biggie. It's been years since I've properly celebrated my birthday, so it's totally fine... This really... Made up for it, so thank you."

"Hey, you're worth it," Bug assured with a wide, cute, toothy grin as he sagged into Turbo's presence with full comfort, something Turbo was absolutely certain would never be a reality out of anyone but the residents on palace grounds, "Birthday or not, we should DEFINITELY do this more often."

"Yeah, invite grandpa out to attempt to keep up with you fools," Turbo blurt in playful, smiling irritation; him and Bug were rocketed into happy laughter.

"Oh, shut up, it's not like that," Bug protested with a wide grin, "Someone's gotta keep us in line, right?"

"Gotta be someone," Turbo raised his eyebrows and shrugged in playful agreeing, though he sorrowfully smiled as Bug and crew began to stand from the bar stools they sat at.

"Don't get into too much trouble, dude," Bug firmly pat Turbo's arm, once more, and as the rest of the guys stated their kind goodbyes, Bug gestured to himself and grinned as he began to step away and through the crowd, "Hey! Change your mind, I'm just one call away."

"Thanks, man," Turbo nodded in gratitude and waved them off, and in a soft sigh of satisfied collection, he sagged into his own presence and felt his bubble broaden to the bar about him in solitude.

More aware of the noise of the crowd, and the people about him, Turbo inhaled a deep, shaky breath and peered down to his frothy beer. He dared to feel a frown upon him, how badly he wanted to do something like this, with Berri, how badly he secretly did wish Berri would show up for him on his birthday, and though he'd never make that clear for fear of leaving Berri feel guilty, he allowed his own thoughts to selfishly wallow in it all, a safe haven of desire and brooding cuteness. Turbo finally took another swig of his beer in slow delight and figured he'd at least finish his drink and mosey on home, he was well aware Lash was in bubbled purgatory likely either going mad, or trying to sleep the trapped feeling away. In the soft few moments he had with the murmuring noise of his surroundings, the announcer fumbled the mic in a reverberating thud of bass and mild chaos before clearing his throat, straightening out his crinkled sheet of paper and curtly listing off the next person in line for the open mic.

"Alright, uh... Our next contestant is a Sugar Rush local with her acoustic guitar," He narrowed his eyes and peered into the sheet as he concluded his statement, "A miss Bailey Black."

The crowd lightly clapped in nuetral welcome, though as the name gently bounced around Turbo's dizzy head for a moment, he slowly furrowed his eyebrows in soft confusion and felt the reels of his own, back tracking powers do everything they could to tightly rewind to a lazy conversation him and Berri had had weeks prior. The name he had playfully made up to pretend to Berri that he had a girlfriend named Bailey, something she obviously immediately saw through, coupled with his own last name, Turbo felt his skin prickle in cold, bewildered disbelief. In the slow, lulling slow blink of unmitigated, still surprise, Turbo held his breath, furrowed his brow in whole entire contemplation and very slowly peered his sharp, attentive and now entirely sobered-up gaze across the bar and night club, honed straight to the stage crowned with a few spotlights.

"This song's for someone I'm hopelessly in love with," Berri proudly announced into the mic, her stage presence was confident and other worldly, something Turbo was entirely certain was just a casual thing for her, something that nearly would give away her disguise, her beautiful, short brown hair glistened nearly red amidst the beaming stage lights.

Turbo huffed a shaky breath, shook his head in continued, unadulterated disbelief and finally turned to step down from the bar stool he was on. As if in a waking dream, he slowly began to press away from the bar and in a gentle weave of the crowd that attentively listened on in murmuring delight, and as Berri furthered her confident stage presence, she began to play Turbo's grey, acoustic guitar with pride, her powerful range and vibrato very easily captivated the crowd as quick as lightning, the whole room was very rapidly becoming electric with energy as Berri's strumming quickened with whole entire skill. Turbo choked a small laugh and held his eyes tight to her gorgeous figure, he could hardly even believe this was real, and the second Berri's wide, toothy smile pressed into the microphone with a further splay of sweet, lovely words of her's and Turbo's preciously written song, Turbo sagged his shoulders and felt cupid's final, deathly arrow pierce his heart dead on, a definitive K.O. that he knew he could never come back from.

After two songs, Berri felt bad about abandoning the stage as the crowd cheered and went wild for her to continue. With the loud, repetitive chanting of an encore as she hesitantly left the stage and cheekily waved to her new, adoring fans, Berri beamed and softly slipped away, once and for all, feeling like a million dollars. She bit her lip and was now faced with the looks of near terrified displeasure of the next contestants of said open-mic, patiently awaiting their turn, and although a few people glommed her and assured her that her performance was incredible, Berri was well aware she should likely dip out of this event for fear of having way too much skill and presence for this kind of an event. Certain that someone would likely discover her, she stepped to a quieter, darker corner from back stage, pulled out her materializer and sunk Turbo's loved guitar back into the safety of her own possession.

"Bailey?" Chimed one of the back stage workers, and though Berri had to switch gears and get used to her alter-ego, she perked up in delayed response and peered her grey eyes tight to the guy that moseyed on over to her.

"Hey," Berri eased in soft expectancy as she tucked her short, unfamiliar, dark brown hair behind her cute ears; said stage worker was a taller, red haired guy with a cute fuzz of a small beard. He wore an opened button down all wrinkled and rolled at the sleeves, he bashfully rubbed the back of his head and began to look nervous.

"That was INCREDIBLE," He huffed with a cute laugh of disbelief, his deep voice pressed over in an aura that Berri quickly understood, and though she was itching to now get out of this bar and potentially drive about Orion City and feel a little bit more freedom, she hovered for a second and quite enjoyed the fact that she was going unrecognized. He looked about and spoke up a little louder the second the contestant, following Berri, began to sing and play their own little song on stage, "You uh... You stickin' around? Can I buy you a drink?"

"Oh, no, thank you, I... I gotta go, I'm sorry," Berri fibbed in sheepish cuteness, though she gestured to the side door of the stage, a one-way exit that lead to the side of the building and out to the streets, "I have somewhere I have to be, but I'll... Probably be back, y'know."

"I sure hope so, h-here, I'll walk you out," He rushed in a twinge of mild disappointment, and as he kindly ushered Berri to the heavy, dark, metal side door, he grunted, popped it open and welcomed the two to the brisk, cool, early summer Sugar Rush air, "You, uh... You claimed you were a Sugar Rush local, you live in the city?"

"Yeah, I live near the palace," Berri mumbled as she slowly stepped out into the side walk as said gentleman held the door open for her. Berri further tucked her hair behind her ears, again, and faced him with a warm, apologetic smile, "Thanks for letting me squeeze in, there, I'm... Sure that wasn't in protocol. I just was passing through and thought it'd be cool to get my music out there."

"Safe to say you won the night," He raised his eyebrows and bobbed a nod, "Well, hey... Next time, drinks are on me and we can just hang, yeah?"

"Sure," Berri agreed with a smile; she knew full well that was never going to be a reality, and that she'd likely never be back at this bar and club, though she knew a simple, naive affirmative and a beautiful smile would ease the tide, here, "Thanks, again. I really appreciate it."

"Anytime, seriously," He nodded as Berri began to strut away, the clack of her heels practically echoed about the city, she could feel said gentleman's eyes now all over her backside due to just how long it took for said side door to finally choke to a loud, banging close.

Berri rolled her eyes with a cheeky, riveted smile and inhaled a deep breath. She felt as if she was on top of the world, the stress and weight of everything in her real life came sliding off of her shoulders with that one, little show where the spotlight was all on her, for once. Although the side exit wasn't crowded, she gently began to come upon a few straggling group of people loitering about the side and front of the building as she rounded the corner; a line to get into the building was something she had in her sights. As she pressed on down the side walk, on a main, busy four-laned road deep in the city, she felt a wave of now hot irritation come over her as she saw three men, in her peripheral, nudge each other, subtly gesture to Berri's oncoming presence and mumble incoherent things to each other. Any other night, Berri would understand that these were fans and they had good intentions, though Berri quickly switched gears and put on a full swathe of resting bitch face, fully prepared to ignore the cat calls she could practically hear already.

"Hey, gorgeous, slow down," One man kindly chimed; Berri could feel well-intentions in their words, though she didn't bat a lash and confidently pressed on.

"C'mere, babe, take it easy, now," Another one of the group cooed after her, it was here did Berri firmly stare forward followed by the act of a full eye-roll, though in this, she was unaware she had also passed someone to her left.

"Good evening, your highness," Came a roll of depth Berri was well versed in.

In the scuff of her thin, tall heels, Berri raised her eyebrows in a spike of unadulterated surprise and quickly whirled her surprised attention over her left shoulder. Stood poised, masculine arms crossed, leaned against the fastest car in the Universe, Turbo's loving, familiar pierce of his golden eyes hooked tight to hers in cheeky inquisition. Berri huffed a shaky, faltered breath and could see all three men, further down from Turbo, now peer to the situation in almost irritated, gawking surprise, though Berri honed her bashful, sheepish attention tight to Turbo's eyes. She remained still and didn't move, her chest heaved softly in an attempt to collect herself, and in the act of being discovered, she felt her veins wiggle with cuteness. She promised herself that before the night's end, she'd see Turbo, though her plan was to live wild and free about the city before doing so. Although something she was desperate for, her coding wiggled to correction in Turbo's still, dominant presence, and it became clear that no matter what, the desire to be in his arms was something that overrode nearly every wish and want inside of her.

"Please," Turbo's warm voice eased over the traffic directly out before them, he gingerly gestured to the empty space of sidewalk before him as he stood off the curb, on the asphalt, confidently by his parked, gorgeous Lumos.

Berri slowly crossed her arms, looked off to the traffic now to her right, scanned in aimless cheekiness and continued to hold fast to her alter-ego's new show of reserved, bratty no-nonsense act. Her eyes finally met with Turbo's as the slow, sauntering clack of her heels eased a few feet from Turbo's still, patient and hovering disposition. His eyes held tight to her in cheeky inquisition, it was entirely obvious that he wanted to grin the widest grin, obnoxiously scoop her up into his arms and whisk her away into the night, though they both held fast to a new wiggle of role-playing and remained calm and collected, as if they were genuinely strangers, something the general public about them was nonchalantly certain about.

"Can I help you?" Berri pressed in reserved, walled off cuteness, she shook her head and gave Turbo a mild look of annoyance, as if she was en route to doing other important things, though his alluring presence had her coming over just to see what he wanted; Turbo choked a silent laugh, peered down to his feet, shifted a little and was entirely on board with playing along, no matter what.

"I just want to know what a stunning woman, such as yourself, is doing out here in downtown Orion City all by her lonesome," Turbo's deep voice glossed over her with a toothy grin, a show of his prominent canines had Berri's heart melting, simply as if he was a predator ready to strike and she was willing to go down with it all. Although gentlemanly about it, he made no attempt at hiding the gentle draw of his golden gaze softly glancing down Berri's body, to her wide hips, below her knees, into the gentle plummet of her bare cleavage and back into her sharp eyes, his voice drenched to a depth of luring delight as he crowned a small, cocky smile, "...Someone might snatch you up."

"Are you out here specifically for that reason, then?" Berri snapped with a smile of challenge, she kept her arms crossed, she was well aware she was full eye-candy for Turbo to ogle, though somehow she was floored this all was even happening.

"Ah yes, my nightly prowl of searching for my next victim," Turbo choked in annoyed tease, he shook his head, aimlessly looked off, coughed a silent laugh and gave Berri a delighted grin once more, the sweet narrow of his eyes proved to Berri that he was entirely enjoying this banter, "I'm pretty picky, though, so I usually don't have THIS great of luck."

"Well, tough tits, because I have a boyfriend," Berri sneered with a cute, cheeky smile, she wrinkled her nose and shook her head in Turbo's direction, though Turbo playfully tsked her a noise, eased a fake frown and looked off in exasperated despair.

"Ho, man, if only I played by the rules," Turbo huffed in sorrow, though he perked back up and gave Berri a look of mean, cheeky delight, his golden eyes had never seemed brighter, he now was a little more liberal with his glossed, easy, eager eyes down Berri's beautiful, curvy figure, "Hasn't stopped me before."

"My eyes are up here, buddy," Berri muttered in still, un-smiling annoyance as she remained frozen with her arms crossed.

"So are mine, I've seen you glance down three times now," Turbo muttered with a cocky smile, he held tight eye contact with her for a moment, though she broke it with an eye roll and a smile she desperately tried to stifle; he could tell she was fully enjoying all of this due to the hard blush across her cheeks, "Takes two to tango."

"Are we done here?" Berri mumbled in a stern, reserved tone, though her demeanor read welcome and delight as she snuck Turbo a sneaky little smile from the corners of her mouth.

"Not yet, you haven't told me your name," Turbo chimed in scheming delight, and it was with the gentle sag of Berri's stiff shoulders did her bashful, sheepish demeanor now crown Turbo the victor of this banter. He huffed a soft chuckle, shook his head and side-eyed her with sweet delight, "Miss...?"

"Bailey," Berri stated in renewed confidence with a shaky inhale, she held her head high and tried to hop back on the horse with gust, though Turbo perked his eyebrows in further anticipation and jostled his hand about lightly.

"Baileyyy...?" Turbo prod for a last name, though Berri stiffed, furrowed her brow in a further show of smiling, sheepish embarrassment and knew she was entirely discovered, here.

"... Black," Berri mumbled, though Turbo scoffed a silent, sarcastic laugh and clutched his chest in a show of beyond delighted fervor.

"Wow, what a coincidence... MY last name is Black," Turbo's deep voice lovingly glossed over her in knowing tease, "Man, if you and I got married, we'd avoid so much paperwork with THAT amount of luck."

Berri raised her eyebrows in hot surprise and shot her eyes into Turbo's in a roll of hook, line and sinker. She heaved a shaky giggle and finally showed an easy smile, she opened her arms from the crossed position, stood a bit more confidently and tucked her hair behind her ears in a softer show of cute shyness, something Turbo now entirely craved and she knew it. Turbo inhaled a deep breath and gently pushed himself off of the side of his passenger-side door with a quiet grunt.

"Need a ride?" Turbo pressed nonchalantly, he eased his keys out of his pockets and pressed the sleek clicker, his incredible Lumos chirped a blip of a futuristic noise, cueing unlocked doors.

"Yes please," Berri stated with sneaky gust, she took a few steps back as Turbo politely opened the passenger-side door for Berri, it sleekly opened in a butterfly-wing fashion.

"Where-to?" Turbo coyly wondered, he sweetly took her hand and carefully helped her down into his incredibly fast and expensive car, she didn't hesitate to follow his lead.

"Your place," Berri cockily pressed with girly confidence as she sat down, for good, and shot Turbo a look of entire, teasing delight; she beamed him a smug, closed-mouth grin of victory and shrugged her bare shoulders, she could tell by the way Turbo raised eyebrows and faltered a breath in the back of his throat that she was finally catching up with him in this game of taunting.

"... Yes, ma'am," He concluded in cute, boyish surprise, and as carefully as he could, he gently sealed Berri inside his luxurious car once the coast was clear.

Turbo inhaled a shaky breath, muttered himself a silent few notions of begging himself to hold it all together, and as he slowly sauntered around the back of his car and to the driver's side, he only briefly caught eyes with the gawking, three men that were previously cat-calling Berri; they were frozen in shell-shocked surprise at the scene that had just played out, and had Turbo felt as if he wasn't running out of time, he grinned to himself and was well aware he'd likely have something cheeky to say to the crew. Instead, he knew he had his spoils, he had won this night and then some, and any amount of boasting on strangers wouldn't change anything. He sunk into his incredible beast of a car, turned the ignition, carefully pulled into traffic and was off with the jet-engine packed power of the rocket he so carefully maneuvered.

"... What the hell just happened?!" One of the guys barked in unadulterated surprise, though the other two shook their heads in full, irritated defeat and waved Turbo's incredible car off as it vanished.

* * *

 **A/N :** Hey all :D I drew the last scene of this chapter! It's on my deviantART titled Orion City's Keeper - it's also on my instagram! Usernames Vyntresser and Vyntastic, respectively.


	166. Chapter 166

**Reviews :**

 **Awesome Stories May Occur :** Hey there, friend, long time no see! Cory and I are hanging in there. We're both essential workers, though my job (Starbucks) has offered us catastrophe pay and I have 6 weeks paid leave. My husband, on the other hand, is a surgical tech at our nearby hospital and isn't directly on the front lines of what's happening, but he's in and out of the chaos every day. It's pretty scary, but we're doing everything we can to stay home - he only leaves to go to and from work and nothing else. As for me, I'm practically getting paid to write this story before you. I consider myself very VERY fortunate and I'm doing everything in my power to not take it for granted, to stay home and keep everyone safe.

As for your questions, YES! I got your requests. I've been picking at the sketch dump, but if I'm being frank, all this time off has really helped me get into older pieces of artwork I left to collect dust. I have a little less than 4 weeks left of quarantine, so I absolutely guarantee the sketchdump will be uploaded within these terms. Obviously WAY sooner than later - I'm about half way done with it :) As for Archived Chaos, I imagine their work to be a bit more gloomy rock alternative, but when it eventually branches off with Berri at the lead, it becomes a bit more exciting and not so gloomy. More pop rock. Your link unfortunately didn't work, FF is a butt sometimes. I'll be drawing proper band pictures, both with Gunner and post-Gunner.

I SO appreciate your kindness towards my artwork, I wish it were a bit more noticed. I put a LOT of effort into my pieces and making sure everyone has proper visuals for just what's going on in the story. I wonder if people forget my art exists, I get PMs and questions all the time of people asking what my version of Turbo looks like, or if I could better explain Berri :( I have a TON of artwork waiting for everyone on my IG, so I really REALLY value when it's noticed and appreciated, like such. Thank you for your kind words... And yes, Turbo is the very last person you want to make angry. Couple that with wrecking coding, phew...

And thanks for your support towards Cory. He's not directly dealing with sick patients, he's usually neck deep in surgical work in sterile environments. He's the brawn of his department, the heavy lifter, the muscle. So technically he could go a few floors up and punch this virus right in the face LOL! Thanks again, friend. So good to hear from you. I really hope you are doing well and staying safe - this goes for every single last one of my readers, too.

I left my response to this review public because I felt as if everyone could benefit from it, cause it pertains to stuff in the story, and things happening in RL. :)

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Lost by Blake Rose**

* * *

 ***Chapter 166***

"Y-Your car is... Wow," Berri choked a silent huff of a breath taken away; she could tell Turbo was doing absolutely everything to drive modestly, to be slow and careful, she softly eyed him and almost liked this version of Turbo better.

"Thank you," Turbo's deep voice pressed politely, the digital screens, dash and everything in between the Lumos' gorgeous, broad dash board was unlike anything Berri had ever imagined, a futuristic swathe of pure magic, it glowed dimly against their skin, alongside the warm, golden glow of Turbo's eyes.

"How could you ever afford something like this?" Berri cutely wondered, she knew full well just how he could afford it, being at Zed's right hand, though the two were now so far lost inside their cute bout of role-playing, Berri was stoked it carried on for so long.

"I earned it," Turbo's voice deeply volleyed in soft, raspy delight, nearly above a whisper, and although he kept his eyes on the road he traversed, his haunting, golden gaze softly glanced into hers with a knowing smolder, something that immediately caught Berri breathless.

Immediately taking note of Berri's catch of now empty, delirious words, he huffed a silent chuckle through his teeth, a wide grin of further victorious delight, and though he was well aware he had already won this precious gem's heart, his hand warmly sagged to Berri's lower thigh and gingerly gripped in a further show of proving that he had most definitely earned these rights, like stated. Berri felt her face burn up, she sagged her elbow into the nook of the door's arm rest, to her right, eased her chin into her palm, and shyly peered out her darkly tinted window in a flutter of falling deeper into swirling, romantic, girly thoughts. She smiled into her hand and shyly lulled her eyes closed as Turbo squeezed her knee a little and huffed a cute, knowing chuckle.

"I'm glad you like it," Turbo's gentle voice warmly concluded, the light before them turned green as he so softly pressed on the gas and eased forward; Berri was well aware he was acting tame for a reason, he had already showed off a bunch prior, and although she enjoyed the thrill of his fast driving, she felt honored that he took it slow, a further, proverbial show of just how well he played this game.

"What's the top speed?" Berri wondered daintily, she tried to keep her tone not so daring, hoping to convey to Turbo that she simply only wanted a verbal answer and not a physical show.

"Two hundred and fifty miles an hour," Turbo sweetly pressed, his voice humble and gentle, his golden eyes simply glanced in her direction.

"Ever hit it?" Berri pressed again, still in said curious, reserved show of simply wanting a verbal answer.

"Yes, ma'am," Turbo pressed humbly with a nod, he held his hand still remained glued to Berri's thigh as he slowly rounded a corner and drove confidently with one hand; his beautiful car handled like a dream, as if on a cloud in outer space, she was certain they were simply hovering over the asphalt.

"... Turbo, how many speeding tickets do you have on your record?" Berri asked with a giggle of authority, though she was floored that Turbo beamed a confident smile and inhaled a deep, raspy breath of regret.

"Four," He pressed, he cocked an eyebrow and gave her a look of continued sheepishness as he mumbled on, "Went to jail last year, criminal speeding."

"Why am I not surprised," Berri choked a small laugh and felt her heart jump as his gorgeous, glowing tower could be seen coming up; his low-sloped, aerodynamic windshield softly began to speckle with rain drops.

"Yeah, my... Boss bailed me out," Turbo choked a harder laugh as Berri now gaped and gave him a floored look of unmitigated surprise, and though she wanted to break character and sink into usual topic about palace life, things they were comfortable with, she sagged into her seat and warmly eased her hand on top of Turbo's hand, which still lovingly gripped her thigh.

"I'm sure he was pissed at you," Berri muttered with a wide, bashful smile, she was glad the hard blush across her face wasn't visible, "I'm surprised you weren't fired."

"Me too," Turbo mumbled, and as they pressed into the familiar back alley of Turbo's gorgeous sky scraper, he slowly eased past the typical span of the four dumpsters they usually pass, and with care, he pulled into his secretive nook of a massive teleportation pad. In this, Turbo's Lumos detected such arrival, splayed a few stats on the screen and ultimately pulled up a few options asking if Turbo would like to use said teleport pad, one that connected with the garage inside of his loft, high above the city. As Turbo cued the positive answer on the large screen, on his dash, they flickered to Turbo's dimly lit garage within the blink of an eye as he nonchalantly carried on, "He handed me my ass. This was a long time ago... I had one taste of freedom and abused it, can you blame me?"

"Not at all," Berri finally eased a shaky giggle and felt a weird wiggle of delight come over her, the raw fact that they were inside his warm abode, her second home, she almost felt tears of joy sting her eyes.

Turbo gently powered down his incredible car after putting it in park, and as he quickly got out of the car and rounded to Berri's door, he politely unhinged the heavy door and helped her out of the passenger side. Berri stood from the lower positioning she was in, and as they quietly eased away from his incredible vehicle, Berri cocked an eyebrow and peered back at it with gust, she bobbed a nod and tried to collect her thoughts as desperately as she could. The car looked other worldly, she could hardly believe she was just inside of it, and although Turbo didn't go tearing down the streets like what she imagined, she smiled as Turbo welcomed her from the garage into his loft and figured their next go around would be a lot wilder. Grateful for the slow ride, the gentle burn of their evening, she relished in the idea of Turbo being a slow moving being for once.

"Wow," Berri huffed in quiet, scheming delight as she sagged into Turbo's familiar home. She inhaled a deep breath and relished in the scent, her heart fluttered with the wild idea that she was able to be here all whilst definitely being needed in Castle Run. The rush of rebellion coursed through her, she sagged deeper into Turbo's lovely abode and tried to pretend this was the very first time she was seeing it. She eased to his island and held her hands to it daintily as she relaxed, though as Turbo gently lofted his keys to the glossy island and took off his thicker leather jacket, she cocked an eyebrow and bashfully looked him over, for the millionth time tonight, as she pressed on, "Got any other surprises for me?"

"Hmm, well... I have a pool on my roof, a third of Sugar Rush's code room downstairs, and uh..." Turbo cocked an eyebrow, sagged his masculine hands in a wider spread on his island's dark, glossy marble and gave Berri a smoldering look of further, smiling cheek, "A girlfriend that would murder me if she knew you were here with me."

Berri's smile easily broadened as she looked down to her twiddling fingers, she was well aware her face was forever tinted red, from here on out. She shook her head, shrugged a little and peered into Turbo's hook of smoldering, golden eye contact.

"She's lucky to have a guy like you," Berri warmly stated with a conclusory nod, she heaved a shaky sigh and continued to twiddle her fingers.

"Nah, I'm... I'm the lucky one," Turbo mumbled cutely, they both caught eyes in innocent warmth as their little game of role-play began to tenderly ease to the wayside temporarily. Turbo inhaled a slow, deep breath, broadened his chest and continued to peer to Berri in curious, glancing delight. Her cute, bare shoulders were scrunched in bashful stillness, the gentle kiss of her dark brown hair that eased to her collarbones, the tenderness in her softer grey eyes, he narrowed his golden gaze and spoke directly into her being, "She's... A gifted musician, her singing voice is other worldly. She's my best friend."

Berri bobbed a small nod, huffed a shaky giggle and looked down to her hands in shyness, once more, though Turbo persisted.

"She's the most beautiful creature on the face of this Earth," Turbo's raspy, warm voice eased to her in a lovely press above a whisper, he narrowed his gaze as her cute, bashful smile began to fall into a nervous little frown of creeping sorrow. Turbo gently shook his head and tried to be as calm as he could, his disposition was that of still water, his deep voice so carefully pressed on in delicate inquiry, "Why are you here, Blue?"

Berri's frown broadened as her eyebrows pined into a look of promised, potential crumpling. She inhaled a deep, trembling bout of air and exhaled an even shakier breath before her as she avoided eye contact with Turbo. She long-blinked back tears, shrugged her cute shoulders and remained still as she mustered the courage to finally speak, to gather the strength to carry on without needing to crumple into Turbo's arms every time something went wrong. Turbo's eyes glossed her beautiful figure, the peak of her fragile collar bones, the curve of her chest to the smaller dip of her waist and back out again to her voluptuous hips, he felt his heart thud with all sorts of different emotions, ones of delight, desire, though mostly, a hover of nervousness as they came to the reality of truly just why she was inside Sugar Rush and not safely inside Castle Run, like where she promised she'd be for the next two weeks.

"I'm tired of being stifled," Berri mumbled softly, "I wanted a stage to own. I didn't care which one... I promised myself I'd come see you, though, before I went back to Castle Run."

"It would've been okay if you didn't," Turbo stated in gentle humility, not in the way of wishing she didn't, though more so in the way of assuring her that she was free to come and go without feeling tied. She softly peered her gorgeous eyes into his, though he felt his heart squeeze at the raw fact that they were glassy with oncoming tears; she held strong, however, as he warmly continued on, "I would've been sad, but I would've understood. Sometimes y'gotta just be alone. I, of all people, understand that entirely."

"Thank you," Berri mumbled with a smile, though she sniffled and breathed through the not so subtle act of holding back tears; Turbo furrowed his eyebrows and narrowed his gaze in warm, suspicious curiosity.

"Why else?" Turbo prod gently, to which Berri shook her head, bit her bottom lip and looked off. Turbo stood up a bit straighter and remained still, knowing full well to not rush her with a swathe of potentially over-cumbersome coddling, "You KILLED that performance, the way you sang our song was... Wow."

"Thank you," Berri eased a small smile as her glassy eyes still aimlessly peered across Turbo's loft, to his dim living room.

"... I know you felt invigorated, you LOOKED it," Turbo choked a soft laugh, shook his head and continued to peer to her in warm curiosity, "... I know a feeling like that doesn't bring on this amount of struggling to hold back tears, my love."

Like clockwork, Berri lulled her eyes closed in mild annoyance at herself as a few spills of glassy tears eased down her rosey cheeks. She exhaled a trembling breath through her nose, tilted her head down in warm defeat and now peered her fully teary gaze down to Turbo's dark marbled island counter. Turbo remained still and so badly wanted to rush her, though he reserved and wondered if maybe she needed to get something off of her chest.

"I'm just tired of being held back, it's just something I have to push through... Get this contract with Gunner over with," Berri whimpered, she inhaled a faltering breath, stood up a bit straighter, tried to compose herself and gently began to wipe the tears from her cheeks, though new tears continued to thwart her efforts, "It just sucks because... Gunner and I could be great friends, this band is just what... Tore us apart. He's a good guy, he just... Handles stress so poorly, and it comes out in these weird waves of toxicity that he has no clue how to get a grip of."

"I understand," Turbo pressed warmly in soft, patient listening, he kept his golden eyes hooked tight to her, his undivided attention entirely hers forever, "Makes every situation, from here on out, really tense, huh."

"Really tense," Berri firmly agreed as she threw her hand up in a mild waggle of defeat, she finally peered her gorgeous, glistening, glassy eyes into Turbo's and mumbled on in nasally whimpers of desperately trying to collect herself, "And, I do EVERYTHING I can to remain patient, but when he starts to get snippy back at me, it's like..."

Turbo just barely eased a small, sorrowful, apologetic smile and relished in hearing all of her issues, knowing full well that his night was now set up perfectly so he could turn it all around and make it all right. With a deep inhale from his broad chest, his aura exuded all the power in Arcade, though his slow and tender movement about his kitchen's island was tentative and patient, something Berri's wet eyes only glanced to in half-noticed continuation of trying to wipe her face free of tears. She began to crumple, something Turbo did absolutely everything to allow to happen, he didn't want to constantly be interrupting her from potentially needing to get absolutely everything off of her chest. With caution, he finally eased into her presence and stood a foot or two before her, he stood still, furrowed his brow and hooked his attention tight to her as he allowed her to tearfully continue.

"And then the poor boys are just like... REALLY walking on eggshells, I mean, Throttle almost handed him his ass, tonight," Berri barked as her wet eyes firmly stared up into Turbo's, she inhaled a trembling breath that was on the verge of gentle, cute little cry hiccups as she finally shoved her hand into her forehead, thus crumpling her sweet, short, brown bangs. She grit her teeth and sharply pressed on in a show of full spiraling, "I just... RAN upstairs and, grabbed the disguise thing you gave me, and... I didn't look back, but now that I'm here, I'm almost wondering if maybe I should just go back, I just... Left without telling anyone."

"Should you?" Turbo wondered plainly with a shrug, he cocked an eyebrow and gave her a cute smile, as if to convey to her that they both knew the difference between the correct answer and the answer they both would eagerly choose, in this moment.

"I should," Berri mumbled as she crumpled, once more, she whimpered on so sweetly, something that had Turbo's chest tightening with the innocent draw and allure of desire, he tilted his head and gave her every last inch of his attention, "But, I won't. I don't want to... How do I... I-I mean... I HAVE to go back."

"Yeah, you have to go back," Turbo mumbled as he looked off, he allowed the air of disappointment hover over them, for only mere moments before he allowed his lips to curl into a cute, smolder of a little, devious smile, "... Eventually."

Berri raised her eyebrows and peered her glassy eyes tight into his, she exhaled a nasally, trembling breath and bit her lip in the tumultuous rile of emotion that coursed through her, though in the nonsense, she felt her face heat up as she narrowed her gaze and shook her head in shy confusion.

"Look, I... Know we just met, and this is going to seem really forward of me, but," Turbo mumbled as he looked down and to the side, aimlessly down to his kitchen island, and though Berri blushed, frowned and allowed her eyes to follow his idle stare in the movement of it all, she felt her heart jolt in tender surprise the second his golden, glowing eyes began to so slowly dip to that of a cute, peachy glow of desire he couldn't stifle even if he tried. He huffed a shaky chuckle and finally gave Berri his lovely eye contact, "I think you should stay the night, with me. I mean, it'd be really awful of me to throw you back to the city this late at night, and... It's raining, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

Berri held her breath and peered up into Turbo's eyes in frozen, teary surprise, the hard blush of delight splashed her face as she did what she could to now purse her lips and hide that wide smile that so badly wanted to burst forth.

"Let's see, a little bit about me and my abode, well... I've got drinks, I have yummy food, I have an incredible view," Turbo listed in a boyish tone of cute innocence, he gestured about his house before he warmly rested his hands to his lower chest and side-eyed Berri in knowing, smoldering delight, "Look, I got... I got a chest for you to lay your head on, you can talk my ear off all night, I-I have an awesome infinity pool upstairs, a BIG comfy bed..."

Berri finally beamed a wide, relieved grin and shyly looked down to her feet in whole delight, she could feel her heart wildly flutter at the lovely evening unfolding before her, and though she wanted to firmly resist all of it due to her's and Turbo's underlying disagreements, she finally exhaled a long, trembling breath and allowed the night to whisk every single worry away from her. She raised her brown eyebrows in cute surprise the second Turbo pressed a gentle step into her gravity, his fingers just barely hooked the side of her jaw as he kindly cued her head to be tilted up with gained, glassy eye contact.

"I know we hardly know each other, but..." Turbo softly mumbled a few inches from her face, and though Berri was now becoming well-versed in Turbo's soft, careful, tentative romance, she felt as if every single experience was brand new.

In the gentle collide of their impending kiss, Berri felt every single one of her walls finally begin to crumple. The way his strong, protective hands cupped her jaws, the gently tug of her body into his, she so easily allowed herself to just get lost in all of it. She was entirely certain staying in Sugar Rush, for the night, would have its own consequences, though somehow, she was perfectly okay with just dealing with all the Castle Run chaos come sunrise. These dark, night owl hours were strictly reserved for Sugar Rush's darkest, shyest head, what used to be a battle of wit, a tug of war for control, was now a released reign of forfeit into Turbo's brooding territory. A scary sense of finally allowing Turbo to lightly tread deeper into her heart, she gripped the chest of his soft, cute cream button down shirt, as if to beg him to be patient with her, through this venture. Although the two stirred in their passionate kiss with fervor, deep inhales through their noses on each other's cheeks, the gentle gape and sink of hot, wet lips in a slow draw of needy romance, Berri exhaled a trembling breath as Turbo so carefully broke the kiss and finally rested his forehead firmly into hers.

"Turbo?" Berri huffed shakily on the small gape of his wet lips, ones that sneakily curled into a knowing smile.

"Bailey?" Turbo quietly stated above a whisper, she crowned a wide smile, shook her head and lulled her eyes closed.

"Of... All the things you listed," Berri started as she fluttered her eyes closed, she raised her eyebrows and almost held her breath in the middle of her inquiry, as if she was even surprised she was opening up about a topic so fragile and sensitive to her. She felt the universe so tightly begin to squeeze the two together in a infinite melt, her heart pounded as she bashfully eased Turbo a warm question on the hover of his gently agape lips, just above the shyest whisper, "Y-You... Wouldn't happen to have an antidote for stress marks, would you?"

Turbo felt the blood in his body suddenly cease action, he lulled his peachy eyes closed and allowed Berri's tender, humble, innocent little request ring through his ears, and although he was absolutely aware it was the situation talking, and the alcohol already in his system that quickly reminded him to keep it together, he just barely breathed a shaky chuckle onto her cute, wet mouth and long-blinked in delirious surprise, a rile of delight that crowned the two eternally peachy. He was well aware this wasn't a rushing invitation, but a slow approach to a big bend in the road, a sweeping turn that required the utmost of care to traverse. He just barely bobbed a tiny, confident nod, tightened his lip with a cute, teasing show of determination and assured himself that staying playful and light hearted would keep the air between them easy and warm.

"Oh, yeah, I just bought some," Turbo playfully mumbled with a cute grin, to which Berri blurt a soft laugh, shook her head, eased a little out of his presence and held the sides of her heads, near her temples; they were, indeed, flared with the tiny, silver circuits of her billowed stress.

"I'm sure it wasn't cheap," Berri giggled, her face was nearly beet red, though Turbo inhaled a shaky breath and gently unhanded Berri in a now new show of cute uncertainty the both of them firmly radiated.

"It has your name all over it," Turbo's deep voice concluded with a nod as he nervously sagged his hands into his pockets, "How about... I make us some drinks and some dinner, we'll talk some more about what's on your mind, then maybe... Head upstairs for a swim?"

"I'd love nothing more," Berri eased through a conclusory sigh and a small nod, though as the two bashfully caught eyes, Berri was well aware she had just given Turbo a green light, one that he had been so patiently burning out at for what felt to be centuries now.


	167. Chapter 167

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Thank you friend :( That means a lot to me.

 **faolan1230 :** THANK YOU! Much appreciated. He's doing his absolute best!

 **Awesome Stories May Occur :** Hey, thank you so much for your kind words and insight. I try to make everyone well rounded and not so flat and single-planed. Gunner has a tiny shred of redemption, not anything as big as say Lash, Turbo or Zed or any of my other bad guys, but he does get that second to come clean and close the book on the drama. That's really as much as I can say without giving way too many spoilers haha. I try and make everyone react in such a way that all points of view can be seen and argued. Everyone has their own reasoning for things, some more right than others, but you get my point. I don't want to make it seem as if this person is INFINITELY RIGHT no matter what haha. That's boring. Real life isn't that way, and I try to incorporate true flaws to everyone's character, cause inside and out of the story, we all got 'em. I hope you're staying safe out there friend! Be careful! You're needed and appreciated so much.

* * *

 **A/N : **

***WARNING***

 **This ENTIRE chapter contains sexual themes and acts! If that's not your cup of tea, press on to/wait for Chapter 168 :)**

 **There's _NO_ amount of intercourse in this chapter, it just gets... Spicy lol**

 **I will give a G-rated TL;DR at the very beginning of the next chapter for anyone wanting to skip this mature rated chapter. **

**Also, SINCE this chapter is SO long, Chapter 168 will be uploaded Monday April 13th**

 **Thanks guys!**

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Talk ft. Linae by Oliver Nelson**

 **Drew Barrymore by Bryce Vine**

* * *

 ***Chapter 167***

"Tada," Turbo chimed happily as he gestured out to his beautiful pool; although a simple rectangle, it was a very long and narrow pool that seemingly kissed the edge of the sky against the twinkling, city backdrop far below.

"Impressive," Berri eased in cute honesty as she crossed her arms, the two slowly strolled their bare feet about five feet from the pool's edge; she eyed Turbo in cute nervousness and shrugged, "I don't feel like going to the palace for my suit... I didn't think this through."

"Nah, it's fine, just swim in our underwear," Turbo huffed in full, boyish nonchalance as he shrugged his masculine shoulders, he gave Berri an assured smile as if to prove that said notion would simply not make things much different, something Berri easily bought and breezed past.

"Okay, sooo... Tell me where the 'infinity' part of this pool comes into play," Berri stated with a great amount of cheek, the still, warm city air hovered over the two as they stood on the highest point of all of Orion City; the very top of Turbo's glorious tower.

"You'll see," Turbo huffed with a smile as the two glossed their eyes to the glowing, sloshy pool water out before them, though just as Turbo inhaled a deep breath and went to take his shirt off, Berri furrowed her brow in a spike of curiosity and began to head to the other edge of the pool, where said infinite amount of pool seemingly lay. Turbo jolted in surprise, took a few strides of steps forward, grappled Berri's arm with a hard laugh and shook his head, "No, no, nuh-uh, that's cheating."

"Hey!" Berri squealed as she tried to wriggle her grip from Turbo's strong hand, though she failed as Turbo began to pull her back to where they were previously standing. She blurt a hard laugh and began to desperately try and plant her bare feet on the cold, slick, grey pool concrete all about Turbo's rectangular pool, a huge, glorious splay of glowing, liquid electricity, a pop of shiny blue pool water that gleamed into the starless night sky above them.

"Hey!" Turbo chimed back to her in a full mock, though his grin proved to be playful; the two had a healthy amount of alcohol and food in their systems, long gone, and although the night was young and they were fully prepared to spend these hours in a full swing of flirty, sexual banter, Berri huffed a shaky giggle the second she realized Turbo was shirtless and felt her pupils tighten in a draw of nervous, unprepared realization. Turbo finally unhanded her and gestured out to the pool with a kind, though annoyed smile, his golden eyes glowed a bit brighter out in the dark like such, "It's a surprise. You'll love it. Just wait."

"Try and stop me, then," Berri snapped as she quickly began to dart to the other end of the pool, like previously suggested, though she choked a hard laugh and was almost pleased to feel Turbo jolt forward in a lunge and wrap his strong arms tight about her midsection. With ease, he lifted Berri off of her feet, turned back around, and with her littler body hugged tight with her back against his front, she grunted a harder laugh and tried to wriggle free, though with such, Turbo cocked an eyebrow and began to inch closer to the water. Berri jolted in playful terror and stiffened, "NO, NO, TURBO, NO."

"What's that?" Turbo pressed nonchalantly, he hovered Berri's dangling feet a foot from the water's enticing, glowing edge. Berri choked a hard, squealing laugh and threw her head back into Turbo's shoulder as she continued to loudly beg for him to put her down, "I still am... Not understanding."

"I won't go over there, I won't go over there!" Berri howled with laughter, to which Turbo muttered a few playfully annoyed notions to himself, slowly turned around and set Berri back on her feet. She huffed a hard puff of air in whole, playful agitation, straightened her short brown hair and easily tossed Turbo a very sharp side-eye with a wide grin; he easily beamed her a toothy snap of a smile and finally turned heel to further prepare to get into the water, "Stupid... Glowy-eyed... Jerk face."

"That's Sir Stupid Glowy-Eyed Jerk Face, I get paid to have this title, thanks," Turbo muttered with a chuff of a laugh, shook his head and inhaled a deep, readied breath.

Although not really one hundred percent sober, he began to skillfully unbuckle his belt and slowed his movements in a hit of realization. Although simply in the process of stripping down to his black boxer-briefs, which could potentially seem similar to swim wear, he held his breath and felt a swathe of sobered-up embarrassment want to engulf him, the raw fact that he was nearly getting naked in front of Berri in this instance, and likely her for him. He was well aware her eyes were likely all over him right now, though he lulled his eyes closed in nervous contemplation and knew he had to just rip it off like a band aid and get these little, awkward phases out of the way. As smoothly as he could, with breath held, he wriggled out of his clothes, let his heavy pants fall with the thud and clunk of his belt buckle to the concrete underneath, and although he promised himself he'd try and hold his stoic, reserved and mature composure for this whole night, somehow the glistening pool before him begged his half-drunk self to do the largest canon-ball he could afford. With a burst of energy, Turbo beamed a wide, boyish smile and immediately launched from his position in a tight tuck into the pool, easily sending a healthy splay of water Berri's way.

Turbo gasped for air amidst a wide, toothy grin as he cleared the surface, from fully submerged. He choked a noise, hurried to wipe his face free of water and urgently peered his attention to where Berri previously stood, though he flinched in surprised, firmly blinked a few times and stood up out of the five foot deep water where he was, in the center of the pool. He raised his eyebrows in soft, nervous curiosity and was stunted to discover that Berri was nowhere to be found. He furrowed his brows in a slow sweep of now prickled confusion as the only sound heard was now the playful, sloshy claps of pool water he had previously disturbed. He narrowed his golden gaze and felt his senses sharpen in a dip of crawling, hot, fearful confusion, though just as he opened his mouth and inhaled a deep breath to call out Berri's name, he faltered his words in a jolt of hot surprise as Berri's lovely voice calmly carried on behind him, which was the opposite side of the pool in which she previously was standing, not seconds prior.

"Y'know... I may look a little different, but I'm still a glitch," Berri chimed coyly as Turbo held his breath, whirled around and peered up to Berri in a shot of humble surprise; she stood with her hands on her hips, the pool light glossed her curvy body with lovely waves and ripples of a glow. She narrowed her eyes and shot Turbo a cheeky smile, "Nice try..."

Turbo eased a smug smile and gently bent his knees so he finally sunk down below the water. Once his broad shoulders and neck submerged, he hovered under the water so that the only thing exposed was everything above the bridge of his nose. He skulked deeper into the water in a brooding type of way, though he flinched in continued surprise as Berri eagerly glitched directly across the narrower stretch of Turbo's rectangular pool, so that she was back to where she was, closest to the back door that entered into Turbo's warm, lovely loft. She inhaled a nervous breath and finally began to fiddle with the buckle of her pants, though just as she unbuttoned the first button of her sleek, black skinny jeans, she cocked an eyebrow, froze and firmly peered down to Turbo from across the dozen or so foot stretch; he continued to hover almost fully submerged under the finally settling water, though his golden eyes remained surfaced and peered hard in her general direction in curious, peachy delight as to just what was going to happen next.

"... Do you mind?" Berri chimed in girly annoyance as she shook her head, gestured to herself and coyly demanded a shred of privacy as she undressed.

"Oh no, not at all," Turbo volleyed with a cocky smile as he resurfaced just his head, he playfully raised his eyebrows and continued to peer his curious attention in Berri's direction; the both of them remained frozen, waiting for the other to cave. Either for Berri to continue undressing, or for Turbo to turn around, though after about fifteen seconds of frozen, persistent wait, Turbo huffed a shaky chuckle under his breath, sagged his shoulders and finally allowed his polite nature to resurface. He kindly looked down to the glowing water underneath him and fully turned his back to Berri, once and for all.

"Thank you," Berri quipped smartly, though Turbo inhaled a deep breath, raised his eyebrows in boyish, cute delight and looked off to his right, in the direction of the deeper end of his pool, the gape of glass that eventually hovered over the city in a scary, thrilling show of a drop he was waiting to surprise Berri with.

Turbo's golden eyes glowed with pride as he peered out to the very peaks of his city, from the lower laying pool he comfortable waded in, though he perked a little as he could hear Berri quietly and softly shuffling out of her tight clothes. Although his heart raced with anticipation, and he silently promised her that he'd behave, he cocked an eyebrow and felt excited to test all of these brand new limits now available to him. Knowing Berri's fragile, needy soul was impending to be all his, as well as his soul for her, he ever so slowly did everything he could to peer his bashful, desperately curious gaze over his right shoulder whilst going unnoticed. With great success, he held his breath though suddenly felt his smile sag to that of a droop of unmitigated, almost star-struck surprise, he froze every single muscle in his body with the sight he was now successfully stealing. In a bounce, wriggle and worm out of her skinny jeans as well as her tight, strappy, black body suit, Turbo firmly raised his eyebrows in heart thumping delight at the raw sight before him. Easily stripping down to nothing but a black bra and matching thong, Turbo felt dumb over the fact that he couldn't stop his jaw from lightly hanging open.

He snapped his teeth shut tight and quickly averted his gaze back over his shoulder the second Berri's bent over position quickly snapped to a stand after worming her feet out of the dropped ankles of her skinny jeans. His now viciously blushed, peachy glowing eyes anxiously darted about the gentle waves of blue water out before him as he returned to the position of having his back fully turned to Berri's shedding figure, he bit his bottom lip in a jolt of confidence that hit him square across the face and then viciously left him. Stunned, heart racing, he inhaled a weak, shaky breath and so desperately tried to collect himself. Although lighter in weight in the sloshy water, he still heavily shifted on the balls of his feet, against the concrete on the bottom of his pool, and twiddled his fingers under the water, just before his midsection. He almost cursed himself for coming across so cocky in the draw of this evening; he was well aware he hadn't had any shred of physical, sexual action in decades, and it all began to billow in shown truth right in this instance of turning to goo over the simple, stolen glance of Berri's gorgeous, curvy, becoming-bare figure.

"Caughtcha looking," Berri mumbled in shy, playful disappointment, and though Turbo knew this was his cue to turn around and now properly witness Berri on her own terms, he still greatly hesitated for many reasons.

"S-Sorry," Turbo shrunk with a sheepish, now nervous smile as he bent his knees and sunk back into the water, though partly for embarrassing reasons he didn't want to be made blatantly obvious. With now only his shoulders and up exposed, he fully turned around and hesitantly glossed his eyes for Berri's figure, once more, though he relaxed once he saw she was sitting on the pool's edge, carefully and nervously only exposing her toes and feet to the cooler, relaxing water. He eased a relieved smile and knew he needed to let his brain at least attempt to catch up with the goo of thoughts now oozing about his brain, he cleared his throat and lulled his eyes closed in a long blink of humble cuteness, "You're very beautiful."

"Why, thank you," Berri eased in poised, mature, womanly delight, though her sweet tone held a very bratty, cute bite to it as she shrugged her bare shoulders.

Turbo exhaled a shaky breath and finally began to slowly cross the gap of pool between the two, he remained in the four or five foot deep water sunk and submerged to his shoulders in a show of slowly dissipating shyness. He humbly peered his peachy eyes to Berri's figure and felt glad that at least they were easing past the phase were overt, obvious glances of checking each other out now wasn't something they had to strictly hide. Turbo held his breath and was careful not to stare for too long, though he got a healthy fill of an ogling eyeful, Berri's beautiful figure was only simply concealed by a thin black bra, although she wasn't an incredibly busty individual, Turbo still did everything he could to not dorkily grin in satisfied, anticipatory delight. He cleared his throat and caught eyes with her, to which he finally stood and began to push closer to her, faster. She perked up a little and now peered to him in a quick rush of concern.

"I-It's kind of cold," Berri staggered with a giggle, though cued to Turbo's now quick attempt at softly clawing at the water, to get to her faster, she inhaled a sharp breath, scrunched her shoulders, hesitated to maybe think about standing and getting out of Turbo's gravity, she was well aware it was too late.

"C'mon, you just gotta dive in," Turbo pressed with a boyish smile as he finally approached her, although he was quick and certain, he still finally slowed once he was within a foot of her.

"Turbo," Berri huffed with a hard, shy giggle as he very bravely eased to the very edge of the pool, where she sat.

"Yes'm?" Turbo wondered cutely, Berri jolted in tender surprise the second Turbo's larger body now began to carefully scoop her into an embrace, his front and center easily wormed its way in between the tight, clenched bend of both her knees. He carefully wrapped one arm about her lower back and the other very bravely about the underside of her bare rear.

"Turbo, if you throw me, I will literally leave," Berri challenged firmly, though it trailed with a hard giggle as Turbo's confident, though slow moving actions didn't back down. She choked a silent, startled noise as he began to carefully lift her off of the pool's edge and in the motion of bringing her into the messily sloshing water all about them. She felt goosebumps trail her arms as she could feel Turbo's wider smile on her skin, he eased a few innocent kisses into the top of her shoulder and the start of her lower neck. Although she easily wanted to sink into these heightened feelings, she inhaled a sharp breath in reaction to the feel of the colder water on the undersides of her thighs, she jolted in pupil-tightening surprise and suddenly clasped her whole body to Turbo's in a sear of shock. With arms now slapped about Turbo's neck and legs doing everything they could to now wrangle their way about Turbo's waist, she choked him a few urgent notions and didn't even consider the rather promiscuous position they were now in, "TURBO, please, I'm serious-HOLY IT'S COLD."

"I know you don't now how to swim," Turbo pressed in a high pitched tone of full-on, playful patronizing, to which Berri wildly furrowed her eyebrows and crowned a huge, annoyed grin. Turbo patiently carried on as he began to sink back into the water, Berri latched tight to his figure, something he was absolutely certain would very quickly catch up to him, "It's scary at first, but you'll get the hang of it-"

"I know how to swim!" Berri choked a hard laugh, though with such, Turbo firmly sagged the two into the water, amost entirely submerged; Berri choked a loud holler of surprise and finally unhanded Turbo's figure, fully understanding that he wasn't going to play nice. She splashed away from him as the two were entirely lost in laughter, "I TRUSTED YOU!"

"Not the smartest idea," Turbo heaved a hard, deep laugh and unhanded Berri in return, she urgently pulled her now wet, brown hair out of her face and wiped her eyes as she began to wade in the water, it being too deep for her to properly stand. Turbo stood confidently, about a foot and a half of his body fully out of the water, he eyed Berri in a further show of cute tease and cocked an eyebrow, "Alright, small-fry, want to see what I was talking about earlier?"

"Oh, the ... Glass drop off aspect of this pool?" Berri sneered in disbelief, Turbo nodded and shot her a look of tease.

"Yeah, it's four feet deep over there, are you going to be able to stand?" Turbo meanly muttered with a clearly playful smile, though he jolted and uttered a sharp laugh as Berri firmly splashed a wave of water his way, fully soaking him. He wiped his face and beamed a wide smile, though jolted the second he saw Berri begin to smoothly and quickly swim in the direction they had been itching to go all night. He huffed a startled laugh and quickly kicked off to keep up with her, "Hey, wait up."

"I thought you were the fastest guy in Arcade?" Berri chimed, she shot Turbo a cheeky smile before sleekly diving into the water and vanishing under the surface, the last thing being seen was the gentle round of her wet, bare rear; he slowed his roll, cocked an eyebrow and was left in the still silence whilst Berri continued her effort underwater.

"I will be, I can almost guarantee it," Turbo muttered loudly to himself, insinuating something entirely different, he shook his head and with a nervous, silent grunt and a grit of his teeth, he bashfully readjusted the folds and tension in his now tighter, black underwear.

Berri inhaled a sharp breath as she finally resurfaced, at least twenty feet down the length of the pool, though she stopped once she came to the glassed edge. She raised her eyebrows in surprise that very quickly began to billow into entire uncertainty, as she peered into the four-foot shallower end of Turbo's lovely, glowing pool, she was wholly shocked to find that this sprawl of a shallow was entirely encased in glass, including the bottom of the pool. What lay underneath was something she was entirely sure was going to kill her, a plain view of the street and city directly below; a sixty-four floor drop to the concrete, the only thing in between her and the largest drop in the city was the thick, clear glass she had happened upon. The second she heard Turbo press closer to her in a confident stand, she threw her hands up and quickly began to take steps back, though the water slowed her movement.

"Hoooooo no, ho no, no sir," Berri easily choked nervous laughter as Turbo beamed a curious smile, halted and peered to her in unadulterated, beaming confusion. He furrowed his eyebrows, gestured out to the glass, shook his head and opened his mouth to quell her worries, though she carried on, "That glass breaks and we're nothing but water and shards of glass just rocketing to the STREET BELOW?"

"Berri, the glass will NOT break," Turbo pressed in whole confidence, he largely laughed and shook his head at her, though she crossed her arms and looked out to the city in an ironic show of riled glee and terror.

"Does it look like I want to chance it?" Berri staggered worried laughter, though Turbo softened and slowly pressed out to the glass for demonstration; he confidently stood on the glass, it remained entirely unwavering.

"Berri, you don't think I've tested this thing and reinforced it like there was no tomorrow?" Turbo cooed warmly, he gestured to his bare, muscular chest and gave her a coy smile, the peak of the lip of his black boxer briefs came into view with the dip and rise of the cool water on his lovely, glossy grey skin, "This glass is like a foot thick. There's absolutely nothing to worry about."

Berri peered to him in blushing contemplation, eyed his figure in a secretive, girly show of nervousness and finally allowed her eyes to peer about the gorgeous display of city life and lights underneath Turbo. A beautiful display both of scenery and full trust, Berri sagged her shoulders and knew Turbo was King at getting her to cave in on herself.

"C'mon, you know you can trust me," Turbo pressed warmly, he finally bent his knees and eased deeper into the water, he began to slowly approach her as his shoulders and upper chest, and up, was now the only thing not submerged. He looked up at Berri and came within a few feet of her, "Just hold on to me. I'll take care of the rest."

Turbo gingerly opened an arm and insinuated for her to latch on to him, like what she was doing not a few minutes ago. He long-blinked in warm, welcoming delight and gave her a knowing look, he hoped his calm words would press a further show of insinuation, a gentle kiss of hope that she would throw in the towel and let him test out his skills at being a proper, loving boyfriend, once more. Berri inhaled a shaky breath, eased a hesitant nod and finally allowed her hand to ease into Turbo's, which was tenderly opened and outstretched under the water, near her thigh. With a grip, Turbo planted his feet and awaited Berri's fragile presence, and with the approach and sink of her body, his eyes glossed her shiny skin, wet goodness that practically twinkled underneath all the city lights about them. Turbo's golden eyes continuously eased in and out of said bashful, peachy color, something Berri finally took note of.

"You sir, are a very blushy individual," Berri's warm, womanly voice soothed over Turbo's shivering soul like honey, something he easily beamed a smug, closed-mouth grin up into Berri's disposition. He finally huffed a shaky chuckle and very easily welcomed Berri into his gravity, like they had been doing it for years, she fit her body into his like a missing jigsaw piece. With the gentle drape of her arms about his thick neck and a loose grip of her thighs and lower legs about his waist, Turbo wasted no time in wrapping her little body up in his masculine arms and supporting her against his upper body, her tender voice continued in a bashful hush as she hovered half a foot above and in front of his wet face, "I guess I'm just glad you can't really see my face, right now."

"I CAN see your face, it's been red all night," Turbo warmly eased to her, he could feel his heart race a million miles an hour with the official feel of her wet, slippery bare skin on his, this feeling of being tangled up in her arms and legs now immediately felt surreal; something he had been fantasizing for awhile now, though seeing as it was now upon him, daintily plopped right into his reality, his head swam.

"You're attractive, okay?" Berri mumbled cutely, she looked off in shy, smiling sweetness, though she raised her eyebrows in surprise as Turbo's back gingerly sagged to the pool's definitive glass edge. Unbeknownst to Berri, he sat down on a low laying bench, under the water, easily bringing Berri now in a wide, easy straddle on his lap. Turbo inhaled a shaky breath and held his hands to the dip of Berri's little waist, he kept his modest, gentle eye contact into hers, and although she hesitantly eased to a sit in his lap, he was entirely sure she could feel the protruding distention of his hidden desire, no matter how well he concealed it all. Berri's little rib cage shakily expanded, she pressed her hands to Turbo's lower chest, under the gentle slosh of crystal clear pool water, and tried her hardest to carry on whilst wiping the delirious, dorky smile from her mouth, "I actually really like that your eyes gives away your mood. I don't have too much guesswork."

"Lucky you," Turbo mumbled cutely, he wrinkled his nose and daintily shook his head at her; she eased a sudden giggle, scrunched her shoulders and finally began to relax in Turbo's presence, he heaved a long, raspy sigh, looked off in the easier flow of their conversing and gave her a softer smile, "It's been awhile since I've seen the result of a peachy color bouncing off of someone in close proximity to me, like such."

"Yeah?" Berri trailed warmly, she allowed her liberal, physical contact of her submerged hands feel the gentle, subtle dips and curves in Turbo's ab muscles, not extremely prominent, though something Berri was eager to finally explore and touch, once and for all. She bobbed a small nod and, although she had these little waves of confidence, her eyes caught with something faintly glowing under the water; the gorgeous, larger honeycomb markers of Turbo's stressor points, they ever so faintly glowed a gentle red on the dips of his lower hip bones, as well as right over his heart. Berri cocked an eyebrow and felt her breath catch, she desperately tried to press on without a tremble in her voice, "Y-Your... Core coding, what's that about?"

"I-If... I'm being honest with you, it actually is uncomfortable to continue concealing, like what I have been all night," Turbo innocently mumbled, he heaved a shaky breath, bobbed a shy nod and peered to her in a show of gentle humility, "I... Have never experienced anything like this with someone, whilst being so well-versed in core coding, so... This is all new to me."

"Oh, so, like... If you feel an emotion strong enough, your stressor marks appear no matter what?" Berri curiously wondered, she tried to lighten the air between them, and although Turbo confidently allowed her to remain sat on him like what she was, she could easily tell he was on the verge of shutting down and proving to her that he was almost just as inexperienced in this realm as she was. She wiped any amount of teasing she could deliver, her eyes held a great deal of warmth and understanding, something Turbo immediately softened to and showed gratitude for.

"Y-Yeah, because I've spent so much time honing this skill, I guess... It just comes a little TOO easily," Turbo huffed shakily, he finally swallowed a hard, nervous gulp and began to show true colors, how desperately he had tried to come across as confident and sure of himself was probably somewhat true in the first throes of romance, though now that they were in the deeper end of this journey, hovering hundreds of feet over his own glistening city, she earnestly smiled into his eyes and was thrilled to see a show of humility now wash over him, a cute display of genuine uncertainty. Berri finally huffed a small giggle of appreciation, something Turbo rolled his eyes to and beamed a shy smile off to the side, "Just... Don't mind me, I'll be here, a glowing MESS."

"It's okay, honestly, I'm flattered," Berri so warmly assured, she eased her hands to his broad shoulders and was entirely thrilled to see the bigger, heftier stressor marks on his jugular begin to appear; it all began to click, everything he was made of was so tenderly on display before her, she finally stepped into rhythm with him and softened into a realm of genuine, physical conversation. She warmly dared to reach her thumb and side of her palm for the now faintly glowing stressor on the left side of his jugular, though within touching it, Turbo flinched in surprise as it flared a little and suddenly glowed a bit brighter than what it was. Berri raised her eyebrows in surprise and side-eyed Turbo in curiosity, "These are... Vocal stressors. I'm going to assume that... You communicated a need to me, you were open and honest and voiced your opinion. Is that what's going on here?"

"Correct," Turbo warmly assured, his voice was low and patient, he hovered in his peachy eye contact, his faintly glowing few stressors, he soaked in Berri's entire presence and felt the universe bevel underneath them, in this instance. He narrowed his gaze and patiently watched her thoughtful process, the way her curious, beautiful eyes scanned the hefty stressors glowing on his throat and chest, the innocent wonder in her demeanor, the endless amount of love and patience she was here to fully give him, his hands so gently gripped her wide hips as he held fast to this brand new reality of his. He long-blinked in sweetness and entirely assured himself that there was absolutely no where he'd rather be, no one he'd rather be with, he softened even further and was glad to finally have her eye contact, once more, "You've learned well. I'm just... So glad I can teach everything in me to someone whose willing to learn. I tried to teach Lash all of this drama and he wanted nothing to do with it."

"I'm your clay to mold," Berri chimed in cuteness, though she side-eyed Turbo in sneakiness and allowed her womanly voice to coat his in certainty, "Though, only if you're willing to learn a few things from ME, in the process."

"Absolutely," Turbo assured, a quick response to entirely affirm that he, too, was hers to mold, whether that be in normal or sexual ventures, he surrendered everything he was to her in this final instance, well aware he would never trade any of it for the entire planet. Although still sapped in a rise of nervousness, he did whatever he could to at least gain a little bit of normality between the two. Against the crisp, even plane of his infinity pool, where water met the reflection of the sky in seamless, effortless clarity, he gently inhaled a shaky breath and lifted both his arms out of the water, he easily rested them up and back in a lull at the edge of the very thick glass his back was pressed to. Berri gently got a bit more comfortable on Turbo's lap, within her wide straddle, and eased her hands to his lower chest; Turbo could tell she was now becoming very careful about not touching the stressors on his hips for fear of not entirely knowing what would happen. Turbo eased a soft, shaky chuckle and peered to her in warm humility, "I've got a long way to go, when it comes to relearning, well... Life."

"Why do you say that?" Berri tenderly wondered, Turbo shrugged his masculine shoulders and barely looked up to the dark, empty, light polluted sky above the two.

"You've brought a new perspective, to me, when it comes to, well... Th-this kind of thing," Turbo staggered nervously, though he sagged and was thrilled Berri's lovely, patient eyes held tight to his, "My mind, my whole life, has begged me to rush and go fast, and get things done quickly, but... You've taught me to slow down. I think it's still going to take some time until I actually perfect it, but..."

"You've come a very long way," Berri kindly and confidently assured, she bobbed a soft nod and carefully rubbed her palm over the stressor confidently glowing directly where his heart would be. He silently huffed a breath as said stressor glowed brighter under her touch, she cocked an eyebrow and lovingly rubbed, hoping to encourage him, "This is interesting... I had no idea stressors were so incredibly touch-sensitive, like this."

"You have no clue," Turbo muttered in crumpling delight, he heaved a shaky, silent breath and eased her a wide, sheepish smile, a toothy display of his prominent canines, Berri's heart melted as his bashful eyes glossed about the squish of her wet breasts, amidst her palms reach over his heart, he was well aware he was now becoming obviously unhinged in the cutest of ways, he long-blinked in bittersweet delight and did anything to keep his mind straight, "...You enjoying the view?"

"I most certainly am," Berri assured as her eyes quickly scanned Turbo's glorious city, along with an easy assessment of Sugar Rush's beautiful, glowing palace tight on the horizon; she cocked an eyebrow and sat back a little, now fully aware that she was making things very difficult for Turbo's crumpling, squirmy demeanor, "Are YOU?"

"Oh, absolutely," Turbo's voice trembled a hard chuckle as Berri beamed him a knowing, authoritative grin. He fluttered his peachy, glowing eyes and tried desperately not to be too greedy with just how many downward glances he stole of Berri's beautiful body, though she seemed to show flatter from it all, something Turbo was relieved about. As if to prove to him that this show was for his eyes only, from here on out, Turbo tenderly gripped her hips and gave her a smile of gentle gratitude, "Y-You're... You're very sexy."

"Only for you," Berri assured warmly, she gave him a knowing look of cute affirmation and eased a small nod, though before Turbo could properly melt right into the pool's glowing oblivion, she heaved a soft giggle, sat up a little straighter and gestured down to Turbo's center, "Why don't you tell me a little bit more about these last two stressors, babe. You look like you're on cloud nine, right now, and... If I'm being entirely blunt, I'd like to catch up."

Turbo raised his eyebrows in poised, prickled surprise as he honed his eyes tight to Berri's; he was very well aware she had a solid amount of alcohol in her system, and although she wasn't messy or incoherent, he could most definitely tell that any would-be shy fronts that typically would come rushing his way, in a walled off reserved show of just what the epitome of a wall-flower looked like, were easily stamped out due to the rush of sprinkled confidence the drink likely gave her. Not complaining, he still tread lightly. With a clear of his throat and a gentle adjustment of his sitting position, to be a bit straighter and not so slouched, he heaved a shaky, long breath through his nose and begged himself to get ahold of his feelings. He shot her a cute, sneaky smile and narrowed his eyes in remembering delight.

"You want an explanation, adamantly ONLY an explanation," Turbo recalled from their previous conversation from this topic, he softened his disposition and eased her a cute chuckle, though Berri raised her eyebrows in shy surprise and eased an uncertain nod.

"Explanation, or... Demonstration, which... Ever happens, happens," Berri now shyly stated, cueing Turbo to now navigate such a tricky show of confidence and naive shyness, he held his breath and felt his stomach drop in floored, anticipatory terror and delight, all in one fell swoop.

"Wh-why don't we... Make this not so intense," Turbo pressed through a huff of a laugh, he was well aware the two were in position to be sucked into a lot of physical drama quick. With tenderness, he successfully maneuvered Berri's sitting position so that she was sat across his lap, bridal style. He easily cradled her upper shoulders with his left arm and smiled down at her with soft success, "These two stressors are a bit trickier, they include a LOT more emotion, some of which aren't even initially sexual."

"Like every other one, there seems to be pros and cons to each," Berri mumbled softly, she tucked her arms across her center and rested the side of her head against the bend of Turbo's strong left bicep and peck, he lovingly smiled down at her and eased a nod, his careful hand so tenderly rested across her bare left thigh.

"There's triggers as well as causes for build up and release... So, for these two," Turbo gently tapped his fingers to Berri's broader, wider hip bones, each one, and although her stressors weren't glowing, he was almost certain he knew where they lay. Although he touched said points, she didn't flinch, leaving him confident that she still wasn't as in-tune with it all yet, such as himself, "These stressors act as motivators. They're right on your hips, so they could easily ignite in instances where your drive accounts for physically GETTING somewhere quick. These stressors are connected to the thicker coded arteries in your thighs, so on rare occasion, the flare up, or use for these, aren't even sexual."

"But I guess not as often as the latter?" Berri wondered tenderly, Turbo nodded and lulled his eyes closed; he bashfully glanced down to his stressors, now confidently glowing, and knew he shouldn't be so embarrassed about it.

"Correct... It's more heavily laced with sexual desire and attraction, and obviously any release would be purely a physical expel of coding... I-In my case," Turbo pressed his hand to his chest and peered to Berri in soft, cheeky, wary conclusion, "I... Honestly have no clue what it would be for, in females, because, well... You're not really expelling anything."

"It's still a release," Berri shrugged, she seemed confident in this topic, something Turbo cued to; he eyed her in softness and, although the two were not nearly that personal with each other just yet, he smiled and understood, from here, she was well versed in the act of self service.

"You're right. Another thing that could potentially weaken or 'clog' these stressors, outside of lack of sexual activity, is lethargy or lack of legitimate, physical activity," Turbo calmly expressed, he lulled his eyes closed and was sure he was about to have an out of body experience. Although not wanting to push her into doing anything she was uncomfortable with, he dared to curiously peer to her in whole shyness, "Do... You want me to help you in accessing them on your own, verbally? It's the same with any of the other stressors, just... A-A bit more intimate."

"I'd like that," Berri mumbled nervously, though honestly. She peered to Turbo in soft curiosity and was entirely aware this would lead somewhere, though just exactly where and when, she had no grasp of an idea, "I guess I'm... Kind of embarrassed about it."

"D-Does it help that I've reached said point of embarrassment before you?" Turbo uttered with a sneaky smile, the two finally shared a hearty laugh of cute conclusion as Berri adjusted her position just a little and tucked her short hair behind her ears.

"Yes, actually, I-I... Forgot," Berri mumbled cutely, she bashfully peered into Turbo's peachy eyes, "You're just so good at cueing it all, I just assume you're as cool as a cucumber."

"Not... Even a little," Turbo blurt with a shy laugh and a nervous shake of his head, though he long-blinked in surprise the second Berri grunted, sat up a bit, turned about on Turbo's lap and began to readjust herself a little. Turbo raised his eyebrows in further heart racing surprise as Berri finally sagged back to Turbo's lap, though this time, she was faced away from him and sat in a soft, easy straddle tucked over his bent, propped left thigh, both of his feet rested firmly against the pool's concrete bottom. Turbo gently held the sides of Berri's hips and heaved a shaky breath as she continued to situate herself a little, "Get comfortable, whatever you need to do."

"Thank you, sorry I just... Was comfortable laying like that, but I didn't want to get drowsy and fall asleep," Berri giggled, she snuggled her almost bare back into the broad of Turbo's chest and finally rested against him as they sat comfortably in the waist deep water they were still in. She inhaled a deep breath, eased the back of her head to the broad of Turbo's strong, left shoulder and fluttered her eyes in a cute contemplation of readiness, "Okay, I'm... Listening."

Turbo relaxed with Berri's smaller, beautiful body gently propped up against the expansion of his strong chest, he so tenderly rested his hands on the sides of her hips and now felt entirely sure he was on another planet. Although not a secret that he was entirely turned on, he still felt a lump catch in his throat with the idea that his solid, throbbing distention was still securely tucked up and away from Berri's knowledge. Hoping to keep it that way for as long as he could, he exhaled a long, steady breath through his nose and centered every single last need of his to urgently channel towards Berri's fragile soul, before him. Although a give and take of knowledge, he sneakily smiled a cute smirk on her bare shoulder and was glad that he could give her a good, healthy dose of a lesson, here in this raw, intimate bout of firsts, for the two, as a proper couple.

"Like you noticed, two other stressor points play a part in this, most times," Turbo started, his deep voice splayed into the side of her head and neck, into her ear, he eased a bashful smile down to her beautiful body as he now had a full view of everything, a downward angle of her glorious, curvy body, he raised his eyebrows in delight and was floored to see cute little goosebumps begin to splay her neck and breasts, right where his raspy voice was pressing, "Heart and voice... You don't have to verbally tell me what's on your mind, but at least keep any positive notions of desire in your own line of communication, however you choose to express it. Whatever's on your heart, make sure your mind is in on it. That'll fuel everything forward."

"Like... Intimate desires?" Berri daintily wondered as her beautiful eyes lazily stared ahead, down the glowing, never-ending length of the opposite end of his rectangular pool.

"Anything that would bring about motivation," Turbo pressed quietly, he did due diligence in only just barely keeping his fingers to the sides of Berri's hips, so to be as non-invasive for as long as he could in this little lesson of stressors. He knew she needed this information for herself, though he knew he'd be lying to himself if he wasn't searching for an opportunity to eventually dive in. Turbo inhaled a shaky breath, in the expansion and rise of his strong chest, she daintily moved with his breathing, her relaxed body sagged back into his, "However that translates, here... Ask yourself maybe what would be motivating you in this instance?"

"... You," Berri eased in soft-spoken confidence, she fluttered her eyes closed and smiled, though Turbo raised his eyebrows in prickled surprise and was floored she actually answered him.

"... Yeah?" Turbo pressed quietly, having been certain she'd just shyly reside in her own thoughts, though the fact that she was opening up about it, he wondered if he could help this along quicker, "What about me?"

"I... I love you, I'm motivated to, well... Prove that to you," Berri now shyly pressed, she eased a cute little smile and now bashfully turned her head so that her nose and upper face was tucked into the side of Turbo's jaw and upper neck. She carried on just underneath his ear in a hushed tone, "I'm just really... Really glad you snatched me up."

"On my nightly prowl," Turbo grumbled teasingly, referring to their previous conversation down on Orion City's streets, he eased a wide, shy grin down to her bare shoulder and held still for her, "You don't have to prove anything to me... But, I'm glad you're here. I'm... Honored you're letting me in."

"Only you," Berri assured in a whisper, she lulled her eyes closed for good and now allowed herself to get entirely lost in thought, and with such delirious thoughts, she inhaled a silent breath and knew that, although she had a pair of eyes on her, she felt safety and security so high above the city, safely nestled deep in Turbo's protective, loving grip. Well aware that any troubles she had were left strictly at Sugar Rush's entrance, she felt a shiver go through her body as she allowed herself to finally relish in another level of feeling settled. Although a bit more anxious and heightened than a typical settle of relaxation, she relished in it and now began to feel the needy desire to have an itch of hers scratched. Berri bashfully fluttered her eyes and, although she took note of the deep inhale Turbo took so to continue talking, she warmly beat him to it and eased him a hushed, embarrassed inquiry, "C-Can... You also tell me what you're thinking of?"

"Wh-where to even start," Turbo huffed in already exhausted, sweet delight, the two shared wide, toothy smiles of shyness, he was eternally careful to keep his hands strictly on the sides of her hips, "I'm thinking... How the hell did I get so incredibly lucky?"

"Stop," Berri heaved a silent giggle into his jaw line, she fluttered her eyes shut and felt desire continue to sweep over her.

"You already know mostly how I feel about you," Turbo's deep voice glossed her wet, bare shoulder, though he cocked an eyebrow and now took note of the stressor marks on her heart, as well as on her jugular, began to so softly glow confident, silver circles of circuits. He felt his heart jump in success as he hurried to press on in quiet conclusion, "And... I-I know I've said it like three times now, but, you're... Stunning. I think about you a lot when... Well..."

"You for me, too," Berri rushed to agree above a whisper, she shyly continued to keep her nose and upper face tucked into the side of Turbo's jaw and neck, she shook her head and inhaled a nervous breath as she just barely shifted in Turbo's lap, to get further comfortable, "You're one to talk, dude."

"It's the tattoo, isn't it," Turbo mumbled, Berri blurt a hard giggle and scrunched her shoulders as she snuggled her back deeper into the broad of Turbo's strong chest, he easily welcomed her and shared a wide grin with her.

He long-blinked in warm, stirring delight and easily leaned his face down to give her bare shoulder a few firm kisses, though in the gentle press of said lingering smooch, his eyes happily glossed her wet, half-submerged breasts and further down her body. He raised his eyebrows in hot, delirious surprise as to just what the trail of his eyes finally came to. Although the two stressors on her hips were only now faintly glowing, he felt his heart stop at the dim, barely seen sight of her own hand sneakily eased between her own thighs. Uncertain of even what to say or do next, he felt his brain short circuit in the wonderment of this whole ride. In one direction, his brain yelled at him to stay put and leave her to her own devices, whilst the other corners of his brain all eagerly screamed to dive in and help her, continue prodding words of encouragement, anything to help her carry on, he urgently peered down all of his choices in a heart-stopping crawl of unmitigated terror. He inhaled a shaky breath on her shoulder and, although said inhale shifted her body just barely, he could still feel her own, subtle stirring movements; he lulled his eyes closed and was well aware he was now in the presence of someone who had very apprehensively handed over a great deal of certain trust. Knowing this wasn't something to mess with, he sagged a little and followed his strict rule of taking things slow and easy, something that has brought him so much success, thus far.

"Chase that feeling," Turbo warmly instructed above a whisper, he eased a shy smile onto her shoulder and felt a swathe of humility and honor hit him square between the eyes, he long-blinked in delirious shock and felt his heart begin to pound at the raw and open fact that this incredible woman was all his, was finally allowing herself to open up. He carefully assessed her and was quick to notice that she had crowned an apprehensive look of nervous delight, the flutter of her eye lids into a sag of almost lightly squirming uncertainty, he cocked an eyebrow and wondered if he should continue to verbally help her along. He softly pressed her a whisper of a sneaky inquiry, a question he was very certain he already had the answer to, "What do you need, baby."

Berri inhaled a shaky, dry inhale and clumsily planted her free, right hand into the gentle dip of her right thigh, though in said aimless, soft grappling, she finally groped far enough about her hip to Turbo's hands, still delicately held to her sides. In whole silent inquiry, she gently gripped his first three fingers and began to softly pull said fingers to her still dimly glowing stressor mark on her right hip. Adamant to forever bow to her needs, Turbo smiled in cued sneakiness and, although not trying to hold back too much, he carefully pressed his fingers into the glowing circle of a circuit mark into the dig of her hip bone. He raised his eyebrows in delirious surprise the second her spine just barely tensed, as if that was becoming the answer to all her silent, burning questions. Turbo huffed a shaky breath on her shoulder and so tenderly squeezed said stressor, he eased his confidently glowing, peachy gaze to a close and felt as if his heart was surely about to explode with emotion.

"Th-this changes everything," Berri huffed a trembling, exasperated giggle of a whisper into Turbo's cheek, she fluttered her eyes in delirious surprise and felt her body tense at the feel of Turbo's left hand now sliding across the skin of her other hip so to continue adding to this experience.

"Doesn't it?" Turbo so sweetly pressed into the top of her shoulder, he warmly kissed her skin a few times, though as he eased his left hand to the stressor on her left hip in a warm tug, he huffed a hard chuckle through his nose the second Berri silently gasped in surprise and lightly stiffened in further surprise.

"I don't even know who I am, anymore," Berri huffed a trembling, cute little laugh up to the sky as she finally lulled her head back fully onto Turbo's broad shoulder with a splay of her short, wet brown hair. Turbo firmly squeezed her hips as his fingers lovingly continued to tug and prod deep into the skin on her confidently glowing stressor marks, curved into her wider hip bones.

"Berri," Turbo's deep, raspy voice so slowly trailed in a sultry, sweet tone, just above a whisper, his hot breath glossed her wet clavicles with a sneaky smile.

He could tell Berri was holding herself back due to the very timid, gentle squirms and motions she deployed on herself, his bashful eyes could see her faintly glowing stress marks line her temples in a defeated way, as if to promise they would eventually get the better of her. Eager to end her stress entirely, he inhaled a confident breath and knew he needed to override Berri's troubles and supply her with every good feeling he could possibly supply to her. He concentrated his eyes where her hand lay, a soft and messy few gestures of a motion she supplied herself, he narrowed his gaze and was well aware she could continue on and still feel great, though he knew adding an element of surprise would put every ounce of her worries on a permanent pause.

"I-I regret not asking you about this, long ago," Berri whimpered with another shaky, quiet giggle into Turbo's wet skin, the stressors on her jugular and the left space of her sternum glowed brightly as everything finally came piecing together, a unison of connected harmony Turbo was floored actually intertwined with such ease.

"Well, you don't have to wait any longer," Turbo cutely and quietly assured as he gently gave her stressors one last tug with both of his hands free, "I got just what the doctor ordered."

With every last ounce of bravery to his own name, Turbo held his breath and removed his right hand from it's previous duty of massaging Berri's ever so sensitive stressor mark, on her hip. In an easy swoop, he carefully ducked his hand underneath Berri's, sagged in between her thighs, and in a firm override of her own educated, pre-planned and premeditated actions, Turbo cautiously wormed his fingertips into the tight cloth of her underwear, he so carefully wrinkled his first two fingers into the delicate nook of her bare groin. Thankful he prepared for it, Berri gasped a sharp inhale, stiffened her spine in unmitigated surprise and shoved her back firmly into Turbo's broad chest. She nervously sagged her bare legs in a bit of a deeper spread over the now loose straddle she had over Turbo's left thigh, her now free hands urgently grappled Turbo's thick, strong wrists, she choked a few startled, quiet noises of exasperated, delirious surprise, and it was from here Turbo was entirely thrilled she likely had no clue what to do with herself but just feel every single last ounce of her feelings. Although prepared, Turbo huffed a shaky chuckle of a breath, lightly surprised by Berri's gentle recoil, he faltered to breathe correctly as he methodically began to gingerly dig at the most sensitive spot on her whole body, the pool water about them grew a bit more lively in a sloshing mess of stirring movement.

Berri choked another inhale of surprise and felt her insides shake with terrified delight. As if her brain now had to quickly catch up with Turbo's very brave and confident endeavors, she long-blinked her aimless, delirious gaze up to the sky as her head lulled back to Turbo's broad shoulder in defeat. She urgently continued to keep a grip on Turbo's wrists whilst his left hand remained dug tight to her left stressor, though she felt her body surge in raw waves of delight as his right hand diligently kept up a rhythm of making sure that itch, of hers, was well scratched and satiated. Berri swallowed hard, clenched her teeth and continued to lightly sag deeper and harder into Turbo's broad chest, she squirmed in nervous delight and was almost unsure if this all was even taking place. The feeling of his strong, confident hands so ready to please, so capable of an eternal amount of love, Berri grit her teeth and felt as if she was sinking deeper and deeper into his protective embrace, the feel of his strong arms about her had her sure this was the place she was due to be laid to eternal rest, something she would gladly come to peaceful terms with, right here and now, if it were to be Turbo sending her off, vanquishing every ounce of stress and trouble she ever harbored in her body.

Turbo raised his eyebrows in unmitigated surprise, he huffed her a shaky breath and sagged in continued surprise as her now gently writhing body seemingly begged for this strong of a release. As if out of one of his own fantasies, realized right before his eyes, Berri sagged her head back to his shoulder, lulled her mouth to his ear and huffed him a quivering, whispering moan of his name, her wet mouth just barely graced his earlobe, he was absolutely sure that the goosebumps she caused would permanently remain an angry splay of hair-raising delight, on his grey skin, for the rest of his life. A dream to hear his own name come shaking from her figure, like such, he volleyed her a shaky, silent, knowing chuckle, as if to assure her that this was just as great for him as it was for her, and with such, he lovingly tucked into the little bend of her neck and hungrily tasted her skin. In the dig of his firm, circular motion between the heat of her thighs under the sloshing water, he trembled a few panting breaths against her throat as his firm and throbbing distention almost angrily resisted his underwear, it cozily dug along her upper right thigh as he did everything he could to sit still for her.

Berri lulled her head back and forth a few times, uncertain of what to even do with herself at this point, she so gently squirmed and jostled in a fit of now not knowing just where to put all of this pent up energy that was about to come bursting forth. She grit her teeth as Turbo's diligent motion became larger and confident with firm, muscled fervor, she grimaced and, knowing full well she couldn't help much of anything at this point, she just barely began to thrust against Turbo's larger hand. In a quaking, quiet moan, she whimpered his name in a plea of cute uncertainty as her breasts softly heaved in sporadic panting, her hands continued to remain eternally gripped to Turbo's wrists, as if she was making clear that he was wanted right here, exactly where he was. In a fit of giving up, Berri's nervous squirming became a bit more urgent, she finally unhanded Turbo's wrists and took her submerged arms out of the water. In a defeated drape down Turbo's strong, muscular chest, she raised her arms up and about the back of Turbo's neck, up and behind herself. She held on tight to him and allowed him full control of everything, from here on out, she was wholly certain her world was now beveling into a sparkling, explosive, starry black hole.

Turbo quietly ushered her a few shaky words of encouragement into her ear, he kept up the diligent motion of squeezing, tugging and digging of both of his hands, though as he quickened and did everything he could to steady Berri's own unfolding, earthquake of final becoming, he lulled his eyes closed and whispered her a promise of vanquished stress. Turbo smiled in scheming, cheeky, bashful delight as Berri grit her teeth and choked a quiet noise of surprise, the pop of coding that angrily swirled underneath her skin, she succumbed to his fervor of diligent strong-arming and coughed a noise of quiet, pent up urgency, almost as if to promise that she most definitely had it in her to yell and boast her pleasure to the world, though she shyly reserved herself. Amidst the urgency of their writhing, the stiff rile of her core and back pressed firmly against his body, he panted on her wet shoulder and collar and fluttered his eyes open in continued curiosity once her feverous writhing began to sag after the height of it all. Turbo gently glossed his eyes down her beautiful, now lightly squirming body and assessed her stressors, though he furrowed his eyebrows in a prickle of concern the second he saw Berri's stressor marks flicker in a cue, and then confidently hold a white glow, every single stressor to her name; even the ones on the soles of her feet, ones of which have been entirely absent until now. Turbo furrowed his eyebrows harder as Berri's whole entire body went limp against him in panting exhaustion. Turbo halted his movements, carefully removed his hands from the sensitive points of her body and just barely moved to sit up.

"... Babe?" Turbo pressed in quiet, cute nervousness, though he felt his heart come to a halt the second Berri's limpness now read a further amount of sag well beyond just simply being cutely exhausted after a coded orgasm.

Turbo froze in a roll of nervous terror and firmly dug his two first fingers into the pulse on her jugular. He was thrilled her pulse was still going, a crazy pace as well, though with the collection of his thoughts, the sudden roller coaster he was on, he softly hovered in patient stillness and assessed everything that had just taken place. Certain that said becoming was likely far greater than anything she had experienced, coupled with her insane amount of stress, he un-boggled his oozing brain and tried desperately to grasp at reality as he carefully cared for Berri's now unconscious, released and relaxed body. Although he was now quickly going through every code room check to run through, on Berri's fully exhausted figure, he sagged and lulled his eyes closed in heart pounding shock. He huffed himself a soft, elated chuckle, rubbed his forehead in unadulterated surprise and grinned down to Berri's sleepy face, still gently gaped with the roll of pleasure that coursed through her; she soundly slept, something he almost was now grateful for. Although one sided and for her benefit only, he ever so carefully adjusted her so she was in his arms, bridal style, once more and quietly told himself that he'd get his shining moment of pleasure, one day, for this night was hers to claim, an ultimate thwart of her built up stress that was long overdue. With care, he slowly began to exit his pool, certain of her good night's sleep, he smirked in hot delight and was now entirely sure his side of this pleasurable experience would send him off with sweet dreams, as well.


	168. Chapter 168

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** Yeah I'd definitely be freaked out too LOL. Thank you!

 **Snake557 :** Thanks friend! Oh I for sure wouldn't be able to do that either, you're definitely not alone xD

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 **Last Chapter's TL;DR :**

 **Turbo helps Berri with her last two stressors - it was such a huge success that she fell into an involuntary, entirely stress-free sleep directly afterwards :P**

 ***WARNING***

 **The beginning of this chapter has very brief nudity.**

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Gone by Harry Hudson**

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 ***Chapter 168***

As reality so slowly came back to him, the sound of his own ceiling fan could be heard tenderly clinking the speed switch in a dangle of the chain in the wind. A tinker of light metal, the airy, lovely sound of the flutter of his bedroom curtains, the warm snuggle of bare skin and the steady, rhythmic, thudding sound of Berri's heart beat in his ear, Turbo sagged amidst a long, hot breath through his nose. Although his mild hangover promised a touch of an eye headache, he almost smiled amidst the lovely feelings he was supplied, incredible memories of the night prior carefully pieced back to him in the kisses of glinted images of glowing pool water, the slosh of his and Berri's passionate writhing, the tender moan of his name from her mouth, he sagged in desire and snuggled into the bare skin he was supplied with. Although his brain promised that this situation was odd, the dim pink of his closed eyelids assured him that he should just remain in these conditions and to shut up and not worry about the logistics of it all.

Finally succumbing to his brains urgent bangings, Turbo wrinkled his nose, lifted his heavy head and just barely peered open his dim, golden eyes. In the blur of his dimly lit bedroom, the glint of Sugar Rush's clouded sunrise against the wall shared with his bedroom door, a swathe of Berri's lovely, vivid blue hair splashed his vision. Although loving the familiar sight, he furrowed his eyebrows in fully confused delight and quickly gathered that he hadn't seen Berri's blue hair in days, due to her short, brown haired disguise. Certain that a good night's sleep potentially reset her coding, Turbo opened his eyes a little bit wider and just barely sat up from his slumped sleeping position, only to find that he had been so cozily tucked into the gentle, warm, eternally soft and desirable nook of Berri's bare breasts. Clearly not recalling any shred of full nudity from the night prior, Turbo raised his eyebrows in a jolt of unmitigated shock, peered his eyes down to the glorious sight before him, relished in the view of Berri's gorgeous bare chest and finally reeled out of said delighted thoughts in a nosedive of now entire terror.

Trying his damndest to remain silent, Turbo inhaled a choke of a gasp and scoot away from Berri in a roll of continued fear. Although any other morning he definitely wouldn't question waking up to this fantasy of a reality, he furrowed his eyebrows in sharp terror and quickly scanned his brain for the memories of the night prior. He shoved his hand to his forehead and urgently wondered just when and why she became entirely naked in his bed, knowing full well she fell asleep and he wouldn't have dared to undress her like such. In the movement of shifting out of her presence as silently and carefully as he could, he jolted in continued, further amount of rising terror and lifted his covers, over himself, to find that he was also entirely nude. Turbo grit his teeth in a tight, flustered, horrified grimace, scoot out of his marvelous bed, urgently grappled for the pair of clean boxer briefs on the ground near his nightstand and very quickly slipped them onto his body. He clumsily stood and peered down to Berri in his bed, still fast asleep, he shook his head in now fully awake, unmitigated bewilderment, the raw sight of her glorious body, bare chested and daintily half-covered with his thick, grey blankets, her beautiful blue hair splayed in tossed about, organized chaos, any other morning he'd be absolutely floored this was real. Turbo grit his teeth, and although there was a shred of him that wanted to just sit and ogle the sight he had been dreaming of seeing for months now, he carefully leaned over and lightly laid a fold of his blanket over her bare chest so she wasn't exposed any longer.

"Holy shit," Turbo only mouthed to himself as he stood to correction and urgently fumbled for his phone, on his nightstand.

At a weak, fully depleted mere four percent phone battery, he angrily nudged his knuckles into his forehead, as if to berate himself. Certain that the two had partaken in a further wild night of sex and other escapades, he immediately began to shakily thumb through his phone's access to Sugar Rush's code room, in hopes of quickly navigating to his own terminal. A place where he could see his previous actions, words and intentions, he prayed and prayed that the night prior didn't include drunken, forgotten sex between him and the love of his entire life. Although not something he'd regret, he grit his teeth in horror over the fact that their first throw around was now simply lost to drunkenness. In the act of urgently cueing his own terminal, he largely flinched in raw shock the second Berri began to stir, though before he could quietly and sweetly cue her to the situation at hand, her bashful blue eyes fluttered open, noticed she was topless, wretched to a firm sit amidst the angry, grappled clutch of his blankets to her bare chest; both beings frozen and urgently peered into each other's eyes in whole entire delighted terror.

"... Turbo?" Berri questioned firmly, her voice was groggy and raspy from having just woken up, though Turbo urgently shook his head and almost couldn't get words out.

"I-I... I didn't see anything," He fibbed clumsily, though he grimaced himself a sharp, annoyed notion, firmly shook his head and gave Berri a pleading, sorrowful look of an apologetic smile, "O-Okay, I saw, BUT-"

"Hoo my GOD," Berri barked in a quiet mumble of cute, shy worry, Turbo shifted anxiously on his feet and gripped his phone in a waggle of urgency.

"No, no-no, I-I'm... I'm checking my terminal," Turbo rushed as he gestured his hand down to his screen, his shaking hands urgently began to scan through a few options in uneducated fumbles of immediate, terrified exhaustion.

"Turbo, did we... Did... Wh-what did we... I-I remember everything that happened while we were swimming, but..." Berri nervously staggered in girly horror, she quickly got out of Turbo's bed, faced away from him and began to grapple for her clothes placed on her nightstand. She clumsily fumbled to put her bra on whilst her back was to Turbo, she held her forehead in a riled swathe of all sorts of delighted and terrified emotions. She finally got all dressed, likely the quickest she had ever put on clothes, and once she was all zipped into her skinny jeans, the outfit she was wearing the night prior, she stood and peered to Turbo in an ironic twist of gleeful horror, "I-I... Don't remember ANYTHING after that, PLEASE tell me you do."

"I don't," Turbo choked nervously, he glossed his dim, almost entirely glow-less eyes for Berri, her beautiful blue hair now proved to him that although he didn't have entirely all his faculties the night prior, he was definitely reminded that this beautiful creature before him was, indeed, Arcade's biggest star, his hugest crush, the love of his life, somehow the stark pierce of her blue hair began to taunt him as she urgently peered to him with a zillion questions he had no idea how to begin answering, "I-I remember everything we did in the pool, but then you passed out, and... I-I..."

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Berri pressed in a nervous pitch of cute, continued worry as she covered her face and grimaced in the now pound of a hangover headache. Turbo largely frowned and began to feel terror course him, though he urgently peered to Berri and felt a twinge of relief the second she shook a trembling giggle from her ribcage, "Turbo, d-did we... Did we have sex?"

"User I surely hope not," Turbo muttered darkly, strictly for the fact that they wouldn't remember it, though Berri furrowed her eyebrows in a pang of hurt and was well aware they both were way too far frazzled to now continue on with a loving, productive conversation.

"... Wait, what's with that tone? What's that mean?" Berri prod nervously, though Turbo huffed a nervous noise and gestured down to his terminal.

"N-No, I mean like... I hope we didn't, because... Neither of us would've remembered it," Turbo mumbled sorrowfully, he looked entirely upset with himself, and although Berri was on the spectrum of feeling disappointment about it, as well, she sagged her shoulders and wondered maybe why she would be the only one, out of the two, feeling at least a little excited about said notion.

"Well... I-I... Would think, at least, it'd be something we could mentally and emotionally redo," Berri stated in a gentle sweep of nervous sorrow. She gently raised her hands and cued her magical coding, something that raised her skin in familiar, silver glitch lines. She softly peered to Turbo in a sag of becoming sad and warmly waggled her fingers to him, "Well, if we DID do anything, at least a swap wasn't a part of it."

"Thank God," Turbo stabbed in a rise of worry, though he perked up and motioned down to his phone as he finally found the timestamps of his own terminal.

"Yeah, you... Really dodged a bullet," Berri mumbled sadly, she furrowed her eyebrows in Turbo's direction and felt her heart begin to sag farther than what she'd expect, somehow she believed Turbo would bounce back faster than what he was, how squirrelly and odd he was acting in this raw instance.

"... No, wait, what?" Turbo staggered in a jolt of being brought back to the planet, he largely frowned and peered to Berri across the mess of his lovely bed, he clutched his bare chest and shook his head, "No, I-I didn't mean like... Like Thank God we didn't swap codes, I-I'm just saying, thank God, like..."

"It's okay, Bo, I understand," Berri pressed softly, she bobbed a nod, swiped her phone and materializer off of the nightstand and carefully cued said materializer's on-button.

"No, Berri, I didn't mean it like that," Turbo rushed nervously as he grappled and wrestled himself into a pair of strewn, nearby sweatpants. His clumsy, nervous footwork pressed about the bend of his bed in aim for finally getting into Berri's presence and ushering her some love, "I mean like... I-I'd SO much rather have sex with you if we're, y'know... Going to remember it."

"No, I get it, I agree," Berri assured in soft defeat, though much to Turbo's rise of terror, she slipped her phone into her materializer and brought up the heavy baton of her light cycle; Turbo could feel his pulse begin to shoot in a spike of terrified urgency.

"I was checking the terminal in case we maybe did some things we didn't remember," Turbo stated in soft, gentle worry, he continued to scroll.

"Yeah, User forbid any form of love making happened between us, no matter if we've knocked back a few drinks," Berri muttered in a climb of walled off irritation, she shook her head, looked at the clock on Turbo's nightstand across the room, and began to push out of Turbo's lovely bedroom in a worm about his still figure.

"... Berri, I'm not saying it would've been a BAD thing," Turbo now defended in a spike of frustration, he quickly began to follow her out of his bedroom, down his dim corridor and into his still, freshly tinted living quarters, splayed with the gloss of grey gloom due to an impending storm. He rushed on in an uneducated mess, the very vision and idea of Berri leaving suddenly, on such weird, rocky terms, had him beginning to panic in a spill of words he quickly didn't filter, "I just would hate to give you my coding, like that, I mean... It's been thirty years coming."

"Yeah, you're totally right," Berri snipped in now deathly delight as she firmly marched across Turbo's matte grey tiles, she didn't stop in the act of swiping up her heels, which were messily splayed at the edge of his kitchen's island, on the ground, "I would HATE to receive your coding on terms that I wasn't aware of. User forbid we, I don't know, love each other."

"Okay, I'm TRYING to explain this clearly, please stop walking away," Turbo pressed in a spike of rushing nervousness, his deep voice pressed on a little louder, a little bit more frustrated, it raised in the promises of a bellow, "Berri, stop, PLEASE stop walking away!"

"Turbo, I have to get back to Castle Run, so you're just going to have to walk and talk," Berri snipped in becoming further impatient, though Turbo huffed an annoyed breath, through all of his fumbling shortcomings, he was now strictly riding on the sheer fact that Berri was slipping out of his fingers, on such a time crunch, Turbo felt his heart race in terrified uncertainty.

"Berri, please listen to me, ALL I'm saying is that I wouldn't want to swap codes with you like that," Turbo rushed in an uneducated mess, word vomit he so desperately tried to get ahold of, and though he grasped at it all and desperately tried to continue in the chase of Berri's firm footsteps into his dark garage, he jolted in surprise as she cued his garage's holographic displays.

"I mean, I guess, this deep into it, if you had a solid time line and a GAME plan to surrendering coding and sexual acts, I wish you would've communicated it to me," Berri snipped in solid frustration and confusion, and though Turbo opened his mouth to rush to her aid, she easily teleported only herself away, via his garage's massive, single teleportation pad.

He flinched in large, terrified surprise, shook his head in the now still silence he was left in and felt the twinges of anger swarm his heart. He shook his head, quickly cued said teleportation coding and did everything he could to get his figure down to his tower's base teleportation pad without showing a shred of his angry, red glower. Even in this rile of their fighting, he promised himself he'd never ever show Berri his true, angry red gaze, it was something he concealed well. He tore from the teleportation pad, down at his tower's base, and pressed into the gloomy, grey alley way between his sky scraper and the neighboring one. Berri strut ahead, only by half a dozen feet, a gap he easily jogged and closed.

"Berri, Berri, come ON, I'm trying to solve this with you!" Turbo blurt loudly as he finally stepped next to her, though in skillful footwork, he pressed in front of her warpath and was successful in bringing her to a halt. She glowered up at him in full frustration and hurt, her beautiful blue hair had vanished into the short, brown style Turbo had picked out for her. In the strut from his teleportation pad to the middle of the lonely alley they now stood in, she had changed into her disguise in preparation to head back to Castle Run, unnoticed. Turbo heaved a shaky breath and laid a hand to his bare chest in a pleading show of nervous desperation, "I... I'm just scared, I... I woke up to a sight I wasn't anticipating, it's just all happening so fast."

"Oh, yeah, this is all SO fast, Turbo," Berri blurt in firm irritation, she gestured her arm out in a fling and shook her head, "It's been months of sexual tension, and finally, the ONE night you help me out and we finally fall onto the same page, it's just all for naught because maybe we weren't as sober as you would've preferred? You're the one that further supplied the alcohol!"

"HOW is my logic not lining up, here?" Turbo barked in now whole, unreserved frustration down to her figure, something she easily was prepared to match.

"It's not the fact that would've been fully remembered or not," Berri stated loudly just underneath full-on shouting, she urgently gestured to her chest and quickly became animated with rising anger, "It's not like that would've been the LAST time we ever did anything with each other! You ever stop to think that maybe I'm not just a one night stand, Turbo?"

"Forgive me for not wanting the past to repeat itself!" Turbo now fully shouted down to Berri's figure, she shook her head, daintily waved her hand at his figure, sidestepped him in confidence and began to continue walking with the wand of her light cycle in hand; Turbo whirled around and firmly continued to stride after her, "You think this is all just... EASY for me?"

"No, I don't, Turbo," Berri firmly muttered in now seething frustration, a huge problem that had been likely shoved under the rug for far too long, she furrowed her eyebrows in firm terror at the feel of hot tears threatening to sting her eyes.

"You think it's EASY for me to just willingly hand over coding and intimacy after the HELL I've been through?" Turbo firmly pressed to her, he quickly became riled with the idea that Berri's firm striding continued on without so much as stopping to look at him; said shred of a silent treatment had his panicked coding now ushering any shred of desperate words, no matter how hurtful, wrong or unfiltered, "You think I'd just... WILLINGLY do this all over again? Hand over my coding and then be STUCK with an un-revived swap for another thirty years?"

Turbo stabbed his nervous, crazed, terrified eye contact tight to the side of Berri's face, though after merely seconds of her continued, tight-lipped silence and firm march to the gape of his tower's back alley, he clenched his teeth and, although he gestured his hand towards her, he knew he wouldn't dare touch her in this instance, no matter how she frustrated him.

"Berri, STOP AND TALK TO ME!" Turbo shouted in sharp, angry panic, his deep, scary, bellowing voice firmly echoed through the alley way, though he flinched in unadulterated surprise the second Berri whirled her whole attention to him, halted her footwork and furiously peered up into his eyes; this caused him to cease all action, he huffed shaky pants of unmitigated uncertainty, his bare chest heaved, Berri could very easily see him begin to cave in on himself.

"I have somewhere I need to be," Berri stated in soft, Queenly dominance, her voice shook with the underlying, trembling tone of billowing anger, her eyes were cold and angry, she firmly peered into Turbo's eyes with a whole wash of something Turbo has never seen from his princess.

"Berri, please, look... I-I'm sorry, I just..." Turbo nervously staggered his words, though he flinched as Berri sharply pointed down to the ground, narrowed her gaze and took a threatening step closer to Turbo.

"Turbo, you know what I would've done if we would've had sex and swapped codes, and not remembered a second of it?" Berri hissed in seething frustration, her eyes began to billow with tears, "I-I would've skipped my HAPPY ASS into Castle Run, I would've... I would've been on cloud NINE."

Turbo sagged his shoulders and felt the grey clouds, above him, begin to angrily close in. He heavily panted through his nose and felt that raw, terrified feeling of genuine, heart broken sadness come inching into the walled off areas of his heart, the same feeling that previously nipped at his heels the second he saw Sweet Street's empty outlet, all those years ago, he urgently peered down into Berri's eyes and could feel every single inch of his being sag into a vat of curious regret as Berri's wavering voice firmly carried on through the huge threat of impending tears.

"I promised myself I wouldn't give myself to you until you've left this STUPID GAME," Berri loudly urged through the grit of her teeth, she heaved a few large, shaky breaths as tears finally spilled down her cheeks, "Last night changed EVERYTHING for me, Turbo, my initial thoughts were, yeah, hey, we drunkenly messed around and took it too far, but... GUESS WHAT. I would've had secured my BEST FRIEND'S coding!"

"Berri," Turbo staggered in a whole entire swathe of regret, he huffed a trembling exhale and desperately looked about her face, her collar bones, the ground, he long-blinked in horror at the raw, cold emotion becoming him, he firmly swallowed and tried to keep it all together, though he could see the bridge of his nose brimming the tender kiss of a promised, lonely blue glow.

"Sure, we wouldn't have remembered," Berri tearfully agreed, she long-blinked a spill of tears down her cheeks, grimaced a small cry and firmly peered up into Turbo's gaze, though she faltered at the raw sight before her. His dim eyes began to show a confident, powerful glow of a darker blue, a true cloak of genuine sorrow sapped his whole entire soul, a strange and rare sight she had never seen before, Berri staggered to continue. In the dark sag of whole entire dread that draped them, she looked about Turbo's face and shakily whispered him a further notion, "But... We would've come back for seconds, thirds, fourths... I-It still would've been... Beautiful."

Turbo panted through his nose and knew he was now too far gone to reverse this stuffed-deep emotion, his eyes firmly billowed with hot tears, his blue eyes glossed her skin with the familiar color that typically splayed her gorgeous hair, he shook his head and felt as if he had hope to keep her in his grasp, if for just a few more moments.

"Berri, I'm really... Sorry," Turbo staggered in a whimper, he grimaced a small noise and cleared his throat as tears successfully spilled his cheeks.

"Turbo, you have GOT to put your past behind you," Berri hissed in teary dread, she narrowed her gaze and gave him a pleading frown, "I w-would... Give up ANYTHING to see you in that front row, to see you even just in Game Central Station! Turbo I would give ANYTHING! I'll give you my coding RIGHT NOW! I'll do ANYTHING because you mean THAT much to me, Turbo!"

"Berri, I'll... I'll do it, I PROMISE," Turbo staggered deeply through his tears, a wave of exhaustion finally cloaked him, his glossy, beautiful blue eyes firmly hooked to hers in a show of last-hour desperation; Berri slowly shook her head and took a small step back, towards the gaping entrance of the alley they were close to being upon.

"That doesn't mean anything to me, anymore," Berri concluded, the depths of her soul felt the kick of entire sorrow and regret having to step away from Turbo's terrified, lonely figure, "If you'll do it then DO it. Sugar Rush, and EVERYONE in it, has sacrificed something for you at ONE point or another..."

"I-I'm... TRYING," Turbo pleaded as he clenched his teeth and hesitated to take a step closer to her, to fill the gap she was now adamant in creating. He inhaled a trembling breath as his voice grew nasally, something entirely foreign to Berri. Tears spilled his cheeks as his glassy, glowing blue eyes hovered into her soul in pure, sorrowful promise that he would never again be okay, "I-I KNOW I've come a long way, I know it's... Coming."

"Turbo, we've done a great deal of this legwork together," Berri sniffled, she wiped her jaw and shook her head, "You have to be the one to close this gap, it's... Entirely out of my hands, here. Now I'm GLAD no coding was swapped, or anything, because even STILL you wouldn't leave! Even WITH the incredible amount of evidence that you'd be JUST fine outside of Sugar Rush, you STILL won't. It's clear in your actions."

"I KNOW I would, I know," Turbo pleaded with a nod, he grit his teeth, looked about, felt the bottom dregs of desperation urgently plead him to keep trying to keep her from leaving, though with her second step backwards, he was well aware he had lost this battle. He huffed a shaky breath, narrowed his gaze and gave Berri a solemn, defeated look of the purest form of sorrow, "Please... Please, wait."

"... I'm done waiting, Bo," Berri crumpled as she looked down, hot tears streamed her cold cheeks as a gentle rumble of thunder clapped the sky, from far off. She softly shook her head and gave Turbo one last peer of dreaded, remorseful eye contact, "I'm done..."

Turbo held his breath and froze, his heart squeezed to one last beat of crinkling despair, and although Berri hovered for a second and gave him a nervous, promised look of maybe one day revisiting all of this mess, she slowly turned to adhere to the responsibilities she knew she absolutely could not abandon any longer. She finally turned heel in a slow turn of finalization, unwound the baton of her light cycle, skillfully hopped aboard and quietly eased out of the gape of the alley way, slipping out of Turbo's sight in the draw of her engine's cough of a hot puff of fogged air. Turbo froze and didn't dare take a breath. Such a raw, familiar feeling he had been previously kissed with, all that time ago, though in this instance, he felt the pain roll over him tenfold. Certain that the other side of this coin would be so much easier to endure, now having seen both aspects of this vicious heartbreak, he was very firmly assured that this shred of sorrow was eternally far worse. Unlike last time, Berri's vanished figure didn't leave him with a warm hug of her coding for him to forever hold, but instead left him empty without even a single pixel of her soul, a true, cold, lonely amount of sorrow he was uncertain was even real. Left alone and grey on the ground, the only ounce of blue he had left with him was the glow that splayed his cheeks, a haunting revisit of sadness he had endured all those years ago, a veil of despair that drove him to unspeakably dark places.

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 **A/N :** I made a colored sketch of this last scene, where Turbo's eyes go blue. It's on my Instagram username Vyntastic


	169. Chapter 169

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** Yeahhhh Turbo falls into a big dummy dumb hole for like 10 chapters. o_o

 **Snake557 :** Nah, Berri explained how she was truly feeling. And, yeah, they both messed up here for sure lol

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 **A/N :**

 **Hey guys, I hope everyone is staying safe and enjoying the story, so far! I am... SO floored to say that I am a whopping TWENTY chapters ahead of you guys. The last time I was this far ahead was when I was writing Wrecking Limits, which was nearly 7 years ago. I've written EXTREMELY important scenes, scenes that I hold very near and dear to my heart. Scenes I've only been dreaming and planning for, for the past 2 years now, so I'm very very excited to keep on. I hope you guys are excited, cause even though I'm 20 chapters ahead of you, I'm only half way done with this story. Wild.**

 **Stay tuned guys! I hope everyone is doing well, staying home and staying safe! All the more FF to read :)**

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Not Okay by Kygo & Chelsea Cutler**

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 ***Chapter 169***

In the gentle peel of Berri's temporary bedroom door, Wren narrowed his gaze in anticipatory nervousness and peered into Berri's little abode, as if to expect her to be here and potentially be indecent. Upon seeing a bare, stiff, unused room, Wren straightened his stance, pushed the door open a little harder and hurried to furrow his eyebrows. Bed still immaculately made, bag open and still holding on to clothes that Berri would've typically shoved into drawers by now, Wren felt his heart drop in gentle concern. He raised his eyebrows in soft suspense, eyed her bathroom from across the way and now began to hurry to make his way over. Seeing the door shut and the light on, Wren held his breath and gingerly approached the door with silent footwork, and with a gentle few knocks, he tried to swallow the rise of terrified feelings coursing within him.

"Babe? It's me," Wren warmly and apprehensively pressed, he titled his head to see if he could hear anything on the other side, though nothing. He knocked a little harder, grappled the door handle and jostled the locked door, "Berri, are you in there?"

Wren kept his hand grappled to the bathroom's round handle. Although he typically didn't enjoy having to walk in on Berri in the bathroom, he was well aware this was for her safety. With Theo and Throttle out of their suite and scouring the entirety of Castle Run's palace, Wren knew if he were to barge in on her in an indecent time, it would at least be him and no one else. Having not responded to any amount of texts or calls, Wren quickly utilized his powers to unlock the gears and metal inside the door handle, and with a firm thrust into Berri's lit-up bathroom, he sharply peered about and felt his heart sink at the raw sight of her empty bathroom. He heaved a trembling breath of now full fear and quickly came to the heart-stopping realization that she could've very easily been deleted, and no one would even have known. In a mumbling whimper of unmitigated terror, he urgently dug into his jean's pockets, yanked his phone out of his pants and began to urgently rush out of the bathroom, though in the glass-shattering pang of a sudden pop of electricity, Wren whirled around in a fit of terror and covered his head in a yelp of surprise.

Like a blinding light, a bang of silver lightning that suddenly bolted out of the nearby outlet and across the glossy bathroom, Wren inhaled a sharp breath and felt his and Throttle's fresh, intense coding suddenly bubble to a boil of energy. In a swift movement, the fast throw around of it all, said bolt of lightning chaotically crashed right into Berri's larger shower area, sending the thin veil of a shower curtain and its sturdy rod to come crashing into the large tub. In the catch of chaos, Wren outstretched his hands into a strict motion of pure grip and allowed his sudden rile of coding to firmly latch on to whatever, or whoever, had now crashed hard into the larger bathtub, all drape with the shower curtain. With the spew of nearby bath sundries and everything in between, Wren heavily panted as his eyes collected just what the heck his coding was holding on to. Although it took him a second to understand it al, he finally realized that this brown, short haired woman was Berri, her terrified, discombobulated eyes urgently peered up to Wren's in a hot mess of panting surprise.

"BERRI!" Wren shouted deeply in unadulterated surprise as he released her from his coding, she immediately began to clumsily stand and ease out of the mess she had made in the bathtub; she stumbled with the wobble of her tall heels, though she finally steadied herself and flung her bewildered attention straight for Wren's, which was easily bewildered as well. Wren huffed a terrified, trembling breath and did everything to assess Berri, here, in this raw moment, "Wh-what the HELL HAPPENED?!"

Berri heavily panted through rasps of noises just above a whimper, though in the rapid motion of cueing her silver coding to slam and lock the bathroom door, to seal them in, she immediately mocked Tessa's well-learned, seasoned skill and draped a bubble of secrecy over her and Wren, so that their conversing would be silent to anyone outside of said bubble. Berri jolted in whole surprise the second Wren firmly grappled her upper arms and jostled her.

"Where the HELL were you?!" Wren bellowed, their bubble contained his fervor and he knew it, and though he could see Berri's sunken, glassy eyes and deflated demeanor, he continued on in a riled press of adrenaline, "We were worried sick! I-I thought you were deleted!"

"I-I know, Wren, I KNOW I shouldn't have left," Berri firmly rushed with a hard choke of still panting surprise, she peered her desperate gaze tight into Wren's and shook her head, "I-I meant to come back SO much sooner."

"Where did you go? Berri you chopped all your hair off and dyed it before our tour?" Wren screeched in continued terror, he kept Berri's upper arms tight in his grip, "It looks AMAZING but it's still probably the stupidest thing you could've done!"

"It's a disguise, it's a disguise," Berri scrunched her eyes shut and rushed to ease Wren's spike of worry, she firmly pulled her materializer, as well as the disguise talisman, out of her pocket and firmly pressed the off-button for said disguise device. Her coding flickered a bit before the spill of her lovely, incredible blue hair rolled down her shoulders in returned normality, "Turbo made it for me, so I could... S-so I could...!"

"... Go unrecognized?" Wren staggered, he shook his head and long-blinked in surprise that was finally collecting, "Berri, where did you go? Theo and Throttle are scouring the whole castle, right now."

"I went to Sugar Rush, I had to escape, I just had to," Berri begged softly, she lulled her eyes closed, sagged her shoulders and eased into Wren's still confident grip, "I would've been back without anyone knowing if I hadn't have..."

"... Hadn't have WHAT?" Wren hissed nervously, though Berri heaved a trembling sigh and looked down in anguish Wren cued to.

"... Ran into Turbo," Berri whimpered as tears billowed in her eyes, and although Wren would typically now crown the widest, scheming smile, he halted all notions and eagerly took note of her raw sorrow. He remained silent, knowing full well that she had far more to get off her chest, "I went to an... Open mic night where I could sing and play songs without being shushed or... Reprimanded."

"Did anyone recognize you?" Wren wondered in hovering terror, his blue eyes hooked tight to her further crumpling demeanor, though he kept his hands gripped tight to Berri's upper arms, even still.

"Just Turbo," Berri whimpered in a grimace as a few tears slid down her cheeks, she angrily rubbed her jaw, shook her head and furrowed her eyebrows in sharp, rising frustration, "We spend a BEAUTIFUL night together and then he just... Has the balls to..."

Wren cocked a firm, sharp eyebrow, eyed Berri in gaping, side-eyeing, hovering listening as Berri heaved a long, raspy sigh, though she faltered to continue on, leaving Wren to urgently fill the gap.

"Do NOT tell me I have to beat Turbo's ass," Wren sharply insinuated as he firmly shook his head, "Cause I WILL lose. I'll beat him up but I won't come out of the scuffle alive, Bear, you just... Say the word and we can say our loving goodbyes."

"No, no, you don't..." Berri grimaced a tight look of frustrated anguish before finally covering her face and firmly wiping away tears, "No, he didn't hurt me, he just... Said some stupid shit and I just am so confused, Wren, I'm so confused..."

"... Did you guys," Wren lightly tilted his head and shrugged in such a way to insinuate the question he wanted to verbally ask, though Berri sighed and glossed her red, teary gaze to Wren's cute, proper collar, all kissed with a bright yellow bow tie, he was groomed and ready for setup and rehearsals at their first venue.

"No, I mean... We fooled around," Berri mumbled, something she was certain her and Wren would cutely unload about in a show of pillow talk and girly exchanges, though her exhausted demeanor couldn't bring herself to feel happiness, "I don't think we had sex, but, there was quite a bit of alcohol."

"Did Turbo check your terminals?" Wren quietly prod, he knew to take this seriously and gushing about any experiences right now probably wasn't wise.

"No, I didn't give him the time," Berri whimpered in a crumpling mess, once more, though she desperately tried to hold her composure, "I woke up naked in his bed, and... I-I guess we both sort of forgot the majority of the night and, instead of taking things slow and maybe relishing in the moment, he FREAKED out and started saying all this stuff about how he was thankful we didn't swap, or anything like that, that he hoped to User we didn't have sex."

"Aye," Wren hissed as he grimaced her a look of mild regret, Berri looked off in aimless defeat.

"And then I exploded because... I came off my high horse and was GENUINELY willing to code swap with him, no matter what," Berri begged as tears streamed her cheeks, "Even the fact that he hasn't left Sugar Rush, I was just going to put it all behind me and LOVE him, I just... Was SO willing, last night changed everything."

"Wow, you didn't even have sex and you still feel that strongly," Wren mumbled cutely, to which Berri looked down and furrowed her eyebrows in further anguish.

"I don't even know what we did or didn't," Berri shrugged, she shook her head and lulled her eyes closed, "I don't have to tell you all this TMI, I'm really sorry."

"It's not TMI, Bear, I love you and I'm here to support you," Wren's deep voice lovingly pressed, he narrowed his gaze in serious concern and sweetly tucked her beautiful hair behind her ear, he wiped away a tear in the process and gave her a sweet, cheeky look, "Besides. I'm the only girl here you can gush to, about that kind of thing."

"Thank you," Berri just barely huffed a chuckle at his silly words, though she sagged once more and looked down to their feet as they both softened their stances, "He made me feel really good, and then... I think I passed out because of it."

"Damn," Wren cocked an eyebrow and peered down to Berri in cute shock, "THAT good, huh?"

"Wren, it was otherworldly," Berri muttered, she desperately wanted to smile and go goo-goo eyed all over it, though she stiffened and wiped her tears in raw nervousness, "He was just upset over the fact if... We DID have sex, he would've felt terrible about it because we wouldn't have remembered it."

"I mean, fair, but... It's not like you're a one and done," Wren nodded softly, Berri gestured to herself and shook her head.

"I said the same thing," Berri whimpered, "I was willing to break my own rules for him, I just... I'm so in love with him, I'm CRAZY for the guy, I'd do... Anything..."

Berri covered her face and began to softly weep, the events of everything the night and morning entailed quickly came rushing back to her in a swathe of an avalanche, and with the tremble of her little, bare shoulders, Wren inhaled a deep, nervous breath and did everything to scoop Berri into a tight embrace. She urgently wrapped her arms about his upper chest and back, she buried her face into the broad of his left shoulder and quietly cried into Wren's lovely smelling collared shirt. Wren largely frowned and, as warmly and lovingly as he could, he held the back of Berri's head and squeezed her tighter to him. In a weird predicament where neither party was blatantly right or wrong, he held his breath and now felt as if he was between a rock and a hard place. As Berri's family and Turbo's right hand man, he rolled his eyes at himself and silently wondered why he had to put himself into this pickle, now right in the thick of it with two people he cared about most.

"Babe, you both maybe just need some space to think, us guys don't... Really use the entirety of our brains, sometimes, especially in a situation like THAT," Wren mumbled cutely, he shrugged and kept Berri tight to his broad chest, "I'm sure Turbo was shocked to see you naked in his bed, his sobered mind was probably like... 'What the heck?'."

"He seemed apologetic for the things he said, I just... Left, I was so frustrated," Berri murmured quietly, she gripped Wren tight, "I just... Left him, Wren, I feel AWFUL."

"It's okay, babe, just relax," Wren mumbled warmly, he began to gently pet the back of Berri's head, "The way I see it, is... Turbo is taking all of this really hard. Maybe he had a plan for just how things WOULD go upon seeing you naked, or... Sex, for the first time. It's really important, to some people, and Turbo's really been through hell and back. Maybe he's now wondering if he messed things up."

"He didn't, but he did this morning with his cold words," Berri huffed quietly, the two finally pulled away from each other in a slow peel of tenderness, though Wren kept his hands warmly glued to Berri's upper arms; he just barely bent down and tilted his head, to gain tight eye contact with her.

"He clearly didn't have time to process any of this, neither of you did," Wren nodded, "Maybe just... Shoot him a message later, let him know that you still care. Don't you?"

"Course I do," Berri hissed in defeat, she lulled her eyes closed and clumsily wiped her cheeks, "I want him to come see our shows... SO badly."

"Maybe this will be the kick in the butt he needs?" Wren shrugged with a hopeful twinge in his voice, he peered to Berri in warm softness and gave her an easy, though apprehensive smile, "Carry on, Bear... Finish our shows with your head high. When we go back home in two weeks, you can reconvene with Turbo. Who knows. Maybe in said reconvening, you guys will throw down."

"Wren," Berri mumbled, though it was definitely clear she was hiding a smile, "Really who knows if we haven't yet, already."

"Well, I'd text Turbo NOW and get a definitive answer," Wren instructed tenderly, he gestured to Berri in softness and bobbed a nod, "Then you guys can go from there, but you deserve to know what went down last night. I know, full well, if anything happened, it all would've been consensual."

"I don't have a doubt," Berri mumbled as she began to unfurl her phone from the materializer, "It's not anything I'd be worried about... YEAH, I'd like to be coherent and remember our first time, too, but... It still would've been awesome."

"Turbo's been down this road before, though, you have to see where he's coming from, here," Wren so delicately defended, he was at least glad Berri was warmly being receptive, whether out of restraint or defeat, he was glad he had her attention either way, "The last time he handed over coding, or did ANYTHING in that vein, it... Didn't end well, at all. I'm positive this time around, he wants to make sure everything is absolutely perfect."

Berri sagged her shoulders, further defeated, she peered down to the ground in mild guilt and still felt the swirling, conflicting feelings of sadness course through her. Wren smiled a little, tucked his finger under her chin and warmly gained eye contact with her.

"Because you're absolutely worth it, and... I think, in some WEIRD guy way, he was trying to make that clear," Wren pressed softly, to which Berri nodded and heaved a clarified breath. Wren gestured down to her phone, it was unlocked and confidently hovered in her right hand, "Go ahead and text Turbo, get a little bit of clarity... Exchange a few loving words, I don't know."

"Wren, I... I told him I was done," Berri muttered nervously, to which Wren froze and gave her a wary, deflated frown.

"... D-Done, as in..." Wren gestured his hand, Berri grimaced and inhaled a shaky breath.

"Done, I'm done waiting, like this," Berri whimpered, to which Wren shook his head and felt his sorrowful frown broaden.

"Berri, you're in LOVE with this guy," Wren pressed in nervous adamance, he shook his head and felt anguish plague him, "I KNOW you don't mean that, do you? Seriously? You're going to go BACK to Sugar Rush, after tour, and not patch this all up with him?"

"I just don't know, I mean, I WANT to, I just," Berri staggered sadly and looked about in exhausted confusion, "I'm so... Confused, right now, I don't know what to do."

"Just... Message Turbo for the terminal results," Wren sighed shakily, "Go from there... But Bear, don't... Table something you two have been fighting for, for months now. You'd be doing you and Turbo a massive disservice, you've come SO far... Please..."

"I know, Wren, I know," Berri mumbled with a nod, "Maybe I... Was a little harsh..."

"Just... Message Turbo," Wren warmly instructed in a swathe of nervous confusion, he bobbed a nod and began to softly step away from Berri's figure, "I'm going to go fetch everyone and tell them you're back."

"Wren, you're not going to-"

"I WON'T tell them where you've been or what happened, I promise," Wren's deep voice lovingly, yet sternly, concluded as he gave Berri a weak, though authoritative smile, "I'll make something up, just... Please get in touch with Turbo, for both of your guys' sanities."

Berri heaved a trembling breath and nodded, though as she watched Wren quickly hustle out of her bathroom, she stood poised and bare in her feelings. She unlocked her phone, cautiously thumbed to her's and Turbo's messages, and though she was entirely certain she'd see messages or missed calls from him, there was nothing. Her frown broadened, though as she hesitantly and carefully constructed him a wavering message of uncertainty, she shut her eyes tight and hit the send button in whole entire anxiety. Waiting for a reply, from here on out, she was well aware would be torture. The rile of mistakes and the massive amount of word vomit, from the both of them, was enough to make Berri sink into a vat of guilt for the rest of the year. She sagged in Wren's wise words, and although she was well aware answers and hind-sight would clear the air, she wallowed in the fog of confusion. Just as she was about to put her phone away and at least attempt to get ready for her show tonight, her phone diligently began to buzz in long strings of confidence, the vibration of an incoming phone call; she could feel her heart pound at the raw sight of Turbo's name plastered tightly across the caller ID, the motion of answering his urgent phone call felt as if she was connected to strings that kept her moving forward in raw hesitancy. Absolutely not ready to receive answers, she lulled her eyes closed in a weak breath of impending panic and raised the phone to her ear, all along in her little silver bubble of continued secrecy.


	170. Chapter 170

**Reviews :**

 **Xaehttium :** Hey, long time no see. How are you doing? I'm sorry that chapter made you mad. Thank you for your input, tho, much appreciated!

 **faolan1230 :** Oh, no, I said I was TWENTY chapters ahead of you guys :) So that, times two lol!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Thank You by Lena**

* * *

 ***Chapter 170***

"Turbo," Berri's gentle voice pressed in a soft lilt of nervousness.

"Nothing happened between us, I put you to bed with your clothes on and joined you, with my OWN clothes on," Turbo suddenly rushed, his voice was clogged, nasally and defeated. He inhaled a raspy breath and urgently continued on, "I'm assuming we both kicked our clothes off in the middle of the night. It's how we both sleep, anyways. Do you remember what happened in the pool? Cause a LOT happened there, and I'll be happy to remind you."

"... Turbo, I remember what happened in the pool," Berri urged in quiet terror, she shook her head and largely frowned at just how nervous, defensive and abrasive Turbo was being, she rushed to press on, "How come you're acting so defensive? I remember everything up until I passed out, and, I don't know about you, but it was freaking amazing. I'm trying to ride off of that feeling, alone. I didn't care if anything else happened the rest of the night cause I'm sure I enjoyed the hell out of it, considering."

"Well, it's not anything we have to worry on, anymore," Turbo pressed darkly, he inhaled a shaky breath and firmly pressed on, "I was happy to help you out, last night. I'm sorry it all had to end like this."

"Bo, it's... Fine, I just think we need to take a step back and assess what this is REALLY about," Berri rushed, she could tell Turbo was now on a slippery slope to full-on spiraling.

"I know what this is really about, this is about me not leaving the game," Turbo's voice firmly rattled the world, he now sounded angry, though Berri could tell this was now something he was entirely directing at himself, "This is why I preferred to be left alone. This is WHY I didn't invite anyone in. This is why I requested the loneliest room in Orion City's highest tower, because I EVENTUALLY screw EVERYTHING up!"

"Then I'm sorry I ever came knocking on your door," Berri rebutted, she knew they were now fighting fire with fire, a misunderstanding spiraled so far out of control, she shut her eyes tight and grit her teeth in the continuation of delivered damage, "I'm sorry I ever tried to be apart of your life, I'm sorry I ever thought this stood a chance. I love you with all of my heart, and was willing to set aside expectations JUST to get a taste of your soul, Turbo, but if you REALLY want that lonely room in Orion City's highest tower, then, by ALL means. Help yourself."

"Berri, I didn't want this," Turbo sharply pressed, "I wished this unfolded so differently."

"Maybe it WOULD have if you didn't freak out like you did," Berri rushed, "Turbo, look, I'm... Sorry for maybe being a little too harsh and leaving so suddenly, just... Surely you see where I'm coming from? At least a little?"

"I do, I could've acted normal and made you feel good and not jumped to conclusions," Turbo staggered in the act of desperately continuing to stifle tears, "I didn't have a chance to begin repairing mine and Libby's relationship before she was just gone, I really.. Thought I had this all in the bag, I could conquer this time around like a pro. It's all I've been dwelling on for YEARS..."

"Turbo, the difference here is I'm still HERE, I'm still alive," Berri sharply gestured to her chest and felt as if she was going crazy, "You're running in circles, here, this isn't something we can't eventually solve and get to the bottom of. Weren't you GLAD that nothing happened between us, then? It's not something you have to be so sore over, anymore!"

I just... Need to be alone," Turbo huffed nervously, "I just have no clue how to navigate any of this. I thought I'd be ready for a relationship and everything it entails, but I guess I jumped in way too soon."

"I'm sorry your chances weren't worth me," Berri mumbled in a furrowed look of crumpling sorrow, though she could tell this pierced Turbo's heart in definitive realization with the way he fell speechless, "You're on the whitelist for Archived Chaos' back stage... If you ever feel up to coming to one of our final five shows, if you finally feel as though you have the courage to not ALLOW history to repeat itself, you know where to find me."

"Yes, ma'am," Turbo's deep voice defeatedly pressed with a sniffle, and though Berri wondered, for a split second, if he could maybe have more to say, she sharply removed the phone from her ear and ended their call.

With the sag of the universe now draped over the pair like a strained, jagged vine of thorns, the game continued to press on in powered sunrises and sunsets. With the fortune of being able to have solid distractions, such as shows and the wonderful company to constantly be surrounded by, Berri felt her heart begin to harden and feel sharp, nervous worry towards her lonely, grey TurboTime guy. With each show, meet and greet, photo op, she wondered just what exactly he could be doing. Every single time she went to reach for her phone and possibly just assure him that she still loved him, she hesitated, recalling his thorny request to be left alone. Although she put on a face and did very well to phase the group about her, she knew, full well, that Wren, Throttle and Theo could see through her tiring facade. Everything behind that sunny, adorable, blue haired mask of a grin was surely the shell of a broken soul, she was sure it was noticeable in time where her lost blue eyes would dully look off in thoughts of revisited despair. The heartbreak she endured was surely easier to go through than it would be all alone, she felt guilt plague her with the raw fact that poor Turbo was cooped up in his loft, likely overthinking every single little tiny word he ever spoke into existence.

Trying desperately not to feel too guilty about it all, all whilst respecting the space Turbo made very clear that he needed, Berri sat in her bathroom, with the door opened, and could hear Wren, Theo, Throttle, Gunner and Bedgy excitedly begin to loosely plan a night out on the town, the night before their last show inside of Castle Run. Berri knew everyone around her was just continuing on with their lives, an easy move forward just to get through the rest of this tour, though she lulled her eyes closed and sat down at the lovely, low stool in her bathroom, she felt as if her insides were about to start eating themselves due to just how little of an appetite she had. Sagged, sorry and miserable, her sunken, dreary eyes caught her reflection, something she held lazily to and almost darkly relished in the sheer fact that she hardly even looked like herself any longer. She always heard that heart break was a terrible feeling, though as her and Turbo sunk deeper into it, she wondered just how much deeper it had to go. She tried to inhale a breath, her rib cage seemingly croaked due to the effort, though as she could hear Gunner's playful, excited voice nearing, she urgently stiffened her spine and continued to nonchalantly brush her hair, she looked off and was counting the seconds she could skulk into her own bedroom and not have to force a robotic act in front of anyone.

"Babe! We're gunna head to the local pub, here," Gunner started happily, he eased his eyes into Berri's bathroom and caught with her lit up gaze, it falsely twinkled underneath her beautiful chandelier, in her bathroom, "Y'getting ready to go, yeah? You up for it?"

"Oh, no, you... You guys go have fun," Berri firmly assured with a sleepy smile, she cutely shrugged and continued to brush her lovely blue hair, "It's our last night here, and... I'm absolutely pooped, I would just be yawning the entire time."

"You feeling okay?" Gunner wondered tenderly, the choice to quietly stuff their differences and desperately remain civil was genuinely working out, something Berri was eternally grateful for, though she almost stiffened with the loving way Gunner pressed his gaze into hers. Now having a shred of a taste of Turbo's love, every single loft of Gunner's romantic, loving eyes had her tensing in a wild, inner battle of frustration. How badly she wanted to be scooped up into loving arms, like prior, the open familiarity of Gunner being present made her feel the terrible urge to rebound and dive right back into Gunner's love. She did absolutely everything she could to urgently resist his non-verbal advances, she was certain he could sense that something wasn't quite right in her little blue world. She walled, a convincing mask of pure bliss, she cutely smiled to him as he warmly carried on, "You're usually so ready to jump up and head somewhere."

"I know, I know, but... I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, I think I'm just going to hit the hay," Berri's lovely, soothing voice assured, she bobbed Gunner a small smile and nodded, "You guys don't hold back, you GO and have fun. I'll be here, snoozing."

"Okay, if you're sure," Gunner sweetly eased, he furrowed his brow and gave her a concerned, prolonged look of hesitation, though much to Berri's whole relief, he tossed her a gentle wave and slipped out of her bathroom, and ultimately her bedroom.

Berri finally exhaled and slumped, she eased the brush to her lap and aimlessly looked down at the tiles of her bathroom. She narrowed her gaze and felt her insides beg her to do something productive with all of this sorrow, she squinted and knew full well she wouldn't even be able to sleep tonight. A toss and turn of desperately fighting the urge to call Turbo and overflow him with assurance, she held her breath and dared to let her brain revisit the lovely memories of playing inside Orion City, under disguise. The feel of belting into a microphone and calling the shots, she bit her lip in whole contemplation and felt her heart begin to thud with purpose. Although the group in the living room of their suite was noisy and excited, it all ceased with the gentle clap of their larger front door. With said cease of noise, Berri jolted to a stand, grappled her larger makeup bag, on her counter, and effortlessly dug through it. Deep in a hulled away pocket, she nervously unveiled the disguise talisman Turbo had crafted, just for her. She bit her lip and knew her night started right now, with the crew gone, she was well aware that the countdown to another taste of freedom was now slowly ticking away, and any moment of apprehensive weighings of pros and cons would only rob her of more time.

Desperate to get her mind off of everything all whilst staying away from her core group of band members, she slapped on her disguise, did her make up, dolled up as quick as she could and effortlessly left the game with no trace or evidence that she was gone. A risky ploy, she confidently took the very first train she could grab clear across Arcade's creation. Desperate to continue to be way out of Turbo's way, she hugely resisted the urge to go back to Orion City. Knowing full well he wouldn't be inside the city, in this trying time, the train she was on rocketed past Game Central Station before she could cave in to temptation and hopelessly do everything she could to randomly bump into Turbo. En route to EZ Living's lonely outlet, she knew she had to go somewhere that was safe and familiar, somewhere she knew Turbo would never be, somewhere she was well aware she absolutely would not bump into anyone she knew.

Feeling invigorated by EZ Living's excitable night life, this Friday night was full of loud music, great smelling food, a cram packed board walk and pier that Berri so nonchalantly traversed. She adored the feeling of slow strolling about a crowd and not being bombarded. She crowed the easiest smile, she took this chance to really look people in the eyes and relish in the notion of them simply peering back and looking off in unassuming manners. Helpless to her own demise, she was eager to find yet another open mic where she could sing her heart out, play by her own rules, somehow the sheer fact that she had just come out of a massive, expensive, incredibly beautiful stage performance to literally tens of thousands of screaming fans didn't hold a candle to her own little sessions to a crowd of maybe fifty, drunken, loud and unsuspecting party-goers. She promised herself the latter was far for exciting, to see the look in people's eyes once she let loose her voice, something she's felt nervous about stifling for too long. Pent up energy finally being unleashed, once and for all, Berri very quickly turned this wonderful, clear, breezy beach side night into a bounce of bar hopping for open mics and stages that would squeeze her in to their listings.

With a skip in her step, her sorrows finally a bit more muted, she inhaled a deep breath and lulled her eyes closed amidst the moonlight, the sound of a bustling, excited pier, the smell of amazing food and the tinkering of music coming out of nearly every establishment she passed. Her heels clacked on the stone of concrete she proudly strut down, Berri was well aware that she had to take care of herself, in this trying time. Although desperate to reach out to Turbo to see if he, too, was taking good care of himself, she resisted, desperate to keep these temptations under control. How easy it was to coddle such a fragile, shy soul, she shook her head and knew they both needed to bite the bullet. They both needed to pick themselves up by their boot straps and get on with life, whether that included each other, right now, or not. With her head held high, she continued to strut on, though she sharply furrowed her eyebrows the second she heard a gentle, raspy, girly voice call after her.

"Ma'am?" She called, Berri furrowed her eyebrows and remained unwavering, wondering if maybe said call was for another woman about her, though the voice persisted, "Ma'am? You, uh... Forgot this."

Berri nervously turned about and felt her heart sink with the worry of just exactly what she could've left behind. Amidst the darker board walk, only illuminated by the moon and nearby bustling shops, restaurants and other establishments, Berri peered to the shorter figure approaching her. A woman in a dark maroon hoodie with the hood up, she wore torn jeans and was careful to give direct eye contact. With a great amount of hesitancy, Berri was absolutely shocked to see this woman slowly hand over Berri's phone. Berri raised her eyebrows in whole surprise and finally peered into this woman's eyes, she couldn't see her face all too well, though the twinkle of guilt held true in this stranger's eyes.

"Oh, wow, I... Could've SWORN this was in my pocket," Berri staggered in a rise of nervousness, she pat her coat's pocket in apprehension and took note that her phone wasn't there. In the twinge of continued concern, she gently reached out her hand and cautiously received her phone from this stranger.

"It was," The woman nervously muttered, she looked down, tucked her hands into her pockets and finally gave Berri a bit more confident eye contact, "I-I... I don't have the heart to steal from someone I really admire."

Berri furrowed her brow in a sharp pang of fight or flight. Her coding begged her to escape this now-known pick-pocketer, though her brain urgently halted said roll of coding and firmly reminded her that this stranger potentially knew of Berri's true identity. Berri held her breath, side-eyed this person in warm suspicion and felt her hands begin to shake in the roll of being discovered.

"I... I saw your lock screen, a picture of you and Turbo," Her voice was gentle and raspy, a womanly show of cute, almost nervous delight, Berri was sure this woman couldn't be much different from herself. She shrugged her shoulders and peered into Berri's eyes with sweet, nervous delight, "Berri, can I please have your autograph?"

"... A-Am I really that obvious?" Berri staggered with a nervous smile, she now began to almost look about in terror, surely praying their conversation was quiet enough so no one else heard, though Berri made the sharp decision to get out of the full view of the general public. She so gently grabbed this woman's arm and began to lead her towards a quieter area of the board walk, closer to the base of the lovely splay of EZ Living palm trees. Berri tucked her short brown hair behind her ears and peered down to this person, the moonlight lit their area little bit brighter due to the passing of a cloud, "I-I'll... I'll give you my autograph if you just... Please, I'm begging you, PLEASE keep this to yourself."

"Yeah, cause I could easily go to the press with this," The woman staggered a cute giggle, shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, "Gunner would lose his shit and Bedgy would have to do damage control."

Berri long-blinked in a rise of whole entire confusion, and though she opened her mouth to tenderly carry on, she felt as if she was having an out-of-body experience, "H-How do you know who Bedgy is?"

"You and I are not that different, love," She mumbled in cheeky goodness, though much to Berri's whole entire surprise, she gently took down her hood and revealed her face and hair, entirely.

Berri raised her eyebrows in whole shock, covered her mouth and took a wary step away. She suddenly felt a roll of a feeling she had not felt in a very long while, something that came rushing back to her in a cute spark of what it truly felt like to be a child, again. The star struck sting of smiling, trembling glee, she peered to one of her hugest idols in unmitigated bewilderment.

"Sama," Berri huffed in a silent whisper as Sama urgently put her hood back on.

"Yeah, and only ONE of us is out here with a disguise," Sama whispered sharply, she shook her head and peered to Berri in soft, smiling urgency, "I'm glad I bumped into you. I've been trying to figure out just how I can possibly get a SHRED of your time. Can we... Please go somewhere to talk?"

"Sure," Berri nodded with now determined certainty, though she felt her stomach tightly clench with the idea of the idea that she'd now have to go to one of the only safe spots, between here and Castle Run, to actually sit and talk; Sugar Rush.


	171. Chapter 171

**Reviews :**

 **HairyBeary :** Hey! So glad to hear from you again - thank you for keeping up with me in Insta. That really means a lot to me :) I know, I feel really bad for Turbo too. They're my own characters and I, too, want to shake them xD But, if you guys know me from my past, all's well that ends well. The issue is just getting there haha. And, yes! I'm so excited for you guys to get to know Sama a little more. Her species actually plays a very important role in my NEXT story, so it's been fun delving into that a little bit. Keep your eyes peeled for the chapters that are centered around her; they contain nuggest of information important to the 5th story! Thanks for reviewing, friend. It's SUPER appreciated.

 **faloan1230 :**

OH, yeah my brain is in a million places. But yes, Turbo definitely falls into a blue void for 10 million years lmao. Poor dude. And yes! I'm glad everyone is excited for Sama's presence. She's pretty cool.

 **Nikki Firesong :** Poor Turbo has endured two decades of that, so he's a pro. Sinking back into that was totally natural for him, but you are right, there DOES come a breaking point :) As for Gunner, yeah he never learns, and he never stops. Well... I mean he does but it's not on his own accord lol.

 **Snake557 :** YAY I'm glad you're excited :D She's a gem, for sure.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **A Keepsake from the Past by Gareth Coker**

* * *

 ***Chapter 171***

In the same vein of easily prepared to geek out over the other's celebrity status, whether old or new, both women softly and slowly stepped into Berri's lovely tower's common room. With ease, she flicked on a few lights, and though before she could sag her shoulders and express entire relief over the fact that she could temporarily visit her home, she furrowed her eyebrows in soft confusion as Sama hesitantly froze and peered about in shell-shocked bewilderment. She took off the hood of her hoodie, revealing to Berri a rather odd, confusing sight. Her once beautiful, long flowing pale pink hair was now short and tossed in a messy, high pony-tail. Her once flawless, darker, rosey-peached skin looked dirty, unkept and unwashed, and although it all rushed past Berri so quickly, she furrowed her brows and now fully assessed that Sama looked wholly disheveled. Sama inhaled a shaky breath and shook her head in whispering, unadulterated delight.

"I-I can't believe you LIVE here," Sama pressed shakily, and although the palace was a rather luxurious, beautiful, well-earned place to live, Berri bashfully looked about her immaculately decorated and clean home. How fortunate she felt to genuinely live here, she furrowed her eyebrows in further confusion and honed her eyes tight to the back of Sama's head, "What a dream."

"You... Surely understand, though, don't you have a big house on EZ Living's hills?" Berri tenderly pressed, though two complete strangers, she still felt as if she at least could connect with Sama on way more levels than just two average strangers; Berri flinched in surprise as Sama shot her a weak, though dark side-eye of sinister bitterness.

"Did Gunner tell you that?" She snapped, the peak of her cute, short pointy elf-like ears eased through the frazzle of her faded hair, she furrowed her eyebrows and peered to Berri in sharp agitation, her gorgeous, dark maroon colored irises pierced Berri's with a rising quarrel Berri was well aware the two could get into.

"Y-Yeah, he did," Berri huffed innocently, a reserved show of neutralizing this situation, something Sama cued to and sagged in another stolen, admiring gaze about Berri's warm common room and kitchen. Berri shook her head and felt brave, "Sama, are you... Homeless?"

"Yeah," Sama quipped in bitter agitation, she shook her head and softly shrugged, "It's... Fine, I mean... I've gotten on."

"Sama, how did this happen?" Berri pressed, the two finally began to mosey into her kitchen, and with gust, Berri began to pour Sama a glass of water and felt her brain now go into caring, motherly overdrive, "D-Do you want me to make you some food? Anything?"

"No, I'm... I'm okay, for now, if you want to maybe send me off with something, I'd appreciate it," Sama mumbled with a nod, as if her life had now resorted to haggling scraps off of others, Berri froze and softly peered to Sama in a roll of understanding.

Sat at Berri's glossy kitchen island's bar stool, her little hands twiddled dirty fingers, her sorrowful gaze peered aimlessly down in a show of whole entire defeat, as if she had just a vat of information to give but no ears that were willing to listen, Berri held her breath, furrowed her brow and was well aware she was not going to go shooing Sama back out to the streets. Berri knew she needed to do a quick gloss of homework before coming to any definitive decisions that quickly raised in her mind.

"Where do you usually sleep? How do you get food?" Berri rattled quietly, she shook her head, set down the glass of water before Sama and shrugged, "I know this is a lot all at once, but... Where the hell is Rye in all of this?"

"I don't know where that sorry bum laid off to," Sama's once sweet and tender voice grumbled in entire dismay, she urgently peered to the water, however, and began to desperately gulp it down; Berri sagged her shoulders and watched a once tall-standing, beautiful, incredible celebrity was now down and out, at her entire worst. Sama huffed a gasp of a breath as she managed to choke down the entire glass of water in one single action, she panted through her nose and shyly wiped her chin as she continued on, "I-I... There's a deserted bridge, kind of behind the base of the pier, that I sleep under. I just... Scrounge for food. I have a little bit of money left to my name, but I use it in case of emergency."

Berri largely frowned and peered her uncertain eyes tight to Sama's in a roll of dread. Berri could tell Sama was a strong individual, though the fact that she had resorted to scrounging and pick-pocketing had Berri's heart sinking in guilt. With this weird wave of guilt, she heaved a long sigh through her nose and knew there was absolutely nothing else to do other than make sure Sama was off of the streets. Berri inhaled a revived breath and reached into her pocket. With such, she pulled out the disguise device and, with a press, her beautiful blue hair softly unfurled down her shoulders and chest, all the way down to the prominent length to just above her thighs. Sama's eyes twinkled in further discovery, though as Berri took off her coat and got comfortable, Sama beamed a cheeky, delighted smile, a soulful, beautiful, sunny individual underneath all the hurt and strife.

"I KNEW it," Sama hissed to herself with a wide grin, "Gosh, half of me wondered if I maybe waltzed right into a stranger's gorgeous home for no reason. I was like, I hope she's REALLY Berri."

"I am, it's all good," Berri sighed with a small giggle as both girls caught smiling eyes; she felt relieved to have another girl around, for once, and it was in this roll of action did she bob a small nod and give Sama a sweet look of authority, "Sama, I don't want you to go back to EZ Living, okay? I want you to stay here, on palace grounds."

"... What?" Sama hissed in sheer, floored surprise, she huffed a shaky breath and urgently shook her head, "N-No, it's... You guys are royalty, you can't expect me to stay on palace grounds, the King and Queen live here, there's no way."

"Said King and Queen are my parents," Berri stated with great cheek, "As a matter of fact, I can ask my mom and dad to come over and approve all of this right now."

"No, no, USER, NO," Sama stated in embarrassed dread, "I-I look like garbage, User, please."

"Okay... I won't, but I have to at least let them know you'll be here, and to watch after you," Berri pleaded with a cute smile, she gave Sama a sweet look and shrugged, "What do you say? You stay here, get back on your feet, and once you're golden, you can choose when to leave. I'm sure you and I have a lot to discuss, anyhow... Us being Gunner's exes."

"... You're not dating Gunner anymore?" Sama stated in a roll of entire shock, to which Berri furrowed her eyebrows and urgently shook her head.

"No, not at all... I dumped him like three weeks ago," Berri urged nervously, to which Sama looked further floored, "It... Got tumultuous, I mean, he's a great guy and all, but he-"

"He's NOT a great guy, Berri, don't you DARE try and sugar coat this," Sama suddenly stabbed, to which Berri flinched in riled surprise and zipped her lip. Sama inhaled a shaky breath and urgently peered her exhausted eyes tight to Berri's shivering orbs, "HE'S the reason I'm homeless... HE'S the reason I was schlepped to the streets. He kicked me out without so much as a quarter of my earnings."

"... Gunner told me you bailed," Berri tread so lightly, she felt her heart stop with the riled information Sama was now delivering.

"Of COURSE Gunner told you that because he's planning on doing the same thing he did to me, to YOU!" Sama barked as she clenched her fists, it was here did Berri see the sharper canines her species harbored, Berri sagged in a roll of nervous surprise and remained frozen as Sama loudly carried on, "How desperately you've been trying to sing your way into a song? I've seen you on stage, Berri, I'm pretty sure the whole world is about to explode with how badly they want YOU at the forefront. I'm SHOCKED Gunner hasn't booted you, yet, though... I'm chalking it up to the fact that you're royalty, and Gunner would have a HUGE mess of a lawsuit on his hands if he dared."

"Yeah, he's... Decided to quietly end our contract after our final show in Arcadia, next Friday," Berri mumbled nervously, she sagged and felt her skin go cold, "He said... He's going to take a year off of creating just to be by himself and get his mental health in check."

"He's scared of you," Sama growled, she looked as if she had a lifetime of pent up frustrations just boiling under her skin, "That's the difference... I came from NOTHING, from nowhere... YOU, on the other hand, have an entire army behind you. Not to mention, you're friends with Turbo. THE Turbo Black..."

Berri felt her heart jolt in nervousness, little bits of information Sama knew about Berri that had Berri reeling in nervousness over her current situation at hand, with Turbo; she tried not to think way too hard on it all.

"That STUPID idiot does or says ONE cross thing to you and he's well aware you have a dark horse waiting in the shadows," Sama's soothing voice pressed with a gentle kiss of fervor, she peaked a cute, challenging smile that eventually sagged back to bitterness, "Gunner wouldn't know what hit him... Having Turbo, THE bad guy of all bad guys hovering over him? It's why you've been able to come through this tour unscathed, with your talent. He's doing everything he can to stifle you simply because he wants the spotlight. You're lucky you have an army behind you, because, if not, well... You'd be ME."

Berri frowned and urgently peered to Sama in softness, her hardened heart towards Gunner's ex girlfriend now very rapidly began to warm in a softened goo of whole misunderstanding. Sama heaved a trembling sigh and looked off with a crumpling frown.

"I taught that idiot how to sing, and... This is the thanks," Sama huffed with a whimper, her glassy eyes looked as if they desperately wanted to produce bigger, fresher tears, though Berri was sure she had cried enough tears for a lifetime, "Everything he has become, you can thank me for... In the very beginning, it was the reverse. I was the lead singer. When we started our silly little garage band, built up from the last crew that he abandoned, I started out as the lead. I helped him with his confidence... Every ounce of talent you see today is because of my constant training."

"Sama, I had... No clue," Berri huffed softly, to which Sama furrowed her eyebrows tightly and urgently shook his head.

"It's... Why he nicknamed me Sama, that's not my real name," Sama mumbled sweetly, she looked down with a shy frown as tears rolled down her darker, rosey cheeks, "He nicknamed me Sama because he was so grateful to me, he wanted to, sort of... Honor me, as if I was royalty, or WAY higher than him... The Japanese honorific, sama."

"Sounds like something he'd come up with, for sure," Berri heaved a trembling sigh and bobbed a nod, she eyed Sama in softness and shook her head, "He eventually just started calling you Sama, then?"

"Yeah, it stuck, and... Somehow, Tatum died," Sama pressed shakily, she almost bashfully peered to Berri in suspense and frowned, "Tatum-sama... I adored it, until now... He saw how needy everyone was for us, as a team, to sing and play, and I think the fame just went right to his head. He needed to get rid of me."

"The rumor," Berri mumbled, "A few months ago, he told me you were texting him and begging to see him again for like... Lunch, and stuff. I always assumed you were just... Trying to win him back over, it really made me mad."

"He's got a lot of balls to pull something like that, LOOK AT ME," Sama barked as she gestured to her ratty clothes and unkept hair, "Is this the face of someone who can afford a phone? I haven't had my phone for a year, now. Gunner's the LAST person I want to talk to. Whoever he was talking to, real or fake, he said that to get under your skin... To assure you that you are, indeed, replaceable. To keep you on your toes..."

"... Son of a bitch," Berri muttered darkly as she looked down in almost embarrassed defeat, she shook her head, narrowed her eyes and aimlessly peered across her kitchen in poised terror.

"Y'got two shows left of tour, right?" Sama questioned tenderly, she shook her head and eyed Berri.

"Just one, we just finished our last show, in Castle Run, earlier this evening," Berri concluded with a defeated, humbled sigh and looked deep into Sama's eyes, "We have ONE more show in Arcadia... That's when the contract ends."

"You best pray that show ends well," Sama warned dangerously, she shook her head and looked entirely cautious, "We didn't make it to the end of our tour before the whole Arcade turned on me. I was kicked out for good... Like I said, you have the insane fortune of having the entirety of Sugar Rush behind you. Outside of Archived Chaos, in EZ Living, I was a nobody. I didn't have family or friends to go back to."

"Are you from EZ Living?" Berri warmly pressed, to which Sama crowned a cute smile and looked down in humble memory.

"I'm actually from Castle Run's old predecessor," Sama sighed, she shook her head and looked off, "It got unplugged a year or so back, I... I made it out."

"I'm so sorry," Berri frowned, she shook her head and softened even further, "Well... My offer still stands. Do you want to stay here? With us?"

Sama's protective wall of whole defense began to softly look as if it were ready to crumple, she eyed Berri in warm suspicion and, although she looked ready to eagerly accept, she hovered in wary uncertainty.

"We can make you a room off of this common room, here," Berri gestured out to the glorious room behind Sama, a wide section of wall, near their studio's corridor, that was a perfect spot for carving out another little section just for Sama, "You can come and go as you please, you can use our recording studio... We'll ALL be back, tomorrow, so... You can have the night to unwind and relax, y'know?"

"I-I... Couldn't possibly," Sama staggered in a show of reserved nervousness, she furrowed her eyebrows as big tears finally billowed in her eyes, "Berri, I tried to steal your phone so I could pawn it for cash. You REALLY trust me to stay here?"

"You're not a thief," Berri huffed a small giggle and shook her head, she kindly gave the fragile girl in front of her a warm look of welcome, a beautiful being that seemingly fell into hard times, someone Berri was now adamant about keeping under her wing, "You were just desperate. I'll make you your own wing and room, I'll add you to the game and give you basic rights, and I'll let my parents know of your presence. They'll probably keep silent tabs on you, in the code room, but I know they'd agree with me, here. You need a home... And, you're right, we're not that different."

"... Thank you," She pleaded with a small huff of an exhausted, exasperated breath of a cry, she covered her face and desperately tried to keep herself composed, "I... Don't know what to say."

"Just get some rest," Berri pleased with a smile, though she warmly eased across her kitchen and cautiously closed the gap between her and Sama. She gingerly side-eyed Sama in warm question as she continued to approach, "Now, would you prefer we call you Sama, or Tatum? I need to tell my crew, so that when we all come back, we know just which name to use."

"Tatum," She eased in sniffling clarity as she inhaled a deep, trembling breath and sat up a little straighter; her previously walled off disposition now looked clear and becoming-radiant, as if a massive weight had been lifted, "Please, I'm... I don't want to be referred to as Sama anymore. Gunner gave me that name and I just..."

"Tatum it is," Berri interrupted sweetly, she softly tilted her head to peer into Tatum's cautious eyes, though said dark, maroon eyes twinkled with hope as Berri continued to near. She stopped once she eased a foot from Tatum's side, her loving gaze held tight to Tatum's, "Just because we're a part of the same guy's past doesn't mean we have to be enemies. I'm happy to support you, here. Gunner's really... Wronged a lot of us, I just hate that I'm only just recently having this eye opener."

"It was too late for me," Tatum breathed in gentle relief, she lulled her eyes closed and sagged, "I'm just glad you'll be able to come out of it unscathed. With all those deleter issues, and everything in between, be grateful your tour is ending so delicately. It REALLY could've been messy."

"It's not over, yet," Berri muttered, though she cautiously laid a hand to Tatum's shoulder in a gentle squeeze, "I think... We got off on the wrong foot. Let's start over... It's nice to meet you."

Tatum softly peered up into Berri's eyes, from her sat position on the tall bar stool; both girls were about the same height, though Berri's taller heels gave her the temporary height advantage. Tatum nervously glanced back down to Berri's soft, outreached hand for a handshake and finally sagged her littler hand into Berri's loving grip; both girls delicately shook hands as Berri continued.

"Tatum..." She pressed in soft, collected confidence, a fresh name for her to use from here on out, "Tatum Hilapor."

"Berri Kalivar. I'm Sugar Rush's princess, I've got a goofy big brother, an oversized, blind puppy dog, I'm in love with Arcade's previous nightmare, and, well... I have a home I'm entirely ready to share," Berri smiled, she narrowed her gaze and felt the oozing sweetness, in both girls, finally begin to sap the tower with love, "I don't have any girl friends, so... I'm actually really glad you'll be here. You... ARE staying, right?"

"I'd... Be honored," Tatum finally smiled a wide, genuine smile as both girls gently unhanded each other, Berri immediately pulled out her phone and began typing Zed a quick message to keep her parents in the loop of what was going on.

"Perfect... I'll get you set up with the basics, a bed, a shower, the necessities," Berri listed quietly as she peered down to her phone; Zed began to calmly almost-rapid fire text her in dire curiosity, though she eased quiet giggle and continued to quickly type to him, "So... What I'm thinking is, since you're technically a stranger on palace grounds, we'll let you stay here, but you'll be on house, er... Tower arrest until we come back tomorrow morning."

Tatum humbly peered up to Berri in tender disbelief, she held tight to Berri's gentle, nonchalant words.

"You can eat whatever you want, like I said, you can use our sound studio if inspiration hits you," Berri heaved a gentle giggle, "I'll give you basic rights, you just won't physically be able to leave this tower. Are you okay with that?"

"... I-I get a shower?" Tatum pressed weakly, her continuously teary eyes peered tight into Berri's in unadulterated shock, she held frozen as her cute lip began to quiver, she seemed to be beside herself with these things, something Berri now largely felt bad taking for granted. Tatum huffed a trembling scoff of disbelief and shook her head, "Am I okay with that? Y-You... You're kidding, right? Of course I'm..."

"I mean, if you want to LEAVE and go back to EZ Living, you'd just have to tell me now before my father puts your coding under house arrest," Berri quietly explained, "Once you're added to the game, and my dad glues your coding to the perimeter of the tower, you won't be able to leave until Wren, Theo, Throttle and I get back home, where we can take you on a proper tour of the palace and get you further situated. Whether that be on palace grounds, or off of."

Tatum finally huffed a gentle cry and covered her face with her hands. Her shoulders trembled, and though Berri furrowed her brows and was entirely certain this kind of a life style was totally normal for someone like Tatum, she reeled in halting apprehension and finally understood the weight of the true, terrifying experience of homelessness Tatum has been enduring for almost a whole year now. Scared of the general public, abandoned by the people that she loved most, Berri knew that she needed to stick to Tatum like glue, now more than ever, all whilst sharpening her wits and really determining just who to let in and who to push away. The terrible things Gunner had been easily getting away with was something Berri was adamant to bring to a screeching halt. The unnecessary homelessness he forced Tatum into was something she was now entirely driven to reverse, this fragile being before her was now someone she was desperate to care for and love on, a unity of fresh, new sisterhood she vowed to never let waver.

"It's okay," Berri cooed quietly, and although she didn't know Tatum too well, she cautiously began to wrap her arm about Tatum's trembling shoulders to inquire about a hug, though she jolted in surprise the second Tatum huffed a shaky, silent cry and urgently returned the hug with gentle, grappling arms of whole neediness. Berri largely frowned and did everything she could to scoop Tatum into her sisterly embrace, and although Tatum didn't smell or look that great in this raw instance, she smiled and held tight to her, knowing it'd all be reversed soon. Berri sighed and lulled her eyes closed as both girls held tight to each other in a lasting squeeze of an embrace, "I used to hate you... I used to be so angry that you'd abandon Gunner, like that, but... I'm so sorry for ever building conclusions without knowing both sides of the story."

"It's not your fault," Tatum whimpered quietly through tears, onto Berri's shoulder.

"We gotta stick together, from here on out," Berri assured gently as both girls finally pulled away, "Deal?"

"Deal," Tatum huffed a shy giggle and smiled in renewed radiance through her tears, she shook her head and began to wipe her cheeks, "I'm so sorry I smell and... Look like a turd, really. I'm sure you have a very very different image of me, and it wouldn't be this."

"No, I remember seeing you on the largest stages Arcade had to offer," Berri stated quietly as she daintily moved some of Tatum's pale pink hair out of her eyes, "You were all glammed and whatnot... Really, NO ONE offered to take you in?"

"People stopped recognizing me, and pretty soon, I was old news," Tatum mumbled, a wall about her had clearly come down with the way she sat now, her shoulders gently down and relaxed and her spine just a little straighter, "Rye and I had an apartment on the hill, but... He left, he wasn't on the lease so of course it didn't matter to him. I couldn't... Keep up with the rent payments, and... I didn't have anyone, everyone I ever loved was... Unplugged."

Berri shook her head, lulled her eyes closed and now felt a pang of similarity hit her, a proxy she could somehow cling to; although she had never had to endure the pain of loved one's being unplugged, she largely frowned and immediately felt her heart go out to Turbo. How much anguish and despair it put on one's heart, Berri softly peered to Tatum in whole warmth and bobbed a nod.

"Well, you're here now," Berri warmly concluded, "No need to worry... I'll get you all set up and you can relax. When we come back, you can meet Wren and Theo."

"They seem pretty cool," Tatum bobbed a nod and wiped her tears and nose with her sleeve, she grimaced and heaved a raspy, tired sigh, "Theo's a freaking monster on the drums, man. He's amazing."

Berri cocked an eyebrow and felt her heart suddenly jolt with excitement; the raw remembrance that Tatum was Theo's hugest celebrity crush, she beamed in scheming delight.

"Yeah, Teddy is likely your biggest fan, and I'm not just saying that," Berri scoffed a surprised, apprehensive giggle as Tatum's bashful eyes peered up to Berri in soft question, "He's going to... FLIP OUT once he knows you're here. Without a doubt."

"Well, I can't wait to meet him, Wren as well," Tatum beamed an easy, humble smile down to the counter as she tucked her hair behind her ears; an adorable, fiery woman so tangled in concealed fear, Berri was sure being around her crew would likely bring out the best in Tatum.

"I should probably head back, but... Let me get with my dad about carving out a corridor and a room for you, down here," Berri gestured to her phone and bobbed a nod, "Just a few swishes in the code room and we should be right on track. Then... Floor's yours."

"Thank you," Tatum pressed shakily, she looked about in gentle nervousness as Berri stepped away and held up a finger.

"Maybe I'll lay a few house rules, if you don't mind," Berri chimed gently, she gestured towards the teleportation pad, "Don't worry about these teleport pads, I don't think you'll have coded privileges to use them, anyways, so just maybe... Forget they exist. Also, come tomorrow morning, we have six dragons that live on the palace lot. If you see any of them flying or running around, don't panic. They are loved, fed, happy and will not try to hurt you."

"D-Dragons?" Tatum stated in sharp, smiling nervousness, to which Berri blurt a small laugh and carried on.

"As said, eat what you want, do what you want, you're free to use our studio just PLEASE be kind to our instruments," Berri cautioned; she knew these ground rules were likely silly to give another full-blown adult, though she knew she needed to speak her peace for her own sanity, a perfect stranger living in her abode, "We'll be back late tomorrow morning, but seriously, sleep and do what you need to do. We're all going to be exhausted, anyways, so if you stay hulled in your room, we won't be offended. I'll prepare the gang and let them know you're here, so there won't be any surprises."

"Thank you," Tatum pressed humbly as she looked down to her hands, she furrowed her eyebrows and now nervously peered to Berri, "Are... You going to tell Gunner that I'm here?"

"Not a chance. He doesn't need to know," Berri stated firmly, she shook her head and gave Tatum a kind smile, "You're safe here. I mean that."

"Phew," Tatum huffed in soft relief as she smiled and glossed her eyes about her new abode, her eyes twinkled with whole relief, "I-I... I can't thank you enough."

"Don't mention it," Berri assured with a cute smile, "When we get back, after we're all rested, we'll reconvene and figure out where to put you. But, for now, get yourself cleaned and fed, and get some good sleep."

"Music to my ears," Tatum whimpered with a crumpling smile, she choked a small giggle and bobbed a nod.

"It'll be sweeter music to Theo's ears once he knows you're here," Berri muttered with a widening, cheeky smile, "Can't wait for THAT show."

"Is he really THAT big of a fan?" Tatum wrinkled her nose in cute, smiling disbelief.

"He loves your work, I'm serious," Berri bobbed a nod, "He'll be SO excited to meet you. I promise."

"Even with...?" Tatum nervously gestured her hand, "I mean, I was bad media for months. Surely he caught some of it."

"No, even with... Theo is such a neutral, devil's advocate, I mean it was just a few days ago he was mentioning a guitar riff you did in songs on older albums," Berri kindly pressed, "He wondered if we could incorporate it into new music to come, and... I mean, now that you're here, maybe you'd be up for teaching ME a thing or two?"

"W-Wow, I mean... Yeah, I'd be honored," Tatum perked up with a firm nod, "I'm always happy to help teach."

"Perfect," Berri bobbed a nod and eased a wide smile, the start of a very beautiful, symbiotic relationship between each band member, now squished together as house mates, she huffed a giggle and looked off in aimless, delirious anticipation, "Phew, these next few days are going to be BUSY."

"Shit, you're telling me," Tatum blurt a hard giggle, "I haven't shaved since last Fall."

Both girls fell into a hard fit of laughter, and although Berri was well aware Tatum's situation was no laughing matter, she was glad the two could now look back on it and close that chapter for good. Now not wanting to leave Sugar Rush, Berri finally forced herself to peel away for good, and though the thought of visiting Turbo always held tight in the back of her mind, she successfully left Sugar Rush with a new motive, new information she knew she had to get to Wren, Theo and Throttle right away. With purpose, she did absolutely everything she could to get back to their suite inside Castle Run, in preparation to rally her three men around and give them a solid game plan for what the next few coming days would look like with their brand new, shivering, fragile house mate.


	172. Chapter 172

**Reviews :**

 **TheMisterX :** Hey! Thank you, so much. I love bringing things from WAY back when, full circle. I try to keep up with my own continuity, can't say I'm perfect at it tho xD Also, you're my **600th** reviewer! CONGRATS! And thank you! :')

 **Snake557 :** Hey thanks so much! :D Yes, Theo freaks out haha.

 **BananaSammich :** You're not wrong! I'm so floored to expand on them, especially since Theo's a soft boi. Squee

 **faolan1230 :** LMAO! Yeah Tatum has stayed informed. Ever since Berri went to school with Turbo's hoodie, and then the few times the band has gone to Sugarbucks with Turbo - pictures were bound to be snapped. I'm excited for you guys to read on as well! YAY!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Born to be Yours by Kygo and Imagine Dragons**

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 ***Chapter 172***

Enduring a much softer, easier landing, Berri's electric silver coding jolted into her bathroom, inside Castle Run's glorious, celebrity suite. She heavily panted through her nose and urgently looked about her bathroom. Pristine and left the same as she left it hours ago, she continued to remain frozen and inhale deep, heavy breaths through her nose. In sharp long-blinks of discombobulation, she allowed her coding to come back to grips with physical reality. Having just traversed the entirety of Arcade, whether that be by light cycle, train or electric wires, she felt the weight of exhaustion begin to crumple on top of her. Although she wanted to sag and be reminded that of her's and Turbo's current strife, she only allowed herself to wallow in it for a moment before she understood she had another pressing matter to deal with first. Although she was en route to emptying her pockets and returning her normal appearance back to long, luscious blue hair, she caught herself in the mirror and wondered if she should potentially just remain in disguise; she knew she needed to break the news of Tatum's arrival and have a convincing shred of evidence, for the three boys she cared for on this tour.

In the gentle clack of her heels on the stone tile underneath her, she inhaled a trembling breath, opened her bathroom door and pressed across her further-stone tiled bedroom. With the gentle clacks she eased her her bedroom door and cracked it ajar. She looked down to her phone and assessed the time, and although it was one in the morning, she could hear Theo, Wren and Throttle happily chatting away in the kitchen. Surely due to winding down eventually, Berri inhaled a readied breath, opened her door wider and dared to now step out into their house-like suite. With the slow clack of her heels that immediately cued the three boys, their bickering, cute, gentlemanly conversing very quickly came to a screeching, listening halt. The second Berri slowly came rounding the corner, past the quaint, empty little living room, she stepped into the dimly lit kitchen, with all three boys, and watched as their curious, wide eyes pierced Berri's figure with whole entire bewilderment.

"Whoa, whoa, what the heck?" Theo choked, all three boys were now entirely dressed down for the night, draped in comfortable tee's and sweats, Theo gently clutched his broad chest and huffed a shaky breath, "Berri, where... Your HAIR!"

"For User's SAKE, Bear," Wren hissed in whole dismay as he sagged his forehead into his palm and deflated in defeat; Throttle urgently dart his eyes between Wren and Berri.

"What is going on, here?" Throttle demanded with a small choke of a surprised laugh as Berri's heels softly clacked into the kitchen, she stood poised and tall, as beautiful as ever, though she looked exhausted, "Where are you going? At this hour? L-Looking... ENTIRELY different from your usual self?"

"The question you should be asking, instead, is where has she BEEN ALREADY," Wren grumbled loudly in further dismay, he shot Berri a sharp, cheeky look of becoming authority, "Bear, what the hell is happening, now."

"Alright, guys, I... I have a bit of a confession to tell," Berri's womanly voice splayed, though she easily tugged back the authority, in her favor, cued her silver coding, and slowly began to drape the four in a large dome of a silver coded bubble, to absolutely assure this conversation strictly was void from a shred of an opportunity of sneaky, listening ears, "As Sugar Rush's future Queen, I have a proposition for you guys, I need your full attention and cooperation, right now."

All three men froze and peered to her in the switch up, both Throttle and Theo looked way more shocked that Wren did, due to Berri's new appearance, though they hesitantly stole glances to each other. Understanding that Berri would eventually be in charge, and did, indeed, hold a much higher stature over the three, they softly sagged their masculine shoulders and peered their diligent, loyal, unwavering attention straight for their Queen. With small, silent nods, their dominant, cheeky and boisterous attitudes very easily settled to a calm in Berri's now authoritative presence, an easy strong hold of soft love Berri very quickly picked up from Tessa. She inhaled a shaky breath and looked down to her twiddling fingers, she crowned a sheepish smile and was glad to have the floor with such ease.

"I've already told Wren all of this, and, due to the shocked looks on Throttle's and Teddy's faces, I can safely say any secret you may have is infinitely secure with Wren," Berri sweetly volleyed to Wren, he finally cracked a bashful smile and looked down; although Throttle urgently peered to him, as if to silently wonder just why Wren had left him out of the loop of this information, he softened and peered a grateful smile Berri's way, understanding that maybe this wasn't technically his business, anyhow. Berri cutely smiled at Wren and bobbed him a nod with entire gratitude, "Thank you... I told you something in whole confidence, and although it was major gossip material, you didn't tell anyone. That means the world to me."

"Gotch'ya, babe," Wren mumbled shyly with a small nod and a cute, little smile down to his feet; he blurt a quiet chuckle once Theo and Throttle lovingly pat his arms and shoulders in a quick gesture of a job well done.

"Turbo made me this disguise, a very long time ago, and told me that if I ever needed to escape tour for a night, I could go about Arcade without being recognized," Berri sighed, she looked down and knew she wasn't going to go delving into the troubles her and Turbo were having, so she side-stepped it and left out the secretive night she vanished to spend the night with Turbo, "Twice now, I've left to find any place to play at open mics, a stage where I can play and sing and not be recognized."

"What the HECK, count us in too?" Theo huffed a soft laugh and gestured to himself, though Wren shrugged and gave Theo a dull look.

"Trust me, I considered that too, but if the lot of us go to one stage, we'll be discovered," Wren quickly muttered, thwarting Theo's desires; Berri eased a shaky, agreeing giggle and carried on.

"While you guys were out with Gunner and Bedgy, and crew, I... I went to EZ Living to play at a few open mics happening about town," Berri sighed shakily, Throttle and Theo held their unadulterated, surprised attention to her, totally beside themselves, though Berri cocked an eyebrow and cheekily pressed on, "You will never guess who I bumped into..."

"For User's sake, who," Wren mumbled in exhausted, smiling cheek.

"Sama," Berri hissed, though she jolted in unadulterated shock the second Theo bugged his eyes and stiffened in lightning-quick elatedness.

"WHAT?!" Theo's deep voice barked into the security of their silver coded bubble, "D-Did you get her autograph?! Did you tell her I'm her HUGEST fan?"

"Theo, would you believe me if I told you that she's at the palace and will be staying with us temporarily?" Berri huffed a shaky giggle, though Theo sharply furrowed his eyebrows and scoffed a small laugh.

"No, what? That's ridiculous," Theo beamed in incredulous cuteness, though as Berri remained frozen and everyone was silent in entire shock, Theo's nervous eyes dart about the group in a rising spike of impending terror, "W-wait, you... You're SERIOUSLY not joking? What the hell do you MEAN she's at the palace? Why does she need to stay with us when she has her own shindig high in EZ Living's hills?"

"Alright, guys, I'm... I'm going to say this fast, and I need you to keep up with me," Berri instructed tenderly, all three boys' eyes were wider than watermelons, they urgently peered to Berri in shell-shocked surprise as she took a step closer to the three and continued, "Tonight, I went into EZ Living for no other reason than to just sing on a few smaller stages and get it out of my system without being recognized. On my way out of my third open mic event, I was pick-pocketed."

"What was stolen?" Throttle worried quietly, Wren shook his head in ironic agreeing.

"Did you catch them?" Wren hissed.

"... Yes, I caught her, she's at the palace," Berri blurt with a hard laugh, though Theo sharply furrowed his eyebrows and gestured his larger wrecking hand in frustration.

"That's not her, Bear, Sama's not going to be out on the streets STEALING from people," Theo rushed in agitation, "I'm positive she has better things to do."

"Listen to me... Sama is homeless, Gunner started that nasty rumor about Sama, kicked her out with only a shred of her earnings, and then shortly after, Rye left and she couldn't keep up with rent, any longer," Berri rushed, which ultimately shut all three boys up, "She's from Castle Run's older version that got unplugged last year, she has... NO one to turn to. She caught up with me and admitted to stealing my phone once she saw my lock screen, which was a picture of me and Turbo."

"Shit, she probably saw that and was like 'nope, not this one'," Throttle quietly stifled a laugh, as did everyone else.

"She's... In a real bad place, I hardly recognized her," Berri shook her head, "I just spent the last two hours with her, in our tower, getting her set up so she has a place to lay her head. For the past year or so, she's been sleeping underneath a bridge..."

"Wait, you're like... GENUINELY serious," Theo's eyes began to fill with a washed, healthy mix of glee and horror, "Sh-she's... She's like... She's at our TOWER? RIGHT NOW?"

"Look, I know it sounds ridiculous," Berri held up her hands and eased a shaky giggle.

"Berri," Theo choked, he looked as if he was about to have a heart attack, "Y-You're telling me..."

"Teddy, SAMA IS IN OUR HOME," Berri clapped her hands as everyone erupted into soft laughter, due to her outburst, though Theo looked as if he was about to whisk away in the breeze, "I told her she's welcome to stay for-"

"FOREVER," Theo barked with a trembling, widening grin, "Y-You're seriously not joking?!"

"No, I'm NOT joking, I wouldn't DREAM of doing something like this to you, Ted," Berri huffed a laugh as the group became a bit more animated, she shook her head and smiled into his lovely emerald eyes, "Babe, I just... Really have to hand it to you. You advocated for her without even knowing the whole situation, and you were dead on. Gunner absolutely wronged her. SHE was the lead singer before she went on to teach and encourage Gunner, that's why she's called Sama. He gave her that nickname. Her real name is-"

"Tatum," Theo sighed in trembling, gooey nervousness, though everyone peered to him in soft, cute, suspended shock. He shakily rubbed the back of his head and sagged into himself with a dorky smile, "I-I... I've listened to their OLD garage band stuff, you're right, Bear... She was in charge prior to all the nonsense."

"I just wanted to warn everyone of her presence. Dad and I built her a wing off of the main, common room in the tower. Her room is snug next to the sound studio," Berri explained, "I told her she could stay as long as she wanted, and if she wanted to leave we could find a place for her inside Sugar Rush."

"She's not like... Able to freely roam our tower, or the palace, is she?" Wren worried, "I know it's Sama-er... Tatum... But, she's still a perfect stranger."

"She has only basic rights, right now, and she's house bound on the first floor of the tower," Berri instructed softly, "Mom and dad are keeping silent tabs on her, I told her she could do what she wanted just as long as she was careful. I mean, she cried in my arms... She's... Really beaten up, she looks terrible."

"Hoooo man," Theo puffed his chest, beamed Wren and Throttle a sneaky, eyebrow-waggling grin and clutched his chest, "She can cry in my arms all day long."

"Gotcha some brushing up, to do, huh," Wren muttered with a wide smile as he crossed his arms, "Welcome to the club, dude. You said you wanted a lady friend of your own."

"She literally stole her way right into our hearts," Throttle choked a hard laugh and nudged Wren, everyone was all smiles, though it was clear by Theo's doughy, nervous disposition that he was likely not going to get any shred of sleep tonight.

"I must be dreaming," Theo huffed shakily as he peered to Berri with a wide smile, "Thank you so much for abandoning us so you can get your phone stolen by my HUGEST IDOL."

"You're oh so welcome," Berri muttered, though she gave Theo a sweet, understanding smile and bobbed a nod, "It'll be a good distraction to have. Though, don't hog her, Theo, I finally have a GIRL to hang out with."

"HEY?" Wren barked in irritation as he waggled his hand, "Am I chopped liver? I let you paint my nails and we brush each other's hair and talk about the coziest material for underwear and the best waterproof makeup, what... The heck? I'm RIGHT here!"

"There's a difference, Bub," Throttle huffed quietly, he gave Wren an apologetic smile.

"I wouldn't trade our relationship for the world, Wren, stop it," Berri gave Wren a loving smile, though Theo now began to so nervously tidy his hair and look as if he was ready to scrutinize every single last detail about himself.

"I-I gotta shave," Theo muttered nervously, he gestured to himself and gave Berri a worried look of impending terror, "Y-You think I look okay? What should I wear? Holy USER, she's like... Actually THERE? RIGHT NOW?"

"I swear on my WHOLE life, Teddy, she is IN our tower, RIGHT now," Berri eased a giggle and crossed her arms, "I told her to sleep in and to not feel as if she HAS to come out and greet us once we're home, so... Give her space, dude. Let her come around, I'm sure she's exhausted."

"We all are, dude, don't you want to go home and sleep?" Throttle wondered cutely, Theo urgently gestured to himself.

"WHAT part of 'my idol is going to be under the same roof as me' do you guys not understand!" Theo squealed in a high-pitched tone of crazed, excited terror; everyone erupted into hard laughter, and though he now felt as if this night would last forever, he knew the faster he went to sleep, the faster he'd be able to meet his celebrity crush.


	173. Chapter 173

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** Yes, they make nice eventually, Berri was going to mosey into potentially clearing the air with Turbo after tour but then got distracted with Tatum lol

 **BanannaSammich :** Thank you! Yes they're super fun to write for, there will be more TatumxTeddy sprinkled in the rest of this story. They're adorbs.

 **TheMisterX :** LOL Ahh Teddy. Well he actually doesn't open his mouth ENOUGH to gain a foot, so I guess he has the opposite problem. He's a shy one xD And yeah they're really unsure of how to handle Gunner from here, cause they just want the damned thing to be over with. Thanks for your support, friend! I hope you're well.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Jealous by Oliver Nelson, Tobtok Sorana**

* * *

 ***Chapter 173***

"Ohh User, I missed Sugar Rush," Throttle mumbled with a sweet smile as him, Wren, Theo and Berri slowly strolled from the main hub of the palace, out the west wing corridor and on the lovely, pristine white path that lead to the recreational hall, alongside Berri's glorious tower. Throttle smiled up to Sugar Rush's bright, minty colored sky, void of clouds, he shrugged his hands into his jean pockets with a lazy smile. Although his eyes glossed across the lot and straight for his own, tidy, lonely abode, he stuck tight to Wren, Theo and Berri, knowing full well he wasn't going to miss out on meeting Tatum, "How y'doin', there, Teddy?"

"I don't know, I'm numb," Theo mumbled nervously; dressed in a casual, lovely dark green t-shirt, one that tightened about his chest due to his bulky, strong size, Theo was daintily and cleanly put together, though his eyes looked sunken, "I'm really nervous."

"You're going to be fine," Berri chimed quietly, they slowly approached their lovely tower, what once was an empty space now harbored a fragile, reserved little flicker of a soul. Having just met with Tessa and Zed, in the palace's main hub and kitchen, they were assured Tatum was doing just fine and had remained quietly tucked away in her new little home, "Who even knows if she'll be around. I just need to let you guys know... She doesn't like being called Sama, so stick to Tatum. Sama's a dead name, she doesn't want to repurpose it, so just be diligent."

"Noted," Theo mumbled with a cute smile and a nod, as did everyone else, though it was very clear just where all eyes would be, in this fragile, cute encounter.

"You think she'd want to have jam sessions with us?" Wren wondered quietly, to which Throttle's and Theo's eyes lit up.

"Oh, THAT'D be awesome," Throttle staggered with a wide smile, though just as he was about to suggest throwing Turbo into the mix, he sneakily caught himself and cleared his throat as everyone pressed up the tower's glorious stoop all shroud in beautiful, Sugar Rush, springtime flowers and foliage, "I-I'm sure she'd probably like a few days to recoup... I don't think being homeless is an easy task."

"Yeah, she... She was in real bad shape, last night," Berri now whispered as she began to unlock their large tower's round door, "If you notice anything maybe unkept or out of place, don't draw attention. I'm sure she's showered and had a good night's sleep, but let's just give her some grace in this weird time. I hardly recognized her."

"Poor thing," Wren mumbled sadly, Theo bobbed a nod and inhaled a shaky breath.

"I'm sure she looks great," He eased warmly as Berri opened the door with a slow, tender approach; although everyone now eagerly peered into their dim foyer and down the untouched entrance corridor it eventually bottle-necked into, the house was silent.

As all four individuals slowly pressed inside, and clacked the front door open, they did what they could to shed shoes and light coats in the foyer. With continued, tender silence, they slowly traversed down the corridor with apprehensive, calm softness. Theo swallowed hard and felt as if his pulse was about to come flying out of his body, certain that everyone near him could hear the thudding of his heartbeat, his pupils tightened as they drew into the tower's pristine, sunny common room, clad with the kisses of lovely white furniture, flawless marble tiles, the gentle splashes of greenery in big, cozy, potted house plants, the angled ceiling of glass above them kept the common room warm with the sunbeams that glinted in, though as everyone softly scanned their surroundings, they took note that their massive swoop of a couch and ottoman had a throw blanket cozily tucked into the corner, as well as an overturned book and a glass of half-finished water on a cork coaster nearby. Clearly a nestled spot Tatum was once sitting, she was nowhere to be found now.

"C'mon, guys, let's just disperse," Berri eased in softness, she bobbed a nod and gestured towards the dimmer studio corridor, to the left of everyone, where Tatum's room lay as well, "She's probably asleep. Let's just carry on like normal and she'll present herself eventually."

"Easy for you to say, 'carry on like normal'," Theo mumbled quietly, though as his eyes sharply scanned the room, he jolted in unmitigated, frozen delight and stabbed his eyes to their lovely little sitting area outside, near their larger glass back door. He huffed a shaky breath and immediately noticed that lovely splash of pale pink hair glisten against Sugar Rush's beam of sunshine. Theo staggered a breath, clutched his chest and desperately tried to get words out, "H-Holy shit... Y-You REALLY weren't kidding."

"What," Wren hissed in suspended, curious delight, and as everyone drew their eager attention to where Theo's strict line of sight was, they all sagged and eased Theo cheeky, knowing smiles.

"Alright, dude, y'ready?" Throttle mumbled cutely, though Theo inhaled a shaky breath, clutched his chest and shook his head.

"N-no, I'm not, I-I... User I can't believe you weren't lying," Theo staggered nervously, though Berri lovingly took his arm and smiled into his eyes.

"Teddy, I wouldn't lead you on like this, with something THIS important to you? C'mon, she's really sweet, I'll go out first and... You all can introduce yourselves," Berri eased as softly as she could, "She'll be glad to have company, I'm sure of it."

"Let's go," Wren hissed in excitement as he pushed off first, and although Berri said she'd be first to present herself, Wren kindly took up the task and pressed to the back door; he was tailed by Berri, Throttle, and then Theo in a hang at the back, a sag of molasses-like terror, Wren so carefully opened the glass door, tapped a kind few knocks with his fist and peeked his happy soul out the door in a show of slow easiness, "Knock knock."

"... O-oh, hi!" Tatum pressed in a perk of gentle surprise; she looked as if she wanted to move from their lovely outdoor swoop of a couch, all shroud in the shade of a nearby tree and the thin, lattice overhang of their little patio, though Wren was surprised to see Marble's large body curled at the base of the couch, her heavy skull comfortably in Tatum's lap. She eased a cute, nervous giggle, tucked her hair behind her ears and peered down to the top of Marble's head, "I-I... I would get up, but I think this one fell asleep."

"It's all good," Wren eased lovingly as him, Berri and Throttle slowly piled out in soft caution, so not to fully and abruptly disrupt Tatum's peace, "I hope we're not intruding."

"No, no, for User's sakes, I think it'd be me whose intruding," Tatum huffed a sweet laugh, eased her soft eyes into Wren and sagged her shoulders, though she peered to the group slowly moseying out of the back door and closer to her, she cupped her mouth a little and began to look a little star struck, "H-Holy moley, I-I can't believe I'm actually meeting all of you."

"I think we can say the same about you," Wren chuckled, he was first to slowly approach her, once and for all, and once he was within arms reach, he outstretched his hand and offered a handshake, "Wren."

"Tatum," She chimed cutely, to which they shook hands and got settled. Wren kindly took a seat on a nearby cozy seat across from Tatum, to which Berri followed suit. Berri quietly assessed Tatum, as quickly as she could, and was floored to see her lovely pale hair all clean and straight, she wore a pair of Berri's lazy sweats and a t-shirt, offered by Berri herself, she looked as if she had gotten a solid amount of rest. Her peaceful eyes drew up to Berri as she cutely plopped down next to Tatum with a huff, both girls fast friends. Berri eased a giggle and held out her hand to Tatum for a handshake, both girls eased into cute laughter as they playfully shook hands, "Oh, nice to meet you."

"Berri," She piped, though Tatum shook her head and shrugged in teasing cuteness.

"I had no idea," She quipped with a smile that showed her prominent fangs, though she raised her eyebrows in sharp surprise the second Throttle cooly sat down next to Wren and remained readily available for a casual handshake. Tatum sagged her shoulders in a roll of surprise and gently gestured to Throttle, "Oh, my stars, you're... You're Turbo's brother, right?"

"Eldest, my name's Throttle," He stated with the depth of his sweet, glossy voice, the two shook hands, though Tatum looked further shell shocked.

"Holy User, you think I can meet Turbo? THE Turbo?" Tatum asked in warm innocence, though Berri heaved a long sigh and almost regrettably shook her head. Before Berri's nervously giggling figure could answer, Tatum sagged into herself and hooked her eyes tight to Berri's, "Oh, whoops... Sore spot?"

"You can meet him, we're just... Sort of feuding at the moment, so I probably won't be involved," Berri sighed in hot annoyance, though she smiled in Theo's direction, who finally pressed into the circle, his demeanor was stiff and nervous, "OH, and... This is Theo, my cousin."

"Nice to meet you," Tatum eased sweetly up into Theo's shivering, emerald green eyes, though as Theo held out his much larger hand and took her little one in his, he daintily shook and gave her a near-speechless smile. Tatum tucked her hair behind her ears and continued to keep his hand gripped, "I-I'm... I'm a HUGE fan."

"... I-I'm sorry, of... Me?" Theo humbly gestured to his chest and froze in unadulterated surprise as the two pulled apart, Tatum beamed a wide, toothy smile and lovingly smiled into his eyes.

"Uh, YEAH? That drum solo you had in the song Forgotten?" Tatum gushed, she heaved a shaky giggle and cutely glanced to Berri, "I mean, you all are amazing, don't get me wrong."

Theo stood still and peered down to Tatum in a roll of not even knowing where to begin, which feeling to feel first, though as Berri firmly smiled up to him, she finally rolled her eyes, gripped Theo's arm and pulled him down on the larger couch next to her.

"Teddy is a very very big fan of yours, too," Berri cooed lovingly as Theo grunted and sat down, he shyly gave Tatum a smile and finally looked off in blushing, stumped nervousness, "We're glad you're here... Did you get a good night's sleep?"

"DID I," Tatum sighed shakily, she gave Berri a floored look of sweet gratitude, "I haven't slept that well in years. Thank you... All of you, seriously. I hope I'm not... Too much of an intrusive presence, being here."

"No, never," Theo quietly pressed, his gentle eyes hooked to Tatum's in warmth, though he bashfully cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head, to which Berri lovingly pat Theo's thigh, as if to quietly assure him to ease up and that he was doing great.

"Gunner knows nothing, just to assure you," Wren's deep, friendly voice pressed in Tatum's direction, though she beamed an annoyed grin and rolled her eyes.

"Damn straight he knows nothing, he's Arcade's hugest airhead," Tatum muttered through a smile, though everyone was rocketed into laughter.

"He plays nice, he's been behaving," Berri bobbed a nod, she desperately tried to keep the air light and not so negative.

"Hardly," Throttle's grumbly, raspy voice pressed in a depth so low it almost went unheard, Wren cocked an eyebrow and shot him a curious smile.

"Either way, I appreciate it," Tatum sighed, she looked down to the top of Marble's head and lovingly began to stroke her lovely, swirled grey fur all clad with streaks of prominent blacks and whites, "I'm REALLY glad you warned me about these guys, Berri. Your dad let me have access to the patio, here, and I was out here for the sunrise, and... Gosh, I nearly crapped myself as they came sniffling their way to the patio, here."

"All of them?" Berri perked up with a wide, curious smile, Tatum bobbed a nervous nod and grinned in cute, shy surprise.

"Yeah, all six of 'em, wow... They're SO pretty," Tatum wistfully sighed, she peered to Berri but caught shy eyes with Theo; he held tight eyes to her in inquisitive, sweet, starstruck delight.

"They're so nosey, I'm sure they sensed that there was something amiss, here, and came here to inspect," Berri chuckled, Wren smiled and bobbed a nod in agreeing.

"I'm surprised they didn't come flying at you loudly wondering who the hell you were," Wren staggered as he gestured out to the lovely, jungly wood out before them; Tatum furrowed her pale pink brows in a prickle of surprise.

"Wait... What? They can talk?" Tatum pressed in a spike of whole confusion, though she firmly looked down at the slumbering lykata firmly planted in her lap, Marble's glorious ears were sagged in sleepy unawares.

"Ho, can they, some of them don't shut up," Wren muttered, though Berri wrinkled her nose and shot him a look of smiling annoyance.

"Don't talk about Lickity like that," Berri sneered, Theo choked a shy laugh and looked down to his lap, as if he so badly wanted to open up and allow his boisterous, adorable, boyish demeanor soak the place, though like a flower too shy to bloom, he largely reserved himself; a sweet show the group about him rather enjoyed.

"I was talking about Chester, actually," Wren snipped in cute delight, the group continued to warmly laugh.

"Yes, they can talk, I'm sure they just quietly inspected what was going on," Berri smiled, though she allowed her hand to warmly begin to pet Marble's much larger, wolf-like snout, "This one, on the other hand, is a little bit more intuitive. This is Marble. She can't physically talk, but she can speak to you telepathically. Has she tried?"

"Oh, no, she just... Came with the group, but after a few minutes, all the rest of them left except for her," Tatum chimed warmly, her lovely little hands eased through Marble's thick, gorgeous mane that lined the back of her neck and spine. With the plumes of her feathers tucked tight to her body, and the girth of it all sagged out into the grass, she remained cozily asleep with her skull firmly planted in Tatum's lap, "I quite enjoyed the company. I forgot what it was like to have a pet... Not that... Marble's a pet, but she does resemble a dog."

"This is my father's lykata, I'm sure he probably instructed Marble to keep an eye on you and make sure you're okay," Berri soothed lovingly, both girls continued to aimlessly stroke and pet the top of Marble's head, something she surely was living up.

As the group carried on, Wren cocked an eyebrow and felt his phone buzz. Sat nestled into the drape of Throttle's left arm, Throttle cocked an eyebrow and curiously peered to Wren's phone as Wren unlocked everything and scrolled to the little group message he was suddenly a part of. Wren sharply furrowed his eyebrows, remained still and was quick to notice he was lumped into a group chat that included Lash, Nox, and Throttle. Wren held his breath and nervously read the message that Lash had almost hesitantly sent off.

 _Lashedout : Hey guys, we got a code blue, over here. I know that Wren and Throttle are back in Sugar Rush, right?_

 _Noxtastic : They should be, Tee texted me last night, something about them coming in later today_

 _Lashedout : Look, I know I'm not really the best person to rally others and give towards the greater good, but Turbo's spiraled. He hasn't bubbled me in almost a week. He hasn't really... Stopped drinking or smoking, and I think he's just taking interval naps on the couch as opposed to actually sleeping at night. I'm just here, existing, and... Guys, it's not pretty._

 _Noxtastic : Wait, what? What happened?_

 _Lashedout : I guess him and Berri broke up, it's getting bad and I'm concerned. I can't do anything because I might as well be FUCKING INANIMATE. I don't have ANY privileges. Guys, pissing has become a REAL chore. I can only open the fridge and touch the faucet and stuff like that, but he forgot to give me access to the toilet. Please come over and help me shake some sense into him, he won't listen to me anymore._

 _Lashedout : There's not enough beer in the world, I'm serious._

 _Lashedout : I added Wren to the group because, I don't know man... Turbo previously wouldn't shut up about how awesome and loyal you are, I figured you're super important to my brothers, so... I'd be stupid not to add you._

 _Noxtastic : Name a time, I'll be there._

Wren held his breath and felt his pupils tight in a draw of terror, and as him and Throttle nervously caught eyes, they slowly drew their gaze across the way to the cute sight before them. Berri and Tatum warmly carried on with each other, whilst Theo cheesily looked on in starstruck, drooling, grinning delight, though Wren inhaled a shaky breath and began typing back into the group chat.

 _Songbird : Thanks man, yeah I got your guys' backs. We just got home, we have a house guest. Let me make sure Berri's got this under control before we head out, but we should be over in the next ten minutes. Throttle's sitting here with me, so he's read everything._

 _Lashedout : Hope you have a way of getting inside Turbo's stupid, dark dungeon of blue eyes and beer bottles._

 _Noxtastic : Yeah, I think Tee and I have keys._

Wren exhaled a shaky breath, eyed his phone and finally locked it to a close. He sagged back into Throttle's gentle, side embrace and peered out to Berri, Tatum, Marble and Theo; they happily chatted away, without a current care, though Wren felt his heart begin to race. He was floored Berri had a distraction from her's and Turbo's troubles, touring and now inviting Tatum into their lives, though his heart sank in whole guilt over the raw fact that poor Turbo was cooped up inside his home, lonely and without. Wren softly caught eyes with Throttle and noticed that he, too, looked a bit apprehensive, and although they had the impending task of hopefully picking Turbo up and encouraging him to get back on his feet, Wren lulled his eyes closed and knew he had to pick himself up, as well, to muster up a silly excuse for him and Throttle to break away from the four before him. He wondered just when this drama would end, and although he swore to stand next to Turbo in everything, he felt his blood begin to boil, he feared that said pick-me-up Turbo definitely needed didn't induce any amount of strong arming, an act of kicking Turbo's butt into gear. Hesitant to go toe-to-toe to Arcade's scariest bad guy, he gulped and was now well aware that this is what he signed up for.


	174. Chapter 174

**Reviews :**

 **Awesome Stories May Occur :** LMAO! Lash isn't very clear in that text, is he. He has access to basic things like the fridge, certain tangible objects, though he doesn't have access to doors that gain exit or entry into somewhere. So if the bathroom door was ever closed, he'd have to use some form of a household item to get the door open. That's what he was insinuating with his notion 'pissing has become a chore' LOL. As for Gunner, I'm glad I've been able to hold a facade well. He eventually shows his true colors. Although he's not one of my more redeeming 'bad' guys, his character does have a bit of an arc into this story. Whether it end well, or not, you'll just have to see :) Thank you for your support! I appreciate it!

 **faolan1230 :** LOL yeah he's totally dying xD Poor thing

 **chuckiboo :** Hey! Long time no see, I missed you. Hope you're well! And, I'm SO thrilled you recalled that, because I definitely was calling on such old times. I think that's probably the last time one of my mains fell into a dark romantic funk like such. It's REALLY not fun to write for, honestly. I'm a problem solver, so having to write for mopey characters drives me up a wall. Turbo eventually gets... Thrown around and snapped out of it. Hopefully you guys can guess whose the one to finally knock him off his pedestal.

 **Nikki Firesong :** Thank you SO much! I try to bring a gentler approach to heavier topics, and although I haven't experienced a majority of said experiences, I HAVE experienced homelessness - so writing for Tatum in that way was something I could very easily recall. All the other traumas I wrote for were a bit more difficult and I felt I had to tread lightly. So I really appreciate you saying that cause I try to handle it all with grace and respect. Yes, this chapter gets a bit dodgy, so hold on to your hat!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Birds ft. Elisa by Imagine Dragons**

* * *

 ***Chapter 174***

With a sparkle of Throttle's and Wren's collective, lovely, blood-orange coding that sprawled the teleport pad in Turbo's foyer, they both softly and hesitantly stepped off the pad, only to be greet by Nox's stiff, nervous figure. Both Wren and Throttle flinched in soft surprise, Nox stood poised and ready in front of the wall that would unfold to welcome them into Turbo's lovely loft. Dressed in a casual, cozy-printed button down and ripped jeans, Nox sagged his grey hands into his jeans, gave Wren and Throttle a quiet look of nervous apprehension and allowed the three to hover for a moment of quiet solitude before they entered the lion's den. Throttle huffed a silent chuckle, looked down to his feet and inhaled a deep, nervous breath as all three men softly gathered in a loose circle, as if to huddle up.

"Hey, guys," Nox's sweet, deep voice eased to the two with a lilt of nervous curiosity, his golden eyes dart between Wren and Throttle with a smile that eventually surfaced, "How was your tour of Castle Run?"

"Oh, wild," Wren blurt quietly; they were well aware both ends of this spectrum were entirely noise cancelling, in terms of Turbo's thick walls, though they still hesitantly kept their voices low, "That game is incredibly beautiful. The sheer amount of gargoyles in that game is insane."

"Pretty sure half your crowd, each show, was gargoyles," Throttle huffed a cute laugh and nodded, "It was really cool."

"I... I feel really bad, you guys, I haven't seen Turbo in a few weeks," Nox pressed sadly, "I mean... We text a lot, but, y'know how it is. He's busy and I got my own things going on, with Koko and whatnot."

"Don't beat yourself up, him and Berri are just... Going through a few issues," Wren mumbled, he glanced into Throttle's eyes with warm question, "I'm not sure if you're aware what went on, are you?"

"Lash was privately messaging me yesterday about it," Nox bobbed a nod and aimlessly glossed his golden gaze to the wall that would eventually slide open and welcome them into Turbo's abode, "I know him and Berri will get through these troubles, but... That's not my worry..."

"What are you worried about?" Wren staggered in frozen anxiety, he pierced his blue eyes into Nox's with tender, scared inquisition as Nox narrowed his gaze and very apprehensively carried on.

"Throttle can assure you... Whenever Turbo gets into these funks, where he falls into deep moods, it's... It's pretty dodgy," Nox stated quietly, "I've only ever seen his eyes change from gold, to something else, enough times to only count on one hand, in my entire life."

"When he feels, he feels deep," Throttle bobbed a nod and looked down in already exhausted nervousness, "He's typically so in control of his emotion, but if blue or red eyes come about, it... Means certain doom."

"Wait, okay, so... Your guys' eyes go blue when you're sad?" Wren questioned innocently, though Nox regretfully shook his head and gave Wren an apologetic look of tender, patient explaining.

"No, no, it's... Not just plain 'ol sadness, this is... True, genuine despair," Nox worried, "Usually, if we're feeling a quick bout of sadness, or uncertainty, or even halted frustration, or any other greyer area of emotion, our eyes just glow a little less or lose the golden glow entirely... Or, in Throttle's case, a white glow."

"It's only really in the lastingly huge, dire emotions where color really sticks and... Well... Emotion can get away from us," Throttle warned tenderly, he gave Wren an honest smile, peered down to him in genuine apprehension and pressed on, "I mean, Wren, how many times can you say you've seen my eyes do anything other than just dim to grey or glow a brighter white?"

"I... Don't think I've ever," Wren mumbled, he now peered his becoming-terrified eyes to Nox's, who pressed on with cold caution.

"If Lash is calling this 'code blue' as he puts it, this... Isn't going to be pretty," Nox warned, though Wren anxiously shifted on his feet and felt as if he was right up against the giant of it all, easily swallowed by fear.

"O-Okay, so, what am I to expect?" Wren faltered, Throttle shrugged and curiously peered to Nox.

"Let's... Just be thankful this is a code blue, and... Not a code red," Throttle muttered through his teeth, "You'd rather have a depressed version of Turbo before you than a... Rage filled one."

"Yeah red means get the hell outta there cause you're screwed no matter WHAT you say," Nox staggered through his teeth, as well, though Wren exhaled a shaky breath and gestured to himself in a wide, sarcastic smile of sour glee.

"Great, this is great. I signed my sorry ass up to be Turbo's right hand man before truly understanding just what kind of a warpath Turbo could go on, great," Wren quipped, all three men softly laughed.

"Yeah, it's... Not pretty, what he'd leave in his wake," Nox huffed shakily, though he smiled nonetheless, "I just wanted to warn you. I'm glad Lash did this, actually. He lives with Turbo every day, and... It makes me feel good that Lash has the heart to reach out to all his brothers, to rally us around and get Turbo back on his feet."

"I'm honored," Wren mumbled honestly, though he raised his eyebrows, inhaled a deep, trembling breath and broadened his swooping glance to Throttle and Nox, who hovered in soft uncertainty, "And... Terrified."

"Yeah, keep your wits about you," Nox tenderly warned, though as he cued his and Koko's lovely, crimson-berry coding on his palm, he tenderly laid said live-wired glitching abilities to the wall of Turbo's front door, and with ease, it shifted and began to grumble as it slide down into the hard grout underneath.

Wren inhaled a shaky breath and peered into Turbo's comfortable, homey, familiar loft. Although nothing immediately seemed amiss, he was well aware all three boys were now stepping into a land mine of discovery. With Turbo's kitchen light on, that being the only light source, Turbo's incredible wall of glass, that overlooked the city, was tinted in a dark black out. Still being able to see out, his home was very dim, almost as if it were dusk and no house lights had been turned on yet. As Nox, Throttle and Wren softly stepped inside and Turbo's large front door sagged shut, all three boys were cued to Lash and Chester at Turbo's kitchen island. Lash looked as if he had his wits about him, as if he had survived this long in Turbo's blue, moody presence, though he glossed his muted, grey eyes to the three boys in a show of becoming, tender humility, as if this was the thing to finally have him breaking his strict opinions, the severity of Turbo's heart break, this go around, Lash looked beyond exhausted. Nonetheless, he perked up, causing the tender glow in his eyes to faintly come back, though he sharply grit his teeth and shakily pointed to Turbo's much darker living room, cueing to the three that Turbo was on the couch.

Wren glossed his eyes deeper into the details of the living room and inhaled a readied shaky breath. Although the four now began to slowly approach the crest of the few, broad steps down into the living room, Wren ultimately was the one paving the way. With the way all three of Turbo's hovered behind Wren, he wondered if he maybe was naively wandering into a very dangerous situation, one of which all three TurboTime boys were very well versed in, the sacrificial lamb they were glad to put up as their wave of a white flag. With the round of Wren's soft feet into Turbo's carpet, and the gentle splay of a visual Wren had, he held his breath and felt his heart drop in dire concern. As if he maybe hadn't moved in days, Turbo sat sagged in the nook of his lovely red swoop of a couch. With the large, red, matching ottoman lazily tucked under his bare grey feet, Wren looked about and took note that daintily and secretly splayed all about Turbo were empty beer bottles. Dozens of them just tidily strewn about the coffee table before him, the long, display table behind his couch, even some on the ground in a toppled over mess, Wren heaved a shaky breath and peered to Turbo's haunting figure, the prominent glow of his blue eyes was a rare, heart breaking sight to see.

"Hey, man," Wren tenderly inquired, he now took note that Nox, Throttle and Lash continued to hesitate to move closer, though Wren was now well aware this was likely his own battle to spearhead. In an action that was as nonjudgmental as he possibly could afford, he gingerly collected a few of the empty beer bottles, set them aside and made room for himself on the couch. He cautiously plopped down one couch cushion's length away from Turbo, though even this has Throttle, Nox and Lash frozen in a spike of unmitigated worry. Wren tilted his head and was glad to collect warm eye contact with Turbo, though in such a haunting show of vulnerability and sorrow, Turbo also eked a very scary amount of mildly drunken unpredictability. Turbo long blinked his sharp gaze to Wren's and inhaled a deep breath, as if his dusty rib cage hadn't done so in awhile. Wren dared to huff an incredulous little laugh and desperately tried to splay his sunny disposition to Turbo's in warmth, "You, uh... Y'hanging in there?"

"I guess," Turbo mumbled, though he softly glossed his hazy blue eyes to the television that mumbled on in a quiet volume, cueing to everyone that Turbo likely wasn't even watching said program, more so just sitting in the soft sound and getting lost in his own spiraling thoughts. Turbo gave Wren soft, understanding eye contact and looked as if he wanted to give Wren a smile, "How was Castle Run?"

"Amazing," Wren huffed warmly, he took note of Turbo's features; a scraggly, dark scruff of a beard had formed on Turbo's chin and jaw in an unkept mess, two weeks worth of length looked as if it were now a few days past needing a clean trim, though still held in messy disarray. Wren inhaled a shaky breath and was at least thrilled Nox, Throttle and Lash made their presences a little more known as they gathered around, "We had our biggest show yet. It was terrifying."

"Damn," Turbo's groggy, tired voice huffed. He finally peaked a small smile and gave Wren a bit more direct eye contact, as if his brain now fully realized just who was before him; someone so incredibly close to the woman he temporarily lost, "You guys... Back? Is, well... Berri..."

"Berri's home," Wren cooed warmly, as if to maybe egg the idea of praying they'd at least try and speak to each other, even though Turbo demanded sulking space, "We have a house guest, so Berri's busy making sure they're all set up."

"Who is it?" Turbo pressed nervously, though Wren shook his head and huffed a chuckle.

"You'll never believe," Wren mumbled cutely, "Remember Sama?"

"... No way," Turbo huffed an incredulous chuckle and sagged into the couch where he was comfortable, marinating in his own sorrow, he long-blinked in groggy, exhausted sadness and desperately tried to carry normal conversation with his best friend, though Nox, Throttle and Lash all froze in terror the second Turbo's cranky, authoritative, sharp blue gaze glossed his brothers, as if to meanly suggest they keep their distance, for he was well aware just why they were here, "That's great. She could use a girl friend."

"... Yeah, she could," Wren muttered, he rolled his eyes and looked off in playful irritation at said notion, though he quickly dropped it and understood just why he was here, "Bo, I... I just want to make sure you're okay. What's going on, here?"

"I just... Always screw everything up," Turbo mumbled, he shook his head and shrugged in nonchalance, "There's really nothing to know. Berri made her opinion clear, and that's that."

"That's that," Wren mumbled, he cocked an eyebrow and peered to Turbo in a very steadily rising boil of authority, his heart began to race at the sheer idea of shaking Turbo up a little, "You... You REALLY want to think that about the woman you wanted to make your bride, Bo, REALLY."

"I can't change her mind, I can't... Do this," Turbo sagged, "I thought all that time stewing on just what went wrong, between Libby and I, and how quickly I lost her... I was sure I had gotten good, and this time around would be a breeze. But look at me. It requires something I absolutely cannot handle, right now, I just can't."

"What, leave Sugar Rush?" Wren darkly wondered, he could feel Nox, Throttle and Lash tense, as if they were ready to haul ass out of here.

"Yeah, what else?" Turbo staggered, his sinister blue gaze tightly caught with Wren's in great, sarcastic cheek, "It ain't experience I lack, here, I know THAT'S certainly not driving her away."

"Nox, how often do you get recognized when you leave Sugar Rush," Wren suddenly and loudly pressed; Nox's terrified, golden gaze quickly muted as all eyes firmly peered to him in curiosity.

"A handful of times," Nox pressed softly, though he urgently shook his head and tried to remember what this was all about, "B-But, it's more so just curiosity, not anger or hate. More often than not, people are just interested in what I LOOK like, like my eyes. I guess we're among the stranger gamers, out there? Not something I'd expect."

"It's alluring," Throttle mumbled with a shrug, "Bright, colorful eyes through colorless skin."

"But, you come home, unscathed," Wren gestured, Nox bobbed a nod and huffed a small chuckle.

"Ho yeah, I'm in and out of Sugar Rush all the time, with Koko. I mean, shit, I lived in EZ Living for an eternity," Nox encouraged, he was thrilled that Turbo was silently listening with intent eye contact, "Even Tee, here, you were in End of Line Academy for all those years."

"Yeah, I'm not a very good example," Throttle warmly mumbled, though he gave Nox and Turbo an encouraging smile, "I mean, I had small classes and students and staff ALL knew who I was, and where I was from, but I wasn't ever in the general public. They gave me room in End of Line Academy, so I hardly ever was out in public."

"But even still, the students surely loved you," Wren encouraged softly, Throttle bobbed a nod.

"Tessa was my student, for a little while, there," Throttle beamed, "She even brought little Ace along with her. They had fun, I would assume. As did everyone else."

"Lash, would you leave Sugar Rush?" Wren dared, his voice had begun to become a bit more stern, cueing to everyone that he was starting to lose his marbles over this twisted situation; Lash raised his eyebrows in staggering nervousness and almost seemed wary of Turbo's whole presence.

"I-I... Well... I-I think I'd be more willing to leave, than Turbo, but it wouldn't be something I'd be happy about," Lash nervously pressed, he shrugged and gave Wren a soft look of humility, "I'm just being honest, man, it's scary. It's a little different for Turbo and I, in my opinion. We caused this whole mess of unplugs."

"So, this weird placebo effect you've just SPIRALED into is the thing keeping you from being with the woman you love most, yeah?" Wren now sassily asked, though as Wren's eyes drew to Turbo's, he could see purpose come back to Turbo's skin, though not in the way he'd like. Still drowning in yesterday's alcohol, Turbo looked as if he was beginning to become unhinged entirely, though Wren knew he needed to shake things up, to be the one to hopefully kick Turbo in the pants and get him back on his feet as seamlessly as he could, "You could LEAVE the game, unscathed, with the security of ALL of us to protect you and support you... AND you'd get your dick wet. How does that sound?"

"I don't want your help," Turbo's deep, scary voice suddenly snapped; words Wren knew that, deep down, weren't true.

"I don't care if you DON'T want OUR help," Wren stated sternly, "SOMETHING has to give, Turbo, this is SO stupid and childish. You have to bend somewhere, dude you CAN'T just let Berri get away from you, like this. You can't just sit here and waste away when you have an entire support system here to help you get to where you need and WANT to be."

"I said," Turbo's voice began to seemingly melt the room, with ease, he slowly pushed himself to a full, upright sitting position, he dared to get in Wren's face. With such movement, Wren huffed a shaky breath of nervousness and began to stand, though much to his whole dismay, this cued Turbo to begin to stand, as well; a slow drag of just who would win in this proverbial and literal height of dominance, "I don't WANT... YOUR... HELP."

"So you're REALLY going to let this all go? Everything you worked so hard for?" Wren barked, as both men finally came to a stand, though Wren grit his teeth in rising terror at the sheer foot of height Turbo had over him; Turbo hovered over him like the grim reaper himself, and though he was grateful the color in his eyes never wavered from blue, he was well aware this was a slippery slope right into red rage territory.

"What do you think I'm sitting here for?" Turbo now growled down into Wren's face, a challenge Wren was well aware he'd lose, though with the rile of testosterone now drowning the room, Wren felt a pop of his own shred of TurboTime coding urgently course through his veins.

Although Nox, Throttle and Lash now quietly began to coo nervous notions of plea, their desperate, scared footwork quickly worked about the furniture and pressed across the carpet in a rush to separate both boys before a fist fight broke out, Wren inhaled a sharp breath, delivered Turbo a harder glower than what was received, popped open his own palms and allowed his own coding to grapple Turbo's much stronger, scarier being in a grip of telekinetic fervor. Turbo huffed a shaky breath as Wren very smoothly began to sit Turbo back down with nothing but the power in his own will, this brave act halted Nox, Throttle and Lash dead in their warpath, and with a firm shove, Turbo jolted back down to the couch with a boggled look of frustrated uncertainty. Wren inhaled a deep, raspy breath, and although he unhanded Turbo's coding and was well aware Turbo could now get in his face, in return, Wren sharply bent down and knew Turbo wouldn't dare.

"You're sitting here like a pathetic FOOL while the world carries on," Wren's deep, gentle voice laid Turbo into a dark grave, and although Turbo peered to Wren in a fit of further frustration, his pupils pierced Wren's in unadulterated surprise as Wren darkly carried on, "You four boys are NO LONGER the only beings with this coding. You CHOSE to help Tessa and Zed, all that time ago, because a SHRED of you desired normality."

"Wren," Turbo mumbled in now deflated, exhausted sorrow.

"And NOW, it's ON YOUR DOORSTEP, it's WALTZED itself into your arms and into your love in the form of blue hair and a twinkling smile and WHAT DO YOU DO?" Wren now loudly shouted in Turbo's face, Wren grit his teeth and hissed him a sharp, whispering conclusion, "You do NOTHING."

Turbo exhaled a trembling breath and watched as Wren continued to hover tight to Turbo's gravity, though everyone largely flinched the second Wren ripped himself from Turbo's presence and began to storm across the living room.

"That poor girl has done SO MUCH for you," Wren pressed angrily as Nox, Throttle and Lash now did what they could to keep cautious tabs on Wren's feverous, fiery energy, "The LEAST you could do is show up to a GOD DAMN SHOW!"

Turbo remained silent and knew he was beat, he softly sat up, to normality, and kept his sorrowful, pitiful blue eyes tight to Wren's as he carried on with his tirade.

"You're out here making disguises for people, you're helping EVERYONE be the best version of themselves that they can be, and ALL we want is to GIVE BACK," Wren desperately gestured to his own broad chest in a firm few shoves and grapples of his own shirt, he writhed and grit his teeth with fervor, the whole room was hot with it, "We can't give back to a WALL!"

"Wren, I'm..." Turbo huffed a shaky, further defeated breath, lulled his eyes closed and shook his head, and though he opened his mouth to press on, Wren glowered him a hateful look and began to peel out of the living room.

"Oh, right, you're SORRY," Wren sharply stabbed as he eased up the steps and head directly for the front door, "Don't tell it to me, Black. Tell it to the girl who came back to Castle Run, after your night of sexual indulgence, CRYING in my arms because she just LOVES you SO MUCH!"

Turbo looked down to his shaking hands and knew he had to bring himself to so many things, though his center of gravity kept him haltingly planted. He inhaled a trembling breath and began to whimper the start of a few words, though Wren was too far away to hear, too much louder to care to listen any longer.

"Our last show is this Friday in Arcadia, it's our LAST show until WHO KNOWS when," Wren barked as he whirled around and peered into the living room; although Turbo's blue eyes were nervously hooked tight to Wren's, across the way, Nox, Throttle and Lash all looked off and down in humble, sorrowful agreeing to Wren's words, "After Gunner's gone, we're not PROMISED a tour, or shows. It's something we have to build upon. That poor girl has been holding her breath! She tells security EVERY TIME to make sure to let a Mr. Turbo Black inside, granted he shows up!"

Turbo long-blinked tears down his cheeks and knew he needed to climb out of this and keep Wren in his gravity, though like last time, he knew he was failing.

"But he doesn't," Wren angrily grunted through the grit of his teeth, "He never does."

Turbo shut his eyes tight and listened as Wren angrily left. With the gape of Turbo's front door wide open, the teleport pad in Turbo's foyer could be heard whizzing Wren's riled, angry coding away for good. Turbo heaved a shaky, nasally sigh and peered up to his three brothers in a dreadful show of embarrassment. He furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head as all three boys peered down to him in soft silence, making clear just what side of this argument they stood on.

"I... May not be a love guru or anything of that matter, but..." Lash nervously rubbed the back of his head and softly peered to Throttle and Nox, "A woman like that doesn't just come about all the time, right?"

"She's a rarity," Throttle's deep voice disappointedly showered upon Turbo, "But so are we. She knows that."

"Birds of a feather," Nox trailed gently, to which Turbo shook his head and sagged.

"I thought getting over this would be easier," Turbo mumbled, "I... Can't. I can't bring myself to it. I just can't."

"Don't tell us that, Bo," Throttle mumbled sorrowfully, he shrugged and softly glanced to Nox, "Y'gotta make that entirely clear to Berri... You both owe it to each other so you can eventually move on."

"Piss, or get off the pot," Lash muttered as he crossed his arms, and though everyone hovered in softness, they held on to the electric air Wren had set upon the place, a much needed shock to Turbo's system; just what Turbo would do with this bolt of lightning now had everyone waiting with baited breath.


	175. Chapter 175

**Reviews :**

 **chuckiboo :** You're definitely right! It wakes him up a bit, but Turbo surely still needs a good throw around...

 **faolan1230 :** LMAO Wren's like NOT TODAY. Yeah Wren may be smaller, but he's not one to be trifled with.

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Aladar and Neera by James Newton Howard**

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 ***Chapter 175***

A few evenings had past and Sugar Rush was quiet. Amidst the turmoil happening in and outside of the game, Sugar Rush's shred of Archived Chaos diligently hulled away and made a silent vow to recuperate for the week, until their grand finale show in Arcadia Station. With Tatum in much need of rest, as well as Wren, Theo and Berri, they each did a minimal amount of socializing and did whatever they could to restore their mental health. In the quiet chirps of crickets that radiated on Sugar Rush's gorgeous, pristine palace lot, Berri fiddled with a few outfits in her body mirror. In a huff of frustration, she shook her head and gently picked up her phone. Although prepared to message Wren and ask for his advice, for said outfits, over the phone, she halted herself mid-text, slumped her phone into the gape of her baggy sweat's pockets and pressed to her bedroom's teleport pad.

In the gentle, flicker of silver coding that appeared in the form of a small, dim holographic display, she pressed a smaller little button off to the side of Wren's name, a doorbell of sorts. She patiently awaited Wren's teleport pad to unlock so she could join him in his bedroom. After a few moments of patient waiting, the pad dinged a small noise to assure Berri that his pad was unlocked and accessible; with a whisk of her coding, she teleported one floor down and appeared in Wren's bedroom. With a gentle, sleepy splay of her blue eyes about Wren's elegant bedroom, she raised her eyebrows in cute delight and caught with Wren's figure across the way. With all of his windows open, to let in the lovely, early summertime night air, she inhaled a deep breath and took a few steps onto Wren's shaggy, lovely carpet. Wren softly bobbed her a nod, from his cozy, pretty sitting area; although still kissed with masculine touches, Wren's furniture and decor held a very pristine, elegant touch of minimalistic beauty. Very peculiar about style and sophistication, it showed most through the way he kept his abode. Berri always felt as if she was visiting royalty, upon being in Wren's room, and with the sag of lovely familiarity, she crossed Wren's room and ushered him a sweet notion.

"Babe, I need your expertise," Berri's warm, soft voice pressed, she rounded his large, unmade bed of white and gold downs, mixed with minimal, beautiful patterns and simple design work. She furrowed her eyebrows as Wren sat up a little, he was easily lounged in his cozy recliner near his windows, sat tucked with a cup of coffee and a book slopped on the table next to him, as if he was previously reading, though stopped to bury his nose in his phone. Berri slowed her roll and peered to him in reversing nervousness, "Is everything okay?"

"Oh, no, everything's fine," Wren mumbled, he inhaled a deep breath, expanded his bare chest and locked his phone with a gentle slump of it on the table next to his book. He lulled his eyes closed, shook his head in mental exhaustion and peered to Berri in soft curiosity. He glossed his eyes over just what she was wearing; baggy grey sweats alongside an even baggier mint green t-shirt with a cute splash of a Sugar Rush logo, properly stated in Japanese and kissed with pink splotches of cherry blossoms. Braless, hair a wreck, clearly in for the night and then some, Wren huffed a chuckle and finally peered his gaze into Berri's with great cheek, "I'd say... Bedroom chic, you're ready for the blankets. Maybe sneak down to the kitchen at three a.m. for a few slices of cold pizza. I wouldn't wear that in public, Bear, you know better."

"I'm not talking about what I'm wearing currently," Berri choked a laugh and gestured her hands in playful annoyance, Wren beamed a cheeky smile down to his lap and softened.

"What's up?" Wren wondered softly, though it was in his rather defeated tone did Berri further slow her roll and wonder if she should be asking Wren that question.

"... Well, I just had an idea for an outfit for Arcadia but I'm wondering if it's too revealing," Berri sighed, she curiously peered to the heavily-used, slouchy bean bag chair a few feet from the recliner Wren was slouched in, "May I?"

"Yeah, babe, I'm sorry," Wren shook his head and seemed flustered; as soon as Berri plopped into the bean bag chair, she side-eyed Wren in bubbling suspicion.

"What's wrong, Wren, you're very distant," Berri mumbled as she didn't do a thing to straighten her hair or care about her appearance; Wren warily peered to her, almost in impending hurt, the turmoil he had gone through with Turbo, days prior, still had him entirely on edge.

"... I'm just surprised you're not asking Tatum for this kind of advice, now," Wren weakly wondered, his nervous eyes hooked to hers, and though Berri sagged her shoulders and longingly peered to her best friend, he inhaled a shaky breath and sorrowfully carried on as his eyes glossed his twiddling fingers, "She is another girl, after all..."

"Wren, no one knows me like you do," Berri mumbled cutely, "I could easily go ask Tatum for advice, and I'm sure she'd give GOOD advice, but... You're my go-to guy for this stuff. You've never failed me. Why fix something that's not broken?"

Wren smiled down to his fingers in an aimless draw of cute humility, he finally peered his sweet, grateful eyes to Berri and made clear, through his aura alone, just how much he loved and appreciated her.

"Thank you," Wren mumbled in sweet defeat, Berri shook her head and side-eyed Wren.

"You really think Tatum could replace YOU? Sure, she's... She's stylish and was previously in our shoes and knows just what would look good on a stage, but..." Berri beamed Wren a smile and almost felt silly this was even an issue, "You get me. You're honest and quick. I really rely on you, love. You've never failed me."

"Just don't replace me, okay?" Wren worried gently, to which Berri scoffed a hard giggle and grunted to get out of the bean bag she had fallen victim to.

"REPLACE you?" Berri staggered a broader laugh, she finally approached Wren's sulky, grumpy figure, gripped his hand and forced him to get out of his seat. He rolled his eyes and ushered her a small, annoyed laugh, though upon standing, Berri urgently scooped Wren into a huge, jolting hug about his midsection. Wren coughed a happier laugh as the two obnoxiously swayed, though once the two softened into a cute draw of tenderness, their embrace gummed to a needy grip. Berri heaved a sigh on Wren's bare shoulder and aimlessly peered across his room, over said bare shoulder, "Wren, I could never. You're my family. I'm surprised you're even worried."

"I just never had another fashionista to compete with," Wren grumbled as he sagged his strong arms about the backs of Berri's shoulders. He finally lulled the side of his head against hers and eased his eyes to a close as they relaxed in each other's sweet embrace, "Please let me be your stylist forever."

"Wren, I rang your teleport pad's bell FIRST," Berri choked a laugh into Wren's neck, they both finally succumbed to cute smiles and a happier, warmer fervor of delight, "Safe to say, you're HIRED."

"Good, someone's gotta take care of yah," Wren muttered, he gently began to pick at Berri's huge, fluffy waves of blue hair, he raised said collections up to his eye level and cocked an eyebrow in teasing delight, "Y'got a treehouse-sized bird nest, here, friend. User. What did you to to make your hair so angry?"

"I showered and then took a nap while my hair was wet, don't judge me," Berri bashfully murmured, the two remained gripped in their warm, unending hug. Berri furrowed her eyebrows and sagged deeper into Wren's embrace, though she began to frown and allow Wren's now strengthening aura to sap her weakening one, "Wren, do... Do you think I'm being selfish?"

"What, with how you're treating your hair? YEAH," Wren barked a laugh, which successfully got a hard giggle out of Berri's figure, though once Wren finally pulled away from Berri, he eased his masculine hands to her upper arms, furrowed his eyebrows and kept his gaze tight to hers in tender curiosity, "Selfish with what, hun. Surely not the definition of you."

"... With Turbo," Berri mumbled sorrowfully, she shook her head and inhaled a deep, raspy breath, "I... I haven't talked to or seen him in weeks. I feel... Terrible."

"It takes two to tango," Wren bobbed a nod and aimlessly looked off, though he kept his arms warmly to Berri's upper arms, "I think you both just need to SIT DOWN with each other. Get everything off of your chests."

"I did, though, the last day I saw him," Berri worried, though like clockwork, any shred of a mention of this topic had her eyes billowing with exhausted tears. Wren sagged his shoulders with said notion and felt his heart pang in sorrow, "I just... Abandoned him. I'm sure he's... So miserable."

"He is, I... If I'm being honest, I saw him a few days ago," Wren mumbled, though Berri raised her eyebrows in sharp surprise and glued her glassy gaze into Wren's with billowing fervor.

"Y-You did? What was said?" Berri sharply ushered under her breath, though Wren shook his head, finally unhanded Berri and took a few steps closer to the gape of his opened floor-to-ceiling windows.

"Well, HE didn't say much, I... Well..." Wren raised his eyebrows, volleyed Berri a nervously cocky gaze and rested his hand to his bare chest, "Got in his face."

"What?" Berri hissed in shock.

"Sorry, Bear, I... I see both sides, here. SURE, maybe you can lighten up and understand that the guy has had a VERY traumatic past, but..." Wren looked out his window, narrowed his gaze and peered to the jungle trees on Sugar Rush's lot, the way the moonlight hit the soft sway of each leaf, it all remained so peaceful inside such a tumultuous conversation, "He also needs to pull himself up from his boot straps and at least, I don't know... Step out into Game Central Station?"

"I'd be satisfied with that," Berri chimed, she bobbed a nod and urgently peered to Wren, as if he had potentially turned into a messenger between her and Turbo, "Seriously. Just holding hands? In Game Central Station? FINE. We'll go from there."

"Trust me, he got an ear full," Wren muttered, he rubbed his face in agitation and shook his head, "I think... We just need to FINISH this tour, finish our last show at Arcadia, and then once the dust settles, you guys can come to a compromise. Take itty bitty baby steps. Seems like he could afford that."

"Yeah, I'm... Just trying to think beyond Arcadia, User knows he wouldn't dare show up to that," Berri muttered in defeated annoyance as she crossed her arms, "The largest show in Arcade... If he hadn't come to our other much tinier shows..."

"No, he's for sure not going to show up for our show in Arcadia, that crowd is... User even I don't want to think about those numbers," Wren shook his head in assurance, "But, who knows... Once we get back on our feet, after this contract ends, and we start assigning our OWN shows and working up to our OWN tour, maybe that'll be enough time, and in that time, you and Turbo can work together on getting him comfortable with leaving the game."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Berri nodded in soft conclusion, she narrowed her eyes and peered to Wren in apprehensive curiosity, "Should I message him? I don't know... I don't want him to feel forgotten or anything."

"If you'd like, yeah... He was... A wreck, Bear, I'm not going to lie to you," Wren grit his teeth and gave Berri a soft look of caution, "I won't go into the details, but it for sure wasn't pretty. I think if you just make clear that you still love him and are willing to sit down and find a compromise, after tour is over, then..."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Berri bobbed a nod and looked down to her hands, "You think he'd want to see me?"

"I-I wouldn't, Bear, if I'm being honest," Wren worried, the visual memory of Turbo drowning in empty beer bottles, unshaved, eyes a blue, glowing mess, Wren grit his teeth and gave Berri a pleading look, "I don't want you to be further distracted or worried before this final show. We leave tomorrow evening, I'd just... Wait until we return Friday night. Then you two can discuss."

"I guess you're right," Berri sighed in further defeat, and though she wanted to go rushing Turbo's loft with an overflow of apologetic love, she desperately tried to get the idea out of her mind until she could entirely dedicate all of her focus to the situation.

"I'd really like to see this outfit you were wanting to wear on stage," Wren mumbled, a gentle transition into a different, not so tense topic, "Y'think Gunner will go for it?"

"I doubt it, but I ALMOST don't care," Berri urged in annoyance, "It's similar to what I wore when I snuck out. Remember the morning I came back? What I was wearing?"

"Ohh those skinny jeans and that black, strappy body suit?" Wren chimed, though he bugged his eyes, grit his teeth and gave Berri a wild look of caution, "Yeah, that... Body suit revealed a lot of cleavage, you know how modest Gunner wants us to look."

"I just want to wear whatever I want, it's not like I was naked on the little stage I soloed on, I LOVE that outfit," Berri urged as she pressed her fingers to her sternum for emphasis, "I felt awesome wearing it."

"I'm sure the crowd thought so too," Wren agreed with a laugh, "I mean... I guess you can try and squeak past Gunner, but you KNOW he's going to ask you to put on an over-shirt or shawl or something stupid."

"I'm feeling brave," Berri assured under her breath as she side-eyed the opened windows, she aimlessly peered out to the sky in cute, determined contemplation, "Can't hurt to try... It's our final show, the hugest stage in Arcade. I want to wear what I want and use whatever instrument I want."

"Wait, what do you mean instrument?" Wren felt now innocently lost, Berri shook her head and heaved a long sigh.

"I... I coded myself a new guitar I've been wanting to use instead of my plain green one," Berri mumbled sadly, though Wren sweetly smiled to her in bittersweet nostalgia.

"Aww, 'ol green, that one's your favorite," Wren quietly whined, to which Berri inhaled a deep breath and nodded in coming to terms with her ideas.

"I know, I love that guitar, but... I made this one specifically with Turbo in mind, and I really wanted to use it," Berri frowned, she shook her head and bashfully peered into Wren's eyes, "At least if he WATCHES the show on tv, he'd... See that I put effort to making sure he knew he was appreciated."

Wren held still and smiled into Berri's eyes. No matter their differences, Wren was glad she could still manage to see the shining, diligent good in everyone's character. He heaved a hot sigh through his nose, bobbed a nod and lulled his eyes closed.

"I'd say try and get past Gunner... If he gives you trouble, I'll go to bat for you," Wren gave her a sure, certain smile and nodded, "Just keep me informed. Look, I may not have wrecking powers, but I'll do my best to make sure everyone goes on that stage happy."

"I don't want to step on his toes or anything, but... Come on," Berri sighed, "He has to understand that we want a LITTLE bit of artistic freedom. If not in what we do on stage, at LEAST let us be a little bit more lenient with what we wear."

"Yeah, I agree," Wren gently began to rub his neck, "I know those bow-ties were my idea, and I DO love me a good bow-tie, but... Man, does it get hot, up there."

"I know, you always come off the stage a sweaty mess," Berri worried with an apologetic smile; Wren shook his head and lulled his eyes closed in sweetness.

"I'll ditch the bow-tie, you ditch the shirt," Wren choked, they both eased into laughter.

"I'm not going to go on stage topless, Wren, what the heck," Berri blurt.

"Y'might as well, with an outfit like that," Wren teased, though he shook his head at Berri and gave her a loving smile, "You looked great in it. It suited you, and your style. It's our last show, I'd say... Do what y'gotta do."

"Thanks, Wren, I can always count on you," Berri smiled into his eyes, she knew it was a mildly risky thing to attempt, though she knew she had to attempt to take the reins somewhere.

"Damn straight," Wren blurt as the two soaked his room in warm laughter, a gentle hug of calm, sweet solace before their world erupted into the show of the century.


	176. Chapter 176

**Reviews :**

 **chuckiboo :** Haha thank you! You're absolutely right! Except for the yellow top she's added to it, but you're definitely right. As for Ace, Turbo does bump into him, but no, it's not Ace that gets on to him. He's involved by proxy, in this mess. He knows Turbo's pain, through Libby. He's not really one to be extremely confrontational, either - Ace, sure, is protective of his little sister, but he's not one to go jumping on someone when he's not really entirely involved. Him and Berri are close, but he hasn't been around to see their struggle. The person that gets in Turbo's face has been someone who has been quietly witness to all of this. And boy does Turbo get a face full.

 **faolan1230 :** If you're curious, you can see a little bit of the guitar in one of my recent paintings. All of my artwork, of my crew here, is on my Insta - username Vyntastic. Thank you friend! I'm glad you're enjoying everything thus far.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **All I Am by Jess Glynne**

* * *

 ***Chapter 176***

"Hey, bud," Theo chimed sleepily, he groggily opened the tower's front door, and although Chester's big, boisterous figure was the main thing in his view, Sugar Rush's sweet, warm morning air still whisked past Chester, fluffed his fur and hit Theo head on. Theo inhaled a deep, revived breath, and although he had just woken up and pressed down to the kitchen for breakfast, Chester's whining and clawing at the front door was prominent. Chester eased a fang-filled smile of glee and perked his ears as Theo opened the door wider, "How long have you been out here?"

"Ten years," Chester's boyish, deep, playful voice loudly pressed. His wet dog snout firmly bumped Theo's cheek in hard, excited sniffling as he firmly tucked his beautiful scaly wings tight to his body and began to firmly push into the house. Theo barked a groggy laugh of irritation, fumbled to the side and wobbled as Chester's much bigger, fluffy body confidently stepped inside, "Where's Berri?"

"I don't know, I'm sure she's still asleep," Theo mumbled, he rubbed his eyes, closed and locked their tower's door and inhaled a gasp of a heavy, hard yawn. He carried on through the trail of said yawn, "I'm rethinking coming downstairs, to be honest. I'm still tired."

"Lazy bum, I've been woken since the sun," Chester fumbled, though in due confidence, he bobbed a nod as the two began to stroll down the sunny foyer corridor; Theo huffed a tired chuckle and pat his much larger hand to Chester's strong side.

"Awake... Been A-wake," Theo kindly corrected.

"What did I say?" Chester pressed quietly.

"You said you've 'been woken'," Theo blurt with a louder chuckle, though as the two softly rounded into the common room, Theo's emerald eyes caught with someone in the kitchen. In a heart-stopping pike of desperately trying to conceal his half-awake terror, his lovely green coding wigged in a few glitch-lines of nervous, discombobulation. His voice blipped out as his pixels desperately tried to realign. With this, Chester flattened his ears, halted his footwork and honed his blind attention in Theo's direction as Theo desperately tried to get the word out, "O-Oh, good... Morning, Tatum."

"Hey," Tatum sleepily mumbled as she closed the fridge, she curiously eyed Theo and Chester in cute, snarky, concealed delight. She wore a lazy, dark purple hoodie, her lovely, faded pink hair was down and splayed on her shoulders. She sleepily rubbed her eye and huffed a cute giggle to Chester's and Theo's now halted, prickled demeanors, "Didn't... Mean to disturb the peace."

"No, no you're not," Theo quietly encouraged with a loving smile, he rested his hand to his broad chest and shook his head, "I-If anything, it's this guy."

"HEY," Chester huffed in a deep tone of playful irritation.

"Chester, right?" Tatum wondered, her sweet, sleepy eyes laid into his soul with quiet, tender love, something that so urgently spoke to Theo's soft disposition.

"Yes'm," Chester bobbed a nod, and although Theo was previously en-route to heading back to his bedroom and getting a few extra moments of sleep, with Chester in tow, both boys now sagged their intentions to the kitchen, where Tatum now resided.

"I heard a commotion and came out to see what was going on, but just saw it was you guys," Tatum sighed, she looked back at the fridge in curious delight and finally peered her eyes to Theo's in sleepy sweetness, "Figured I might as well wake up, for good."

"I had the same thought, but then I remembered how cozy my bed is," Theo huffed an innocent, boyish look of cheek, though he cleared his throat and tried not to sound to close to the edge of insinuating something. He shook his head and gestured to Chester, "This guy was comin' with. I just had to let him in otherwise he probably would've clawed the door down."

"I think that's what I was hearing," Tatum mumbled a giggle as she pressed closer to the nook of the kitchen, the bend where the kitchen sink and large, lovely kitchen window sat, easily splaying in a healthy dose of morning sunlight, "You guys are BOTH going upstairs?"

"Yeah, I didn't want him down here pestering you," Theo eased plainly, and though he gave Tatum a sweet smile, Chester flattened his ears and urgently gestured his paw outwards.

"Guys I'm BLIND, not DEAF," Chester loudly barked, to which Tatum and Theo were thrown into a sleepy laughing fit.

"Y-You BOTH were going to fit on that teleport pad?" Tatum stated through a hard giggle, and though Theo tossed his curious smile and eyes to the hull of a teleport pad, sunk into a larger archway in the corner of the kitchen, he furrowed his eyebrows and was well aware this wasn't a slight towards Theo, and more dire curiosity due to Chester's decent size.

"Yeah, it's a tight squeeze, but it works, watch," Theo gently cued to Chester and stepped into the hull of the teleport pad. With Chester's bumbling presence that nearly barreled into the hull of the teleport nook, Tatum let out a hard fit of giggling as she watched Chester worm his way about Theo's stood figure, a mess of fur, tail, wings and paws. Theo's eyes popped through the top of Chester's mane as Chester finally grunted Theo a boyish conclusion.

"Ready," Chester stated proudly, though Theo guffawed an annoyed noise and began to push Chester out of the teleport pad; Tatum was now wildly lost in laughter as both boys began to loudly bicker. Chester's fumbling paws and non-retractable claws loudly and firmly clacked against the kitchen tiles as Chester did what he could to squeeze out of the teleport nook, "WHAT! I'm related to Royal, y'can't blame me."

"So YOU are a self programmed gamer," Tatum wondered through desperately trying to collect her laughter, she was glad that both boys rejoined her in the kitchen; Theo stood a few feet from her, by her side, whilst Chester shook his head, in a dog-like manner, corrected the tufts of fur on his mane and chest, reset the positioning of his wings and finally settled to a full stand in the common room, just half a dozen feet from where Tatum and Theo calmly stood.

"I'yam," Chester eased with a wide smile, "My dad's Royal, my mom's Balba."

"So, the BIG white one and the green wolf looking one," Theo mumbled to Tatum, who only now looked as if she understood.

"Oh, okay, so your mom and dad are different breeds," Tatum pressed in further, cute curiosity; Theo's gentle, loving emerald eyes peered down to Tatum's much shorter, smaller, cuter figure, though he flinched as she dart her inquisitive, darker eyes up to his with question.

"Right, so... Lickity had Royal with a... Chameleon-dragon hybrid who unfortunately isn't with us anymore, his name was Orion," Theo gently explained, he peered into Tatum's eyes and almost couldn't even believe that this was his new normal. He swallowed hard and carried on, trying desperately to remain cool and stoic, "Royal would technically be a hybrid in of himself... But then he had Chester with Balba, who is full-bred lykata..."

"So that would make Chester..." Tatum lazily pointed to Chester, who firmly perked his ears, sat on his rear and tucked his paw to his chest in boyish, teasing delight.

"A coded MESS!" Chester proudly barked, he popped his wings just barely, though knew to be careful doing so, indoors, due to the sheer amount of furniture he's destroyed in the past.

"Case and point," Theo chuckled loudly and flung his arm out to Chester, though he softened to Tatum's eyes and crossed his arms, "I think Chester is more lykata than anything. Marble and Balba are both full-bred lykata. They're a winged-wolf species from Dead Zed."

"Oh, right," Tatum bobbed a nod, though she scratched her head and narrowed her gaze in cute, cheeky sweetness, "I'm still... Trying to wrap my mind around JUST how many home games are under one roof."

"Yeah, there's quite a few," Theo bobbed a nod and gave Chester a sweet smile, across the way, as he softened and eased his much larger presence closer to Tatum and Theo, "We all were born here, in Sugar Rush. Me, Berri, Chester... Except Wren, he was born in Dead Zed."

"'Sidering he's full Sugar Rush, and the rest of us aren't," Chester mumbled cutely, to which Theo shrugged and bobbed a nod in warm agreeing.

"I'm considered endangered, I guess," Tatum mumbled as she now did what she could to subtly and slowly tidy her appearance; she began to pull her soft, sweet hair into a loy ponytail with the hair tie around her little wrist. She inhaled a deep breath and smiled up to Theo's eyes, "My game got unplugged. It was Castle Run's predecessor. I'm a self-programmed gamer, as well. My dad was a gargoyle."

"No way," Theo peered down to her, his eyes widened with discovery, he gently sagged the side of his hip to the island's counter they were stationed at and got a bit more comfortable. Eager to learn more about Tatum, he gave her his full attention and now forgot that his bed even existed, "I saw all of those gargoyles had fire-breathing powers, and could make their wings appear and disappear at will... A-As well as turn to stone!"

"... Wanna guess which power I obtained?" Tatum sneakily smiled, she side-eyed Theo in scheming delight, her cute grin showed the prominent fangs that resided a bit deeper in her mouth, though Theo bugged his eyes and began to look a little scared.

"You can breathe fire, can't you," Theo huffed quietly in boyish anticipation, though Tatum rolled her eyes and looked off.

"Nooo, dammit," Tatum mumbled in now shy, smiling disappointment, "No one cares if you have wings. The majority of us can't turn to stone, that's actually a really rare trait."

"Wait, y-you have wings? You can make them appear?" Theo wondered in a further show of curiosity, though Tatum crossed her arms and gave Theo a further shy look of blushing reservedness.

"Yes, but I don't ever show anyone," Tatum smiled cutely, and although she held a welcoming air about her, Theo could see her shell away in curt, nervous protection.

"Man, what I'd give to have the ability to fly," Theo scoffed, he could tell Tatum was due to now shelling away for good, so he quickly looked off and made the conversation about him, so to take attention away from her, "I would spend ALL day just flying wherever. You winged folks are so lucky."

"I can fly, but I don't like to," Chester muttered, he flattened his ears and gave Theo a cheeky, fang-filled grin, "Can't see."

"Yeah, Chester's a runner, which... Is probably for the better, considering Berri's fear of insane heights," Theo chuckled, he gave Chester a sweet smile, full of understanding, though he returned his gaze to Tatum and softened as much as he could, "I don't blame you, for your choices. You've been in the spotlight long enough."

"I don't really fit in," Tatum worried with a nervous smile, she looked down and bashfully shrugged, "I mean... Everyone I ever hung out with didn't have wings or anything. I always felt out of place whenever I showed mine. They're not particularly small or cute, or fit a social setting."

"... I'd beg to differ, but it's your decision," Theo stated as warmly as he could, he then opened his palms and gave Tatum a snarky look of agreeing, "I mean, I guess I could say the same thing about my hands. I AM Wreck-It Ralph's grandson, after all... And I can't hide these bad boys."

"Your hands are great," Tatum sweetly smiled, she dared to press her much littler hand into Theo's open palm, as daintily as she could.

"Thank you," Theo mumbled warmly, how badly he wanted to close his large, gentle hand about her little one, he resisted the urge and stayed still for her seemingly trembling aura. He side-eyed her with a cute, sneaky smile and narrowed his gaze, "You can't say that having the ability to fly pretty much trumps everyone's opinion, though, I mean, come on. I'd kill for that."

"It IS pretty great," Tatum huffed with a cute smile as she seemed to unravel from her previously shelling-away disposition.

"Knew it," Theo nodded and peered to Chester in sweet, confirmed conclusion, though with Tatum's little hand still confidently laid in his open palm, Theo inhaled a brave breath and warmly closed his larger hand about hers in gentle looseness, though a gooey enough grip to show camaraderie, "Well, your secret is safe with me. Rest assured."

"Thank you," Tatum stated in a mild lilt of taken aback disbelief. She held her free hand to her chest in a further show of plucked delight and gave Theo a wider smile of now blushing release, "That's... Really sweet."

"That IS in my last name, after all," Theo's deep voice pressed calmly, he gave Tatum a coy smile of assurance, alongside her hand a good, loving squeeze, before he gently unhanded her and knew his job here was done; any amount of flirting and daintily trying to allure Tatum in was now weighing in his favor, "Welp... I should probably head upstairs and think about packing."

"How long will you guys be gone, this time?" Tatum wondered casually, though her aura radiated openness, as if she now didn't want Theo to leave.

"Theo Schweetz?" Chester finally pressed in warm confusion, "Ohh, oh... Sweets... Schweetz."

"Welcome to the conversation Chessy," Theo mumbled, Tatum blurt a hard giggle as Theo eased her a dorky smile; Chester flattened his ears and gave his blind attention elsewhere in smiling annoyance, "We'll be gone for one night... I don't have much packing to do, but I always get nervous and over pack. The usual."

"I was the same way, always," Tatum assured with a small nod, though as the group began to gently disperse, Theo and Chester head for the teleport pad, once again. Tatum eased closer to the fridge, once more, though cheekily eyed their situation, watching Theo and Chester pile into the teleport hull was a funny sight to behold, "We'd be gone for two nights and I'd pack for a whole freaking week."

"Seriously, and last tour, we were gone for two weeks. You'd think I was going on a three month sabbatical to an Arcade far far away," Theo huffed a hard laugh, though he jolted as Chester firmly joined him on the teleport pad.

"Alright, love birds, I want a nap now," Chester barked cutely as Theo grunted to get the pad's display to work beyond the mess of Chester's wings, limbs and fur.

"W-Will I be able to see you before you leave?" Tatum bravely ask, her voice shook in uncertainty, though Theo's eyes lit up with sweet, rushing surprise.

"Oh, of course," Theo chimed, he bobbed her a nod and gave her a wide smile of assurance, "I'll text you before we're about to leave, you can see us off, y'know?"

"Yeah, I'd... Like that," Tatum eased cutely as she stood on tip-toes, in order to gain eye contact with Theo beyond Chester's mess of fur.

"I'll be in touch," Theo assured sweetly, and as they said their gentle parting notions, Chester and Theo were easily whisked off in a mess of green and golden swirling coding; Tatum bit her lip, sagged back to the flat of her feet and gently rested her little fist to her chest in a sag of smiling warmth that filled her once cold, hardened heart, a sweet line of butterflies she was almost uncertain of just what to do with.


	177. Chapter 177

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Thank you!

 **BanannaSammich :** Thank you! No, Tatum isn't related to Kepa, Kepa is a purebred gargoyle. More is expanded on that as the 5th story comes :) Libby Von Swirlz's coding was hot pink before she swapped with Turbo, the red and pink meshed and made for an unusual mixture of hot yellow. Kaji was 'born' with said hot yellow coding, thus when her and Ace swapped, with his silver coding, it made gold.

 **Misterthex :** Uhg, I'm sorry. Your previous name was hard enough as it was. I currently have hay fever so I'm like WAY out of it. Thank you! I hope that you guys enjoy the future TeddyxTatum chapters to come :)

 **faolan1230 :** Okay great! That's awesome. Thank you! Yes, let the ship set sail! Woohoo!

 **chuckiboo :** Aww, wow! That's so sweet of you! Thank you so much. Tatum and Theo have fun scenes coming up a little after the 200 chapter mark, but yes! I expand on them as a new pairing :)

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 ***Chapter 177***

"User, I'm so nervous," Berri hissed quietly as her and Tatum softly stepped down their tower's gentle, few-stepped stoop. Hovering in kind wait, near the tower's glowing, much larger outdoor teleport pad, was Tessa and Zed, kindly awaiting to say their temporary goodbyes. Berri glanced back in Wren's and Theo's direction, everyone looked primed and ready to go, though they were dressed in rather casual clothes due to the simple fact of the evening ahead of them; to simply get to Arcadia, have a proper look around, and attempt to get some rest before the big day tomorrow. Berri quietly carried on as Wren and Theo bickered behind both girls, "The largest stage we've played at, yet, was one of our last shows inside Dig Dug... And I thought I was going to die."

"Yeah, Arcadia? Sheesh," Tatum hissed, she shook her head and gave Berri a sheepish, apologetic smile, "Especially since that venue is inside the game station... Have you been to Arcadia Station yet?"

"No, I've only heard people talking about it," Berri staggered in soft nervousness, though Tatum looked off and continued to hold true to a wide, apologetic smile.

"Yeah, that... Station has an entirely see-through ceiling. The housing of the top of the power strip is clear, so... Any sunlight beaming into Litwak's will be beaming down into Arcadia and, thus... Into the venue," Tatum grit her teeth and blurt a chuckle as Berri finally washed a look of realization, "You'll be able to see everything..."

"And everyone," Berri mumbled nervously, she eyed Tatum in sheer terror and shook her head, "I-I've never played on a stage during daylight before. It's always been dark enough to where I can hardly see the crowd. That's made things a little easier for me. Not that I can't handle a crowd, but..."

"Y'guys excited?" Tessa chimed with an eager smile as both Tatum and Berri pressed closer, though Tessa sagged in gentle realization once she saw Berri's demeanor begin to look nervous, "Bear, what's wrong?"

"Oh, no, nothing, I just... Realized that our show is going to be in broad daylight," Berri staggered a giggle as Theo and Wren finally caught up, they huffed knowing, nervous notions of agreeing.

"Yeah, I guess that whole amphitheater is at the far end of Arcadia Station, under the glass ceiling," Theo mumbled, he inhaled a shaky breath and looked dewy with nervousness, "I've seen pictures of that venue... We're, uh... In for it."

"Midnight Moon Theatre," Wren recited in a grumbly tone, Zed gently gripped his shoulder and squeezed, alongside a lazy side hug both men softly fell into. Wren sagged and glossed his nervous, smiling attention to Zed's eyes in needy apprehension, "We're almost at capacity, too..."

"Welp, we'll be there," Zed stated proudly, everyone perked up.

"You guys are coming to this one?" Berri chimed in a spike of excitement, to which Zed and Tessa beamed and nodded. Berri was well aware they made it to whichever show they could, though their duties here, inside Sugar Rush, were also very important. Berri smiled in easy gratitude and softened, "User, this is... Going to be huge."

"Everyone's coming, Rancis, Taffyta, all the racers, your grandparents," Zed listed, he gave Tessa a warm smile and nodded, "The game will be just fine."

"Wait, you're... Going to leave it on autopilot?" Berri staggered in sharp concern; only a very few times in Zed's and Tessa's ruling, alongside Ralph's and Vanellope's, was the game ever left to it's own devices, and though Berri inquired, Zed began to look regretful giving such information due to his billowing, impending words.

"Yeah, we're... We're leaving Turbo in charge, in case something goes wrong, but... I-I told him to leave the game on autopilot in case he, well..." Zed trailed off nervously, though Berri sharply furrowed her eyebrows and began to feel billowing frustration, for this topic, come rushing back to her.

"Safe to say he won't come, guys, you don't have anything to worry about," Berri urged darkly, though Theo warmly took her arm, as if to quietly beg her not to get riled about it, not to get too over her head in this issue before their big day. Berri inhaled a deep, long breath through her nose, lulled her eyes closed and shook her head in shooing thoughts, "It's... Fine, it's fine. He'll take care of the game."

"I left him the option, it's... Really out of our hands, love, I tried," Zed stated nervously, to which Tessa bobbed a sorrowful nod, as if to assure to Berri that Zed was, indeed, telling the truth; Berri sighed, nodded and looked down.

"A worry for another day," She concluded with a twinge of sorrowful bitterness, "But, for now, we should probably get going."

"Yes, go ahead, we'll be there tomorrow," Tessa urged with a wide smile as her and Berri sagged into a big hug, one that became grippy and swaying in excitedness. Tessa eased a giggle and gave her daughter a few firm kisses on the side of her head, "I'm so proud of you guys... You're gunna hit it out of the park."

"Thanks, mom," Berri cooed with a smile as the two softly pulled apart.

"We'll be backstage before the show, just to see you guys off and wish you good luck and such," Tessa assured with a grin, Zed equally nodded with smiling, excited fervor, "It'll be awesome. We'll text you."

"Sounds good," Berri nodded as everyone began to slowly pile towards the glowing teleport pad, which hovered in anticipatory wait.

Tatum began to sag back and understand that she would obviously be hanging back, though she raised her eyebrows in soft, piqued contemplation as she watched the soft, loving family group quietly run over directions and times to meet, for tomorrow morning, and though Tatum knew to properly hang back and let said family unit say their loving, temporary goodbyes, Tatum inhaled a readied, bashful nervous breath, raised her finger a little and cleared her throat in rising, cute stage fright.

"Uh... Theo?" Tatum gently called, from the now dozen foot gap of distance between her and the moseying group; Theo whirled around and urgently peered to her through the dimness of Sugar Rush's lovely, nighttime glow.

"Yeah?" Theo cutely wondered as he directed his whole attention to Tatum, and though she opened her mouth and looked as if she was prepared to shyly usher him a cute goodbye notion, she finally sagged and very bashfully waved him over, as subtly and quietly as she could. Theo raised his eyebrows in further surprise, and without hesitation, he hustled to close the gap between the group he was melted into, and Tatum, who stood in cute solidarity by their tower's warmly illuminated stoop. Once Theo closed their gap, and the two were now just barely out of earshot of Tessa, Zed, Berri and Wren, Theo slowed his roll, softened his disposition and eased his eyes tight to hers in cute curiosity, "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, I just... I wanted to thank you for this morning," Tatum quietly and politely conveyed, her sweet, dark maroon eyes glinted to his amidst the patio's lovely warm light, something Theo cued to in hovering, anticipatory inquisition.

"Oh?" Theo softly pressed, he peered down to her, she was almost a staggering two feet shorter than him.

"Yeah, about... What you said about your hands, you made me feel a little better about myself and my condition, and... I just wanted to properly say thank you, I didn't get the chance earlier," Tatum shyly eased, her sweet eyes narrowed in a further show of expose, something she was definitely not used to.

"Oh, yeah, of COURSE," Theo huffed a gentle chuckle and kept his disposition easy for her, he laid his hand to his chest and bobbed a nod, "If anyone understands maybe feeling as if they don't fit in, due to physical constraints, it's definitely me, but... I've got the people around me that love me. I hope you come to feel that way about us, too. You're great. Don't even worry about it."

Tatum softened into goo and knew she had to further convey a gentle prickle further of gratitude. In silence, she long-blinked in bruised, blushed delight and gestured her fingers in a motion to inquire Theo to come closer, as if she had a secret. Theo cocked an eyebrow and hesitated, though with ease, he took a step closer, filled their gap and turned his ear closer to her, as if to be certain that she, indeed, did have a secret to whisper in his ear, though much to his surprise, Tatum warmly cupped the other side of his face and eased a loving smooch into Theo's cheek instead. Theo raised his eyebrows in boyish, delirious surprise and hovered tight before her, though as he slowly stood back up and kept his doughy, bewildered emerald eyes into Tatum's, she beamed a sweet, wide grin and lulled her eyes closed in knowing tenderness.

"Knock 'em dead, Teddy," Tatum eased quietly to him, to which he crowned the widest, dorkiest smile.

"Teddy hit drum," Theo mumbled in a deep, grumbly, playful caveman-like tone, something Tatum very freely let loose a happy giggle up to his disposition, and as the two kept their smiling, blushing gazes tight to each other, Theo finally bobbed her a nod and began to pull away, however hard that was.

"... Okay, casanova," Wren muttered quietly as Theo finally was in range of his voice, though far enough away so Tatum couldn't hear, "You, uh... Do a secret side quest all of us are unaware of?"

"Yeah, that's where all the gems are, duh, I'm just trying to level up," Theo mumbled back, a grinning, blushing mess.

"He's not wrong," Berri volleyed, to which Tessa and Zed cutely peered back to Tatum in sweet, delighted surprise; her tiny, adorable figure stood poised on the stoop in shy observing, though Theo inhaled a deep, readied breath and bobbed a nod.

"We got a show to win, guys," Theo urged with all of the excited, positive fervor in the world.

* * *

In the quiet of the night, when the majority of every gamer was safely tucked in their own games, Berri and crew silently traversed Arcade's train stations with ease. Lucky to get a train cab just for Berri, Wren, Theo and the few body guards that met them inside Sugar Rush's outlet, they felt safe and secure in their trip all the way to the end's of Arcade. Litwak's largest, newest game station, it sat securely at the very front of the Arcade and housed some of the biggest, greatest most current Arcade cabinets. Alongside some massive titles, newer titles comfortably clad with much older titles that had been revamped and renewed, the station was a hub for everything Litwak's was made of. A massive world in of itself, trains to get to Arcadia were limited and only left a very short few times of the day, due to the incredible journey to get there. Almost a forty-five minute journey, the crew grew antsy, though as they finally pulled into the station, they held their breath and finally excited into Arcade's hugest, most glorious station.

With wide eyes, child-like wonder, Berri and crew slowly stepped into Arcadia station as if they had just stepped into a different, much sparklier universe. A station easily three times the length of Game Central Station, their eyes were lost in the sheer distance of said lovely, pristine, modern game station. Crowned with said highly spoken about clear, domed ceiling that seemingly reached miles above their heads, the universe practically beveled the plain sight of Litwak's Arcade above them. Seeing the sheer height and volume of weighted arcade cabinets, hefty planetoid-like structures that went on for an entire eternity, the group nearly went dizzy-eyed at the unlimited amount of information hitting their coded retinas. Although happening upon Midnight Moon's gorgeous amphitheater was another endeavor, the crew held their breath, pressed through the quiet, silent arched entrances to said 'outdoor' amphitheater and finally came to the threshold of the highest point.

"Guys," Berri murmured in cute, terrified delight as she gripped the railing, down below her was a swathe of thousands of seats that bevelled down into a pit of a never-ending sea of silent, pristine quiet, though easily promised a very real, scary crowd.

"Yeah?" Wren staggered shakily, him and Theo stood on either of Berri's sides and easily gripped the railing, as well, quietly crowned with their raw reality, the sheer amount of opportunities this mess has gifted them, they remained silent in prickled, humbled shock.

"We did it," Berri whispered in sweet cheek as she eyed both Theo and Wren with a knowing little smirk, to which they easily huffed her quiet notions of agreeing and linked arms with her.

"Hell yeah, we did," Theo mumbled as the crew quietly peered down to their destiny.

Prickled in the quiet of Arcadia's Station, the amphitheatre so silently twinkled underneath the lights of their nighttime ambience, though in noticing the sheer size of literally everything, even the big outlet hubs that lined each side of the station beyond the dug-out of the massive amphitheater, Berri's eyes trailed from their massive stage to the arch, see-through ceiling of the station and quickly noticed something. Beyond their safety of a power strip, on Litwak's Arcade's colorful floors, the view from said powerstrip was that of the sheen of a floor-to-ceiling window, inside the Arcade, just next to the front door where excited Arcade-goers would enter. Although faint and not entirely prominent, Berri felt her breath catch at the sheer sight she was now witness to. Actual stars from the outside world just barely twinkled in frozen delight, and it was in this observation did she quickly realize that tomorrow morning would bring a genuine splay of true, California sunshine. Berri shook her head and allowed her eyes to gloss the massive, dim, tidy stage just beyond them, outfitted with a proper straight away that eased down the center of the lucky individuals that got center stage and front row seats, a place Berri wished she could traverse during their impending show, how badly she wanted to reach her hand into the crowd and truly show her fans some love.

"Otherworldly, ain't it?" Gunner's voice tenderly pressed, to which Berri, Wren and Theo all easily perked from their quiet atmosphere of simply soaking it all in.

"It's... Insane, I'm genuinely nervous," Wren staggered a shaky laugh; although the three now very easily viewed Gunner in a whole splay of a different light, due to the truth that had come out about the issues between him and Tatum, the group knew that they had to bite their tongues now more than ever.

"I know, I got here a few hours ago," Gunner grit his teeth and looked down to the other end of the station, where Arcadia's train station lay, "I didn't realize trips here were so incredibly limited."

"I'm certain tomorrow will be different," Berri mumbled in nervous humility, her eyes continued to trail the thousands of empty seats they hovered over.

"I have a bit of an inquiry," Wren started, to which everyone honed their now apprehensive eyes to him in a string of collectedness, "This station is... MASSIVE. And, we're not technically IN a game, for safety. How does this play out with the deleter protection?"

"I'm glad you asked," Gunner's deep voice pressed, he slowly looked up and about the station, "Arcadia Station is the only station in Arcade that is its own hub and world, in of itself. Although we can see out, it's so advanced that this station has it's own accessible code room."

"So, security has talked to all the right people, have gotten all clearances, we're good to go?" Berri questioned, she peered to Gunner in soft anticipatory wait and crossed her arms.

"Yep, everything's squared away," Gunner bobbed a hesitant nod and looked down the length of the station, "This is our hugest show... I'm sure everything will be just fine, but damn, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't shellshocked, borderline terrified."

"I think we're right there with you," Theo mumbled as he looked down and inhaled a shaky breath.

"I think I'd like to have a proper meeting with security, go over every entry point, really make sure we stay safe, as well as all of our attendees," Berri instructed in calm authority, to which Gunner bobbed her a nod and gave her an almost impressed smile.

"Damn, Bear, I'm glad you care about those details," Gunner pressed kindly, he gave her his typical soft, sweet and gooey look of bottled adoration, praying one day it'd all pay off.

"Why wouldn't I? I'm Sugar Rush's Queen-to-be, I kind of HAVE to have this mindset," Berri stated cutely, though she held a very stern, womanly air of almost taken aback, poised confusion; Gunner shrugged and began to back-step away, in which all three individuals slowly began to follow.

"I'm used to being the only one that cared about that stuff, I guess, I'm glad we're on the same page," Gunner's heart-melting smile coat the group in warmth, though he cocked an eyebrow and gave her a disappointed, annoyed look, "Sama never gave a shit about any of that stuff. She would always usher me away and tell me to lighten up. Glad that's over with."

Gunner nonchalantly turned heel and began to walk in the direction to begin leading the crew to their rightful spot, though with Gunner's string of words, both Berri and Wren bugged their eyes and very apprehensively peered to Theo. With slowly clenching fists, Theo grit his teeth begin a purse of brewing, wrecking irritation and shot the back of Gunner's head the hardest, meanest glower either Wren or Berri had ever seen from him. In silent warmth, Berri's face washed flat in soft, sorrowful apprehension as she lovingly tucked her arm into Theo's, though as they all hesitantly began to follow Gunner's lead, Theo so silently muttered Gunner a few stewing, heated obscenities that only Berri and Wren could barely hear. Eager to pummel Gunner to a pulp and prove to him that he was the monster that allowed that whole situation to go sour, all three individuals did absolutely everything they could to bite their tongues and sail through this last, final show with as little bad media press as humanely possible.


	178. Chapter 178

**Reviews :**

 **chuckiboo :** Yeah, it's all hearsay from your guys' perspective lol. But the truth already unravelled itself, so it's just what Gunner chooses to do with it, really. Thank you friend!

 **faolan1230 :** LMAO yeah they all have come a very long way, it's true! There's still another half of this story though, so they're not all quite to that potential just yet. Thank you for your support!

 **Nikki Firesong :** Thank you so much for your insight! I love hearing all these things, and I'm glad to know I'm making myself clear with my intentions for my characters. Berri actually has a bit of a wrecking moment with Gunner/Turbo. Just a tiny little taste of what could come...

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **The Windswept Wastes by Gareth Coker**

* * *

 ***Chapter 178***

Quite enjoying her brand new life, Tatum very comfortably sat nestled into the common room's lovely swoop of a cream, fluffy couch. Alongside a frothy morning cup of coffee, a dark grey fleece throw, and Chester's snoozing presence tight at her feet, Tatum inhaled a deep breath, opened the book she was half way through reading and felt her pupils tighten as the morning sunshine glinted against the crisp, fresh, white pages of her book. Relishing in every single soft and lovely muse that came to her senses, she softened for good and, although reminded of her brand new friend's huge show, she knew she had a few hours to kill before she needed to be keeping a watchful eye on the tv. With Chester's gorgeous pops of orange and blue scales, alongside his back and tucked wings, Tatum allowed her senses to further relish in everything Sugar Rush had to offer before she finally felt as if she had her fill, and it was time to escape into her book. About a few pages deep into the still, easy silence of Berri's empty tower, Tatum felt her heart drop at the sound of the tower's front door softly unlocking, opening to a creaky swing, and gently shutting again.

With such a tiny disturbance far down the main room's corridor and deep in the dim, glossy foyer, Tatum jolted in surprise with the way this immediately cued to Chester's deeply snoozing figure. With a jolt, his larger head flew up, his dark orange ears firmly perked atop his head, he froze in the now urgent, adamant stance of full-on watch dog for this rare and precious soul he was with. Tatum inhaled a shaky breath and knew, full well, that whoever had entered the tower clearly had the right to be here, due to them having a key and so nonchalantly entering the building, though she flinched in raw surprise the second the fur on the back of Chester's neck began to raise in hackled, riled adrenaline, his rib cage quickly expanded, and in a further draw of stunned nervousness, Chester suddenly let loose the meanest, scariest, guttural of a wolf growl that his large figure could afford. Tatum sagged in impending terror and wondered just who this person could be that would bring Chester to such a quick, animalistic, protective rage.

Tatum's eyes adjusted in softness as said being finally approached the mouth of the corridor, and with the scuff of his boots, Tatum long-blinked in prickled, discovered nervousness and very quickly assessed this person, someone of which Chester still angrily snarled at. Darker grey skin, haunting golden eyes, casually dressed and unassuming, the soft, dusty charcoal grey of his hair glinted in the sunshine that bounced all across the common room's lovely white tiles. Turbo finally huffed an annoyed chuckle, gestured his arms outward and gave Chester a wide incredulous grin the second Chester's snarling got a bit louder. Though with Turbo's soft chuckle and his human scent that finally hit Chester's dog snout, Chester sagged his ears, ceased all snarling and very quickly began to get to his feet in a different endeavor of urgency.

"Oh, it's Turbo!" Chester uttered in a very happy switch up of glee, his clumsy body quickly began to press closer to Turbo's still stance that hovered in the corridor.

"Was gunna say, man, why're you growling at ME?" Turbo choked a laugh as Chester urgently pressed to Turbo's gravity and gave him his infamous center-nudge of a hello. Turbo grunted a laugh and firmly pet Chester's head and sides.

"We weren't 'specting anyone," Chester mumbled in cute happiness, and as both boys settled, Turbo eased his softened, apologetic gaze in Tatum's direction.

"Hey, sorry for... Intruding, I'm just here to collect Chester," Turbo pressed tenderly towards her, she seemed stiff and out of sorts.

"N-no, it's totally fine," Tatum huffed with a bashful smile, she tucked her hair behind her ears and now began to feel raw realization crawl over her. As if, once again, in the presence of a celebrity, the raw idea of just who this person was finally came crawling over her. Turbo finally picked himself from the blue slump, cleaned up the shave on his jaw line and was now dressed in a lazy yellow tank and faded light grey racing jeans. Tatum heaved a trembling breath, took a stand, felt her hand begin to shake as well as her voice, "Y-You're... you're..."

"... Turbo," Turbo mumbled in almost sorrowful collection, he bashfully dart his golden eyes about Berri's lovely tower and felt bad for his own self, he shook his head and was happy that Chester finally settled, "I'm... Literally not here, I just have a schedule with Chester's flight lessons I have to keep up on. You won't see any more of me-"

"I'm... Honored to meet you, please," Tatum pressed in soft bewilderment, she carefully rounded the low-laying coffee table, outreached her hand for an adamant hand shake and pressed into Turbo's presence.

"... Y-You are?" Turbo staggered in delighted uncertainty, to which Tatum blurt a shaky laugh and was floored to feel Turbo very hesitantly sag his hand into hers for a proper, sweet handshake.

"Yeah? You're an Arcade legend, there's hardly any old baddies around any longer," Tatum hissed in starstruck delight, "I can't believe it... I-I mean, I already met Throttle, and... That's wild, in of itself, but, dang... THE Turbo."

"I'm... I'm flattered, thank you," Turbo huffed in unadulterated surprise, he furrowed his eyebrows down into Tatum's sweet disposition and knew, full well, that she would be here, though he was certain she'd be hidden away, and coming and going wouldn't interfere with her day to day. Turbo gently pat Chester's broad chest and gave Tatum a knowing look, "You should be honored that THIS one was about to go to war, for you."

"Oh, with the snarling?" Tatum questioned, Chester bashfully flattened his ears and looked off.

"Yeah, this one doesn't have a mean bone in his body, I don't think I've EVER heard him snarl and growl like that," Turbo shyly chuckled and gave Chester a knowing look, "Neither of you were aware I'd be showing up."

"Yeah, and I can't see, all I know is that the door was opening and no one is supposed to be here but Tatum and I," Chester muttered, his sentence structure was easily becoming better, though he still hesitated on a few words.

"I'm honored," Tatum sighed, she bobbed a nod and peered to Turbo in warm delight, "From both of you, I mean, really. It's an honor meeting you."

"Well, you too, I love your previous work," Turbo volleyed kindly, to which Tatum bobbed a nod and looked down in shy sweetness.

"Thank you, I'm... I'm really grateful Berri is letting me stay here, to get on my feet," Tatum pressed, though Turbo narrowed his gaze and felt his heart pang with the idea of his love, someone he hadn't properly talked to in weeks.

"Forgive me, Berri and I are, well... Sort of not talking right now, it's why I haven't been around much," Turbo mumbled gently, he shook his head and eyed Tatum in curiosity, and although he was well aware he likely shouldn't prod at a perfect stranger, he cautiously took his chances, "No one has really filled me in, genuinely, on why you're here. Not that you being here is a bad thing."

"Uh, well... I-I guess, long story short, Gunner made a rumor about me cheating on him to boot me off the stage," Tatum gently pressed, "I've been homeless in EZ Living for the past year. I guess... Berri had on a disguise, she was in EZ Living for some open mics and... I went to pick-pocket her, snatched her phone, and realized it was her because her lock screen was of, well... You and her."

Turbo raised his eyebrows in tender, surprised delight. Even after their fight and indefinite pause, he felt his heart thud with purpose over the fact she kept her lock screen solid with the cute picture of him and her. Turbo huffed a shaky breath and peered deep into Tatum's eyes, as if to silently inquire her to continue.

"I didn't have the heart to steal from someone that went through a shred of what I went through, someone I greatly admire... I-I was just trying to get by," Tatum nervously rubbed the back of her head and looked off in mild shame, though she finally gave Turbo a soft look of shy inquiry and continued on, "I guess... I told Berri my plight and she offered me room, here. I'm just thankful she took me in. After everything we've all been through."

"Gunner's a dick, let's just keep that at the forefront of everything and all agree there," Turbo blurt with a soft chuckle, this got a genuine, brightened grin out of Tatum's figure.

"Uh, yeah, deal," Tatum leveled to a soft giggle and eyed Turbo in warm confusion, "I-I... Know I shouldn't prod, but, Berri's hardly said anything about you. Aren't you two dating? I assume there's some soreness there, so forgive me, but... Aren't you going to her show?"

Turbo's smile now began to sink, the urge to further shell away and make things complicated was his expertise, he heaved a long sigh through his nose, looked away and shook his head in a show of now stunted reservedness, after the quick, easy effort of so swiftly coming right out of his shell to a perfect stranger.

"Yeah, we're... Not on good terms, right now," Turbo mumbled, "I don't feel comfortable leaving the game, she's... Upset I won't come to her shows."

"I can see where she's coming from," Tatum pressed in almost daring, tender authority, though she nervously peered up to Turbo and gave him a soft chuckle of apologetic understanding, "Though, I know you're nervous, due to your past, but... I mean, I was thrilled to see you. You're a walking legend. I think you should give the public a chance."

"It's not something I'm willing to risk, right now," Turbo muttered, he furrowed his brows and peered to Tatum's warm eyes, though he very swiftly began to feel as if she was backing him into a corner. With skill, he volleyed it all right back to her, "Well, what about you? You're not going to the show?"

"And have Gunner boot me out again? Yeah right," Tatum scoffed as she placed her hand on her chest and shook her head, "I might go later, as the duration of the show goes on. Theo promised me he'd tell security to let me in... I know, full well, Berri has done the same thing for your name."

"... Well, it was nice chatting with you," Turbo pressed after a few moments of now hot, tangible silence, though Tatum long-blinked in soft defeat and shook her head.

"Yeah, you as well," Tatum eased, "It was really... Genuinely an honor meeting you. I hope you and Berri sort your differences soon. Would be cool to have you around, more often."

"Thank you," Turbo ushered weakly, and though he gave her a sweet, almost apologetic, defeated smile, he turned heel and began to press down the common room's corridor, straight for the dim foyer that hung in wait.

Chester inhaled a long, deep breath and hovered with Tatum for a moment as Turbo peeled away, and though Chester had remained a very neutral air about all of this drama for the entirety of it, he softly flattened his ears, lowered his head in almost predatory, stewing frustration and very hesitantly began to follow Turbo's figure down the corridor. Tatum sagged her shoulders and watched as Chester skulked after Turbo's figure, which confidently left, his ultimate magic trick of making himself disappear as quick as he arrived. She knew everyone was on edge, due to this, though she piqued to Chester's demeanor and felt a wave of uncertainty climb over her. Fully aware that she would be leaving a lot later and meeting up with Theo after everything was coming to a close, she side-eyed the now shutting tower door and wondered if somehow Turbo was being followed by a furry, ticking time bomb, and the countdown to zero was mere minutes away.


	179. Chapter 179

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** Ehh, not quite. But he comes pretty damn close to it.

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Seized from the Depths by Joris De Man**

* * *

 ***Chapter 179***

In the silent, quick journey from the tower's outdoor teleport pad to Turbo's front door foyer, both boys remained silent in soft, hustling determination, though unbeknownst to Turbo, Chester now hung in stewing, quiet debate, one of which he was well aware he needed to simmer. Eager to keep his keen senses and dog-nose out of it, Chester remained quiet as both boys pressed into Turbo's home with a seal of his large door. Chester softened, sniffled his snout after Turbo in curiosity and assessed as he clumsily took his shoes off, lovingly pat Chester's side and began to press to the living room, where Lash cozily rested on the couch. Although Lash was ready for a full afternoon of laziness, Chester was well aware both him and Turbo were due to heading to his high rooftop for another one of Chester's diligent flight lessons. Chester perked his ears in curiosity as he sensed Turbo sag closer to the edges of the living room in which Lash cozily rested.

"Hey, man, we're gunna head to the roof, I have my phone on me," Turbo gently instructed, though as his eyes glossed the tv, he furrowed his brow in now bitter irritation as to just what was being played; reruns and media coverage of Archived Chaos' concerts and impending, amazing shebang to come within the next hour or two. Turbo firmly glowered the tv as images of Berri, Gunner, Theo and Wren flashed across the screen, a female news anchor urgently began to report the news, though Turbo's grumbling voice darkly pressed to Lash's disposition, "Lash, why are you watching this..."

"... What?" Lash staggered innocently, he furrowed his eyebrows and peered to Turbo as Turbo slowly made his way into the plush living room, although he was en-route to heading to the roof with Chester, he almost wanted to make clear to Lash, first and foremost, that he was bothered by this. Lash gestured to the tv as the news reporter continued on with excited fervor, though Lash quietly concluded his nervous, humble desire, "I-I consider the chick my friend, I just want to support her how I can."

"Likely Archived Chaos' biggest show yet to come, Arcadia Station, as well as Midnight Moon Theatre, are ramping up for the droves of gamers now pouring into Litwak's Arcade's newest, largest station," The news anchor pressed on with excitement, "Estimated to hold about fifteen thousand attendees, Midnight Moon is most definitely in for a treat this beautiful, sunny Friday."

"They really lucked out, with the Arcade being closed today," Lash mumbled, he furrowed his brows and peered to Turbo in soft collectedness, "Y'think they do shows for those that have a game day and physically can't attend?"

"I don't know, this is the first daytime show they've ever done," Turbo muttered in raw irritation.

"Y'know, for someone that REALLY doesn't care so much, you're spending an AWFUL amount of time lingering," Lash muttered, he rolled his eyes as Turbo remained fixated.

"Lookit his stupid face," Turbo grunted in blind irritation as Gunner was being interviewed by a news reporter; he sharply glowered the screen and felt a whole swathe of hatred course him, "I just learned that HE started that nasty rumor about Sama. HE was the reason Sama bailed out of the band. Lookit his smug face, how does he sleep at night?"

"Turbo," Lash huffed a loud chuckle, though Lash now nervously could see Chester, in the corner of his eye, remain planted in the kitchen, his ears flattened, his blind gaze was in Turbo's direction and his aura radiated a strange sense of prickled agitation. Lash cleared his throat and now very timidly eyed Chester, "Uh, Turbo..."

"He gets to sing and dance on stage with my Queen, he gets away with so much bullshit," Turbo grunted in now full-fledged, unassuming frustration as he gestured his arm out to the large flat screen that confidently hung on his wall, high above his currently unused fireplace, "Uhg, I'd give anything to just... Shake him."

"Anything?" Chester dared in a sharp, more thorny tone that usual, and with said switch up, Turbo furrowed his eyebrows further and slowly turned to peer over his shoulder.

A formidable beast, Chester's stance was that of firmly planted paws, his wings were loosely hovered in almost anticipation at his side, and what usually was a saggy, loose mopping of his long, flat platypus tail, was now a stiff, readied balance of agile certainty. Chester's ears were now perked high on his head, his broad chest expanded with a readied inhale, his tight-lipped, no-nonsense demeanor was something Turbo had never ever seen before. Turbo felt his stomach drop in a tense of hot confusion, he gave Chester a dumbfounded, irritated look he was well aware Chester couldn't see, though he also narrowed his eyes in piqued confusion and gestured his hand out to the tv up and before him. Turbo shook his head and inhaled a deep breath of readied irritation.

"What?" Turbo firmly pressed, hot irritation now began to drown the room, though Lash raised his eyebrows in prickled, nervous surprise and sat up a little straighter as a live wire now grappled both Chester and Turbo together in this turmoil.

"Well, you said you'd give anything to just SHAKE him," Chester urged through a firm, sarcastic hiss with a show of a cute, fang-filled smirk; his manner of speaking, his demeanor, the show of his sharp fangs amidst every word in preparation to fully snarl, Turbo urgently cued to all of these strange characteristics and now felt fear soak his coding as Chester's pressing, scary figure stood a little taller, a little stronger, "So, what'll it be? You said anything, right? Just what would you give to physically go down there, right now, and shake Gunner, like you so desperately want?"

"I'm not speaking literally, I just mean figuratively," Turbo now adamantly argued, he inhaled a deep breath and allowed full frustration to easily be delivered. What he typically was a soothing, easy-going soul was now someone almost constantly teetering on the edge of tense, angry frustration, "I don't know HOW many times I have to TELL you assholes... I'M. NOT. GOING!"

"Oh, right, you're just going to laze about in stupid flight lessons and pretend you have more pressing matters," Chester dared loudly, though it was here did Lash finally sink into himself the second the clack of Chester's claws firmly planted to the first step down into the living room. Turbo raised his eyebrows in reeling, regretful surprise and watched as Chester's haunting, blind eyes seemingly fixated tight to his soul, "You're just gunna... Sit here? While your so-called QUEEN is currently wrapped in one of the most IMPORTANT days of her life?"

"Chester," Turbo barked adamantly, though he huffed a shaky, falter of a breath the second Chester bared his fangs and let loose a deep, gentle guttural of a growl, tight at the back of his throat. Turbo knew he was safe to game over inside Sugar Rush, though the now impending idea of enduring said game over at Chester's claws and teeth was not something he ever thought he'd ever have to dreadfully brace for.

"Are you going to sit here and sulk and cry and COMPLAIN like you HAVE been doing for the past three weeks now?" Chester's loud voice urgently reverberated off of the bounce of glass they were nearly surrounded in, and as Chester slowly pressed closer to Turbo in a haunting show of now lightly sprawled wings, strong stature, a stiffened spine and a full, easy snarl of pristine four inch long fangs that twinkled in Sugar Rush's late morning sunshine, Turbo began to diligently sink into himself, "You're letting her down, BIG time... And the ONLY thing you can think about? IS GUNNER?"

"Th-that's..." Turbo now knew he was entirely beat, he swallowed hard and began to nervously take a few steps backwards, deeper into his living room, though Chester's very confident, stalking, firm footsteps plowed forward with no regard to furniture or anything that Turbo was very hesitantly weaving around.

"That's ENTIRELY the truth," Chester urgently snapped, his fangs clacked as he continued to bare them, he finally began to flatten his ears in a show of entire anger and frustration, he shook his head and narrowed his blind eyes in a haunting show of full-on dominance over every single being in this entire game, "I've sat back for FAR too long to let you carry on, like this. I love Berri too much to let her so-called future husband DO this to her."

"Chester, it's NOT that EASY," Turbo bellowed, he desperately tried to hold the high ground though Turbo largely flinched the second the paw of Chester's wing suddenly snatched a firm, jostling jolt of a grip on the chest of Turbo's shirt and caught Turbo tight in his boiling gravity.

"It's as easy as I have you in my control, right in this instance," Chester meanly hissed in Turbo's face, Lash bugged his eyes and gaped as Chester easily began to lift Turbo off his feet and continue towards the heavy, floor to ceiling splay of windows his lovely loft boasted, though with such warpath, Lash choked a noise and knew just what was coming here. Turbo grimaced a cough of a noise and urgently grappled his hands to the huge paw and dew claw of Chester's left wing, he now was easily three feet off the ground, hovering by his own weight. Turbo wheezed a choke of a noise and now peered his terrified, muted eyes tight to Chester's fangs, "You LOVE this woman, don't you?"

Turbo huffed a stagger of a nervous noise, and just as he was about to answer, Chester gripped his claw a bit firmer on the collar of Turbo's shirt, grit his fangs in a spike of billowing anger and viciously shoved Turbo back to the glass of his loft with a hollow bang. The only thing between being thrown from his building was the shivering glass Chester now had Turbo firmly thrusted against. Chester snarled and continued his words through said snarling.

"DON'T YOU?" Chester's voice rung clear across the game, though Turbo's words weakly shook from his figure.

"Of course I do," Turbo choked, Chester grit his teeth harder and pushed Turbo a little bit more aggressively into the glass.

"I have every intention to throw you out this window right now," Chester's deep, haunting voice now softened to a growl over Turbo's terrified, shaking soul, "You've had MONTHS to come to grips with this... You even met a PERFECT stranger not five minutes ago and she was floored to see you..."

"Chester," Turbo huffed in a stagger of gasping for air, he pleadingly peered up to Chester and felt fear just plague him as Chester pushed him a bit harder into the glass, though he jolted in surprise the second Chester reeled Turbo back just barely, and firmly threw him into the glass, once more, pinned and helpless, the pang of Turbo's skull and whole back hitting the glass loudly reverberated through his now frozen home.

"You're going to lose Berri if you don't go, NOW," Chester snarled, a trembling mess of fangs mixed with Turbo's nervous squirming and gasps for breath, "You want to marry this woman, don't you?"

"Yes," Turbo wheezed in dire urgency, he peered to Chester in a narrowed gaze of terrified plea.

"GO to her shows? Be King of Sugar Rush? Code babies with her? The whole nine-yards?" Chester firmly rattled, though Turbo coughed and wheezed his conclusions.

"Yes, yes!" Turbo's dire, raspy voice pleaded.

"Then what the hell are you still doing HERE," Chester growled in Turbo's face, to which Turbo's trembling aura peered up to him in continued terror, "You have two choices, my guy... You can either go now, or I will throw you to the streets below and the fall will be your time to think about your decisions."

Turbo heavily panted and felt his heart race with whole uncertainty; he knew exactly what needed to be done, he knew he had to rise to the occasion, he shut his eyes tight and opened his mouth to utter the words, though Chester jostled him and firmly got deeper into his face.

"WELL?" Chester loudly barked, to which Turbo gasped a noise and gripped the unwavering paw of Chester's wing, which was still firmly dug about Turbo's collar and neck.

"Okay, OKAY!" Turbo finally wheezed, though Chester quickly sagged and, although not daintily pressed to now treat Turbo like a gem, he dropped Turbo to the ground with a thud. Turbo hit the ground on his knees and firmly planted his hands to the ground, as well. In a hard, loud, wheezing coughing fit, Turbo gasped for air and firmly rubbed his collar, though his entirely washed, humbled gaze aimlessly glossed his living room in the firm shake of an awakening as he wheezed a trembling, frustrated conclusion, "I'll go, I'll go."

"WHAT!" Lash shrieked as he firmly stood from the couch, where he had been curled in petrified terror, though he rushed to Turbo's side and silently helped him get to a stand. Turbo gave Lash a humbled look of floored terror, though finally shot Chester a wildly insulted, angry glower of meanness. Lash dart his attention between the two and softly jostled Turbo's shoulder as he helped him to a stand, "Y-You're... You're gunna go to Arcadia?"

"If you don't say yes, I swear to GOD I will throw you," Chester darkly snapped with teeth still bared, he heavily panted through the adrenaline rush both boys were very quickly thrusted into, though as Turbo urgently rubbed his throat and kept his tight, mean glower to Chester's blind eyes, he coughed a raspy few words.

"Yes, I'll go to Arcadia," Turbo growled, he swallowed hard, panted through his nose and shook his head. He uttered a sharp notion before either Lash or Chester could get riled for his positive answer, "Under ONE condition."

Chester flattened his ears and held his ground, and although Lash was now along for this ride, he anxiously peered back and forth between Turbo's and Chester's now distanced stances.

"Don't... You... Dare," Chester growled as he lowered his head and kept his predatory blind eyes tight to Turbo's; Turbo eased a mean, panting smile and allowed his raspy voice to usher Chester the hugest ultimatum he could possibly offer.

"I'll go..." Turbo started, the world seemingly went silent as his mean, daring smile pressed Chester into a corner, "If you fly me there."


	180. Chapter 180

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** Oh yeah for SURE, Turbo's absolutely in no position to make ultimatums. But he's never played by the rules, y'all know that :P

 **MisterTheX :** Turbo for sure took a gamble with it, but hey! He gets his way lmao.

 **Nikki Firesong :** Thank you! Chester most definitely gets ALL of this from the one and only Lickity Split - the meanest cat in the whole entire Arcade ;)

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 **A/N :** Phew, sorry I missed an upload day, there. I'm still 20 chapters ahead of you guys, I'm just in the process of packing to move and it's messed with me. I'm also on day like... 50 of quarantine so time isn't real any longer LMAO. I have enough chapters to get me half way through June, so if I miss a day of uploading it's well... Because I have an asinine amount of things going on right now. GOOD NEWS though... I'll be officially living in Sarasota next week and I could CRY I'm so fucking excited like wow. We'll be living 5 minutes from the beach! AMAZING. Anyways, sorry for the delay. I hope you guys are enjoying thus far!

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 ***Chapter 180***

"You suck, man, you SUCK," Chester firmly barked as he suddenly began to angrily pace. With firm movements, he tucked his wings tight to his body and still held his ears flat. Turbo still heavily panted, though a wide, mean, knowing smile continued to crown his humble face, "You can't do that to me."

"You want me to leave the game? You want me to go to Arcadia and see Berri so bad? Fly me there," Turbo loudly and clumsily staggered through panting that began to slow down, he firmly gestured to his chest, cocked an eyebrow and glanced to the tv. Although lazy news coverage continued to go on, he was well aware time was running out, "Their show is in an hour and a half, what's it gunna be?"

"I can't fly, I CAN'T FLY," Chester loudly urged, "This isn't a matter of me WANTING to or not!"

"You CAN fly, I've seen you do it!" Turbo loudly pressed with now smiling fervor, he urgently gestured to Chester and dared to approach him; Chester stood tall and poised, though as Chester faltered a breath and looked about in a very flustered manner, Turbo cocked an eyebrow and gave Chester a wide, grinning, anticipatory side-eye of brotherly dominance, "WELL? What's it gunna be, y'gunna take my sorry ass to Sugar Rush's entrance or not?"

"Fine, FINE," Chester snapped, though Lash urgently grappled his hair and gave both guys a crazed look of terrified uncertainty.

"WAIT, a-are you SERIOUS?" Lash shrieked, though Turbo inhaled a revived breath, pat his pockets and firmly began to cross his living room.

"You guys are right, I've been... The hugest asshole, Berri needs me, she needs me NOW," Turbo staggered firmly, though he, too, grappled his hair and huffed a shaky conclusion of further, delightful terror, "Holy SHIT I can't believe I'm doing this... I can't do this?!"

"Yes you can, come on," Chester urged adamantly, he began to quickly cross the living room with now whole urgency that everyone fell into, "We have to do this together, c'mon, she's waiting."

"You guys expect me to have to stay here and watch the show ALONE?" Lash whined as all three boys now quickly scrambled into the kitchen with alive, riled fervor; Turbo urgently began to scrounge for his keys and phone, his eyes glowed a brighter gold than they have in a long while.

"YES, the game is on auto-pilot, Zed told me if there was a shred of a chance I decided to go to Arcadia, to just LEAVE the game in auto-pilot," Turbo stated, though he firmly whirled around, froze and pointed a stern finger in Lash's direction, "I'm NOT going to bubble you, but if you say ONE word of this to Zed, I WILL kill you. I WILL."

"Okay, okay!" Lash worried as he put his hands up, "It's not like I have rights or can go anywhere or DO anything."

"You're to sit and watch the show," Turbo growled as he got closer to Chester, he bugged his eyes and firmly grappled his hair, once more, "I-I can't do this, Holy User, I CAN'T DO THIS."

"Dude, NEITHER CAN I, we're running out of time," Chester whined in a hurried manner as he jostled his wings for emphasis, "We don't have TIME to sit and wonder if we can or can't do this, we have to hurry and get there before the show starts."

"Wait why?" Turbo wondered in riled, desperately concealed terror.

"You want to catch her before everything starts so she knows you're there, don't you?" Chester rushed, everyone lightly panted with the electricity set upon the place, "Even Wren said that she ALWAYS tells security to keep you whitelisted. Just go backstage and surprise the CRAP out of her!"

"I WANT TO GO WITH," Lash now loudly begged, though Turbo shook his head, opened his palms, inhaled a deep, shaky breath and gave Lash an apologetic smirk of terror.

"Sorry man, maybe next time, I'll tell you everything when we get back," Turbo pressed confidently, though before Lash could argue, Turbo easily warped his and Chester's bouncing, electrified pixels away in a pop of now thin, crystalized air.

"User-dammit," Lash muttered in hot, annoyed, sulking defeat.

"Yeah, you think you're REAL SLICK pulling checkmate on me, like that, don't you!" Chester now hollered over the wind after him and Turbo assessed Orion Tower's sunny roof. Turbo furrowed his eyebrows, grappled the hair on the side of his head, once more, and huffed himself a few cooing notions of self-soothe, though Chester flattened his ears and held a strict, hunched position of dire urgency, "This is either going to be the best or worst decision ever made."

"I can't think too hard on it, I can't, or else I'll go back on my word and I'll just go back downstairs," Turbo rushed clumsily and nervously, his hands began to shake, he could swear his vision was going to fish-eye as he shakily pulled out his phone and tabbed to his shared, remote shred of the code room. With as much ease as his trembling hands could afford, he cued Chester's coding, prod at a few accessories he usually donned, and with as much care as he could, Turbo outfitted Chester with his typical riding saddle. Although not something typically used for flying, Turbo knew that, in such a short notice, he had no choice. Chester perked up, adjusted his wings and finally sagged with the same terrified fervor Turbo was delivering, "Alright, bud, we gotta... We gotta do this."

"Turbo," Chester huffed in equal terror, they both peered to each other, though Chester's gaze now looked lost and aimlessly worried. Turbo shook his head at Chester and huffed him an incredulous laugh, though Chester urgently shook his head and began to look sorrowfully sheepish, "Look, I'm SORRY I got all up in your face, man, I just care about Berri, I CAN'T do this."

"Yes you can, if I can leave the game, you can fly me to the entrance," Turbo firmly demanded, though before he closed out the code room options, he sneakily cued to his own private stash of coding, and with ease, he successfully materialized the gorgeous, cross-striped engagement ring he had very proudly hand crafted for Berri. Tucked in a sleek grey box, he snatched it and securely tucked it into his pocket for immediate future use. With urgency, he now approached Chester and felt as if his brain was about to turn to goo at all the rushing new experiences quickly nipping at his heels, "C'mon, bud, I won't let you fall. I'll be right here to steer and instruct you... And then when we get to the entrance, you can steer and instruct me."

"Turbo," Chester now firmly worried, though with the thick lead that gently dangled from the collar of Chester's sleek saddle, Turbo hurried to grapple it and gave it a tug.

"HEY, this is for Berri," Turbo now loudly snapped as Chester's ears sagged, "You got in my face and now it's time for me to get in yours. Are you WITH me or NOT?"

Chester panted firmly through his nose as Sugar Rush's lovely, warm breeze whisked about Chester's beautiful fur, Turbo's dusty grey hair, Turbo heaved a shaky exhale of anticipatory wait and felt his veins wiggle in a spiking soar of terror, he was very much aware that they both desperately needed each other here. Turbo raised his eyebrows in limited patience and huffed Chester a small notion of question, to which Chester bobbed a wary nod and gently popped his wings open, with a great amount of hesitancy.

"I-I'm with you," Chester murmured, his blind eyes peered about the tower's incredible sixty-four floor drop off, though as Turbo did what he could to firmly mount Chester's spine, Chester stood up a bit straighter and very nervous awaited Turbo's instruction.

Turbo shakily panted and peered across Sugar Rush's sunny, beckoning creation. With the palace tight in his vision, Sugar Rush's entrance could be seen farther beyond the palace, very quietly begging Turbo to come forth, the rush of destiny now urgently shining down upon him, he inhaled a shaky breath and did what he could to get settled on Chester's spine. He furrowed his grey eyebrows, silently promised Berri his rushing presence and felt purpose so quickly flood his ancient, red-hot coding. He shook his head and steadied his thoughts, he was well aware this was going to be the hardest thing he had ever done, though with Chester's urgent words in his head, he knew that blue-haired beauty, of his, was beyond worth it. In an attempt to not be so insanely frustrated with himself, he shook his negative thoughts and now directed his heightened energy to Chester's in a much-needed show of brotherly camaraderie.

"Alright, bud... Just start by taking a running glide off of the tower," Turbo stated firmly through nervous breaths, he shook his head and now nervously peered about his terrifyingly far away city, the drop was otherworldly, simply as if they were viewing it from outer space, "Don't chaotically flap your wings, just focus on gliding and we'll go from there. Just... Let the wind fill your wings, remember everything I've taught you."

"Okay," Chester mumbled nervously, he tilted his ears back and hooked them in Turbo's direction, so he could hear his voice a little better, "T-Turbo, what do I do about landing?"

"I'll be your eyes, look... I know I can't exterior swap with you, like what Berri does, but you're going to have to trust me," Turbo pressed, he hunched a little tighter to Chester's spine and nervously braced himself, "I'm ready when you are... I got your back."

"Literally," Chester murmured, though as he finally inhaled a deep breath and froze in a brace for action, he finally bolted forward in a pop of energy, sprawled his beautiful wings as wide as he could, and in a final leap of faith, he dove off of Turbo's incredible sky scraper, once and for all.

With a sudden glint of a shadow that crossed the living room, Lash perked up, urgently peered out Turbo's lovely loft windows and held his breath in unadulterated surprise. Chester's gorgeous pop of creamy orange wings could be seen quickly and confidently carrying Turbo across the whole span of the city in a soft flutter towards the rising sun. Lash huffed an incredulous chuckle, shook his head and long-blinked in unadulterated, surprised relief.

"Go get her, dude," Lash mumbled to himself in quiet, cute solitude.

Turbo huffed a trembling breath as the wind hit them head on, and as Chester remained tight in a glide for a few moments, Turbo bravely did something he immediately regret by looking down. With nothing but a sheer almost one thousand foot drop into his twinkling city, Turbo choked a sharp inhale, stiffened and peered his urgent, terrified golden gaze to the palace tight on the horizon. Chester's confident glide began to gently sag, something that cued Turbo and snapped him out of his own little bubble of selfish, terrified thoughts. Turbo cleared his throat, leaned into Chester's spine and warmly pat the side of his neck.

"You're doing GREAT, now just... Carefully flap once or twice," Turbo gently instructed, and with care, Chester's body lifted, though his speed slowed.

"PLEASE tell me if I'm going to hit a building," Chester worried in boyish terror, though Turbo firmly cocked an eyebrow and looked about at all the potential buildings Chester could fly into, though none of which were anywhere close to being at the staggering height they remained.

"Trust me, you're NO WHERE near any buildings," Turbo rushed in concealed terror, he swallowed hard and felt beads of sweat dot his forehead as the rushing wind did everything to quell it all, "You're so lucky you can't see, holy... User..."

"Don't say stuff like that! HELP ME," Chester shrieked in worry, though he confidently began to flap on his own, something that Turbo cued to.

"Chester, you'll only need my help landing, it seems as if you've got the hang of it," Turbo chuckled, "The hard part, for you, is over... Now it's my turn."

"Am I in the direction of the entrance?" Chester nervously wondered, though Turbo grappled the reigns of Chester's saddle and tilted his head down in an eagle eyed hone to Sugar Rush's beckoning entrance on Sugar Rush's shining horizon.

"Dead ahead, my guy," Turbo assured, and with Turbo's gentle, physical instructions, Chester fell into rhythm with the familiarity of it all.

With a gentle dip of a bevel into the coded blue atmosphere, Chester inhaled a steady breath, tucked his wings in a small nose dive, gained an awesome amount of speed and finally took off like the confident rocket he was born to be. With a harder whip of wind, their conversation dutifully died. Turbo glowered down the entrance and urgently promised it that he wasn't going to dare back down now, every single firm, sharp flap Chester took, the amount of speed gained, the easy soar the two took right on past Sugar Rush's palace, how desperately Turbo wanted to look back. His golden eyes urgently held forward, he knew this was his time to really prove his worth, to go above and beyond and finally give back like he had promised, and although his heart raced with terror, he knew that his loved ones would very easily receive him with an insane amount of gratitude. For the insane amount of an adventure his life had been up until this quiet, brooding year, he felt purpose rush his ancient red coding, as if promising him that this was the next wind he needed, this was his time to finally arrive in the Arcade and remain to return triumphant and make a positive impact this time around.

Although Chester spontaneously would worry about hitting something, along their fifteen minute flight to Sugar Rush's entrance, Turbo did everything he could to adamantly promise Chester he wouldn't hit anything. Finally and fully trusting Turbo's word, the two now adamantly fell into rhythm with each other. Although the entrance very quickly came upon the two, Turbo kept quiet about it. He bit his lip and felt his heart race, he knew that if he were to make clear to Chester that they were about to dive into a smaller tuck of an alcove deep in the waffle cone mountains of Sugar Rush's entrance, that he would lose that confident soar and things wouldn't go nearly as smoothly as they had been. Instead, Turbo leaned into each bank and turn, utilizing his knees and body weight, he successfully steered Chester and was thrilled to have Chester's full trust, though the second the two were submerged in the hollow, dark tunnel of Sugar Rush's winding, long entrance and exit, Turbo inhaled a shaky breath and felt reality hit him dead between the eyes. The farthest he had gone in nearly two years, he desperately tried to stay gripped to reality. The second Chester's rapid speed rounded the final corner, and Game Central Station's golden light could be seen, Turbo felt every ounce of confidence immediately leave him.

"Alright, brace for landing," Turbo Stated in a blurt of nervousness, though his heart began to race in a frantic frenzy of billowing terror as Game Central Station's glistening tiles got closer and closer.

Turbo grit his teeth, sat up a bit straighter and cued Chester to pop his wings to catch the wind and slow down. With greater ease than Turbo anticipated, Chester slowed to a soft, gliding float, and as his outstretched claws and paws finally skimmed the ground underneath, his legs urgently jolted to correction as he plopped to the ground and easily readjusted himself to an easy, quick trot, wings sprawled. Chester panted and finally drew his gentle jog to a stop, every scale and feather on his body was alive with glimmering, becoming purpose, and although Turbo eased a proud smile and firmly pat the side of Chester's neck in a full show of pride, appreciation and support, Turbo finally slid off of Chester's back and knew this was now his moment to shine. The second Turbo's feet hit the ground, he looked about Sugar Rush's dim, inner outlet and inhaled a trembling breath. Although the outlet usually was bustling, Turbo eagerly took note of everything happening about him. A few gamers came and went, Turbo and Chester remained firmly stood on Sugar Rush's entrance platform, a winding ride into the wire that lead to Sugar Rush's proper cabinet. Turbo felt his shoulders grow tense as a few Sugar Rush citizens, passing by, double-took on Turbo's figure and nothing more. Curious gazes that lingered, though Turbo swallowed hard as Chester's gentle voice popped his rushing thoughts.

"Bo," Chester eased with grumbling, knowing love; Turbo shook his head and gingerly grappled the two foot lead that dangled from the collar of Chester's saddle, down his broad, fluffy chest.

"Chester, I... I..." Turbo's weak breath faltered in soft, sorrowful hesitation. His golden eyes met with the equally as golden station through the outlet's corridor, a gateway to his destiny, Turbo felt his heart pound faster than ever before.

"You CAN do this," Chester encouraged, and although blind and in entirely unfamiliar territory, Chester inhaled a readied breath and confidently began to step his paws out in groping, searching determination. Turbo raised his eyebrows in prickled surprise, and although he was now due to being Chester's guide, he gripped Chester's lead and allowed Chester to lead the way from here. Chester's blind eyes gravitated towards the light beckoning from Game Central Station, and as the two finally eased down the corridor, Chester softened and pressed on with sweet certainty, "If I can fly us all the way here, with your help... You can step out into the station with my help."

"Thanks, bud," Turbo murmured in rising terror, as if the massive Arcade was due to beveling in on him, he tried to inhale air into his lungs, but he was certain they were shriveled down to nothing.

"Now, why don't we make a promise to each other," Chester started, quietly and quickly, "I'm dead-blind, out here... You let me go and I have absolutely no way of finding my way back home. Turbo, I won't let you down if you don't let me down. We HAVE to stick together... You can't let go of my lead or else I will... Be screwed."

"Okay, promise," Turbo huffed shakily, he tried to get words out, the station very slowly began to press within a dozen feet of their moving figures; he grappled Chester's lead and felt his palms begin to sweat in whole terror.

"I promise, too," Chester gently encouraged as his confident paws pressed forward, though Turbo remained tucked to his side, like a child hiding behind his mother, Turbo's terrified eyes began to see gamers of all sorts moseying in the stations, getting to their own destinations, he shook his head and desperately wanted to do everything he could to hide back in Sugar Rush. As light glinted their eyes, Chester greatly softened and eased Turbo a warm, concluding inquiry, "Just breathe, Turbo, you're fine. Close your eyes... I'll press forward. We'll go at this blind, together."

Turbo bobbed a nervous nod, and as if gifted clearance to at least pretend to hide away, he urgently scrunched his eyes tight and allowed Chester to lead him blind into the station. With caution, both boys pressed out into the beaming sunlight that crept its way into Game Central, though as Turbo's shoes scuffed to a heftier feel of unfamiliar tiles under his feet, he felt his breath catch in terrified delight. As Game Central Station's bustling noise now surrounded both boys in clarity, Chester softly eased to a slow the second he felt as if both boys had pressed out far enough. Turbo shakily panted through his nose, every single brand new sense to him soaked his ears, his skin raised in goosebumps, all sorts of different game noises softly echoed down the glorious, massive station, and although Turbo had only just barely entered Game Central a year or so back, he felt his shivering heart do a dance of unadulterated glee, whole, ironic, joyful terror, he soaked in the only familiar thing next to him; Chester's gentle, deep voice.

"Open your eyes," Chester warmly encouraged, and although Turbo didn't dare to even want to, the scrunch of his face eventually began to soften.

Turbo held his breath and allowed his golden eyes to meet the dead center of the station, where they were planted, and in a sag of his shoulders, Turbo exhaled, once and for all, and allowed his eyes to truly believe just where his feet were planted. Outside of Sugar Rush, once and for all, Turbo dared to let a shy, apprehensive smile grace his face as he finally met his eyes with the glorious station before him. In a gentle turn over his shoulder, his eyes glossed along the dozens of twinkling outlets, homes of so many games he now had the raw opportunity to explore, though as his eyes finally returned back to Sugar Rush's outlet, he raised his eyebrows in poised surprise and felt his heart thud with brand new purpose, everything that he had suddenly set out to do was now a hot reality, right in front of his eyes. He sagged his shoulders and knew that gamers passing by were softly eyeing him in curiosity, though with their passing glances and nonchalant fervors, Turbo felt his face get hot with almost embarrassed realization; everyone in his life had been correct, all along. A wash of humility came over him, he was well aware he had a lot of people to urgently apologize to, though before he could get lost in his thoughts Chester's gentle voice popped the air.

"So? What do you think? What does the station look like?" Chester wondered cutely, to which Turbo flinched and got a hearty look around, once more.

"It's... Incredible," Turbo's voice crackled with understanding, he shook his head and finally peered to Chester. Although he had just been thrown around by this incredible beast, his heart grew sore for Berri's lovable companion. A strong teddybear-like beast that urgently looked out for the ones he loved, Turbo so warmly sagged his hand to Chester's wolf-snout and gave him some physical attention, "Thanks, bud... I'd... Be nowhere without you."

"You're not wrong," Chester muttered with a snarky smile, though just as Turbo let go of the lead and seemed as if he was now eager to take a few steps about, Chester perked his ears and tensed, "Aht-aht, the LEAD, do NOT let go of the lead!"

"OH sorry, sorry," Turbo staggered in nervousness as he quickly grappled the lead, once more, though Chester sagged his ears and gave Turbo a sorrowful, terrified look.

"Let go of me and I'm screwed, remember?" Chester worried, though Turbo eased tight to Chester's presence, rubbed his snout in love, once more, and quietly mumbled him a tender conclusion.

"I promise I won't leave you behind," Turbo assured with great warmth, "You've gotten me this far... Now, let's go. We got a stadium to crash. Arcadia awaits."

"Something I NEVER thought I'd hear you say," Chester proudly pressed as Turbo tugged the lead, both boys quickly head in the direction of Game Central's train station.

Although confidence hit him in small waves of short certainty that would sag back to apprehensive terror, Turbo still did everything he could to lead him and Chester to the train station, into the unfamiliar train cab and to a secluded spot where him and Chester could comfortably remain for the trek to Arcadia. Although Chester fumbled to a sit and finally eased to his hind quarters, Turbo firmly sat next to Chester's much bigger body and gripped his lead as tight as he could. Although unfazed by the gentle tug Turbo had on his much huger, stronger body, Chester still cutely adhered to Turbo's silent requests. As Turbo's shivering eyes peered to the extra swathes of bodies that joined him in the cab, he felt his heart shudder in mistimed heartbeats, full terror that plagued his soul. He inhaled shallow breaths through his nose and knew the golden glow in his gaze was entirely muted to grey. In desperately concealed terror that began to eke out of his pores, Turbo remained glued to Chester's side and sat as still as he could, anything to prove to the crowd of public he was with that he was dutifully minding his own business.

After a few moments, Turbo was thrilled to feel Chester lovingly tuck a little bit of his wing about Turbo's body and shoulder, and with the same paw that was thrusting him to his loft windows, not twenty minutes prior, said paw softly sagged to Turbo's right shoulder and kindly tucked him a little deeper into his fluffy, saddled side. Turbo eased a small, nervous smile down to his lap and very anxiously twiddled the thick, rope fabric of Chester's lead in his trembling hands. Vulnerable, nearly all alone, he could feel the curious eyes of his fellow passengers loft his way, and as the train picked up speed and began to soar on to their destination, Turbo lulled his eyes in a long-blink of rest, he so desperately tried to get his heartbeat under control. Although trying to mind his business, he could see a woman, to his right diagonal, sitting on the train's longer bench that hugged the wall of the inner cab, urgently keep her eyes glued to Turbo in dire, searching curiosity. Turbo did everything to ignore her, though after a whopping five minutes of full, bewildered staring, Turbo inhaled a shaky breath and knew he needed to assess and potentially stand his ground.

"Are you..." The woman started, the second her and Turbo finally caught eyes, and with such a gentle press of words, Turbo held his breath and felt terror plague him, the raw fact that he was discovered. Turbo remained silent as she gently continued on, "Are you Turbo? THE Turbo?"

Turbo froze and could feel Chester's gentle, winged grip get a bit tighter about Turbo's shoulder in a show of tender protection. Although Chester's blind eyes were aimless in a gaze down the cab, Turbo could feel every single last one of Chester's fur follicles honed in the direction of this unassuming woman to their right. Turbo finally peered into this woman's eyes and assessed; an elegant, older, elf-looking woman from a video game he was entirely uncertain of, though she wore a beautiful robe-like garb, tied in thick fabric on her small waist, she was tall, ethereal, beautiful and fair in skin and hair. Her vivid green eyes peered to Turbo in patient curiosity, Turbo was now well aware that if any kind of being were to notice him, and call him out for it, there was likely no one better than this woman. Turbo cleared his throat and hesitantly bobbed a nod.

"Yes, ma'am," Turbo's deep voice pressed nervously, the grey, muted matte of his eyes remained.

"Manners, too," She smiled in aged sweetness, smile lines that wrinkled into a show of a true, charming past, she looked deeper into Turbo's eyes and shook her head, "You've done some terrible things."

"I-I... I have," Turbo admitted, he began to feel scared, onlookers now began to steal nervous glances over their shoulders, though in this shivering train cab, something immediately made Turbo halt in realization; everyone was just trying to survive and look out for themselves. Turbo shakily pressed on, "But, I've... I've earned my keep, in Sugar Rush. I don't leave often."

"I don't blame you, a track history like yours," She eased a warm chuckle, bobbed a nod and looked down, "I haven't been in Litwak's for nearly as long as you, but I was around for the whole fiasco inside Sugar Rush. We heard all about it."

"Oh, the..." Turbo tenderly trailed on, she nodded and smiled in nervousness.

"You seemingly were deleted in that... Hot soda spray," She grinned a bit wider, almost as if the past was now a fond, tender memory to look back on, Turbo huffed a shaky chuckle and looked down to the lead he now was due to twiddling into ten thousand knots.

"Yeah, it... Seems like forever ago, but," Turbo shrugged; he knew that was simply Lash, who was merged with said cybub, he lulled his eyes closed and kept quiet, though he somehow prayed nearby passengers could hear him, "I know what I did was really wrong. I'm prepared to own up to it. I'm on my way to see my girlfriend, right now. Hopefully... To further make up for everything I'm made of."

"Everything your PAST is made of," She kindly corrected, her twinkling green eyes peered to him in sweet wisdom, "You're not defined by your actions. You've done some terrible things, but... I'm honored to have bumped into you, today. Puts a lot of fear to rest, what with the deleter mess happening, lately."

"I'm aiding to help fight against that, actually," Turbo bobbed a nod and felt his confidence come back to him, the bridge of his nose began to show gold, once more, "The King of Sugar Rush, and I, have come up with a technology that could curb the tragedies taking place."

"User-speed," She eased with a confident bob of a nod and a smile, she wrinkled her nose and gave Turbo a curious smile, "Whose your girlfriend?"

"O-Oh, uh... Berri Kalivar," Turbo staggered in sheepish, smiling terror, though he flinched the second a few nearby passengers finally flung their attention to Turbo, now making clear they were eavesdropping.

"You know BERRI?" One of them blurt, he shifted in his seat, his boyish tone made clear he was likely a younger, self-programmed gamer en-route to the same concert Turbo was headed to; Turbo beamed a sweet smile and bobbed a nod.

"Yeah, she's my best friend," Turbo encouraged softly, he gestured to Chester and glanced up at him, "This is Chester, her companion."

"Wow, what's she like? I'm on my way to their concert," He hissed in delight, his two friends eagerly peered to Turbo from the seats nearby, and it was here that everyone within a fifteen foot radius was now honed to Turbo like he was here to give a speech; Turbo felt his heart race in terror he did whatever he could to conceal.

"She's..." Turbo shook his head, huffed a shaky chuckle, looked down to the lead in his hands and silently took a moment to grasp at just what right words to describe Berri, though he faltered. He grinned and shook his head, "Where to even begin, she... She's incredible. She means the world to me."

"I thought she was dating Gunner?" One boy curiously asked, his voice crackled in uncertainty, though his friends gave him a knowing look.

"No, she dumped him like a month ago," The other grumbled as he eyed Turbo, though he blurt a chuckle and gestured to Turbo with soft glee, "I don't think I blame her. Gunner? A pretty boy with a good voice? Or an Arcade LEGEND?"

"Yeah, it's a no brainer," One of the girls, they were with, cutely mumbled.

Turbo huffed a shaky breath and was well aware he likely shouldn't let these comments go to his head, though he most definitely relished in the positivity being thrown his way. Turbo scoffed an annoyed noise and looked down as he shook his head.

"Legend, please," Turbo murmured, though the woman next to him eased a cute laugh and shook her head.

"You're more relevant than you think," The woman sweetly chimed, she eyed Turbo in curiosity, the train jostled with the quick speed it had reached, "Where have you been hiding, all this time?"

"Yeah, now that you're Berri Kalivar's boyfriend, get ready for paparazzi," One of the more boisterous boys blurt, everyone eased into soft laughter.

"I've been helping out in Sugar Rush, I'm the King's right hand man," Turbo proudly stated, though he kept his tone swathed in humility.

"The King... Isn't Berri his daughter?" The woman wondered, and it was here did Turbo finally realize just how quick information about statures and game hierarchies were public knowledge outside of said home game.

"Yep," Turbo quipped, everyone began to coo notions of nervous delight.

"Brave man," The woman mumbled cutely, to which Turbo beamed a sweet smile and looked down to the lead in his hands, he could feel Chester lovingly tuck his wing about his shoulders a bit tighter.

"Thank you, it's... It's taken a lot," Turbo stated sweetly as he bobbed a conclusory nod, he smiled about the individuals that were kind enough to chat with him, he knew, full well, he'd need these boosts to carry out this massive, emotional and physical journey, "I don't have any other choice now, but to be brave."


	181. Chapter 181

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** Thank you! LOL Yeah we're really excited. And yes, Chester definitely deserves friend of the year award xD

 **Snake557 :** Thank you!

* * *

 ***Chapter 181***

In gentle, quiet strums on her gorgeous, brand new, dark grey electric guitar, Berri so softly sung the few confident words of her's and Turbo's song. In an act to simply ease her nerves before such a huge show, she was glad she had gotten ready so quick. In the time to spare before hitting the stage, she sat in her large dressing room, lounged in her studio chair, with her beautiful, shiny guitar confidently draped over her lap and crossed leg, she almost was nervous for Gunner to potentially see her. How soon, and how quick, she had no clue, and although she took the risk, wore that outfit, crowned herself with that guitar, she bit her lip and wondered if she would potentially let Gunner steamroll over her, for their final show. Desperate to not think too hard on it, she continued to quietly strum away, her beautiful voice didn't dare press too loud, she sweetly sung her's and Turbo's words, knowing, full well, she was beyond eager to reconvene with Turbo tonight and lay all cards on the table.

Like clockwork, Berri inhaled a shaky breath and could hear Gunner's deep, broadened tone of a voice eagerly chatting with a few stage workers that urgently bustled about in preparation for the show. Although in a good mood, Berri could tell, in Gunner's tone, that he was anxious and on edge. She raised her blue eyebrows in delicate softness, knew she had to toss it all to the wind and not show a single shred of a care, and with her continuous, gentle strumming, she curled a sweet smile and quickly pressed on with her's and Turbo's honorable lyrics. As if timed, something she could guess at this point, Gunner tenderly knocked on her gaped, dressing room door and politely welcomed himself inside. A lovely, beautiful dressing room crowned with soft, homey floor lamps, Berri sat in front of her well-lit mirrored vanity, crowned with bright round bulbs, it kissed her peachy skin and blue hair with all the vividness Arcade had to offer, and although Gunner softened and opened his mouth to speak to her, he slowed his roll and took in her beauty, though with that, he swallowed hard and took note her outfit.

"Hey, love, we're... We're going on in a half an hour," Gunner pressed to her softly, and though he wanted to frantically wonder just why she had softened to such a gentle place of serene solitude, his heart tossed him mixed feelings. The urge to soak into her gravity and understand was now beginning to be overridden with the nervous draw of wondering just what she was singing, and how come it swayed from the stuff on their album.

"Okay, I'm all ready to go," Berri chimed a she held the strings of her guitar to silence the reverberation, she eyed Gunner in sweetness and prayed somehow, her blue, goo-goo eyes would keep him distracted long enough to where she could effortlessly get on stage without a fight.

"You, uh... Whatcha doing?" Gunner pressed, Berri could easily see him want to come unglued, though he scoffed her a sweet, apologetic smile and looked over her beautiful figure, "Berri, you're... Incredibly beautiful, you know that, right?"

"I appreciate that... I-I'm just... Fiddling with some random music, I'm trying to quell my nerves," Berri chimed gently, she lofted her fluffy blue lashes, as well as her divine, sweet eyes tight to the sheet music on the table out before her, she effortlessly turned the page and began to inspect just what said page had to offer, though she felt her face wash in hot guilt the second Gunner's sweet demeanor began to sag to authority.

"Babe, I can't... Let you go on stage looking like that," Gunner eased sorrowfully, though Berri felt her blood begin to want to boil.

"Please stop calling me that," Berri asked politely, though with the way she sat up, she exposed more of her beautiful guitar, something Gunner also cued to.

"Hey, what... Happened to the blue guitar you usually play with?" Gunner wondered in dumbfounded nervousness.

"... It was green, Gunn," Berri muttered, furthering the notion that he was too wrapped up in his own thoughts.

"C'mon, you can wear that, just... Please put this on over it," Gunner pressed kindly, and it was with said kind and patient tone did Berri soften in curiosity.

How quickly Berri wanted to rip the reigns out from Gunner's hands now slowed to a pause, she watched as Gunner cautiously pressed to her hanging outfit rack and began to patiently rummage the options given. Berri sat up a little straighter, cranked her neck to watch him before she finally got out of her seat, set her guitar down and picked up her sheet music for safe keeping. She tenderly folded it down it's already creased, vertical folds and crossed her lovely dressing room. A few people urgently rushed down the hallway in a loud fit of bickering conversing, though otherwise the place leveled. She eyed Gunner in curiosity as he pulled out a normal black over shirt for her to wear. He peered to her softly and did everything he could to at least try to seem accommodating, though with their joined eye contact, Berri could see it was forced.

"Please?" Gunner warmly asked, and with such, Berri sagged her shoulders in defeat and took the cute, black short-sleeved shawl from him. With stewing hesitancy, she caved and shrugged it over her shoulders, over her ensemble. Gunner bobbed a nod and put his hands on his hips, "There. Perfect. You look great!"

"Thanks," Berri muttered, she tried not to come across too annoyed, she nodded softly and looked back down to her folded sheet music, "I'm ready to go. I'm just waiting for my dad to come back to the stadium."

"Perfect, I think I have a few cousins in the crowd," Gunner half-heartidly chuckled and looked off. Gunner furrowed his eyebrows in soft confusion and shook his head, "Wait, I just... Thought about this. If your parents and the rest of your family are here, whose running the game?"

"Oh, it's... On an auto-pilot, it'll be fine," Berri staggered, how desperately she wanted to boast the news that Turbo was running the game, though this immediately would make clear that Turbo was, indeed, not going to be present; something she didn't want to think about. In grasping at anything and anyone else to talk about, she messily carried on without thinking, "I think Tatum said she'd be coming later, but I really don't know."

"... Tatum," Gunner staggered in a now sharp reversal, though with the utter of Sama's real name from Gunner's mouth, Berri held her breath and sharply felt her pupils tighten in a draw of unmitigated, immediate terror, "You mean like... My EX GIRLFRIEND, Tatum?"

Berri inhaled a trembling breath, shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, she desperately began to try and grasp for words, for excuses, anything to quell Gunner's now fiery determination, though she knew she had absolutely doomed herself, here.

* * *

"Y-You really think I'm on the whitelist?" Turbo pressed quietly to Chester, they both confidently strut down Arcadia Station; the crowd, near the amphitheater was unreal.

"Yeah, that's what Wren said, I'm assuming that's right," Chester pressed, his beautiful long legs stride proudly next to Turbo as he held Chester's lead with an easy tug.

As both boys rounded the grand scheme of things and hovered closer to the amphitheater's sides and edges, Turbo's eyes intelligently scanned for back entrances, any place that security would be hovering. With luck, Turbo spotted a nook that bevelled into the side of the building, the arena of crowd goers could be heard from outside the high archways of Midnight Moon Theatre. Although Turbo was easily noticed as he pressed down the massive, swallowing station, he didn't stop to allow people to inquire about him. He did everything he could to remain nonchalant and normal, though as he got within twenty feet of said small group of security, he could see the men mumble into their ear pieces and glance in Turbo's direction. Certainly a formidable sight, a crowned bad guy with a huge, winged-wolf beast on a thick lead, Turbo huffed a silent chuckle to himself and nonchalantly looked off, though he continued his and Chester's direct path for said security guards.

"Do I just storm them and tell them who I am?" Turbo whispered to Chester, who flattened his ears and grimaced an annoyed smile.

"Yeah, Turbo, barrel them down and take no prisoners," Chester volleyed sarcastically, Turbo rolled his eyes and looked off in shy uncertainty as Chester barked a silent laugh and flattened his ears tighter, "Treat them like you're a kind stranger. Don't be pushy. Don't blow this."

"Great," Turbo huffed silently, though as he cautiously approached security, they stood their ground and gestured out to Turbo and Chester.

"Can we help you?" The main guard loudly pressed, a firm tactic to prove to Turbo that he wouldn't back down for anything, "The line starts over at the front of the theatre. The band won't be coming in or out of this door, so do not hover for autographs or pictures."

"I'm not here for an autograph," Turbo stated confidently, and as he got a little closer, he could see the three other security guards' faces wash white with ghostly realization, they sagged their shoulders and took a few hesitant steps away as said single security guard was left in Turbo's path. Turbo gently hovered a few inches of height over this now dwindling security guard, he peered up into Turbo's confidently glowing eyes with a swathe of cold realization that finally hit him. Turbo smiled and tried to remain cool, though he'd be lying if he didn't admit to himself that this was the hugest ego stroke of his whole life, "My name's on the whitelist. I'm here to see Berri."

"Y-Your... Name...?" He staggered in now shaking realization as he held a clipboard out in front of him, and though he began nosing through it to correct where the list started, Turbo's firm, grey finger halted his movements as he pulled the clipboard down in stern authority.

"Turbo Black," Turbo pressed, as if these security guards thought that never in their wildest dreams would Turbo actually show up.

"Y-Yes sir, do you... Have a form of I.D.?" His voice quaked, though he jolted as the two other security guards, that were brave enough, came up and began to urgently nudge the security guard in Turbo's path.

"That's him, dumbass," One hissed as he grappled his arm.

"King Zed's Advisor," The other hurried to get in quietly, in which all three men nervously stepped aside.

"Sorry, Sir," The main security guard cleared his throat, grappled the side door's handle and urgently thrusted it open for Turbo's gained entrance, "Down the long hall, fourth corridor on your right, Berri's dressing room is the second door on the left, has her name on it. Can't miss it."

"Thank you, kindly," Turbo eased with a cocky smile as he gently tugged Chester's lead and encouraged him to come inside, with him.

"That one guy peed himself," Chester muttered as the door finally sagged closed, though Turbo wildly furrowed his eyebrows and shot Chester an incredulous look of unadulterated, grinning shock.

"WHAT?" Turbo hissed with a soft, hearty laugh, to which Chester bobbed a serious nod alongside a fang-filled smile.

"Not lying, I can smell everything," Chester muttered, "Not particularly my favorite sense in the world."

"Hoookay, we're here, Chester, I can't believe we made it," Turbo hissed after a few moments of gentle silence between both boys. Although the corridor they traversed was very long, crew members and staff could be seen here and there, making sure they were all hitting their marks and getting everything ready for the huge, impending show. Turbo gripped Chester's lead and wondered just when he'd see someone he knew, his heart was practically climbing out of his throat, "Th-That station was... HUGE."

"Just please promise me your next chore will be fixing my eye sight," Chester muttered in irritation, "I'm glad I'm here, too, dude, but you're really giving me hardcore FOMO with all this explaining and oogling, you're doing."

"I promise, it's next on my list," Turbo diligently assured as he lovingly pat the side of Chester's neck, though as he eased in and out of much larger common areas of the backstage maze he pressed down, he flinched in surprise the second he saw Ace. Turbo halted his footwork, caught eyes with Berri's older brother and felt his heart dip in delighted terror with the sheer, neck-breaking speeds Ace double took on Turbo's figure.

"You've GOT to be KIDDING ME!" Ace blurt in whole entire, riled boyish delight. Turbo beamed a sheepish smile and was now entirely relieved to see someone he knew. Ace hurried over to Turbo and continued on, "Y-You MADE IT!"

"I'm here, man," Turbo staggered with a nervous laugh and a wide, bashful grin as both boys eagerly collided for a huge, brotherly hug full of firm pats to each other's shoulders, "Where's Berri?"

"She's in her dressing room!" Ace urged, and as Turbo collected just where Ace had come from, he took note that he was quietly situated in a rest area, of sorts, littered with tables of finger foods and drinks. Although Turbo was quickly due to taking absolutely everything in and was totally sure his head would hit the pillow very hard tonight, he inhaled a shaky breath as both boys now eagerly began to press down the long corridor Turbo was previously trekking down. Ace warmly took Chester's lead from Turbo's grip and relieved Turbo of his duties, knowing full well he had another more important chore ahead of him. Ace's large hand gave Chester a few good pats as both boys greet each other with kindness, "Hey, Chessy, fancy seeing you here?"

"I FLEW Turbo here," Chester stated proudly, though Ace beamed and gave Turbo a wide, incredulous grin.

"Are there any other surprises I should know about?" Ace pressed as their quick footwork eased down the never-ending, tiled corridor, though Turbo cocked an eyebrow and gave Ace a knowing look.

"I have the ring with me, man," Turbo staggered quietly in trembling delight, to which Ace gripped Turbo's upper arm and jostled him.

"I don't even have words," Ace huffed with an incredulous smile as Turbo bobbed an eager nod and looked ahead, determined to fill this gap. Ace shook his head in bewildered, floored delight, "Berri's going to FREAK out once she sees you."

"I'm pretty sure my heartbeat isn't even a beat any longer," Turbo staggered as he caught eyes with Ace in knowing, smiling understanding, he seemingly glowed, "It's like a hummingbird's wings, at this point."

"He's been silently panicking this entire time," Chester blurt a laugh, though as the two eased to the glowing, deemed bend of said fourth corridor on the right, as Turbo was instructed, a pair of three individuals suddenly rounded the corner, causing everyone to come to an immediate halt in the intersection.

"...OH MY GOD!" Wren freely shouted in whole, unadulterated surprise, Turbo beamed a wide grin and gestured to his chest.

"I made it!" Turbo blurt, to which Theo and Throttle gaped and began to loudly chime in on the chaos, as well.

"Holy shit, dude!" Theo urged as everyone now immediately began to glom on to Turbo in a boyish rile of exploding excitement, something Turbo held on to, the very emotion he was reaching for, the one thing keeping him going.

"I can't even believe you're here!" Wren shouted with a hearty laugh as both boys quickly grappled each other into a firm hug, and with such, Turbo spun once and messily brought Wren back to his feet. Turbo finally pulled away from Wren a grinning mess, though he firmly gripped Wren's upper arms and peered down into Wren's eyes, the electricity in the place was unfathomable, "Dude, you got past security? You came ALL the way from Sugar Rush?"

"You left the game!" Throttle staggered with a wide laugh and grin of disbelief as all six boys riled in excited, exploding fervor.

"Hell yeah I did," Turbo huffed shakily as he continued to keep Wren gripped in his hands, he heavily panted and peered down into Wren's eyes with golden, glowing pride, brighter than the sun. He long-blinked in dumbfounded, delirious delight and desperately shook his head, "Where's Berri?"

Wren inhaled a short breath and opened his mouth to reply, though as their panting was softly overridden with another pang of a voice, everyone fell silent in gentle dread. Turbo softly panted through his grin as he pierced his eyes tight to Wren's in the happiest of smiles, though the second said other voice began to become a bit clearer, Turbo raised his eyebrows in soft, collected surprise and held his breath to listen in amidst the sag of his smile. The sound of sharp, urgent arguing from a few doors down the hall, behind Turbo, Gunner could be heard delivering his worst, and though Turbo prayed maybe Berri wasn't on the receiving end, his heart jolted in urgent, protective rage the second he could hear Berri's sweet, nervous voice loudly press on in defensive arguing back in Gunner's corner. Turbo held his breath and felt the wave of emotion suddenly crash into his heart, like a tidal wave of raw color, Turbo firmly peered his golden gaze into Wren's, unwavering, and as he slowly began to draw his eyebrows into a deep furrow, the grey hairs began to show an orange glisten, from his eyes, instead of the lovely gold just on display seconds prior.

Wren held his breath and felt his stomach drop in a sudden spike of terror as Turbo held his firm grip tight to his upper arms. As if the bright, cheery, sunny room about Turbo suddenly turned black in a bevelled, tunnel vision of nothing but the haunting sight before him, Wren easily witnessed Turbo's furrow boast the dip of gold, to hot orange, to the reddest of reds his eyes could ever produce. Wren huffed a shaky breath and felt his soul leave his body the second Turbo's deathly, evil glower easily coupled with the terrifying, livid narrow of his pupils, like the slits of a viper now ready to kill, Wren felt every single last breath of life leave his body. Tight in Turbo's clutches, Gunner's and Berri's loud arguing got a bit more aggressive, and as Turbo finally dragged his haunting, terrifyingly narrowed pupils and glowing red gaze over his shoulder, all five boys froze in poised horror as to just where Turbo's beaming red gaze was going to take him, a rabbit hole of deathly desire, a moment Turbo had only fantasized about, until now.

* * *

 **A/N:** *HYPERVENTALATING* I drew the last scene of Turbo with his infamous red gaze, on my IG! Username Vyntastic - check it out!


	182. Chapter 182

**Reviews :**

 **BanannaSammich :** Oh my god I CRIED laughing at your review, I am so sorry xD Hopefully this upload satiates you!

 **WildRebel93 :** I knowww I'm so sorry xD At least I don't leave this drastic of cliffhangers very often! And I upload every other day. But I AM glad you guys are enjoying this so much :D Thank you!

 **MisterTheX :** LMAO oh no, by all means. I'm a sailor, myself. It takes ALL of me not to have my crew here dropping the F word every other sentence. That's why I enjoy scenes with Lash in it, cause he's relentless, all the time haha.

 **marinetanker97 :** Yyyyyep. A bit of a bomb that goes off followed by an extremely messy aftermath of drama that no one was prepared for lmao. Thank you! I'm so glad you're excited!

 **Snake557 :** You'd definitely be right!

 **faolan1230 :** Turbo does his best not to get physical, here, but I'm absolutely positive he wants to xD

 **chuckiboo :** Oh, wow! Thank you so much, that really means a lot to me. I do my absolute best! This scene is 2 years in the making, so I'm SUPER glad everyone is enjoying it thus far.

* * *

 ***Chapter 182***

In a seething draw of red rage Turbo was now confidently sagged in, he grit his teeth clenched tight in his jaw and peered his narrow slits of pupils tight over his shoulder. Still gripped to Wren, he froze in hovering debate, and although he was frozen in all five men's prickled, terrified silence for merely seconds, the sound of Berri's now urgent, pleading demands overrode absolutely everything in this moment. In a soft release of Wren's arms, he turned and pressed down the corridor, his eyes hooked tight to Berri's dressing room door, which was agape and letting out a soft, lovely stream of light. Tunnel visioned and now on a confident press of a warpath, Turbo's ears prickled to the sound of Wren, Ace, Throttle, Theo and Chester now urgently cooing Turbo's name in a sharp sting of whole, unmitigated, terrified uncertainty. They all cautiously chased after Turbo, hoping that somehow their calm words would extinguish Turbo's fire, though unwavering, unflinching, he firmly stormed on, fists clenched. Still sapped in red, slits of pupils straight from a nightmare, the death glower of the century, Turbo halted in the gape of Berri's dressing room and assessed the room for prey.

"It's SHITTY of you, Berri, how COULD you?" Gunner hissed in hard agitation into her face, she flinched and urgently shook her head in sorrowful desperation.

"Gunner, she's HOMELESS! Because of YOU!" Berri urged, and though she wasn't nearly as animated or angry as she possibly could be, for this conversation, she looked as if she was on the verge of exploding eventually, "I-I couldn't just... LEAVE her on EZ Living's streets, Gunner, and what's a-matter with you? She's been living with us for the past week and you didn't have a single clue."

"Yeah, maybe shouldn't have opened your fat mouth," Gunner snipped in unhinge agitation, "What lies did she tell you THIS time? Surely she shit all over my name, dragged it all through the mud, just what she's good at."

"Gunner, she's recuperating from being HOMELESS," Berri urgently shouted, a vein bulged in her forehead, she firmly gestured her hands and caused her folded sheet music to ruffle a crinkly noise out to the room, "She's not worried about anything but catching up on rest and taking care of her mental health! Something you CLEARLY could care less about!"

"Not right before our HUGEST show, which, by the way, SHOULDN'T be filled with practicing your own bullshit," Gunner growled, Berri sharply flinched the second Gunner ripped her precious sheet music from her hands, and as she gasped and took a jolting step to retrieve it, he firmly yanked it out of her reach and dared to suddenly grapple her shoulder in sharp, firm, jostling restraint; Berri uttered a startled cough of a whimper as she was shaken a bit, Gunner wildly flagged her sheet music in an uncaring, flippant show of whole agitation, "You can do THIS once I'm GONE OKAY? Can it WAIT?!"

Just as Berri opened her mouth to loudly retort and prove to Gunner just what she was made of in the form of clenched fists and riled, silver coding, both Berri and Gunner flinched in surprise as Berri's sheet music was suddenly plucked from Gunner's hand. Gunner sharply furrowed his eyebrows and whirled his angry seething attention to his back right, though just as Berri and Gunner laid eyes on just who was now curiously peering down into Berri's lovely sheet music, Berri felt every single last pixel inside her body halt to an eternal pause. As if her brain couldn't even comprehend the idea that Turbo was actually here, in front of her, outside of Sugar Rush, the splay of red, hot, livid anger his eyes displayed was enough for Berri to inhale a slow, sharp, tightened gasp of unmitigated horror. She cupped her mouth with both of her hands and took a trembling step away, she sagged into herself, bugged her eyes and watched as Gunner was late to sagging in nervous, confused realization. Turbo inhaled a deep, reviving breath through his nose and stood now tight in Berri's and Gunner's bubble, though he dutifully noted that Berri wisely began to remove herself in the form of a few steps backwards.

"No, I... I don't think this can wait," Turbo's gentle voice soothed, and though his lovely, familiar depth was as kind and soft as could be, Berri knew not to be fooled. His beaming red, snake-like eyes climbed all over the fragile sheet music in his hands, though Gunner flinched clear out of his skin the second Turbo sharply dart his whole attention for Gunner, a fixated, locked, loaded aim, a shot he was absolutely certain he wouldn't miss. Turbo's terrifying gaze stabbed into Gunner's with a swathe of absolute authority, not a single shred of any dominance lay in Gunner's now crumpling court. As Turbo gently folded Berri's sheet music and tucked it into the back pocket of his jeans for safe keeping, he gently held his arm out, in Berri's direction, and kept his eyes forever glued into Gunner's, "You're going to tell me, in full detail, what possessed you to think that putting your hands on this woman was a good idea?"

Gunner opened his mouth to somehow ease a trembling reply, though nothing came out. With a few inches of height Turbo had over Gunner, and a whole, hefty extra pounds of solid muscle to boot, Gunner took a wary step back and glossed his terrified eyes to the doorway. Hung in the gape, frozen in terror, was Wren and Ace, as well as Zed, Tessa, Theo, Throttle, Bedgy and Chester all in the hall, poised in unmitigated uncertainty. Though just as Gunner began to stab his scared gaze into one of theirs and silently beg for help, Turbo sharply snapped his fingers before Gunner's face and shocked his attention straight into Turbo's molten red gaze, once more.

"HEY, eyes up, if the people behind me wanted to come rushing to your rescue, they'd have barreled me down by now," Turbo's deep voice began to grow in strength, his heart surged with protectiveness for Berri, everything her sweet soul entailed, he wrinkled his nose in true, genuine, horrific anger and knew the pot had only just begun boiling, "Answer the question."

"C'mon, man, I'm sor-"

"Answer the QUESTION!" Turbo sharply bellowed, everyone in the room, especially Gunner, flinched and took steps away from Turbo's gravity; Gunner huffed a trembling breath of rising terror, he being the only one swathed in a healthy splay of Turbo's vivid, sharp red glower, everyone froze with the raw history being made, right in front of them.

"I-It wasn't a good idea," Gunner pressed deeply, though he tried to act composed, his voice crackled in a quivering mess of sapped terror.

"No, it wasn't a good idea, was it! Cause now you have ME pounding on your door," Turbo growled as he clenched his fists and dared to take a step deeper into Gunner's shaking gravity, he easily got tight in Gunner's face, and though both men had their chests puffed and fists clenched in preparation to potentially start swinging, it was entirely clear just whose confidence was genuine and whose was faked. Turbo glowered Gunner down and pressed on in a growl through the grit of his teeth, "Why don't you go ahead and redo that conversation, then? With me watching? You'd probably say and do a few things differently, wouldn't you..."

Gunner swallowed hard and, although he desperately wanted to duck away and leave, he hesitantly peered his terrified gaze to Berri and caught eyes with her. Frozen in shock with both of her hands over her mouth in shrugged, stiff, unmitigated horror, it was clear that tears were now streaming Berri's cheeks. Gunner flinched in nervous terror as Turbo's dominant, deep voiced pressed down to him, once more.

"Well? Go ahead, I'll watch," Turbo chimed sweetly, his red gaze, the slits of his pupils, the livid seethe of his whole entire aura never faltered; Gunner just barely shook his head and finally gave Turbo full, scared eye contact, in a whole attempt to pretend he was brave.

"I-I'm..." Gunner staggered, he inhaled a shaky breath as notions finally came to him, though before he could utter any other words, he largely flinched took another wavering step back and jolted as Turbo grit his teeth and got in his face.

"Yeah, you wouldn't DARE!" Turbo loudly shouted in Gunner's face, and as Turbo's brooding, dominant steps now began to slowly back Gunner to a nearby wall, Gunner staggered a nervous huff of a word, a sentence he desperately tried to get ahold of. Gunner's terrified gaze peered up into Turbo's in very easily dwindling certainty, Turbo inhaled a sharp breath through his nose and pressed on, certain that if any more anger were to squeeze into his bloodstream, he'd surely start breathing fire, "I'm shocked you even had the BALLS to do ANYTHING of this nature with Berri's FATHER in the building!"

"Y-you're... You're," Gunner tried to catch his shallow breath, he shook his head and peered up to Turbo in terror as he hovered tight over Gunner with entire authority.

"I'm Turbo," Turbo's deep voice pressed in a lilt of a cocky smirk that graced his face, his haunting, red snake eyes pierced Gunner's soul like a molten beam of death that Gunner was due to being disintegrated under, Turbo exuded every single last strand of power this whole Arcade had to offer as he huffed Gunner a deep, taunting chuckle of deathly delight, "Your worst nightmare..."

"... H-How did you get past security?" Gunner pressed, a staggering mess, it was apparent that he was desperately trying to hide the tremble in his voice, to make clear he still had some shred of control, here.

"... You see this woman?" Turbo wondered sharply, he hovered a few inches over Gunner's face, though as Turbo averted his sharp, terrifying, predatory gaze straight for Berri's soul, Berri flinched in spine-stiffening shock and sagged a bit deeper in the horrific sight she was hoping she'd never have to see. Gunner swallowed hard and, though he just barely glanced in Berri's direction, he largely jolted as Turbo, once again, locked eyes with him and got in his face, "She's my best friend. She's my future. She's my Queen! And I KNOW she'd whole-heartedly agree with my words, here... I'm going to let you and your little brain piece it ALL together. You think maybe, just MAYBE... She put me on the whitelist? Forget the fact that we're, oh, I don't know, dating and romantically involved? Just a thought. Y'ever have one of those?"

Gunner sharply furrowed his eyebrows and dared to shoot Berri a look of horrific betrayal, though it only lasted mere milliseconds before Turbo took another daring step into Gunner's gravity, which was now nearly hitting the wall he was being forced into.

"So, next time you encounter this beautiful creature, I'm going to need you to use that brain of yours, consider the consequences of your words and actions, consider JUST who could be watching your every move," Turbo sharply hissed in Gunner's face, he dared to open his palms and inhale a quick, steady breath. In rapid, heightened, adrenaline-fueled speed, Gunner largely flinched the second Turbo's incredible, adrenaline-filled powers shook a nearby floor lamp in sudden, jostled urgency, and as if the whole thing was being dismantled, it came apart in a flutter of pieces, screws, bars and wires, and as if it was being completely deconstructed, the lamp's pieces suddenly fell to the floor and vanished into thin air. Gunner raised his eyebrows in unmitigated surprise the second the overhead lights, in Berri's dressing room, suddenly flickered in chaos, though Turbo's haunting, red gaze never wavered from his pinpointed, cornered prey, the hums of the room's confused electrical wires eased like a bass drum of untimed chaos into everyone's cores. Turbo inhaled a raspy deep breath and eagle-eyed his prey, the faintly glowing hot red stressors on his jugular showed through in burning confidence, "Because if it's anything like what I just witnessed, I'll be there to make sure you never even existed."

"This doesn't even concern you," Gunner dared in a growl as he finally stiffened his upper lip and dared to fight back, though with the gentle press of his puffed chest and attempt at reigning authority tight over Turbo, Turbo's muscular, broad shoulders expanded a deep inhale in a tighter, angrier hover over Gunner's again sagging presence.

"This ABSOLUTELY CONCERNS ME!" Turbo's loud, deep voice bellowed in a now terrifying, echoed mess of reverberating bass, the overhead and ground floor lamps now angrily flickered with the heightened electricity in the room. Gunner inhaled a trembling breath as his terrified, crazed eyes held tight to the slits that had him frozen in continued horror. Turbo's strong rib cage expanded a powerful breath as Gunner's back finally pressed to the wall behind him, "Berri is my Queen, I hope to one day make this amazing woman my bride, this AMAZING woman of whom you just MAN HANDLED!"

"I-I... Didn't..." Gunner staggered in weakened terror, to which Turbo finally eased a few inches over Gunner's face and grit his teeth.

"Oh don't you DARE! I saw you with my own eyes," Turbo deeply growled in Gunner's face, "Hell knows what else you've been doing that Berri hasn't disclosed. I don't care who was right or wrong in that fight, there's a better way to get your points across, but you lost all rights with that one grab, dude."

Gunner fell silent and pushed his back tighter to the wall in unending terror, and as Turbo inhaled a shaky breath to continue on, Gunner knew, full well, it was all over, from here.

"Now, here's what we're going to do," Turbo firmly stated in Gunner's face, one of which was angrily forever-splayed in hot, molten red rage from Turbo's glowing eyes, "You're going to leave Berri alone, you're going to GO onto that stage and sing and dance and do whatever, and after this contract is over, you're to understand that any communicating you do, with Berri, however public or private, comes with the knowledge that I'm... Always... Watching."

Gunner shakily panted through his nose as Turbo heavily cocked an eyebrow, shook his head and awaited for Gunner's response, though too shellshocked to talk, Gunner nervously peered about Turbo's face in continued, frozen terror.

"DEAL?" Turbo's deep, terrifying voice firmly shouted; jarred and forever blistered in humility, Gunner inhaled a shaky breath and nervously nodded.

"Deal," Gunner huffed in defeat, though he flinched in real, gasping terror as Turbo suddenly grappled the collar of Gunner's shirt with both fists and barely pressed his forehead into Gunner's in a show of now entire dominance. Turbo inhaled a steady breath and hovered, to which he narrowed his gaze and hissed Gunner a mean conclusion.

"Now GET out of my SIGHT," Turbo growled through a sharp, raspy whisper, and without any shred of hesitation, Gunner ducked from Turbo's extremely heavy gravity once he was unhanded, fumbled to get around his unwavering, dominant stance, pushed past the group of onlookers in Berri's doorway and was immediately gone.

Void of any sound, the only thing that could be heard in the shivering stillness was the heavy panting through Turbo's nose as he kept hovered tight to the wall Gunner was just pressed against. Although Berri couldn't see his face, she could tell his eyes were closed due to the lack of an angry red glow the wall received. Turbo's shoulders gently shook with the dregs of unmitigated anger, a whole swathe of emotion he was definitely not prepared for, Berri stood half a dozen feet to Turbo's right in frozen, uncertain shock. With her hands still cupped over her mouth and a healthy splay of tears that had streamed her face, washed with entire, blindsided bewilderment, Berri kept her glassy eyes glued to Turbo's figure. Uncertain if any of this was even real, she remained frozen in continued, suspended disbelief and felt her heart jolt in nervous terror the second the angry, red glow healthily splayed the wall Turbo hovered in front of. In a gentle sag of now being prepared to tackle the next item on his list, he softened to the best of his whole ability, dragged his terrifying, still angry gaze to the ground and finally gave Berri full eye contact.

Although his eyes were still hauntingly red with the near-demonic, snake-like slits that hovered in the center of the glow, Turbo's demeanor now read drooping, shaky, apologetic uncertainty. He exhaled a trembling breath and was floored to hold eye contact with Berri, in this weird and trying time, though as he dared to press closer to her, he hung a few feet in front of her and watched as she stood a little straighter, cautiously removed her hands from her mouth and hovered her fists to her sternum in reserved, shellshocked contemplation. She shakily breathed through her mouth and peered up into Turbo's snake-like eyes, though she was thrilled to see the angry red color begin to dip to that of a gentler, vibrant orange. Turbo raised his eyebrows in pure softness, did absolutely everything to make this moment right, and shook his head in tender bewilderment. He grimaced in the narrow of his now closed eyes and tenderly pulled Berri's sheet music from the back pocket of his jeans. He sorrowfully raised his eyebrows, peered his now orange glowing eyes into Berri's sheet music and took note that it was their lovely song, aptly titled 'Here and Now'. He exhaled a trembling breath as the sheet music began to shake with the nervousness of his quaking hands, and as he sagged his black pupils to her, which were just barely beginning to broaden and return to normal, he dared to open his mouth and desperately tried to grasp at normality.

"I-I... Didn't want to announce my arrival like that, at all," Turbo quietly muttered, he sorrowfully peered down to his and Berri's sheet music and tenderly began to hand it to her, safely returned to its rightful owner, "I... Had this whole plan, it looked a LOT different in my mind. I'm... So sorry, Bear, but-"

"You're here," Berri hissed quietly in enchanted, bewildered, still apprehensive calmness, and though her voice gently trembled, she gave him a swathe of teary eye contact that radiated the utmost of gratitude.

Turbo's orange gaze gently dart about her face and aimlessly looked about in cute conclusion, as if to really relish in her words and finally believe it all for himself. He tried his hardest to curl a cute smile at the edge of his mouth, though as Berri tenderly took the sheet music from him, she shook her head, lofted the sheet music to her side, let go of it and urgently pushed into his bubble. With a firm sag of her arms about his midsection, the two eagerly collided into a snug of warm reunion, the grapple of Turbo's strong arms tight about the little bend of her shoulders, they gripped each other with trembling arms and shaky exhales of unmitigated relief. Turbo furrowed his eyebrows in a pang of rising, bittersweet sorrow and firmly tucked his face into the top of her head, the feel of her arms about him, once more, the firm press of her face into the nook of his neck and shoulder, he scrunched his eyes and did everything not to softly begin to cry alongside her. He huffed a shaky, whisper of a chuckle onto her shoulder and squeezed her as tight as he could.

"I'm here," Turbo's sweet voice lilted in raspy disbelief, he eased a nervous chuckle and kept her glued to him, he shook his head and tenderly pet the back of Berri's head and soft, sleek hair, "I made it..."

"Thank you," Berri huffed in crumpling despair, though she gently pulled from Turbo's gravity and peered up into his eyes; pupils that had dilated back to normal, the color in his eyes still held an orange glow of winding down from the heights of anger.

"Berri, will you please be mine, again?" Turbo staggered in quiet question, and though he was well aware he likely had an audience, Berri was the only one to see that Wren and Zed diligently began to quietly tell everyone, in the gape of the doorway, to give Turbo and Berri some privacy, here. Turbo heaved a shaky breath and peered down into Berri's shimmery, hopeful blue eyes. He lovingly tucked some of her hair behind her ear and shook his head in the scrunch of closed eyes, "I... I already know how life goes, without you in it, and I can't bear another minute of it."

Berri sagged her shoulders and felt warmth again, a final, gentle prickle of love she needed, she could hardly even continue to believe that she was in Turbo's raw presence here in Arcadia Station. In the gentle aura of the fiery situation that had just taken place, she heaved a shaky breath and crowned a bashful smile at all of the loving notions he had gifted to her, the very idea of potentially making her his official Queen, she glossed her eyes to Turbo's broad chest and felt the wave of everything that had just taken place continue to drown her in emotion. She fluttered her wet eyelashes in a soft, discombobulated flurry of desperately trying to wrangle in all her thoughts, and just as she was about to tenderly give Turbo a response, a small, whispering notion, from the gape of the doorway, edged into the room with mild desperation.

"Pst, guys, uh... We're on in five," Wren hissed nervously as he leaned into the room, though with this jolt of information, Berri huffed a shaky breath, peered up into Turbo's eyes in unadulterated shock and gripped his lower arms in whole apology.

"H-Holy User, okay," Berri staggered, and in switching gears, she urgently glitched to her vanity, which caused Turbo to flinch in whole surprise, though as Berri began to urgently try and redo her makeup as fast as she could, due to all the tears she had just cried, a few staff members began to come in and urge Berri a few stage-management notions.

"Bear, we forgot to tell you that Gunner wants to limit just how far downstage either you or he goes, I don't know, he said something about germs," One woman promptly huffed in annoyed suggested, though her and the other stage crew guy she was with now nervously drew their attention to Turbo in rawness, "Uh, s-sir?"

"NO, no, he's allowed to be here, he has full rights here and is to be treated with the UTMOST respect, guys... This is Turbo," Berri sharply staggered as she flailed her makeup brush in their direction, and though the stage crew urgently peered to Berri, they softly volleyed their surprised gazes back to Turbo in unmitigated shock and delight.

"Turbo? THE Turbo?" The woman pressed with cheeky delight.

"She won't shut up about you, dude," The guy eased in a grumbly mutter of further sweetness, and before Turbo could huff them an incredulous notion of thawing delight, they whirled around and now urgently began to usher Berri out of her room, they dutifully grabbed her shiny grey guitar as well.

Although fully prepared to entirely stay out of Berri's way, from here on out, due to much more important measures, Turbo grit his teeth in rushing nervousness and knew he at least wanted an answer, from her. As Berri and both crew members began to hurry out of the door and hook a tight left, in the opposite direction from which they all had come prior, Turbo grit his teeth harder in a knee-jerk reaction and forced himself to chase after her in dire, bashful urgency. He popped out of the door and hooked a right, in the direction Berri and said two stage crew members took off. Messily lined down either sides of the wide hall was said previous onlookers, the majority of Berri's family, though Turbo hovered right in the mouth of it all and inhaled a deep, readied breath.

"BERRI, wait, I... Will you please let me know your answer to my question?" Turbo wondered, loud enough for her to hear, and though she was being ushered away, she whirled around, about a dozen feet away, and peered her softened, humbled, curious gaze to Turbo; he took a daring few steps closer to her, hoping to at least temporarily fill the gap, though as she gently gestured her hands and gave him a cheeky look of potential sarcasm, he halted in unmitigated uncertainty.

"I don't know, Bo, I'd... I'd really need to think about it," Berri stated in firm, almost disappointed cheek, though with such a thwart, Turbo sagged his shoulders, eased his hands into his jean's pockets and was now very well aware he shouldn't have spoken up.

"Yes, ma'am," Turbo mumbled softly as he glanced her an assured look of a definitive, humble defeat, and though Berri turned heel, took a few moseying steps away from him, she sarcastically looked up, fingered her lip, eased to another moseying halt and shrugged.

"Alright, I've thought about it," Berri chimed in cute nonchalance as she turned heel, once more, and pressed in Turbo's direction with full certainty.

In the gentle prickle of her continued voice, something of which he wasn't prepared for, Turbo raised his eyebrows in reeling softness and dart his eyes from his defeated gaze on the ground and straight into Berri's eyes, her figure began to confidently clack closer to him in the stab of her high heels. In the roll of entire shock he now had absolutely no clue what to immediately do with, his golden eyes hovered tight to Berri's in frozen confusion as she pressed into his gravity, and with her whole swathe of positive, dominant fervor, she warmly pushed up into his personal bubble, cupped his jaws in her able hands and pushed a firm, passionate kiss straight into his shivering, awaiting self. Turbo raised his eyebrows in unadulterated surprise and stiffened in the close of their eyes, the press of her kiss, he barely wobbled and unglued his hands from the stiff grip he had in his front pockets, though just as he heard the gathering about them gasp in surprise, he could feel the two melt into a bubble of much needed, smiling warmth the second everyone began to loudly cheer and ease notions of shocked, elated glee.

With the rile, Turbo beamed a wide, knowing smile on Berri's mouth and was floored to now properly receive her positive answer, and within the reach of nothing he wanted more, he sagged and very easily welcomed Berri into his presence with the wrap of his strong, masculine arms about her upper and lower back. Eager to hold her, feel her, taste her, every single little thing in between, he absolutely did not care who was watching. He raveled Berri into his strong grip as their tilted kiss deepened and intensified, he was very well aware he had won the heart of the princess with the tight squeeze of a drape her arms delivered about his strong neck. He easily dug into their kiss and was thrilled to feel her smile on his, the softness of her skin, they just barely stirred to a slow amongst the loud claps and eager calls of excitement all about the two. In the gentle part of their lips, Berri hovered her mouth over his and ushered him a cute, cocky deliverance of that girly attitude he craved.

"Does that answer your question?" Berri coyly asked on his wet mouth, to which he eased a handsome, sly smile in a returned notion on her plump lips.

"Yes ma'am," Turbo huffed quietly, though in one more moment of a soft and tender hover, Berri skillfully took a few steps away, slid her hand down the broad of his left arm and held hands with him until they were no longer within range to do so.

With the tender, teasing slip of her fingers and the coy, seductive smile of bursting delight she finally left Turbo with, she turned heel, once and for all, and began to vanish down the long corridor that lead to her final stage. Turbo raised his eyebrows in delirious, nervous surprise and now allowed his inhibitions to range to the whole entire group hovered about the hallway, a situation everyone involved had a front row seat to, though just as Turbo slowly stiffened and returned his hands to his front pockets in shy, cheeky embarrassment, everyone eagerly began to firmly pat Turbo's shoulders and arms, a jostle of cute, brotherly love everyone now overflowed Turbo with. Turbo choked a soft laugh as Ace firmly reached and ruffled the top of Turbo's head, everyone nudged him in side hugs of bustling excitement due to everything that just unfolded.

"Dude, tonight, you can kiss your coding GOODBYE," Wren muttered cutely as he firmly gave Turbo's arm a few pats, though ultimately him and Theo had to peel away, as well.

"Uh, parents present, you guys, we don't need this info," Zed choked in annoyance as him and Tessa caught eyes in teasing dread.

"He's not wrong, though," Chester muttered cutely, though Turbo rolled his eyes, looked down the long corridor in which Berri, Theo and Wren were escaping down; as they pressed closer to Arcadia's glowing, California sunlight, Berri's figure seemed to halo, and it was here did Turbo have to adamantly remind himself that he, indeed, wasn't dreaming.


	183. Chapter 183

**Reviews :**

 **marinetanker97 :** Wow. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I was just telling one of my good friends about that, actually. Dragging emotion down a quick though gradual slope from such heightened anger isn't very easy, so I'm really really glad it was conveyed well and everyone understood the depth that followed. So, thank you! I SO appreciate your input!

 **chuckiboo :** LOL! Yeah Gunner's a real piece of work, for sure. And, this isn't the last time Turbo will encounter him! So, don't you worry, friend :) Thank you for everything! I so appreciate that, Gunner definitely has some demons to work through, for sure. And, he's not gone from the story. He still is relevant and comes in and out of the plot, moving forward.

 **Nikki Firesong :** That's so sweet. Thank you SO MUCH. Seriously, wow. I did whatever I could to make it so Turbo kept his hands off of him, but also fervently got his point across, so much so that Gunner maybe would've rather a beating lmao. Also! Wren is extremely nosey and will CONTINUE to do this embarrassing teasing throughout the time where Turbo and Berri are not officially swap mates, so just brace for that I guess xD

 **Snake557 :** Thank you, friend! Yes, Gunner and Berri EVENTUALLY hash everything out like civil adults - but until then, Gunner throws a tantrum lol

 **faolan1230 :** LOL aww. Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it :D

 **BanannaSammich :** LOL! You guys haven't seen the last of Turbo/Gunner scenes, that is for sure! He still is relevant in some way or another.

 **WildRebel93 :** Yessss you are absolutely right. Gunner doesn't have a leg to stand on, but he sure does go down in hopes everyone goes down with him.

* * *

 **A/N :** Wowwwww you guys, just wow. I just need to love on you guys, the unending amount of support and love I feel from all of you, both the vocals and the lurkers, I mean just wow. That scene has been in my head for the last 2 years, and although I WROTE that scene maybe 3 weeks ago (I'm still 20 chapters ahead of y'all lol) it just feels unreal to have it ALL unfold and be read by the world once and for all, by my awesome friends and readers that have so diligently stuck by me through thick and thin. I'm just speechless. Which... Clearly is a feat lmao. I just want to thank you guys for always supporting me, for cheering me on, for complimenting my work and giving me the encouragement to PLOW forward like I have. It's just like lightning, and I'm FOREVER grateful for you guys.

I'm pleased to announce, that even though I'll be going to school and I'll be busy doing my best acing everything with flying colors, I have not only the 5th story in the works, but I ALSO have... TADA! Have a 6th story on the horizon! I know, I'm crazy!

I've just gotten to a point in this saga where I've felt dread. I know all good things come to and end, and eventually this behemoth WILL end. It will. I dread it. I think because I just have SOOO many more ideas, plots, twists, characters, arcs, themes, climaxes, surprises! My mind never stops dreaming, and I've just come to the conclusion that the more I grit my teeth and say 'okay, Out of the Blue is the end'... My mind presses forward with something little that eventually SPIRALS into me having the whole plot to a fifth story... And beyond that, a main character for my SIXTH story. I just... I can't limit myself. This is my baby, this is my source of creativity, and I don't think it wise to limit myself. I may be singing a different song once I start school, and sure, uploads may slow, but I just don't see myself stopping. I just don't. Readers come and go, but I can name a few handfuls of readers of whom I've known since my Wrecking Limits days and I'm just floored.

All to say... You guys can anticipate at LEAST 6 stories from me, from this mess. I have the 4 main characters for my 5th story, as well as a fleshed out plot. I have only ONE main character, so far, for my 6th story, but I'm not too focused on that right at this moment.

I just need you guys to know how eternally grateful I am, the sheer amount of love I've gotten for these past few chapters really just makes my heart soar. Like said, this whole scenario has been in the works since the last half of writing for Rectifying Origin, and seeing it all come to fruition, and see all you guys get SO excited for it, I mean, wow. It's magic. And I'm just so grateful.

I say all of this now because, the LAST half of Out of the Blue comes with a few MORE climactic scenes that have ALSO been in the works for the past 2 years. So seeing you guys get all hyped for ideas that have been stewing in my head for YEARS is super encouraging, and I just love growing with my work, and seeing it come about after such a long time marinating inside my brain.

 **ALL TO SAY** \- THANK YOU. Just... Thank you. Wow. I love each and every one of you, and I'm so thrilled you all are enjoying this so far.

Although I'm uploading this today, all previously prepared and ready to go, I'm currently en route to moving to Sarasota. The next chapter uploaded, I'll be living near the beach! Thank you guys, for everything. I mean seriously. Thank you.

* * *

 ***Chapter 183***

"Alright gang," Berri pressed with a whole boost of energy, something Wren and Theo eagerly cued to, though as the three, including Bedgy, a few much closer working, diligent staff members, that hovered tight to the band's needs through this entire process, Berri sagged her shoulders in nervousness and was well aware the reason why Gunner was missing. With grit teeth, she looked about her staff, Wren and Theo, and gave everyone a look of tender concern, "Stupid question alert... Where's Gunner."

"Probably running for the hills," Wren muttered, Theo choked a laugh and nervously rubbed the back of his head; the arena was filled to the brim with people, background noise and music that played to fill the void of the empty stage, the crowd was already going wild.

"We need an ETA on Gunner," One staff muttered into her walkie, a few other staff members began to nervously mutter things to each other and break off in pairs of concerned search parties, it was here did Bedgy begin to look entirely concerned and softly took off in a flit of grey feathers.

"Berri, I'd... Honestly be shocked if Gunner actually got on that stage and smiled and had a good time," Theo huffed a chuckle, "But, if Turbo was telling the truth in the fact that he grabbed you, like that?"

"Gunner grabbed you?" A nearby staff member asserted in hot, concerned shock, to which Berri nervously tucked her hair behind her ears, lulled her eyes closed and bobbed a nod.

"He... Grabbed my arm, I'm not hurt, he just got upset with me," Berri cooed in nervousness, and though she knew it was wrong, she grit her teeth and peered through the double doors behind the crew, which were gaped open, and though she could see the stage and arena, they were too far down in to the ground for anyone to see them properly. She urgently gestured her hands and began to feel her heart race in rising terror, "We just... Need to get this underway, we're already due to missing our marks, here."

"The crowd can wait for a few minutes," Theo pressed softly as he whirled around and furrowed his brow in contemplation, "Did anyone see where Gunner ran off to?"

"You guys can't find Gunner?" Throttle staggered nervously as he pushed through the group he was with; although Zed, Tessa, Turbo and Chester were doing everything to stay out of the crew's way, they still hovered as close as they could, to the heart of the team, with excitement and fervor, something of which everyone respected. Throttle, although mainly a tag-along on these tours, very quickly had wormed his way into the hearts of the new sound crew that was hired, and in doing so, he often found himself odd-end jobs and tasks to help out with. In this, he quickly slipped his phone out of his pocket and began to urgently text someone, though he muttered under his breath as he pushed past Zed and firmly pat Turbo's arm with a wide, brotherly smile, "Welp, congrats. Your stunt made Gunner vanish."

"... I-I... Really-" Turbo huffed a soft, nervous breath, shrugged his shoulders and began to look terrified in the whole fact that his actions caused this, though Throttle shook his head and eased Turbo a kind notion.

"Don't beat yourself up about it," Throttle mumbled as he cued a call with Gunner, eased the phone to his ear in anticipation for Gunner to pick up, and softly began to press down the long, wide corridor they were previously in.

Berri nervously peered out to the crowd, the sea of people awaiting their arrival, she knew Turbo had every right to get in Gunner's face like he did. Although in this bind, and although she was floored Turbo finally had a chance to speak his mind and end Gunner from potentially physically harming Berri, she bit her lip and asked the universe just why it had to have happened ten minutes before their hugest show. In agitation, she bounced on her feet, bit her lip, twiddled her fingers, tucked her hair behind her ears for the millionth time, and in a huff, she opened her palms in silver-coded, live-wired readiness and softly peered to Wren, Theo and the crew about her.

"I'm going to go about the building, quick, and see if I can find him," Berri huffed quietly, and before anyone could stop her, she inhaled a deep breath, glossed her eyes past her mother, father and boyfriend, and allowed her whole body to assume itself into silver coded pixel squares of the perfect form of a glitch she was; with a hot bounce and a zip of a lightning bolt, she tore down the long stretch of corridor, further into the backstage, in a soft show of skillful, electric maneuvering, gone in the blink of an eye.

"... Damn," Turbo huffed quietly as his and Zed's arm hairs stood on end, due to her zipping straight past them.

In an intelligent bounce about the points of electricity all about the building, Berri skillfully navigated every single little shred of energy that she passed by. With said scan of life and energy, she specifically kept a diligent look out for Gunner's coding, and with a sudden pop of a finding, Berri came rushing out of her coded glitch-hop and skid her heels to an educated, dainty stop. She panted softly and peered to the room he was in, aptly being the men's room of this backstage area. Down a quiet, dim hallway deep into the stretches of their secured, backstage accommodations and Midnight Moon's venue, she knew no one else, but Gunner, had to be in this larger, public bathroom. With a deep inhale and a firm shove into the bathroom, she was well aware Gunner wasn't simply in here to relieve himself; she knew he was in here, hiding away. Berri's heels heavily clacked into the tiles, she furrowed her eyebrows and sharply looked about, though she was thrilled to see Gunner hovering at the sinks, glowering himself down in the mirror, though his phone was on the counter, opened and unlocked.

"Gunner," Berri chirped, her eyes scanned the large, tiled, glossy public bathroom, past the urinals, past the big stalls, and finally dead for Gunner's surprised eyes. Her voice heavily echoed as she loudly pressed on, "We're on in like... LITERALLY thirty seconds."

"Go without me," Gunner snarled, he wrinkled his nose and sent Berri a full swathe of unhinged hate, he grit his teeth, inhaled a trembling breath and grappled the counter as his rib cage expanded to prepare his vocal chords for a solid amount of damage. His voice wretched to raspy, hollering heights as he viciously snarled her another slash of anger, "Get OUT OF HERE! You traitorous SNAKE!"

"Gunner, I KNOW you hate me, I KNOW you're not happy that I'm friends with Tatum, I GET that you're pissed Turbo just got in your face," Berri firmly clapped her hands with her words, stood her ground in her solid heels and held her head high amidst his crazed glower, "But WE have a show we have to do. We just need to get through this LAST show and then you can... You can go on for ETERNITY, never talking to me ever again, I UNDERSTAND. But right now? We-"

"There is no WE, here," Gunner growled as he finally turned and faced Berri, and although he sauntered over to her, she knew that he didn't dare lay another hand on her. He inhaled a shaky breath through his nose and darkly glowered her down, "You had the gall to befriend Tatum and then have your stupid little guard dog nearly tear me to shreds with an AUDIENCE?"

"YOU. LIED," Berri firmly clapped with her words, once more, she uttered an incredulous giggle and largely shook her head in unadulterated, sarcastically smiling disbelief, "YOU started that rumor about Tatum. You had the WHOLE world on your side. And you know what, Gun? I wasn't going to say anything to anyone. Let bygones be bygones, we'll finish this quietly, it's FINE. I PROMISE you, I was NOT expecting Turbo to come into that room, let alone into this station, LET ALONE out of SUGAR RUSH!"

"You're lying through your teeth, I'm never going to believe ANYTHING you say to me, ever again," Gunner growled, he dared to take a step closer to Berri, in which she stood firm and tall, as if to dare him to try it, "Go do the concert WITHOUT me. You lying, conniving, selfish little bitch."

"Fine," Berri snipped gently, and with a turn, her heels confidently clacked out of the bathroom, swung with the heavy door she gently left out of, and in a pop of silver coding, she was off like a bolt of lightning, easily leaving Gunner alone with his halted, miserable thoughts.

With a few sneaky turns down empty hallways and energetic bounces firmly into walls and light fixtures, Berri easily got a whole swathe of angry energy out before she made a straight away for the group waiting for her, at the gape of the back stage. With a jolt, scuff of her heels and a bounce a few feet away from Turbo and Zed, inside the mouth of the corridor, they both jolted and peered to her in shocked confusion, which easily then cued the rest of the crew and band just beyond both boys. Berri inhaled a trembling breath, tucked her hair behind her ears, shook her head and confidently continued to stride out into the scene in terrified solitude.

"HOKAY, so, we're going to do this show without Gunner somehow," Berri chimed sweetly, dripping in well-concealed terror, the crew began to bug their eyes and urgently chatter amongst themselves, though as Berri came to the center of Wren's and Theo's gravity, they also began to nervously look around.

"Where is he?" A frantic crew member huffed, a few others urgently hovered in baited wait, for Berri's answer.

"Down some... Back alley in an empty bathroom, he can't be reasoned with," Berri quickly rattled, and though the majority of the crew stayed and hovered with the existing band members, a few others began to tear off in the direction Berri insinuated Gunner was. Berri sagged her shoulders and gave Wren and Theo her terrified eye contact, though she gingerly cupped her larger hands to the broad of Wren's right shoulder, Theo's left shoulder, and pulled both boys closer to her in a small, loose huddle, "Boys, we're... Going at this without a lead singer... Although this is all I've ever wanted out of a show, I didn't want it to be like this. We're REALLY going to have to work together, here."

"We got your back, Bear," Theo encouraged, a twinkle of nervousness clouded both boys' gazes, and though Berri opened her mouth to nervously carry on, Wren rushed to her aid.

"Give my corner a mic, I'll be your back up vocals," Wren soothed with a nod, though he bugged his eyes in nervousness and shook his head, "Holy shit, I'll be your back up vocals."

"I'm gunna smile and bang my drum, guys, do NOT give me a voice mic, you do NOT want me singing on that stage," Theo choked a laugh, and though everyone softened into easy, shaky, nervous love, Berri apprehensively glossed her eyes to that stage and inhaled a deep breath to broaden her voice to the crew all about her.

"Alright, guys, welcome to the circus, I'm your new pony master," Berri called out to everyone, and with such strong, loud words, their chaotic chattering and bustling halted as they eased into nervous, knowing laughter. Not particularly skilled at wrangling in a crowd, Berri was shocked to see all eyes lay on her as she stood in the dead center of the circle. As she held her hands together and slowly turned about to catch eyes with everyone surrounding her, she briefly glanced her eyes back in the direction where her parents and Turbo hovered. In a gentle string of love, she held contact with Turbo's glowing, proud eyes across the stretch, she smiled and proudly pressed on, "We're without a lead singer strictly due to the fact that Gunner and I got into a fight. Those details aren't important, what IS important here is that Gunner has bailed out of the show, and now I'm at the helm."

"Y'got this, Bear," a staff member, nearest her, kindly cooed; this started a chain reaction of everyone mumbling in nervous encouragement.

"I need everyone to understand that I only have a small SHRED of knowledge of what to do, here, and I need all hands on deck," Berri firmly instructed, "I'll be lead singer and guitar, Wren is the keys and back ups, and Theo, well..."

"Teddy hit drum," Theo mumbled loudly, everyone burst into wide smiles and laughter as he bashfully rubbed the back of his head.

"I-I'm... I KNOW this throws a curve ball at our sound and light guys, you guys are just going to have to bear with me while we wing this together," Berri loudly instructed, "There's a crowd of fifteen THOUSAND people beyond that stage. We cannot let them down. We're going to continue on with all songs, the only difference is... I will be singing them."

"That's a lot of added strain, Bear," someone gently worried, to which Berri raised her eyebrows and peered about the group in vulnerable softness.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, but we haven't rehearsed for ANY of this," Someone else rushed to press, and though light murmuring broke out, Berri shook her head and gestured her hands.

"We have NO choice," Berri firmly instructed, "I will go out there and... Regretfully let everyone know that Gunner isn't able to go on, but promise that we will still give them a memorable show. Now, everyone WITH ME?"

Everyone loudly and unanimously chanted a loud, excited affirmative as Berri raised her hand and beamed her crew a wide, excited, though terrified smile.

"Then get in here," Berri urged with a wide smile as everyone began to very quickly put their hand into the center, where Berri's hand lay extended, hovered before her; the group was too large, so in the squeeze, people held on to each other's shoulders. Berri huffed her crew a few solid notions of encouragement as they began to jostle their hands in fervor, "We're gunna carry on like normal, we're gunna give this crowd an unforgettable show, and we're gunna KILL IT."

With a loud call of a chant as everyone's hands urgently flung into the air, the group then immediately began to scatter and dissipate to their places. Berri held the sides of her head and froze in a slump of anticipatory fear, though she shook her head and began to lurch forward the second Wren and Theo began to tug her into the direction of the stage. Like clockwork, everyone swiftly moved with her, and in the weave through a few different stretches of the much lower-laying back stage, their eye levels with the sleek, never-ending stage itself, Berri quietly began to mumble nervous notions to herself as all three individuals quickly pressed to backstage left. As they eased near the metal staircase that lead to the glowing, beckoning stage, the thousands of people cheering and begging for the excitement to start, the three hovered on their marks in now frozen, terrified wait. Berri softly drew her humbled, terrified, excited gaze to Wren and Theo, and though they equally looked concerned, Berri's face was washed a paler white of terror.

"I-I can't believe this is happening," Berri hissed in uneducated, joyful dread, though Wren and Theo choked small laughs of nervous agreeing and heavily bobbed nods.

"Me neither, first Turbo shows up, and now... THIS?" Wren huffed in a stagger of a faltered breath, he shook his head and bugged his eyes, "A-All in the span of like fifteen minutes. If WE can't wrap our heads around it? Bear, we're scared to ask just how you're feeling."

"Not well," Berri mumbled with a giggle as she held her forehead, though the three flinched in surprise the second Turbo's gentle voice popped the atmosphere.

"Bear, here," Turbo urged as he hustled over, and with Berri's discombobulated thoughts, she shut her eyes tight in unadulterated dread and disappointment, at herself, with just what Turbo was bringing her; her shiny, new, grey guitar. Turbo huffed a hard chuckle as he came within Wren's, Theo's and Berri's hovering bubble, "Youuu MIGHT need this, love."

"Thank you," Berri choked a nervous giggle as she gingerly grabbed the neck of her beautiful guitar and held said guitar tight to her side; all three performers peered to Turbo in warm, hovering, nervous delight as she carried on, "For everything, Turbo. Seriously."

"No, this mess was entirely my fault and I'M the reason you three are going on that stage without Gunner," Turbo hissed through his teeth as he eyed all three of his friends, his golden eyes had never looked more glossed in joy, though he gave the three an apologetic look and shook his head, "THIS is what happens when I leave the game. NOW do you guys know why I wanted to stay home?"

"No, we don't," All three murmured in messy unison, to which they all let loose a loud bout of laughter; Turbo beamed, looked down to his feet and shook his head.

"Let's just keep my title at game ender and not concert ender, and we'll be good," Turbo bobbed a nod and held both his thumbs up, though as he caught eyes with Berri, he sagged a little and took note of just how terrified she looked. He softened and, although with Theo and Wren hovered tight to either side of him and Berri, he lovingly rested his hands to Berri's shoulders and gripped her with understanding. Though he spoke to all three before him, he knew Berri's shivering soul needed this overflow, the most, "You're going to do great. You have never... EVER failed to impress me. You commanded the attention of your team, now garner that energy and command the attention of this arena."

"Fifteen thousand," Berri faltered through a small huff, though as Wren and Theo began to softly argue her in smiling annoyance, all four beings halted their bickering at the sound emenating from the crowd, far beyond. With Berri's name now adamantly being chanted, Berri cocked an eyebrow, peered tight up into Turbo's eyes with unadulterated surprise and sagged in a roll of hot understanding. Turbo grinned her a knowing look, shrugged and shook his head, though she urgently pressed on with a hard giggle, "For User's SAKE."

"The crowd speaks," Turbo huffed with a wide grin, though he furrowed his eyebrows in tender confusion and softly let his fingers grip the shoulders of the cute, black shawl she had draped over her shoulders. He fingered it in curiosity and eyed it in cute displeasure, "Did you pick this out yourself, babe?"

"NO," Berri choked in whole entire annoyance as she firmly gifted the neck of her guitar to Wren and began to rip herself clear out of the black shawl Gunner had made her wear.

"Didn't think so," Turbo muttered with a cocky smile as he subtly glanced her body, once more; a very similar outfit she had worn when she visited Orion City's open mic bars and clubs, all those weeks ago. He kindly took the shawl from her possession, tossed it over his broad shoulder in a resting spot and returned his hands to her bare shoulders. Although he gripped her for a second, he finally broadened his reach and hugged Wren and Theo in on their mini huddle, "You guys are so brave. Far braver than me. I can't believe I get to be here, you guys are going to rock the outlets right out of this station."

"Go hard or go home," Berri pressed with a cute, cocky smile, and as Turbo gave the three a good squeeze of a messy group hug they slowly began to climb the metal staircase from backstage, to press to their positions on stage, whether old or new.

Turbo inhaled a deep breath and urgently watched from the wings, and as he sagged his hands into his jean's front pockets, he took mental photos of this raw memory before him, one of Berri gently tugging her beautiful guitar over her chest and shoulders, her luscious blue hair that flicked with her movement, the knowing urgency Wren and Theo took to get to their positions, and as all three individuals crowned the stage, Turbo felt his ear drums rattle with the sheer amount of noise the crowd suddenly delivered. Arcadia's glowing, sunny noon stage held a single sliver of a silhouette of that infamous, lead singer mic and stand, dead in the center of the stage, one that Berri proudly approached in her heels, an apprehensive crawl of determination, one of which everyone was well aware she had earned.


	184. Chapter 184

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** LMAO I'm glad you're so excited!

 **Snake557 :** Aww, thanks friend! I appreciate it! People have told me to upload this beast to Ao3 but honestly, it's nearly 1k chapters long, and I like having it in one spot. But I appreciate that you keep coming here for it! Thank you!

 **Awesome Stories May Occur :** Hey! I got your PM - I don't have internet atm so I can't fully reply right now, but I will once I'm settled :) Thank you for your insight!

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Into the Unknown by Panic! At The Disco**

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 ***Chapter 184***

As Berri's thick heels gently clacked in the heavy thud of her ironically dainty stepping, her eyes peered down the stretch of the narrowed downstage, the roar of the crowd all around her buzzed in her ears, the sheer amount of people, gamers, fans, every single different individual in between eagerly and loudly chanted her name with a far huger push now that she was present on their stage. Hovered a few feet from the gleaming mic and mic stand that beckoned her, one that typically belonged to Gunner, she inhaled a shaky breath as her guitar strap rose and fell on her breasts. With a tender amount of fumbling, she finally gripped the mic stand, lowered her mic so that it was right at her level, and with a few moments of smiling, adoring hesitancy out to her screaming, excited arena, she heaved a shaky chuckle into the mic.

"Arcadia," Berri's voice sharply lilted with joyous fervor, and with just one word, the crowd up-roared into an even louder level of sheer, unadulterated excitement. Berri sagged her shoulders and took a gentle step back from the mic, and as her glorious blue eyes really assessed the sheer depth, the sheer volume of just the planet-sized arena all around her, she heaved another gentle giggle and pressed into the mic with a wide smile of cute disbelief, "We're gunna give you guys an awesome show, today, but... I need to address the elephant in the arena."

Berri inhaled a trembling breath and took note that, although the crowd continued to drum with excitement, the crowd fell into a gentle lull of cued, polite listening, as if they knew, full well, this is not how a single one of their concerts went, and with the now very prominent lack of Gunner's figure on stage, Berri could sense the vibe of the audience shift into soft, prickled confusion. Berri felt her hands begin to shake, she gripped the neck of her guitar with her left hand, and the base of it with her right, and though her nervous eyes glossed the immediate crowd maybe two dozen feet away from her positioning, she felt her skin raise in goosebumps. Never before had she ever been this tight up on her crowd, never before had she actually spoke to her gathering with such intimacy, she faltered in the rush of brand new feelings climbing all over her, and although she knew to diligently press on, no matter how terrified she now was, someone deep in the crowd urgently spiked out their voice above the dull murmurs of warm confusion.

"WE LOVE YOU BERRI!" The small voice, from the great beyond, urgently chimed, and with such, a tier of other screams and excited calls pressed on with cute, adoring fervor.

"I love you guys, too," Berri huffed in a cute chuckle of disbelieving appreciation, she shook her head, swallowed in rising terror and looked about the glorious, sunkissed world before her. She heaved a shaky breath and continued to grip her guitar, as if it were the only thing holding her to the planet, "I'm really sorry to announce that... Gunner won't be joining us for this show. Y'just get lil' ol' me, with Wren and Theo."

Although delivering bad news, and a wave of concerned confusion hit the crowd, it wasn't until Berri lulled her eyes closed and pressed her mouth to the mic, to continue urgently and apologetically carrying on, did the crowd begin to further uproar in another wave of cheering excitement, as if to assure Berri that this switch up was something they could cope with. Although Berri could tell there was a hover of hot disappointment in the air, as Gunner being the face of their band, Berri inhaled another shaky breath and knew that from here, she was due to working a bit harder to fill the void.

Turbo's glowing eyes hooked tight to Berri's gorgeous figure in whole entire pride, splashed in Arcadia's glorious sunshine, Turbo stood leaned against the wall, hidden in the shadows, he was successfully out of sight of the incredible, sprawling audience. He watched as Berri sweetly wormed her way into the heart of her audience, her cadence pressed on in tender confidence, though in a jolt of surprise, Throttle came up to Turbo's side and looked about in riled urgency. Turbo furrowed his eyebrows, stiffened and volleyed his gaze to just what was in Throttle's hands; a wireless head mic.

"Tee, what's wrong," Turbo pressed quietly as Throttle's white, glowing eyes scanned about, though he finally stabbed his eyes to Turbo's and urgently gestured out to Berri.

"Bo, she needs THIS mic, she can't just stand in the dead center of the stage for the entire show," Throttle rushed in a mess, though Turbo inhaled a shaky breath and peered back to Berri in hot terror, "She's holding and playing her guitar, her hands aren't free to hold a mic, she needs freedom to roam about like Gunner usually does."

"Y'gunna take it out to her?" Turbo pressed in rushed curiosity as he gestured out to the stage, though Throttle wildly furrowed his eyebrows and gave Turbo a hushed notion of terror.

"Yeah, in front of fifteen thousand pairs of eyes, how about a hard PASS," Throttle urged nervously, though he looked about in further nervousness and staggered his worries, "I thought there was a crew head here that could rush it out, I can't find any of the stage runners."

In a knee-jerk reaction, Turbo held his breath, peered his piercing, golden gaze down to the mic and sound pack in Throttle's white hands, and with a swathe of out-of-body urgency, Turbo sharply inhaled and grappled the items in Throttle's hands. Throttle choked Turbo an urgent noise, and as Turbo's footwork confidently brought him up the stairs, onto the edge of the stage and forward like a rocket shooting to the moon, Throttle gaped in a huff of cheeky terror and clutched his chest in unadulterated shock that Turbo, of all people, gathered up the rest of his bottom-barrel courage and was due to smearing it all across Arcade's largest stage. In fight or flight, Turbo could see diligent eyes, from the crowd, immediately hook to him in soft shock, and though he wasn't yet in Berri's peripheral, he was well aware Wren and Theo could now certainly see him. Berri's cute voice pressed on.

"I was going to start this concert like planned, but... Now that I'm here, I actually... Have a song that I'd like to play for you guys, before we get started, if you don't mind," Berri softly pressed, and though she jostled her guitar a little bit and the crowd continue to call out and murmur soft notions of appreciation for Berri's presence, she bashfully pressed on and knew this little shred of bought stage time was her moment to shine, "It's a collaboration with someone I... Love with all of my heart, who goes by the name of... Turbo Black."

Although the crowd halted in a curious drone of noise, they began to clap and point, an uproar of comedic cheering and motioning began to happen, though just as Berri was due to confusedly peered back to Wren and Theo, she jolted in tender shock as to just who came steadily marching her way, tight in her left peripheral. Berri huffed a shaky breath, froze, peered tight into Turbo's approaching demeanor and was now entirely certain she was dreaming. Stiff in his hustle, he peered to Berri and only Berri, as if somehow keeping his eyes tight to her would erase the crowd from his mind, Berri huffed a cute chuckle, shook her head and felt the coding in her blood swirl around in unadulterated surprise.

"Speak of the devil," Berri chimed cutely into the microphone, though as Turbo finally and quickly approached her, Berri flinched in tender surprise the second Turbo took her mic and stand, eased it a few feet back and behind himself and, quick as lightning, he began to outfit Berri with her hands free mic. Berri long-blinked in unadulterated surprise as Turbo hovered over her, she dutifully stood still as he slipped her mic and in-ear into the nooks of her right ear, the pack securely hooked to the back of her pants, knowing her mic wasn't yet powered on, she softly rushed Turbo a shocked notion of floored delight that only he could hear, "Turbo, you're..."

"On stage with you, in front of thousands, yeah, I'm about to pass out," Turbo's cute, trembling voice pressed her as he made sure she was all saddled up, and though his face was blushed with cute, terrified delight alongside a knowing smile, he switched her mic on, raised his eyebrows in impending, knowing anticipation and took a small step out of her gravity. He grappled the mic stand she was previously using, with ease, and as he softly began to sag out of her presence, he ushered her a sweet, quiet notion for her ears only, "Kill it, babe."

Berri sagged her shoulders and tried not to allow her shaky panting be now heard to the crowd she could effortlessly speak to. As the crowd began to urgently clap and cheer Turbo's cute little task, Berri cocked an eyebrow and shot her gaze to Wren and Theo, who were widely gaping in whole entire shock as to just what was taking place. Half way across the stage and due to disappearing any second now, Berri felt her heart crawl clear out of her chest, she shook her head and firmly gestured her hand in Turbo's vanishing direction, mic and stand tight in his possession.

"Ladies and gentleman, Turbo Black!" Berri called with cuteness as she fixated her eyes to Turbo's figure, which now froze in a scuff of hard dread.

With shoulders scrunched, he had nearly made it past Wren, beyond Theo and out of sight, although still in a healthy splay of sunlight, he knew he was still in the line of sight of everyone in the arena. Turbo grit his teeth in a spike of terror and felt the golden glow immediately vanish his gaze, though as his eyes urgently stabbed to Wren's figure, stationed as his huge, gorgeous mix area, and then to Theo with his incredible drums, Turbo exhaled a hard, shaky, stunned breath of unadulterated terror as he finally turned around to peer to Berri, who had her arm outstretched to him from the nearly thirty foot gap between them. Turbo flinched in sharp surprise the second the crowd began to urgently cheer in another, healthy, unending uproar of excitement, and with such a joyous return from hearing his name, the very name that was typically a taboo topic, Turbo gently turned to face the swathe of the crowd before him with a gentle switch of warm, surprised disbelief.

"Y'got that shiny mic in your hand, my guy," Berri challenged with cocky sweetness, and though Turbo wanted to desperately shake his head and plead her not to do this, he sharply flinched the second she grit her teeth and firmly strung at her gorgeous, loud, powerful guitar. The first, long-held, reverberating note of their treasured song, the crowd immediately began to scream and cheer at Berri's grinning fervor, her voice reverberated to Turbo for all of the public to hear, "Wanna help me out?"

Turbo heavily panted, his chest rose and fell as he nervously did everything he could to get air in and out of his nose. He raised his eyebrows in prickled, doughy surprise and finally glossed his eyes about the crowd, as if for approval. Berri confidently began to strum a few loud, core-shaking chords, and with such a cue, Theo began to methodically press his foot into the kick drum to keep rhythm to Berri's strumming, a gentle metronome of keeping time. Turbo felt his blood run cold as the bass of Theo's drum now matched the speed of Turbo's pounding heart, he cocked an eyebrow and softly lofted his gaze to Wren in soft terror, though Berri blurt a giggle and continued to tenderly press on with a few of their song's beginning few chords.

"Don't look to Wren for help, he's got his hands full," Berri cutely chimed with a small laugh as Wren shot Turbo a wide, knowing grin, and though Turbo finally caved and eased a smile of terror, he nervously peered to Berri's eyes as she gently continued to repeat the first few chords that lead into the first part of her song. Although thankful the first verse was her singing part, Turbo still held his uncertain eyes tight to Berri's, the raw fact that she was calling him out, another challenge to rise to, he heavily panted and only dared to take a very wary, apprehensive step a little bit deeper onto the stage, to join Berri. Although building up and preparing to start the song properly, once and for all, Berri firmly strummed a bit harder as Theo's drumming gained a bit more momentum and fervor, Wren eagerly pressed into his keys and mixing board, Berri inhaled a readied breath and took a few tender steps closer to Turbo as her confident strumming, her amazing skill on her guitar, loudly pressed out into the world about them. Like she was born for this role, she inhaled a deep breath as her cute, beautiful voice pressed from her diaphragm, " _Stalling, stalling, forward, clutch, oh, don't make me hold my breath."_

Turbo inhaled a trembling breath and felt the goosebumps on his skin raise with purpose, the crowd suddenly screamed and cheered with unadulterated excitement as the arena soaked with the gnarly press of Berri's beautiful, powerful guitar, the sweet, ironic lace of her gorgeous pitch, Turbo's shaky hand ripped the mic off of it's stand, set it down and began to hesitantly crawl a little deeper into the stage, single mic in hand. He knew he was due to now making an entire fool of himself, though with the sheer fact that Berri had a whole splay of entire confidence in his ability to join her here, in front of the sheer size of this heart-stopping crowd, he wondered if he was due for a shred of potential. He softly eyed her in continued, soft suspicion and was genuinely floored that this was something she was very bravely and spontaneously bringing about in such an important show. She bit her bottom lip, urgently strummed and continued on as she took a few confident, positive steps a little closer to Turbo, though she bent her knees a little and now began to back step in the gesture of her guitar, to cutely encourage him deeper onto the stage with her.

" _Suffocating, pleading eyes, ohh, babe, your secret's long kept,_ " Berri's beautiful, coy tones lilted on pitch, she delivered Turbo's lovely lyrics and their collaborative mind-melt with such ease, such tenderness, yet with such a kiss of power, Turbo nervously rested his hand to his chest, inhaled a trembling breath and, in the continuous out of body experience he was now becoming numb to, he eased the mic to his mouth and allowed bravery to continue to coat his fresh, new soul with color.

" _You come and go, goodbye, hello, tomorrow's surely the time,_ " Turbo's deep voice nervously pressed into the mic, and although a soft and hesitant start, Berri beamed him a wide, twinkling grin and firmly continued to strum alongside Turbo's lovely fervor, the drums that methodically pressed into their souls in rhythmic time had him feeling as if he was now molting his old skin, the vibration of everything hitting him dead on was enough to light the California sun on fire, and then some. He eased her a shy, wide grin into the mic and pressed on with a little bit more confidence, his deep, masculine voice coat the arena in such a way he wasn't sure was even real, " _Then and there seems better paired for insecurity's glow._ "

" _Every day's a steeper climb, every day I thought was mine,_ _dually lost and found,_ " Turbo pressed a bit firmly, and though he still felt shaky and nervous, he was glad this was the wave where Berri's powerful voice joined his. The two gently fell into rhythm alongside Wren's and Theo's press of talent, and as Turbo finally eased within a few feet of Berri, he smiled down into her eyes and felt floored that any of this was real. They both took deep inhales and continued to pursue their colorful, powerful song with Berri's climbing chords of her loud guitar, her gorgeous harmony that perfectly melted into Turbo's raspy, irresistible, solid voice, " _Crop circles plowed in vain, you knew, all along,_ "

" _The true pleasure, the true pain of,_ " Turbo's urgent, deep tone pressed in firm solitude as Berri's strumming vigorously sagged down the bridge of her guitar, and though her blue eyes honed tight to Turbo's in whole fervor, she knew, with the huge, confident breath of a tight inhale that he was now lost in the song, aimlessly, blissfully unaware of the screaming crowd about him, he scrunched his face into a grimace of powerful singing as he belted into their higher, powerful chorus, " _Here and NOW!_ "

Berri did everything not to huff a quiet breath of unadulterated shock as Turbo arched and sang his whole heart out to the crowd in a tight, held note of solid vibrato. Although Berri noticed the light, sound and stage crew carrying on with diligent, aimless following of the two, Berri shook her head and soaked in the sound of Turbo's deep, powerful voice rumbling the whole station, the crowd waved with a surge of cheering, screaming energy as this new shred of a band carried on with a diligent new explosion of a sound. Turbo inhaled a deep breath, after long held notes and continued to press on and him and Berri jostled on their feet in climbing, energetic, electric fervor, " _Here and nowww._ "

" _All this time lost, all this purpose found,_ " Both Berri and Turbo sweetly sang out to the crowd, though Berri grit her teeth as they concluded said powerful chorus with a pop of energy, " _Here! And! NOW!_ "

Born for the role, Berri inhaled a tight breath, grit her teeth and urgently began to strum the crowd her vicious, loud guitar solo. Although standard, and used to these frenzies of solos, she bent her knees in climbing energy she had no idea what to do with other than full on express herself unlike ever before. Taking a gamble, she furrowed her eyebrows in grit fervor and cued her silver coding amidst her glorious strings, and with the pound of the drums and everything else behind her, the stage eagerly crawled with her heightened, electric silver coding in a wave of surged, searing heat. With licks of visible strings of electricity that rippled to the nearby speakers and cued to the heavy vibrations of Theo's quick, skilled, urgent drumming, Berri nearly fell to her knees and rattled the clear, sunny dome nearly a mile above everyone in a shivering mess of her guitar's squealing, beautiful sound. Fingers that crawled up and down the neck of her gorgeous, shiny grey guitar, she outwardly bit her tongue and let loose every single last note she had itching underneath her finger tips in lightning-speed concession. She beamed a gaping smile out to the sky and finally eased back to her feet as Turbo's voice rushed to aid her in rhythm, both now easily lost in the mess of the roaring crowd.

" _Lonesome grey in outer space, that gravity of blue, oh, don't make me wait,_ " Turbo's sweet press of his deep vibrato, his lovely voice lilted in such seductive fervor, in the string of smiling eye contact him and Berri kept, he grappled the chest of his tank and beamed the widest, easiest smile he had ever smiled as him and Berri firmly carried on together, _"It's ALL so better suited for tomorrow, or the next, or the NEXT._ "

" _But, while I got you in my arms, let's stay forever,_ " Berri's beautiful voice loudly pressed as she did everything she could to strum the last few chords of their song in due diligence, both her and Turbo inhaled deep breaths and adamantly concluded their powerful ballad of a mind melt to their adoring crowd, " _Here and NOW!_ "

With the bite of her lower lip in firm concentration, Berri urgently began to strum the last few now improvised few chords to end their song, she beamed an excited smile as the crowd screamed and went nuts for her's and Theo's powerful, haphazard, colorful show of coding and well-timed fervor, and with the final swing of her arm and a cued cut of her screaming guitar, Berri heavily panted and urgently peered her boggled eyes out to the crowd her and Turbo were now soaked into, all the way downstage and in isolated cuteness. With now nothing but the roar of the thousands of people far out before the two, both Turbo and Berri stood side by side in a raw, otherworldly situation they both would've never dreamed to be true, and though they both heavily panted in riled, bewildered, shellshocked disbelief, they cutely peered into each other's eyes. With the hang of electricity that now draped over them was almost just too much to bear, Turbo long-blinked in unmitigated, wowed disbelief and knew, without a single doubt, that there weren't enough hours in the day to recount, with Berri, everything that had taken place, here.

Berri eased a shaky, panting giggle out into the air, which ultimately radiated into her mic. She lovingly peered to Turbo, swathed in a halo of sunlight, his lovely eyes, easily kissed with shining renewal, peered down to her with grinning, adorable, trembling fervor. Turbo shook his head to her slowly, as if to quietly state to her that this was entirely unbelievable, the world about them shook with the ever lasting roars of cheering and screaming, he rested his hand to his broad chest and looked about the girth of Arcade before him. How easily they accepted him back into the fold, how easy it was to let bygones be bygones, he glossed his eyes to each person that he could physically see before he brought his gaze right back to Berri's. He knew he had a whole entire lifetime of gratitude to gift to her, though somehow, he hoped the end of this night would supply her with absolutely everything she needed. As Berri warmly reached for Turbo's left hand, with her right, they grappled hands in a cute swing before Berri firmly lifted Turbo's hand up and inhaled a deep, readied breath.

"Give it up for Turbo!" Berri pressed loudly, the arena waved into another climb of cheering fervor as Turbo's humbled, golden eyes glossed the sea of a crowd with tender, almost-grimacing delight.

Turbo smiled into her eyes, once more, and felt honored to even be in the same bubble as her, in this raw instance. Her beautiful blue eyes peered to his in twinkling excitement, her chest heaved in a further amount of desperately trying to come to grips with what just happened, and though Turbo's eyes trailed down her beautiful body, he curiously landed his eyes to her guitar. In a stab back to her eyes, he was well aware she had enough coded energy for a whole entire light show, a whole push of further coded, glitching skill she could so easily utilize across the whole stage she was offered, and in this understanding, Turbo tenderly handed Berri his mic and began to unhook Berri from her hands-free mic, so he could use it. Berri froze as the crowd still pressed on with cheering, though as it sagged and the people in the front row began to urgently chant both of their names, Berri finally curiously peered up to Turbo the second he was outfitted with her hands-free mic. With purpose, though tenderness, he began to lift her guitar off of her body and securely snugged it over his broad chest and front. Left alone with nothing but the mic Turbo was previously using, he raised his eyebrows in sweet, diligent certainty and began to back step a little, so that she was, singularly, the only entity downstage, her rightful place as a proper lead singer.

"I think we all know who should be at the helm of this wreck," Turbo's voice confidently pressed into his mic as he peered down to Berri's gorgeous guitar, though as he marched closer to Wren and Theo's figures, he firmly tilted his head, got their attention and began to suddenly strum the beginning of one of Archived Chaos's current songs; simply something he could only do by ear, he was entirely thrilled Theo and Wren urgently caught on and followed his diligent lead. Correctly splaying out the loud, longer intro of the first song on their ballot, Turbo knew it was his duty to place Berri exactly where she originally wanted to be, all along, a gift he was adamant to keep giving her. He eased Berri a kind, cheeky smile as she stood still in frozen shock downstage, hundreds of hands stretched up and out towards her as she held the single mic Turbo previously had. Turbo grinned her a cute smile and confidently strummed as he sweetly concluded his notions to the crowd, the beginning of the song raised everyone's spirits with feverous familiarity, "C'mon, guys let's give the girl a little encouragement. Y'got this, Bear."

Berri raised her eyebrows in prickled surprise and peered down to the mic in her hand, and nothing but. Turned back to the crowd, she inhaled a readied breath and felt more alive than what she previously had, which was something she was certain wouldn't ever even be topped in a million lifetimes. With the rush of everything familiar that came back to her, the dozens of shows she stood off to the side and eagerly mouthed all the words of their songs, her chest heaved in rising, spiking anticipation. She knew with the eager, squealing noise of her own precious guitar behind her, the pound of Theo's drums, the quick note work of Wren's sound board, the arena glistened and twinkled with every single last ounce of Arcade's power. Eager to deliver, on fire to perform and give this show her entire all, she shook her head and beamed a wide smile into the mic as she readied for her upcoming lines, every single last inch of which were now all hers to boast, all hers to claim. Berri gripped the base of the mic and tucked it tight to her mouth, and with one single, readied inhale, she silently promised the sea of fans before her that they came for a show, though they'd surely leave with an otherworldly, soul-shaking experience.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hey guys, I drew this scene :) I drew it from 2 years ago, before this story was even a thing, titled The Middle, and a FAR more recent painting titled Bigger than Arcadia - both on my deviantART username Vyntresser


	185. Chapter 185

**Reviews :**

 **chuckiboo :** Aww wow! Thank you! Seriously that means a lot. I try my hardest with it, I'm terrible at making up my own tunes, but I think it'd be really cool to hear my lyrics paired with the right melody for sure :)

 **faolan1230 :** I CRIED YOU CRIED EVERYONE CRIED lmao! Thanks friend haha

* * *

 ***Chapter 185***

"Man THAT WAS- ... I-I don't even have WORDS!" Wren nearly screeched as him and his band mates now poured backstage after nearly setting the stage on fire, the surrounding crew members diligently held their marks and ushered the band back to their much larger green room, so to collect themselves and be with each other. Wren, Theo, Turbo and Berri easily poured into the room with fervor that has never before been seen by the band; what typically was a stumble into their calm green room and a shred of time to mumble and whine and attempt to relax was suddenly an explosion of all three boys firmly high fiving each other and clumsily crashing into sweaty, grappling hugs. Wren urgently shook his head, all three boys were all smiles as Berri easily soaked into the room, as well, said white-haired blondie urgently carried on through trembling words, "That show WASN'T REAL."

"You seriously STAYED the WHOLE SHOW DUDE!" Theo cried with exploding fervor, riding off of the dregs of such an electric show, Berri pushed deeper into the room with a wide grin as Turbo did everything he could to contain his widen smile and contagious laughter.

"Guys you can ABSOLUTELY blame Throttle," Turbo's voice rasped, he huffed a hard laugh as Berri easily sagged into the group hug, one of which Turbo and Theo held their larger arms about in a sway of sweaty, smiling nonsense.

"Don't blame me!" Throttle prod with a hard laugh as everyone easily poured into the large room alongside them, everyone eagerly clapped and cheered as the four band mates unwound from their clumsy, swaying group hug.

"I'm blaming you, dude," Turbo choked a laugh, and though crew, friends and family alike held tight, wide smiles amidst firm, excited cheering and clapping, it slowly settled as Zed tilted his head up and ushered Turbo a loud, cheeky notion of cute, grinning delight.

"Alright, who ultimately FORCED you out of Sugar Rush for good, my dude?" Zed wondered with a beam as they all hovered half a dozen feet in front of and about the four slightly sweaty, still panting band members; Wren did whatever he could to fix his hair whilst Berri put her hands on her hips and peered up to Turbo through forever twinkling eyes. Though Turbo opened his mouth to cutely reply, Chester popped into the door with urgency and flagged his wing.

"UH, ME, HI," Chester barked with a fang-filled grin as everyone flinched and helped Chester into the room with hard laughs.

"Chester?" Berri loudly wondered, to which Turbo rubbed the back of his head and huffed a shaky chuckle.

"If you leave me out of that, I will murder you," Wren loudly muttered as he firmly pointed up to Turbo, though Turbo largely rolled his eyes and lovingly slung his arm about Wren's shoulders.

"It was a handful of people, I mean, it all ultimately boils down to Berri, but it certainly started off with all three of my brothers and Wren," Turbo held up his fingers and counted, to which Tessa raised her eyebrows in stark shock.

"Lash included?" Tessa wondered, Turbo bobbed a nod and sighed.

"Lash included," Turbo huffed a still slightly panting laugh. He rubbed his forehead of sweat and inhaled a deep breath as his chest expanded for a full intake of air, "So, it SPARKED with Berri... Then carried with Wren, Lash, Nox and Throttle... Segued into Tatum, and thennn... Chester brought it all home."

"I threatened to throw him out of his building," Chester stated proudly as he stood a little taller, tucked his wings closer to his body and grinned in mean delight.

"Sixty-four floors high," Throttle muttered in terror.

"Why didn't I think of that," Berri muttered as she shot Turbo a playful, dirty look; he wrinkled his nose at her and, although they held in sneering delight, he finally stuck his tongue out at her in boyish tease.

"Trust me, we all wanted to," Wren muttered, though Theo softly pat Turbo's shoulder and cutely smiled in innocence.

"I supported you, Turbo," Theo's deep voice pressed in dramatic appeal, to which Wren and Berri largely gaped and began to firmly argue Theo as Turbo sagged with a wide smile and soaked it all in.

"I'm here," Turbo huffed finally as he gave Zed a sweet smile.

"Boy ARE you," Zed staggered with a wide smile as his eyes met with Bedgy and a few other crew members.

"Yeah, the show of the century, I'm not sure how it'll be topped, but..." Bedgy smiled and shrugged her wings as a few crew members began to quietly go about their next tasks, a night full of VIP tickets and back stage meet and greets were now in order, "I'm sure we'll find a way, guys. You KILLED it, I mean, I've... I've never seen such a kickass show. You all really stepped up to the plate and made it work... Especially Berri and Turbo. That was..."

"Flawless teamwork," Ace proudly pressed as he shot his baby sister and Turbo a loving smile; both Turbo and Berri bashfully peered into each other's eyes with knowing cheek.

"We're going to go out and meet up with the rest of the fam, okay?" Zed eased to Berri and crew, and as him, Tessa and Ace gave their loving hugs to all four members, Zed diligently grappled Chester's lead in silent assurance that Chester was going to be safe and sound with him. As they began to leave in cute, chattering notions of their departure, Zed waved a little and smiled back at Berri, "HEY, your grandfather has a night planned in Mario Kart, tonight, the outlet right next to this theater. You can't miss it."

"What time? We have a few other things left to do," Berri worried, Zed bobbed a nod and peered back to her with a smile.

"It's, what, two o'clock now? He has a dinner reservation at eight tonight," Zed assured, to which Berri sagged her shoulders in relief and eased a happy nod of confirmation, "Just call me when everything is said and done. It's more than enough time, I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Okay, love you guys," Berri called in sweetness as they softly called and waved back in response, and as the room began to clear, Bedgy and Throttle remained. Bedgy eased a small hop and a flutter up to a higher counter, so she could get eye level with everyone as Throttle crossed his arms and pressed deeper into the lovely, calm room just tucked inside backstage. Berri bounced on her feet a little and beamed Bedgy an eager smile, "Alright, Bedge, WHAT'S the verdict, huh? We gunna... Continue on as a core four? Turbotime squad?"

"You want... You want Turbo to remain in the band?" Bedgy smiled in twinkling, cheeky curiosity as everyone eagerly lofted their gazes for Turbo's figure; he raised his eyebrows in hot surprise, huffed a shaky chuckle and held his hand to his chest.

"Holy User, I-I... I'd be honored. My brain is STILL in Game Central Station," Turbo eased with a sighing, exasperated chuckle of sweetness, though just as Turbo was to open his mouth and ease a more positive conclusion, suddenly a familiar head poked into the gaped double doors.

"Excuse me, we need the band in the dressing rooms to prepare for the VIP meet and greets," Tatum cockily chimed, though as everyone peered their attention to her in a second of frozen uncertainty, everyone gaped in a rile of unadulterated surprise as she easily bounced into the room a giddy mess. With a glom of a group hug and a mess of apologies for everyone, excluding Tatum, being covered in sweat, Tatum beamed a blushing smile and eventually landed her gaze with Theo. He lovingly gripped her shoulder and jostled in a cute show of now not knowing what to do with himself, "Teddy, I made it! I saw the whole thing! Y-You guys were... WOW. And Turbo?!"

"Yeah, Tatum made me feel like a MASSIVE dick, earlier this morning," Turbo muttered with a wide smile as he cutely gestured to her, though Theo warmly took Tatum into a tight side hug and gave her a good squeeze; like clockwork, they both were blushingly shy about it. Turbo gently nudged Berri's arm and bobbed a nod, "She told me she was going to try and make the show a little later, too."

"I almost didn't come, but then when Berri introduced you when you came out onto the stage," Tatum huffed a cute giggle and covered her cheeks with a grin, "I threw on whatever clothes I could and came as fast as those trains would take me."

"... It's been WAY too long since I've seen you, Tate," Bedgy finally pressed in sweetness, though as Tatum dropped her shoulders in soft surprise, she quickly leaned down as both her and Bedgy tucked in for a big hug.

"Bedgy," Tatum huffed in sweet, nostalgic delight as they squeezed, though Tatum grit her teeth and gave Bedgy a nervous look, she easily lofted said look to all four band members about her, "Gunner's not... Around, is he?"

"No, he's... He's gone back to EZ Living, he left as soon as he could," Bedgy stated with a hard, long annoyed sigh as she eyed Berri and Turbo, "I guess... Some flare of an argument came up and..."

"User, it all happened so fast," Berri mumbled, though she pleadingly gave Tatum a look of sorrow and shook her head, "Tatum, I'm sorry... I accidentally spilled to Gunner that you've been staying with us and he got... SO pissed."

"He put hands on Berri," Turbo muttered through the clench of his teeth in annoyance, to which Tatum gaped and covered her mouth in a spike of a shocked gasp.

"He did NOT," Tatum hissed as she urgently peered to Berri, though Turbo shook his head as Berri rolled her eyes and covered her forehead.

"He just grabbed my shoulder and shook me a little, but... Turbo had also arrived JUST in time to witness such a thing, annnnd..." Berri gently waggled her hand in Turbo's direction lazily, to which Turbo proudly beamed Tatum a protective grin with the pop of his prominent canines.

"I handed him his ass!" Turbo stated with a proud, cute smile, and although it was a sensitive subject, everyone blurt out into stark laughter, including Bedgy.

"Yeah, it got... Ugly, quick," Bedgy muttered through a sighing chuckle, she shook her head and peered to her brood about her, a collective group she either previously, currently or was due to taking care of, "He... He said he was just taking his hiatus now, abandoned the show, and head back to EZ Living without hardly telling anyone. I really have no idea what this is going to do for his reputation, and I... Really don't know how this is going to affect his friendship with all you guys."

"Safe to say it's over," Tatum muttered regretfully, she gave Berri a soft, sad frown and shook her head, "Bear, I'm... Really sorry that I-"

"This is NOT your fault," Berri firmly assured as she lovingly held Tatum's hand with a squeeze.

"No, he could've handled the conversation so much better," Turbo rushed to confirm, as well.

"And, I don't know, maybe NOT abandon us," Wren mumbled in irritation, though Berri lulled her eyes closed and sagged her shoulders, "Can you imagine if maybe Berri didn't bravely rise to the occasion and Turbo didn't show up?"

"I'm sure WHATEVER has happened, I'm positive at least I haven't heard the last of him," Berri grumbled, though Turbo raised his eyebrows and looked down in muttering, seething reservedness.

"He's brave if he thinks that's wise," Turbo huffed under his breath.

"Either way... You guys absolutely rocked," Bedgy huffed with a cute smile, "I've never seen a more electrified crowd. Be prepared for all of press's questions, especially you, Turbo, I know you're entirely unexperienced with this."

"We'll take care of him," Theo mumbled in warm affirmation with a nod, he gestured to Berri, Wren and even Tatum and Bedgy, "We have the best of the best, here. There's really no better people for Turbo to be surrounded by."

"Which brings me to my next point, the VIP meet and greet..." Bedgy nervously trailed off as everyone slowly began to find places to sit; like clockwork, everyone sat close, though all six beings easily paired off. Wren with Throttle, Berri with Turbo, and now Theo with Tatum, Bedgy eyed the group in sweet delight and ruffled her feathers with assurance of said cuteness as all six pairs of eyes held tight to her in warm, calm listening, "Now... People paid good money to meet Berri, Wren, Theo and Gunner... We've refunded the people that were here to specifically and privately meet Gunner, and we've combined it into a band-wide meet and greet. Is this something you'd be comfortable with, Turbo? Or no?"

"You can say no," Berri lovingly assured as she peered to Turbo directly to her left, rested slouched into the couch they sat on, though she was sat a bit more forward than him. She eased him a sweet, grateful smile and rested her hand to Turbo's thigh, cloaked in his ripped, worn and loved light grey motorcycle jeans, "You've done more than enough today, so if you really don't feel comfortable with it, you CAN say no."

"I mean, I've come THIS far," Turbo huffed a confident chuckle and gave Berri a glowing smile, how many times she's seen his cute canines within the last hour was more times than she could count in her entire life. Turbo shrugged his masculine shoulders and gave Bedgy an assured grin, "It'd be silly of me to stop here. I'm on board with everything. As long as I have my family."

Bedgy narrowed her eyes and gave Turbo a cute, suspicious smile, though as the silence hung for longer than natural, everyone began to ease into sweet, knowing laughter as Turbo sagged and bashfully peered to Berri in dolloped uncertainty.

"Berri, you didn't tell me how much of a softy he was," Bedgy mumbled as everyone now cooed into a bigger swathe of laughter, "I only met him that one night, briefly, but wow. Alright, Turbo."

"I'm scary," Turbo whined as he furrowed his eyebrows and gave Berri a pleading frown, "Please tell them. I'm an Arcade nightmare."

"You're terrifying," Berri's womanly voice cooed down to him with a mix of sweet certainty and dull, playful annoyance.

"Not no more, you're not," Theo huffed a loud chuckle, and as everyone calmed into easy laughter and smiles, Bedgy bobbed a nod and gave Turbo a smile of affirmation.

"Great, well... You guys have about forty five minutes to freshen up before hand," Bedgy started with a nod, "We'll be down the B corridor, third door on the right. Please be like ten minutes early. We'll start lining people up maybe five minutes prior, once everyone is situated."

"Done," Berri assured with a nod, and as Bedgy eased everyone her calm parting notions in a flit of grey feathers that flurried out the double doors, everyone began to groan to a collective stand and stretching few grunts of post-show stretching to just now feeling the weight of exhaustion.

"I'm sad I can't be included like how I used to," Tatum complained lightly, though she still held a cute smile.

"You ABSOLUTELY can be included, stop," Berri rushed to affirm as she gently squeezed her arm, "Sure, you can't... Join in THIS meet and greet, but surely the future of our band will need you."

"Hell yeah," Theo encouraged as Wren, Throttle and Turbo all easily bobbed sweet nods of encouragement.

"Thanks, guys," Tatum eased in smiling humility as everyone began to causally mosey out of their green room and more in the direction of their dressing rooms, so to freshen up and prepare for up close and personal encounters with die-hard fans.

"Tell us, Turbo, are you sad your coding WON'T be red tomorrow morning?" Wren nosed, he pretended to hold a microphone tight to Turbo's face, in which he flinched and shot Wren a wildly irritated look of smiling embarrassment. Wren yanked the microphone back to himself as he and Turbo walked side-by-side. With Berri on Turbo's other side and Theo, Throttle and Tatum now loosely straggling ahead and behind, Turbo opened his mouth to answer in annoyance, though Wren firmly carried on in a pushy reporter-like voice, "Are you SURE this stunt wasn't just to ultimately get some, at the end of the day?"

"Oh, yeah, ALL I think about is sex," Turbo muttered dully, everyone howled with laughter at his cold sarcasm, he held his hand to his chest and then gestured down to Berri, who loosely walked at his right, "I've penciled Berri in for tonight and, uh... I guess we'll see what tomorrow looks like. I'm an ASSHOLE."

"Dude, stop being so nosey," Theo mumbled cutely in Wren's direction with a smile, Berri furrowed her eyebrows and bobbed Theo a cute nod.

"THANK you, Teddy," Berri muttered.

"Everyone's thinking it," Wren eased in sly cuteness, and though Berri rolled her eyes and looked off, she felt proverbial glue begin to sag her and Turbo together, "Tell me, your Highness, are you WILLING to put out, tonight? After Turbo went to such GREAT LENGTHS FOR-"

"WREN I swear to USER," Berri firmly grappled her hand over Wren's fist, which was daintily shoved in Berri's face in loo of a pretend microphone, and as Berri stumbled ahead of Turbo and began to playfully wrestle Wren away from the conversation in muttering, blushing irritation, Turbo crossed his arms and heaved a long, satisfied sigh as their louder bickering continued on.

"Y'think he's on to something?" Turbo cutely wondered to only Throttle as he cocked an eyebrow and caught eyes with his big brother, though Throttle rolled his eyes and, through a cheeky side-eye, he pat Turbo's shoulder and shook his head.

"Easy, tiger," Throttle huffed under his breath.


	186. Chapter 186

**Reviews :**

 **Awesome Stories May Occur :** Hey! Thank you SO MUCH. YES! These lyrics are 100% mine. I always get nervous to write for a chapter that requires me to come up with lyrics. A single chapter can take me less than an hour to pump out, but if it's a chapter that requires I come up with lyrics, I could be picking at it for a few hours or more. Always worth it, just really time consuming haha. I really appreciate that! I was inspired by Panic!'s version of 'Into the Unknown' for the chapter where Berri and Turbo sing on stage, for the melody and the theme, but otherwise, lyrics are simply just poetry, which is a more constructed version of writing, which, as we all know, I am NO stranger to haha. I have internet now! I'll reply to your PM, in all honesty, I don't get notifications for PM's and once I open them, I'm like a goldfish, I'll forget it exists unfortunately. I'll try and get to it! And I appreciate all your insight! Thank you so much!

As for the continuity and littler, finer details with the music and coffee aspect of this story, I do my best to sprinkle in my own knowledge there because I AM a musician, and I'm also a barista LOL. So, I do my best to make it all as realistic as possible, but for things I don't know, I do a great amount of research before I write for it. Like in Defying Code, when Zed was teaching Tessa how to waltz, I did research on waltzing cause I know nothing about dancing. Same for whenever anyone talks about cars and engines, or when they discuss how concerts and security operates and xyz, I do what I can to take time out and research my topic before I begin blindly writing about it. I'm sure I've fumbled, but I do whatever I can to make this story not only believable, but accurate. So I really appreciate when you guys notice those finer details. I put an asinine amount of care into this story. I don't just type away and hope for the best. I do an exuberant amount of research where it's needed, and it makes my heart soar when it's noticed. So thank you! That REALLY means a lot, seriously.

 **Snake557 :** Wren is nosy LOL He's not afraid to make it known.

 **faolan1230 :** LOL and boy do they xD Thanks friend!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Found Your Love by Oliver Nelson ft. Heir (Plastic Plates Remix)**

* * *

 ***Chapter 186***

"Let's see, I got... Forty two hugs," Wren counted on all his fingers dramatically, him and Theo stood close to one another in one of the empty concession areas, inside Midnight Moon Theatre. Although they hovered near the big, broad entrance and exit, and were about to walk through a whole entire swathe of press, media and fans, tidily roped off and secured, Wren, Theo, Berri, Turbo and Bedgy politely awaited for the crowd to be wrangled as such. Although Wren directly spoke to Theo, he made sure his voice was loud enough to hear, "How many hugs did YOU get?"

"Like.. Same amount? I don't know, I don't count hugs, you freak," Theo muttered with a cute, toothy smile, "I count how many times someone wants my autograph. THAT'S a cool feeling."

"How many hugs did Turbo get? Oh wait, I don't know... I LOST TRACK," Wren spout, though Turbo slowly cocked an eyebrow and grimly side-eyed Wren from the position he was facing, which was mostly away from Wren and directed to Berri. Berri covered her mouth, blurt a hard laugh and watched as Turbo's mean grimace finally sloped to the true nature of his playful self, Wren guffawed and gestured his hands to Turbo in rising irritation, "Gunner bails, leaves us OTHER guys to have some love, and then... YOU come swooping in, all tall, dark and handsome."

"I think he needs a hug, Bo," Theo muttered as he cleared his throat and tidied his hair; the crowd outside went crazy and anxiously awaited the band's walk down the stadium's gorgeous breezeway, which ultimately lead to the whole of Arcadia's station.

"I don't need a hug," Wren staggered, though Turbo sloped his annoyed face to that of gooey, teasing love.

"Poor little Wren," Turbo's deep voice cooed as he gently draped his arm about Wren's shoulder, and although he surely assumed Wren would put up a fight, Turbo was successful in tugging Wren into a snuggly side-hug, "There, there."

"I hate all of you," Wren grunted as Turbo gently jostled him into the side of his chest and curiously peered down to him through happy, golden glowing eyes.

"You did REALLY well, in there, Bo," Berri encouraged as Wren finally caved, eased a sneaky, humbled smile and wrapped his left arm about Turbo's upper back, they remained sagged into a brotherly, lounging side-hug, "Though I was sure SOMEONE was going to ask if you were due to deleting them."

"Yeah, I'm surprised no nonsense about you previously being an asshole came up," Wren muttered, still outwardly annoyed at Turbo, though Turbo didn't flinch.

"I guess that's what I was most worried about, too," Turbo agreed nervously, though he cocked an eyebrow and lofted his now becoming apprehensive gaze out the big, glass doors and windows that concealed the huge crowd of fans, alongside the press with huge cameras. Turbo swallowed hard and felt the words softly leave his mouth, as if regretting putting said notion out into the universe, "Though, something tells me it's not our die-hard fans I now have to worry about..."

"Eh, don't worry, Bedgy will curb any stupid questions lofted your way, she's good about that," Theo mumbled, and though Bedgy was hovering near said doors and awaiting the go-ahead, she cutely smiled back to Theo in soft insinuation that she could still hear their conversing.

"Let's maybe ask you ALL the stupid questions we can assume you'll be asked," Wren pressed his free hand to his chest and gave Turbo a sassy side-eye, as much as he could in their tight proximity, "After all, we HAVE been doing this for a hot minute."

"Lay 'em on me," Turbo muttered, though Berri grit her teeth as Wren inhaled a sharp, quick breath.

"Turbo Black! Are you only in this so Sugar Rush will eventually get unplugged?" Wren gasped in a dramatic fashion as he flagged his hand, Turbo furrowed his brows and stayed silent for Wren to sharply continue on, "Turbo, Turbo! Are you ultimately the one who kicked Gunner out? Mr. Black! Are you and Berri having a secret love affair?"

"Turbo! What game will you head to NOW?" Theo barked, Turbo flinched in a rile of surprise as Berri covered her face in exhaustion.

"Hey, Turbo, over here! Tell us how Berri is in the sack!" Wren urged, though Berri inhaled a deep breath, to try to revive her sanity, and crossed her arms.

"Wren, paparazzi asks those invasive questions, not the press!" Berri staggered through a nervous giggle, though her face turned beet red at Wren's silly questions; Turbo huffed a shaky breath and, although he nervously drowned in Wren's and Theo's antics, his eyes began to glow a kiss of a peachy blush as him and Berri did everything they could to not hold eye contact for too long.

"Turbo, are you signing on to Archived Chaos with Gunner at the helm?" Theo mocked as he jostled his head, "Or are you planning on killing HIM TOO?"

"Turbo, tell us where Roadblasters went!" Theo cupped his hands over his mouth in a holler, though just as Berri threw up her hand to shut everyone up, Wren loudly continued through a hard laugh.

"Is Wren REALLY as sexy as you claim?!" Wren's voice echoed.

"Berri, give us a smile!" Theo dorkily called.

"You GUYS!" Berri shouted, and though Wren and Theo were lost in laughter, Turbo aimlessly looked off in shellshocked, smiling irritation, "Guys, for User's sake... Press has never been THAT hard on us."

"I see paparazzi, out there," Theo claimed in chuckling urgency, he narrowed his gaze and pointed out the tinted windows, to the crowd.

"Am I to answer any of these questions?" Turbo wondered gently, a serious air so tenderly coat the group, something Berri was thrilled that Wren and Theo caught on to. Turbo inhaled a shaky breath and eased his masculine arm a bit tighter about Wren's neck and shoulder, "I-I mean... I'm really NOT a part of Archived Chaos."

"... You were today," Theo shrugged, he eyed Turbo with sweet seriousness, "Today was our hugest, craziest show and you... YOU, of all people, showed up and showed out. I mean..."

"Safe to say, you're plugged in, dude," Wren cutely mumbled as Berri put her hands on her hips.

"Gunner abandoned his last show," Berri urged in irritation, "Even if he WANTED to come back, I might have to draw the line. Our contract ended with him, it's time to move on and create something greater. Only now, it doesn't just include Theo, Wren and I, any longer. And... I guess this is a deeper conversation for later, but, Bo... If you want in, and if you want to continue doing THIS with us..."

"Which, you are kickass at, by the way," Wren muttered, as if delivering the compliment was hard, though both boys smiled in teasing love.

"You get to choose. Whatever those reporters ask you, you just... Answer with your truth," Berri shrugged, "If that means joining us for future endeavors, then make that clear. I speak for everyone when I say, we'd be stupid not to include you."

"You completed the group, dude," Wren nodded, Theo bugged his eyes.

"And THEN some, we've been saying for WEEKS now that there needs to be a MAIN singer, and a back up singer," Theo gestured his hands, to which Berri lovingly smiled into his eyes, "You two compliment each other well. It was obvious from that one night we jammed in Turbo's code room, remember?"

"Boy, do I," Turbo sighed, he rubbed his forehead in soft agitation and shook his head, "I just... As much as I detest the guy, I DID cause all of this. I caused him to run out and bail. I didn't... Mean to-"

"Bo, sure, you got up in his face, but," Berri shrugged and looked down, the quiet, glossy lobby they hung in twinkled with California's warm, afternoon sunshine, something that eagerly glinted into the glass-domed station's ceiling. Berri lulled her eyes closed in pondering and finally peered up into Turbo's eyes, "Ultimately, it was Gunner's decision to bail out. I... I tried to talk him in to coming back to the stage, however hard that'd be, and he told me to do the show without him and that I was a selfish bitch."

"... He WHAT?" Turbo staggered darkly as Theo and Wren largely flinched, though everyone jolted their attention to Bedgy as she gently flagged her grey wing.

"C'mon, crew, keep your wits 'bout yah," Bedgy chimed cutely as everyone grunted and moved from their standing and leaning positions, though Berri gave Turbo a sheepish smile as everyone began to walk towards the glowing, glass doors and windows.

"Sorry, please don't get mad," Berri huffed with a nervous giggle as Turbo shot her a look as if to assure her he wasn't making any promises.

"I'm feeling a LOT, right now," Turbo muttered in rising nervousness as Theo lead the charge, though Turbo and Berri lingered back as Berri could sense his rising apprehension.

"C'mon, the performing part of this night is almost at a close, tonight will be much better," Berri soothed innocently, though Wren raised his hand.

"She guarantees it," Wren snapped with a cute chuckle, to which Berri furrowed her brow in sharp embarrassment and felt that sticky, inevitable super glue want to bind her and Turbo together.

"I meant tonight inside Mario Kart!" Berri urged nervously, and as the doors opened, Wren got another jab in.

"Damn, you work quick, girl," Wren muttered, though Berri huffed an annoyed sigh and now couldn't properly retort.

In the splay of blinding camera flashes and the rapid-fire clack of lens shutters, the large crowd hovering tight outside the arena, eagerly began to go entirely nuts. Turbo felt his airways tighten, the idea of being right in front of a crowd was not a sense he could easily dull and get used to in one simple show, and though it seemed to become something he could overcome with a bit more ease with each introduction, he still felt his spine stiffen. As the band, including Bedgy at the helm, slowly pressed down the glorious stoop that lead out of the stadium's breeze way and out into the station, the handfuls of reporters and news cameras, allowed inside the roped off areas, began to eagerly swarm the five, something that security guards mitigated and calmed with their open arms of a barrier and firm, strong demeanors. Although outside of himself and certain that the spots in his eyes would take days to erase from his retinas, Turbo still did everything he could to politely keep Berri at the forefront of his actions, wherever her direction lead, he guided and followed. As the group slowly pressed down the middle of the roped off area, with adoring fans and grabby, reaching hands on either sides, reporters eagerly filed with their huge cameras, microphones and urgent calls of all four band member's names.

"BERRI, Berri, over here," One woman urged as she successfully wormed her way closest to Berri; as politely as she could, she was thrilled to have Berri's twinkling, blue-eyed attention, and in the now crowd of at least seven microphones hovered a three foot radius from Berri's head, the woman rushed to carry on, "Arcade remembers the mic malfunction that happened alongside your Dig Dug tour. Was that a pre-meditated stunt to kick Gunner out of the band?"

"No, that was entirely an accident and I just so happened to grab the nearest mic, in Dig Dug," Berri corrected, though Turbo raised his eyebrows in soft, delighted surprise as he carefully watched Berri, full interview mode, a careful loft to cutely protect Throttle's name, Throttle's poor mistake. Always one to carry herself with poise and grace, this all came about tenfold, Turbo long-blinked in sweet, delirious surprise at the sheer way she held her head high in such grace and elegance, a smiling, humble kiss of cuteness, immediately reminding Turbo that all the shows he missed, he most certainly missed Berri blossoming into this role. Now well-seasoned, he knew he could feel sore about it, though now that he was next to her, here and now, he easily soaked in every single word she confidently splayed into the microphones all around her, "Gunner's mic malfunctioned, then. Stepping in wasn't a stunt."

"Where is Gunner now?" Another man gently asked as everyone did everything they could to hold their own mics and recorders as close to the four that stood swathed in the middle of a trillion flashing camera lights, news crew lenses and screaming fans from about them.

"We're not sure, something came up and he was not fit to perform," Berri assured gently, though all the reporters raised their voices and tried to get their urgent questions.

"Turbo, what made you want to come out of hiding inside Sugar Rush, for all these years? Why now?" Someone nearby diligently asked, though Turbo felt his stomach clench with the draw of mics and cameras that eagle-eyed to his position next to Berri's side.

"I-I... I guess I've paid my dues, as Sugar Rush's King's advisor," Turbo skillfully volleyed, and though he seemed cool and collected, Berri gingerly held her hand to Turbo's back in a silent show of support as she could clearly see him falter within himself in well-concealed terror, "Berri and I are close, as well as Theo, Wren and I."

"Is this true?" The same reporter jolted to ask Wren and Theo, to which they perked up and beamed wider smiles.

"Oh, yeah, we've been best friends with Turbo since before we even joined Gunner with Archived Chaos," Theo urged cutely as Turbo lofted them a small, grateful smile, "He's a great guy. He REALLY saved our butts, today. Berri would've carried us, but it really helped that Turbo also stepped in."

"Turbo, were you planning on performing tonight?" Another woman hurried to get in, she urgently carried on, "Surely, with Gunner's and Berri's halted relationship, having you on board, as a new love interest, wouldn't be something Gunner would approve."

"No, he probably wouldn't," Turbo's deep voice confidently and cheekily mumbled into the mic, though he cocked an eyebrow, "The lady made her choice, I think that's pretty clear."

"Moving forward, are you guys going to include Gunner?" A man closer to Wren asked, to which Wren cocked an eyebrow and glossed his mildly unsure gaze in Berri's direction.

"We, as a core, haven't discussed it in full, yet, but I am confident that we're not going to be including Gunner in any future projects," Wren stated seriously, though his tone lead to suggest there could be some drama, something the reporters eagerly ate up.

"What kinds of falling-outs did you guys have with Gunner?" Another woman hurried to ask, a jolt of microphones every single reporter was desperate for said answer, though Turbo leaned in and gave the crowd a glossed look of authority.

"No comment," Turbo pressed deeply, though Bedgy gently halted her positioning and peered up to Turbo in a stab of cute, cheeky surprise, the raw fact that she was just about to field that question and assure the group of reporters that said question would go unanswered; she smugly tucked her wings back to her body and was thrilled Turbo did the work for her.

"Berri what kind of precautions, moving forward, are you going to take towards Tron and the mass amount of deleters coming into Litwak's Arcade?" Someone firmly asked, though Berri furrowed her eyebrows in a soft spike of surprise and felt her stomach drop; she could see Turbo's sharp, golden gaze peer to her in a swathe of cold uncertainty as Berri huffed a shaky answer, desperate to remain confident.

"The safety of our fans, at our shows, is our top concern. My father, as well as Turbo, have diligently come up with the tech to field any deleter attacks, and have been successful thus far," Berri carried with soft confidence, in which Turbo bobbed the group a nod of agreeing, "For any future shows our new band, here, sets up, safety for everyone is at the very top of our list of concerns, and will always remain that way."

"Theo, we saw Sama sneak her way into security during the show, and later hover nearby for the band's VIP greeting," Someone else pressed, to which Theo raised his eyebrows, held his breath and felt his moment truly come; the man eagerly pressed on with a suspicious look of uncertainty, "With her's and Gunner's previous scandal, how can you know she is to be trusted around the band?"

"I'll set the record straight, her real name is Tatum and does not go by Sama anymore," Theo urged, to which Wren, Berri and Turbo easily grinned frozen, eager smiles for the now swathe of loving protection Theo was due to splaying all over the media, a justification for Tatum's innocent character, "She never cheated on Gunner, that was a nasty rumor that Gunner, himself, spread. She's a lovely, beautiful individual and I'm honored to call her my friend."

"You're saying Gunner wasn't truthful with the events that took place, between him and, erm, Tatum, last year?" The man asked in incredulous disbelief, the camera shutters began to click just a little faster as everyone honed in on Theo with riled shock.

"None of it is true, Tatum is innocent. She didn't cheat on Gunner with Rye, Archived Chaos' previous drummer. Tatum and Rye are cousins and they previously lived together," Theo concisely urged as he shook his head and inhaled a deep, confident breath, "I want her name cleared. She's innocent."

"Theo, Theo! Are you two involved?" Someone urged, though Bedgy flagged her wing.

"Next question," She urged, saving Theo from potential word-vomit.

"Berri, how about you and Turbo, you guys are involved, now? Did Gunner know about this?" The same woman desperately pressed her prodding question, and though Berri could see Bedgy tense and hover, as if to wonder if Berri would answer the question or field it, Berri inhaled a deep breath and bobbed a smiling nod.

"Yes, Turbo and I are involved, we've been dating for the past month now," Berri eased lovingly, to which Turbo crowned a bashful smile and accepted Berri's little side hug into his figure, "Gunner had full knowledge of this, but since Turbo was never seen outside of Sugar Rush, I don't think he believed me."

"He'll believe you, now," The woman giggled with a smile as the camera shutters continued to click into an oblivion splays of camera flashes easily dot every half second with a pop of light.

"Alright, that's all the questions for now," Bedgy ruled as she flagged her wing, and with such, the reporters nervously began to go nuts as the four peeled away, as if somehow hopeful either one of the four would answer just one more question willingly.

"Holy shit, that was stressful," Turbo muttered down into the top of Berri's head as the two slowly began to skulk away together, though Berri pat the broad of Turbo's chest and bobbed a nod.

"Welcome aboard, good sir," Berri volleyed through the grit of her teeth as she finally beamed a wide, elated smile and began to step over to one side of the roped off area to love on her fans; they easily screamed and cooed Berri over with posters and memorabilia to hopefully get signed.

"Berri, I can't believe you're dating THE Turbo!" One fan chimed as Berri grinned and approached a big group of excited, squealing girls.

"I sometimes can't really believe it, either," Berri gently giggled as she held her hand out and loved on said group of girls as they eagerly held out items to be signed.

The one girl Berri was most directly in front of hooked her eyes tight into Berri's and smiled in star-struck, trembling glee, "C-Can you sign my Academy notebook?"

"Sure! What Academy do you go to?" Berri wondered cutely as she easily took the spiral notebook, swathed her large, healthy, well-revised signature across the top and handed it back with curious eyes.

"End of Line," The fan staggered in shaky adoration, to which Berri pointed and turned around, to call to Turbo, who was easily hovering with Wren and Theo.

"Turbo," Berri called, to which he perked up, watched as Berri gently waved him over, and quickly began to saunter over to where Berri was. Upon said quick saunter over, Berri could feel the group of girls, before her, begin to shakily whisper and mutter loud notions of delighted terror that Turbo, of all people, was approaching. Berri eased a giggle and gestured to the girl she stood before, "These girls go to End of Line Academy."

"Oh, my older brother was a professor there," Turbo pressed cutely with a shrug of his masculine shoulders, he comfortably sagged his hands into his pockets and very quickly realized something; said girls began to giggle and swoon and fan themselves, he raised his eyebrows in poised surprise and now grew entirely shy, "H-He, uh... His name is Throttle, though everyone called him Tee. I don't know if anyone would remember-"

"My oldest sister was in Professor Tee's class," Another girl clumsily chimed, though the same girl that got Berri to sign her notebook, shakily began to hand it to Turbo as Berri cutely began to step away and love on more fans down the line.

"C-Can you sign my notebook under Berri's signature?" She warily pressed, every single girl before him was a giggling, shaking, stammering mess of entire shock and swooning delight, and with such, Turbo eased the widest, most nervous smile and tenderly took the notebook from said individual.

"Sure, I-I'd love that," Turbo's voice pressed in airy, sweet, renewed delight.

With the gentle grip of this girl's worn, very loved bright blue spiral notebook that glistened in the afternoon sun, Turbo allowed his world to quiet for a moment. As he gently took the marker from said individual, he hovered for a second and assessed Berri's beautiful swirl of a signature. He long-blinked a captured memory of this raw moment, how surreal it was to actually be signing his very first autograph, and directly underneath Berri's like such, he held his breath and wondered if this was all real. This Academy girl would take her notebook home and likely never let it leave her house, because of now how special it was, the raw fact that it had his autograph easily slapped on it, next to Berri, a full-fledged celebrity, Turbo drowned in quiet thought. As he warily signed and handed it back over, all the girls loudly giggled in cute, adoring fervor as Turbo rubbed the back of his head and gave said girls a sheepish, wide grin.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm no good at this," Turbo mumbled cutely, he was floored at just how easily they fawned over him, he now realized just how quick this lifestyle could go right to one's head.

"C'mon, babe," Berri chimed as she gently hooked Turbo's lower left arm and began to pull him away, she kindly waved to the few girls Turbo was hovered near and grinned a loving smile of gratitude, "Thanks, guys!"

"Sorry, I... Wow," Turbo huffed quietly to her as Berri hooked arms with Turbo and began pressing towards the area where a much bigger group of guards awaited their arrival, outside of the roped off area, an escort waiting to take them into Mario Kart, the outlet just off to the side of Midnight Moon Theatre, like Zed stated. Berri eyed him in cute, annoyed tease as he rubbed the back of his neck and lofted his gaze to Wren and Theo, who easily joined them, once more, "The weirdest thing is being asked for an autograph and not receiving death threats at the end of it all."

"Let me get your signature!" Wren chimed cutely before he glowered up to Turbo in playful taunt, "I'll KILL you."

"Exactly," Turbo choked a laugh, and as they waved goodbye to the fans and press that hovered, they finally began to saunter over to Mario Kart, and although they had a very heavy escort of body guards, fans and the like still lingered and followed with adoring glee.

As the four began to pave the way to Mario Kart's outlet, being heavily escorted, Theo and Wren kept a few paces ahead of Turbo and Berri, and although the crowd following them was excitable and loud, the four kept to mumbling, gentle conversations within themselves. As Turbo's eyes scanned Arcadia's gorgeous station, he took note that the majority of the outlets, here, were much larger and more heavy duty. Although straggled at the first, gaping entrance of Arcadia was an even line of normal outlets, for older games, Turbo took note that the closer the outlets got to Midnight Moon Theatre, the bigger and heftier. Such as Mario Kart's rather intimidating, towering entrance of an outlet, Turbo eyed the size of everything and swallowed hard. Sensing Turbo's now drowning overwhelm, Berri eased a gentle giggle, wrapped her arm about Turbo's lower back and wormed her way into his side; he flinched, peered down to her and eased an apologetic smile.

"Sorry," Turbo mumbled cutely, to which Berri shook her head and long-blinked in soft, allured knowing.

"You doing okay?" Berri wondered gently, she peered up to Turbo and knew, full well, they both had a very massive, collective, private conversation awaiting the both of them before any form of normalcy could carry on, a rather massive elephant in the room that neither were entirely ready to tackle, just yet.

"Yeah, I'm... Starving," Turbo eased with a small chuckle, "I'm... Really glad I came out here, and this was all entirely worth it, but if I'm being honest, I'm VERY excited to go back to Sugar Rush and go straight to bed."

"I'm right behind yah," Berri staggered in gentle exhaustion, and though Turbo eyed her in soft curiosity, Berri blushed, looked off and finally gripped her eyes to Turbo's in gentle secrecy, "But... I'm wondering if there will be any instance, tonight, where we can possibly be alone? I really need to talk to you."

"I need to talk to you, too," Turbo mumbled, knowing full well this conversation wouldn't be easy or lovey-dovey, like the majority of this day has been. He heaved a deep sigh and, although they were now in the shadows of Mario Kart's outlet and his eyes began to glow a bit more prominently, they, shortly thereafter, began to mute into grey nervousness, "I just... Want us to see eye to eye."

"Well, we can relax, from here on out," Berri sighed with a grateful smile, and though Turbo's arm was lofted about her small shoulders in lazy, sauntering love as their group carried on, she bit her lip a little and began to grow nervous for said impending, heavy conversation due to happen at any spontaneous moment of solitude they could afford themselves, "Let's just put it on pause, for now. Maybe we can talk about it once we get back home."

"Yes, ma'am," Turbo bobbed a nod, and though he wanted to halt and reverse everything he just agreed to, he knew he couldn't blow his cover, here; the ring, in his pocket, very easily began to burn a hole in his pants, and though Berri was now set on just discussing and ironing out their differences once back in Sugar Rush, he wondered if he could get away with straightening it all out here, in Arcadia, by some miracle of User. Set to propose outside of Sugar Rush's outlet, he bit his lip and knew he had to come up with a fool-proof plan before the night was over.


	187. Chapter 187

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Aww, don't fret! I'm sure it's great. I do an insane amount of research and fact checking for my own sanity xD

 **faolan1230 :** Thank you so much! And no, Turbo does it privately, and he explains why. I'm glad you're so excited :D

* * *

 ***Chapter 187***

What started out as a rather tame, easy-going get together inside Ralph's private reservation very quickly turned into a full-blown, celebratory party. Mario Kart's brand new, gorgeous cabinet boasted Arcade's finest graphics, the incredible landscape and colors everything the atmosphere contained was otherworldly. On top of the world, nestled inside the gorgeous, sprawling city that hung just underneath Princess Peach's incredible palace, the view from this specific penthouse, was very similar to Turbo's view from his loft. Although not nearly as high up, it still gave Turbo a sense of comfort, a nice little version of his home away from home. With floor to ceiling glass windows, the majority of every racer, inside Sugar Rush, as well as the entire royal family, friends, band and crew members, everyone in between easily lived up the coolest, most lively house party that anyone had thrown in a very long time. Complete with a Dj, delicious food and an uplifted mood that couldn't be beat, the night rocketed forward with absolutely no end in sight.

Like diligently promised, Zed eagerly enjoyed the party and did everything he could to unwind, though with such taste of fun, he dutifully promised Berri he'd take great care of Chester. Although the torch was passed between Berri, Tessa and even Wren, Zed held on to Chester-duty with a very real amount of pride. Knowing full well he'd do anything to take care of one of Berri's best friends, as well as Lickity's grandson, he was more than happy to lounge with Chester and observe the party before him. Having been relieved by Tessa, she graciously took his place for the time being. In the mess of loud music, flickering lights, bodies that danced off in the alcove that was a few levels beyond the sprawl of a kitchen and gathering area, Tessa and Chester chit-chat with each other for a little while, they lounged near a sneaky corridor that, although was a dark, long stretch of a hallway that led to a swathe of public bathrooms, it also lead to the entrance and exit of said penthouse, heavily guarded by Archived Chaos's body guards. Although the hallway was narrow and only really included the bathrooms and exit, it also held a small nook of a rest area, a more quiet place to retreat and sit, a place to figuratively press pause if need be.

"I'm almost worried what the media is going to be saying, tomorrow," Chester pressed to Tessa with a nervous look, Tessa bobbed a nod and nervously shrugged as she gently fiddled the lead on Chester's chest.

"Whatever, I'll fight 'em," Tessa muttered with a cheeky smile, to which Chester perked his ears and grinned.

"Let me join, I may be blind, but, let's face it," Chester pressed with scheming fervor, "I was able to get Turbo out of the game! My hugest success."

"Yeah, man, what didja end up doing, anyways?" Tessa wondered cutely, she kept her curious hazel eyes tight to Chester's blind, searching, though twinkling orbs.

"I just threw him against the windows of his loft and threatened to throw him out of the glass if he didn't leave," Chester rushed with a laugh, to which Tessa threw her head back and eagerly laughed alongside his adorable, boyish chuckling. Chester grinned with ease and shook his head, "No one else was willing! I can breathe fire, too, I don't know what version of me he was anticipating."

"Well, either way, it was a success," Tessa wheezed as she wiped her eye, though she flinched in surprise as she suddenly could see Turbo urgently passing by. She perked up, flagged her arm and was successful in getting Turbo's cute attention, though he looked frazzled, "Hey, wonder boy, speak of the devil."

"That's the FOURTH time someone has said that as I was walking by," Turbo pressed in grinning irritation, though he slowed his roll and softened in the presence of Berri's mother. He gave her a sweet smile and hovered with her and Chester with a swathe of now tender sincerity, "Your Majesty."

"Your Highness," Tessa volleyed as she raised her eyebrows and gave Turbo a cute, knowing smile. She softly looked about the group before cueing Turbo's eye contact, "You, uh... Got that one certain thing that Ralph let you have about a month ago?"

"Yes, ma'am," Turbo pressed cutely as he pat his left pocket, where Berri's beautiful engagement ring resided. Turbo's golden eyes caught with Tessa's in riled, nervous, grinning fervor as Tessa cupped her hands to her chin and squeed a cute noise of silent, elated anticipation.

"You have any idea when or where?" Tessa wondered sweetly, she tried to keep her words as vague as possible, just in case anyone else passing by could pick apart her words.

"No clue, but... I think I want it to be private," Turbo eased softly, he eyed Tessa in tenderness and wondered if that would, at all, be okay. He shrugged in further confidence as Tessa bobbed an understanding nod, "I don't know, the concert was in front of literally everyone, as well as, well... That kiss she laid on me, even though we promised we'd never show public displays of affection in front of anyone."

"Oh, that was different, I thought that was so sweet," Tessa flagged her hand and gave him a knowing smile of warm assurance, "Do what you feel is right. Whether it's in front of this whole group, or in private. It's your's and Berri's moment. Don't let anyone else dictate it."

"'Sept for me, you didn't even ask for my permission, dude," Chester blurt in rising irritation, though with such words, Tessa grimaced an apologetic smile as she noted Turbo's shoulders stiffened in a scrunch of nervousness, his eyes muted to a softer yellow and not so prominent in glow.

"... You're right, I totally didn't," Turbo eased in a lilt of tender, sorrowful apology. He laid his hand to his chest and peered to Chester with whole earnest, "Chess, I'm really sorry. How can I make it up to you? Will you be the deciding factor, then?"

"Hmm," Chester fingered his lip in tease and looked away, though Tessa scoffed a silent giggle of smiling annoyance and fiddled the lead in her possession. She gave Turbo a cute, knowing smile and shook her head, as if to assure that she had the whole palace on Turbo's side and Chester's antics, here, were strictly playful and brotherly. Chester flattened his ears and sagged, "Nah, I can't think of anything. I think you're well aware just what will happen if you do anything to hurt her."

"Yeah, you'll follow through with throwing me out of those windows," Turbo huffed in nervousness as he rubbed the back of his head and blurt a soft laugh, "I want nothing more than to take care of her for the rest of my life. You know I love her, Chess, I'd do anything to make sure she's safe and happy."

"I mean, considering how Gunner used to treat her, I'd say she's in great hands, now," Chester finally softened, to which Turbo eased a relieved smile and glanced into Tessa's eyes with warmth. Chester pointed a clawed finger, of his paw, in Turbo's direction and perked his ears high in dominance, "Don't ever forget who flew you across Sugar Rush, so that you could be here. Don't you dare forget my name."

"Chester, I could never," Turbo huffed softly, he warmly sagged his hand to Chester's snout, "You beat sense into me and, well... We both accomplished our fears together. I could never forget that."

"Now hug me in such a way that looks inconspicuous," Chester demanded, to which Turbo blurt an incredulous laugh and finally sagged into Chester's front. With a firm grapple of his arms about the broad of Chester's large, thick neck and fluffy chest, Chester lulled his eyes closed, hugged his arm and paw about Turbo and gave him a firm squeeze. Chester finally officially softened and eased Turbo a warm conclusion, "She needs you, dude. And you for her. Don't ever take that for granted. She loves you so much."

"She really doesn't shut up about you, ever," Tessa mumbled cutely as Turbo and Chester finally pulled apart, "Just know that this journey now means leaving the game more than just tonight. Think you're up for the task?"

"It's going to be a challenge each time, but after that SHOW earlier?" Turbo staggered as he grappled the wider collar of his golden tank top, he heaved a shaky breath and finally began to scan his eyes about the crowd, obviously in search of a certain blue haired beauty, "Safe to say it's going to get easier and easier."

"Yeah, that show was probably enough to humble you for an eternity," Tessa staggered a soft laugh as she crossed her arms and inhaled a deep breath, "Y'lookin' for Berri?"

"Yeah, for User's sakes, it's almost as if she's avoiding me, I can't find her to save my LIFE," Turbo now unveiled his cute, grinning frustration as he urgently looked about the crowd, all about the bustling, loud place. He gave Tessa an almost defeated look of cute pleading and shook his head, "I've been looking for her for the past fifteen minutes..."

"Methinks she's just trying to relish in the moments she bumps into you," Tessa shrugged with a sweet, motherly smile, "If I were her, I'd be floored every single time I looked over and saw YOU, of all people, outside of Sugar Rush. Just let her be surprised by you. I don't know if that's really what's going on, but if I had to guess..."

"Yes ma'am," Turbo assured gently with a polite nod, "I'm sure that's it..."

"Just hang out with someone else, she'll turn up," Chester cutely bobbed a few nods.

"She'll bump into you faster than you desperately searching for her, y'know?" Tessa assured, to which Turbo inhaled a deep, refreshed breath and now stopped his frantic searching.

"You're probably right," Turbo gave Tessa and Chester a warm smile, though he flinched in surprise the second Tatum, Theo and Throttle urgently began to call Turbo over to their conversation, across the way; he perked up and, in ushering Tessa and Chester a kind, conclusory departure, he warmly slipped away.

"Poor guy has no clue what to do with himself," Tessa mumbled cutely as she chuckled and pat Chester's side with a firm few loving thumps.

"We'll all sleep well, tonight," Chester sighed with sweet relief, though just as him and Tessa were due to slipping into another one of their warm, collected conversations, a sudden blip of silver coding suddenly zipped up to them, and in the unravel, Berri's twinkly-eyed figure came out of it, causing Tessa to merely side-eye her daughter in anticipated, smiling irritation.

"Babe, that POOR boy is desperately searching for you," Tessa muttered, though she jolted and choked a small laugh as Berri glommed on to her mother and raveled her arm about Tessa's shoulder. Although Berri had a little bit of height over Tessa, it was more prominent now with Berri's heels, causing the top of Tessa's head to be level with Berri's chin. Tessa rolled her eyes, grinned and wrapped an arm about Berri's little waist, "Please go collect him before he begins over-turning tables, he's been searching for you for fifteen minutes now."

"No, don't, I think it's funny," Chester grinned in sneaky delight, to which Berri was a soft, panting, smiling mess as she rested against her mother's shoulder.

"I know, I've been following him, I've been like right behind him for the entire time and he's had no clue," Berri huffed a hard giggle, to which Chester grinned and bobbed an agreeing nod to her antics.

"You tease," Tessa stated in curt cuteness, though she held her daughter close and softened with her, "You two doing okay? Like... You guys made up?"

"Oh, not at all, it's an elephant in the room," Berri beamed an ironic grin of delight and shook her head as her twinkling blue eyes hooked tight to Tessa's, though Tessa furrowed her eyebrows in sharp surprise and opened her mouth to urgently question Berri, though she quickly carried on, "I mean, we're fine, we both told each other that we'd iron out the issue tonight, once we got home."

"You two going to be awake enough to do so?" Tessa side-eyed Berri and knew, full well, this night was beyond exhausting for everyone, "Why don't you save it for the morning, love, just get some sleep and wake up refreshed."

"Whatever happens," Berri shrugged cutely, she blushed and eyed her mother in teasing delight, "Mom, he left the entirety of Sugar Rush and then sang WITH me, Wren and Theo in front of over fifteen thousand people. Put yourself in my shoes. If that was you and dad, you'd without a DOUBT-"

"Give it all up, yeah, I'd give him every single last pixel to my name," Tessa muttered, to which Chester flattened his ears and sent both girls a shocked look of entire irritation.

"Yeah, currently where I'm at," Berri snipped with a wide smile as both Tessa and Berri immediately burst out into hard laughter, the sheer look of cute bewilderment now written all over Chester's face.

"Wow," Chester huffed shakily, "Please have me sleep in the enclosure, tonight, I don't want any details."

"Done," Berri shrugged, her Tessa jostled and wobbled in each other's grip as she shifted on her feet, "You know where I'll be sleeping, tonight. Oh my gosh, mom, can I get personal with you really quick?"

"Can you like MUTE yourselves or something? Make it so I can't hear this convo?" Chester now urged in whole annoyance, though Tessa grunted a little and eased her and Berri five feet away from Chester, knowing full well the music wouldn't drown out his incredible hearing, though the distance potentially helped.

"Yeah, what's up," Tessa huffed in cheeky girliness as she kept Berri in her arm, though Berri bashfully raised her eyebrows and began to cutely twiddle the longer, wavy auburn hair that draped down Tessa's chest; although not dressed in something as revealing as Berri, both girls still looked as stunning as ever.

"So, this is probably TMI, but... Do you know ANYTHING about stressor points and core coding?" Berri prod innocently, though her face turned beet red as her and Tessa suddenly locked eyes; Tessa's dull eye contact was ironically laced with a cheeky little gape of a smirk, as if to be totally shocked that Berri had this information.

"Oh, okay, so... Innocent Mr. Turbotastic is more ahead of us than any of us realize," Tessa blurt in irritation, and though Berri shook her head, looked off in grinning, blushing embarrassment, she jolted with a laugh as Tessa poked her stomach, "Yes, your father and I know all about it. Turbo wrote a whole entire dissertation about it and taught us master coders. He added the information to the code room. He's been dying to spread that valuable information."

"And?" Berri prod in cute delight, though Tessa wildly furrowed her eyebrows and now nudged Berri as she blurt yet another cute giggle of warm, lovey delight.

"What do you mean, 'and?'!" Tessa shrieked as the two were a giggling mess, "Your father and I studied up and did a whole night's worth of homework! I'm not going to indulge you on the details, young lady!"

"I-I don't want THOSE kinds of details, I just wanted to... Enlighten you, if you didn't already know," Berri shrugged, both girls glowed with blush, though Berri felt safe sagging into her mother's sweet, non-judgmental presence.

"You enlightened me with TOO much information, babe, I don't need you revealing to me that Turbo taught you about stressors and core coding," Tessa rushed in girly irritation, though Berri heaved a shaky sigh and shook her head as she looked off in cute dread. Tessa gently tapped the faintly glowing stress marks on Berri's temples and cocked an eyebrow, "Guess it shows that you two have been separated. I remember when you first started dating... Your stress marks were GONE."

"Mom, I was just wanting to pass information on to you because..." Berri caught herself in her words and now realized she was digging her own grave; she blurt a hard laugh as Tessa unhanded her and began to firmly tickle her out of her's and Chester's presences.

"Because Turbo's been messing with your stressors and you want me to know how amazing it all is once they're relieved? I'm the Queen of Sugar Rush, don't insult your father like this, GET out of my sight you filthy little brat," Tessa firmly staggered in whole playfulness as she was finally able to get Berri's wildly giddy, blushing, giggling figure to nervously hobble and stumble away from her, once and for all. Tessa flagged her hand in Berri's direction, to get her to officially go away, and finally reunited with Chester, "Sheesh, man. I'm one of Sugar Rush's master coders, she really gunna ask me stupid questions like that?"

"Yeah, I STILL could hear everything you guys were saying and I'm irritated that I can't unhear it," Chester muttered in cheeky, boyish annoyance, "I don't want or need anymore info on the subject matter."

"Oh, bud, don't have children, then," Tessa sighed wistfully as she pat Chester's side lovingly, she sagged deeper into his cozy, furry self and cutely peered about the crowd as she could see Berri finally making it a point of head in Turbos direction. Chester gently tilted his head to listen in on Tessa's warm conclusion, "I remember being in her shoes... Zed and I turned the whole Arcade upside down. Seems like it was just yesterday."

Berri bit her lip in cute, surging energy as she skillfully weaved in and out of the dancing, bustling crowd about her. As the music blasted, the bass reverberated every single pixeled soul in this building, she felt her heart begin to cutely race as she happened upon Turbo's backside. Her eyes curiously scanned the peaks of his gorgeous, intricate, sprawling back tattoo, though as she gently glitched hopped in a bounce, she skillfully maneuvered her way in front of him and popped out of her silver coding with a cute, youthful smile. Turbo largely flinched and halted his cute conversing with Throttle, which was in its beginning stages of departure, Berri previously overheard him frustratingly explaining to Throttle that he couldn't find her. Berri grinned in cuteness as Turbo jolted in hot surprise and finally beamed a smile of relief.

"Oh, Bo, found her," Throttle choked a laugh, in which Theo and Tatum eagerly giggled as well.

"For User's sakes, have you been avoiding me?" Turbo urged with a hearty laugh as he lovingly grappled Berri's upper arms, as if to assure he wasn't going to let her out of his sight, or grip.

"Yes, actually," Berri chirped cutely as she shrugged, the splay of flickering lights all about their skin, the heavy bass and loud music that they nearly shouted over. Berri eased a full tease of a smile and bashfully tucked her hair behind her ears. Although she was still in her rather reveling outfit from the concert, Turbo had kindly given her his favorite, faded red zip up from his materializer. It was baggy on her, lazily slagged over her shoulders and unzipped in its entirety, it was almost something that began to drive Turbo even more nuts, the fact that she was cozily draped in his clothes. Turbo raised his eyebrows in sweetness as she bashfully pressed on over the music, "I just like being surprised every time I see you, I've been dreaming of these moments for months now."

Turbo gently sagged and felt a roll of sweetness crawl over him, and though guilt was gently knocking on his door, as well, he softened in positivity and was glad he could now make memories here, with Berri, entirely out of Sugar Rush. He softened his grip on Berri's upper arms and lovingly peered down into her eyes, he felt a bubbling urge boil inside of him, that ring in his pocket was surely due to burning a hole right through his pants, he inhaled a shaky breath and so sweetly gave her his sincerity.

"I'm here, now," Turbo pressed warmly, "But I want to actually hang out with you, y'know. We have a lifetime ahead of us to see me outside of Sugar Rush. I want to make this memorable night count."

Berri relished in his unforgettable words, a massive promise immediately made, she long-blinked and now realized that her tour was officially over, and the Arcade was now theirs to claim. The places she's so desperately wanted to take Turbo, the countless memories to suddenly be made, she felt her heart race with the now opened ideas presented right between them, she eased a cute giggle and scrunched her shoulders in cuteness.

"Thank you," Berri assured with a warm nod and a smile full of gratitude into his eyes, though she cutely side-eyed him and began to warmly take a few steps backwards, "Well, since you ARE here, now, why don't we start these memories off right?"

"I'm listening," Turbo cooed in deep, cute curiosity, though as a new song began to blare through the speakers and the crowd began to bounce and dance in excited fervor of noise, Berri began to get lost in the colorful crowd.

"Come dance with me," She called cutely as she began to vanish, though Turbo held his breath and raised his eyebrows in a jolt of terror, he finally took a few staggering steps into the crowd and urgently began to chase after Berri, so not to lose her again.

Turbo nervously staggered her name with a bashful grin, the mute of his golden eyes made clear he was not the best at this kind of thing, though as the two melted deeper into the mend of light and noise, the bodies all about, the maze of dancing and the vibration of the bass against their coding, Turbo felt his eyes string into an enchanted draw of her beautiful blue hair, she twirled and danced about in cute rhythm, her beautiful body elongated as she raised her hands above her head and beamed a free smile as the people about her joined in her fervor, like a blue bolt of lightning that set the crowd on fire, Turbo huffed a shaky, incredulous breath, through his dumb grinning, and was shocked to feel his body begin to move, as well. As if everything and everyone outside of Berri's two foot radius was just blur and bubbled noise, his heart jolted at the sight of her gorgeous blue hair messily splayed all about her shoulders and breasts, the dangle of messy bangs on her forehead as she shot him a coy look and danced about, he was certain he was about to have a heart attack.

Through all the noise and light, the blur of Berri's movement and the hair in her eyes, she grinned in cuteness and softly peered in Turbo's direction. Although the splay of light hit them in entirety, she felt her heart freeze in collected, delightful desire at the prominent glow of his golden eyes, piercing through everything. Hooked tight to his gaze, a sultry look of silently promising her that she was due to getting the full brunt of his love, eventually, she breathed an airy laugh of panting delight as Turbo finally wormed his way into her bubble. Through the mess of arms and noise all about the two, Berri's hands softly and messily pressed to Turbo's broad, powerful chest as the two wormed in easy, free movement. The glue of his golden eyes all over her body, the bass that vibrated the crowd into near-mince meat, the flicker of her gorgeous hair as his strong, able hands finally found Berri's wider hips in a sway, she dared to twirl underneath his arm once before swinging back and falling right into his strong, protective arms, laughs and wide grins delivered freely. Although the two slowed into a softened, more romantic sway amidst the banging of the incredible, catchy music all about them, Turbo felt as if his knees were buckling. He inhaled a shaky breath and was well aware if he didn't propose to this incredible woman, in his arms, right now, he was about to burst into an explosion of confetti.

"Follow me," Turbo pressed urgently as he gripped Berri's hand and began to diligently drag her through the messy, dancing crowd.

"Where're we going?" Berri wondered in smiling, bewildered delight as they held hands, tightly.

"Away from here," Turbo urged to her, over the music, the crowd about them was way too lost in the loudness of everything to even notice the two making an urgent scout for the exit.

"Turbo," Berri choked a laugh as the two climbed out of the area of the dance floor and sunk into deeper, darker aspects of said penthouse.

Turbo's glowing eyes illuminated the dim corridor that eventually lead to public bathrooms, as well as the exit. In swiftness, he finally hooked a corner and sunk into the more private, quiet sitting area near the main entrance they haven't seen in hours. Berri blurt a cute, nervous, panting giggle and jolted to a scuff of her heels, on the tiles below, as Turbo finally yanked her into the smaller, darker alcove and clumsily brushed the nearby tall, looming house plant. Both beings heavily panted as Turbo's curious eyes sharply scanned about the hallway they were in, as if to nervously wonder if someone could be coming. Their much heavier panting was now louder due to them being in a bit of a quieter area of the penthouse, though Berri relished in all of it and softly pressed her hands to Turbo's broad chest, she ushered him a shaky notion of gentle desire.

"Where-to?" Berri's gentle, womanly voice hissed him in secrecy, to which he eased his peachy, glowing eye contact tight to hers and concluded a soft, exhale of easier panting with a coy, sultry smile into her twinkling eyes.

"I wanna take you somewhere else, I have a surprise for you," Turbo whispered as they hovered before each other in a sink into further, delirious delight, and though he so desperately wanted to just swoop her into his arms and full-on make out with her in this little, dark alcove, he desperately tried to pause his needy thoughts and eased his masculine hands to the tops and backs of hers, as they remained firmly sagged to his strong chest in a needy manner.

"How many more surprises can you dish out, tonight? For User's sake," Berri huffed a shaky, whispering giggle and sagged tighter to his presence as Turbo strung his sweet, loving eye contact to hers and finally began to look about for contact points of electricity the both of them could sink into.

"Loosen my leash enough, doll, and you'll find out," Turbo muttered sneakily, a full insinuation that had Berri's blue eyebrows softly raising in a tickle of sure delight, something Turbo cued to in the form of easing her a sure smile, full of certainty, as if to assure her that he was definitely meaning that literally. In Berri's cute, stunned silence, Turbo whispered to her in soft seriousness, "Go ahead and cue your exterior coding... I'll handle the rest."

Berri hovered for a second and knew, full well, he was about to take her on a coded ride through the wall's wires, to User knows where, though somehow the taste for adventure and excitement hung tight on Turbo's demeanor, something she only dreamed of seeing and experiencing. As if willing to do just about anything he asked for, due to his sacrifices, she let go of control, cued her coding, and allowed Turbo to very easily whisk her away, for just what, she only had vague guesses of.


	188. Chapter 188

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** It's coming I promise! This is the chapter you want haha. Thank you so much! And yes, Tessa's like child, I run this show lmao.

 **Snake557 :** hahaha y'okay?

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Daylight by Foxworth Hall**

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 ***Chapter 188***

With a pop of rosey coding, a spark of an explosion, both Turbo and Berri came scuffing to the dark tiles underneath. Although typically used to navigating her own self through electric wires, via her own glitching abilities, Berri felt it odd to loosen up and allow someone else direction in said live-wired nonsense. She heavily panted and very quickly realized that Turbo was carrying her, bridal style, in his strong arms. She raised her eyebrows in poised surprise and peered up to Turbo's glowing eyes, and as their gaze softly met, the only sound present was their gentle panting. In their dim surroundings, Turbo huffed a silent laugh and nervously looked about, and though Berri's eyes were lost on his figure in a whole wistful show of unadulterated, enchanted disbelief that this incredible being was all hers, she flinched in surprise the second Turbo's gentle voice popped her shivering thought bubbles.

"Hopefully there are no cameras or anything here," Turbo whispered, and as he grunted a small noise, bent over and allowed Berri to a stand, on her heels, the two stood to correction as Berri finally looked about.

In the still dimness of Arcadia Station's nighttime drone of gentleness, she quickly noticed that her and Turbo were now inside Midnight Moon Theatre's closed, abandoned, glossy tiled lobby. Just beyond the arches was Arcadia's gorgeous, massive arena and stage, an amphitheater that bevelled into the ground, the stadium was only illuminated by any light the outside world let in, from the glass dome of the station, as well as any twinkling lights the station's nearby outlets emit. A dim, calm, serene presence in a once sunny, lively and loud setting, from previous in the day, both Berri and Turbo so quietly pressed to the final railing leading into the arena. Although there were proper stairways and alley ways that lead down into the vast amount of seating, in the arena, Berri stopped at the railing and gawked at just how small the stage looked, from up here. She finally eased Turbo a cute, snarky smile and shook her head.

"I feel really bad for the people in the cheap seats," Berri mumbled cutely, though just as Turbo scoffed a noise and was due to being quick to reminding Berri that there were massive projector screens for everyone to be able to see the stage properly, he flinched in surprise as she suddenly hoisted herself up onto the railing, cautiously swung her legs over, one by one, and sat down on the railing with her heels hooked to the bars below. Turbo was quick to urgently secure his large hands about her tiny waist and support her down to a sit, though he was sneaky in allowing his eyes to traverse her curvy body with a smug smile. Although he was happy to get a quick, cute eyeful, he immediately regret it due to the peachy glow his eyes now suddenly began to splay. As soon as she got situated, she cocked an eyebrow and shot Turbo a sassy, beaming smile, "You, uh, like what you see?"

"Yes, ma'am," Turbo staggered a bashful laugh as he pressed to the railing and eased into her right side. She breathed a small giggle and swung her arm over the broad of his strong shoulders, and though Turbo planted his right elbow to the railing and snug his cheek and hand into his palm, in a cute show of smiling, disgruntled defeat, he finally shot Berri a knowing side-eye and much enjoyed their close presence, "I keep forgetting my eyes do this stupid... Peachy blushy thing. I can't get away with anything, now."

"It assures me I'm doing something right, at least," Berri eased a cute giggle and shook her head, the two fully caught eyes, Berri was well aware the two were about to explode all over each other, the sheer amount of sexual tension was something so thick, they could easily cut it with a knife.

Turbo bashfully sagged his eyes to Berri's beautiful body and relished in her closeness, and though the two had the entirety of their glorious, destined stage and amphitheater all to themselves, Turbo began to feel his world bevel in on him, the dreaded elephant in the room, he inhaled a shaky breath and lulled his eyes closed in impending seriousness. He was very well aware the two left off on a very shaky note, and though he swiftly made up for it, by leaving the game, he was well aware the two still had more to discuss, a very sensitive topic now bubbling over, he was entirely thrilled they were all alone. He could feel Berri's soft eyes on him, her now gentle, still disposition silently understood the switch in gears, the tenderness in Turbo's slower body language, the long-blink of the peachy glow that began to dull to a muted, greying yellow. Berri inhaled a shaky breath and lovingly began to stroke the back of Turbo's head, she felt the softness of his dusty grey hair and relished in their quiet closeness, the adorable, faint, dark grey freckles underneath Turbo's eyes, she tenderly continued to pet the back of Turbo's head in a silent show of compassionate understanding.

"It's time," Berri quietly pressed, above a whisper, to which Turbo raised his eyebrows in exhausted nervousness and slowly stood up a bit straighter.

"Yep," Turbo silently chirped, he bobbed a nod and finally gave Berri his softened, golden eye contact, a melt of seriousness they now eased into, the finalization and maze-like treading through their very first big conflict, Turbo felt his heart thud with apprehension, though he knew they'd make it out the other end unscathed, this time, "Let's get to the root of this issue. Outside of... You wanting me to desperately leave Sugar Rush."

"That's already accomplished," Berri sighed wistfully, she twiddled the hair on the back of his head, "Something I... Am eternally grateful for."

"You're worth it, Bear," Turbo assured gently, "I'm... I'm so sorry I didn't really convey that sooner. You were waiting, so diligently."

Berri remained still and allowed Turbo to tenderly carry on, his eyes scanned their glorious stadium, high up in their perch, she sweetly smiled and relaxed in his loving grip about her lower back.

"This... Went a bit deeper than just having the courage to leave the game, and... I need you to know just... How badly you hurt me, by leaving," Turbo pressed as cautiously as he could, he nervously peered into Berri's eyes and sagged, "Bear, I... I need you to understand that I felt similar grief when Libby vanished on me, but... When you left..."

Berri frowned and knew the guilt, that she had been stuffing, was now due to overflowing, here. She exhaled a shaky breath and allowed Turbo to carry on, to speak his truth, and to get everything off of his chest.

"I... Have never felt such despair in my entire life," Turbo mumbled, though Berri largely frowned the second Turbo's eyes began to gently sag to that dreaded blue she didn't ever want to witness, ever again, "I... Reacted in such a way that pushed you away, that one morning you woke up in my bed, and if I could go back and react differently, I for sure would. I pushed you away, and... You had every right to up and run, like you did. I understand the sacrifices you've made for me."

"Please don't cry, you're going to make me cry," Berri staggered as both of their eyes largely welled with tears. They both scoffed shaky laughs at each other's expenses and tenderly wiped their eyes, and though Turbo's eyes dipped to a gentle blue, it was a fainter, foggier blue, not nearly as dark or aggressive as what Berri previous saw, all those weeks ago, "I... I wasn't sensitive to you, at all. I'm sure waking up to that sight, and everything the previous night entailed, I'm sure you were overwhelmed. I would've given you everything of mine, no matter what state of mind I was in. I was really hurt that you didn't seem to feel the same, but... The more I thought about it, the more I understood that it wasn't about you NOT wanting to swap codes with me."

Turbo lulled his eyes closed, eased a shaky breath through his nose and wiped the last of his tears from his cheeks. His eyes remained a frosty blue of a hopeful return of gold, though he peered his curious, bashful eyes tight to Berri's as she shakily pressed on, the look of utter sincerity in her gaze was enough to taste.

"You've been through so much, you swapped codes with someone and then was trapped with it for almost thirty years... You're scared to give up your coding, and..." Berri trailed off, shook her head and remained soft in their serious bubble of love, "I mean, the raw fact that I've come this far into our relationship, into our intimacy, is extremely telling. You trusted me, you hoped I'd be patient with you for a lifetime, and... I failed you."

"No, no, you... Didn't," Turbo scoffed, though his heart thud in grief as she gently tucked the back of her free hand to her mouth and grimaced a small cry into the sleeve of Turbo's red hoodie. Turbo shook his head and desperately tried to hold back tears as Berri's sweet little voice pressed a small whimper, tears spilled down her rosey cheeks, he narrowed his tender gaze and squeezed her a little close. He finally scoffed a nasally, annoyed laugh and jostled her in cute fervor, "We sort of failed each other, Bear, I think... That's probably not the last time it'll happen. We're gunna make mistakes."

"I just... Left you," Berri grimaced a harder cry and now covered her face, to which Turbo shook his head a little harder and largely tilted his head to gain her full eye contact, once and for all.

"Bear, the difference is that we've learned, we're here with each other, love, c'mon," Turbo cooed softly as he so tenderly removed her hand from her face, he was quick to tuck her beautiful blue hair behind her ear and gain glassy eye contact with her. He gripped her free hand jostled it for emphasis and whispered his fervent conclusion, "Here and now."

"Please give me another chance," Berri pressed through a tender hiccup, she bashfully glanced to Turbo's plump lips and exhaled a trembling breath through her wet mouth, she shook her head and lulled her eyes closed in soft defeat, "I'd love to redo what we had, I want another shot at your love. I want to earn that. I want to prove to you that I can bend to your needs, as you so diligently bent to mine."

"You've... Done a great deal for me, Berri, those needs of mine were selfish and shroud in fear," Turbo pressed warmly, he was quick to catch her tears at her jaw before they speckled to the tops of her bare breasts below. He eased a snarky smile and shook his head, "I was stubborn and selfish. I stepped out into Game Central Station and got weird looks and nothing more. You guys were right, all along, and... I'm so sorry it took me this long to believe you."

"Am I allowed to say that I told you so?" Berri wondered under her breath as she gave Turbo a gentle curl of a teasing smile, he rolled his eyes, grinned and looked off.

"Yes, you can," Turbo mumbled, though he raised his eyebrows in surprise as Berri warmly cupped her hand about Turbo's jaw and smushed her face into the side of his face. With a firm, loving few smooches into the broad of his cheek, she finally wrapped her arms about his neck and scooped him into as much of a hug as her sitting figure could afford. Turbo huffed a small chuckle of understanding and easily scooped Berri's upper body into his, he lulled his eyes closed and relished in the feeling of her face tucked into his neck, "That's yours to claim, I won't blame you. I know I can be frustratingly stubborn..."

"I'm not going to," Berri sighed in conclusion, with eyes shut, she sagged into Turbo's caring embrace and relished every second of it, "You've been through and done enough. I'm just... So grateful you're here, with me. There's no better way I could've seen this day going. It was a whole dream come true."

"... It was pretty fucking awesome," Turbo whispered in a hiss of entire, quiet disbelief, the two finally erupted into knowing laughter as the two pulled apart in softness, though he gave her a genuine, warm smile and shook his head, "You're worth every second of it."

"... I love you," Berri assured in teary warmth, she bobbed him a further nod of assurance and desperately tried to collect herself; Turbo beamed a wide smile, the peak of his canines, he aimlessly peered down to their twiddling fingers, in Berri's lap, as he inhaled a deep, confident breath through the expansion of his powerful chest.

"Ohh, I love you, too," Turbo stated through a wistful, heavy, completed sigh of full relief. He eased her a knowing, twinkling smile and was thrilled to see the cute curl of her lips, once more, "Let's... Make each other a promise, okay?"

"Okay," Berri hurried to confirm with a small nod, Turbo pat her hand warmly and looked down to the stadium's glorious, frozen stage.

"Let's promise... No matter what happens, no matter what stage of our relationship, no matter what bumps in the road we come to," Turbo gently carried, he peered into Berri's eyes with soft caution, "We stick together, no matter what. No more running off, no more ultimatums, no more hurt feelings. We just... Need to be open and honest."

"Deal," Berri assured, the two cutely shook hands on it, though Berri sneakily side-eyed Turbo and eased a toothy, cheeky smile, "ON that, then, I have a question I want seriously answered."

"Anything," Turbo agreed in confirmed warmth, though as Berri's face turned red, Turbo swallowed hard and knew just where this was going.

"How come you reacted the way you did upon seeing me in your bed, naked?" Berri daintily wondered, "Surely you've seen a naked woman before, did... You just not want to have had done or seen anything in such a way that didn't conform to your own timing?"

"Yeah, I... Had it in my mind that if and when we were to do ANYTHING like that, it wouldn't have been such a jarring surprise," Turbo mumbled cutely, he eyed Berri and softened, "Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled as hell, I just... Was upset because I did everything I could to be a gentleman, to tuck you into bed with warm clothes on, and then... To just wake up and see you in such a state in which I didn't leave you in previously, it just confused the pants off of me. Literally."

"I understand, I... Wait, y-you were... Naked WITH me?" Berri staggered in hot surprise, her faced turned beet red, to which Turbo choked a small laugh and looked off in whole embarrassment.

"Hoo yeah, full on," Turbo muttered, he grinned as Berri threw her head back and loudly laughed in whole surprise, Turbo choked a chuckle and shook his head, "I don't think I ever put on underwear so quick, I was so freaked out."

"I understand," Berri repeated through her wheezing laughter, she finally settled and beamed the widest smile through a sigh of collectedness, "I guess I should've been a ton more compassionate, towards you. I don't know what I was expecting... Maybe a bit more warmth, but, I could've easily supplied that as well."

"It's water under the bridge, now," Turbo stated through a chuckle, he shook his head and lulled his peachy-glowing eyes closed with cute delight, "We have a chance to start over, now... Th-that is... If you'll, well... Have me."

Berri smiled and gave Turbo a shimmering grin of tender understanding. She long-blinked a soft bob of a nod and assured him, in tenderness, that she was entirely lined up with his notions.

"I'd be honored," Berri whispered cutely, to which Turbo eased her a wide, closed-mouth smile and shook his head, as if to silently guffaw at her insanely sweet notions.

"The pleasure would be all mine," Turbo huffed silently, he looked down to the sprawl of dark, empty seats about them and inhaled a refreshed breath, "I think... There's probably something I'd want to accomplish before that, though."

"What's that?" Berri wondered, though Turbo shrugged and peered to her in cuteness.

"How about we footrace to the stage and I'll tell yah," Turbo stated in pure nonchalance, and though Berri opened her mouth to confusedly reply to him, she jolted in entire surprise the second Turbo suddenly peeled from her, though he made sure she didn't fall in the process.

"HEY!" Berri shrieked in giggling irritation as she began to climb down from the railing; Turbo's cute, masculine laughter could be heard trailing away and down the alley ways of main access to stadium seating, "That's not fair! You had a HEAD START!"

"You can complain or catch up, doll, choice is yours!" Turbo called after her, though Berri grit her teeth in entire irritation and finally began to peel after him; such speed gained was shocking due to the fact that she was wearing heels.

"If I break my ankle I'm blaming you!" Berri shouted after him as the two ran down the huge splay of seats, the stage was still far off, though they sprinted with whole delight as the sound of rushing wind whipped past their ears. Berri pumped her arms and was surprised to have caught up with Turbo, though she quickly peeled in a different direction from him once they came to a fork in the road. Knowing, full well, her path was closer to the stretch and splay of much narrower downstage, she wondered if this shortcut would be brought to her advantage. Like she suspected, she immediately scrambled up to the stage, with a choke of effort, clumsily got to her feet and raised her arms high,  
"THE WINNER!"

"User dammit," Turbo huffed as the two loudly panted, Turbo finally found a side way up the stage and was easily beat, though he halted in the dead center of the stage and put his hands on his knees. He hunched over and heavily panted, "Holy shit, I'm never doing that ever again."

"What's wrong, old man, couldn't keep up? Maybe YOU'RE the one complaining?" Berri cutely stabbed with a shrug, though she breathed a sharp giggle the second Turbo's glowing glower of a gaze glossed the gorgeous stage and stabbed into her eyes in whole, playful annoyance. Berri twirled once, opened her arms wide and peered out to her empty stadium, the vast sprawl of empty seats, the gentle, dim glow of the station all about them, she inhaled a deep breath and relished in this feeling, "I can't believe this stage holds the most important moment of my life."

"What important moment?" Turbo wondered as he panted through his mouth, though as he moseyed down the near fifty-foot stretch of stage, to reach Berri, her blue hair glistened underneath the station's dimly twinkling area lights. He lulled his eyes closed as he desperately caught his breath, his heart raced for more than one reason.

"The moment you joined me on stage, and stayed," Berri's warm voice eased as she eventually caught her breath, as well. She lulled her eyes closed, head tilted up and out to the empty arena, her hands opened at her sides, she shook her head as she kindly continued, "I don't think I could've asked for a more memorable night."

"You CAN ask for that, y'know," Turbo mumbled sweetly, he was entirely thrilled her back was to him, she stood in solidarity in the narrow of downstage's strip of their glorious, temporary home. He felt his heart begin to flutter in apprehension, his trembling hand finally reached into his pocket, once and for all, and as he shakily grappled the little grey box in his possession, his golden eyes peered down to it in warm gratitude. He desperately tried to hide the tremble in his voice, he pressed on with such certainty, "Just... Say the word."

"I have all I need, Bo," Berri sighed wistfully as she shook her head, "All I need is you. What more is there to ask?"

"I think... Probably just one other thing," Turbo mumbled in shaky, silent, smiling delight as he so bravely got down on one knee, behind Berri, though with the gentle fall of his voice that Berri noticed, she opened her eyes in soft confusion and slowly turned around. With the sheer sight in front of her, the peer of Turbo's golden eyes up to hers as he diligently took a bended knee before her and sat readied with a grey little box in his hand, Berri raised her eyebrows in now world-shaking surprise, she covered her mouth amidst a silent gape of now trembling, unadulterated shock, she froze and peered hard into Turbo's eyes, and before she could utter him a shaky question of just what was happening, his shivering aura cutely ushered her a notion of love, "Berri, I need to ask you a question... And it's important, so... Please answer carefully."

"Oh my god," Berri huffed in shaky, teary delight as she furrowed her eyebrows and stood frozen in trembling surprise. She choked a silent, trembling giggle and shook her head as tears began to spill her cheeks, she repeated her silent notion as Turbo remained hovered right before her, though he cautiously reserved the little closed box in his possession.

"Berri, I didn't ever get a chance to do this last time, it was all too fast and too untimed that... I don't think I would've been in the right mindset. This previous isolation has given me time to think about what I really want," Turbo's deep voice staggered in whole, adorable terror, tears welled in his glorious, golden eyes, he hooked his sincerest gaze tight to Berri's and narrowed his eyes in warm plea, "... And, what I really want is you. Is us..."

Berri whimpered Turbo's name and crumpled into a few huffs of a silent cry into her hand. She shut her eyes tight as more tears spilled her cheeks, sat underneath the frozen, warm glow of Arcadia's lovely, dim light, the two shared their stage in loving solitude, a bubble of a moment they were now due to never forgetting. Berri reopened her eyes in unadulterated shock as Turbo finally opened the grey box and revealed to her the gorgeous, swirling blues, greys and golds of Ralph's and Vanellope's infamous cross-striped ring, a shred of confirmation assuring to her that this was the real deal, a massive honor to have such a rare material for a ring, she felt herself crumple even more as Turbo's shaky, teary, fervent voice pressed on in tender confidence.

"Will you marry me?" Turbo questioned in a lilt of sweetness, gentle certainty of her answer, he huffed a shaky, teary chuckle as Berri firmly nodded.

"Yes," Berri urged, she held her hands to the sides of her head, as if unsure what to even do with herself. Through her tears, she grinned wider than anything she ever had before, she peered into Turbo's eyes and conveyed further elated surprise as she rushed to confirm her answer, over and over, "Yes, YES!"

Turbo bit his bottom lip through a wide smile and, with a great amount of ease, he plucked the ring from its box, carefully slid it snug onto Berri's left ring finger and began to climb to a stand, upon slipping the now empty box back into his pocket. With every single last pixel of passion the warmth of Arcade had to offer, Turbo was quick to scoop his arms about Berri's middle and back, and as she did everything to grip her arms about his strong neck, the two lovingly collided into a passionate kiss, whisked away with their never-ending love, the tilt of their heads and the deep inhales through their noses, they eagerly sagged into each other, once and for all. Turbo could feel her smile against his, the tears on their cheeks mixed and melted to their jaws, the hot gape and press of their fervor began to mellow to a soft stir of warm, long smooches of their sticky lips. The two cutely began to laugh in the firm, loving presses of each other's lips, the flutter of their wet eye lashes, the two finally grinned toothy smiles of floored delight hovered tight in the gentle squish of their noses pressed together.

"Y-You're gunna be my husband," Berri whimpered in dainty, shocked delight as a few tears continued to roll down her cheeks, Turbo huffed a shaky, surprised laugh on her wet lips and kept his strong arms tight about her little waist.

"I'm not letting you get away, ever again," Turbo sneakily whispered on her lips, he tucked in for a few more kisses, kisses he absolutely couldn't resist, he smiled amidst their still gentle, unexpected smooches, "Mrs. Berri Black."

"Holy User," Berri wheezed a giggle and gripped her arms tighter about Turbo's neck, "I can't believe this..."

"I promise to be the best husband ever," Turbo mumbled cutely, to which Berri lulled her eyes closed in relief and sagged her shoulders.

"I don't doubt you for a second," Berri wistfully sighed, the two pressed their foreheads together as they remained close in their secret bubble of love, "I didn't think I could love you more than I already do..."

"Well, hold on to yourself, cause a code swap is going to knock you off your feet, then," Turbo muttered softly, Berri eased a wide, shy grin and was glad the two fell into adorable laughter together.

"I can't wait," Berri whispered, though she raised her eyebrows in cute, shy surprise and finally peered down to her gorgeous ring. She shook her head in warm surprise and relished in every single little thing this beautiful ring represented, "Babe, you... You ACTUALLY did it, you actually got the cross-striped bark?"

"Ho yeah, it wasn't easy," Turbo mumbled cutely, the two peered to her beautiful ring as she furrowed her brow in confusion.

"I've never seen such colors on that tree," Berri prod curiously, her innocent eyes peered up into Turbo's as he inhaled a shaky breath and pressed on.

"This ring is from the tree's roots," Turbo cutely concluded, to which Berri's face sloped to further, bittersweet shock and delight. She rested her hand to her chest and ogled her ring with more fervor, "I felt... It's something that spoke over us, in more ways than one. It's..."

"So meaningful," Berri pressed, she took a firm step forward and gripped her arms about Turbo's middle with a squeeze, he easily gripped his arms about her shoulders and buried his face into the side of her head, "I love you, Bo... This is... MORE than anything I could've dreamed. I don't want this to ever end."

"It doesn't have to," Turbo whispered in dark, sultry delight, he lovingly tucked her beautiful hair behind her ear and gave her a sweet, conclusory notion, "This night is still young."

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 **A/N :** Y'all, Turbo's and Berri's code swap scene is 14K words long. And it's coming up, Chapter 191. And I LITERALLY cannot wait. It's been written for like a month now and I'm about to pull my hair out waiting for you guys to read it.

I also drew fanart for this chapter, the scene where Berri is sitting on the railings - it's on my IG username Vyntastic! :)


	189. Chapter 189

**Reviews :**

 **Nikki Firesong :** Aww, wow. THANK YOU! That means the world to me! I'm so glad you feel that way. And yes, I did reference the movie when Berri said 'the winner!' :) I'm glad someone caught that. Also, YES, Zed, Vanellope and Turbo race! It's not anytime way too soon, but it's in the works. That's been a thing I've been wanting to write for since the end of Rectifying Origin, so trust me, that DOES happen in this story!

 **faolan1230 :** YAY! Thank you! Yeah I'm going to upload that chapter and then likely wait for a few days so everyone can digest it, cause it's a lot lmao.

 **Snake557 :** Oh I see haha

 **MisterTheX :** BLACKBERRY. Okay, I really liked Berbo, but Blackberry I think takes the cake. AMAZING. Thank you so much! I'm really glad you're enjoying it thus far :D

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **This Time by Foxworth Hall**

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 ***Chapter 189***

"Take a WILD guess as to just how many messages Lash has sent me today," Turbo muttered in irritation, him and Berri lazily sauntered out of Midnight Moon Theatre's dim, cozy breezeway, void of a single soul, only a few stragglers remained in Arcadia's massive station due to time easing now closer to midnight.

"Did you bubble him?" Berri pressed sweetly, her arm was linked into the nook of Turbo's elbow, they moseyed with each other, nowhere near eager to go rushing back to the party, they sauntered with each other on a cloud nine vibe of sweet solitude.

"...No," Turbo eased through the grit of his teeth, though Berri raised her eyebrows in sharp surprise and gave Turbo an almost authoritative look of shock, to which Turbo sagged his shoulders in sheepish nervousness, "I-I... He wanted to watch the concert, I took a huge gamble... Oh, God, PLEASE don't tell your father."

"You're my top priority, now," Berri muttered in playful irritation, she shook her head and eyed Turbo firmly with a show of caution, though she held a very soft, teasing air of affirmation as she jokingly carried on, "The butthead of all buttheads. Making GREAT decisions with the prospects of being King, on the horizon, my love. Great call. You're secret's safe with me, but I'm not thrilled at your decision, here."

"He's fine, he's... For User's sake, he WON'T shut up. He's STILL texting me," Turbo choked a laugh, he desperately tried to get Berri off of the topic at hand, "You never guessed how many times he messaged me."

"... Twenty eight?" Berri pressed tenderly, though she wildly furrowed her eyebrows the second Turbo cutely shot her a side-eye, as if to insinuate she was way off and more on the low end. Berri gaped a little, though as they stepped a bit further away from the gorgeous breezeway of Midnight Moon, and out into the station, Turbo's glowing eyes muted as warm light glinted atop the two in exposure, "I-I... MORE?"

"WAY more," Turbo huffed a shaky laugh, though he raised his eyebrows in soft surprise as he could see familiar bodies up ahead, slowly moseying to Arcadia's near-empty train station was a hefty group of Sugar Rush royalty and crew, they loudly chattered and joked in an endless splay of never wanting the party to end, though it was clear that things were now due to eventually winding down. He inhaled a deep breath, eased his phone into his pocket, gently halted his and Berri's footwork and bent down so to get a proper grip on Berri's body. In the swing, he easily lulled her into his arms, bridal style, and began to continue on, down the hall. He cocked an eyebrow, and though his footwork was a bit faster, he still calmly pressed his words down to Berri in softness, "Y'give up?"

"Nooo," Berri eased a cute giggle and rested her head against Turbo's upper chest and collar, she lulled her eyes closed in whole delight and relished in his strength, the rhythmic, swaying motion of his footsteps forward, she rested her left hand to the broad of Turbo's strong chest and allowed her eyes to ogle her brand new ring, her heart easily aflutter, "Maybeee... Sixty two."

"You're closer," Turbo breathed, he leaned down and gave Berri's forehead a few warm kisses, she sagged deeper into his love.

"SEVENTY two," Berri added, to which Turbo cocked an eyebrow and gave Berri a cute look of apprehension.

"Seventy three," Turbo muttered, to which him and Berri were rocketed into excited laughter; said laughter cued the group ahead, who were easily more than fifty feet away. Turbo narrowed his gaze and took note of everyone in said group. Easily seeing Ralph's big figure, his eyes scanned further to find the staggering group of individuals including Chester, Tessa, Zed, Wren, Theo, Throttle, Tatum, Oliver, Emery, Rancis, Taffyta, Penny and Orph. He inhaled a trembling breath and now knew this was the moment he'd reveal to everyone that he was set to marry Berri in the future to come, his heart began to pound as he desperately tried to keep his cool, "I mean... When I came to Arcadia, I wasn't planning on diving on to the stage and helping you fill Gunner's gap. I mean, Lash is going insane. I can't wait to fill him in on everything when we get back home."

"I want to see the look on his face," Berri cooed, though Turbo bobbed a nod and now took note that him and Berri were filling the gap of station between them and their family group, who now halted and awaited the two to catch up.

"You, uh... You want to, well..." Turbo stumbled on his words, to which Berri raised her eyebrows and peered up to Turbo in warm, shy curiosity; he continued to fumble, "Well, we can hang out with Lash any time, but if you, uh... You can totally come over tonight, if you want, I mean... And then leave right after, but if you were too tired, you could... Well..."

"Yes?" Berri cooly eased, Turbo swallowed hard and looked off with a cute, nervous smile; Berri pat Turbo's chest and choked a small giggle as Turbo looked like he was now struggling, "You, uh... Got something to say, there?"

"Yeah, I just... Know you probably miss your bed," Turbo stated in warm, defeated conclusion, though he gave Berri a sweet smile.

"Yeah, but I miss yours, more," Berri stated in a shy, coy whisper before she cutely cupped Turbo's cheek and eased a firm smooch into his other one, the side closest to her; Turbo cocked an eyebrow as his golden gaze drooped to peachy goodness.

"I-I..." Turbo huffed shakily, to which Berri eased a soft giggle, though before Turbo could get more words out, Rancis's voice could be heard from the two dozen foot gap between the groups.

"We were wondering where you two laid off to, we assumed you high-tailed it back to Sugar Rush," Rancis called with a laugh, the group before them was all smiles, and as Turbo slowly filled the gap, he ushered a kind few notions in return.

"Oh, no we just... Needed a breather, a moment to be alone," Turbo innocently assured, the group could sense his no-nonsense vibe, and as they neared, the group very easily cued to the twinkling, glowing delight in Berri's and Turbo's eyes, "Y'guys calling it quits?"

"Yeah, the... Poor palace has just been void of its monarch all day," Zed stated with a laugh as he put his hands on his hips, though he soon after draped his arm about Tessa's waist.

"I'm pooped," Ralph stated through a hefty yawn, to which Vanellope cutely wrinkled her nose and began to try and pick confetti out of Ralph's crazy auburn hair.

"Y'look it," Vanellope sweetly and playfully sneered in his direction, to which everyone bobbed agreeing nods, as if to easily understand Ralph's exhaustion.

"Some day, huh," Wren chimed a bit louder as Turbo was now within less than a dozen feet of the group, though within nearing, Turbo scoffed a bug-eyed, bewildered expression of agreeing and tenderly began to set Berri to her feet, once more.

"Yeah my whole life changed," Turbo choked a humbled laugh and sweetly hooked his arm about Berri's upper back and shoulders, he inhaled a shaky breath and, though they cutely peered into each others eye's with a whole new swathe of sweet, twinkling, renewed warmth, Turbo inhaled a trembling breath and bobbed a nod, "Well, y'guys, Berri and I have a bit of an announcement."

"You're pregnant," Wren choked in frozen, stunned delight, to which Turbo and Berri widened their eyes in shock as the group faltered in the wave of surprised laughter that eventually plagued the group.

"No, but I... Guess we're on the right track," Turbo eased, his deep voice trembled with delight, he lovingly held Berri's left hand with his right one, he squeezed her tighter into a side hug with his left arm and glossed the group a humbled look of renewed delight, "Guys, Berri and I are getting married."

"Surprise," Berri chimed with one of the widest, cutest, happiest smiles anyone had seen in awhile; the group gaped in sharp surprise, and though everyone knew of said impending installment, they still looked as if this was delightfully out of left field.

"THAT'S why you snuck off!" Theo barked in a roll of cute, hot delight as he pointed, Tatum grinned with a gasp and put her hands over her mouth.

"YOU GUYS!" Taffyta lilted in a squeal of delight, and as everyone eagerly began to rise into excitable notions and a warm, tight gathering of congratulatory hugs and pats, both Berri and Turbo glowed like the sun.

"I think I speak for absolutely everyone when I say, we're extremely proud of you two," Zed stated with confidence as the group tenderly lulled their bustling, loud excitement and eagerly peered to Sugar Rush's King and Queen, as they stood before Sugar Rush's new Prince and Princess, "Turbo, everything you did today took GUTS, man. None of us were expecting you to show up, let alone perform..."

"And THEN propose," Tessa blurt a giggle, to which Zed bobbed a nod to his bride and finally brought his sweet, humbled gaze to Turbo's and Berri's adorable, giddy, smiling eyes and demeanors.

"You two make Sugar Rush proud... What a way to end the night," Zed choked a laugh as everyone urged notions of cooing, loud, happy agreeing, though as Turbo and Zed firmly shook hands, it was clear Zed was beginning to get choked up, "I-I knew all about your proposal and it still didn't feel real until it, well..."

"Was REAL," Rancis barked with a smiling nod, as did Ralph and Vanellope.

"Aww, dad," Berri cooed sweetly as Turbo and Zed unhanded each other, though Berri sweetly tucked her fists to her chest and began to sag into Zed's bubble for a hug.

"My babe's all grown," Zed's voice croaked as he urgently wrapped his arms about Berri's little shoulders and held his beloved daughter close, to which Tessa warmly joined in. Zed heaved a small chuckle as Ralph pat Zed's back, in full understanding, and though Zed gave Turbo his teary, humbled eye contact, he knew he needed to squeak in one last notion of needing affirmation, "Take care of her, bud... She's a wild one. She needs you, as you do her."

"Yes, sir, like my life depends on it," Turbo hurried to firmly and seriously confirm, though Rancis lulled his arm lazily over Wren's shoulder and eased a mutter in Wren's ear, though loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Cause it literally does," Rancis huffed, the group was rocketed into laughter as Zed placed a few kisses to the top of Berri's head.

"You can't have our crowns just yet," Zed playfully demanded in a firm tone, though he choked a laugh as Berri warmly eased her arms about her father's midsection, they remained in a loose, loving hug. Zed huffed a shaky laugh and wiped his eyes of tears, "We're not done being in charge, just yet, but... Once we are..."

"The game will be in great hands," Tessa warmly and lovingly assured with a wide smile in Berri's in Turbo's direction, "Congratulations, you guys... It hasn't been long, but already you've come such a long way."

"It's been a ride, that's for sure," Turbo sighed, he sagged his shoulders in relief and so patiently welcomed Berri's presence back into his aura once her and Zed were done loving on each other.

"Train's here," Wren chirped as the group quickly began to mosey closer to Arcadia's massive, glorious train station.

"Did you JUST propose?" Tatum cutely inquired, the ladies of the group hovered about Berri and ogled her beautiful grey and blue swirled ring, with the delicate swirl of a rosey gold in a thin pinstripe.

"Yes'm," Turbo cutely bobbed a nod and sagged his hands into his pockets, Berri was now too crowded by Tessa, Taffyta, Tatum, Penny and Vanellope to properly hold; the girls now loudly began to excitedly discuss wedding ideas with Wren firmly in tow.

"You were VERY brave, today," Tatum lovingly pressed, she gently nudged her elbow up into Turbo's lower arm and gave him a cheeky side-eye, "Anything I said, this morning, somehow contribute?"

"It did... It all boiled down to Chester nearly tossing me right out my windows, but," Turbo shrugged and peered ahead, the familiar train cab's doors croaked open and began to let the group aboard, them being the only gamers in said train station. Turbo inhaled a trembling breath as everyone began to file in, one by one; he managed to lose Berri, early on, but figured she'd save him a seat inside, "Everyone's words resonated with me. I just needed the toss around."

"Happy to supply it, friend," Chester muttered from a few feet away, he and his lead was safely secure with Orph's smiling figure.

"Yeah, watch out for that one, he is quick to throw you up against a wall and give his snarling opinion," Turbo firmly warned to Orph, who bugged his eyes and peered up to Chester in hot, nervous debate; Chester bared both boys a fang-filled grin.

"Uhhh Pens? Y-Y'wanna take Chester, now?" Orph staggered nervously, though Penny was now way too far gone in conversing with the girls; Orph raised his eyebrows in becoming-terror and swallowed in cheeky, teasing cuteness.

"He won't bite," Theo muttered as he swiped his larger hand down Chester's snout, Chester flattened his ears in a draw of reclusive, playful irritation and sagged as the whole group began to finally make their way onto the cab.

"Yet," Chester snipped with a returning grin, the group continued to banter as Turbo eventually made it onto the train.

He raised his eyebrows in delight and peered to the only blue-haired individuals on the train, and though the group was sprawled all about their cozy, seemingly now private train cab, Turbo made a straight-away for Berri's positioning. She cutely perked up, pat the empty space next to her, and was eager for Turbo to remain at her side, at all times. With a sigh and a plop into the seat next to her, he swung his arm over her shoulder, eased his left ankle onto his right knee and immediately got comfortable as everyone else chattered and took a seat. With ease, Theo, Throttle, Wren and Tatum all sat close by, as well, the group sagged into different conversations between smaller pairs. Once the train doors closed and the cab began to softly lurch forward, Turbo exhaled a long, satisfied, exhausted breath and further relaxed in the tender murmurings of the familiar voices all about him. He took note that Berri pulled out her phone, for the first time all day, though upon doing so, Turbo was successful in sneaking a glimpse at her lock screen. It was angrily splayed with texts, missed calls and voicemails all from Gunner, had to be dozens of notifications. Turbo froze, raised his eyebrows in hot irritation and now felt protectiveness, for his brand new fiancee, immediately roll into overdrive. He held his breath and felt terrible with the way Berri's already exhausted demeanor sagged, she locked her phone and didn't even dare open the mess her phone had become.

"You just say the word, babe, I have no problem getting up in his face," Turbo's deep voice pressed in a mumble of a whisper, though Berri inhaled a deep breath and gave Turbo sorrowful eye contact.

"I have... NO clue what to tell him," Berri worried nervously, she shook her head and lulled her eyes closed, "I don't know what he wants."

"Well... Don't worry about it, tonight. We're having a GREAT night, with so many memories made," Turbo eased warmly, he lovingly tucked his arm a bit more firmly about her shoulders and snugged her tight into his right side. With a great amount of unending warmth, her body sagged into his side hug as he pressed a few firm, loving smooches into the side and top of her head. He finally lulled his eyes closed and tenderly whispered a secret notion into her ear, only audible to her, "Let's go home and settle in... I'll take care of you."

"Thank you," Berri warmly mumbled with a cute, nervous, bashful smile, she desperately wanted to rub her eye, though resisted the urge due to the makeup she still had on. She inhaled a shaky breath and felt Theo's presence budge into their conversation.

"Bear, y'okay?" Theo worried cutely, to which Wren, Throttle, Tatum, Tessa and Penny urgently drew their attention to Berri's disposition.

"I-I'm fine, I just... Really worry what Gunner's gunna say," Berri largely frowned, though Tessa flagged her hand and blew a raspberry as Penny rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Oh, get me, Penny and Turbo in a room with him," Tessa choked a laugh as her and Penny were now lost in confident laughter.

"Asshole won't know what hit'im," Penny snipped with charming delight as she gave Berri a sweet, sassy smile.

"You have a whole entire army behind you, and he knows that," Turbo's deep voice pressed to her skin, they sat close, though kept respectable distance for the fact that they weren't alone. Turbo warmly tapped the back of her hand and bobbed a nod, "Not to mention, my love... YOU are a force to be reckoned with. You're related to the greats. I know you have the strength to get back in his face, if need be."

"Really WHAT could he say to you, now?" Wren stabbed in smiling irritation as he shrugged, "PLEASE take me back even though a VASTLY superior man came along and put a ring on your finger."

"Aw, Wren," Turbo mumbled in a crackly depth of appreciation, Wren shook his head.

"It's true," Wren choked a laugh, "You shared a spotlight with Berri, you've done FAR more for Berri, even inside Sugar Rush, than Gunner could dream inside the whole of Arcade. Look, Bear, you had your fun and sowed your wild oats, but let's stick with this one, kay?"

"I'm... CURRENTLY in the process of it, Wren-Eddie," Berri stabbed cutely as she held up her left hand and gave emphasis to her brand new ring; everyone within ear shot loudly laughed, though Theo reached out and lovingly gripped Berri's right hand.

"Look... I can see your stress marks are REALLY flared, and sure, Turbo will... Fix that, shortly, but," Theo shrugged and bashfully chuckled the second he saw Turbo stiffen and look off in embarrassed cheek. Berri wrinkled her nose at Theo and shook her head in cute irritation as Theo carried on, "I'd like to share with you something I do that really helps put me to ease. An ol' drummer's trick. It helps me fall asleep at night, are you interested?"

"Of course," Berri bobbed a nod and sat up a bit straighter, as did Theo.

"Okay... So, I may not be a master coder or anything, like the rest of you glitches, but... I DO know a thing, or two, about how coding operates, and how it affects your wake-sleep patterns," Theo warmly chimed, Berri softly glanced to where Tatum was sitting and could now very easily tell Theo was excited to show off, here, though she was thrilled Tatum's cute gaze was very sweetly hooked to Theo's every move, she hung on his every word, the little blush and sweet crown of a proud smile assured to Berri that she, too, was crushing hard. Theo inhaled a deep breath and pat the tops of his own thighs with his large hands, "Before bed, or if I'm feeling anxious, the key to calming or settling down is to lower your heart rate... Through a little drum pattern."

"I'm listening," Berri chimed, to which Tessa now was seriously cued in, as well, her sweet hazel eyes hooked tight to her adorable nephew as he pressed on.

"So, I'll either do this sitting up somewhere quiet, or even in bed if I find myself tossing and turning... So, I just pat my thighs, one by one, in a steady, rhythmic beat," Theo gently instructed, in tenderness and noise that he barely made, his larger hands began to pat his thighs like a metronome. He inhaled a deep breath through his nose, his chest expanded slowly, "In this time, I'll breath deeply for eight second counts... Eight seconds in, eight out."

"Okay," Berri cooed in listening, she easily followed Theo's instruction and cutely kept her eyes hooked to him in curiosity.

"After two counts of inhales and exhales, I'll slow down," Theo pressed softly, "I do this about four times until... My beat is slow and barely even a beat."

Theo's hands so slowly continued to pat his thighs until he sagged through one last deep exhale and lulled his eyes closed in a sag.

"G'nighhhht," Throttle's deep voice teased, the group erupted into soft laughter as Theo perked up and beamed a wide smile.

"Exactly, it's sort of like a manipulating beat, it's a frequency following response. Sort of like... When you hear music, you subconsciously start rhythmically moving your foot relative to the beat. It relaxes your mind and coding from chaotically jumping to new ideas or thoughts and grounds them to the pattern and beat that is occurring. This is, essentially, what calms you down," Theo delicately explained, a show of great thought, persistent intelligence he didn't ever loudly boast, though with such, Throttle raised his eyebrows in whole pride and bobbed a serious nod as him and Tessa firmly caught eyes.

"Wow, Teddy, that... Was really profound," Throttle choked a small laugh, Theo beamed a bashful grin and sunk into himself, though Wren pointed in sweet success as Berri heaved a hard, gaping yawn.

"Yeah, wow, that really did the trick, Ted," Berri mumbled through her yawn as she concluded it with a now sleepy giggle.

"You can thank me later," Theo flagged his hand, though Tessa shot him a sneaky side-eye and gestured to him.

"Alright, Mr. code expert, where have YOU been on all of our code meetings?" Tessa wondered with playful authority, "We could use your in-depth insight, my love. Is it just not your cup of tea, or something?"

"Oh, no, I'm proud of my powers and everything the knowledge contains, I guess I just..." Theo sagged further and shot Tatum a cute, bashful smile, her proud eyes hooked tight to him in boiling curiosity, "Guess simple sleep and brain patterns never really matched up to the greats, like you and... Dad and Turbo and grandma Vanellope..."

"Uh, Ted, this brings a whole different angle to it, methinks you should be joining us on those code meetings," Tessa gawked cutely, to which Penny nodded at him with sweet encouragement, though just as Theo was due to exploring this further, Turbo gingerly cleared his throat and pressed the group a tender whisper of sweet delight.

"Teddy, what kind of a spell did you just put on Berri?" Turbo sharply whispered, though as everyone looked over in curious delight, they were floored to see Berri's skull heavily lulled against Turbo's shoulder; she was out like a light and then some, her mouth cutely agape, she so soundly snoozed against Turbo's still, calm presence.

"Oh, wow!" Penny hissed quietly as she covered her mouth, the group huffed shushed notions and cute, silent laughs at the adorable sight, and as Turbo so carefully wrapped Berri into his embrace and made sure she was safe to soundly snooze against his broad chest and shoulder, he gave Theo a kind, grateful smile and bobbed him a nod.

"Thank you, Theo," Turbo whispered humbly, he nuzzled his face into the top of Berri's head and fluttered his golden eyes closed, "We're all in for a good night's sleep tonight."


	190. Chapter 190

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** Thank you! Yes I absolutely love that pairing name, I think we have a winner, after all this time haha. I appreciate all your love and support!

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 ***Chapter 190***

After parting with very silent, wistful, whispering 'goodbye's of the large group he was in, Turbo carefully pressed onto Sugar Rush's main teleportation pad, inside the hull of the palace, and whisked away to his foyer's own pad. As the further amount of silence, in his dim, cozy foyer, sapped his ears, he raised his eyebrows in exhausted glee to be home and so softly peered down to Berri in his arms. Slouched and still fully asleep, her deep breathing was even and silently raspy, she looked entirely beat, and though Turbo was now due to set her up for the night and make sure she was well taken care of, his heart thud at the prospects of this all, the heavier weight of responsibility now that this beauty was set to be his wife. With a shaky inhale and a blushing smile of pure, exhilarated, silent delight, he finally heaved said exhale atop of her head and pushed a few tender kisses into her forehead, careful not to wake her. In the press up to his front door, he grit his teeth and now felt worried about Lash's likely awake presence. Not knowing Berri was asleep, he urgently began to scan his familiar home as his large, heavy front door began to slide open.

"Holy USER DUDE! I-!..." Lash firmly came to a screeching halt the second Turbo began to shake his head and grit his teeth in sharp agitation, Lash's boyish eyes immediately dart to the sleeping figure slouched bridal style in Turbo's strong arms.

"If you wake her up I swear to God I will kill you," Turbo hissed silently, barely any noise came out, though Lash covered his mouth and exhaled a whispery laugh of an exhale.

"What the hell is going on, man," Lash whispered quietly as Turbo hurried to close his front door, Turbo shook his head at his little brother and pressed a little deeper into his home.

"I'll explain everything to you, just... Please do me a favor and get a big glass of water and follow me," Turbo's deep, whispery instructions barely filtered the air in softness, though Lash urgently bobbed a nod as Turbo grunted to readjust Berri in his arms and began to make a straight-away for his bedroom, "I'm going to get her situated, and then we can talk."

"Kay," Lash quipped and quietly did as he was told.

Turbo felt goosebumps raise on his arms as the firm reminder that he was, indeed, home plagued his brain. He sighed a silent breath of whole relief and slowly pressed into his bedroom, with Berri cradled in his arms. With the utmost of care, he pressed deeper into his pitch-black bedroom, his muted golden eyes could see everything in the dark. He rounded his massive bed and carefully began to rest Berri on her side, furthest away from his bedroom door. Upon releasing her for good, he stood up straight, stretched his shoulders a little and pulled out his phone. Upon cueing a few remote code room options, he turned on one of his bedroom lights, farthest across the room, so he could properly see without his own night vision. Although Berri was laid on top of Turbo's billowy, grey and cream sheets and downs, he felt agitation plague him at the sight and remembrance that Lash was likely using his bed to nap all day long, the way the bedding was mushed and twisted.

Turbo rubbed his face in agitation, and although he knew he could easily fix it, he flinched as Lash came stumbling into his bedroom with a glass of water, like asked. Turbo raised his eyebrows in soft assessment and watched as his little brother crossed the room in due diligence, a frosty cup of ice water at the ready, Turbo sagged his shoulders and felt whole relief plague him. He had left Lash inside of Sugar Rush with no supervision, a massive risk that Zed likely would not have approved of in a million years. Turbo knew that Lash, deep down, was a respectable man and could easily hold his own in the way of outwardly showing true gentlemanliness, and as Lash's silent figure neared, Turbo tenderly accepted the water from Lash's hands and gave him a sweet smile of full gratitude. Turbo then carefully set the water down on the nightstand, nearest Berri, and inhaled a shaky breath as both boys hovered.

"You used my bed, didn't you," Turbo muttered in a whisper, though Lash lulled his eyes closed in annoyance.

"It's extremely comfy, dude, it was BEGGING me to take a nap," Lash silently hissed, though as Turbo began to cue a few things in his remote share of the code room and eyed Lash in preparation to politely explain that he needed a moment of privacy, with Berri, Lash inhaled a quick breath and carried on in nervous, cheeky curiosity, "You're not gunna make her sleep in her concert clothes, are you?"

"No, I'm not... Can we get a little privacy? I'll meet you out in the kitchen in a few minutes," Turbo tenderly pressed in whispering, though Lash largely furrowed his eyebrows and shot Turbo an innocently curious look.

"Dude... You're not going to just undress her while she's asleep like this, are you?" Lash cautioned, though Turbo lulled his eyes closed in irritation and shook his head.

"No, I'm not... That's what the code room is for," Turbo whispered in agitation, though he cocked an eyebrow and pointed to the beautiful, glistening ring on Berri's left hand, "Besides, I don't think trust would be an issue, here, dude. She's set to be my wife."

"... Holy shit she said yes?!" Lash sharply whispered, to which Turbo firmly put his hand on Lash's shoulder and began to cutely shoo him out of the room.

"Let me get Berri tucked in and I'll tell you everything, just... Give us a minute," Turbo firmly instructed with a whisper of a laugh, Lash rolled his eyes and began to leave the room once and for all.

"You're such a sap, dude," Lash mumbled, though he shot Turbo a playful smirk of irritation as he shut the door behind him, leaving Berri and Turbo now entirely alone.

Turbo inhaled a shaky breath and now peered down to the mess in his bed. Sheets and blankets in disarray, he shook his head and began to cue up the infrastructure of his bedroom, and everything it entailed. With a quick few presses, the bedding silently blipped into a reset and flickered back into the large mattress all straight, cleaned and refreshed. As his eyes moved to Berri's figure, she lay in her uncomfortable stage clothes, Turbo's big zip up hoodie, make up that still managed to last the entire night and a whole swathe of likely being in desperate need of a shower. Knowing full well resetting one's coding, in the code room, was a cheat way to proverbially take a shower and become entirely clean, Turbo inhaled a deep breath and sat down next to Berri, on the side and edge of his bed. Laid on her side, facing him, Turbo carefully scanned to Berri's coding and knew that this could get tricky quickly. In doing everything he could to be a gentleman, he first reset her coding and then moved into putting her in something to wear for bed.

Deciding simply on a clean pair of underwear and a looser, light blue tank top, he easily reset the entirety of her coding and was thrilled to see her silver circuits eagerly do what they could to adhere to Turbo's instructions. Now splayed on her side, fresh and clean, skin free of any makeup, dirt or sweat, Turbo inhaled a revived breath, stood and did everything he could to pull his freshly cleaned downs and sheets up and over her still snoozing figure. His patient grey hands meticulously began to tidy her gorgeous, now clean blue hair, although it was still straightened, he could see the ends begin to want to curl into its natural, wavy state; with such, he carefully tucked it behind her ears and made sure her bangs were out from her face. He bent down and did everything he could to make sure she was snug into his bed and billowy downs, tight over her shoulders and snug warm into her final landing point for the night. Allowing himself a few more moments to fully love on his new bride-to-be, he lulled his eyes closed and did whatever he could to push a few warm, slow, lingering kisses into the stress marks on her temples, the soft skin on her cheeks and forehead, her deep breathing was even and it was clear to him that she was entirely long gone and now properly set up for the best night's sleep.

Turbo smiled down to her sweet face, and as his hand warmly pet the side of her head and he quietly whispered his love to her, he finally stood and began to assess his room. Making sure the water, on the nightstand, was accessible to her, he turned off his bedroom lamp, across the way, and left his bathroom light on the dimmest setting knowing that if she woke up shortly, she'd be able to see just where she was. In due diligence, he set the room's temperature to a comfortable setting, switched on his ceiling fan for the white noise and quietly left his bedroom, Berri's secret haven of blissful rest she so desperately needed. Upon clacking his door shut and allowing his eyes to gleam down the corridor that lead to his kitchen, he could see Lash about the island, diligently cleaning up any messes he had made throughout the day. Turbo held his breath and knew, here, he needed to continue on being a good example for his little brother, just what it meant to be a strong man and an even stronger leader, to take care of his loved ones and do so with humility and no shame. Turbo pressed down his corridor and inhaled a deep, revived breath; knowing his bedroom was sound proof, he was glad both boys could now be rowdy and do and say whatever they wanted, now in the dregs of this exciting day.

"Dude I thought you DIED," Lash barked with a hefty laugh as Turbo finally heaved a heavy sigh and pressed into his brightly illuminated home and kitchen. Lash choked a few more laughs as he rounded Turbo's island, set a few of his used plates in the sink and began to hurry over to Turbo's figure, "Man I was like... SCREAMING the entire time you were on stage, I almost pissed myself."

"You're telling me," Turbo suddenly choked a noise as Lash barreled into him for a big hug, and though Turbo wobbled, he eagerly gripped his arms about Lash's upper shoulders and gave him a big squeeze, "Hey, thanks for... Well..."

"Dealing with you? Two weeks worth of mopey blue? Cleaning up after you? Not taking over the entirety of Sugar Rush while you were gone?" Lash rattled off as both boys finally unhanded each other, Turbo rolled his eyes and rubbed the back of his head as Lash began to press on with his tidying, "I can keep going."

"For everything, Lash, for... Everything," Turbo huffed a shaky breath, he came about the bend of the island and took note that, although his home definitely looked lived in for the day, Lash did certainly do a good job at cleaning up, "I have a lot to tell you, and... I AM exhausted, but I wanted to come in here and reconvene with you."

"Right, so, tell me about you and Berri, where did pretty boy go?" Lash pressed, he turned on Turbo's faucet in the sink, which was in the center of his massive island, he glanced his golden eyes in Turbo's direction, before him, and began to kindly clean his own dishes. Lash shrugged his masculine shoulders, he wore a tattered black shirt with a hole in the collar, "The second Berri said that Gunner wouldn't be joining for the show, I was like... What the fuck happened there."

"Yeah, I... I'm the reason he didn't perform," Turbo's raspy, now eternally sleepy voice pressed, he lulled his golden eyes closed and sagged his face into his palm, with his elbow dug into the glossy dark marble of his island. He finally wrinkled his nose, unbuckled his pants and clumsily took of his shirt, to which then he finally sagged in sleepy relief at the shed of clothes, "I ended up chasing him out of there, I guess. I didn't MEAN for it, I just..."

"What he just saw you and RAN? Surely no one else in public did that," Lash wrinkled his nose and shot Turbo a knowing smirk, "What kind of a man is this guy, just panics once he sees you?"

"I nearly beat him up, Lash, him and Berri were arguing and he dared to like... Grab and shake her around," Turbo deeply growled, his eyes reopened in tenderness, and with the remembrance of such a time, the glow in his eyes began to sag to that of a vivid orange, something Lash immediately cued to in terror.

"Uh, uh, okay-okay, don't go all... Angry eyes on ME, I didn't do anything to you," Lash barked as he waved around the soapy dish brush, sending a healthy splay of bubbles into the air; said whisk of cute bubbles had Turbo's orange eyes sagging back to gold as his now shortened, exhausted attention span couldn't keep up with his emotions, "O-Okay, so you... Gave him a stern talking to."

"I was like screaming in his face, I scared the pants off of everyone," Turbo's voice groaned as he began to firmly and slowly rub his face in exhausted agitation, "I backed him to a wall and pretty much threatened that any further amount of communicating with my Queen would land him in hot water."

"Berri was off on the side lines swooning, guarantee," Lash muttered with a cute smile, he gave Turbo said smile and cocked an eyebrow, "Eh?"

"Yeah, we made out afterwards," Turbo choked a tired laugh, both boys eased into a cute, erupted laughing fit, though Turbo finally softened and shook his head in delirious delight, "Yeah, then it was time for everyone to go on stage, Gunner abandoned the crew, I guess Berri went to go reason with him and he called her a selfish bitch, and-"

"Whoa, whoa, next time you bump into this guy, please make sure I'm present," Lash suddenly barked as he gestured his hand and gave Turbo a look of certainty, "Nobody talks to my sister like that..."

Turbo softened in the melt of Lash's very sweet insinuation. Although his brain was now not firing on all cylinders, Turbo still allowed Lash's tender notion to so deeply resonate. Someone who was previously so against code swapping, so against any form of this raw, new thing they're discovering, such as romance, Turbo allowed Lash's very kind rush to Berri's aid to gloss his soul in brotherly camaraderie. Turbo eased a little smile to his lap, his broad bare chest inhaled a deep breath, he aimlessly fiddled with the thick, unbuckled metal of his belt, and as Lash's silent cleaning motions carried on, Turbo long-blinked in tender disbelief and brought his gaze back up to Lash's warm, calm disposition.

"Lash, what changed in you?" Turbo's deep voice so tenderly questioned, and though Lash wrinkled his nose and simply glanced Turbo a playful look of smiling irritation, he quickly took note of Turbo's tender, vulnerable question and bashfully sank to Turbo's level; the sassy smile Lash had crowned sagged to that of a swathe of humility, he gently shrugged and shook his head as he continued to clean the last of the dishes.

"I-I don't know, man, I guess... All that time we've had to just... Be with our thoughts," Lash huffed a chuckle, "When you first started dating Libby, and even swapped with her, I didn't really have time to get to know her. Throttle and Nox ran off, and you, well... Figuratively ran off. I felt left behind."

"Like you always would feel," Turbo eased in soft humility alongside a nod, he knew he needed to level with Lash's past trauma, as Lash had so easily done for him.

"Yeah, man, it just... Felt as if I was always behind. You ran off and swapped with what was likely a pretty incredible woman, but then you guys started having problems and it all just got so messy," Lash wrinkled his nose and shrugged, "And then they got unplugged, and it was like... User, ALL that for NOTHING. And now you're TRAPPED. I just seemed so stupid and pointless."

"I hear you," Turbo warmly assured, Lash's words stung his grey skin, though he heaved a shaky breath and patiently allowed Lash to carry on.

"Although I'm here late to the game, I still remember the night you all unbubbled me, I remember what Berri said about you amidst all the fighting," Lash softened with a smile and looked down, "The... Insane devotion and protection in her eyes, towards you, how she admitted that she loved you in that moment. It spoke to me. Someone could so diligently love my big brother with such a fire, even after all the shit we've ALL done, it just... Blew me away."

Turbo eased a wide, knowing grin and looked back down to his lap in rising, warm glee. After a moment of soft silence between both boys, Turbo finally peered up into Lash's eyes and hovered, he patiently listened to Lash, a very rare and soft side of him that began to unfold, like a flower that only bloomed in the dead of night under the right conditions; blink and you'd miss it.

"It... Gave me hope," Lash shrugged, he gave Turbo a soft smile and a nod, "And, she's cool as hell. We're good buds, I bug her with my texting all the time. I don't know, man, a lot has changed. Sure, I did everything to protect you from Arcade and from Aroq and from the deleters... Sure, I was super against code swapping because of what happened between you and Libby, but... History won't repeat itself if we don't let it. Could we have been smarter about settling into a demo game? Yeah."

"Yeah, I guess that was our first mistake," Turbo grumbled as he shut his eyes in sleepiness, "Nox and Throttle quietly knew better..."

"This is different. I've never been a huge advocate of losing a shred of your coding for another person, but," Lash shrugged and gave Turbo another smile of warmth, something Turbo was shocked was lasting this long, "You and Berri have something incredibly special. You BOTH made that very clear, today, in front of the whole of Arcade. I mean... I-I'm REALLY proud of you, Bo. That took balls. Not only did you leave the game, but you risked your whole life to be in front of over ten thousand gamers, not to mention everyone watching at home."

"I didn't think, I just... Did," Turbo stated through a shaky sigh, "Throttle came up to me backstage and frantically made clear that Berri had the wrong mic and I just..."

"I know, you looked like a robot coming on to the stage, I FROZE, I thought I was dreaming!" Lash choked a laugh as he swung his arm and pointed to Turbo's large tv, which was on and muted in the living room.

"Trust me, I did too," Turbo huffed a tired chuckle and gave Lash a grateful smile, "Thanks, bud, that... REALLY means a lot to me. I'm glad you and Berri get alone so well."

"She's pretty cool," Lash complimented warmly, he bobbed a nod and looked down, "It'll be cool to have a sister. I wish I knew Koko better, but... It's cool that I can really get to know Berri before you guys go and swap and get married and have babies and all that other bullshit."

"Slow down," Turbo gently waggled his hand, "We JUST got engaged, like... Not even an hour ago."

"Oh wow, I thought you did it right after the show?" Lash pressed curiously, though Turbo inhaled a sharp yawn and scrunched his face as he opened his mouth wide.

"No, no, I..." Turbo heavily exhaled his yawn and concluded his exhausted notion, "I took her back to the stage, just us, just the dim station lights and the like, and... I wanted it to be private, so, yeah."

"Well, good," Lash bobbed a nod, "Y'got what you wished."

"And THEN some," Turbo bugged his exhausted eyes and aimlessly looked across his kitchen, "It'll all hit me tomorrow morning."

"Holy shit I left the game. Holy shit I ran off Archived Chaos's lead singer. Holy shit I played in Arcade's HUGEST stage," Lash quickly listed in playful mockery, "Holy shit! I'm getting married!"

"Yeah, I'm going to sleep VERY well tonight," Turbo muttered in a croak of full-on decline.

"Alright, go on, then," Lash waggled his hand, "Don't let me keep you here."

Although Turbo almost took his word for it and was due to slipping away, he halted dead in his tracks and fully realized just the situation he had, here. The following morning would be a tender, fragile morning where he could officially spend it with his bride-to-be, after their weeks of strife, he eyed Lash and knew, full well, the last thing him and Berri wanted was for Lash to be around with his loud, obnoxious antics. Such a fragile morning required privacy, and though Turbo was typically so quick to claim back his privacy, he now felt bad due to all of the sweet things Lash had just revealed. Turbo exhaled a faltered sigh, sagged his shoulders and gave Lash a knowing look.

"Bud," Turbo groaned in soft understanding, and though Lash began to look deflated, Turbo gave him a cute, knowing smile and shook his head, "Please put yourself in my shoes."

"Yeahhh you and Berri want to romp around and not be bothered, I get it," Lash muttered loudly in annoyance, Turbo choked a bashful laugh and kindly held his hand to his chest.

"Definitely not tonight, but... I really have no clue what the morning is going to look like, and I'll be damned if it all gets messed up, once more," Turbo rushed with growing laughter both boys fell into.

"I respect that, I get it," Lash waggled his hand and shook his head, "Back to my bubble, then..."

"Lash, I... I'm going to talk to Zed, about you, okay?" Turbo pressed kindly, this halted Lash in his movements as his curious eyes now nervously peered into Turbo's.

"Wh-why?" Lash staggered sorrowfully, Turbo shook his head and looked down to his island.

"You were left alone in the game... I almost dare to say that if I would've left you with full powers, Sugar Rush would still safely be in one piece," Turbo dared, he eyed Lash to get a genuine response.

"... I love and respect you and your progress in this game, too much, to follow my own previous selfish will of getting you as far away from Sugar Rush's entrance as possible," Lash mumbled gently.

"I'm going to rat myself out and... Tell Zed that you were left unubbled while I was gone," Turbo sighed a hot breath through his nose, "I'll probably get a slap on the wrist, but... I want to see about giving you a permanent room either in my loft, or somewhere on palace grounds."

"... R-really?" Lash staggered in humbled surprise as he sagged his shoulders, Turbo bobbed a firm nod.

"Really, you deserve it," Turbo eased gently, "It's going to take a few long talks with the heads, and as Sugar Rush's future King, I have to take in all accounts, all sides, but... I'm sure we all can work something out, bud. I really... Am grateful for you turning over a new leaf, here. Seeing you be protective of Berri and supportive of me, and of us, it... Really shows how far you've come along. Thank you."

"... You're welcome," Lash pressed in a lilt of warm softness, he bobbed Turbo a nod and, as the boys held eyes for a second, he finally scoffed a boyish laugh and shrugged, "If I were you, I'd swap codes with Berri BEFORE having that conversation with Zed, my guy."

"Wait, why?" Turbo staggered with a nervous laugh.

"Because then it's like, that's permanent, ain't nothing he can do but just scold your ass," Lash choked a louder laugh, though Turbo grinned and rolled his eyes.

"He gave me his blessing and said that I could marry his daughter," Turbo grunted as he got to a stand, "Pretty sure he wouldn't just take it all back over something like this. He's not an evil tyrant, I'm sure he'll be understanding, at least."

"You'll probably still get scolded, though," Lash muttered with a knowing smile.

"Probably will, but... I have to be honest, I can't step into a new title as Prince with dishonesty," Turbo mumbled as his eyes began to sag closed, though Lash gestured to Turbo's figure and eased a knowing laugh.

"Alright, wonder boy, go ahead and bubble me so you can go be all lovey-dovey with your new bride, go on, go on," Lash mumbled in a lilt of whole annoyance, though his warm smile proved otherwise, "Just promise me you'll at least text me or unbubble me the second you guys decide you want some company."

"I will... Thanks man," Turbo prod cutely, and as both men rounded the corner, they sagged into another brotherly hug, a softer touch of gentlemanly warmth they likely wouldn't freely display in public. Turbo kept Lash tightly tucked into his chest, and vice versa, both boys pat each other's backs in the sag of a final, gentle unleash of each other once and for all, "I love you."

"Love you too," Lash bashfully mumbled, he pleadingly gave Turbo a cute smile of mild annoyance and shook his head, "Please don't forget about me."

"I won't," Turbo softly promised as he began to pull out his phone and shred of remote code room properties, so to properly send Lash off.

With a gentle shuffling noise that now became present to Berri's subconscious, she furrowed her eyebrows in sleepy confusion and opened her eyes, though upon opening her eyes, she immediately took note that the room she was in, was pitch black. In the knee-jerk reaction to sit up in a panic, she felt her pupils lightly tighten with the sight that now pressed into the void of a darker area, likely a door frame. What pressed into the room, the only thing she could see, was the very dim glow of Turbo's golden eyes, just barely illuminating the bridge of his nose and nothing more. Berri held her breath and very rapidly began to take note of just exactly what the heck was going on, though as she inhaled a deep breath through her nose, the gentle slid of her bare legs in her warm cushiony vat of eternal comfort, she very quickly realized she was in Turbo's bed, buried deep in his comfortable downs. She fluttered her eyes in softness and finally sagged in deflated relief, she felt clean and new, reset back to her shiny coded state, she barely peered across the stretch of Turbo's bed and took note of just what he was up to, which seemed to be him heading in the motions of properly going to sleep.

Berri held her breath as she saw his faintly glowing eyes now near the other side of the bed, nearest his bedroom door. He set his phone on his nightstand, as well as a glass of water for himself, and with a draw, he easily began to take his pants off. With the heavy thud of his belt, buckle and denim, he cued his phone options in a dim setting of quiet, contemplating, sleepy cuteness. His finger prod at a few options, though with a firm reset to his coding, being too lazy to shower, he silently blipped back to the ground with a fresh air about him, and with the final lock of his phone and a ready, deep inhale in preparation for his head to hit the pillow, he halted his quick movements and began to very carefully crawl into bed. Knowing now that he had a special soul to share his bed with, he eased his tenderly glowing gaze to the beautiful woman now in his clutches, and with as much care and ease as his jostling movements could afford, he did everything he could to sneak Berri into his strong, big embrace; with such, he was delighted to feel a bit more intelligent stirring on Berri's end, she snuggled deep into his bare chest and murmured a quiet, sleepy whisper on the skin of his neck and jaw.

"What time is it?" Berri quietly croaked in exhausted curiosity, to which Turbo got settled a bit more firmly and kept their bodies tightly woven.

"Almost two," Turbo mumbled, he exhaled a long, hot breath through his nose as he gave Berri's bare shoulder a few smooches, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"No, it's okay," Berri assured, she fluttered her eyes in whole desire and inhaled his musk, the lovely, familiar scent she always had adored, she sagged her arms about Turbo's broad chest and felt glad that the weave and tangle of their bare legs wasn't something that accompanied an explanation or nervous, stuttering excuses, a melt of two puzzle pieces like it was the most normal thing to do, Berri felt her heart thud in conclusive delight. She tenderly gave the side of Turbo's thicker jugular a few kisses, alongside the trail of his own on her cute shoulder and collar, she breathed him one last notion before slipping back into the best slumber of her life, "I'm so happy I'm here with you... I love you."

"I love you, too," Turbo whispered, he tucked her soft hair behind her ear and lulled his golden eyes closed as they finally got settled in each others woven, warm, lovingly tangled embrace, unabated and unrestricted. He felt his heart beat want to go crazy, though exhaustion plagued the both of them, and as he whispered her another loving notion onto the side of her cheek, his loving hands rubbed her upper to lower back in a methodical draw of further tenderness, "Go back to sleep... Sleep for as long as you want, okay?"

"Mhmm," Berri sleepily mumbled as she sagged into his bare chest, once and for all, and though Turbo held her cradled in a tight embrace of their now radiating body heat, he very soon after felt Berri's body deflate and succumb to slumber, once more.

Turbo smiled longingly and sagged against her embrace, as well, and although the two had the entirety of Turbo's massive king sized bed, they lay snuggled tight to each other dead in the center. Turbo lulled his eyes closed, for good, and allowed the weight of the day melt on top of the two in a cloak of beautiful memories. The way the world seemingly froze, for this one day, to bless them with an incredible day packed with good moments, fun things to look back on, on top of outrageously amazing things to also look forward to, the good very heavily outweighed the bad. Although Turbo could pick apart the day and assuredly sift through the bad moments, for both present and future, he nuzzled his nose into the top of Berri's hair and relished in her sweet, clean scent, the unforgettable feeling of her body warmly snuggled into his, he finally sagged into slumber, knowing that any dreaming he would endure tonight could never top the dream of a day he had seemingly float through, the gleaming promise of a future that assured to him that this was, indeed, his brand new lease on life, something to never take for granted ever again.


	191. Chapter 191

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** Bahaha that means a lot! Thanks!

 **BanannaSammich :** Thank you! Seriously, thank you. I'm really glad that's apparent, it's something I've been building this entire time. She's terrified of his eyes and then it all eventually turns into something that brings her GREAT comfort. It's more Lash's eyes she was genuinely frightened off, cause his pupils are a bit more narrow than the other Turbotime men. Turbo, Nox and Throttle have exactly square pupils, where as Lash's are a little bit more vertical rectangles, and that was an aspect that made Berri even more wary, it was distinctive. But, even still, you're not wrong - the lot of them had eyes that freaked her out and brought her triggers from past trauma, from the major ending scene in Rectifying Origin, but I'm grateful that's obvious, here. It's now something she really doesn't want to live without. Thank you for the review friend!

* * *

 **A/N :**

 ***WARNING***

 **Alright, you guys... The chapter you guys have all been waiting for. The first half of this chapter is tame and not overtly sexual, though the last half is, well... Y'know. One great big FINALLY.**

 **I drew Turbo's and Berri's swap scene! It's (censored) on my deviantART titled 'The Thirteenth Stressor' username Vyntresser, and, I'm pretty sure the uncensored version is on Twitter somewhere lol.**

 **Because this chapter is so long, I won't be uploading again until Wednesday, June 3rd. Thanks guys!**

 **Enjoyyyy ;)**

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Rain by Hans Zimmer**

 **Toy by Fly By Midnight**

 **That's What I Like by Bruno Mars**

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 ***Chapter 191***

With the kiss of sunlight on her cheeks, Berri scrunched her face in gentle delight, a refreshed breath of the scent she desired, the cool, brisk, circulating air through Turbo's bedroom lulled in a steady whirlpool of the softest, loveliest white noise. Her bangs just barely whisked about her nose, clean hair and skin she absolutely relished in. With a further peel of her blue eyes and a half sit dead center in the middle of Turbo's luxurious, massive bed, she inhaled a deep breath and got a good look around. Not really ever in Turbo's bedroom a whole lot, seeing the vision of it, in the morning, with the healthy splay of sunlight through his large floor to ceiling windows, far off to her left, had her heart relishing in every single second of this. She was quick to take note that Turbo was not present, though as she sat up a bit further, she sagged against his lovely, sturdy headboard and took in the sights. The glass of water on her nightstand, her phone all tidily plugged up next to it, a faintly glowing, modern alarm clock that read close to eleven in the morning, she looked down to what she was wearing and felt the pieces of last night come daintily puzzling back together, a soft remembrance of a rather loud and rowdy night.

Dressed in one of her thin, cozy, faded blue tank tops and a pair of her own booty shorts of underwear, matching, she curled a bashful, blushing smile and was well aware Turbo had done his gentlemanly duty of cleaning her up and preparing her for bed, and so sweetly, too. She lofted her gaze back to the water and began to scoot to the edge of the bed where she dangled her bare legs off. Revealed goosebumps, as her skin hit the fresh cool air, raised all up her legs, and as she easily chugged a decent amount of the water left for her, she warily tapped the touch screen of her phone and wrinkled her display a look of scrunched anxiousness. Like suspected, her lock screen was angrily splayed with all sort of messages from Gunner. With a shake of her head, diligently adamant about not letting all that drama ruin her morning with Turbo, she inhaled a deep breath and promised she'd revisit all of it after she at least said good morning to her new fiancé. Her heart skipped a heavy beat as her bare feet hit his lovely grey tiles, as her eyes and ears broadened to the whole bedroom and everything that lead beyond it, she peered to the gently agape bedroom door and could hear Turbo's deep, masculine voice cheerfully carrying on a conversation with someone. As Berri halted and bashfully put on Turbo's faded red zip up hoodie, of which she was wearing the night prior, she skillfully eavesdropped and gathered that Turbo was simply on a phone call with someone and was otherwise alone.

With silent footwork and Turbo's slouchy, baggy hoodie draped over her clean bare shoulders, she slowly stepped out into his dimmer corridor as the frayed, thick ends of Turbo's lovely, worn hoodie kissed the middle of her bare thighs. Her eyes peered forward and was met with the island, where Turbo cozily sat at one of his bar stools. Dressed in his typical red sweats and a darker red tank, his messy bed head all splayed in haphazard, delightfully adorable directions, he had his nose buried in some code room work; a mess of holographic displays littered before and about him in a hefty workload for the morning, he confidently chattered on his phone call with a wide grin, canines prominently peeking through his lips, his golden gaze looked renewed and refreshed. His assertive tone seemed worlds lighter, an easier toss of lifted confidence Berri was absolutely sure came about by facing his hugest fears, the whole day prior. She narrowed her gaze and so curiously peered to this new, lovely, gentlemanly soul before her, and though she still slowly pressed down the corridor, she relished in the fact that he hadn't noticed her yet, his cute, bumbling conversation, with who knows who, so delightfully carried forth.

"Oh, yeah, I maybe had left Sugar Rush only once, two years prior, I had run into Berri's mother," Turbo stated with a small laugh, he heaved a sigh and shook his head as his eyes aimlessly glossed his work before him, "But other than that it's been..."

Berri smiled a cute smile and now slowly pressed into the kitchen, which finally caught Turbo's eye. He raised his eyebrows in delight, gave Berri a warm, loving smile and opened his left arm in a gesture to politely, and silently, request for her to join him. She eased a cute smile and began to mosey on over to him, he sat cozily on his barstool with his feet propped on the bars below, on his stool.

"Yes, well we're now engaged, I proposed to her last night," Turbo stated in cheerful warmth, the person on the other end of the phone cooed a louder notion of muffled surprise as Turbo scoffed a shy laugh, "Yeah, we've... We've been involved for a bit, now, and I just don't want this one to get away."

Berri rolled her eyes and eased a wide, sleepy smile. She bashfully rubbed her eye as she finally sagged into Turbo's presence, he readjusted his sitting position so that she was lazily between the bend of his spread thighs, they both were about eye level due to Turbo's sitting position at his stool. He warmly scooped his arm about the whole of Berri's back and easily welcomed her into the side and front of his broad chest. With his phone securely held in his right hand, to his right ear, he and Berri saddled themselves in a secured squeeze of a hug, and before Turbo carried on with his conversing, he firmly pushed a few kisses into the temples on the right side of her face, lovingly pressed into her faintly glowing stress marks, as well as a few to her blushing cheek. With her eyes closed, she sagged her head to his left shoulder and relished in the sound of his confident voice as he carried on such a warm, friendly conversation with User knows who.

"Thank you, thank you, we're stoked," Turbo cutely pressed, the person on the other end carried on in soft question as Turbo kept his arm securely fastened about Berri's upper back, "Oh, yeah, no, I got the whole crew on board before, trust me. That would've been wild, if not, wow. Yeah, I'm the King's advisor, so... It's been in the works for awhile."

Berri raised her eyebrows in softness and, with her hands lovingly tucked up into Turbo's chest in a cozy snuggle of his squeeze, her eyes peered to the glistening ring on her left finger. She now was entirely curious as to who Turbo was talking to, though she figured it was important over the sheer fact that Turbo wasn't much of a phone-call person.

"Yeah, we would be, but Berri's mother and father aren't due for handing over the crown anytime soon, and that's fine," Turbo eased sweetly, "I think that we'll probably be too busy with our own shindig, moving forward, anyhow. Who knows what the future holds, but the game is secure with Tessa and Zed. More eyes, more ears, y'know."

Berri smiled a cute smile into the nook of Turbo's neck and now felt a playful air begin to crown her morning mood, she scrunched her shoulders a little and, through a silent giggle, she began to ease a few warm, innocent kisses into the side of Turbo's neck. She fluttered her eyes and did absolutely everything she could not to laugh the second Turbo began to shudder, goosebumps began to angrily plague his jugular. He desperately did whatever he could to hold his composure.

"Y-Yes, we'll sit down with Theo and Wren to see what that all holds, but I think the band would probably enjoy some well-deserved time off, so I guess we'll see," Turbo was successful in holding it all together, though he scrunched and blurt a silent, shaky chuckle of playful irritation; Berri finally eased off and snuggled into Turbo's chest a silently giggling, grinning, blushing wreck, "The second a unanimous decision is made, you guys will be first to know, for sure."

Turbo lovingly rubbed up and down Berri's back as the two sagged back into their normal, loving embrace, though Turbo removed his phone from his ear, put his phone on speaker and began to sift through a few notes on his phone; the tail end of this certain individual's sentence was softly now broadcasted for Berri to hear.

"-laid off to, I think he said something about buying himself a summer home off on Keppel Crest," He stated, he had a deep, happy voice, Berri furrowed her eyebrows and figured this had to be a worker from Bedgy's side of the band's crew.

"Really?" Turbo pressed, he furrowed his eyebrows and now finally began to sift to a few news outlets from an opened browser; major, heavy headlines all about Gunner's failure, from the previous show, huge texts about how terribly he wronged Tatum, and the splash of paparazzi of Gunner's figure inside EZ Living this morning.

"Yeah, he's avoiding press and making clear he's not going to comment on the matter," This person pressed in sighing irritation, "Whatever you said to him yesterday was enough to nearly wipe him off the map, my guy. He's reached out to absolutely no one, not Bedgy, not anyone of his crew members, now I don't know about Berri and crew."

"Radio silence, over here," Turbo skillfully fibbed, Berri cocked an eyebrow and gave Turbo a sweet, sly smile at his smoothness, "I think... Just let sleeping dogs lie. The tour's done, y'know, the-"

"Well, yeah, but the hype is for SURE not over," The guy blurt a chuckle, to which Turbo rolled his eyes and guffawed a small, understanding laugh, "THE Turbo leaves Sugar Rush, once and for all, and crashes the entire show? Acade's hugest show of the YEAR? One-up's Gunner like there's no tomorrow and puts Archived Chaos' star right at the forefront where she needed to be? Yeah, bud, you best prepare yourself. This is no one and done."

"Yes, sir," Turbo stated nonchalantly with a sigh and a small nod; it was clear, here, that Turbo was now speaking with someone who had decent authority in either the venue from the night prior or someone higher up in the rank, in terms of band management.

"If Gunner reaches out to either of you, please keep us informed, I don't really know what happened between him and Berri last night, but..." The man trailed off, to which Turbo lulled his eyes closed and shook his head.

"From what I saw, they were arguing, he grabbed sheet music out of her hand, she lunged to get it back, and he stopped her by grabbing her shoulder and upper arm," Turbo shook his head and gestured his arm, which was currently holding Berri, he warmly cupped her upper back in a return of warmth and sighed in irritation, "Shook her around a bit, but... Could've been far worse. I really don't know what would've happened if I hadn't shown up. Berri likely would've gone Wreck-It-Ralph on him."

"... Oh yeah, I forgot she was related to that beast, holy User. Gunner picked the wrong crew to mess with," The guy muttered to himself in a rushing hiss of terrified delight. Him and Turbo shared a laugh before his voice pressed to a cheerful lilt of impending departure, "Alright, man, thanks for taking time to talk to me. I'm sure we'll see more of you, just make sure you guys meet with Bedgy sometime soon to get situated and figure out what steps to take, moving forward. The Arcade is absolutely not satiated from last night and venues are already lining up, so... Take some time off, sure, but let's be hasty."

"I'll have a discussion with my bride and we'll reconvene," Turbo's gentlemanly voice pressed in deep sweetness, something that made butterflies line Berri's stomach; said guy, on the other end, eased a warm, kind chuckle.

"The most important first step," He pressed, Turbo bobbed a nod, "You got my number now, just shoot me a call."

"Yessir," Turbo lilted, and as the two eased notions of mutual departure, Turbo exhaled a heavy, long, raspy sigh and set his phone on the island's counter before him. Though said conversation had its heavy points, Turbo still raised his eyebrows in sweet delight and now successfully wrapped both of his arms tight about Berri's warm, still sleepy and deflated figure, "G'morning, baby."

Berri smiled in whole, blushing, renewed warmth with the way Turbo so diligently loved on her. A whole, healthy show of Turbo's full gooey love, absolutely lost in adoration, Turbo's warm breath coat her cheeks and the bridge of her nose as he eased slow, firm smooches into the skin on her face. He finally breathed a small chuckle onto her grinning, eye-fluttery expression and gently swayed the two as he moved on his barstool a little. She stood comfortably sagged between his thighs, her whole front pressed against his, Turbo tilted his head back and tucked her beautiful blue hair behind her ear, fully aware this shred of their now refreshed, glowing alone time was not to be squandered, nor tainted by any phone call or interruption. He lovingly caught eyes with her blushing, sleepy little face, though he huffed a small chuckle and firmly gripped his arms tight about her shoulders as she flopped the side of her head into his shoulder and the nook of his neck. As if he could hardly get enough, he did what he could to reign in his desperation to just shower her in kisses, he laid a few warm smooches to her shoulder and squeezed her in a tight, cradling scoop of unmitigated love and care.

"How'd you sleep?" Turbo so softly pressed, though as Berri inhaled a deep, steady breath, she suddenly croaked a silent rasp of the beginning to her response; both her and Turbo froze in concern, to which she peeled her upper body a little bit away and peered hard into Turbo's eyes, a whole swathe of plucked, smiling urgency. Turbo gave her a bittersweet smile of equal concern and held her upper arms, "Uh-oh... Lost your voice."

"Crap," Berri just barely rasped, only little flickers of her voice crackled through, she urgently cleared her throat and swallowed a few times, and though she pressed on, her voice was entirely shot and just angrily hissed above a push of a whisper, "Not... Used to this, I guess."

"Welp, you did sing User-knows how many songs with so many note changes and belting points," Turbo mumbled as the two just barely sagged from each other in softened delight. Berri lulled her eyes closed in irritation and sagged her hands down Turbo's broad, masculine chest; Berri did what she could to not ogle his handsome figure in his fitted shirt, "C'mon, I can fix your voice box coding. I can actually do so with the help of your stressors on your throat, if you're up for it."

"Yes, please," Berri raspily whispered, she grimaced in slight pain and held her hand to her throat in dainty uncertainty as the two gently removed themselves from each other.

Turbo grunted a noise and stretched, as if maybe he had been sitting at his bar stool for awhile. He inhaled a deep breath, his broad rib cage expanded, he lulled his handsome eyes shut and ruffled his hair as if that'd magically make it not so messy, any longer. Berri bashfully stood with her hands tucked underneath her chin, and though she had been this exposed in front of Turbo before, she still felt a bashful air hang over her. With his hoodie concealing her figure, excluding her curvy bare thighs and legs, she shyly looked across Turbo's lovely, sun-kissed loft and patiently waited for Turbo to close out the hefty terminals splayed about his kitchen island. She cocked an eyebrow and patiently watched his able, grey hands click a few options, type a few last minute things and ultimately close out his Knightly duties buried deep in Sugar Rush's code room. He gently swiped the projector, for said holographic screens, and finally gave Berri his loving attention.

"Here, let's move to my dining room table, we'll be more comfortable, there," Turbo gently instructed, he held his arm out for Berri to proceed, and as the two began to step deeper into the sunny sitting area just behind his couch, Berri bashfully plopped down at the long bench they would ultimately share; a gorgeous lighter wood table all crowned in a gorgeous, shiny stain, Berri raised her eyebrows as Turbo's warm voice pressed on, "Is your throat sore, too? Like does it hurt?"

"Yeah," Berri croaked, she furrowed her eyebrows and grimaced a little, "I didn't realize it until I tried to talk, just then."

"Yeah, I woke up with a little drainage, myself," Turbo eased, he huffed a silent grunt as he sat down next to Berri, though he did whatever he could to not obviously ogle her beautiful body; she sat in a shy, reserved manner, his baggy hoodie pretty much covered her entire sitting figure, something that Turbo was sure would alleviate his rushing thoughts, though the hidden mystery of everything underneath said hoodie is what had his mind crawling with now dire curiosity. Turbo cleared his throat and gently set down his projector a foot before the two, right in the center of his large table. Once a single, smaller holographic display blipped before him in confident, red coding, he inhaled a revived breath and bobbed a nod, "Okay, let's see... User, I gotta switch gears, here."

"How long have you been awake babe?" Berri pressed curiously, the two sat a foot apart, though Berri grunted and got a bit more comfortable. With her left thigh and leg now bent and tucked up onto the bench they shared, in a half-position of sitting with her legs criss-crossed, she was able to now pivot her body and angle more of her body towards Turbo for better access to the stressor on her throat.

"Probably since about nine or so," Turbo mumbled cutely, his golden eyes gently scanned through a few drop down indexes, he skillfully clicked his way right into Berri's coding and patiently sat back for a moment. The black square of his pupils lovingly hooked tight to Berri's eyes in gained sweetness, "My phone didn't wake you up at all? User, I've been fielding calls all morning."

"Do not disturb mode, my friend," Berri's raspy voice forced out, she rubbed her eye in hot annoyance and grinned a wider smile the second Turbo began to cutely laugh at her expense, "Stop it, I can't help it!"

"You're adorable," Turbo huffed quietly with a smile, though he gently tilted the holographic screen in Berri's direction and gave her a sweet smile of kind preparation, "Just need your permission, doll."

"I think my answer was clear, last night," Berri muttered cutely, a raspy lilt of her crackling voice desperately trying to shine through, she gingerly plucked her finger right into the 'allow access' button, only designed to sense her coded fingerprint.

"Yes'm," Turbo mumbled warmly, he bashfully began to open a few of her coded options, and once he came to her voice box setting all strung together with her vocal chords and everything her throat, esophagus and the surrounding structure contained, he raised his eyebrows in readied cuteness and bobbed a nod, "Alright, so... I guess I could just simply RESET your coding again and you'd be at least a little better, but... I think, if you're going to be remaining the lead singer in this nonsense, we should learn how to recover on our own, just in case we're not inside Sugar Rush and we don't have access to a code room."

"... Literally the coolest thing I've ever heard you say," Berri whispered in fluttering, girly delight, she easily gave Turbo a look of teasing goo-goo eyes, to which Turbo now bashfully swallowed and eased a shy smile.

"What, the idea of me being out of Sugar Rush?" Turbo prod, Berri nodded in dreamy delight and leaned forward a little, as if to express that he should keep going. Her beautiful, twinkling eyes looked refreshed, her cheeks kissed with womanly maturity, the way the sunlight saturated the backs of her shoulders, Turbo huffed a shaky breath and could swear he was in the presence of an angel. He heaved a shaky chuckle and pressed on in a lilt of cute, boyish delight, "I-I actually was going to ask if you could show me around EZ Living sometime this weekend."

"Ohh, say more," Berri whispered in further, dreamy delight as she fluttered her eyes closed; Turbo choked a laugh and gently rested his hand on Berri's bare, lower thigh.

"Maybe hit Arcadia one more time?" Turbo whispered, the depth of his voice coat over Berri's blushed cheeks, he slowly leaned forward gave her cute nose a kiss.

"Keep going," Berri hissed, she fluttered her blue lashes closed and felt her skin plague with goosebumps.

"Then come home and..." Turbo purposefully opened his mouth and teasingly halted his words, though Berri's eyes popped open in bashful surprise as Turbo cocked an eyebrow and whispered his conclusion onto her nose, "Fix your voice coding."

Berri sagged her shoulders in dull, blushing defeat and still couldn't help but smile. Turbo easily volleyed her a cute, coy smirk and sat up a little straighter.

"C'mon, the sooner we fix your coding, here, the sooner we can, well..." Turbo furrowed his eyebrows in a loft of tender confusion and softly peered to Berri in innocent delight, "Field more annoying phone calls."

"My favorite," Berri muttered as she brushed her hair out of her eyes, sat a little bit straighter and prepared for Turbo's wise instructions, "Gunner has not stopped trying to get ahold of me."

"I figured," Turbo muttered, he slowly and carefully pressed his pointer and middle finger into the side of Berri's jugular and inhaled a deep breath in preparation, he gave her a sweet smile and bobbed a nod, "You want to go ahead and cue this stressor mark for me, please?"

"I'll try," Berri sighed in a raspy whisper as she sagged her shoulders, closed her eyes and allowed her renewed concentration to focus on the task at hand. Raw, whole communication, honest notions of true identity, she knew this stressor was about reveal and speaking her truth, unabated and unreserved. She relaxed her stance and felt her pulse, against Turbo's strong fingers, steadily throb in calm unison, though she fluttered her eyes open in tender curiosity once she could feel her mind begin to rush with all sorts of different versions of intense honesty she was desperate to get off of her chest, "Whoa, whoa, i-is it working?"

"Yeah, wow, good job," Turbo gently congratulated, and though he referred to Berri's coding in front of him, he finally gave Berri a sweet smile and hovered close, "Okay, so... I'm going to do what I can to NOT rely on the code room, let's just see if we can solve this together."

"Okay," Berri wavered in raspy uncertainty, she bit her tongue and felt so odd with the way a billion notions of urgency came flooding her brain, she dared to try and hold her breath and was entirely grateful her and Turbo weren't involved in an exterior swap, in this instance.

"Go ahead and locate the damage, see what you can accomplish in this heightened state," Turbo gently instructed, he kept his curious eyes glued to Berri's face, "There's power in thought, here... Just think about what you need to do, heal your vocal chords. You'll probably be left with a bit of a sore throat, but we'll cross that bridge once we come to it."

"I guess this is a good distraction," Berri's voice now confidently blurt in a crackle of raspiness, though she furrowed her eyebrows in sharp surprise at herself and was well aware this was now not going to end well, for her; the way Turbo long-blinked in hot confusion immediately assured Berri that word-vomit was well on its way.

"... Distraction from what?" Turbo eased a nervous laugh, to which Berri inhaled a trembling breath, lulled her eyes closed and shook her head in hot irritation towards herself.

"No, nothing, I-I... My mind is getting away from me," Berri huffed bashfully, and as her eyes remained closed, Turbo cocked an eyebrow and quickly took note that Berri's face was turning hot red, "M-Maybe it's not a good distraction-"

"Just steady your thought, I know this stressor is good about voicing your opinions and speaking just what's on your mind, but try and divert it to healing the damage in your throat," Turbo warmly instructed, he readjusted his gentle grip of a press firmly into her glowing, silver stressor mark, "You can steer these intentions. Instead of outward energy, try and push it more towards what needs to be loved on."

"Stop giving me ammunition," Berri huffed, though she popped open her eyes in pupil-tightening embarrassment and eased a shaky giggle as she bashfully wiped her forehead, "I-I mean... Let's just... I-I'm sorry, I just..."

"Easy," Turbo hovered sweetly, he blurt a quiet, deep chuckle of understanding and bobbed her a nod of affirmation, "Steady... You're just fine."

Berri inhaled a trembling breath through her nose, held it for a second and finally let it out in quivering nervousness. She lulled her eyes closed and finally relaxed in Turbo's presence, and though the feeling of his strong fingers tenderly pressed into the stressor, on the side of her throat, was prominent with the thudding of her throbbing pulse, she was successful in following Turbo's quiet, gentle lead and fueling her energy towards the damage in her throat. Once she finally was able to drop all notions of nervousness, due to being in such an intimate, raw setting with Turbo, she exhaled a steady breath, once and for all, and could feel congestion begin to come about. She furrowed her brow in soft confusion, cleared her throat with a bit more zest and swallowed a few times. She finally peered her curious eyes open and was floored to see Turbo's diligent, golden eyes so patiently glued to her disposition in readiness.

"Good, you're doing great," Turbo sweetly pressed, he bobbed a nod in warmth and hovered in a further show of patience, "That came along faster than I expected."

"That's what she said," Berri's now full voice delightfully croaked in a lilt, though before she could sag into herself in unmitigated embarrassment, the only thing that saved her soul was the sudden choke of a cute laugh Turbo delivered.

"You're usually not so brash, like this, Bear," Turbo was now lost in cute laughter, he carefully kept his fingers to her jugular and raised an eyebrow, "You haven't been meditating on this stressor, have you... You look like you're really pent up, here."

"Yeah, in more ways than one, buddy," Berri confidently barked, a rather mean notion, though it was laced with a stark switch up of cute, sassy, girly sarcasm; Turbo raised his eyebrows in hot shock and nervously huffed her a chuckle of grinning, bashful delight.

"O-Oh really, now?" Turbo prod in a boyish tone of coy cuteness, though Berri firmly furrowed her eyebrows and began to sharply clear her throat, the readjustment of her now refreshed vocal chords, and the success of her attempt, was something she was desperate to continue ironing out, though Turbo could easily tell she was now doing anything she could to get herself to shut up. With red cheeks, Turbo side-eyed Berri in tender softness and, through his wide grin, he pressed her the softest inquiry, "You, uh... Got something to share, there, Blue?"

"No, no, for User's sake, NO," Berri huffed loudly, her voice now fully coming back, though still not one hundred percent, "I-I'm... Almost there, and then we can go on about our day, for User's sakes..."

"Yeah, what DID you want to do today?" Turbo asked in warm innocence.

"You," Berri nonchalantly answered, though she bulged her eyes in hot, unadulterated terror and urgently yanked Turbo's hand away from her throat, "HOOOkay, so we're done doing that, thank you for... Helping me. Wow."

Turbo sat frozen in plucked, boyish delight as he blinked a few times, in rapid succession. He finally heaved a shaky chuckle as Berri shook her head and covered her hot red face, with her now sleeve-covered hands, in muttering agitation towards herself.

"Berri?" Turbo's gentle voice pressed in a lilt of a cute, shy chuckle.

"NO, do not ask me any more questions, holy User almighty in the sky," Berri hissed in trembling, dwindling cuteness. She pressed her elbows to the table, firmly sagged her face into her hands and tucked her cute bare knees to her chest, "I-I'm... So sorry, that was really forward, I'm... Not... Using my brain, holy cow."

Turbo sagged a little, and though he felt as if his heart was about to come thudding out of his chest, he smirked down to his table with a lull of his closed eyes and was well aware he shouldn't feel so surprised. Hovering in the soft stillness of sunny goodness that splayed into Turbo's loft, Berri huffed silent, whispering notions to herself. With her cute knees tightly tucked to her chest, Turbo's hoodie now lazily splayed over her balled body, she gripped her blue bangs and shook her head in whole, unadulterated embarrassment. Turbo finally grinned in softness, he knew the two were desperately trying to tip toe around each other, and although the two were engaged, Turbo found entire delight in the fact that they were now due to sagging into far more intimate, romantic realms with each other and it was delightfully to be expected. Knowing this at least took some pressure off, he was well aware he needed to rush to Berri's aid and help her feel comfortable with this raw transition they both almost blindly traversed together.

"Easy, love," Turbo's warm, deep voice glossed her figure in gentlemanly sweetness, his masculine hand cupped her lower back with care, he tilted his head and hoped he'd gain eye contact eventually, "You did it... Your voice is back to normal, no?"

Berri softly sagged her shoulders, though just barely. Still balled in whole embarrassment, Turbo raised his eyebrows in whole delight as Berri's adorable, beet red face just barely peered from the peeks of Turbo's faded, frayed red sleeves. Her gorgeous blue hair splayed her shoulders in lovely waves, her innocent eyes and face peered tight to Turbo's in a swathe of girly, shy uncertainty, and it was up until this speckle of shivering eye contact did Turbo feel confident in his ventures. Typically a fiery rage of goodness, Berri's now embarrassed, shy, shelled demeanor began to make the undersides of Turbo's skin just crawl with hot desire. As the two held eyes in tight, unwavering, blushing uncertainty, Turbo inhaled a shaky breath and gently gave Berri a smile, and though he was sure he was due to sailing into this intimate unfold with a confident air of certainty, having done all this before, he had absolutely no clue how to go about this with now such a shy, innocent, shivering little soul before him; he could feel a lump gather in his throat, he immediately felt thwarted by Berri's adorable silence.

"At what cost," Berri finally huffed in an easy, delicate whisper of tender, girly giggle; her face still bruised bright pink, she shrugged her shoulders and shyly peered deep into Turbo's eyes.

Turbo scoffed a small laugh and looked back down to the table. He did everything he could to keep his ducks in a row, all so easily fluttering away from him in the chaos of this delicate switch up he was praying wouldn't come about. Although he knew not to expect anything, he had previously anticipated a much fiery, take-charge version of Berri, where he could ease into everything with her volcanic attitude tight at the head of this nonsense, but what he was being presented with instead was a fragile, innocent flower of beauty that likely knew her weight, here. Turbo knew that she was well aware he had a lot of give in this realm, a coy act of needing direction, of Turbo having all the experience in this predicament and her gooey, girly, fluttering eyelashes just hooked to Turbo for guidance, he swallowed hard and knew he had to just step up to the plate and own his beam of confidence here, even though he was due to falling apart with nervousness.

"Berri, I... I think I'm beginning to discover that... There is far more than just ONE elephant in whatever room we're in," Turbo choked a shaky laugh, Berri narrowed her gaze in tender reveal and took note that Turbo's shy, glowing eyes began to ease to that of a peachy, blushing show of overwhelm. Turbo's trembling voice cautiously pressed to her in the gooiest, warmest love, he was aware that it was likely the only thing he was sure of, here, "I-I think we should just discuss this, once and for all."

"Forgive me, I-I... Have... NO experience, here," Berri ushered nervously, she bashfully tucked her hair behind her ears, a nervous tick that had begun to develop; her shy eyes were glossed with raw reveal, she looked as if her heart was about to be bared right before Turbo's eyes, a scary, nerve-racking event, "In neither code swapping or... Sex. None of it."

"You never had any experiences with Gunner?" Turbo wondered as cautiously as he could, he was thrilled to see Berri shrug and seem to sag in a bit more of an opened posture of body language.

"He would try, he'd always hint towards it, and... I-I mean we've made out and stuff, but nothing... Like..." Berri bashfully rubbed the back of her head and scrunched her face and eyes closed in embarrassment, "L-Like... That one night in your pool."

"I see," Turbo bobbed a conclusory nod, though his heartbeat began to thud straight out of his chest, like a ticking time bomb. He inhaled a trembling breath and eyed Berri in sweet delight, "I'm honored."

"Psh'yeah," Berri sarcastically guffawed in a hiss of smiling irritation, her eyes glossed Turbo's sunny, still living room, "Propose to a girl who has zero experience with any of this. Amazing."

"That's not what counts, Bear, and besides... I hardly have any experience here, either," Turbo gently assured, he shook his head and was glad the two caught eyes, "Sure, I... I'm not a virgin, but I mean, Bear, that was THIRTY years ago. Thirty. You expect me to remember what all of that entailed?"

"I mean at least a little, right?" Berri shrugged, she gave Turbo a coy side-eye and began to show a tiny bit of her playfulness; Turbo furrowed his eyebrows and beamed in defensive back-tracking.

"W-well, I know what to DO, I'm not... Like..." Turbo gestured his hand and desperately tried to grasp at the right words, "...L-Look, I'll take care of you. I'm confident in THAT, at least."

"Turbo, I don't want you to feel like you're obliged to... Do anything you might not be ready for," Berri started, though just as Turbo inhaled a deep breath and was ready to usher her assurance of just why she didn't need to say all this, she urgently pressed on, "No, Turbo, I'm serious. I'm positive giving up your coding and doing ALL of this ALL over again, for fear of the past having a shred of a chance to repeat itself, I mean... You're out of the frying pan and into the fire. I get it, if you change your mind, I'll understand, y'know?"

"Thank you, Berri, really, I... I appreciate that," Turbo looked down and sighed a trembling sigh, "I've thought about it for awhile. This is different. I've had so much time to get to know you, this is a far more mature scenario. I just... Hope you'll have me."

Berri raised her eyebrows, lifted her left hand, waggled her fingers and proudly pointed to the glossy ring on her ring finger. Turbo raised his eyebrows in boyish curiosity before he sagged and huffed a cheeky smile of deflated defeat.

"I said yes, didn't I?" Berri teased, she shook her head and gave Turbo a knowing look, "So, why don't you go ahead and tell me JUST what to expect, here, in the way of stressors?"

"... O-Oh, you mean like... D-During?" Turbo staggered in whole shyness, to which Berri covered the side of her face, shrugged and bashfully looked down.

"I mean, yeah, what does THAT all entail? Certainly you're not just flying off of the two stressors on your hips, don't ALL stressor marks get involved? Eventually?" Berri intelligently wondered, and though she was dead on, Turbo faltered in the huff of uncertainty as to just how she discerned this information. He narrowed his gaze in tender curiosity and bobbed her a small nod as she got in one final little quip of cuteness, "I'm not just a pretty face, my guy."

"No, User, you're not," Turbo largely agreed with a choke of a soft laugh as he bugged his eyes and looked off in shy terror. He rubbed the back of his head and started in a faltered, trembling mess, "I-I... Haven't really been entirely honest with you, Bear."

"... Wait, what do you mean?" Berri worried, to which Turbo eased her an apologetic smile and sagged.

"... You actually have a secret thirteenth stressor you probably didn't know about," Turbo's voice pressed in tender nervousness, Berri raised her eyebrows with an air of bashful surprise and eagerly listened to Turbo's word, "Females have thirteen, males have fourteen. Twelve was just... To satiate your curiosity whilst keeping my sanity-"

"Wai-wai-wait," Berri flagged her hand, though Turbo scoffed a soft laugh and began to stand. Berri jolted to gently grip Turbo's arm, as he stood, she largely furrowed her eyebrows and gave him a wide, cheeky smile, "Wait a second, c'mon! Are you kidding? You have to tell me more, right?"

"Yeah, I can tell you more," Turbo choked a shaky chuckle as well as a nod, he gingerly eased his hand into hers and insinuated she come to a stand, with him, "I'd be doing you a massive disservice if we had sex and I didn't tell you about the final stressors we both have."

As the two came to a gentle stand, with Turbo's near-foot of height over her, she peered up into his eyes in a swathe of shyness that continued to hit her in waves. She swallowed hard and felt her retinas eagerly take mental pictures of all of these moments, all clear as day. She furrowed her eyebrows in soft surprise and quickly realized just why all of this felt so heavy, so tense and so detrimental; she didn't have a shred of alcohol to her name, currently, and neither did he. Turbo eased her a sweet smile, both riddled with shyness, and though Turbo took a small step away and began to gesture to his lovely, massive sectional and L-shaped couch, he inhaled a trembling breath and shrugged. It was very clear, to Berri, that he was doing everything he could to confidently take any lead, here.

"Why don't we sit and get comfortable," Turbo pressed kindly, to which the two began to round the other end of his couch, his sunny, quiet living room, and press into the bend of his cozy couch. Splayed with a big blanket already, lazily slouched over the back of the couch and littered with cozy pillows, Berri dreamily fluttered her eyes and plopped down into the bend of the couch, where it bevelled into said L-shape; the largest, coziest part of the couch and her silently designated spot. Turbo huffed a soft breath and cautiously sat down next to her in a slouch, "Alright, so... I can promise you that's the only thing I've fibbed to you, about. Moving forward, you have my full honesty. I'm sorry..."

"No, it's okay, I... I guess I sort of understand why you maybe didn't tell me about these last stressors," Berri quietly prod, she sat upright and tucked her legs into a lazy criss-cross. Still slouched in Turbo's unzipped, baggy hoodie, her beautiful figure still peaked through, something Turbo would kindly allow himself stolen glimpses. Berri shrugged her bare shoulders, ones of which began to show through the now full sag of his wide-shouldered zip up, "But... What I don't get is why you guys have fourteen and us girls only have thirteen."

"Welp... In as short of words as I can say, I'm just going to kindly refer you to Wren's and Throttle's sex life," Turbo cocked an eyebrow, hovered and side-eyed Berri in silent curiosity as her cute blue eyes dart about Turbo's face in searching silence. Once she raised her eyebrows, bobbed a nod and looked off with a blush, Turbo choked a small laugh and shyly held his hands into his lap, "Okay, I'm glad that clicked."

"Yep, clear as day," Berri huffed a shaky giggle and eyed Turbo in tender curiosity, "So, then... For me?"

"Well, it's cool for you girls because, the last two for us guys is STRICTLY for pleasure," Turbo gently explained, he swallowed hard and tried not to beat around the bush too much, here. He long-blinked and was well aware this was educational, though given their circumstances, he was sure Berri could hear his heart beat thudding on surround sound, "Yours deals with pleasure, too, but also aids in childbirth."

Berri furrowed her brow in a show of gentle understanding, though she eyed Turbo in sneaking suspicion and eased him a knowing, shy smile of certainty.

"... This isn't a stressor I can easily physically access, is it," Berri mumbled cutely, to which Turbo shook his head and shot Berri a nervous smile.

"No, it's... On par with my fourteenth stressor, which we're not going to discuss," Turbo choked a laugh, Berri wrinkled a wide, shy smile as Turbo rubbed his face in agitation, "You can ask Wren all about it, but mine's off limits for now, okay?"

"Okay, no danger there, dude," Berri held her hands up and wrinkled her nose; they both eased into cute, understanding laughter, though as they sighed in a soft sag, Berri furrowed her brows and peered down to her twiddling hands, in her lap, "So, that's... Something I don't really deal with, then. That's not a stressor I have physical access to."

"No, you typically wouldn't, but..." Turbo shrugged and shyly eyed her in raw, hovering cuteness, "It's... Something I'D be able to physically get to."

Berri huffed a shaky breath, nodded a little and continued to so shyly peer down to her hands in her lap. She flinched in tender surprise the second Turbo finally blurt a cute chuckle amidst a handsome, gentlemanly smile.

"There's really no easy way to say that both of our thirteenth stressors would match up during intercourse," Turbo blurt in cute irritation, he shrugged his masculine shoulders and shook his head amidst his peachy, glowing eyes. They both caught gazes in delightful shyness, "Mine's strictly for fun, yours eventually serves a genuine purpose."

"... Oh, during childbirth," Berri bobbed a small nod of understanding, to which Turbo softened and rubbed the back of his head in rising apprehension.

"Another... Incredibly terrifying elephant in the room," Turbo staggered, they both finally blurt into easy laughter, the toss of their cute smiles and shy eyes was so easily tugged with the now palpable sexual tension. Berri inhaled a shaky breath and eyed Turbo in teasing anticipatory cuteness as his grinning notions pressed on, his peachy gaze scanned the living room in aimless, smiling terror, "I don't suppose you... Well..."

"Want to tackle this elephant right here and now?" Berri choked, to which Turbo covered his face with a wider grin, they both were rocketed into happy laughter, a sag of easiness they finally melted into, "Sure, why not, we've already covered a WHOLE swathe of terrifying topics upon getting engaged, let's just dive FACE first into EVERYTHING. Let's see... You want to buy a house with me? How many babies do you want? Oh wait, we need to swap codes, first. So, when were you gunna pencil me in?"

"I had you pencilled in last night, remember?" Turbo muttered cutely, he eased a deep chuckle and gave her a soft smile, and it was here did he begin to feel a bit more confidence come to him. He sat up a little, tucked his leg in a cozy bend up to the couch and leaned closer to Berri's figure, which faced him.

"Well, you just said that cause Wren wouldn't shut up," Berri muttered shakily, her shy smile immediately persisted as she scrunched her shoulders; due to Turbo's new closeness, he warmly tucked her hair behind her ear and allowed his eyes to gently scan her face for any shred of hesitation, on her part.

"I think I'd like all of those things," Turbo pressed romantically, he softened and knew his lean was welcome, though he gave it purpose and sweetly kissed Berri's cheek in a slow linger of gentleness, "I-I have... No clue how I'd handle being a father. I never once imagined having a baby with anyone, of all things, but... I guess more of my secrets are out."

"What secret is out now?" Berri chimed quietly, although still a shy, hovering, frozen mess of trembling, hidden terror, she inhaled a shaky breath and dared to ease her hands to the broad of Turbo's strong chest; Turbo scoot a little closer to her as they sat before one another, he pushed his warm smile into the side of her cheek and jaw.

"I guess that you're the only person I've ever felt that attachment to," Turbo pressed softly, he relished in the whole plague of goosebumps that sprawled her neck. She eased a shy giggle as he hovered into the nook of her neck and shoulder, something she began to just barely scrunch for, the sensation of his chin scruff on her soft skin, "Obviously not any time soon, but... I could see us having a baby, one day."

"Really, now?" Berri prod in cute delight as she fluttered her eyes closed, though she choked a huff of a giggle as Turbo finally tucked into her neck and began to gently taste her skin with lingering kisses, softness with the promise of fervor and confidence, given the right circumstances.

"Oh, yeah," Turbo chirped lightly, though his demeanor now began to show heaviness in a slow burn of very prominent fervor. Berri eased a soft, shaky giggle, once more, and began to gently wrap her arms about Turbo's broad shoulders. Although her open posture and body language read physical invitation for the majority of this conversation, she relished in the notion that Turbo didn't immediately take her up on it. Due to said hover of tease, Berri fluttered her eyes and began to feel as if she was being driven mad, and with such an itch, she did absolutely everything not to full-on tug Turbo on top of her, once and for all. In the gentle push Turbo's body gently delivered, he warmly eased his strong hands to the dip of Berri's small waist and carefully cued her to sit back so he could properly join her. Turbo raised his eyebrows in warm delight and pressed on in deep fervor, cocky delight he was now due to confidently splaying all over her fragile, awaiting, shivering little soul. His deep voice reverberated in the back of her skull like a never-ending bass drum of steady goodness, "I think that's an act we should practice and perfect first, though, hmm?"

"Ohh, you're saying a lot of nice things to me, right now," Berri sighed, she grinned in fluttering delight as Turbo sagged her back into his large, cushiony couch, she felt her head grow heavy with desire, the weight of Turbo's body that now gently began to crawl into her intimate bubble, once and for all.

"Yeah? Talk to me," Turbo prod innocently, though his deep tone was laced with cute, certain desire, he dared to sag his body between the drape of her thighs, and as they melted into the cushiony nest of blankets and pillows about them, he inhaled a shaky breath into Berri's neck and began to kiss her throat with a bit more fervor, a hot gape of shaky breath, wet lips that could hardly get enough of her skin.

"I-I don't have words," Berri mumbled cutely, her voice trembled in the back of her throat, she did everything to open her heavy eyes and gazed up to Turbo's high, glassy ceiling. She cocked an eyebrow and silently promised said glass that it'd all get a good, reverberating workout in a second, here.

"Y'better get it out now before your stressors do that for you," Turbo's deep, croak of a voice warned into her clavicle, he grinned in smiling cuteness and continued to trail now a bit more innocent kisses to her skin as she cupped her hands to the back of Turbo's head and heaved a happy laugh out to the ceiling and room beyond her. Turbo staggered a shaky breath and wrinkled his nose in rising irritation at all the clothes in between them, the restriction of his sweat pants, he inhaled a trembling breath and began to worm out of his sweat pants as easily as he could, without being way too obvious. He propped on one elbow and peered up into Berri's glazed, smiling eyes, "Unless you want me to dig it outta yah, the choice is yours."

"Well, you're the master at doing that anyways, sex or not," Berri whined with an annoyed giggle as she flailed her arm up and let it thud back down to the back of Turbo's strong shoulder; he huffed a hard laugh into her sternum and was successful in wriggling out of his sweat pants for good, now dressed in his tight tank and black boxer-briefs.

Berri huffed a delirious sigh of incoming defeat and felt sweat already begin to dot her forehead. With a gentle struggle, she was successful in worming her arms out of Turbo's much larger zip up, though as she sagged back down, Turbo's heavy body carefully joined her. With the feel of Turbo's bare thighs against hers, the gentle nestle and cradle of his strong arms about her littler upper body, she fluttered her eyes in surprise and sagged into Turbo's codling, caring embrace, cocooned safely underneath his power, though with said shroud of security, she stiffened in rising, terrified surprise the second she could feel his rock-solid distention now pressed snug into the nook of her left hip bone and pelvis. Something to entirely boast about, only barely concealed by his underwear due surely to rip right through it, Berri caught a delightfully terrified breath in the back of her throat and felt every single stressor mark, on her body, begin to want to shine through in an act of defiance, as if to prove that they've been concealed for way too long.

"I guess we'll see, ooo, lookit THAT," Turbo prod in boyish cuteness, he raised his eyebrows and eyed the stressor marks on her jugular, which then sprawled to her heart as well as the faint glow through her stress marks, on her temples. Berri's face, splashed with blush, she urgently peered up to Turbo in shy, trembling, sweating anticipation, and though she looked entirely unsure of just what to do with all of these emotions, it all began to overflow in such a way she could hardly conceal any longer, "Can't hide from me, love, I'm the end-all."

"Y-You're so much bigger than I expected," Berri shakily blurt in rising terror, her face turned a brand new shade of purple as she huffed a terrified breath and peered up to Turbo in shock, at herself. Her chest heaved in a sporadic gasp of desperately trying to reverse her words, she scrunched her eyes tight and staggered a few more notions, as if a further press of words would somehow help her trembling case, "I-I mean like... Not that I... Had expectations, I guess I just..."

"Thank you," Turbo chuckled softly, he inhaled a deep breath and bobbed her a nod, "School's still in session, love, just take it easy... Relax, don't try and reverse what you're saying to me, I WANT to know what's on your mind."

"Oh User, no you don't," Berri muttered in collapsing, shivering delight as Turbo gently pressed his hips a little bit harder into Berri's, she eased a shaky giggle and began to weave her legs about Turbo's hips, his easy-going, loving demeanor was surely something to ease all of her worries, something she was eager to grapple on to.

"We're gunna get rid of those stress marks for good, but you have to play your part and not conceal everything, babe," Turbo choked a small laugh and shook his head. Although she was still half sitting up, and he was easily snug tight into her body, he still hovered over her in said loving, cocoon of an embrace. With the gentle removal of his right arm, he carefully allowed his strong hand to wriggle into the side and bend of her left hip bone, near where the press of his firm distention dug. With those stressors now almost angrily flared, he tenderly sagged his thumb into the round, silver circuit mark, and though he was prepared for movement, he jolted in surprise the second Berri's body tensed with delightful fervor. She inhaled a sharp breath and stiffened for a moment, though as they urgently caught glossed gazes, she heaved a quivering, silent notion of delightful nervousness as Turbo calmly pressed on, "I-I've never done this kind of thing, before, during sex, but... Let's work together to get all our stressors talkin', hmm?"

"I'm already about to pass out, Turbo, I don't think that's wise," Berri huffed a depleted laugh as she sagged into herself, she shook her head and gently draped her arm and hand across her forehead in a cute show of playful swooning, her trembling smile was complete with a sweet narrow of her eyes, blushed cheeks, the tender panting of her hot breath, Turbo peered to her in curious warmth and allowed her to continue spilling what was on her mind, "I have a LOT of worries, right now."

"Tell me ALL of them," Turbo's loving voice encouraged, and though he could easily sag and feel bad about himself, here, he gently held his thumb into the stressor on her hip and slowed his roll. Although keen on giving her a squirming, slow dig of anticipation, he allowed his knees to remained dug into the cushions underneath them in calm patience.

"I-I know a lot of people have keys to your home, I don't want any phone calls to... Well..." Berri staggered on all her words, wholly exasperated, lost in sweet, blushing thoughts and rushing desires, Turbo eased her a cute smile and bobbed her a nod.

"Berri, I've put my whole entire loft and code room on a very prominent 'do not enter' mode, and I don't care if my phone rings, NO ONE has access to this place right now, and I'll bet they'd look at said huge 'do not enter' sign and understand just why," Turbo extinguished her fires immediately, she panted and nervously peered up to him in a further show of maybe revealing another level of fear, to him, something a bit deeper. He bobbed her a nod and was well aware just what this new, shivering depth of worry contained, "And, as for us... You just feel every single last feeling you have to feel. I'll be here to catch you when it all comes caving in on you. I won't let you down, User, this is ALL I've been dreaming of, I will NOT let you down, now."

"Turbo," Berri huffed with a shaky giggle of continued, cute nervousness, though she bashfully rubbed the side of her face and began to show signs of now anticipatory nervousness, she jolted in gentle surprise as he dug his thumb a bit deeper into her stressor.

"I'm nervous too, but lookit you," Turbo cutely pressed with the depth of his voice, Berri casted the nook of her elbow over her eyes in shy, grinning delight as she heaved a shaky giggle. Turbo warmly pressed both of his hands to her wide hips, and with a firm grip and a squeeze of the stressors prominently glowing on her skin, she jolted in a gasp of a more outward, whispery moan of delight and, in said knee-jerk reaction, she tugged her legs tighter about Turbo's strong hips. Turbo choked a laugh and bobbed a small nod, "Y'got that green flag, babe, and I know you've been wanting to wave it at me for awhile, now. I'm ready for you, doll."

"Me too, I can't wait any longer," Berri suddenly begged, the gentle stressors on her jugular so softly flared as she inhaled a deep breath and, although she sat up a little more, she sagged back on her elbows and gripped her legs in a stronghold about Turbo's hips. Turbo eased a sneaky smile as she shook her head and began to look delightfully blushed and blistered with whole desperation, her eyes narrowed in plea as she huffed him a further notion of trembling collapse, "Just give me everything, Turbo, I'm about to go crazy."

"Yes, ma'am," Turbo cutely pressed in politeness, though he furrowed his eyebrows and now felt his hands go numb with hot realization.

In the squirm of trying to remain entirely coherent, desperate to keep his trembling hands from fumbling, Turbo grit his teeth in a rise and spike of adrenaline that suddenly coursed over the two with a jolt of urgency. In the wrangle to get himself out of the buttoned hole of his boxer-briefs, Turbo panted a trembly noise of soft assurance down to Berri as he grappled the base of his long, firm self. He long-blinked in unmitigated, unhinged, delirious delight as his free hand swiped Berri's underwear out of the way, and as he sat in a wider straddle of his knees now angrily dug into his couch, and Berri's sprawled thighs layered over the tops of his, he choked an inhale, held it and, with the firm bite of his lower lip, Turbo began to easily budge into Berri's warm, tight body. He scoffed a heavy catch of a breath through a surprised gape, though as he drew his eyes up Berri's beautiful body, she stiffened in a shaky tense of shock as Turbo steadied himself and did everything he could to gently rock past her insanely tight squeeze. As if glossed in a sunny, cloud-like dream of never-ending, fulfilled desires, Turbo raised his eyebrows, amidst his small gape of easy, smiling relief and did what he could to get their thirteenth stressors to sag into each other, though he was currently unsuccessful.

"T-Turbo, I... I..." Berri faltered in desperation to catch her breath, she finally sagged in shock and lulled her head to the side of his cushions in entire, immediate defeat.

"Wanna call it quits?" Turbo teased with a wide, knowing smile, and though Berri's eyes were fluttered closed in whole exhaustion, he gently shifted his weight and got settled with the press of his knees into the cushions with firm readiness. He just barely hovered his face over her sternum and peered his lovely, handsome, adoring gaze up to her beautiful, blushed face. With the gentle arch of his hips in a tender recoil, he shook his head and allowed the press of his deep, masculine voice to hover over her in hot knowing, "Not while you're ahead, like this, though."

Berri fluttered her eyes in soft, dainty surprise and, although she opened her mouth to usher Turbo a warm notion of further agreeing, she popped her eyes open in hot surprise as Turbo carefully dug into her, a bit deeper. In a sharp gasp, her hands urgently reached up and grappled Turbo's shoulders in a spike of anticipatory terror. Turbo huffed a soft, shaky breath of understanding, raised his eyebrows and gave her a kind toss of his adorable, peachy, glowing gaze. Her urgent gaze peered sharply into his, a silent communication they quickly had going, though as Turbo grappled her hips a bit harder, dug deeper into her stressor marks as well as a deeper slide into her body, she opened her mouth to usher him another notion of collapsing nonsense and instead let out a shaky moan that easily escaped the depths of her throat. In waves, she so badly wanted to sag and allow him freedom to do whatever, though with the sheer girth and length he had on his side, the tender motion of powerful promise, she tensed with each slow and steady arch and reel his strong lower back and hips confidently provided.

In careful progression, Turbo continued to gently dig into her with a tense of his hips, though he fluttered his eyes in delirious understanding that he wasn't fully able to access her end-all core due to her tensing. He knew she needed to be further eased into all of this, and with smiling anticipation at said challenge set before him, he warmly eased his hot breath into her jugular and began to so lovingly kiss her throat. With the press of his warm lips to her glowing stressor, he raised his eyebrows in surprise and was glad she was beginning to come out of her shell, a bit. With the draw of her hands down Turbo's broad chest, he flinched in surprise and felt said urgent hands finally cup underneath Turbo's strong jaw. Amidst the recoil of his hips, and the deeper dig into her body, he raised his eyebrows in spiked surprise the second her lovely fingers glossed the angry red honeycomb stressors on his jugular. His head swam with all of the delightful feelings her body easily supplied him, the hot wetness of their throbbing connection, the grip of her strong, thick thighs about his hips, Turbo could feel his angry red coding desperately swirl about all of his stressor points, as if to urgently find an exit in any way, shape and form.

"I think it's probably about time the Arcade relearned my name," Turbo's deep, shaky voice pressed into her throat, he curled a bashful smile and lulled his eyes closed in anticipation as he carefully arched his hips away and successfully slid the majority of his length out of their clenched connection, "Y'wanna do the honors?"

Just as Berri began to form the shape of his name in the back of her throat, Turbo bit his lip and carefully slid almost the entirety of himself into her with a plunge of easy power, something she easily stiffened and went rigid to. With a sharp inhale of a loud gasp and a wide, wet gape of her lips, Turbo cocked an eyebrow and eagerly watched her reaction of a hard sag back into the cushions she was being dug into. With a heavy, loud exhale of a groaning whimper, she urgently uttered his name in the form of a trailing, overwhelmed moan out to the room. Turbo eased a wide smile and could feel himself sagging deeper into her body, something that easily began to finally open up to all the unfamiliar feelings Turbo very readily supplied her.

"Babe, babe," Berri now rushed in the form of a trembling giggle, she grappled his shoulders and looked as if she wanted to cheekily resist him from continuing on with that, though her insides squirmed in rising terror as his thumbs dug into the stressors on her hips.

"I... Didn't quite catch that, once more?" Turbo whispered darkly, although the menacing look in his eye was glossed peachy and drunk with desire, his smile proved to Berri he was well on his way to rocking her whole entire world; he easily returned to his previous antics of dragging their squeezing connection to near separation, to which Berri now knew to brace for.

"Y-You're torturing me," Berri cutely moaned with the trail of a giggle as she kept her hands firmly clawed to Turbo's upper arms, as if to give him clearance up until a certain point, though she grimaced in the draw of Turbo's strong body as he easily shoved another dig into her quivering self. With a firm toss of her head back to the cushions, she sharply inhaled a gasp and easily exhaled Turbo's name in a loud gloss of groaning, dire fervor out to the ceiling, as promised.

Turbo fluttered his eyes in delirious delight as he, too, moaned a soft, deep groaning noise of chuckling, shaking happiness. His trembling arms held him up as he kept up with slow fervor, Berri's delirious eyes glossed to his in shocked disbelief, she gaped and heavily panted as Turbo firmly hovered over her in protective dominance. With sweat that now began to crown Turbo's forehead, he shook his head and gave Berri a look of sheer disbelief, as if to be entirely certain this was all a dream he had been revisiting for months now. The way her cute shoulders scrunched with tension, the gape of her wet, pink mouth, the rasp of Turbo's name that shakily fell from her rib cage in a rasp of quaking, collapsing enchantment, Turbo eased her a kind smile and was just begging to be let in a bit deeper so he could really give her a good throw around. Although still cautious and not wanting to unexpectedly hurt her, he carefully though firmly continued on until the stressors on her jugular and heart began to surge with the show of physically being driven mad; with such, she grappled Turbo's lower arms and narrowed her depleting gaze in whole desperation.

"P-Please, deeper, you're so close to it," Berri's whiny, adorable voice plead in trembling, wistful adoration, though Turbo grit his teeth and tried to press a little deeper without being too forceful.

"Y'got an itch?" Turbo shakily whispered as he hovered his wet, gaping mouth over hers. She inhaled a gasp of a quaking breath and, although Turbo caught her in a soft kiss, his gentle, rhythmic movements sagged him out of it as he cocked an eyebrow and prepared himself. With a circular, firmer dig of his thumbs into her stressors on her hips, he ushered her a shaky notion of blistered anticipation, "Y'gotta let me in, doll."

Berri shakily heaved an exhausted moan of rising nervousness, although she was well aware neither of them have dealt with this situation, whether in whole intimacy or it involving stressors, she felt a nervous urge to reserve the flood of emotions she wanted to give to him. Everything she had ever dreamed of, she now wondered just why it was here and now that stage fright plagued her. She grit her teeth and, although her thoughts began to flood her with nervous notions, she jolted in whole surprise the second her silver coding suddenly flared as Turbo pressed a firm few loving kisses right into the stressor on her heart, over her left breast. Life wildfire, the two came alive with an angry swirl of silver and red circuits and honeycombs that desperately did what they could to immediately get along, though with sharp inhales delivered from both bodies, their rosey coding immediately melted into a mess of a healthy mixture, causing every single last cold, shivering, silver worry Berri had to just be sapped by Turbo's age-old, wise, loving red fervor.

"Now we're talkin'," Turbo staggered a shaky laugh and felt the flood of everything Berri consisted of, core coding, stressors and all, every single last inch of their coding urgently began to communicate in such a way that wasn't present before, and with such notion, Turbo cocked an eyebrow and gently reeled a little, his teasing, deep voice pressed to her in a playful notion of full-on loving banter they were best at, "What did you need, again?"

"Deeper, please, deeper, my god," Berri rushed to beg, a staggering mess, her voice was now confident and clear, she narrowed her gaze and wheezed him a moaning conclusion as her legs urgently grappled about his hips, "Don't make me beg, don't make me beg."

"I kinda like it, though," Turbo staggered, he inhaled a deep breath and allowed the entirety of himself to plunge deep into her trembling body, though with said final kiss of inner stressors, both bodies locked in a writhe of sudden, electric bliss.

Berri gaped and urgently sprawled her legs a little wider as Turbo's hips sagged firmly into hers in a flush kiss of a dig, she tossed her head back and now grappled Turbo's lower arms in a squeeze of unadulterated, shocked delight. As she heavily groaned his name aloud to the room, the windows rattled with the power, Turbo fluttered his eyes closed in a washed look of unmitigated disbelief as their coding swam with the wiggle of the electrifying grip. With a firm hold and a squirm into her body, he choked a surprised scoff of a groan as pulling away from said stressor grip was a bit of a chore. Turbo felt confident of keeping up with Berri up until this point, and it was here did the give and take of their coding begin to urgently dance about each other. Not willing to share the shred of power, the give and take of dominance and submission, Turbo bashfully opened his eyes and peered up to the toss of Berri's head as he firmly dug into her, once more, the forbidden kiss of their stressors at the ultimate dead end of this mess. As sweat rolled down his temples, Turbo was floored to see all of her stressors now excitedly glow their lovely, rosey coding, and it was here did Turbo know to turn things up a notch.

Berri scoffed a hard noise of whole shock as Turbo dug his knees a bit deeper into the couch and began to pick up the pace. She grit her teeth and was now angry with all the clothing in between them, and with a trembling swipe of her strong hands, as Turbo's now quicker recoiling sagged a bit down her body, she was successful in snatching the back gape of the collar of his shirt. With a tug, she slowly dragged the fabric up and off of his body, his smiling, panting demeanor obliged in the worm of his arms and head finally out of his shirt, and with such success, Berri's sultry, raspy, womanly voice groaned Turbo's name in a roll of slow, exasperated delight as her hands firmly trailed his strong, broad bare chest. As her fingertips firmly pressed into the hefty, rosey, glowing honeycomb over his heart, Turbo choked a raspy gasp of delight as he continued to firmly dig into her body. The two squirmed in fast, firm, rhythmic delight, the couch underneath them began to quietly croak in time, and though Turbo was certain they were due to unknowingly rearranging his furniture by the end of this, he quickly began to feel depleted due to Berri's feverous coding. With the repetitive kiss of their burning, ultra sensitive, inner stressor marks, Berri inhaled a deep, readied breath and quickly sucked the dominance right out from underneath Turbo's feet.

"Turbo, I-I'm..." Berri choked in the roll of grappling Turbo's upper arms, she was successful in pushing him up to a sit and halting his movement. Turbo raised his eyebrows in delirious surprise as Berri fumbled to ease the two to the side, all while keeping their connection tight. With a firm push down into Turbo's chest as his back hit the adjacent bend and backrest of his large, lovely couch, she widely straddled Turbo's lap and hovered over his slouched though supportive body, "I'm h-hoping... You're-"

"I'm right behind you, babe," Turbo's deep voice rolled in a raspy chuckle of delirious delight as Berri firmly pushed down on his chest and steadied herself on top of him, their connection unwavering. Turbo inhaled a trembling breath and felt a jolt of shock roll through him as Berri's strong thighs lifted herself a little and finally sagged back down to his lap in a firm sit. Turbo choked a falter of words that wanted to form, though were immediately wiped out of his figure in the shock of electricity that suddenly coursed through his spine due to their inner stressor marks firmly rubbing together. In the sag, Turbo long-blinked in a further show of exasperated, depleted shock and glossed his hazy gaze up to Berri's gaping mouth that hovered over him. His strong hands firmly gripped the backs of Berri's thighs, as well as the curvy squish of her rear, he finally got the words out, however difficult it all was, "Y-You just... Do what you need, I'll handle the rest."

Although fully depleted and ready to entirely implode in on himself, Turbo still bit his lower lip, grappled her hips and urgently helped her move in the rhythmic, up and down motion she gave a very healthy supply of. His peachy eyes glossed down to their connection and watched it rapidly appear and disappear in a slick, throbbing motion of love and fervor Turbo was sure wasn't even real. He raised an eyebrow in bewildered, exhausted shock and now successfully sagged his head back to the back rest of his couch, and though his chest heaved and his raspy voice lovingly urged her soft, moaning notions of very clear, unbelievable exhaustion, his forearms and hands were strict in rigid, muscled movements of helping Berri's now vigorous bounce on Turbo's body. He lulled his eyes closed and felt himself go cross-eyed in his skull, he shook his head and eased a teasing smirk as his eyes glossed to Berri's beautiful figure, and as the loose straps of her tank top began to lazily drape down her gorgeous bare shoulders, Turbo grit his teeth and urgently began to rid Berri of clothes, as well.

Knowing nothing was underneath, Turbo swiped the shirt up her torso, grappled it and as he began to tug it up and off of her beautiful body, she raised her arms in a whole show of boasting delight. Turbo coughed a noise of unadulterated delight as her bare breasts gently bounced out of the constriction of her tank top, and as he was successful in freeing her body, arms and long blue hair of her tank, he shook his head and clumsily tossed the shirt back behind him. He grinned in further renewal of boyish desire and, as Berri continued to move, he eagerly cupped the sides of both of her breasts in his able hands and allowed himself to every single last square inch of her skin. He furrowed his eyebrows in the roll of gasping, floored delight, closed his eyes and very easily sagged his face into the squish of her beautiful breasts. Berri huffed a hard, moaning giggle and eagerly cupped the back of Turbo's head so he didn't have to strain himself, she gasped in eye-fluttering delight as she tossed her head back and relished in the feeling of Turbo's chin scruff that tickled her sensitive skin, the sudden suckle his mouth delivered onto her left nipple, she gaped and clawed the dusty grey hair on the back of Turbo's scalp. Lost in a sea of feelings, the squirm and writhe of their bodies, the urgent groaning of Turbo's lovely couch, the splay of sunlight that lit their bodies on fire, Berri firmly sagged her hands to Turbo's shoulder and shoved him back to the couch in a show of gaping urgency.

"Ohh, it's all yours, babe, just take it," Turbo's raspy, louder voice groaned up into Berri's lovely face, all splayed with her beautiful hair, she firmly cupped Turbo's jaws and whimpered him a small notion of apprehension, to which he shook his head and hovered his mouth to hers in a hot, trembling mess of whispering urgency, "It's yours, it's always been yours."

Berri huffed a trembling choke of a breath and tensed in the unleash of everything new to her, and though she felt nervousness quickly plague her in a wave of fear, it was suddenly replaced by the jarring, pleasurable roll of zippered goodness down her spinal chord. As Turbo's firm hands did everything they could to continue her movement on him, Berri held the back of his head cupped now for security, though she jolted in surprise the second Turbo's body tensed with the unleash of everything. He jolted to a firmer sit and, with said lean and grapple of Berri's hips and lower back, he gaped a cough of sudden surprise into the side of Berri's throat as the two continued to writhe in glitching, successful, merging delight. Berri urgently grappled the back of Turbo's head as the two latched on to each other, Turbo's firm hands gripped in a stronghold on the skin of her thighs, he urgently did everything he possibly could to keep their rhythmic movement up, to satiate the unload of his hot, feverous coded soul into her squirming body, he pleadingly huffed a few loud, trembling, sighing moans of urgent relief as he fluttered his eyes closed. With his rear now on the edge of the couch in a firm cradle of a sharp, upright sit they now were electrifyingly tugged up into, Turbo felt Berri's grip, on the back of his head, begin to tremble with refreshed, terrified delight as her wistful, adorable, whiny panting began to quietly express wordless glee, wordless relief they both were now due to marinate in.

Berri's dry, raspy throat ushered heavy breathing over the top of Turbo's broad, bare shoulder. She fluttered her eyes in delirious surprise as her spine tingled with the hot sensation now coursing through her. Melted deep into the heavy, hot breaths Turbo sharply huffed into the nook of her neck and the nook beneath her ear, Turbo lulled his eyes closed and firmly dragged his hands up to the middle of Berri's bare back and securely rubbed the glowing stressor between her shoulder blades. Berri winced in a coded reverberation of waves that hit her soul, dead on. She urgently shoved the side of her head into Turbo's and desperately did everything she could to catch her breath, and as her coding urgently began to rewrite itself for the new addition, she felt pure exhaustion finally begin to take the two down, once and for all. Turbo heavily and loudly panted into Berri's trembling, bare shoulder, and as the two slowed their movement once and for all, Turbo felt his strong core begin to kindly assure him that he was successful, here, and the gentle, sagging roll back into his slouched sit, into his couch, was very well deserved.

Berri shivered in a mess of new, kissed, rosey pixels that crawled their skin with celebration, and as she followed Turbo's movement and sagged her chest firmly into his, the two deflated into a heaving, panting mess of wiggly new feelings. Berri slouched her cheek and the side of her face firmly against Turbo's shoulder and upper chest as she lay entirely smushed against his body, and though Turbo had his head tilted back against the couch in entire exhaustion, his strong arms still held firm about Berri's upper and lower back, a firm cradle of love he was desperate to further prove to her that he'd never waver from. As Turbo's powerful chest quickly heaved, causing Berri to sag up and down with his heavy breathing, she fluttered her eyes open in renewed, humbled shock, the very wave of incredible, powerful, ancient coding that now so kindly cooperated with her fresh circuits, she fluttered her eyes and relished in the swathe of care and maturity she now had the pleasure of navigating, about Turbo.

Although rocked from the face of Arcade, Turbo's heavy panting was eventually crowned with a cute, gaping, little smile. With his eyes closed, he sagged in the brand new coding he was entirely unsure what to do with. Berri's fiery, excitable, brand new coding acted as if Turbo had finally installed a brand new operating system to his old, dusty figure, something that nearly fried his circuits. He finally peeled his eyes open and relished in the sound of their urgent panting, both him and Berri did everything they could to catch their breath, though it was clear by the intense glow of their stressor marks, the swirling, brand new coded love they were now excitedly and permanently saddled with, Turbo knew his work was now cut out for him. With any shred of energy he had left, he tenderly began to rub up and down Berri's bare back in a slow, soft roll of appreciation, whole, blistered surprise that this beauty was now officially all his, the two sagged deep into each other's bare skin with renewed hearts, a shivering end-all to a brand new start.


	192. Chapter 192

**Reviews :**

 **faolan1230 :** Thank you so much! :D

 **LyssDoodle :** Oh wow! HI! I love when readers all the way from my Wrecking Limits days comes out to say hi. I'm really thrilled you're caught up and took that WHOLE journey, I'm really impressed. That is NO easy feat, no amount of light reading in sight haha. I so appreciate your support, and for so long. It really means the world to me. I've had a lot of friends and readers come and go, which always makes me so sad, but it really brightens my day when they return. SO happy to have you aboard! I hope you enjoy from here on out. Thank you again, seriously wow!

 **MisterTheX :** THANK YOU! Wow, thank you. That really encourages me, seriously. The thing that helps me are certain songs. I'll listen to maybe like 2 or 3 songs on repeat (pertaining to the couple, each swap scene has had it's own 'mood' music lol), whilst writing, and I won't take breaks. I block a chunk of my day out for it, it becomes an event. I'll get myself the hugest fountain soda or iced coffee, I'll get in my pjs, I'll let my husband know what's up and I zone into my own little world for however long it takes me to knock it out. Turbo's and Berri's chapter, in particular, took me maybe 4 hours from start to finish. I only ever moved to use the bathroom pfft. Some chapters I can write half and then revisit later, mostly I can pump out one chapter in one sitting, less than an hour, but yeah for those huge swap scenes that are over 10k words, I make it an event haha. I'll turn my whole life on 'do not disturb' and just fall into the void. My husband only knows to tap my shoulder amidst an emergency and nothing less lmao. I take it seriously! I care for it all and I want to make sure it's just right. For normal chapters I'm not so ritualistic about it, but yeah. Those huge chapters get marked on the calendar haha. I so appreciate your opinion here and your support. They ARE a ton of fun to write. In my history of previously reading FF, I would get so into reading sex scenes in a good fic, but then like certain words or phrases would immediately take me right out of it, and it really just made me cringe. I do whatever I can to make it easy to digest and consider each of said swap chapters like it were a piece of art. Crafted with care! So I really appreciate that. Thank you!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Better For It by Riley Clemmons**

* * *

 ***WARNING***

 **For my readers sensitive to mature content :**

 **Although this chapter isn't a sex scene in of itself, the first little bit of it is, well... Aftermath of what happened in the last chapter, and is sprinkled with sexual themes. Thanks guys!**

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 ***Chapter 192***

With her cheek pressed to Turbo's left shoulder and collar bone, Berri's aimless, glossed gaze peered across Turbo's sunny, lovely loft in a blur of unmitigated bliss. As their heavy panting slowed down, and the swirl of brand new coding began to so softly settle and sift through brand new nooks of circuits and veins, Berri relished in the hefty thud of Turbo's heartbeat and intently listened in on everything his soul was made of. Although their few minutes afterwards were full of panting, sighing silence, equally sagged in deflation in each other's bare embrace, Turbo rested with his head lulled back against the top of the couch's back rest, his eyes dutifully closed to take everything in, his able hands methodically combed through Berri's beautiful hair. Whilst his left hand did gentle work of weaving through her silky, blue goodness, his right hand so warmly rubbed up and down her bare back for a further show of entire camaraderie. The two cuddled deep into there sag, their connection still strong and prominent, Berri finally fluttered her eyes opened and tried to take in everything Turbo was, though volumes and volumes of files loaded her soul with an unending amount of information, decades worth of emotion and knowledge now firmly plopped in her abled mainframe.

"Turbo?" Berri's raspy voice delightfully croaked, though Turbo bashfully grinned a satisfied smile with his eyes closed, his head was still fully tossed back in lulled defeat.

"Berri?" Turbo volleyed cutely, his voice equally rasped her a dry notion before he grit his teeth and swallowed to hopefully wet his throat, a little.

"You were right," Berri huffed in a whisper, her left hand lovingly rubbed his bare chest, so tenderly felt the thick, black chest hairs that cutely lined his pecks, she fluttered her eyes as Turbo inhaled a readied breath and just barely readjusted his sitting position, which still included her wide straddle over his lap.

"I was?" Turbo prod curiously, though with said movement, he bugged his eyes in reeling terror and felt as if every single aspect about life, moving forward, was now fully rendered, as if he had previously been living in two frames per second.

"Yeah, I... Told you that I wasn't even sure I could love you any more than I already did, after you proposed to me, and you said..." Berri wistfully trailed off, she heaved a shy giggle of renewed, blushed maturity, Turbo's lovely, ancient coding gave her feisty coding a well-deserved scoop of an embrace. With the flutter of her blue eyelashes, she nuzzled her face into the nook of Turbo's jaw and felt whole, "... To wait to say that until after we swap. I guess I believed you, but..."

"D-didn't truly until it was real," Turbo huffed shakily, he began to feel purpose rush to him, once more, and although he had a healthy taste of just what Libby's previous, glitching abilities felt like, he froze in a silent, panting reel of unadulterated shock, something Berri finally cued to.

"Y'okay?" Berri cued gently, the reversal of her fresh, brand new coding being mixed with a much older, more mature swathe of information was something soothing, settling and delightful, though she carefully eyed Turbo in warm curiosity and wondered how he was holding up, being thrusted into the other end of said nonsense.

"I-I'm... Honestly scared to move," Turbo's shallow words hovered in his mouth, he cocked an eyebrow and cutely eyed Berri as she sat up, bare breasted, still widely straddling their firm connection. Turbo's chest cavity heaved in sporadic, nervous gasps of terror as he long-blinked in whole shock and looked about, "My... My vision is clearer, everything is so much... Brighter..."

"Wait, what? Seriously?" Berri wondered lovingly, she sat back on her thighs, her eyes fluttered at their still firm connection, though due to Turbo's shivering discoveries, it began to eventually soften. Berri raised her eyebrows in plucked, shy delight as she dragged her hands down Turbo's broad, strong chest and core, though he heaved a trembling breath, propped himself into a straighter sit via his elbows, into the back cushion of the couch, and glossed his renewed, terrified, blistered golden gaze tight to Berri's in a roll of continuous surprise. Berri eased a warm giggle and felt as if she had the whole entirety of Arcade's knowledge now hooked right into the middle of her brain, she lulled her eyes closed and felt as wise as the wisest old owl there ever was, the dusty grey soul she was now in full cahoots with, "I feel as if I could... Build a rocket and go sailing to the moon singlehandedly."

"I-I feel like I could... O-Oh, for User's sake," Turbo hissed in delirious, nearly terrified delight, though he heaved a shaky, outward breath and now looked as if he was becoming out of sorts as he clumsily sagged back into his couch.

Berri winced, lifted herself off of Turbo, once and for all, eased Turbo out of her clenched body with grit teeth, corrected their clothing and finally sat back down into Turbo's lap in a clean straddle. With a shaky exhale of now exploratory delight, she almost warily gave Turbo a smile and gripped his upper arms, as if to prove that she was here to steady him. Turbo long blinked in continued, lost bewilderment. His fresh, golden eyes peered to her with much sharper intuition, the color in his eyes and even the fresh, warm colors of greys in his skin, looked reset and new, as if he had installed a much needed update to his dusty, old system. Ancient coding that now had absolutely no clue what to do with this seemingly futuristic software, he finally blurt an exhilarated, shaky laugh and, although his chest heaved in nervous panting, he gingerly gripped Berri's thighs and shook his head as their glowing eyes held tight to one another.

"This is incredible," Turbo hissed shakily, the fiery, feisty silver coding easily lofted his way so lovingly meshed with his tired, cranky red coding, and though he was worried Berri would get that negative reversal in return, what he was floored to be staring into what was a gorgeous, healthy swathe of rooted wisdom, as if his lovely, brooding coding was surely a grounding mechanism that could give perfect, precise direction to every single last firework her coding was ready to deliver; a perfect, harmonious balance of calm and chaos. Turbo heaved yet another more happy chuckle of raw delight as they both eased into dewy, blushed grins of cute knowing, "I-I'm WAY too scared to make any sudden movements."

"Yeah, I'm not even going to DARE to try and glitch or do anything, like that, cause I can feel my coding want to time-bounce away from me, already," Berri huffed with a shaky, nervous smile, she lovingly gripped the tops of Turbo's shoulders and shook him in a kind jostle, though this ultimately made her bare breasts bounce a bit, something Turbo's now sharp, brightened eyes eagerly hooked to in peachy curiosity, "What did we get ourselves into."

"Ohh, I can tell you what," Turbo muttered in cocky delight, though just as he tensed his abs, sat a bit more upright and was due to burying his face into Berri's breasts, he only really got half way through said notion before he could feel the world bevel, as if his own little dinky game controller was now also updated with a thousand more controls, knobs and buttons. Turbo heaved a nervous groan and felt his head go heavy, and with a thud, his forehead sagged to Berri's bare shoulder, "I... Am REALLY concerned, here."

"You in over your head?" Berri choked a soft, loving laugh as she eagerly gripped her arms tight about Turbo's neck and gave him a squeeze of an embrace. She raised her eyebrows in delirious love, the overflow of gooey warmth they were so steadily drowning in, she pushed a few firm kisses to his forehead and grey eyebrows, the tickle of his messy, dusty grey hair against her nose, she breathed a satisfied sigh on his glistening skin and began to so lovingly tend to his hair. With a few sweeps of her fingers through his messy, thick, chaotic grey hair, she pressed on in a hushed tone onto the top of the bridge of Turbo's nose, "Tell me, Mr. Black, how does it feel to suddenly be a glitcher AND a wrecker?"

"... Holy sugar, I didn't even consider that," Turbo hissed in a sharp rise of his eyebrows, he choked a soft laugh into Berri's shoulder and lifted his heavy head, though he grimaced and shut his eyes tight in a show of now impending recoil, as if this swap was treating him with a healthy dose of system lag, "Man, I'm... This is going to take some getting used to. I can't believe you operate on this high of a frequency and frame rate, I'm about to die."

"What do you need from me?" Berri frowned, she peered into Turbo's exhausted eyes with a soft roll of concern, though he shook his head and furrowed his eyebrows.

"No, nothing, I think I just need to reset my coding," Turbo grumbled, he exhaled a shaky breath and broadened his crisp gaze, he began to search for his sweat pants in which he kicked off prior; they lay haphazardly draped at the end of the L section of the couch they were sagged into, "It's not your fault, or anything. Just... I'm an old gamer with now brand new software, I had an inkling this would happen."

"I feel as if I could run circles around everyone with just how much I suddenly KNOW," Berri giggled, she cocked an eyebrow and took note of Turbo's sluggish eye contact longingly peering in the direction of his sweat pants, where his phone was securely in said sweat pants' pockets. Berri eased a small giggle and held her hand out, in the direction of his sweat pants, "Want some help?"

"Yes, please," Turbo mumbled in sleepy, dreary cuteness, though as Berri cautiously cued her's and Turbo's lovely, shimmering, rose gold coding, she inhaled a sharp breath the second the glow on her palm suddenly grappled Turbo's sweat pants, which were easily five feet away, in a rile of coded obtaining. Both being flinched as said article of clothing blipped in a mess of rose gold and sharply sagged into Berri's hand. Berri jolted in surprise and held his pants out before her, to the side of her and Turbo, though she remained frozen in further shock as Turbo suddenly blurt an exhausted laugh, "Hooo we'd... Be wise to quickly get these new powers under control."

"Yeah, I... I'm scared to do anything, I've never felt this much power under my control in my entire life," Berri staggered in a rise of nervous cheek, she eyed Turbo in cuteness as her arm still hovered with his sweat pants, "For such old coding, it's... Really strong, Bo."

"They don't make gamers like me, any longer," Turbo cutely pressed in a tired humblebrag, though they both raised their eyebrows in hot surprise the second Turbo's sweat pants began to buzz in vibration; his phone, in his sweats' pockets, kindly cued to Turbo that he was receiving a phone call. Turbo grimaced a nervous look of hot anticipation as Berri choked a small giggle and began to wrestle with his pants to free his buzzing phone. Turbo shook his head in dreaded, smiling defeat and patiently waited for Berri to unveil his phone from the faded, thick cloth, "The ONLY reason I will be picking up this phone call is if it's my boss."

Berri furrowed her eyebrows, freed his phone in success and peered down to the buzzing caller ID. She raised her eyebrows in dull knowing, showed Turbo the whole of his screen and sagged her shoulders with a cute, apprehensive smile; Turbo rolled his eyes in shy terror and heaved a shaky sigh.

"Cool, it's my boss. My father-in-law to be... My brand new swap mate's FATHER. The King of Sugar Rush, this is likely the best scenario to be in. Good morning, sir, I just had sex with your daughter, don't mind me," Turbo loudly barked, this forced a hearty giggle out of Berri's figure.

"Bo, he gave you his blessing," she staggered through cute laughter.

"Welp, it was really nice knowing you, uh... This was a LOT of fun. If you'll excuse me, I'm late to my own execution," Turbo muttered in a rush of whispering terror, though Berri shook her head, ushered him a cute, giggling, silent notion of shushing delight and cautiously answered the call for Turbo. She put it on speaker and held Turbo's phone between the two as they sagged away from each other a little. Turbo inhaled a deep breath, raised his eyebrows and did whatever he could to seem uplifted and cued in full normalcy, "Hey Zed, 'sup."

"Hey, I'm not bothering you, am I?" Zed kindly wondered, his tone seemed light and airy, something Turbo at least sagged to; he cocked an eyebrow and patiently allowed his eyes to eagerly gloss Berri's bare breasts in a swathe of boyish, ironic delight.

"No, not at all, is everything okay?" Turbo prod plainly, Berri covered her mouth and did everything she could to conceal cute laughter as Turbo grinned a sneaky smile, his prominent canines peaked through his renewed, beautifully handsome smile.

"Yeah, I figured you'd need sleep after yesterday, but it's pushing noon so I assumed you wouldn't be STILL asleep, I'm just glad I didn't wake yah," Zed mumbled warmly, he inhaled a readied breath and pressed on, "I just wanted to let you know that the palace has been getting a trillion calls from venues and all sorts of media outlets wanting your comments on last night's show."

"Oh, really?" Turbo furrowed his eyebrows and rubbed his forehead in rising, boyish agitation, "I'm sorry, I thought I was the only one getting bothered by them, this morning."

"Oh, so they've been getting through to you?" Zed tenderly wondered, Turbo heaved a shaky, sighing laugh and lovingly slid his hands to Berri's bare hips.

"Ho, yeah. I've been screening them where I can, I had a good conversation with one of Archived Chaos' team advisors, earlier," Turbo patiently explained, "I'm... Still trying to get my bearings, here, so I'm just doing what I can to take it one call at a time, y'know?"

"Yeah, bud, I just wanted to make clear to you that, although we don't have experience with the concert aspect of all of this, Tessa and I still get a good grab of media and press wanting to reach out to us, time to time," Zed kindly ushered, "I just wanted to let you know that I'm a resource if you need me. I can help you navigate it all, as I'm sure Berri and crew could, but... Just to make clear you have another person in your corner."

"Thank you," Turbo eased kindly with a nod, he smiled and lulled his eyes closed, "I'm going to need all the help I can get."

"Utilize me and Tess, we're here to help," Zed stated with happiness, though he heaved a soft sigh and sounded as if he was sifting through some paperwork, "Anyways, I also wanted to say that due to all this, we have an impromptu palace meeting in an hour. So, please make sure you and Berri are making that a priority. Is she with you?"

"O-Oh, uh..." Turbo raised his eyebrows in shy surprise, his eyes muted in a stark switch up of nervousness, though Berri grit her teeth and gestured her hand in urgency as if to make clear to Turbo that he took way too long to respond to Zed's loaded question.

"... You can say yes and keep your life, my guy, I'm not an idiot," Zed muttered playfully with a deep chuckle, his quiet tone into the phone almost insinuated softness between both boys, as if Turbo's secret was safe with him; Turbo heaved a shaky sigh and smiled in defeat down to his phone.

"Yes, sir, Berri's with me," Turbo warmly admitted with a small nod and a lull of his closed, golden eyes.

"Good man, I'll see you two in an hour," Zed stated with gentleness, though he halted his impending notions of departure, causing Turbo to freeze in concern, "Oh, yeah, if you could stick around after the meeting, I'd like to talk with you alone, in private."

"Yes, sir," Turbo eased in gentle casualness, though he largely cocked an eyebrow and gave Berri a dreaded look of concealed terror.

"Great, see you soon," Zed quipped with cute certainty, and as both men stated their nonchalant goodbyes, Berri grit her teeth and hung up the call; with a gentle toss of Turbo's phone to the cushions near them, she eased her hands to Turbo's broad shoulders and bobbed him a knowing nod.

"He knows," Berri concluded in certain, playful doom as Turbo grimaced in tight dread, he firmly pressed his masculine grey hands into his face and rubbed the whole of his face in entire, chuckling agitation.

"Userrrr," Turbo groaned in a croak into his hands, though he raised his eyebrows in renewed nervousness and now grappled for his phone, in which Berri had tossed next to them, "I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. I proposed to you last night, what did they think would happen?"

"An impromptu bake off," Berri joked in cute, calm tease, though Turbo softly volleyed his eyes to hers in cute, discovering delight; typically a rushing mess of anxiety, a ball of fire that couldn't be contained, he sagged his shoulders in gentle sweetness and was entirely floored to see his own mature, lovely, tender-hearted coding shine through in her, a once bratty, sassy, girly individual that had the hardest time picking and choosing her timing and moments, she shrugged her bare shoulders in sweet, lovely maturity and eased Turbo the warmest, womanly smile, "He's probably just going to reiterate how you are now sworn to take care of me, and me for you, and likely prod you on just when we think the wedding should be, or what have you."

Turbo bobbed a soft nod and hung on her every word, every single little thing that came out of her mouth, the high definition eye sight he was now blessed with, he relished in the gorgeous, turquoise flecks in her eyes. The kiss of gentle, faint freckles underneath her eyes and scattered on the bridge of her nose, the splay the sunlight illuminated behind her reminded him, like his last vision of her sat in the silhouette of sunlight, that he was, indeed, in the presence of an angel. He eased her a dorky, boyish smile and continued to fully relish in the fact that she was still confidently sitting here, bare chested, a sight now only reserved for his eyes, Turbo sagged his shoulders and could hardly believe this was all his. Although a difficult chore to peel his eyes away from said angelic sight, he thumbed through his remote code room options and quickly swiped a reset at his coding. With a blip of rosey golden goodness, he choked a noise as his structure blipped back to where he was sitting. Berri jolted in glitching surprise as he grappled the small dip of her waist, and as she eased her hands to his broad, bare chest, he inhaled a firm, steady breath, raised his eyebrows and assessed just how he was feeling.

"... Better?" Berri curiously prod, to which he sagged in full, refreshed delight and eagerly long-blinked with the much-needed reset.

"Oh, much better," Turbo pressed with way more zest, his bright eyes peered tight up into Berri's as he gave her a full smile of almost hyper glee, "Wow, yeah I just needed a reset. This is... Probably the coolest thing to ever happen to me."

"You're telling me, I just want to sit within myself and discover ALL this knowledge, for myself," Berri eased in childlike wonder, her gorgeous eyes were wide with anticipation as she shrugged, "You never told me you KNEW all this... Stuff, I mean... There's so much more to stressors than you ever told me, I don't even know where to begin."

"I'm glad we can really marinate in that, together, finally," Turbo huffed lovingly, though as he leaned up and successfully caught Berri in a sweep of a warm smooch, Berri eased a cute giggle through her nose and draped her arms about Turbo's neck. He raised his eyebrows and inhaled her sweet scent as his masculine arms easily fastened about Berri's small waist, he dragged his hands about the bare skin on her back as they eased in and out of slow smooches. He cutely continued on through their warm, lingering, sticky kisses, "You wanna... Make a game plan for... Relearning our coding together?"

"Yeah, you got a lot to teach me about your time-warping powers, and, I now get to give you a lesson in glitching and wrecking," Berri bobbed a nod, though she furrowed her eyebrows and looked off, "Actually... I don't do nearly as much wrecking as, say, my uncle Oliver, my mom, brother or even Theo... I know grandpa Ralph will want to take you under his wing, for sure."

"Should be interesting," Turbo mumbled, though he raised his eyebrows in easy-going, care-free love as Berri slowly began to remove herself from Turbo's lap, once and for all, and stand to correction. Not getting enough of the gloss of Berri's beautiful, curvy body, her thicker thighs and the gentle dip of her small waist, she reached her hands out and kindly helped him to a stand, as well. In quick succession, he firmly gripped his strong arms about her body and scooped her into a loving, swaying hug. Berri blurt a small giggle and easily sagged into his love, Turbo pressed a few kisses into the side and top of her head as he whispered her a soft conclusion to their previous, explosive adventures, "Thank you, for trusting me, Bear... I love you."

"I love you, too," Berri warmly assured, she bobbed a nod and was glad to gain eye contact with Turbo. She sagged her hands to Turbo's chest in a soft draw of continued delight, as if to promise said adventures were far from over, "I've always trusted you. Trust has never been an issue. I'm just... Honored you picked me. Your coding is such a rarity, and... To willingly give it to ME, of all people."

"What do you mean YOU of all people?" Turbo choked a laugh, though Berri scrunched and began to giggle in rising fervor as he began to become animated. She grit her teeth in a wide grin, scrunched her shoulders and now quickly began to duck away from Turbo's now playful demeanor, due to overflowing with entire, youthful cheek. He swiped his strong hand for Berri's lower arm and missed, so he resorted to sharply swatting her exposed, round rear with a quick clap. Berri choked a hard, squeal of a laugh and now eagerly continued to dive out of Turbo's rushing presence, "You of all people, sorry, you're not only Sugar Rush's next Queen, a full blown celebrity, and, most importantly, my BEST friend, get back here!"

"Where did you throw my shirt?" Berri yelled in girly, giggling terror as she crossed her arms and now concealed her bare breast, though Turbo took a few running steps up into his tiled kitchen area, swiped her shirt away from her grippy hand and urgently held it high in the air, above his head. She groaned in entire irritation and sagged, her arms still tightly crossed, "You're so MEAN!"

"I'm just living this up," Turbo cutely sneered with a wide grin, he narrowed his gaze in whole cheek, leaned down to her level and waggled his eyebrows in cocky delight as he hovered before her face, "You can have your shirt. I require a kiss."

Berri quickly pecked his mouth in sweetness, though just as he stood to correction to potentially give her her shirt, she nonchalantly began to walk past him and pressed to the corridor that lead to his bedroom. Turbo perked up and eagerly watched her walk away.

"Hey wait, your shirt," Turbo pressed in warm, sweet innocence, though Berri cutely called over her shoulder.

"I want one of yours," Berri volleyed sweetly as she began to vanish into his bedroom, "Besides, I figured you're enjoying the show."

Turbo cocked an eyebrow and allowed his delirious, smiling gaze to chase after her slowly vanishing, gorgeous, curvy figure. He bobbed a boyish nod of agreeing, and once she had finally vanished into his bedroom and out of sight, he exhaled a long, hard sigh of whole entire accomplishment, put his hands on his hips and bobbed a nod of delightful certainty. Knowing now that he had a palace meeting to attend, and pretend to keep normalcy, on top of a more private conversation with Berri's father afterwards, he shook his head and was well aware nearly nothing could knock him from cloud nine. He swiped at his sweat pants and pulled them up his legs to correction, he looked about for wherever Berri had tossed his shirt to and shrugged after a second or two of not being able to find it. He pressed into his kitchen and began to pour himself a large glass of water for him and Berri to share, and as he stood at his island in patience, he cued his fresh, brand new coding. Swirled in lovely, patiently glistening rosey golden honeycombs and circuit lines, Turbo felt his heart thud with wholeness. He long-blinked in whole disbelief and was entirely floored this was now his reality, his ears eagerly prickled to the sound of his mate's voice tenderly calling him from the corridor she finally eased back into.

"Bo, I think... It's time we face the demons, of this glorious situation," Berri muttered in soft caution, to which Turbo raised his eyebrows in soft confusion and peered his attention to his bride, whom of which slowly pressed into the kitchen wearing nothing but one of Turbo's larger, faded, canary yellow t-shirts all clad with a retro Sugar Rush logo.

"... What do you mean?" Turbo worried, Berri eased about Turbo's island and joined him on the side closest to the fridge and stove top, though he furrowed his brow in nervous confusion as she held her unlocked phone out before Turbo. He tenderly took Berri's phone from her grip and peered down to a very angry, healthy swathe of dozens of text messages from Gunner. He grit his teeth, shot his vividly glowing eyes tight to hers and gave her an apprehensive look of uncertainty, "Yikes, I... I think maybe..."

"You heard it yourself, Gunner has been silent to EVERYONE, but ME," Berri nervously gestured to herself and gave Turbo a pleading frown; he easily frowned alongside her and, although he hated the guy, he felt his heart sag with guilt as Berri quietly continued on, "Bub, I HAVE to at least make sure he's okay. If no one is hearing from him, but me, that... Has to mean something, right?"

"Just... Keep your wits about you," Turbo eased through a shaky breath as he hovered before her in apprehensive nervousness, though Berri tossed him a cute, conclusory smile and shrugged her shoulder a little.

"With your coding? This infinite wisdom you've given me?" Berri prod in complimentary sweetness, a notion that had Turbo's face gently sagging to that of humble delight, Berri bobbed him a nod of affirmation and began to thumb to Gunner's contact information, "I'm bulletproof, love."


	193. Chapter 193

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Haha you'll see :) It ain't pretty...

 **TheDoctorDusty :** Thank you so much friend, seriously! That means a lot to me. And, the time is NOW!

* * *

 ***Chapter 193***

"What exactly are we working with, here?" Turbo wondered nervously, he heaved a shaky sigh and leaned his bare upper body to his island's glossy dark marble counter, he leaned firmly on his elbows and peered to Berri, to his right, and hooked his eyes tight to her face. Her fully concentrated expression of pursed irritation softly scrolled through the plethora of Gunner's messages, a few times she'd shake her head in disagreeing irritation at whatever she was reading, "You're making me nervous..."

"No, it's just a whole world of upset, on his end, just... Regret, anger, resentment," Berri listed, she pointed to her phone lazily and shrugged, her bare figure was draped in Turbo's baggier, golden shirt, Turbo eyed her and was certain that whatever she wore, it would always keep a constant buzz of delight in the back of his brain. Berri opened her mouth to relay one of Gunner's messages, she hung open for a few moments while her eyes urgently scanned Gunner's words in rising irritation before she finally reread it aloud, "Like, here, he says 'none of that could've been spontaneous. You were plotting to get me out of there since day one. Of course the world loves Turbo NOW, he's swooped in and saved the day because I left, and now everyone just thinks I'm a monster.'"

"Because you ARE," Turbo choked in hot irritation, he shook his head and looked off, though he jolted in surprise the second Berri aimlessly held her phone in her left hand, whilst she crossed her right arm over her rib cage and held her left arm propped by such; the sudden tone of an impending phone call, to be picked up, suddenly began to ring clear from Berri's phone, now put on speaker. Turbo stood up in hot surprise and looked down to the caller ID, to just who Berri was calling, obviously none-other than Gunner. Turbo raised his eyebrows in shock and peered down to Berri's eyes with stun as he rushed on in a silent whisper, "O-Oh, you're calling him?"

"It just want to clear the air and get to the bottom of this," Berri hissed quietly as it continued to ring, though both Berri and Turbo froze in unmitigated surprise the second Gunner answered the call.

"Hey," His voice muttered in a deep, dark quip of hidden anger.

"Hey," Berri volleyed as she lulled her eyes closed and sagged her hand to her forehead in a whole show of already being overwhelmed; Turbo lovingly held his hand to her lower back and rubbed, to confidently prove that he was due to staying out of this fight, though he was definitely here for her, no matter what.

"Thanks for... Finally getting back to me," Gunner stated in a chirp of dripping irritation, he scoffed a small, snide laugh and grunted, as if to get up from sitting, "What have you been doing?"

"Oh, y'know, just picking my nose," Berri firmly sassed, though Turbo cocked an eyebrow and peered to Berri in a gentle slump of terror; in this swift volley of sass she effortlessly delivered, Turbo held his breath and was well aware he now had a front row seat to any future arguments the two would likely have, just how Berri would act in a full show of unhinged frustration, Turbo diligently took notes, though Berri flagged her hand out and peered across Turbo's lovely, sunny home, "What do you THINK I've been doing? I've been recuperating from the hugest, scariest day of my whole life."

"I just need you to know that whatever you and Turbo had plotted, against me, is all going to go to the press," Gunner warned, he sounded exhausted, his words were mumbled and croaked, though he still was sharply coherent.

"Fine, Gunner, I don't care, it's not like your assumptions would hold weight, anyways," Berri eased, she shook her head and softly set her phone onto Turbo's glossy island's counter, "None of it is true, so it'll just be a stupid rumor and then dissipate. You literally have no proof of what you're saying."

"I guess I look back and could see all the signs," Gunner stated dryly, "You had been talking about Turbo for weeks. I just... Didn't want to believe that you had actually moved on."

"But we were still friends, I just don't understand how you think I would just BE your friend and legitimately be plotting your downfall," Berri gestured to herself urgently, "Why would you accuse me of doing something so heinous? Is that because YOU'RE guilty of doing that with Tatum? You're suspicious of everyone else because your conscious isn't clear?"

"That's NONE of your business," Gunner suddenly urged, though Turbo bit his lip in slick preparation, took a slow and nervous step away from Berri and flinched the second her soft and tender decibels began to spike.

"UH, YES it is! She lives with me! She lives with me because YOU ruined her LIFE," Berri firmly shouted, Turbo urgently kept his eyes tight to Berri as her angry, outward fervor was held in a two foot radius of her at Turbo's island, "You're just SO sure someone is out to get you because you're well aware karma was long overdue to chewing your ass up and spitting you back out."

"Well I hope her and Theo are VERY happy, now," Gunner pressed meanly, "You know how many spreads and articles are now hot on my heels? How much you slandered my name and image?"

"I imagine that's exactly how Tatum felt," Berri snipped.

"This is far worse, I didn't think you'd actually carry out with the ENTIRE concert without me, Berri," Gunner stabbed, "That was so fucked up of you to do, to take my parts and then allow that MONSTER on stage?"

"Ho," Turbo huffed through a hot breath as he looked off and bobbed a nod, though him and Berri cautiously caught eyes as Turbo eased a mean smile and silently gave her a look as if to insinuate that he had a lot of opinions, here, though promised he'd remain silent.

"This is defamation at its finest, and I oughta sue the pants right off of you," Gunner growled, to which Berri put her hands on her hips and bobbed a nod.

"Oh, then lawyer up, my dude, cause I'm READY," Berri shouted.

"With WHAT money?" Gunner dared with a mean laugh, he seemed slightly out of sorts, Berri sharply furrowed her eyebrows and gaped an ironic, mean smile of surprise.

"... It's not like I'm ROYALTY or anything? Or don't have any of my concert earnings? You come at me with lawyers, Gun, I'll make sure my name never falls from your mouth, ever again," Berri stated sharply, she crossed her arms and bobbed a firm nod, "I'm going to need you to listen to me very closely... The reason you lost your cool with me was because I slipped up and made clear that I've been housing Tatum. You lost your cool because you were caught with your pants down. I KNEW about how you betrayed Tatum a whole WEEK before our show in Arcadia, Gun."

"Get to the point," Gunner stabbed.

"I could've EASILY ruined your life, I could've taken Tatum and gone to the media and SPOILED everything for you, EVERYTHING! I had every single ball on the PLANET in my court," Berri growled, "But you know what, Gunner? I didn't. I didn't! Cause I knew just to finish this contract and wash my hands of this bullshit."

"Yeah, tell it to Theo," Gunner muttered.

"I don't control Theo, Theo is extremely protective of Tatum, that's like his HUGEST idol. We didn't tell Theo to say everything he did, about Tatum, to the press yesterday. He just went for it, and that's for him to speak on," Berri urged as she clapped her hands, "The point is, even WITH the press in our face, we could've trashed the SHIT out of you, and we didn't! Turbo even DODGED a question about you that could've painted you in a bad light! For fucking with the WRONG people, you should count your lucky stars for how desperately we're trying to let you come out of this unscathed."

"Oh yeah, that's EXACTLY what you're doing, doing the WHOLE damn show without me, and now the whole world is just in love with Turbo," Gunner loudly argued, "I've gotten death threats left and right, my name is ALL over the news-"

"BECAUSE YOU ABANDONED US!" Berri firmly clapped her hands, she bent over for emphasis, Turbo flinched in surprise as her angry voice reverberated all over the place, "Of course your name is a part of a smear campaign, you DITCHED us! I was due to doing that WHOLE show by myself, and the only reason Turbo was tossed into it is because he came onto the stage to give me an in-ear, and I enticed him to join. We have music together, it was just something that HAPPENED."

"Sure, sure," Gunner mocked in mean delight.

"I've been begging Turbo for MONTHS to leave Sugar Rush, I nearly dumped him entirely because it was something he refused to sway on," Berri rushed in a spike of growling anger, something Turbo now diligently took note of, and though he could only really see Berri's profile, Turbo sharply furrowed his eyebrows and froze in a cold swathe of terror. He long-blinked in wild disbelief as he could see a gentle kiss of a glowing orange splay the bridge of Berri's cute nose and cheeks, though as he so cautiously began to lean around so he could properly see Berri's face, she sharply pressed on, "This was our FINAL show, and he was FINALLY going to just show up and surprise me... But of course he had to walk in RIGHT as you were man handling me-"

"Do NOT EVEN say that!" Gunner loudly yelled, her phone speaker cracked with static as Gunner firmly continued, "I didn't even TOUCH you!"

"You are an ACTUAL asshole and I am SHOCKED that Turbo didn't beat you up while he had the chance!" Berri hollered into her phone, now shivering on the counter top, left on speaker, though as Turbo finally was able to see Berri's face, he raised his eyebrows in a wash of unadulterated surprise at the sight before him. Berri's irises were faintly glowing a vivid, angry orange, something she was way too frustrated and flustered to notice, though Turbo swallowed hard and now immediately knew he needed to somehow curb this conversation, for good. Berri firmly clenched her fists before firmly pointing down into her phone, though she finally swiped it into her hand and urgently continued on. The flecks of color in her eyes glossed with red power as her predatory gaze scanned Turbo's home, "He did you a favor, he got in your face and nothing more, THAT could've been REALLY bad for you."

"Well, Berri, I hope you're REALLY happy with that scum of a bad guy, then, I'm REALLY thrilled you found someone ugly enough to match your personality," Gunner pressed in mean delight, though Turbo grit his teeth and wondered how Berri was still standing still, "I really thought your beautiful looks were a mirror to your soul, but... Can't have it all, I guess. Is Turbo aware of all of this? All your silly little secrets? Y'tell him that you're scared to use your wrecking powers? Like a child, you're terrified of the dark? Surely he should be made aware that the carpet likely matches the drapes, too?"

"A-plus, Gunner, I'm so proud that you're smart enough to put two and two together," Berri seethed, though her voice pressed in dainty, sarcastic charm, "That's USUALLY the case with someone's natural hair color, I'm really impressed your little brain was able to piece that together, just now, do... Do you want me to tell the press of your accomplishment?"

"You're such a bitch, a REAL piece of work, my babe," Gunner choked a soft laugh, and though Turbo felt his blood begin to boil, he flinched in surprise as Berri began to storm about in pacing agitation, her fists clenched; though as she turned about to face her phone, and the island, from a different direction, Turbo froze at the raw sight before him. Not only was Berri's irises aglow a hot red, her pupils were shrunk to mere specks of whole, riled anger. Gunner choked a bit of a louder laugh and continued on, "You wanna tell me what the freak has that I don't? Y'know what, don't answer, cause I know anything you say, from here, is just going to be you proverbially sucking him off. Not like you ever did me any favors."

"I didn't do you any favors cause I wouldn't have had anything to work with, sweetheart," Berri so eloquently stated, such grace and tenderness to her tone, Turbo sharply raised his eyebrows, gaped a little and covered his mouth with the back of his hand as Berri softly tossed her lovely hair over the back of her shoulder and gently gestured down to her phone, "Remember that one time you came out of the bathroom naked, after your shower, and acted all shocked because I saw you? You ducked away and got outta there quick, and I pretended not to see anything, but I most definitely saw. And, now that I look BACK at that scenario, I know you just wanted a reaction out of me. Which is really sick, of you, by the way."

"Why would I just DO that on purpose?" Gunner weakly pleaded in an angry tone, to which Berri looked off in seething, aimless frustration and shrugged.

"I don't know, so I could one day confidently tell you that I wasn't impressed in the slightest," Berri stated in firm, sarcastic charm, she shook her head and narrowed her gaze, "Now, you listen here, and you listen good. I'll keep your name out of my ENTIRE crew's mouths if you do yourself a huge favor and never call or message me, ever again. I thought we could salvage friendship, here, but it's clear you're just alive to burn bridges. We'll be rebranding ourselves, and will have absolutely nothing to do with you. So if you don't want my entire team of warhorses on your doorstep, you'd be wise to delete my number."

"Kay, well I'm going to the press about you all," Gunner stabbed, "You haven't heard the last of me, unfortunately."

"I don't care what you do, just LEAVE ME ALONE!" Berri now hollered down to her phone.

"ANYTHING for you, YOUR HIGHNESS," Gunner yelled in mean delight, though as the call suddenly blipped to and end, on Gunner's accord, Turbo hardly had any time to even collect just what had taken place, and what was shortly to come.

With a sharp, thick inhale through her nose, Berri clenched her fists, rounded Turbo's island, and although she looked as if she was just en-route to simply start pacing the entirety of Turbo's home, Turbo largely jolted in whole terror as Berri suddenly cupped her fists together, reeled back and took a firm, lunging swing at the corner wall entrance of the corridor to Turbo's bedroom. With a pang of a rumble and a sudden pop of dust, concrete suddenly crackled to Turbo's tiles as she easily clapped a very decent sized divot right out of the wall. With the cough of debris that angrily splayed the tile, Turbo felt his fresh coding suddenly swarm him in the memory of glitching that came rushing back to him, and with a small bounce of rosey coding, he easily zipped a few feet before her and was quick to halt her in the rush of his sudden, urging words.

"WHOA whoa, Berri-Berri-Berri," Turbo rushed in sudden, terrified fervor, though as he swung within her gravity, he was successful in grappling her upper arms and halting her in her warpath; her beautiful blue hair angrily fell in front of her face and splayed her shoulders, she heavily panted through the grit of her teeth, her eyes peered tight into Turbo's in ballistic, red rage, an entirely bizarre sight. Turbo shook his head and urgently flood her upper arms with the swathe of their shared coding, so to immediately attempt to calm her down, "Baby, easy, easy... He's not worth this, he's just an idiot, this is what he WANTS."

"I hate him," Berri growled in trembling anger, such a swathe of immediate, wrecking anger Turbo had never ever witnessed in Berri before, and with said swathe of sudden emotion, Turbo felt his heart sink in a sag of realization; the decades of emotion Turbo had been successfully stuffing and attempting to heal now had a fresh new body and mind to run rampant in, such emotions had an updated, wrecking outlet to utilize at its fullest, something Turbo grit his teeth to and at least was thrilled said immediate exterior swap was quick to calm her down. Berri shook her head as big tears immediately welled in her glowing eyes, red irises that peered tight into Turbo's eyes, almost in desperation, "What do we do, from here? I called to try and clear the air and it back fired!"

"He handled it poorly, he knows he's wrong so he's doing ANYTHING to get under your skin," Turbo urged, he kept his hand gripped tight to her upper arms, and though Turbo wanted to be equally as angry towards Gunner, he eagerly switched his energy and directed every single last one of his priorities to his bride. He gripped her with tighter fervor and shook his head as they locked eyes, her lip trembled as her shoulders equally shook with the rise and fall of such an intense emotion, Turbo shook his head, once more, and leaned a little closer to her, his voice eased to her in a soft verbal embrace of tenderness he so desperately hoped she'd latch onto, "You're above it. You're above his nonsense. He's not going to come for you cause he knows better-"

"Turbo, I still wronged him, I still didn't do my best in honestly telling him I was in love with YOU, while I was WITH him," Berri staggered in whole, trembling conflict, the red anger in her eyes softly eased back to her normal turquoise-blue eyes, big tears spilled down her cheeks as her and Turbo stood in the still of the rubble from the concrete of his now destroyed wall, "I played a part, here, he's not... The only one in the wrong. I wasn't honest with him."

"Berri, have you ever deceived a band-mate and forced her into homelessness? Have you ever disrespected Gunner with hateful name-calling?" Turbo eagerly rattled, Berri exhaled a raspy breath and softly shook her head, though she felt a whole wave of a million lifetimes of emotions just hit her square between the eyes. She grit her teeth and crumpled into soft, silent cries of despair, though Turbo adamantly shook his head and finally gripped Berri into a tight hug. She scrunched her face, grit her teeth and shoved the side of her head into the broad of Turbo's chest, he firmly held the back of her head with one hand and wrapped her shoulders in his other arm, secured in a gooey grip of their still connected exterior swap. Turbo pressed his mouth and face into the top of her head and continued to quietly speak over her, "Sure, you both played a part in this weird downhill slide, but... He's carrying it on with a far nastier grip of hate. He knows the things he did were far worse, and that's the difference. We just need to leave him be... No going to the press, no mention of his name, we can't keep stirring the pot."

"What if he does, though?" Berri hissed in exhaustion as she shut her eyes tight, her fists were still clenched, though they trembled in the onset of lost adrenaline.

"Then he does, and we carry on with our heads held high," Turbo shrugged, he heaved a shaky breath and finally eyed the chunk taken out of his wall. Knowing, full well, it all could be easily fixed with the press of a button in the code room, he still cocked an eyebrow and felt a wave of humility course through him. Very well aware that he, too, had wrecking powers, seeing it come forth, in Berri, a typically happy and more glitch-leaning gamer, he felt his heart sink in gentle understanding; forgetting that he was in a full exterior swap with his brand new swap-mate, Berri heaved a soft, regretful sigh and buried her face into Turbo's strong chest.

"I know, I just... Hit the first thing I could that could be fixed, I'm sorry," Berri staggered nervously, "I know I don't usually wreck spontaneously, like that, I just... Have so much... More emotion inside of me. I just couldn't help it."

"You've... Downloaded thirty years worth," Turbo mumbled sorrowfully, the two peeled away from each other in a sag of nervousness, they peered tight into each other's eyes in a show of apprehensive dread, "Your stress marks are entirely gone, but... It... Looks like we likely will have another animal to defeat, here. You've adopted all my feelings, mood ring-eyes and all."

"... What?" Berri flinched in confusion, having been following along until his final statement; Turbo huffed a nervous chuckle and bobbed a nod.

"Yeah, babe, your eyes were glowing red, you didn't notice it on the bridge of your nose?" Turbo faltered his words with a wary though impressed smile, Berri looked shocked as she looked about the rubble by her feet.

"N-No, I didn't, I just... Have never felt such an intense swing of emotion, like that, in my entire life," Berri mumbled in curiosity, she finally opened her palms and took note of the divots in her palms, where her nails firmly dug into her skin, she long-blinked in soft terror, at herself, and shook her head, "I have... So much on my mind, all at once, it's just... Really intense."

"I guess... I didn't consider any of this, when we swapped," Turbo choked a small, nervous laugh, though as he unhanded Berri and ceased their loving exterior swap, he apprehensively pulled out his phone and began to cue the code room options he was in charge of. With a few blips, the concrete of his wall corrected itself and the mess was cleaned. Turbo sighed, sagged his shoulders and finally reached up to wipe the tears from Berri's cheeks, "My love... You're such a fighter. You have so much courage, and... I really admire how loyal you are to the good people in your life."

"But...?" Berri mumbled sorrowfully, her glistening blue eyes peered up into Turbo's in a sag of defeat, though Turbo sharply furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head in confusion.

"... 'But' what?" Turbo wondered warmly, though Berri long-blinked in confusion and looked to Turbo's chest in an aimless gaze.

"O-Oh, I thought there were to be negative connotations to follow," Berri intelligently quipped with a soft shrug, though Turbo raised his eyebrows in delightful surprise and continued to hold her face cupped, he huffed a sweet chuckle and shook his head.

"No, love. I guess I didn't... Realize just how heavy my coding would be, for you," Turbo mumbled, he furrowed his brow in soft confusion and eased a gentle smile, "Last time I did this, I was only a handful of Arcade-years old, I didn't have ALL of this heaviness in me, to give to Libby, once upon a time... I'm sorry, baby."

"No, no, it's... It's really fascinating," Berri hissed in exhaustion, though she gave Turbo a humble smile, "It's a LOT to sift through, but it's... Vastly interesting. I thought I had a good grip on reality, but... Wow, adding all of your knowledge to myself is really humbling. It's like all the little things don't matter, now. I think that's why this issue, with Gunner, is really driving me up a wall. It's all so silly and pointless. There are far greater issues."

"It's a lot to digest," Turbo mumbled, "I think... Let's go to this palace meeting, let's download everything with the rest of the group, and... Methinks you, me and the band need a bit of a getaway. It's been a long few months, for ALL of us."

"A getaway?" Berri chimed gently, piqued curiosity, she eased a tired smile and patiently glued her cute eyes to Turbo's, "You have my attention."

"We can discuss it further," Turbo chuckled, he pulled Berri a little closer and softly smooched her forehead a few times as she sagged into Turbo's strong, bare chest, "Let's prepare for this impromptu palace meeting and... I guess pray your father doesn't murder me, afterwards."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot," Berri blurt a nasally chuckle and lulled her eyes closed, she carried on with her teasing notions, "What if he doesn't want to beat you up for swapping with me?"

"I mean, half of me wants to believe it's NOT about that because, well... I proposed to you last night," Turbo wrinkled his nose and gestured his hand in irritation, "What did he THINK would take place afterwards? I mean really?"

"You won't know unless we get this palace meeting out of the way," Berri mumbled, she sagged her exhausted figure into Turbo's as he supported her.

"C'mon, lets..." Turbo started, he heaved a long, exasperated sigh and really did whatever he could to swallow absolutely everything that had taken place in the last twenty four hours. To speak on it would only bring him to further disbelief, though he eased a dorky smile and looked off, "Let's... Maybe go our separate ways for now, take showers, get dressed for the day, and... I'll meet you at the meeting."

"Y'think it'd be suspicious if we arrived TOGETHER or SEPARATE, or..." Berri emphasized as she side-eyed Turbo in raw curiosity and let her mouth hang agape, as if she wasn't quite done with her inquiry, though wasn't sure quite how to piece it all together; Turbo held his breath, puffed his cheeks and allowed his golden eyes to dart about Berri's face in searching, conflicted curiosity, though he blurt a soft, sighing laugh, lulled his eyes closed and shook his head as Berri joined in on his nervous laughter and carried on, "I think we're damned if we do, damned if we don't."

"Let's just... Arrive separate, act nonchalant, I'm sure at least Tessa and Zed are aware, let's just... Try not to bring too much attention to ourselves," Turbo sighed, he rubbed the back of his head and gave Berri an apprehensive, bashful smile, "Maybe we can just quietly spill the beans to Wren and Theo, afterwards. Discuss our getaway and-"

"Well WREN will be able to pick it out of us just by looking at us, you KNOW how quick he is," Berri muttered with a nervous smile as she crossed her arms, "He'll want to know just what's up with Gunner, I'll have to call Bedgy at some point, I'm POSITIVE we can't do anything or go anywhere without a final press conference..."

"It's... A lot, let's just take it one issue at a time," Turbo heaved a long, hard sigh as he shook his head and gave Berri a pleading look of gentle delight, "At least... We have each other to hold at the end of the night."

"... When you say 'have each other to hold' you meannn," Berri playfully twiddled her hands and side-eyed Turbo in blushing cheek, though Turbo raised his eyebrows in plucked, boyish concern and faltered on a few words.

"I-I mean like... I-If you want, we can-"

"Uh, yeah, pencil me in, good sir," Berri chirped with a small laugh and a look as if to politely say he should be expecting said cheeky neediness, from now on.

"Duly noted," Turbo concluded with a nod and a shy smile to his feet.

* * *

 **A/N :** **I drew fanart of Berri's red-rage eyes! Probably not as terrifying as Turbo's, but it's on my Instagram username Vyntastic :)**


	194. Chapter 194

**Reviews :**

 **chuckiboo :** Haha! Yeah that's true, Ace's energy can end up catastrophic - Berri, on the other hand, may not be physically catastrophic, but you'll come to find that the emotional turmoil behind it all can be just as damaging, unfortunately. But, all's well that ends well! Tanks for your review, friend :)

 **Lyssdoodle :** OH congratulations! That's so awesome!

 **Snake557 :** Yeah, Gunner comes unhinged. Things have to get worse before they get better lol

 **MisterTheX :** You're not wrong! We haven't seen the last of Gunner.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Whatcha Do to Me by Plug In Stereo**

* * *

 ***Chapter 194***

Although hot on the heels of her argument with Gunner, Berri snuck home and felt the wave of Turbo's intense coding still swirl about her circuits and fresh honeycombs in a rile of excitement. Knowing, certainly, that absolutely nothing could knock her from the high that she was on, this morning, in Turbo's tender, masculine care, she took a long shower and pampered herself in the hour she had before the palace meeting. Thankful her phone was now clear of any messages from Gunner, like she demanded, she was absolutely well aware she'd have to deal with all of those repercussions eventually, and Bedgy was due for a phone call, she did whatever she could to blow-dry her beautiful blue hair and peer to her fresh self in the mirror with a smile, a fluttering, girly ease she was sure she never wanted to vanish. Although such a lovely, heavy feeling of love she was now eagerly sat with, she still felt caution inside of her heart, as if she was now anxiously looking over her shoulder, the sly, snaking sneak of heavy, world-altering emotion Turbo's coding now was swift to provide her with, a strange tsunami of feelings she couldn't control, the recent memory of blind rage she had, in the wrecking swing to Turbo's wall, flashed before her eyes in a soft sling of dreadful reminder.

Contemplating straightening her beautiful, wavy blue hair, she decided against it and shook her head. Heaviness still hung onto her fresh coding, and although it was something she could easily mope in, she felt her coding sit almost still in patient wait. Said coding was now cutely now harboring just decades of information, as if somehow Turbo's coding was prioritized into specific boxes and each one held such vast, different tiers of emotion, emotion she almost didn't even really know how to swallow. She closed her eyes and could almost picture the thousands of coded tiers of information, just promising her that there were surely nuggets of her questions answered, a far vaster, deeper understanding to Turbo's detrimental past, surely there were pieces of gold Turbo had long shoved away and forgot about; it were almost as if Turbo had given her access to his entire vault of an external hard drive, where he had stored decades of long-lost thoughts, memories, emotion, and it was all hers, ripe for the picking. Whether any of said tiers of information were to sit still and cooperate, or explode upon being kissed by one of her own natural emotions, had Berri treading lightly, as if it were all a poised, well-organized minefield of smiling chaos.

Realizing she was hung in the gape of her closet and her ears were kindly ringing due to the silence, she long-blinked in delirious remembrance and came back to the Arcade. She heaved an exasperated sigh and felt herself getting entirely lost in thought, more so than usual now that she had Turbo's precious coding. Soft, heavy memories of the hour prior so tenderly came back to kiss her on the forehead; the lurch of their bodies, the deep, reverberating groan of Turbo's irresistible voice, the healthy dose of coding initially given to her in the magnified, electrifying union they successfully joined in, Berri held her forehead and felt her face get hot. As her heart began to thud with desire, she caught herself, once again, staring off into space in the gape of her closet, the still-happening ringing of silence in her ears. She furrowed her eyebrows and felt the sweetest, heaviest scoop of an embrace, due to Turbo's coding, though with said heavy embrace came an even heavier desire to almost drown into it. Such a world of difference between the garnered years Turbo had successfully loaded Berri's body with, she lulled her eyes in a blink of curiosity and wondered if Turbo was potentially feeling the opposite. She finally shook her head firmly and began to force her hands to work through the clothes in her closet as she stood naked and prepared to dress herself for said impending palace meeting, she huffed a shaky breath and wondered how the hell she'd even concentrate through it.

Finally deciding to throw on a pair of lazy, faded, light blue skinny jeans with a few small tears in the knees, as well as a comfortable white t-shirt, she heaved a satisfied sigh and finally did what she could to press to her teleport pad without anymore stalling. She inhaled a deep, trembling breath as her teleport pad gently lit up, though she raised her eyebrows in prickled surprise as said holographic displays, before her, very kindly displayed her coding for how it was now; the lovely, rosey golds she now shared with Turbo. She held her breath and felt the weight of everything suddenly hit her, all at once. The Arcade's once hugest nightmare, the whole Arcade's most scariest lore of a bad guy, was now a part of her little system. Honored, struck with disbelief, hot with an almost delightful swathe of realized terror, she swallowed hard and understood that this was likely the hugest undertaking of the century. Being willing to download such a heavy loft of coding, such a loaded deck of information all into her fresh, new circuits, she exhaled a trembling breath and was continuously aware her thoughts were wildly free from her reign, from here on out. She sagged her finger to the rec-hall's teleport pad, knowing that everyone was meeting in said spot, for this palace meeting, though she desperately wondered just how she was going to successfully keep this all so close to the vest.

Upon gently blipping to the teleport pad, she eased off of it, as quickly as she could, so no one would see her rosey coding come to fruition. Successful with said endeavor, she kindly smiled and felt yet another weird wave of airy delight that so often now came and went. Typically sat in a very steady, normal state of being, now having Turbo's coding supplied her with so many different rushes of mood. Desperately trying to keep ahold of it all, whilst doing her best to not act so suspicious to her friends and family, here, she caught eyes with Ace and Theo, across the way. They smiled and nonchalantly waved to her as she crossed the lovely, glossy, sunny tiles of the rec-hall and into the massive living area, her eyes very quickly did what she could to gather just who was here, today. In a quick head count, she glossed her eyes past Ralph, Vanellope, Taffyta, Rancis, Tessa, Zed, Ace, Libby, Theo, Wren and, last but not least, Turbo. Feeling confident, it all sagged in a butterfly frenzy of girly defeat the second her eyes landed on Turbo's tall, handsome, masculine figure, as if every single last ounce of a pep talk the shred of his coding gave her, inside of her circuits and honeycombs, was now out the window. She held her breath as she dared to quietly approach the sprawl of bodies about the huge, swooping couch and extra seats of a sitting area, all easily gathered about the rec-halls huge, unlit fireplace.

Seemingly glowing, Turbo looked entirely different. Freshly showered, dressed in a light, soft cream t-shirt and a pair of darker grey jeans with a tear in one knee, strangely his features looked a bit more blissful, just a few pixels more lifted and sunny. As if he had somehow downloaded the light from the sun's rays into his coding, he very freely chit-chat with Rancis with a smile, his golden eyes were crisp and entirely alert, the boast of his adorably handsome smile, and prominent, sharp canines, was something he didn't show a big group so often. Berri was very well aware that the situations that played out last night, as well as the huge, life-altering act they both endured this morning, was beyond enough to give Turbo's ego the hugest stroke of his life, all whilst giving him a final kiss of crowned humility; he looked as if he was untouchable, which now had Berri further lost in thought. She very softly sat down at an empty seat on the couch and pondered just maybe how she physically looked to others, though this all very easily came to a head the hot second she realized just the being she sat down next to; the one that had been almost viciously eyeing her since she walked in.

"Alright, so... Don't take any of this the wrong way, but," Wren's very quiet mumbling was only audible to her, he leaned closer into her side as she tenderly sat down next to him, she raised her eyebrows in sweet, poised, collected surprise and eased her intelligent eye contact to Wren's as he pressed on in a dainty whisper of full snark, "Your coding looks really good on Turbo, and all, but damn, Berri..."

"What, what's wrong?" Berri whispered in a soft swathe of womanly nervousness, Wren eased her a sweet, cheeky little smirk and softened with the usher of his quiet compliment.

"I think you're ultimately the one who lucked out, the most," Wren huffed as quietly and as sincerely as he could; the whole group blurt out into laughter as Ralph cracked a joke, though Wren's and Berri's tender bubble remained muted in a soft vat of love Wren was adamant to secure to Berri's heart, "You look... REALLY beautiful, Bear. I mean it."

"... Oh, wow, thank you," Berri breathed in a soft show of entire, poised disbelief. She giggled in sweet, smiling, sunny delight that finally kissed her cheeks as she held her fingers to her sternum, "I-I LOOK different?"

"You both do, it's not drastic, you just... Both look as if you've gotten a coding upgrade, you BOTH are just glowing," Wren whispered in hot disbelief, as if he was surely prepared and would suspect they wouldn't make it out of the events of last night without swapping codes, though didn't expect it to look so grand upon arrival, "Like you both got a year's worth of beauty rest, or something, have you LOOKED in a mirror?"

"I have, I just..." Berri furrowed her brows and gave Wren a cute, snarky smile of girly disbelief, though their conversation very quickly fell to the wayside the second Zed stood and finally took the floor.

"Alright, guys, I appreciate you all meeting here with me and Tess, on such short notice," Zed instructed lightly, he wore a lazy button down and equally as lazy jeans, the whole group was airy and light-hearted, something Berri eagerly took note of. Usually palace meetings were a bit more daunting and not so breezy, she gently tucked one knee up to her chest, on the couch, hugged her knee softly and rested her chin on said tucked knee. She honed her patient eyes to her father and did what she could to not let her eyes find her fiancé, across the gape; sat with Rancis, she could easily feel his golden eyes on her figure in sly, sweet ogling. Zed heaved a soft chuckle and gently tossed his gaze over his shoulder, in Turbo's direction, which caused him to snap out of his silent ogling, "I think... It's safe to say we're all probably still beat, from last night, but I'm sure Wren, Theo, Berri and Turbo are far more exhausted than us."

"Yeah, last night was AWESOME," Vanellope pressed in a quiet hiss of fervor that still easily hung over everyone; Berri finally lifted a little and gave Wren a cute smile, one he easily shared with her as well.

"It was really great, guys," Ace sweetly encouraged with his usual, loving grin.

"TOTALLY magical," Libby hissed in girly, wistful delight.

"I agree, NONE of us saw that coming," Rancis choked a laugh as he gave the back of Turbo's shoulder a friendly pat, to which he scoffed with a knowing smile.

"It was incredible, and... You four need to know just how insanely proud we are of you," Tessa stated in soft, loving confidence, she specifically eyed her daughter and bobbed a nod, "Surely you guys are now in the trenches of drama, due to Gunner, but please don't let that spoil just how incredible last night really was."

"Yeah, have you guys heard from him?" Taffyta eagerly pressed as she sat up and peered to Berri in hot delight, as if to be fresh and ready for drama, and though Berri could see Turbo so tenderly shoot Berri a knowing look, as if to politely remind her that she didn't have to indulge if she didn't want to, Berri felt a gentle settle in her coding as she kindly opened her mouth to reply to her great aunt.

"Yeah, I have, he's... Well, he's definitely taking it a lot poorer than Turbo and I anticipated, but he's got a lot of insecurities and past troubles that really have clouded his judgement, thus far," Berri so eloquently stated, a dainty, womanly charm that radiated her, something that the whole crew hooked to, as if her presence here was irresistible, a fresh swathe of mature confidence that crowned her cheeks blushed, her bright eyes glossed about the group as she finally eased a nervous, snarky smile, "I-I... Tried reasoning with him, this morning, but he's BEEN in a bit of a weird headspace, as of late, and I told him that I think it's best we all have distance, from each other, from here on out."

The whole group was silent in Berri's seemingly Queenly press of gentle, cute authority she had laid over the group, and though everyone was quietly and suspiciously hooked to her, she sagged in sheepish, smiling nervousness and long-blinked in a flutter of girly shyness that came back to her cute blue eyes.

"I-I... Am sort of sore over it, it wasn't a very good conversation, unfortunately," Berri mumbled with a nervous smile, she desperately tried to keep-face, though Zed bobbed her a nod and furrowed his eyebrows.

"You're handling it very well, Bear, I'm impressed," Zed ushered, and though Turbo had whole suspicion that Zed knew of their escapades, earlier this morning, Turbo heaved a silent sigh and rubbed his face in now full understanding as Zed cheekily pressed on, "Surely you had Turbo to spot you, for that, right?"

"Moral support," Berri nervously quipped with a small smile she finally sent Turbo's way, he eased her a polite nod in return.

"Berri's right, he's... Definitely not in a good headspace," Turbo huffed a small laugh and shook his head, he beamed his sunny eyes to Zed's as Zed slowly looked over his shoulder, to peer to Turbo as well, "Sort of... Abandoned the show, and then turned it all around on Berri."

"Good grief, give me this guy's number," Ralph grunted as he cocked an eyebrow and shot his sweet grandaughter a protective look.

"I'm saying," Rancis muttered darkly, though Tessa gestured her hand to desperately now get off the topic of Gunner.

"GUNNER aside, you guys killed it last night, and... We'll be reeling for days, surely weeks," Tessa hissed in smiling delight as the group eagerly agreed with nods and smiles to all four band mates.

"AND, congrats to Turbo and Berri," Theo chimed with a nod as he gestured to the two, in accordance to their engagement; Berri raised her eyebrows in sweet surprise and looked down to her brand new ring in bashful, cute, adoring delight.

"Absolutely," Zed assured as the group murmured sweet notions towards the two, both Turbo and Berri sweetly caught eyes across their gap of a living room. Zed put his hands on his hips and eyed Turbo with a cheeky smile, to which he lofted his gaze to Tessa's, "That's been in the works for about a month, now?"

"No, dude, it's... It's been a WHILE," Rancis mumbled cutely as he eyed Zed, though everyone peered to him in confused curiosity as Rancis glanced to Turbo and pressed on, "The night that Berri was attacked by that deleter on the train cab? You remember, Bo..."

"Aw, yeah I remember that," Zed bobbed a nod and smiled down to his hands with the sweet memory, he eyed Turbo and cocked an eyebrow, "I guess THAT'S when I gave you my permission."

"Yes, sir," Turbo huffed a bashful chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck, to which Berri eased a shy giggle and hugged her knee a little tighter.

"You guys get engaged and then act like you hardly know each other?" Taffyta spout as she firmly gestured her hands towards the two, everyone erupted into sweet, knowing laughter, "At least ACT like you're due to getting married, you two are acting like he JUST asked you to be his girlfriend, or something!"

"It's a LOT," Berri managed to usher with a shy, blushing laugh, to which Tessa bobbed her aunt Taffyta a nod and gave her a sly side-eye.

"Last night was huge, it's a lot of information all at once, I'd have a hard time letting reality set in, as well, leave the two alone," Tessa stated with teasing authority, and though Berri and Turbo were absolutely certain that Tessa and Zed knew they now permanently shared codes, Berri was thrilled Tessa was doing what she could to get everyone off of their scent; she dared to shoot her mother a look of soft gratitude, and was further floored to see Tessa ease her a knowing wink.

"Due to last night, I called this palace meeting so suddenly because Tessa and I have been getting NONSTOP calls from Arcade's media and press," Zed directed, taking Tessa's cue, "As I'm sure Berri and crew have been, as well."

"All morning," Turbo muttered as he rubbed his face in subtle agitation, Berri, Wren and Theo bobbed nods of agreeing.

"Sugar Rush has now dealt with a HUGE influx of added gamers, due to this being all four of your guys' home-game," Zed softly volleyed his eyes to Turbo with a sweet smile, "And now, with added attention to the infamous Turbo, the palace has a swathe of Archived Chaos' fans at the front gates."

"... What?" Turbo hissed in hot surprise, he choked a soft laugh and peered to Berri, Wren and Theo, who all eagerly looked a bit more surprised, "I wasn't aware of THAT."

"Yeah, we've been sort of... Letting them come and go," Tessa huffed a small laugh and gave all four band members looks of apprehensive delight, "We KNEW you four would probably want your rest and privacy. We figured this palace meeting would be a good gauge to see if you would be willing to meet with some of the fans that came all this way to see you."

"It was a bit of a security issue, earlier, cause the front gates and plaza of the palace wasn't really prepared for such a crowd, but," Zed shrugged and gave everyone a look of certainty, "We got it all under control. I'm not sure if you four are ready to go on about just how to navigate THIS new shred of celebrity status, which... Unfortunately includes boundaries on fans that come and go, just when you visit people and when you close off."

"The reason it's inside a palace meeting is because, well... It involves ALL of us," Ralph stated calmly to the four, they hooked their eyes to Ralph in intent listening, "We ALL live here, save for Turbo. He's still connected, by proxy and by teleport pads, but... This effects all of us gamers that come and go. We just figured we'd all get together and make ground rules."

"Either we dedicate a proper meeting place, to compromise for publicity and palace-member's privacy, or..." Zed trailed off, raised his eyebrows in tender contemplation and shrugged, "We dedicate another area of the game where this kind of thing can take place, and the palace is off limits."

"I think, for the safety of everyone that didn't ASK for this lifestyle, we should respect everyone's privacy, here, and dedicate an area, offsite, for us to meet with our fans," Berri sweetly pressed, she sat up a bit straighter and almost dared to take a stand, though Zed still held the center of the meeting; she opted to scooting her rear to the edge of the cushion she sat on, to insinuate she had a shred of her father's floor, here, "I'm sure I speak for Wren, Theo and Turbo when I say that. None of you guys asked for this sudden kick of the public, right at our doors. It wouldn't be fair of us to just LET them approach the palace, like this."

"Agreed," Wren pressed, to which Theo bobbed a nod.

"Berri's right, it's really nice of you guys being willing to bend, but I'm positive there are some Sugar Rush racers that do not want this kind of attention," Turbo warmly laid his hand to his chest and scoffed a knowing laugh, "If it were me, and I wasn't involved at all, I'd definitely be irritated that the public was just outside my front door. I wouldn't feel as if I could come and go privately, respectfully."

"We discussed taking a little mini vacation elsewhere, shortly, anyhow," Berri freely admitted, she glanced to Wren and Theo with a nod, "A band getaway, to unwind and allow the hype to settle. With our absence, the palace will be free of our nonsense and that'll give mom and dad time to potentially conjure a proper place, inside Sugar Rush, for us to go about business as usual."

"We were thinking about being gone for about a week, anyhow," Turbo glued his eyes to Berri's, they operated in sync, a perfect, harmonious act of give and take, a sweet, cooperative movement that the whole room was just glued to, they very slowly began to own the floor, leaving Zed standing in the center of it, a blue orb of silence looking back and forth between Sugar Rush's future heads; something everyone began to eagerly cue to in the form of suspicious smiles, though Turbo pressed on in blissful unawares, "I think a week is definitely enough time. We also have to really sit down with Bedgy, and crew, before doing anything."

"It's a lot," Berri added, both her and Turbo fell into easy laughter with each other, to which Wren cocked an eyebrow and shot his mother a knowing look, something she eagerly caught to in the form of hot understanding, a gape of a curious smile.

"Off the top of your head, do you have any idea where said meeting spot should even be?" Zed stated in gentle curiosity; he could feel the stolen glances of cute bewilderment being shot across the gape, he raised his eyebrows and did what he could to mellow Turbo's and Berri's magnetic field.

"Yeah, actually, y'think there'd be a shred of an area maybe near Sugar Rush's entrance?" Turbo nonchalantly stated as he grunted to get to a stand, so he could pull his phone from his pocket, though while he was standing and thumbing through his phone, he freely cued up a few of his code room options, so he could get to a map of Sugar Rush's entrance. In doing so, he cued a shiny holographic map of said area, all proudly aglow with his and Berri's rosey coding; unbeknownst to the hot, raw fact in front of the whole meeting, he tenderly pressed on and innocently peered to Zed, "Like... Just so THEY don't have to travel so deep into the game to get to us? That'll really cut down on any security issues we come up against, yeah?"

"Yeah," Zed chimed with a cute, wide smile into Turbo's eyes; the group hung in now beaming, knowing delight as Turbo so innocently hovered. He long blinked in raw nervousness and now sagged his shoulders in continued, blissful unawares, though as Zed gestured to the map Turbo had open, he crowned a wider smile as the group began to quietly coo urgent, knowing notions towards Turbo, "Dude, I was doing EVERYTHING I could to keep you from spoiling your OWN secret, and you blew it."

"No WONDER you guys are acting so weird!" Rancis suddenly stabbed as he firmly pointed to Berri, she was scrunched with her hands so bashfully pressed into her face, though she eased a hard, shy giggle into her hands as Turbo now sagged in dumbfounded realization, to which his holographic display easily zipped away with his fresh glitching abilities.

"... Son of a bitch," Turbo muttered through the grit of his teeth, though he easily grinned the shyest smile he could as the group began to loudly and eagerly love on the two in a verbal mess of sweet, encouraging notions towards him and Berri.

"Oh thank GOD," Vanellope huffed as she pressed her hand to her chest and smiled to her granddaughter in cute delight, "I ALWAYS get so scared whenever a User-made gamer pairs off with a self-programmed gamer."

"It seems to be a trend," Ralph grumbled as he shot Tessa and Zed a playfully dirty look.

"Yeah, I had a sly inkling, Turbo was FAR too smiley, over there," Libby chimed in cuteness as she gave Turbo a sweet little side-eye of certain knowing.

"Annnd, here's the part of the meeting where everything derails," Taffyta choked a laugh and glanced her attention to Wren, who raised his eyebrows, bobbed a nod and shot a sneaky smile in Berri's direction.

"Alright, Mrs. Black, y'got Turbo to leave Sugar Rush, play in front of nearly sixteen thousand people with you, PROPOSE to you, annnnd... Give you his coding all in one night," Wren joked with a widening smile, "Just WHAT will you two do next?"

"This morning," Berri quietly mumbled, she cleared her throat and looked off, and though only a few people caught just what she meant, Wren furrowed his eyebrows and confusedly dart his eyes to Theo, who was cutely stifling laughter.

"... Wait, what? This morning, what does that mean," Wren muttered innocently.

"She was asleep when we got off the train, last night, remember?" Theo choked, everyone began to muffle knowing laughter.

"Ohh, this MORNING, hot off the PRESS, aren't we, now?" Wren cued with a wide, toothy grin as he shot his eager eyes to Turbo, across the way; he delicately tugged at his collar and huffed a trembling, smiling breath.

"Yeah, can we uh..." Turbo gestured his hand, long-blinked in delirious embarrassment and was thrilled Zed caught on and gave Turbo's shoulder a firm pat of understanding.

"Okay, no more private matters, moving on, let's not be nosey, but... I speak for everyone when I say," Zed hovered as everyone fell silent for a second; he gave Turbo a cheeky grin and eased a tender chuckle of relief, "Thank you for taking care. That's a risky situation."

"AND congrats," Tessa chimed, as everyone eagerly smiled and cooed positive notions towards the new, coded pair; Turbo huffed a shaky chuckle and bashfully gave Berri a cute smile, in which she sweetly returned.

"Berri, I think you need to look MORE shy about it," Ace joked with a hearty laugh, to which everyone drew their tight attention to Berri's wildly blushing face and cued to Ace's laughter. She eased a wide, shy grin and firmly covered her face, once more, as Libby gently elbowed Ace's chest and gave him a teasing smile, as if to ask him to knock it off. Ace shrugged and eased both Turbo and Berri a kind, conclusory notion, "Jokes aside, what mom said... Congratulations, you guys."

"Thank you," Berri meeped with a shy huff of a giggle as she did what he could to tidy her hair, she bashfully glanced in Turbo's direction and felt overwhelmed with smiling glee as everyone peered to the two in sweet delight.

"Thanks, everyone," Turbo eased with an equally as shy smile, though he raised his eyebrows and gave Zed a knowing look, "Back to... The topic at hand?"

"Before you gave yourself away?" Vanellope muttered teasingly, the group was still alive with understanding laughter.

"I'm just gunna," Turbo grunted as he took a few steps back and returned to his spot next to Rancis, "Sit... Down..."

"Aw, next to me?" Rancis prod, he raised his eyebrows and furthered this notion of teasing towards the palace's brand new swapped pair, he gave Berri a cute, cheeky look and gestured out to her, across the way, "Methinks you should go sit with your bride, friend."

"Trade'yah," Wren chimed cutely as he firmly stood and began to cross the meeting, everyone eased in knowing laughter as Turbo finally scoffed a defeated noise amidst a knowing smile, passed Wren in a firm few pats of understanding and finally made his way to Berri's positioning across the stretch of the meeting.

"Fancy meeting you here," Turbo mumbled down to Berri, he carefully sat down next to her and, although she was still scrunched in shyness, she eased up a little as Turbo sagged his arm about her back and squeezed her into a confident side-hug.

"Likewise," Berri's smile widened as they caught eyes, she scoot a little closer to Turbo and rested in his tame and comfortable side-embrace.

"You two showed up separately and everything," Zed mumbled cutely to Turbo, he eased a wide, annoyed grin and looked down to his lap in whole defeat as Zed eyed him and began to cue up his own code room holographic displays, proudly shining with his and Tessa's lovely, silver coding, "Almost got away with it."

"Good effort," Ralph volleyed to Turbo with a nod of genuine compliment, Turbo bobbed Ralph a nod, eased an annoyed smile and rolled his eyes.

"Woulda'been discovered eventually, anyways," Turbo mumbled, to which Zed cocked an eyebrow and gave Turbo a knowing look, and although Zed wanted to persist with said teasing, he was well aware he'd have a proper chance to chat with Turbo privately, after the meeting; something that Turbo was now prickled with concern, over, the sheer fact that everyone seemed so lighthearted about said code-swapping finalization, he eyed Sugar Rush's King as he carried on with the meeting, Turbo's heart properly began to thud in blind concern as to just what was to come.


	195. Chapter 195

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Indeed! :D Thanks so much!

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **One of the Family by Henry Jackman**

* * *

 ***Chapter 195***

In the stillness of Sugar Rush's warm, midday sun, Turbo and Zed quietly strolled from the rec-hall and down the single, long, white-stoned path that eventually lead to the stretch of an outdoor corridor that cut the palace lot in half, sunny, pristine, white arches that eventually lead to the palace's main hub of a kitchen. Turbo nervously sagged his hands into his jean's pockets and glanced in Zed's direction. With the glint of sunshine that glowed down onto Zed's brilliant blue hair, Turbo felt his brand new coding swirl in agitated, energetic nervousness. He softly peered about Sugar Rush's glorious, green, early summer grass, the warm breeze that so softly whisked their hair and clothes about in a stir of movement, Turbo patiently hung in Zed's silence and was well aware Zed was simply waiting to speak up once they were far enough away from the rec-hall, where a few people lingered and mostly everyone dispersed from. Once half way into the nearly one-fourth of a mile stretch down said sunny pathway through the grass, Turbo finally inhaled a shaky, deep breath and felt Berri's energetic bravery soak his once fragile, timid honeycombs.

"Sir, I'm... Being honest, here, I'm sort of nervous for this conversation," Turbo eased quietly, a sneaky, brave smile of almost snarky agitation, Zed finally shook his head and popped out of his seemingly clouded thoughts.

"I'm sorry, Turbo, I just have a bit on my mind," Zed mumbled warmly, he gave Turbo a gentle smile and softened as Turbo furthered said show of vulnerability.

"I'm not like... In trouble, or anything, am I?" Turbo rested his hand to his chest and was sure swapping with Berri, after asking for her hand in marriage, and everything last night entailed, would be something that Zed would've seen coming from a million miles away. Turbo pressed on in mild defense, "Sir, you... You KNOW I'd take a bullet outside of Sugar Rush for that incredible woman, right?"

"No, no, you're not in trouble, forgive me," Zed huffed a small laugh and lovingly pat Turbo's upper back, a swift gesture of reassurance that had Turbo immediately dropping his defenses, "I just wanted to speak to you on something rather sensitive. A warning, I guess."

"Warning?" Turbo wondered, though he was thrilled both men scuffed to a halt underneath the shade of a nearby tree, still steadfast on their wide, white-stoned path. Turbo eyed Zed in a new branch of nervousness and shook his head, "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, I wanted to originally just bring you back to mine and Tessa's tower to chat, but I just don't want Tessa to be present for this conversation," Zed started, he inhaled a deep breath and softly peered into Turbo's golden eyes. Although glued to his in apprehensive alertness, Zed almost faltered a bewildered breath at just how wildly alive Turbo continued to look, now. The sweet, energetic youthfulness of Berri's coding, now permanently embedded into Turbo's, was beyond palpable, a fresh, lovely new look for him, Zed couldn't help but give Turbo a warm smile of knowing welcome. He finally scoffed a small laugh down to his feet and shook his head, "I know I already said this, in the meeting, but... Seriously... Thank you for, well... Bringing Berri out of said debacle in one piece. I know that opposed-code swap well."

"Opposed codes," Turbo huffed a shaky laugh and bobbed a nod, "I didn't believe you, but, you were right. The scariest shit I've ever had control of."

"Terrifying," Zed heaved a trembling laugh as both boys quietly joined in tender agreeing.

"It was my honor," Turbo chirped gently as he looked off in shy gentlemanliness, "My job to protect the royal family."

"Heard," Zed bugged his eyes and continued to peer down to his feet in nervous delight, though he finally narrowed his eyes and eased his tender gaze into Turbo's, a raw shred of vulnerability both men fell into, "Bud, this question is going to be personal, but I just have to ask. Do you and Berri plan on having children?"

Turbo raised his eyebrows and felt his heart begin to thud in raw concern, the look on Zed's face didn't read curious, grandfatherly delight, though more impending dread. Turbo huffed a faltered, silent breath and almost was really quick to answer, though he hovered for a moment. The familiarity of Zed's anticipatory, nervous gaze, facial features that mocked Berri's to a T, his quiet demeanor so patiently awaited Turbo's answer, something Turbo was now certain was detrimental information.

"Yes, sir," Turbo assured gently, "I-I mean... Not ANY time soon, but, if I'm being honest, we briefly discussed it this morning and she was receptive. Never thought in a million years I'd EVER want a child of my own, but... I love Berri, and... She'd make a wonderful mother."

"She would," Zed gently agreed, Turbo furrowed his brow in now full apprehension.

"Why? What's wrong?" Turbo worried, "S-Sure, I'm... Maybe strange looking, but y'think maybe our children would-"

"No, no, I'm not concerned about that, I'm positive whatever children you two had would be beautiful," Zed choked a soft laugh and flagged his hand in warm, kind dismissal, "I'm... I'm mentioning this because last night, when we all got home, to just give myself peace of mind, I checked to see if you had swapped your's and Berri's source coding."

"Yes, sir," Turbo eased in a neutral air of warm understanding.

"... Turbo, I stumbled across an alter-ego that you seemingly had made for Berri," Zed cautiously pressed, to which Turbo raised his eyebrows in embarrassed discovery and now nervously looked off. Zed eased a gentle chuckle and grappled Turbo's shoulder in fatherly warmth, "Turbo, you're NOT in trouble."

"I-I'm sorry," Turbo choked a laugh and gave Zed a pleading look of cute apprehension, though Zed firmly shook his head.

"I'm not saying any of this to be nosey, what you two do is YOUR business, I just... Noticed she had this extra alter attached to her exterior appearance coding and, I wanted to... Well... Warn you," Zed instructed as he finally gave Turbo's shoulder a squeeze and released him.

"Warn me?" Turbo worried, "I... I made her that disguise so she could freely leave her tours without being noticed by fans or anyone. She confided in me once upon a time, she felt as if she needed to getaway and such."

"Oh, I understand entirely, you're well aware of my alter," Zed stated freely, he hooked his eyes to Turbo's in gentle nervousness, "Turbo, I'm telling you all of this because... Before Sugar Rush was won, when we all lived in Dead Zed, Tessa and I ditched a castle meeting, set up by Ralph and Vanellope, and I was in my alter's coding."

Turbo bobbed a nod and hooked his attention tight to Zed's in soft, nervous curiosity as Zed's broad chest expanded with a nervous inhale.

"In the heat of ditching and rebelling, Tessa and I had this brilliant idea to potentially try for another baby, at that time," Zed pressed calmly, "And, it worked... We had successfully coded a baby, before Berri, but because I was in my alter, the coding wasn't strong enough and Tessa miscarried the next morning."

Turbo sagged his shoulders in soft sorrow and urgently peered his slope of a frowning expression tight to Zed's fatherly eyes, so full of care and protection; Turbo heaved a shaky breath, shook his head and looked off, "Sir, I'm... So sorry."

"It really devastated Tessa, she REALLY wanted another baby," Zed tenderly carried on, "I just wanted to warn you. Don't swap codes with Berri, in that disguise, if she tells you she wants a child with you. Tessa still hasn't really recovered from the event, and though we eventually coded Berri and all's well that end's well, it's..."

"Still a huge loss," Turbo eased in tenderness, he bobbed a soft nod and gave Zed a sorrowful look of whole dismay, "I'm really sorry that happened... And, I appreciate you warning me. I would've never considered..."

"Nor I, we thought it was fun and rebellious and different," Zed shrugged, he choked a laugh and shook his head, "Thought we got to have our cake and eat it too. Outside of that, sure, have fun. Inside a detrimental, life-altering decision? Normal coding, please."

"Will do," Turbo assured with a shaky, nervous chuckle, "User, you genuinely had me SO scared, I thought I had done something wrong."

"I'd rather rattle you here and now, instead of the universe rattling you and Berri later with trauma that will take a lifetime to overcome," Zed stated through a trembling sigh and an equally as shaky chuckle as he looked down to his feet, "Don't rush to have children. Just log that information away for the future. I WAS going to just text you, but I figured..."

"Yeah, this was better reserved for a physical conversation, I appreciate it," Turbo bobbed a nod, he looked off across the palace's sunny, grassy lot and eased a wide smile as he noticed the palace's dragons now moseying out to the sprawl of fields to lazily sunbathe, far across the way.

"Anytime," Zed stated in genuine, loving warmth, "I'm proud of you guys. Welcome to the family, OFFICIALLY."

"Thank you," Turbo smiled a bright, revived smile and nodded, "These glitching powers are SO much different than the older, more rudimentary glitching powers Libby Swirlz had. So much more fluid and graceful."

"And the wrecking?" Zed wondered in prickled cuteness, he eyed Turbo, "You know Ralph is going to want to take you and all of us other wreckers on a field trip to the candy cane forest."

"Yeah?" Turbo wondered as he furrowed his brow in soft, eager surprise.

"Yep, he amps up for new wreckers added to the group," Zed nodded, "He did so for Emery, for Nox, he taught Ace and Libby everything he knows, Beaux and Mara... He'll be comin' for yah, I promise. Especially since he hasn't had nearly as much time, with Berri and Theo, as he'd like."

"I'd love that," Turbo pressed, though Zed eyed him in soft suspicion.

"How's Berri handling the time-warping?" Zed wondered delicately, though Turbo shrugged and so shyly gave Zed an apprehensive look of cheekiness.

"It's... Well..." Turbo choked a laugh as Zed furrowed his brow in soft curiosity, though Turbo bravely pressed on and shyly looked down to his feet, "It's only been a little over an hour, sir."

"... User," Zed blurt a hard laugh, scrunched his eyes tight, shook his head and finally tossed his gaze out across the stretch of field, "Alright, I'll ask later. I just always am curious to see how other gamers handle glitching and wrecking alongside ANOTHER power. Like Nox and Koko, for instance."

"Oh, Nox and his invisibility powers," Turbo pressed warmly, Zed nodded and inhaled a deep breath.

"Always cool to see just what's going to come about," Zed eased, he finally eyed Turbo in cute delight and was glad their bubble of warmth was secured in unwavering love, "Well, congratulations, again. Tessa is over the moon, by the way."

"She's the best," Turbo so tenderly eased with a kind smile, though as the two fell into a moment of gentle silence, nothing but the rustling of the tree's leaves overhead, Turbo furrowed his eyebrows and felt his mind trickle back to Lash, and that whole predicament. Turbo inhaled a trembling breath and knew he had to get this issue off of his chest, once and for all, "Sir, I... I have to be honest with you."

"What's up?" Zed wondered gently, he furrowed his brow in a revisit of concern and held his attention tight to Turbo's disposition, which was now sagging with obvious inner turmoil.

"Sir, I... I did something last night that I KNOW you won't like, or agree with," Turbo pressed shakily, he glued his golden eyes to Zed's and interjected a quick notion of assurance, "It has nothing to do with Berri."

"My first thought," Zed mumbled, he bobbed a nod and ushered Turbo an anticipatory look of undivided attention given.

"Zed, when... I left Sugar Rush, to come to Arcadia, I... I made a very risky decision and left Lash unbubbled," Turbo admitted in full guilt, he nervously peered into Zed's eyes and felt his stomach clench the second Zed's gentle, understanding gaze began to just barely sharpen to that of stern, disappointed authority. Turbo felt a wiggle of nervousness come over him. Never in his life had he ever understood fatherly authority, nor hand any parents, and although Zed was similarly in the same boat, Turbo was well aware he had fathered two children, and with said stern look in his icy blue eyes, Turbo immediately felt lobbed in with Berri and Ace, in this respect. Turbo faltered on a few shaky words as Zed's stern, unwavering gaze held strict to Turbo's depleting aura, "I... Am fully aware I should've either asked, or bubbled him and saved said risk for another day, outside of my escapade to Arcadia but-"

"You proud of that decision, son?" Zed wondered curtly, though still swathed in love, it was clear to Turbo that the King's crown wasn't due to be handed over any time soon.

"No," Turbo admitted, he fiddled his fingers, inhaled a shaky breath and looked down, "I'm... Well aware that if Lash maybe had his previous, terrible intentions and the will to worm about his restrictions, that could've... Been..."

"An entire disaster," Zed finished, his tone still curt and complete; Turbo immediately threw in the towel and bobbed a nod, "Can you explain to me your thought process, there, please?"

Turbo felt a weird switch up happen; although he had hung his head in defeat and was due to allowing Zed to now steamroll over him, Turbo felt his nervous, golden eyes hone tight to Zed's in curiosity that warmed from death. Piqued in soft, prodding concern, Turbo raised a grey eyebrow just barely and peered into Zed's stern eyes in renewed courage that came trickling into his new, rosey-blushed coding. Now in a delicate, proverbial reach for the towel he had just defeatedly tossed into the ring, he inhaled a shaky breath and felt Zed's presence eke a very fair playing field of genuine question. Having strictly assumed that Zed's previous inquiry for Turbo to explain himself was rhetorical and patronizing, Turbo relayed his words and tone, once more, and very quickly realized this was a genuine man-to-man question. With rushing purpose that came back to Turbo's skin, he quickly inhaled a confident breath and was swift to volley into mature conversing with his impending father-in-law.

"Yes, sir. If I'm being honest, I didn't have much thought process," Turbo choked nervously, he tried to straighten his posture and remain confident underneath Zed's gooey, Kingly sap of dominance, "Chester, well... Had just roughed me up, and I made a knee-jerk decision to leave. Right before I left, I told Lash that I'm leaving him unbubbled, and... Well..."

"... You made him swear not to tell anyone," Zed wondered gently, Turbo heaved a shaky breath of a chuckle, bobbed a nod and now nervously looked across the sunny field they were lost in; all six flyers were lazily sprawled in the grass, as still as could be. Zed looked down to his hands, inhaled a long, deep breath and tried not to be mad at his daughter's brand new extension of coding. He long-blinked in soft contemplation and pressed on, "Turbo, do you trust Lash? If... We were to give him back full gamer rights and allow him everything, would you be worried?"

"Mildly," Turbo admitted, he grimaced and shook his head, "He's strangely softened, lately. It's... It's because of Berri. They've fallen into this sibling-hood that I'm quite enjoying watching unfold. He really loves her."

"Seems to be a trend," Zed muttered as he gave Turbo a knowing look, which finally got a wide, relinquished, genuine smile out of Turbo; both men shared in smiling fervor before softly settling, "I haven't been around Lash, for awhile. I've left him in your care, and though you made an extremely risky move, there, I'm... Delightfully surprised."

"Yeah, I came back home and he was just watching tv, eating dinner," Turbo shrugged, "Nearly climbed all over me for answers, cause he watched the whole concert."

"Oh, he did?" Zed wondered, Turbo bugged his eyes and bobbed a nod.

"Ho yeah, it's the main reason I left. I went to Berri's tower to pick Chester up, and when I came back I saw that Lash had the channel changed to the media coverage at Arcadia," Turbo gently explained, "I got mad and selfishly explained that I didn't want to watch it, cause... Y'know... And, I went on about how I didn't like Gunner and Chester had had enough of me, so..."

"Lash wanted to watch it, though," Zed pressed softly, Turbo nodded and smiled down to his feet.

"He said he wanted to do what he could to support Berri," Turbo softened, "He sees just how much I love her. How much she means to me. He... May be a lost boy trying to find his way back, but with that guy... Family is forever. And there's no wavering him from it."

Zed long-blinked in further softening, heaved a grumbly sigh and looked off across the field, the green grass set ablaze by Sugar Rush's confident sun, every tower and tree to the palace's name glowed with Zed's pride. His strong chest inhaled the whisk of a breeze that flit by, and as he swallowed all of the information, he finally brought his eyes back to Turbo and gave him a nervous smile.

"Alright, my guy... I'm trusting your judgement, here," Zed started cautiously, "We want to do what we can to make it so Lash can prove himself, can earn back trust like you have... Like I have, like Rancis has, Ralph has... Every bad guy that has graced Sugar Rush's grounds has been given a chance to do right by the people they love."

"You want ME to make a decision here, for Lash's privileges?" Turbo staggered nervously as he rested his hand to his own broad chest, Zed bobbed a confident nod.

"You're due to being a Prince, alongside Ace and Oliver, which includes Beaux and Theo by coded-proxy," Zed instructed, "Of any huge decision making, ultimately the final say goes to my Queen, but... Princes and Princesses are next on that tier."

Turbo softened and glanced into Zed's eyes, still stern with authority but kissed with that fatherly grace Turbo was unfamiliar to. Sagged in every fiber of Zed's cautious, careful, relentless love, Turbo bobbed a nod and understood just how important this all was. Although Turbo was well aware the King's Knights were easily next on said totem, he scoffed in delight at the sheer fact that he had been diligently promoted, here, by Zed himself. Turbo smiled and returned his grateful, humble gaze back to Zed's.

"Your word?" Zed wondered gently, his Kingly gaze held unwavering to Turbo's in kind, though apprehensive delight, an honor Turbo was well aware he was being graced with.

"... I'm in the beginning stages of planning a week-long getaway with Berri and the band, maybe all of my brothers and their spouses," Turbo confidently pressed, "My plan was to potentially take them to Sugar Sun Island, just to recuperate and unwind from the band's tour and everything in between. Why don't we take that week as a test run, for Lash? Give him full privileges, he can go anywhere and do anything. Maybe make it so he can't teleport anywhere he wants, but... Really give him freedom and see what he does with it."

"Why don't we compromise," Zed started with a cheeky smile as he nervously looked off, "Why don't we give him all of his privileges but limit him to Sugar Sun Island? Gives him a taste of his freedom, gives Tessa and I peace of mind. Baby steps... Do you think we could start there?"

"Yes, sir," Turbo concluded with a soft smile of gracious relief.

"If he behaves for that week, we can begin discussing further action, from there," Zed eased with a nod as he crossed his arms, "With all of this deleter crap going on, and the insane amount of information he has tied back to Aroq and Tron, I think... We have to be extremely careful. I think we need to keep this close to the vest, make clear to him that his leash will be loosened and nothing more. Don't give him an opportunity to bat his lashes and play nice if he knows the end goal will ultimately be that he's let go of entirely."

"Will do," Turbo agreed, though he softened and gave Zed an unsure look of cute, humble concern, "Zed, if it's not too much to ask... For whatever week we pick to have said staycation, do you think I could request I have the week free from work? Or... Would you rather me check in while I'm away?"

"No, you... You take that week for yourself, dude, take two if you want," Zed huffed a small laugh with a wide, sweet smile, he lovingly pat Turbo's upper arm and bobbed him a nod of whole certainty, "You deserve it, okay? You just take that time to relax and keep an eye on Lash and have fun. Tessa and I will be just fine, we have Rancis as well as Ace and Libby for back up. Ace isn't typically too gung-ho about royal responsibilities, but he has streaks every now and then where he wants to nose around and take part. I'll let him have a hand in things, for the two weeks you're off."

"Thank you," Turbo eased with a smile of whole gratitude, a sigh of relief and a nod, though Zed tilted his head and gained eye contact with Turbo, once more.

"Bud, y'know you can always ask for time off if you need it," Zed choked a laugh as Turbo grinned and looked down, once more, "You've been at it since, well... Since Berri was born. I don't think you've ever taken a proper vacation unless we've scheduled it for you."

"I liked to just keep going," Turbo mumbled cutely, he shook his head and shrugged, "Things are different, now."

"You have a new coded family member to prioritize, now," Zed cued knowingly, to which Turbo heaved a long, satisfied sigh and nodded in agreeing.

"Feels good," Turbo concluded softly as both men caught gazes, once more. He smiled and was thrilled to have had this alone time with Berri's father, a closer insight into just the role he'd be eventually stepping into, "Thanks for listening to me, and such. I always appreciate it."

"I'm always here for my family, no matter what," Zed stated in firm, loving adamance, "Just let me know the dates you guys will be gone, your only job during that time is to just relax and have fun."

"And babysit Lash," Turbo mumbled playfully, to which Zed side-eyed Turbo in knowing cheek and grinned.

"Well, likely not, he seems to be just fine on his own, as of yesterday," Zed cued in a teasing show of stern certainty, and though Turbo was aware they were now on the same page, Turbo diligently reminded himself to never try and fly under Zed's radar ever again.

* * *

 **A/N :** Hey all I'm sure you're likely aware of it right now, but I feel the need to just clarify. Although major, important stuff has happened within the last half-dozen or so chapters and etc., I wrote Chapters 170-203(ish) whilst I was on my 3 month c*vid leave, and on said leave with ALL the time in the world, I busted out chapters that could potentially be filler-type or slow moving. I'm not apologizing for it, because I very much enjoyed my time off and I was able to slow down and really ponder a topic about emotion and mental health, with my precious characters, that I likely wouldn't have honed in on otherwise. I just want to make clear that these next 10 or so chapters are slower moving and magnify new hurdles that Berri and Turbo have to deal with upon their fresh union. All things I personally found interesting and wanted to explore. Things do, indeed, heavily pick up after chapter 205 or so, major plot points crop up and etc. I'll be posting spoilers for all of that below, so if you're interested in what exactly is to come, then read on! If not, see you soon and thanks for reading! :D

 ***SPOILER WARNING***

 **Turbobros, and Berri, explore new eye colors, which correspond to certain emotion, that crop up unexpectedly and reveals more about their past.**

 **Turbo and crew leaves Sugar Rush once more and results in a fun night out, though worry of Gunner popping up always is a possibility**

 **Ralph teaches Turbo to wreck - lots of funny exposition between Turbo, Zed and Ralph**

 **The crew play an encore at Arcadia, in which a celebratory meet'n'greet, inside a certain game inside Arcadia, goes absolutely awry and furthers deleter plot**

 **Tatum and Theo get a spicy chapter, or two (she shows off her wings!/explains more about her species which is important info for the 5th story)**

 **The crew goes on said much needed vacation in which Gunner briefly gets involved in**

 **A certain someone may or may not get their eyesight fixed**

 **And YES - Turbo, Zed and Vanellope race!**


	196. Chapter 196

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** Thanks so much friend!

 **Nikki Firesong :** Thank you! And yes, Chessy is a good boy :) I appreciate all your kind words. I ADORE SU. So much. I think the movies and the show to follow were a bit much, but I adored the original show for what it was. Aroq is an extra from Excite Bike, he had a VERY tiny one-chapter role in Defying Code, but his role expands in this story. He's insanely smart, almost too much for his own good. You learn a bit more about him. Not every bad guy successfully falls into the redemption arc, in this story. I'm excited to further explore that in this story, as well as the 5th. ESPECIALLY the 5th, I'd say. The villain in the 5th story ties in with OOTB, everything weaves together intricately, though on a more pulled back scale. I'm excited to delve into that with you guys! And YES! The cover for OOTB definitely is one big spoiler in of itself, being they're overlooking Vidrix.

 **chuckiboo :** It makes my heart soar every single time these notions are brought to my attention. The sheer fact that I'm not the only one invested in the growth of my babes. It REALLY means the world to me that it is obvious, and that the real-time growth of my characters is appreciated by my readers. I'm happy to make characters that aren't stagnant, and that have flaws and become the best versions of themselves, but what makes this whole journey entirely worth while is when it's noted, remembered, and cherished. Seriously, thank you. From the bottom of my heart.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Senses by Equippers Revolution**

* * *

 ***Chapter 196***

As Turbo and Zed parted ways and eased in different directions of the palace lot, Turbo's moseying footsteps began to press towards Berri's glowing tower. A white, glistening spire of shiny windows and lovely architecture, Turbo's golden eyes caught with the gang nonchalantly making their way out of the tower's front door, from across the gap. Turbo easily spot Berri, Theo, Wren, Throttle and Tatum, and with an easy smile, he quietly pressed on towards them and diligently began to reply to Lash's text message, in the process. Although the last twenty four hours was a handful of chaos he still needed time to bounce back from, he felt an easy swathe of love gloss him with an eternity of camaraderie. The easy going, lovely kiss of Berri's coding snug tight to his, the beautiful, proverbial embrace of now never feeling alone, he could feel the pep in his step so desperately beg him to break out into a sunny skip, though he shyly refrained. As his feet crossed the much larger, heftier teleport pad about two dozen feet from Berri's tower's front stoop and porch, his bare feet finally scuffed to a gentle stop in the grass as the group, on said front porch, began to slowly spill down the stairs and head for Turbo's figure, said group was a wild, happy, chatty mess of cuteness.

"Do YOU, Mr. Turbo Black, take Berri Kalivar to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Wren cheekily called as they all closed the gap, and though Wren was well aware Turbo's answer, Turbo broadened his golden gaze to the lovely group closing in on him and honed in to Berri's gorgeous, whole being with great admiration.

"I do," Turbo volleyed in sweet, gentlemanly confidence, to which Tatum cooed into a mess of cupped hands and gooey notions of romantic delight towards the two.

"Dammit, I wish I was ordained," Wren muttered as he rubbed his blonde, scruffy chin, they all sagged into each other's bubbles, though Berri didn't stop until she was sagged into Turbo's gooey embrace about his midsection.

"Just heard the news," Throttle stated in smiling, cute delight as him and Turbo caught eyes, he pat Turbo's upper arm as said arms came about Berri's shoulders, "Congratulations on the new coding, you two."

"Thank you," Turbo pressed in bashful warmth as Berri shyly pressed her face into Turbo's chest, a wide grin of cute, sunny delight was the only thing the fresh pair now fully radiated.

"We told Tatum and Throttle about how you spoiled it to the whole palace meeting," Berri muttered in teasing annoyance, and as the two softly gummed out of their loving embrace, Wren and Theo were rocketed into knowing laughter.

"That was so funny," Theo freely chuckled, to which Wren bobbed a nod.

"I'm sure you were mortified," Tatum giggled, she pressed her hands to her cheeks and shook her head, "What did King Zed say?"

"I think him and Tessa knew all along," Turbo rolled his eyes, still a smiling mess as him and Berri's hands and fingers intertwined in easy love as they stood next to each other, he volleyed his sweet, gentlemanly gaze into Berri's smiling, expectant eyes, "It's fine... Kind of to be expected, I'd say. I proposed to the woman, for User's sake."

"Yeah, I'd be shocked if Zed was upset, or anything," Throttle shook his head and was floored at their lovely, solid disposition, their confident auras that so easily radiated love for the other, their palpable camaraderie was contagious and bright, an irresistible splash of color that was difficult to peel from.

"Well, guys, we... Have QUITE a bit to discuss," Turbo stated through a hard, long sigh as he finally glossed his eyes about his little group of immediate friends and new family, he bobbed a nod and inhaled a deep breath, "Zed and I just had a good, important talk I'd like to break down, to you guys. Also... Berri and I were previously discussing a bit of a getaway, for all of us."

"I would kill for a vacation," Wren grumbled as he rubbed his cheeks in still exhausted defeat, Theo bobbed a nod, bugged his eyes and looked down.

"Yeah, after last night, I feel REALLY bad for you three," Turbo gestured to Berri, Wren and Theo, though he glossed his eyes to Throttle in understanding, as well, "Well, all of you guys, really. Even you, Tee... You guys have been going for WEEKS now."

"Dat concert life," Tatum muttered in whole understanding of said exhaustion, to which Turbo gestured to her, as well.

"Yeah, I think we all understand, in some form, here... You guys deserve a break," Turbo ushered with a nod, though he returned his gaze to Throttle, "This plan, of mine, includes an important task for Lash, and... I'm going to need your guy's help."

"We're here for you," Wren stated in confidence as he bobbed a nod and crossed his arms, and as him and Turbo caught eyes in the swell of sunshine they were hovered in, Wren pressed on in further fervor, "Let's get discussing, then, should we get settled somewhere for said talk?"

"Yeah, let's...Let's head back to my place," Turbo encouraged as he gestured behind himself, to the larger outdoor teleport pad that hovered in wait.

"Y-You... You guys want me to come, as well?" Tatum pressed in cautious, concerned delight, and though Turbo was ultimately the end-all of decision making, when it came to just who entered his home, Turbo kindly volleyed his gaze to Theo and bobbed a cute nod of soft agreeing.

"Of course, you've been adopted into the chaos, right? You understand what's up and what all of this mess entails, yeah?" Turbo pressed sweetly, to which Theo bobbed a nod of solid encouragement; Tatum brightened in a show of joyful surprise.

"Yeah, we filled her in on everything Lash-related," Theo assured in a mumble of cheeky caution, Wren rubbed his face in agitation and shook his head.

"TOOK like two hours, but yes, she's up to speed," Wren muttered with a laugh, and as everyone piled onto the teleport pad, they squeezed into the mess as Turbo cued up the teleport pad in his tower's front door foyer.

"Yeah, I'd say the drama that this whole palace lot contains of could just go on forever," Turbo mumbled cutely as the whole group was whisked away to Turbos lovely foyer, calm and still, though Tatum flinched in surprise and held her head.

"Whoaaa... Altitude change," Tatum muttered as she opened her jaw a little, to pop her ears; Turbo shot her a sheepish smile as everyone slowly collected at the wall of Turbo's front door.

"Oh, sorry, I... Forgot to warn you," Turbo gently pat Tatum's little shoulder and gave her a concerned smile, "We're sixty four floors up. Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah I'm fine, it was just sudden," Tatum giggled, though as Turbo cued his palm of his fresh, new coding inside of his quick, beautiful glitching abilities, he unlocked his front door with his rosey coding, alone, and sagged his shoulders in kind relief as his front door began to heavily slide open.

"So freaking cool that you're a glitch and a wrecker, now, like me," Theo mumbled in cute, boyish delight as him and Turbo caught eyes with knowing smiles.

"Wild, right?" Turbo beamed, and as everyone slowly sagged inside and gathered about Turbo's kitchen island in lazy, moseying nonchalance, Tatum's curious eyes wandered in stunned delight, this being the first time she had ever been in Turbo's home.

"Holy User, you LIVE here?" Tatum pressed with a shaky giggle, her eyes drew to the gorgeous view from out beyond his wall of glass, in his living room, and though she pointed to the palace, on the sunny horizon, she narrowed her gaze in genuine confusion and shook her head, "Whoa, wait, what structure is that?"

"That's the palace," Theo cued, his eager, emerald eyes hooked to her disposition in wild curiosity as she gape and suddenly stabbed her intense, shocked fervor to Theo's; everyone easily blurt into soft laughter as she shot her attention to Berri and then Turbo.

"Wait, WHAT?" Tatum huffed in a shriek of cute surprise, Berri bobbed a nod, grinned and waggled her eyebrows.

"I know, I'm still not over it, even after all this time," Berri cutely mumbled to Tatum as they stood close to one another; as they all gathered about Turbo's clean, large kitchen island, his loft aglow with the noon sun, Turbo hovered in the main part of his kitchen, against the island and gestured out to everyone as they finally hooked their eyes to their future King.

"Alright, guys, we have... A WORLD of stuff to talk about, so let's list 'em and go down the line," Turbo held up his finger in preparation to compile a list with everyone, "First thing's first, I wanted to discuss the idea of our little getaway, who it entails and the fact that Lash is invited."

"Okay, so that's first, second is... We should discuss the phone call I got from Bedgy a few hours ago," Wren sharply stated as he easily held up two fingers, in conclusion to Turbo's started list, as well.

"Oh, Bedgy called you?" Turbo pressed in surprise, though he side-eyed Berri and choked a nervous laugh, "Wanna tell everyone just who WE called?"

"Gunner," Berri muttered as she lulled her eyes closed in heated dread, everyone jolted in surprise.

"What'd he say?" Theo hissed in shock, though Turbo huffed a laugh as him and Wren added a third finger to their figurative list.

"Nothing good," Berri grunted in hot irritation.

"Okay, fourth? Anything else?" Turbo pressed, though as the group went quiet, Throttle cutely eyed his little brother in sweet, delightful knowing and bobbed him a respectful nod.

"Why don't we relish in you and Berri, for a moment longer, you two look like you just stepped off the surface of the sun," Throttle eased a cute laugh, to which everyone eagerly joined in full nods, and though Turbo sagged his arm to his island and gave Berri a full look of shy, smiling uncertainty, Berri shrugged, shook her head and grinned in equal fervor as Throttle carried on, "This is really special, you guys... Every union is special, but... This was something you both REALLY worked for, you guys. Berri gambled a world of patience, Turbo took a huge risk, and it was all rewarded. We've been wanting this, of you guys, for a long while now. I think I speak for everyone when I say..."

"FINALLY. Thank GOD," Wren blurt, everyone eased into smiling laughter as Turbo happily glossed his eyes about the group, and finally landed on Berri in wholesome delight.

"Yeah, This... This time around is different, it feels more real, more solid and secure," Turbo stated in warm confidence as Berri sweetly listened with her arms cutely crossed, "We have a few obstacles to sort through, within our new coding and our new powers and such, but... Otherwise, I think I speak for both of us when I say I'm... Wondering why it took us so long to get good."

"YEAH, Berri," Wren spat, to which Berri coughed a shy laugh and sagged her face into her hands.

"You're so much more timid than you used to be, lookit you," Throttle wheezed as he pointed to Berri, whose cute, crumpling, shy demeanor only splayed into a wider smile and a tighter scrunch of shoulders; Turbo easily scooped his arm about her shoulder and pulled her in close, into a side-embrace, for support.

"Yeah, like he said, it's still something we're trying to navigate together, but we'll be fine," Berri mumbled with a smile she desperately tried to contain, she sagged her arm about Turbo's lower back and eased into his side with a shy flutter of her lashes as she peered down to Turbo's glossy island, "That vacation is sounding nicer and nicer by the second. I could use like three SOLID days of sleep, I don't know about any of you."

"YES," Wren barked in a groan, Theo bugged his eyes and firmly nodded, to which Tatum rubbed her eye in sleepy delight and shot both boys a cute smile of previous understanding.

"I... I know last night I made clear just how difficult leaving was, for me, but... Before we discuss any of the points we listed, I just want to thank each of you for, well..." Turbo looked down to his island, inhaled a deep breath and kept his strong, loving arm about Berri's back in a snug of cute camaraderie. Berri rested the side of her head into the nook of Turbo's left peck and beginning bend of his armpit, she bat her lashes and gave him a cute, knowing grin of teasing annoyance, and though he scoffed a knowing laugh at said girly look of irritation, everyone easily lulled into knowing laughter. Turbo shook his head and squeezed Berri a little closer to her, "... Dealing with me. You all were right. No one wanted to kill me."

"You should've been scared of US, all along, cause now WE want to kill you," Throttle choked, Wren's sunny, lovely coding easily shone through Throttle's now sassy remarks, everyone easily fell into louder, happy laughter as Berri pat the center of Turbo's chest with a flutter of blushing cuteness.

"Just know that now we're due to torturing you and dragging you ALL around Arcade, kay?" Berri quipped cutely, a chirp of soft, revisited dread that kissed Turbo's skin in a spark of understanding, he bobbed a nod and heaved a shaky sigh as Berri gently pulled far enough way so she could gain proper, standing eye contact with Turbo, "You've given in to this new lifestyle. You have to do stuff with us, now."

"Where we go, you join," Wren bobbed a nod and gestured to Throttle, who coyly raised his hand a little and gave Turbo a smirk.

"That swapped code is now your top priority," Throttle mumbled cutely, "Where she goes, you go. I know you never really had this kind of a previous relationship with Libby, but things are different. You have all of us to guard and protect each other, I'd say we have a pretty solid group, here."

"I'm just glad I pick-pocketed Berri, that one night," Tatum blurt with a cute laugh, everyone eagerly peered to her with wide, knowing smiles as she urgently gestured out to her new crew, "I couldn't DREAM up a better group to be apart of, seriously."

"Well, we wouldn't have it any other way," Theo warmly encouraged, he gave Turbo a firm nod, put his hands on his hips and was now due to proving to Turbo that his efforts most certainly did not fall on deaf ears, and with everything that swiftly changed, everyone softly peered to Turbo as Theo so kindly ushered him the floor, "Alright, your Majesty... Give us the details."

Berri and Turbo stood in the gentle side embrace they were still so tenderly glued to, and as the sun seemingly shone down into Turbo's home, he let an easy, loving smile sprawl his face as him and Berri subtly caught eyes in a warm string of hot understanding of their new, fresh reality. Turbo inhaled a deep breath through his nose, let his powerful chest expand in the draw of energy that radiated the pair like the sun, and with his bride tight in his loving grip, he smiled to his dewy-eyed crew and bobbed a nod.

"Although you guys can take this weekend and drag me out of Sugar Rush and take me wherever... I've been heavily contemplating renting one of those resorts on Sugar Sun Island's ocean cliffside," Turbo gently instructed, "I just spoke to Zed about all of this, and he's given me a whopping TWO weeks off of work, for vacation. So, all we need to do is come up with the dates and I'll take care of the rest."

"Sugar Sun," Wren huffed in dreamy delight as he lulled his eyes closed, sagged his shoulders and shook his head, "Oh, please say more."

"I'm thinking we'll have our group here, invited... So, me, Throttle, Wren, Theo, Berri, Tatum, and then... I was also thinking of inviting Nox, Koko, Chester, and..." Turbo trailed off as everyone was all smiles, though once Turbo scuffed to a halt amidst his list, he softly drew his eyes to Throttle and bobbed a nod, "Lash with... The majority of his privileges."

"Whoa, wait," Throttle held his hand up and shook his head in dire concern, to which Berri also raised her eyebrows and curiously peered up to Turbo in raw apprehension, "You talked to Zed about this?"

"Yes, I did. We came to the compromise that, unbeknownst to Lash, he'll just be restricted to Sugar Sun Island with the majority of his privileges," Turbo explained cautiously, "... When I came home last night, Lash was awake with the highlights of the concert on. After I put Berri to bed, Lash and I sat out here and had a really... Really great heart to heart."

"You did?" Throttle pressed in billowing, soft, amost relieved curiosity, Turbo bobbed a nod and looked off in almost dumbfounded surprise.

"Tee, he openly told me he loved me," Turbo eased a chuckle of disbelief, to which Throttle bugged his eyes.

"What's made him grow so soft, all of the sudden?" Throttle wondered dryly, though Turbo cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head down in Berri's direction, in an obvious manner.

"Ol' Blue, capturing EVERY Turbotime man's heart," Theo blurt with a hard chuckle as him and Tatum fell into sweet laughter with each other.

"A love that's indescribably worth it," Wren cutely pressed as him and Throttle caught eyes in a draw of soft certainty.

"Yeah, Lash and I have become penpals," Berri blurt a soft laugh and shook her head, "I guess... I don't see a problem with him coming. It'll be really fun to have uncle Nox and aunt Koko come along, too."

"Weird, you called him uncle," Turbo muttered in hot, grinning concern, to which Berri furrowed her eyebrows and looked off in now confused contemplation, "He's your future brother-in-law."

"... But, he's also my uncle," Berri blurt with a flippant hand gesture, "Koko is my coded aunt, my mother's sister, and... Nox is Koko's swap mate. It's uncle Nox. I've always called him that! He's my uncle!"

"Yeah that's REALLY weird to hear," Throttle blurt a laugh and rubbed the side of his face, Turbo wildly furrowed his eyebrows and drew his confused, grinning expression to Wren and Throttle in sparkled bewilderment.

"Uncle-brother," Theo wheezed, him and Tatum stood close and fell into gooey laughter with each other.

"Anyways," Turbo bugged his eyes in further hot confusion, shook his head and shot Berri a cheeky smile, "That's... The plan. I have yet to tell Lash. Baby steps, here... I want him to be reintroduced into society and be a normal, operating gamer."

"Not every game needs to be dictated, Lash," Throttle muttered, Turbo nodded in irritation.

"He'll get there, we just... Have to give him a chance," Turbo eased, he heaved a soft sigh and shrugged, "Anyways, like said, we can come up with a date shortly, I'm sure this would coincide with whatever Bedgy told you this morning, Wren."

"Oh, right well..." Wren cocked an eyebrow and pulled out his phone, "I'll have you know, Turbo... Your little stunt of coming on to the stage, last night, and completing the ENTIRE concert with us has landed us an encore at Midnight Moon."

"WHAT?" Turbo, Berri and Tatum blurt in hot, smiling, concerned glee as Wren pulled up the article on his phone; he cleared his throat and began to read the headline and everything it all entailed.

"Arcade's long lost lore of a bad guy takes Arcadia's stage and steals the heart of Litwak's, melts the crowd of thousands with his incredible singing voice," Wren listed in a confident press of an announcer-like voice, "With a fresh new take that Archived Chaos desperately needed, crowds have gathered inside Arcadia, this morning, to beg Midnight Moon to have Archived Chaos' new lead singer, Berri Kalivar, and guitarist, Turbo Black, with Wren Fluggerbutter and Theo Schweetz, to return to said stage for an encore of their share of secret songs."

"It's because we sang our song, no one had ever heard it before," Berri cutely mumbled with a nod as her and Turbo softly caught eyes.

"In hopes to get the crew back on stage next weekend, with whatever new material they're willing to provide, Midnight Moon Theatre has kindly offered it's stage to the fresh core four that have brought more revenue and promise to Arcadia than has ever been seen from any of Arcade's massive stages," Wren concluded, he bobbed Turbo a nod and cutely grinned, "So, my guy... Whatever music you and Berri have up your sleeve, you're gunna need to share. We're on again, next Saturday."

"Holy shit," Turbo huffed a hard laugh and grappled the hair on the sides of his head, Berri equally grinned up to Turbo's eyes and shook her head.

"An encore!" Berri squealed cutely, to which Turbo blurt another excited laugh and scooped Berri up into an easy lift of a hug about her small waist. She eased a hard giggle as he twirled her once and set her back down, "A-are we just... Going back as Archived Chaos? How does all of this work?"

"Yeah, and what of Gunner?" Tatum warned in cheeky, smiling concern, "You said you talked to him this morning, too?"

"Yeah, what'd he have to say?" Theo wondered nervously, to which Berri fixed her fluffy hair, as her and Turbo settled, she shook her head and rolled her eyes as the remembrance of anger easily began to tickle the back of her skull like a hot poker desperately wanting to remind her of said full, red-raged anger; Turbo grit his teeth and peered to Berri in hot concern, for said previous fervor.

"It was nothing productive, I REALLY don't want to sit here and dissect it," Berri snapped in a sudden halt of sapped information, said mood swing had the group scuffed to a stop in hot concern, though she shook her head and carried on, "He threatened to sue us, he called me a bitch, he insulted Turbo like there was no tomorrow-"

"Whoa, whoa, Berri," Theo urged nervously as Turbo urgently held his hand to Berri's lower back and desperately gained eye contact with her; her beautiful gaze so easily dipped to an angry, glowing orange like earlier, mood and color that typically was impossible for any of the other Turbotime men to access, though Berri was somehow having the easiest time becoming unhinged. The tiny flecks in her irises flickered with red rage that seemingly prepared to encompass every ounce of blue left to her.

"Y-You adopted our mood-ring like gaze?" Throttle staggered in hot concern as the air about the island tensed in nervous concern as Turbo firmly gripped the tops of Berri's shoulders and made her look into his eyes.

"Babe, it's fine, it's FINE. He's an asshole, and everything he said to you was likely because he's just so wrought with guilt, we discussed this," Turbo eased tenderly, and it was here did Throttle narrow his gaze in a draw of teeth-grit concern and was beginning to understand that Berri was likely not having the easiest time swallowing every single last strand of their incredibly powerful, loaded, decades worth of informative coding. Turbo lovingly dote on Berri in the only way he currently knew how, in this raw instance, he gently tucked her hair behind her ear as her gaze seemingly began to quell to a dimmer, less angry orange, "He threw Tatum out, he's unhinged and jealous, he was due to doing the same thing to you but couldn't because you had a whole army on your side."

"Honestly, he probably hasn't slept, either," Tatum muttered, though everyone kept their tight gazes of concern to Berri, now in cold realization as to just maybe why she had become so swallowed by timidness and shyness, certainly having to cope with the eternal wall of information, that was Turbo's extremely heavy coding, was not the easiest thing.

"Babe, y'okay?" Wren wondered softly, though Turbo almost nervously peered to Wren, in innocent question and gave him his honest, apprehensively curious gaze.

"Wren, after you and Throttle swapped, did you... Feel as if it was maybe too many years of info, all at once?" Turbo cautiously asked.

"Um, yeah, I guess I had spells of it," Wren bobbed a nod and glanced in Throttle's direction, "You guys have SO many years of experience, memory files, information just logged away. I STILL find myself having to sit down and like... THINK, sometimes, cause it's almost as if you've downloaded a file too big to process, all at once, but... It's not debilitating, it's just something that reminds me to sink into my thoughts, for a second, and maybe just process a few things by myself before carrying on."

"It's been... An INSANE twenty four hours, sure, for all of us, but," Theo cautiously peered to Turbo, bobbed a nod and eased a kind, shy grin to Turbo's sweet, uncertain gaze, "You showed up entirely unannounced, which is GREAT, don't get me wrong... You nearly beat the shit out of Gunner, you preformed with Berri for an entire show, which was all she likely has ever dreamed of, you pushed through your social norms and signed autographs, dealt with press with us, had a great time and ended it all with asking Berri to MARRY you..."

Turbo now largely frowned and peered his now muted, grey gaze to Berri's fragile figure before him. Her aimless, clouded in thought gaze was lost in Turbo's chest, and though she eased a shy, crumpling smile, she finally lulled her eyes closed, pushed her face into her hands, in full exhaustion, and bobbed a regretful nod of agreeing to everything Theo was saying.

"And, sure you guys probably got a good night's sleep, but then..." Theo choked a nervous laugh as Wren, Throttle and Tatum now eased widening grins.

"You LOADED her with ANOTHER wave of information after she finally got back to her feet," Wren blurt, everyone easily roused with soft, understanding laughter, to which Berri and Turbo finally eased shy, knowing, apologetic smiles into each other's eyes.

"And then a seemingly lovely conversation with Gunner, of all people," Tatum muttered in dark irritation towards both her's and Berri's ex, a full understanding both girls could easily resonate with.

"You guys... EZ Living, the rest of Arcade, it's ALL not going anywhere," Throttle mumbled, he looked about Turbo's lovely loft, bobbed a nod, shrugged and almost cutely tossed the group a curious smile of uncertainty, "What say we... Close the blinds and have a big lounge-fest? People can nap, we can watch movies, we can just... BE."

"Oh I'm ALL for a day of doing nothing, you kidding?" Theo muttered as he rubbed the back of his head and peered to Tatum for her answer, she easily bobbed a nod of agreeing and huffed a shy laugh as everyone ultimately wondered just what Berri would think of said idea.

"Do you need to be alone? Or does that sound like a good idea?" Turbo pressed softly, "We can... We can just call Bedgy and tell her, look, we need a DAY."

"She'll understand," Wren eagerly nodded in certainty as he unlocked his phone and looked as if he was due to making that phone call at their word, anything to make sure everyone was comfortable; Berri furrowed her eyebrows amidst a show of impending guilt and nodded in crumpling, overwhelmed sorrow.

"Yeah, I... I'm really overwhelmed," Berri murmured as big tears began to well in her eyes, Turbo sagged his shoulders in whole dismay, towards himself, and easily scooped her into his strong embrace as everyone sorrowfully cooed notions of hot regret; with the tight gather of everyone now dutifully worming their way to Turbo's side of the island, everyone so tenderly softened and began to cautiously love on Berri in the form of kindly straightening her hair out, rubbing her arms, cooing quiet notions of assurance to her as she sat sagged and defeated in Turbo's scoop of an embrace.

"I'm so sorry, babe," Turbo mumbled in dreaded nervousness as he pushed his face into the top of her head.

"Hey, just say the word, we'll all go put on our PJs and do nothing today," Wren shrugged, he smiled and looked about to everyone and was now floored this was the plan for today, "We deserve it. We can sleep, lounge, eat, do nothing, it's fine."

"Zed made clear I can have time off," Turbo bobbed a nod and shrugged, his embrace was still tight about Berri as Tatum so sweetly began to daintily braid a small section of Berri's soft hair.

"Hey, we're all here for each other, okay?" Throttle pressed to Berri as he stood closest to where she was facing. She finally peeled open her teary blue eyes and peered her shy, hopeful gaze tight into her new big brother's loving face. He gave her the sweetest smile and tenderly tucked some of the bangs from her eyes as she lay smushed in Turbo's strong, unwavering grip, "We're all family, here. You're my new little sister... You clearly have an army of people willing to go above and beyond for you, for everyone here. If you need a time out, we're happy to bend."

"I'll nap alllll day long if that's what you want," Tatum cutely chimed with a firm nod, Theo eagerly joined and scoffed a laugh.

"I'm the king of naps," Theo encouraged, all this gentle love and cooing attention finally got a sweet, humbled smile from Berri's figure.

"Alright... C'mon guys," Turbo pressed warmly as he gave Berri one final squeeze, "We got a whole lot of nothing to do, today."


	197. Chapter 197

**Reviews :**

 **Snake557 :** indeed :(

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 **Song Listened To :**

 **Naked as We Came by Iron and Wine**

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 ***Chapter 197***

"I don't think you're understanding," Theo choked in a lazy grunt, him and Tatum eagerly pressed on, at the same time, with grumbling, giggling fervor as they recited the lines of a movie that droned on in softness, "We're LOST! You IDIOT!"

Although Theo and Tatum were now quietly rocketed into adorable laughter with each other, Wren and Throttle eagerly joined in with genuine grins. Like promised, Turbo's lovely loft was very easily converted into a dim hodgepodge of bodies, blankets, couches and ottomans all mounded together to make one massive sprawl of a bed, easily capable of housing the now seven bodies that sprawled in still, cozy, cuddling camaraderie. After going through now two movies into Sugar Rush's sunny afternoon, everyone had eased in and out of napping, watching, chatting, laughing, eating, lounging and everything in between. An easy going lull of perfect peace, nearly as if said peace were to be suggested to carry over into the following day, absolutely no one would argue. With Lash unbubbled hours prior, a kind catch up to speed he was in much need of, Turbo was thrilled with how easy the transition into said cozy afternoon, with everyone here, was for Lash.

Although the notion of Turbo's and Berri's swap was not lost on everyone, Turbo was thrilled that no further or impending jabs of cute teasing were delivered towards the two. More a show of understood respect, Turbo was thrilled to now really pivot every single last shred of his priorities towards his blue beauty. Although everyone had a section of said sprawl of Turbo's lovely couch and easily smushed-together ottomans, to make one giant sprawl of a bed, Turbo was grateful to have the bend of the couch for him and Berri. Her favorite spot, he was successful in making sure she was nestled with her back into the cozy bend and back rest of the couch, her front and face firmly snuggled into Turbo's broad chest as he sat up, a little. With a big, billowy mess of blankets and pillows strewn about, Turbo was thrilled he could lay entirely snuggled with Berri, alongside the rest of everyone else's mess of legs and limbs, and still have a shred of quiet, nestled intimacy with his new fiancee. As the movie droned on, and everyone's voice, including Lash's, pressed on with notions towards the film they were lazily hooked to, Turbo honed his sleepy attention down to Berri.

With the tender gape of her cute mouth, the steady, firm inhales and exhales her hot breath delivered against the chest of Turbo's soft shirt, her wavy blue hair wrinkled in a mess of billowy goodness that draped her shoulders and forehead. Turbo's patient gaze peered down to her fresh skin, he so tenderly allowed the backs of his knuckles to carefully caress her right cheek as she slept, he quietly admired every single last pixel to her name. The length of her beautiful, thick blue eyelashes, the way her covered chest so gently rose and fell with her rhythmic breathing, Turbo felt his heart plague with a mild onset of guilt and was now forever floored she was able to sleep and settle her mind. The group about them erupted into soft motions of laughter as the movie carried on to a rather excitable, funny part, Lash blurt an annoyed notion as he wildly gestured his arm outwards, and in this tender lull of love all about Turbo's full, once rather empty and gloomy home, Turbo lulled his eyes closed and felt entirely whole, nothing here could shake the sheer amount of warmth he was now happily drowned in.

Understanding, here, that Berri was massively overwhelmed with the heavy loft of Turbo's ancient coding, Turbo felt bad for feeling the lightweight, happy-go-lucky feeling Berri's coding supplied him. Knowing, full well, that Berri was lost in sleep, her eyes, behind her closed eyelids, almost angrily dart about in an unsettled manner of mild twitching, as if she was en route to enduring a nightmare. Wanting so badly to rush to her aid and potentially help soothe her worries, Turbo cautiously allowed his fingertips to so softly come alive with their blushed coding, and with his tight, close proximity, he so tenderly sagged said fingertips into the side of Berri's right temple, where her stress marks usually lay. Grateful said stress marks were eradicated, he fluttered his golden eyes in easiness and was glad said exterior swap, amidst her sleeping, was something that didn't jar her from her slumber. Instead, Turbo furrowed his dark brows and was now introduced to a very healthy dose of overwhelm, whole worry. A rush of information Turbo was very well familiar with, and through a silent chuckle through his nose, he rolled his eyes and was hit with realization; everything she was loaded with was all stuffed feelings and emotions he had done a very wonderful job shlepping under the rug. Now that it had Berri's excitable coding to run rampant in, Turbo sighed softly and knew that he had to help soothe these now irrelevant feelings here and now, a further press to assure her that she didn't need to adopt these past traumas as her own new reality, moving forward.

Although not carrying on an intelligent conversation with Berri, like normal, he still was able to somehow negotiate with her. Flits of hot worry, about leaving the game, whisked past Turbo's vision in the flash of a memory. Vivid imagery of living in The End, the vat of his worries in that time of his life just eagerly clogged Berri's happy coding. All instances of past experiences that Turbo had absolutely nothing to do with, he quietly understood, here, that he needed to face his demons alongside Berri, to firmly reassure her that all of these past instances has shaped him into the man he was today, and none of it needed to be so heavily dwelled on. Everything from merging with Lash, torturing Rancis, stealing Tessa's code box, sabotaging the EZ Living motocross race all those years ago, just eons of guilt and sorrow and misery eagerly clung to Berri's lovely coding. Adamant to man up and face it with Berri's proverbial hand now glued to his, he inhaled a steady breath and kept himself dug in to their calming exterior swap. With the cautious, tedious, meticulous work Turbo diligently took to silently leading her to each and every single trauma that now plagued her, his share of their coding so lovingly embraced her and firmly assured her that this was all his wrong doings, his past to wrestle with, in this instance. In the sag of finally battling each past issue, he could feel Berri's coding finally begin to unwind, how desperate he was to bring her to a point of uplift, where she could enjoy all of the wonderful, lovely, exuberant things about Turbo's coding for what he was now.

Turbo so gently peeled his eyes open in a kiss of understanding and long-blinked in the reel of tenderness, with the sound of the room now coming back to him, he was shocked to hear the familiar ending lines of the movie; although hovered in tender stillness with Berri's still snoozing figure, he was floored that they had been at this trauma-tackle for the entire duration of this film. Theo and Wren urged a few irritated notions at the main character, to which Throttle choked a happy laugh at said outburst, Turbo heaved a shaky breath and was still entirely floored how removed he and Berri were, for said duration. He kept their coded, lovely exterior swap and so softly peered down to Berri's face, and although he was convinced that she was still asleep, he raised his eyebrows in nervous surprise and felt the chest of his shirt dot with tears. Glossed in frozen worry, Berri's beautiful blue lashes so gently fluttered open, and as her glistening gaze sleepily peered up into Turbo's eyes, he heaved a shaky, silent breath of relief at the sheer amount of proverbial weight that looked to be entirely lifted off of Berri's poor, overloaded soul. As if all she needed was a quiet tour about the massive mansion that was Turbo's coding, to kindly put ghosts to rest, to bury old skeletons in his closet, a cute, collected effort they both took together, Berri fluttered her eyes open, just barely shifted to reach her face and wiped away a few tears that spilled from her eyes.

Turbo raised his eyebrows in prickled cuteness as the group, about them, still continued to chatter at how annoyed the ending of this film made them, though Turbo kept his live-wired finger tips still glued to Berri's temple in tenderness, they remained in their exterior swap of now silent conversation. Berri bobbed a gentle nod as Turbo politely asked her if she was okay, if she felt better. She sagged into his chest and quietly conveyed, through their coding, that she just needed to know where to put everything; the wall of information given to her was way too much to deal with. Like moving in with each other, only to discover Turbo had a secret mass collection of old books and artifacts Berri's small little apartment couldn't dream of housing. Sectioned into proper places, still a work in progress of dealing with everything Turbo's dark and convoluted past harbored, Berri felt her veins begin to breathe with fresh, new life. Something a nap and a diligent exterior swap was due to surely fixing, Berri was entirely thrilled that Turbo was so willing to take a broom to all the cobwebs he had yet to dust out of himself. She eased a kind smile as she shifted her positioning, a little, snuggled her arms cozily about Turbo's thicker midsection and gave the broad of Turbo's chest a few smooches of silent gratitude. Turbo dropped their exterior swap and so lovingly hugged her head in a firm grip of a squeeze, to silently convey to her that he would hold on to her and protect her no matter what, they sagged in easy, relieved softness as the credits of said movie began to roll.

"Alright, my turn to pick," Throttle grumbled sleepily, his lazy, muted white eyes peeled open as he gestured his hand up, though with a thump, it softly came back down and half sagged against Turbo's back and side, which included Berri's arms gripped about Turbo's midsection.

"No, you keep falling asleep, you've lost your right to pick, old man," Lash muttered with a wide smile, to which Theo bobbed a nod and inhaled a hefty yawn.

"Alright, whose awake," Theo wondered quietly out to the room, Chester grunted a noise from the sprawl of carpet he had, all to himself, and lazily unfurled his whole wing into the air, nearly a wide enough span to kiss the higher, second floor of Turbo's loft overhead.

"Hardly," Chester muttered.

"I think Turbo and Berri are asleep," Throttle mumbled as he lay cozily with his side and back nestled into Turbo's, though he grunted to sit up and get a good look at the two, though Turbo beat him to it.

"We're awake," Turbo's voice croaked in tired, snoozing delight.

"I'm not," Berri's groggy voice murmured sleepily into Turbo's chest, she inhaled his lovely, fresh musk and fluttered her eyes in easy-going delight.

"Someone's phone is buzzing," Wren muttered as he shifted, near the bend of Turbo's knees and furrowed his brow in searching delight.

"It's mine," Turbo mumbled in tired, disgruntled cuteness, and as he wormed his hand underneath the mess of blankets him and Berri were snuggled under, he gently pulled his phone from his lazy sweat's pockets, peered to the caller ID and heaved a hot sigh of prickled concern, "It's Zed."

"Hi dad," Berri muttered cutely as Turbo answered the call and brought his phone to his ear.

"Hey, Zed," Turbo eased, he grunted a small noise and just barely sat up a little, bringing Berri with him.

"Turbo, put your pants back on," Theo suddenly barked, everyone eagerly howled with laughter as Turbo shot Theo a wild look of whole, unadulterated dismay.

"No, no, Theo's just being an idiot, we're all just lounging and watching movies," Turbo mumbled to Zed, though Wren and Lash eagerly took their cues to join in.

"Turbo, what's this adult-rated section you have here, on your movie list?" Wren loudly asked in full tease, though Turbo grunted a noise, furrowed his brow and tried his best to bury himself deeper into his and Zed's call.

"Yes, sir, I'm... So sorry, I must've saved it as a draft, I can submit it to you, real fast," Turbo mumbled, he choked a laugh as Theo reached his large hand over and began to poke Turbo's back, just above his rear.

"Tell uncle Zed about your secret sex dungeon," Theo choked, everyone was lost in laughter, including Berri, who plowed her face into the broad of Turbo's chest.

"Turbo, Theo is DESPERATE for you to put your pants back on," Lash firmly urged, Tatum nearly fell off her section of the couch due to laughter.

"No, for User's sake, I'm wearing pants, I promise," Turbo barked a nervous laugh as Zed cheekily questioned him, "They're just... Giving me a hard time. I'm really sorry, Zed, this... Morning was just..."

"FULL of sex," Wren chirped, to which everyone, including Turbo, blurt into hard laughter, laughter in which Turbo desperately tried to get ahold of.

"I'll submit it now and be back in the swing of things tomorrow, I promise, PLEASE do not delete me," Turbo staggered to Zed in full, smiling terror; he was grateful Zed had a solid sense of humor about it all and could be heard easily laughing alongside everyone.

"Bye dad," Berri cued in mumbling embarrassment as Turbo stated a quick, cute goodbye and hung up the call.

"Ohh, poor Zed," Throttle muttered in smiling, chuckling delight as he firmly rubbed his face; Tatum grunted to a stand, eased in stretching delight and warmly sat down next to Chester, on the floor, having previously been en route to grabbing a few sips of her drink in the kitchen.

"You guys are awesome," Tatum mumbled cutely as Chester perked his ears and easily lived up Tatum's never-ending, loving belly rubs; his paw twitched in delight with the feel of her claws against his thick fur and skin.

"Alright, guys which one now," Theo eagerly pressed, his big thumb pushed into the littler buttons of the remote before he began to grow frustrated, and with such a fumble, he accidentally turned the tv off.

"THEO, for User's sake, HAND the remote to Tatum or someone with normal sized hands," Wren barked in now sharp, playful irritation, this having been the fourth time this has happened today.

"Here you go," Theo mumbled in whole, playful sorrow as he daintily handed the remote to Tatum, who sat on the ground with Chester, closest to where Theo was on the couch; Tatum eased a soft giggle and peered up to Theo in a swathe of love she was ready to give back to him.

"Well I think your hands are great," Tatum chirped in cute delight as she turned the tv back on and began to go through the motions of getting back to the huge list of movies Turbo had, "I think it's cool that you're a wrecker."

"Yeah, man, don't be jealous," Turbo muttered to Wren with a wide, snarky smile, to which Wren covered his face in hard agitation and shook his head.

"I don't have normal sized hands, are you gunna yell at me?" Berri wondered in cute, girly charm, though it was eloquently laced with a challenge.

"I'll yell at ALL of you," Wren stabbed with a laugh he tried to stifle, though he jolted in jarred irritation as Turbo wormed his foot out of the blanket, him and Berri were under, and began to prod it closer to Wren's face in brotherly tease. Wren choked in disgusted irritation and began to get off of the couch, "You all suck."

"No, YOU suck," Theo corrected, though before he could elaborate, Throttle loudly cleared his throat and sat up.

"HOKAY, so... Let's decide on a movie," Throttle urged loudly as the group was, again, rocketed into kind, happy laughter.

"Thank you, by the way," Berri mumbled as the group began to lazily readjust, get up to use the bathroom, briefly gather in the kitchen for snacks, the only being that remained was Throttle in kind, collected softness; the noise of everyone's chatter overruled Berri's tender conversing with Turbo.

"For what, love," Turbo pressed quietly, he tucked some of Berri's messy blue hair behind her ear as he grunted to sit up a little more, which she followed suit.

"I think I just... Was overwhelmed with all of these memories and information, it was nice of you to sort of tour me through everything, like you did," Berri bobbed a nod and sleepily rubbed her eye, "I feel a lot better... I really just... Needed you to sort of, well..."

"Introduce you to all my demons," Turbo mumbled darkly, though the two caught eyes in cheeky delight, "I didn't think to do that because, well... I hadn't given them names, I hadn't dealt with it all, myself. I think that's why it overwhelmed you. You're a problem solver, so... All my problems suddenly were thrusted upon your doorstep and you likely felt you had to solve it all right, well..."

"Here and now," Berri mumbled cutely as she lazily flopped her upper arm over her head, sagged and peaked a bashful eye open to Turbo in knowing cheek, a sweet show of camaraderie the two were now forever sapped in, and with the gentle problem solving nature of their new ember of romance, Turbo heaved a sigh of relief and bobbed a nod.

"I'm glad we've now found a system to this mess," Turbo patiently explained, "And, who knows what we'll run into, down the line."

"Thanks for being patient with me," Berri sighed as she sagged her arm back between her and Turbo, the gang began to loudly chat and regroup back to the couch as Tatum continued to scroll through movies, everyone bickered in mumbling delight.

"You've been patient with me, for all these months," Turbo so warmly concluded, he gave her a knowing smile and was thrilled they were finally on the same page, "It'd be silly of me not to give back for all the sacrifices you've made for me."


	198. Chapter 198

**Reviews :**

 **Lyssdoodles :** Aww thanks! I agree, I wish I had a big group of friends like this.

 **Snake557 :** It's true! There's nothing I love more :)

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **The Wolf by SIAMES**

 **In Great Strides by Joris De Man The Flight**

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 ***Chapter 198***

With a sudden pop of rose gold, Turbo choked a hard noise of unadulterated terror, jolted to a firm, clumsy sit and felt his eyes peel open in a tear from the back of his skull. Prickled in the dribble of likely one of the worst nightmares of his whole entire life, his broad, bare chest so heavily rose and fell in the trembling cold sweat he was perfectly sat in. In a dart about his familiar, lovely, sunny bedroom, safe and secure, Turbo scoffed a shaky noise of whole, unmitigated relief as he scrunched his eyes tight, sagged his knees into a bend, plowed his elbows into said knees and held his head hung above the lazy gape of his blanket-covered thighs. Alone in his bedroom, having previously had a solid night's sleep, he trembled as the licks and mean taunts of his nightmare seemingly hung over him like a dark ghost, and as his mind reeled to the nightmare, he sharply furrowed his eyebrows and peered across his sunny bedroom in stark remembrance, as if this was a scene he had strangely visited before. Upon further, awakening realization, he long-blinked in whole fear as he quickly realized he had just relived the very memory of Berri's traumatizing visit with the deleter on Arcade's train cab, all those months ago.

Turbo's hands trembled, the vision of said creature rocketing itself at him, the haunting noises it made, the amount of pain Turbo's body relived through Berri's trauma, his shivering, new coding shook in almost taunting delight, as if to promise that sure, Turbo had demons he easily supplied Berri, though Berri's share of the coding was not nearly as much of a walk in the park as first promised. Turbo shook his head and continued to pant, he could see a strange new color glow on the bridge of his nose, though his brain did what it could to put any of it aside and simply feel a whole entire swathe of further appreciation for his blue beauty. The poor thing had endured said trauma and somehow held her head high, every day, with a wide smile and a plethora of love to give, Turbo shook his head in further, disgruntled apprehension and swiped the blankets off of his bare body. Still in a cold sweat of trembling uncertainty, he did what he could to yank a pair of underwear and black sweats over his body, and nothing more. With a swipe of his phone, he urgently pressed towards his closed bedroom door, yanked it open and was prepared to find Lash.

Having previously, the night prior, sat Lash down and instructed that Turbo was given permission to code Lash his very own bedroom, here, in Turbo's loft, Turbo pushed down his now a bit longer corridor, passed Lash's opened bedroom door and stormed into the kitchen, where Lash hovered at the gas stove. Lash raised his eyebrows in cute delight, easily looking as sleepily disheveled and also shirtless, he looked as if he was about to volley Turbo a kind notion of awakening, though jolted in hot surprise at the sheer fact that Turbo's eyes glowed a very angry, prominent color of vivid, hot turquoise, something Lash had never seen before. Lash sharply furrowed his eyebrows, set down the spatula he was holding and opened his mouth to rush Turbo with confused questioning, though Turbo heaved a trembling mess of words and, in his half awake stupor, he rushed Lash's poised soul with a swathe of very real terror.

"H-Holy User, Lash, I... I was THERE, like... The deleter was... I relived Berri's memory, guh that was AWFUL," Turbo hissed in high pitched, raspy terror as he grappled his bedhead, a whole mess of dusty grey hair that cutely fluffed his scalp; Lash long-blinked in entire, popped confusion and rested his hand to his broad bare chest.

"I'm sorry... WHAT?" Lash choked a hard, sleepy laugh and urgently peered to Turbo, "Bo, your... Your eyes are like, turquoise right now, what the hell?"

"I-I just need to find Berri," Turbo mumbled in hot agitation, "Sh-she... Guh, my GOD that was awful, I can't believe she went THROUGH that!"

"The train cab incident?" Lash pressed in hot, dire curiosity, "You... Seemingly adopted her memories, and her for you? I don't know how swapping works, I'm probably the last person to give good advice, here, my dude."

"The poor thing, I-I mean I saw the footage of the incident, but my god, dude," Turbo's voice pushed in trembling fervor as he stabbed his brightly glowing turquoise eyes tight to Lash's, "It's SO different actually experiencing it first hand, holy User... I-I need to find Berri and tell her that I love the everliving shit out of her."

"I'm surprised she didn't spend the night," Lash piqued in boyish cuteness, to which Turbo furrowed his brow, shook his head and opened his palms in readied nervousness, though Lash sharply raised his eyebrows and urgently gestured his hand outward, "UH, Turbo, I wouldn't."

"Why not?" Turbo stabbed in hot, rushing curiosity, still swathed with fear, his opened palms were cued with his and Berri's lovely coding, Lash shook his head and gestured to their front door.

"Don't test your time-hop coding, mixed with Berri's coding NOW, dude, you're like.. Running on adrenaline, you're going to warp yourself back like fifteen YEARS," Lash choked a hard laugh and was grateful he didn't have to argue Turbo, here; his trembling figure urgently began to rush his front door in defeated agreeing.

"I-I'll be back," Turbo instructed gently as he quickly left, closing his home's large front door behind him.

* * *

"Yay, it's a sun shower," Berri chimed in girly, cute excitement; her, Wren and Tatum hovered in their tower's lovely kitchen, and although it was brightly sunny out, this early Sugar Rush morning, a passing cloud began to sprinkle a hefty amount of sunny rain droplets to the bright, green and colorful plants outside. Berri clapped her hands and peered her eyes to Wren in cute delight, "I love when this happens."

"Me too, not too often it comes about," Wren pressed warmly as his eyes looked over his shoulder, to the huge splay of windows near him; all three beings were dressed in lazy clothes of full relaxation, Berri in Turbo's cozy, faded red zip up, Wren in a grey t-shirt and plaid pj bottoms and Tatum in a hot red cami and grey leggings. The atmosphere in their sunny little abode was fresh and lovely, the smell of breakfast saturated the air with the tasty scent of bacon, eggs, pancakes and buttery toast. Wren finally took a sip of his iced beverage, one of which him and Tatum had snagged for everyone, from Sugarbucks, and cutely continued, "Tatum and I saw the construction across the street from Sugarbucks, earlier, by the way."

"Do we know what that store is going to be yet, or no?" Berri wondered as she took a bite of her breakfast; they each picked at their plates, a mess of gentle, tinkering silverware and quiet chewing.

"No, but I'm sure Turbo would know, right?" Wren mumbled with his mouth full.

"Yeah, I can ask him, he'd probably have to do some digging," Berri bobbed a nod and shrugged, "Since it's so close to the Sugarbucks we frequent the most, I'm sure he knows off the top of his head what it'll be."

"Oh, wow, he like... Has a say in construction plans and all that stuff?" Tatum cutely inquired, to which Berri eased a proud, sweet smile and calmly nodded.

"Yeah! He like... Approves construction projects of all kinds, just what will be built where, road work, parks, street work, you name it," Berri rattled warmly, she looked down to her plate and smiled with further pride, "Kind of the end all decision maker of the city. My dad oversees it all, obviously, but Turbo makes the difficult decisions, there, in that aspect. He does a lot more, but... He'd explain it better than I probably could."

"That's so cool," Tatum chirped with a nod, though just as she opened her mouth to cutely inquire further, the teleport hub, in their lovely, sunny kitchen, angrily buzzed with a sudden fervor of hot, rose gold coding.

In a quick turn, everyone eagerly peered to the pad in stark curiosity and froze as Turbo's figure suddenly appeared on said pad, and though Berri almost began to think nothing of it and was due to giving her lovely fiancé a kind, welcoming, good morning greeting, she ceased all movement at the sheer sight of his eyes and body language. Shroud in whole terror, his brightly and strangely colored turquoise eyes housed very widely dilated pupils, a broad show of true fear he was urgently plagued with, and though Berri felt her adrenaline suddenly shoot through the roof, she sharply stood to correction, at her kitchen island, and was thrilled Turbo pressed into the kitchen. Albeit a clumsy show of almost confused terror, he urgently peered to Berri in a swathe of almost guilt, something Berri sharply cued to.

"Turbo, what's wrong, what happened?" Berri sharply pressed as both Wren and Tatum also froze in readied terror, though Turbo heavily panted and shook his head as Berri finally filled their gap and gripped Turbo's lower arm in a steady show of camaraderie.

"I-I... Guh, for User's sakes, I had the worst nightmare of my entire life, I... I relived the WHOLE memory of you and the deleter on the train cab," Turbo rushed in depleted terror, to which Berri sharply furrowed her eyebrows and peered her equally scared eyes into Turbo's widely dilated square pupils, an equally as haunting sight as if they were the typical slits that showed through when he was livid. Berri shook her head and opened her mouth to further question Turbo, though he gripped his hand over his eyes, grimaced in still panting terror and firmly showed his teeth in a sharper grit of entire, soul shaking dread, "God, I can't believe you like... I-I saw that footage, but enduring it, like you did, I... No WONDER you were so traumatized, for so long, oh my GOD."

"Hey, easy, c'mere," Berri urged as she gripped Turbo's upper arm, and as she pulled him a little closer to the kitchen island, where her half-empty plate of hot breakfast still hovered, Berri sharply did what she could to round the island, grab the empty bar stool next to Wren and bring it around for Turbo. Upon clacking said stool to the tiles, she gripped Turbo's upper arm and almost had to force him to a sagging sit, which he finally obliged to, "Sit, just relax, just breathe... It was just a dream, everything is okay."

"It WASN'T just a dream, YOU lived through it!" Turbo pleaded in further desperation, as if to somehow prove to Berri that he was in full understanding of the situation and now felt awful, all over again, even though the whole ordeal wasn't even his fault. Berri huffed a shaky, nervous giggle and very lovingly began to tend to Turbo in the form of tidying his messy, crazy grey hair in a motherly show of sweet doting. Turbo's breathing began to show signs of evening out, though he shook his head and peered his haunting, brilliantly glowing turquoise eyes off in aimless sorrow as his gorgeous gaze began to grow glassy in the downswing of adrenaline and right into the form of genuine sadness, "I can't believe that happened to you, and you... You still acted with such tact and were so quick on your feet, Bear, I would've DIED. I would've died."

Berri heaved a shaky breath and, although she was glad finally someone truly understood just how horrifying that experience was for her, she lovingly ran her fingers through Turbo's messy hair and quietly began to shush him as Wren and Tatum hovered in soft, readied sweetness. Berri kindly wormed out of the baggy zip up she was wearing, which was Turbo's, and lovingly draped it over his bare shoulders, and although Turbo had just bursted his riled energy into her's, Wren's and Tatum's very still, sunny, lovely morning, Berri knew the energy could be retrieved, once more. She shook her head, inhaled a deep, calm breath and very gently rested her hand to the faintly glowing stressor mark over Turbo's heart.

"Take a deep breath, for me, hun," Berri's gentle voice instructed, and with her womanly touch, he inhaled a deep, shaky breath through his nose and lulled his eyes closed; upon doing so, the glisten of tears, that had welled in his eyes, now glued to his black eye lashes. Berri shook her head and rubbed his chest a little as she warmly continued, she stood a few inches above Turbo's eye level, due to the medium-height stool he sat on, "I think I speak for Wren and Tatum when I say... You scared the SHIT out of us."

"Yeah, I nearly just crapped my pants," Wren barked with a soft, understanding laugh, to which Tatum covered her mouth and loudly giggled in knowing as her and Wren caught gazes. Wren shook his head and peered to Berri and Turbo in warm, collected understanding, "You guys are NOT having an easy go, with all of this huh... Traumas are being handed over, and then it just is seemingly... Having a hay-day on your coding."

"It's like it has a new avenue, a new person to sort of test," Berri mumbled as she was thrilled to feel Turbo's terrified demeanor now deflate to shaking exhaustion. He reopened his eyes in soft, exasperated humility and began to slowly worm his arms into the zip up Berri had provided him. Upon easing into his own clothing, he zipped the zipper to the middle of his chest, rested his elbow on the counter before him and sagged in Berri's loving, caring touch as she slowly pet the back of Turbo's head, "I didn't... Consider that to be a thing that would resurface, because I had successfully pulled myself through that trauma. With Turbo's help, of course."

"User, that sucked," Turbo muttered in sadness, he finally drew his eyes to Wren and then Tatum, and although his eyes still held that lovely turquoise glow, his pupils had shrunk back to normal, now, "Sorry to burst in on you guys, it just... Guh it was so much more real than just a dream. It was so... Freaking... Real."

"I'm really sorry, love," Berri mumbled, she gently tapped her plate and inched the fork closer to Turbo's hand, "Have some food, babe... You're safe, you're with us, okay?"

"Yeah, we won't scare yah," Tatum cooed with a small giggle of understanding, said cute notions finally got a small smirk from Turbo's shivering demeanor.

"Thanks, guys," Turbo mumbled in depleted cuteness.

"So, you've... Had a run in with a deleter, Bear?" Tatum asked in soft, apprehensiveness, she finally began to pick at her food, once more.

"Yeah, it was terrible," Berri stated through a gentle sigh of hot understanding, she lovingly lofted her gaze to Turbo and continued to warmly pet the back of his head in soft strokes of care. He had the side of his face and jaw now smushed into his hand as his elbow remained firmly planted into the counter. With closed eyes and a steady show of quietly doing what he could to quell his breathing, Berri stood close and continued to so tenderly rub the back of Turbo's head, her fingers caressed in firm, easy scratches into his scalp to further soothe him, "I... Made a REALLY stupid decision to sneak out of Sugar Rush, late one night, to meet up with Gunner. On the way back, I rode the train home all by myself and there was a deleter on the cab with me."

"No," Tatum hissed in unadulterated shock as she bugged her eyes in dread, Berri bobbed a nod and eased a smile of almost nostalgic wariness, as if this was just a hardship she was so far removed from, and Turbo was the one now dealing with it first hand.

"Yeah, we... Practically played wall-ball for five minutes straight," Berri grit her teeth and continued to methodically pet the back of Turbo's head, he quietly scoffed a noise and furrowed his eyebrows in a grimace of true understanding.

"User, it felt like an eternity," Turbo hissed in exasperated dread, Berri bobbed a nervous, lazy nod and gave Wren and Tatum a look of true, sarcastic glee.

"Yep, that's about right," Berri quipped with a hard, hot exhale.

"She killed it, singlehandedly, I mean... User, the sheer amount of will power and quick thinking," Turbo finally scoffed a trembling, nervous chuckle and peeled his eyes open, he aimlessly peered down to Berri's half-eaten breakfast before him, "Like I said, I would've died immediately."

"Bub, lookit me, please," Berri chirped in gentle instruction as she so tenderly hooked her finger underneath Turbo's defined jaw and chin, lined with black stubble. Turbo cocked an eyebrow in innocent curiosity and peered his beautiful, still turquoise eyes tight to Berri's. They both hooked into a tight gaze of mixed emotion, though Berri finally gave Wren and Tatum a silent look of further contemplation.

"Yeah, right there with you," Wren scoffed in bewilderment as he took a bite of his breakfast and bobbed a certain nod.

"Baby, what... Does this color of a glow mean?" Berri wondered softly, she narrowed her gaze into Turbo's as he hovered in still confusion, though in cute, humble, boyish mannerisms, Turbo wrinkled his nose, crossed his eyes to get a solid look at the bridge of his nose and finally returned his boggled gaze to Berri's.

"I-I don't... Know, I've never seen it before," Turbo mumbled in deflated innocence.

"Fear? Like GENUINE terror?" Wren wondered as Tatum giggled at Turbo's cute, youthful demeanor.

"Yeah, our... Our swap is REALLY unearthing a lot, Bo," Berri eased a conclusory giggle as she lovingly swept her hand to Turbo's broad shoulder; he bobbed a nervous nod and now eyed Berri's plate, once more, to which she tapped the rim of her plate and lovingly rubbed his upper back in encouragement, "Eat. Go on, I'll make myself another plate. You have that."

"You sure?" Turbo pressed as his eyes sagged up to hers in patient contemplation, Berri nodded in solid affirmation and scoot the plate of deliciousness closer to him.

"Eat, you need it," Berri instructed in gentle love, to which Turbo eased her a grateful nod and slowly picked up the fork on her plate, his hand still shook. She remained unwavering in her stance until Turbo finally shoveled a small bite of Berri's pancakes into his mouth and began to chew. She heaved a soft, shaky sigh and rubbed her forehead in the gentle revival of their positive energy, all of it began to slowly come back to the group as she pressed on, "Welp. I think I'll probably ask mom if she'll meet with us, maybe throw Throttle and Wren into the mix."

"How come us?" Wren wondered cutely as he and Tatum began to eat with normal fervor, once more, though Berri cocked an eyebrow and noticed that the second Turbo had a taste of food, he zoned in, went silent and began to quietly hoover everything left on her plate; she choked a small giggle and, before she peeled from Turbo, she laid a loving kiss to the side of his head.

"Because, you guys may not have the same intense throw of traumas and emotions, in your Turbotime coding, but you still can understand the depth and mass of information, right?" Berri chimed as she began to move closer to her stove, so to prepare her and Turbo a bit more food, due to the fact that Turbo nearly had cleaned the plate previously loaded with a decent amount of food.

"Yeah, I totally get the overload of it all," Wren bobbed a nod and tried to politely talk with his mouth full, as best as he could, "I mean... Throttle isn't loaded with nearly as huge of past, traumatic life events, lost swap mates, all of the sorrow that includes. I wouldn't say he's NOT in touch with his emotion, cause he is, but certainly Turbo and maybe Lash would have a better understanding. You think we should include Lash?"

"Might as well throw Nox and Koko into the mix, too," Berri mumbled cutely with a shrug as her gas stove clicked on with a blue flame, she inhaled a calmed breath and began to get back to work in preparing some more pancakes, eggs and bacon for her and Turbo; she softly volleyed her gaze over her shoulder and, although she opened her mouth to press on, she flinched in cute surprise at the sight of Turbo now honed tight to her, his eyes were gently kissed a muted yellow, as if he was on the mend. His eyebrows were raised in boyish, somber, piqued curiosity, as if to so silently and politely ask if she was making more food.

"... Alright, so... The cure for turquoise eyes is a head rub and delicious food," Tatum choked a cute giggle as Berri beamed a wide smile into Turbo's sweet eyes.

"What did we get ourselves into," Berri wondered in a wistful tone of sweet, sarcastic dread as she gave Turbo a bashful, loving grin; he bobbed a nod, long-blinked in understanding and inhaled a deep, revived breath.

"I don't know, but your cooking is otherworldly," Turbo mumbled sweetly, to which Wren bugged his eyes, down to his plate, and heavily nodded.

"Yeah, Bear, anytime you make food, I have to bust out my fat pants," Wren muttered with his mouth still full, to which Berri cued a cute smile of humble glee.

"Aww, you guys like?" Berri wondered sweetly, she returned to the stove with a satisfied grin.

"Yeah, the way you make the pancakes all thick and fluffy like... Mmmm," Tatum hummed in glee as her and Wren were well on their way to finishing their plates, as well, "Too bad Theo overslept."

"More for us," Wren chimed with victory, to which him and Tatum shared a soft laugh.

"I'm game for said coding meeting, by the way," Turbo mumbled as his eyes very tenderly began to soak back to a normal, golden glow. He inhaled a shaky breath and, although still deflated and apprehensive, he gave Wren a soft look of knowing and bobbed a nod, "I don't want any of us to be blindsided, like I just was. Man, that sucked. Bear, I believed you when you said it was the worst day of your life, but man... I never thought, in a million years, I'd get a front row seat to the drama."

"You weren't in the audience," Wren choked a nervous laugh as Berri easily smiled in wary agreeing and continued on with her task at the stove, "You were the star role."

"I didn't even try out, what the heck," Turbo muttered as he looked down to the empty plate in front of him.

"Serves us right for trying to be a mature, secure couple and allowing space to sleep alone, here and there," Berri muttered with a small giggle as her back was turned to the group, though Tatum sweetly shrugged and set her now empty plate down, as well.

"Well, you guys swapped for the very first time yesterday morning, right? Maybe... Allow a month, or so, before you start sleeping separate or doing anything, like such," Tatum kindly advised as Turbo honed his golden eyes to her in patient, curious listening, "I'm no swap expert, but... It seems, to me, that you both REALLY need each other, to lean on, right now. Had Berri been there when you were startled out of your nightmare, Turbo, it probably would've greatly helped, y'know?"

"You're right," Turbo mumbled softly, his eyes glanced to Wren's in soft curiosity.

"I mean, it's what I'd do," Tatum shrugged, she eyed Wren in further easiness and gestured to him, "What do you and Throttle do?"

"It really depends, I think it's a pretty even spread when we spend the night with each other, or sleep alone," Wren shrugged, "It's been different lately, because when he comes on tour with us, we share a bed. When we come home, then we have our alone nights."

"Maybe you and Turbo could do that, too, once things get going again," Tatum suggested as Turbo bobbed a nod of agreeing, though Tatum furrowed her brow and shrugged, "Well... Then you guys will get married and live together, so..."

"Might as well just move in with the dude, Bear, it was nice seeing you," Wren mumbled, "Please come over every morning and cook us breakfast."

"Oh, will do, that sounds like so much fun," Berri muttered sarcastically, though she gave Turbo a twinkling look of soft curiosity, to which he easily received with an equally as curious little smirk, as if to wonder if the grand idea of potentially moving in, with one another, would likely be too hot to the touch, or something they should immediately sag into. Berri turned back to the stove and allowed her mind to marinate in the thought of it all as Wren, Tatum and Turbo softly carried on with one another. Although a rather fast, impending installment, she did what she could to at least delightfully hover on the idea of sleeping with Turbo for the next little while, until the dust settled.

* * *

 **A/N :** Hey guys, I hate to do this, but my mental health is declining. It's in my best interest to take a week or so from uploading, I think my move has finally caught up to me and I'm just extremely mentally exhausted. I want to remain 20+ chapters ahead of myself, for my own sanity, and I need to get back to a point where I'm writing every day. I've fallen out of it because of everything going on, and now that I'm in the downswing of finally feeling settled, I want to really marinate in that and take care of myself. I'm not burnt out, I just need a minute. I want to write without feeling stressed, and I recognize when I'm about to feel stressed and lay off so I don't crash and burn. I appreciate your guys' support. I'll be back Tuesday June 23rd. That's also the day I'll be getting WELL overdue therapy. It comes free with my job, which is extremely helpful. I've been suspicious for awhile that I might be ADHD and more and more signs point north, so I just need to take time and take care of myself before getting a proper diagnosis. Hopefully before school starts, wow... I'll be back in tip top shape soon, I appreciate your guys' patience.

 **ALSO -** I'm almost complete with the sketch dump. I'll be uploading it to my deviantART once chapter 200 goes up. I'll remind you guys when the time comes, as well, but now is a good time to start thinking about what sketches you'd like for chapters 150-200 :D Excite!


	199. Chapter 199

**Reviews :**

 **TheDoctorDusty :** It truly is! Thank you so much.

 **Lyssdoodle :** Thank you, yeah I just got a little overwhelmed. I'm back with more chapters, however :) Thank you!

 **Snake557 :** Thank you friend! I hope you're well.

* * *

 **Song Listened To :**

 **Cross My Mind Pt2 ft. Kiiara by ARIZONA**

* * *

 ***Chapter 199***

 _Blue : Hey, mom. I have a question._

Berri bit her lip, allowed her fingers to tap on her phone in soft, unassuming tenderness and let her eyes broaden to the scene before her. A lot later in the evening, a storm had quickly brewed in Sugar Rush's warm, stirring summer air and thunder clapped the sky. Turbo cutely rummaged through a huge pile of messy sheet music in Berri's bedroom, they were both dressed down for the night. Although prepared to potentially sift through her heart and allow it to lead into sweet guitar picking that would lull into a likely stir of lovemaking the two didn't want to verbally touch on, just yet, Berri allowed her curious gaze to get lost in the golden glow of Turbo's eyes, honed tight to the sheet music he patiently read. Berri smiled in soft nostaglia and felt whole, though her brain shifted in agitation at the sheer sight she had been presented with, this morning, the many haunting gazes Turbo was now capable of, she bit her lip and eagerly peered back down to her phone as her and Tessa began to softly volley into a string of texts.

 _QueenB : Yes, babe, anything. You alright?_

 _Blue : Yeah, I guess... Just a question about coding._

 _QueenB : Hit me._

 _Blue : Mom, when you and dad first swapped codes, did you like... Download any of his grief or past trauma?_

The conversation fell silent for a moment, though Berri's ears prickled with the sound of Turbo's sweet, tender, deep laughter.

"Aw, babe, your writing is so cute," Turbo eased in lovely, gentlemanly warmth as he grinned and continued to nose through a pile that Berri had warily allowed him to nose through.

"So juvenile, that pile is really old," Berri mumbled bashfully, her phone buzzed.

 _QueenB : Oh entirely. And what made matters worse is, our first swap included my pregnancy with Ace. We didn't have time to really dive into it all until long after Ace was born, as traumatic of a birth THAT was. But yes, we definitely adopted each other's problems._

 _QueenB : My love, I am so thrilled you and Turbo finally caved to that union, but good lord, I worry about you both. Turbo has a whole thirty years of very real trauma, and I'm positive your fast-paced life, thusfar, has thrown him a few curveballs. Is everything okay?_

 _Blue : Yeah, he just unfortunately relived the time I nearly died on that train cab, via nightmare, last night. His eyes were glowing turquoise._

 _QueenB : Whoa turquoise? Has that ever happened?  
_

 _Blue : I have no clue, he was so terrified, his pupils were all huge and dilate, it was really scary. I felt awful... And, it's gotten easier, but man, the guy has a LOT of stuff going on in his mind. His coding information just NEVER ends. I promise I will never run out of stuff to think about._

 _QueenB : Oh I believe it lol_

"Aw, this one's about Chester as a puppy!" Turbo cutely chimed as he turned over a few pages, "'Orange and blue, orange and blue. Orion City's as big as you.' User, these are adorable."

"You're the only one to think so," Berri mumbled with a shy smile as she typed away at her's and her mother's conversation.

 _Blue : Mom, is there any way to like... Predict when this crap is gunna happen? Or let it all even out? Turbo's really helped me, as much as he can, and I have for him, but I don't want us to keep being blindsided, like such. He was REALLY shaken up, like tears and everything. It was so sad._

 _QueenB : Maybe you should try and get a different angle, from someone who has their coding. Like his brothers, have you asked Lash? Or even Wren?_

 _Blue : Yeah, I asked Lash, but... He's just sort of hard to really sit still and express feelings, freely. He got a little uncomfortable and kept cracking jokes. Maybe one day. I asked Wren, I asked Throttle... I have yet to ask uncle Nox or aunt Koko._

 _QueenB : Babe, I hate to say it, but you're forgetting someone. This someone probably has more information than any of Turbo's brothers or their swap mates._

 _Blue : Wait, who? Dad?_

 _QueenB : Libby._

"Oh, this one is like... Destroyed, you hated this one, clearly, lookit the mess you made, here," Turbo blurt with a hard chuckle as he held up the messy sheet music, he tossed his happy, carefree, boyish gaze over his shoulder with a wide smile, though it sagged the second he saw Berri's now contemplative, brooding disposition peering down into her phone with a look of cold dread, "Oh, are... Are you okay babe?"

"I'm... Fine, I just..." Berri eased her hand into her bangs, scrunched her shoulders and finally sagged through a hard sigh as she peered to Turbo in nervous sorrow, "I just... This morning has really had me on edge."

"Yeah?" Turbo pressed warily, he tenderly set the sheet music down and honed his whole attention to her, who was across her dimly lit bedroom sat in the middle of her bed. Turbo inhaled a shaky breath, furrowed his brow and shook his head in impending readiness, "What do you need of me? How can I help, here?"

"I... I think we need to go talk to my mom, about this," Berri pressed, to which Turbo nodded in agreeing and long-blinked in the poised, frozen switch up.

"Yes, ma'am, we were going to invite Wren and Throttle, and such? D-Did you want to go now?" Turbo wondered in a rise of soft concern, though Berri shook her head and peered down to her phone, she typed her mother a quick response.

 _Blue : She's like... The LAST person I want to talk to, about this, but I also just... Want to get it over with, I guess. Is there any way you can maybe mediate, or something? I was going to suggest a small like... Meeting, for this kind of thing, which included Turbo's brothers, but... idk mom idk what to do right now._

 _QueenB : Okay, well, I'll take the lead here. Why don't you and Turbo meet Libby and I in our home in the next fifteen minutes. It's a comfortable,_ _neutral setting for you three, and I really believe this private of a matter should be better kept in a much smaller group. Would you be okay with this?_

"Baby?" Turbo pressed, to which Berri flinched in hot surprise the second she realized Turbo had gotten to his feet and crossed her bedroom without her even realizing. She huffed a shaky breath and bobbed a nervous nod.

"Y-Yeah, my... Mom said to meet her and Libby at her house in fifteen minutes," Berri mumbled warily, "I-Is that okay?"

"...L-Libby? Why Libby?" Turbo wondered in a slump of hot confusion, "Am I in trouble, or something?"

"No, not at all, my mom just... Here," Berri staggered her words and easily handed Turbo her phone, so he could read the conversation Berri and her mother were melted into, and after a few moments of tender scanning, Turbo exhaled a hot sigh through his nose and bobbed a wary nod of agreeing.

"Yeah, I... Guess she's not wrong," Turbo mumbled, "I keep forgetting that Libby has all those intimiate memories of the old version of me. She dealt with this, first hand. Maybe not to the degree YOU are, but... She was there for me, when Turbotime got unplugged. She WOULD be able to give good insight. I didn't even consider, cause... She's my ex, and it just..."

"Feels awkward," Berri mumbled shyly, she hugged herself in the weirdness, she shook her head and gave Turbo a wary frown, "I get... Oddly jealous. I don't like thinking about it."

"I don't blame you at all," Turbo eased innocently, he shrugged and looked off, "If it helps, just remember that Kaji simply only has the MEMORIES of us. She's not genuinely Libby. She's just Libby's structure, but with such a different upbringing, soul, personality. She's married with two children. I know you're not worried about her having feelings for me, right?"

"No, I guess you're right, I just... Is it weird that I'm becoming protective and jealous? I don't like it," Berri muttered darkly as Turbo cautiously handed back her phone.

"It's not weird, that's natural. Quite frankly, I'm flattered, but... I know Libby will have valuable insight," Turbo grimaced and looked off, as if to cutely scold himself, "Damn, I didn't even THINK of that. She just HAS all these memories of how she dealt with this problem."

"Yeah, I'm... Super excited," Berri muttered as Turbo began to help her to a stand, so they could prepare to head to Tessa and Zed's home; Turbo slumped his shoulders and gave Berri an almost stern, annoyed look.

"Babe, c'mon," Turbo pressed as softly as he could, to which Berri sagged in defeat and shook her head. Turbo choked a small laugh and firmly sagged his hands into hers, his golden eyes hooked tight to hers in loving assurance, "I'm with YOU. I swapped codes with YOU. I want to marry YOU. You. Okay?"

"I know, I'm... I'm sorry," Berri mumbled in soft clarity, she bobbed a nod and gave Turbo an almost sweet, innocent look of pleading sorrow, "Just... Please be patient with me, this isn't going to be easy for me."

"Y'got me through thick and thin," Turbo assured lovingly, "C'mon. You know and love Kaji. She's not going to do anything to make you feel poorly, I promise. And, if she does, you're my priority. I'm sure Tessa would put a halt to any negative notions, before I could, anyhow. Trust the group being provided, love, they'll be gathering to help US get to the root of our problem. Don't you worry."

"... Okay," Berri sighed, she bobbed a nod and squeezed Turbo's hands in a draw of nervousness.

"C'mon... The quicker we get to the source of all of this, the quicker we can come back home and feel resolved, once and for all," Turbo stated through a smiling sigh, he raveled his arms about Berri's body, leaned in and began to lovingly smooch her cheek in firm draws of warm, breathy cuteness. She finally beamed a small smile and sagged into his love, "And I can continue nosing through your writing. It's all so cute."

"Thank you," Berri mumbled warmly, and though her heart fluttered with their new, overflowing show of love, she felt a mild sense of dread come over her as the clock ticked down to their impromptu meeting.

As Sugar Rush's early summer storm began to rage on into the night, Turbo and Berri so quietly cued to Tessa's and Zed's teleportation pad, inside the security of Berri's tower. Hovered in wait, for Tessa to unlock their teleport pad, Turbo and Berri quietly whisked away in a mess of rosey gold coding and securely plopped into their homey, lovely foyer. Although still grand and beautiful, Tessa's and Zed's home was a humble abode cutely tame in size. Though still fit for a King and Queen, it boasted their exuberance in decor and architecture as opposed to size. The home Berri was raised in, it was perfect for a three-person to eventual two-person unit. Although they weren't greet by Tessa, Zed or Libby, Tessa kindly called down the open-aired foyer and wide corridor that lead to the main structure of their house.

"C'mon in, guys we're in the living room," Tessa warmly called, Zed's gentle laughter could be heard as a quiet bout of chatter was brought on, and though Turbo could sense that Berri was now entirely on edge, he rubbed her lower back and kindly guided her to the main part of Tessa's and Zed's lovely, warmly lit home.

"Hey, guys," Tessa eased again, a loving tone of cuteness as she waved Turbo and Berri over; her and Libby were cutely sat in the downslope of their pristine living room, crowned with white, billowy, down-like furniture to surely mock the most perfect looking clouds. Amidst birch flooring and clean, colorful pops of aesthetic about the house, their large flat screen tv eased in colorful display of a commercial on mute.

"Hey," Turbo chimed warmly, his eyes broadened to the kitchen where he saw Zed buried in a few last minute code room displays, and though Turbo knew his attention was set for Tessa and Libby, he slowly moseyed to where Zed was and was thrilled to have his kind, fatherly attention.

"Hey, bud," Zed cued in a gentle loft of love as Turbo moseyed over; both men firmly shook hands as Turbo finally gave Zed's shoulder a firm pat.

"Hey," Turbo chirped cutely with a nod, he furrowed his brow and peered to the mess of work Zed had on display, though he wrinkled a wide smile and choked a small laugh, "Solitaire?"

"Yeah, it helps me focus, I don't know what it is," Zed muttered, the tiniest little box, off in the corner, displayed a well loved game of cards Zed sneakily kept open. Zed shot Turbo a cheeky smile and shook his head, "Put out fires, make a match or two... Approve a few things, watch the cards bounce around."

"Whatever works," Turbo and Zed very softly fell into cute, causal conversing, a lighthearted little visit that Berri knew wasn't Turbo's focus, though she took this opportunity to finally brave her mother's and Libby's tender, quiet conversing. Turbo's cute voice pressed on as him and Zed fell into their typical routines of sweet, familial conversing, "Mine's Mahjong. I have no clue why."

"Equally as addicting," Zed mumbled as they shared a laugh, and though Turbo quietly began to inquire about something code room related, Berri sagged into Libby's and Tessa's bubble with a bashful smile.

"C'mere, baby," Tessa eased warmly as she pat the large chair she was sagged into, she scoot over and was thrilled Berri quickly sat down with her. Tessa beamed a happy smile, wrapped her arms about Berri's shoulders and gave the side of her head a few firm smooches, "C'mon Ms. Pouty. What's wrong."

"Nothing, I just..." Berri lulled her eyes closed, shook her head and allowed her mother to love on her for a few moments longer, though once Tessa finally released her, Berri carefully stood and picked the free, singular chair to her mother's right. Amidst the main living room, the three girls hovered in a lovely sitting area off to the side, near the massive, unlit fireplace just behind Berri. She heaved a shaky sigh, looked down to her light grey t-shirt, straightened it in soft, nervous agitation and shook her head in further contemplation, "I have a lot on my mind. A lot."

"I truly believe it," Libby eased in cute understanding. She bobbed a nod, lulled her gaze up to the ceiling, crowned a wide smile of whole knowing and was thrilled to have Berri's soft, unarmed eye contact, "You bridged a gap of thirty years condensed into ONE year. I'm shocked you haven't been spontaneously falling asleep, through the day."

"... I HAVE taken two naps, today," Berri mumbled, a gentle smile finally graced her mature, womanly face as she heaved a shaky breath and looked back to her lap in nervousness, "It's unlike me."

"Well, mom told me you and Turbo are having a bit of a hard time navigating certain emotions, being blindsided by past experiences," Libby so gently prod, Berri eyed her and assessed her demeanor in quick succession, once and for all. Dressed in a soft, dark brown kurta and an equally as comfortable pair of leggings underneath, her beautiful long white hair was sleekly braided down her back. The peek of her beautiful tattoo, on her right arm, showed through the collar of her shirt, her vivid blue eyes hooked tight into Berri's in a full swathe of love and understanding, something that had Berri feeling a bit more at ease, "I know I'm... Probably the last person you want to chit chat with, but... I hope you know that I'm here to help, I'm an open book, and I'm happy to give insight, here."

"I know you are," Berri eased in a mumble of defeat, something Tessa now nervously cued to.

"Bear, you're seemingly acting as if you've lost a battle, here, or something," Tess instructed tenderly, she narrowed her gaze and shook her head, "Whatsamatter?"

"I'm just..." Berri inhaled a shaky breath and felt a rush of very real, nervous emotion suddenly swell inside of her. An easy, sticky swathe of jealousy now clouded every last shred of her thoughts, the pure beauty that Libby was, sat before her, Berri's mind began to prickle at the raw idea of her and Turbo once being swap mates. She sharply furrowed her eyebrows in agitation and, although desperate to control it, she could see her cheeks and the bridge of her nose begin to push a gentle, lovely green glow of now proven jealousy from the flecks in her irises, something Tessa and Libby froze to.

"Bear, your... Y-Your eyes," Tessa huffed in amazement, though as Berri heaved a shaky breath and now peered her curious gaze tight to Tessa's, it was here did both women take firm note that Berri's once blue irises now glowed a very faint, emerald green, the little speckles of color that adhered to being chameleon-like. Said stir of cute, nervous curiosity immediately cued Turbo's attention, and as he politely peeled from Zed's conversation and made his way over to the three women in the dimmer sitting area, Zed wretched his neck in hot curiosity as well.

"Whoa, you got... You got Turbo's mood ring eyes," Libby gasped in genuine, adoring amazement, though as Berri's glowing eyes now hooked tight to Turbo's in a healthy gloss of drowning jealousy, Turbo choked a nervous laugh and now politely pressed into the group.

"This is... Really hard for me," Berri struggled to get out, and it was here did Turbo know to quickly step in and quell her overflow of worry, right at the quick.

"Hey, easy, it's alright," Turbo pressed sweetly, he sat down on the firm slab of a bench that hugged the unlit fireplace, he scoot close to Berri's sunken positioning inside one of the lovely, cushiony chairs that Berri had picked. He quickly peered tight into her eyes and scooped her hand into his with a squeeze, "C'mon, what's with the jealous eyes all of the sudden?"

"I-I don't know, I'm just overwhelmed," Berri held her forehead and now nervously peered about to her mother, Libby and her father across the way, the room seemingly bevelled, though she flinched in shocked surprise the second Turbo gently cued their lovely coding and flood Berri's figure with his love via an exterior swap.

"Just relax, you don't need to say more, you're not obliged to uphold an image, here," Turbo so gently cooed in steadiness, Berri hooked her eyes tight to Turbo's and sagged in his immediate love, and although they were both proudly on display in front of three of a few of the most important people on the palace lot, Berri felt the universe darken about the two, as if it was just them in the room. Turbo eased a soft laugh and shook his head with a sweet smile, "Just breathe... These incredible women, here, are set up to help us. This isn't an attack, this isn't a boast-fest of mine and Libby's past, this is about us. Here and now."

Berri sagged as her eyes honed tight to the golden, confident glow of Turbo's lovely gaze, she heaved a shaky sigh as the mean, green glow in her eyes very slowly began to finally fade, and with such, Tessa sagged back in her chair with pride and shot Libby a cute, knowing smile of understood relief.

"Okay, it's a rocky start, but lookit your guys' future King, here," Libby cooed to Tessa in the sweet, lilting sing-song of her adorable accent, and as Berri and Turbo shyly dart their curious eyes to Tessa's and Libby's knowing, adoring smiles, Libby inhaled a deep breath, sat on the edge of her chair, cupped her hands together towards Berri and gave her a sweet smile, "Bear, I... I need you really look at Turbo and understand just how much literal gold you have struck."

Berri peered her humbled gaze to Turbo and finally let a cute little smile grace her blushing cheeks. She scoffed a small, silent laugh and looked down to her lap the second their eye contact became a bit too bashful to continue holding.

"Before I say anything, I just need you to KNOW that yes, Turbo and I have a past, both as a couple and as swap mates, but PLEASE hear me when I say..." Libby trailed off for emphasis, though she grappled the words and opened her mouth, Turbo murmured a cute interjection.

"It's OVER," Turbo quietly choked, to which Libby and Tessa suddenly blurt into hard laughter; this caused a wide, shy smile to sprawl Berri's face as she humbly peered down to her lap.

"It's over," Libby repeated with an annoyed giggle as she eyed Turbo, "I, personally, have never been with Turbo, in this life, as I am now. I merely have the memory of it all, when my coding was previously Libby. It's just memories. Sure, I can revisit, and it's actually comical, to be honest, but..."

"What?" Turbo blurt in playful irritation, Tessa covered her face and eased a soft laugh as Libby raised her eyebrows in cute, piqued curiosity as Turbo began to playfully show insult, "Comical!"

"Comical!" Libby repeated confidently, to which Berri grinned and now curiously watched the two, "The things you've done and said, I remember your's and Libby's relationship well. Truly. It was a nightmare. It was immature, it was wild, it was toxic..."

"Ugh, put me on blast, it's fine," Turbo hissed in smiling irritation as him and Berri cutely caught gazes, though Libby shook her head and gave Berri a sweet smile.

"Babe, this man has come a very... VERY long way to be here with you, to now confidently have secured your coding out of pure love," Libby warmly assured, "In our past, it was within two days and we had swapped codes. We were young and stupid, the Arcade was insanely new, there was little to nothing holding us back, no risks... It all happened so fast, and by the time I realized I was hit with Turbo's trauma of Turbotime being unplugged, it was far too late for us."

"... Too late?" Berri now inquired, she finally began to open up a little, something Libby kindly cued too.

"Turbo hardly had any time to digest just the trauma he was sat in, by the time it all spilled over to me and I was smacked with all of it, I became resentful. I was living my best life, I hadn't had a single trouble in the world, then comes along this awesome guy that I became whisked away with, and... Little did I know, he came with a world of baggage that I hadn't a single clue of because... Well..." Libby trailed off, gestured her hand and choked a nervous, smiling laugh, "It was DAY TWO."

"Yeah, I knew like four things about you," Turbo muttered, Tessa blurt a laugh and eagerly watched the show, "I knew your whole name, your favorite color, your biggest pet peeve annnnd... Yep."

"Turbo, before you swapped with Berri, could you confidently say you knew more than four things about her?" Libby pressed in cute, girly sarcasm, to which Turbo wildly furrowed his eyebrows and peered hard to Berri with a wide grin.

"Oh, I knew nearly EVERYTHING-" Turbo halted all of his words, dart his eyes to Tessa and then to Zed's figure, across the way; Zed urgently cleared his throat and continued to type away at his work.

"I have EARS," Zed's grumbly, fatherly voice warned, to which Libby and Tessa loudly howled with laughter; Berri grinned and covered her face in a wild show of bashful cuteness.

"I-I likely knew too much," Turbo mumbled cutely, a brave notion that he knew he could get away with now, simply due to the fact that him and Berri had sealed their love. Turbo warmly gave his attention to Berri and bobbed a soft nod, "Libby's right. This is far different. Though, this has been a sore spot for you since you found out about Libby and I."

"It's... Your ex, who is ALSO my brother's wife, it's weird," Berri urged nervously, to which Libby bobbed a nod.

"Very valid," Libby cued warmly, "Just... Rest assured, your's and Turbo's relationship, friendship, fresh, impending marriage, EVERYTHING in between, Berri, it's all so incredibly grand, and our previous escapades doesn't hold a CANDLE to what you two have now. Just... Please know that, moving forward."

Berri bobbed a final, conclusory nod and heaved a shaky breath as Turbo continued to grip her hand in firm love. He gave her an understanding smile and long-blinked in soft cuteness as he opened his mouth to cautiously press on.

"Libby probably has fresher, more recent memories of me, and of her and I together, than I do," Turbo tenderly explained, "We need deeper insight into all of these little blips of issues, our coding has been having."

"So wait, tell me exactly what the problem is, then?" Libby kindly chimed, she sat up a little straighter and peered her innocent, helpful gazes tight to Turbo's and Berri's still dewy, fresh naive souls.

"Well, Berri has adopted my mood ring eyes, but far more intense... More emotion has been stirred, Berri was previously all bogged down with a TON of issues I hadn't really settled within myself, yet," Turbo tenderly explained, to which Libby bobbed a soft nod.

"Well, if you don't remember, you had a whole spectrum of color you boasted, on the daily," Libby pressed in seriousness, though Turbo furrowed his eyebrows in silent concern, as if this was now news to him, "You Turbotime boys have just learned to dull your senses, I'm sure... ESPECIALLY you and Lash, but I remember a time where I couldn't keep up."

"It's probably why I feel that way about myself," Berri mumbled, she glanced to Turbo and shrugged, "I feel emotion so much easier than I used to. I mean... It hits me like a train."

"Yeah, that was a huge point of contention between us, Turbo, because you'd be rocketed into these swings," Libby patiently described, "I remember, after we swapped, I was dealing with a great deal of your adopted grief... It was far easier for me to feel all that sorrow, where as you were in the beginning stages of stuffing said sorrow and just replacing it with numb, greyness. You and Lash would hold competitions to see who could be without color for the longest."

"I don't remember ANY of this," Turbo hissed in confused, sorrowful, bittersweet nostaglia as Berri eagerly now honed in tight to Libby's experience, here.

"Oh yeah, it drove us girls mad, cause we were so used to you boys being easy to read, and then... Suddenly, just grey, and you were good at it too," Libby pressed in smiling irritation, "Eventually, gold just held true, that was your resting state anyhow... I was grateful I never got to see red much, after that, guh that was... Not easy to look at."

"No, THAT is terrifying, I've only seen that once and I don't ever want to see it again," Berri muttered nervously, to which Turbo lulled his eyes closed and huffed a shaky chuckle. She raised her eyebrows and peered to Libby in softness, "Turbo was scared awake by a nightmare, this morning, and..."

"Turquoise?" Libby pressed with a cheeky, curious smile, to which Berri and Turbo nodded in eager surprise. Libby snapped her fingers and grinned, "Yep. Got that green you were just sporting, Berri, for jealousy. Turquoise, or closer to bright greenish blue was fear, a dark, sullen blue was sorrow, purple was a mixture of anger and sadness, you have orange for just irritation, peach for shyness or sexual desire, silver for competitiveness, or... Maybe too much testosterone? I don't remember."

"Silver," Berri cued in smiling discovering, Turbo shook his head and shrugged.

"I only ever deal with gold and grey, on the daily," He mumbed cutely, to which Libby waggled her finger towards him.

"Cause you trained yourself to mute all other feelings," Libby pressed in soft conclusion, "The reason Berri is being overloaded with all of this, and YOU'RE being blindsided by other emotions is because you have just trained yourself to numb to it all. You and Lash hulled away inside Sugar Rush and basically went into fight or flight mode..."

"... And stayed there," Tessa mumbled in gentle, interjecting agreeing.

"My advice to you is, well... Going to probably not be something Tessa or Zeddy want to hear," Libby blurt in cute cheek as she glanced to Tessa, though Tessa sharply furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"What?" Tessa mumbled in gentle nervousness, though Libby shrugged and gave Berri and Turbo a cute smile.

"My advice is to swap codes, literally, as much as you can," Libby pressed with a laugh, to which Tessa joined in her laughter and covered her face in agitation; Zed groaned a noise of teasing, disgruntled dread and covered his ears.

"La-la-laaaaaa," Zed cooed out to the kitchen in sing-song; Turbo, Berri, Libby and Tessa were rocketed into kind laughter.

"I'm serious, c'mon mom, you can agree," Libby wheezed a soft giggle and gave Tessa a kind, understanding smile.

"Libby's right, as awkward as it is to talk about," Tessa sighed through their laughter and bobbed a nod, "Technically, the refresh of coding is good. Zed and I didn't really deal with Turbo's level of trauma, but for you two, with such a stark difference, it's easy to swap once and then feel EXTREMELY overwhelmed. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that your first swap was the only swap you guys have endured, thus far, huh."

Berri bashfully nodded and now apprehensively gave Turbo a kind, naive look, as if to feel guilty, here.

"It also helps to talk about it all, I'm sure you guys have, but... Really dig deep, Turbo," Libby pleaded gently as Turbo hooked his golden eyes tight to her, "Stuff is resurfacing, and it's maybe causing some upset, blindsiding the both of you into this weird sink of submitting to a looming problem, but... It doesn't have to be a problem. Acknowledge the grief that comes about, talk about it, sort it out in a code swap, and let the healing continue. Now that everything's been refreshed into new bodies, past problems have wider facets to now easily pour from."

"And, though it'd seem easy to maybe, I don't know... Strike a nugget of maybe negative information, about Turbo, and confront him with an equal amount of negativity, none of that will help," Tessa instructed gently, "Turbo, you took a very huge risk doing all of this, all over again. And although this time around, with Berri, is entirely different and entirely more thought out and cared for, it's still huge of you to give over your coding, once more, after what had happened to you."

"I agree," Libby chimed in sweet pride, towards Turbo, "And, Berri, to receive such thing? You're going to be Turbo's WIFE. That's... HUGE."

"I-I still haven't been able to wrap my head around it," Berri mumbled cutely as Turbo warmly rested his hand to her knee and gave her a soft, loving few pats.

"He picked you, that's... Incredibly special, like SO much so," Libby urged in tender, girly sweetness, her contagious smile eased to the two in full support as she shook her head, "After everything he has been through, I mean... I remember a conversation I had with him, before you were born, Bear. He PROMISED me he'd never find love again."

"Dude, you were ADAMANT about it," Zed finally strolled over to the conversation and lovingly pat Libby's little shoulder as he stood next to her chair. He bobbed Turbo a kind nod and eased him a knowing smile, "You swore, up and down, like... NO. I refuse!"

"And... Look at you now," Tessa eased a laugh as Turbo narrowed his gaze and caught eyes with Berri's cute, sneaky side-eye of teasing delight.

"Marinating in domestic bliss," Zed's deep voice erupted into soft laughter that had everyone grinning towards the two.

"You guys will be fine. This is normal," Libby sweetly pressed, "Maybe a bit more heightened, due to the sheer amount of an age gap, but... It's not unusual. Just spread the love around, and don't let any issue, that resurfaces, be bigger than you two, as a single unit... Because I am NOT reversing your coding again, buddy. You're keeping this one."

"Oh, no danger, there," Turbo huffed romantically, he gave Berri a gentlemanly smile and gripped her hand as she reached for it.

"Thanks, you guys, I'm... Sorry I got... Upset, there," Berri shyly pressed as she frowned and aimlessly glossed her eyes to the ground.

"That's totally normal, it's not an easy thing having THIS kind of a discussion with your future husband's ex girlfriend," Libby mumbled with a knowing nod, "We had our shindig, it was literally eons ago, and we both now are much happier in our permanent situations. We've settled into greater things. Was Turbo good for Libby? No, was Libby good for Turbo? No... We sucked for each other. Sure, we had a world of fun, and we were stupid and young and what have you, but..."

"You both now have a chance to really let stuff sift to the surface, and dig deeper into your love, something that has already been given a very real amount of blood, sweat and tears," Zed instructed lovingly, he bobbed the two a conclusory nod and squinted in a narrow of sweet, knowing assurance, "You two are going to be... JUST fine."

"And if you find yourselves in a situation where you're NOT just fine, well," Tessa gently gestured to the crew about her, "You're one text away from all of these coding masters, all dug in to their own different branches of expertise."

"Even Ralph, Vanellope, Nox, Oliver, Throttle, WREN," Zed firmly listed, "EVERYONE with a coded swap mate has such valuable advice. There's no shame in reaching out. No matter how big or small the problem is."

"But first... Try and resolve within," Libby waggled her finger, "Lots of swapping. I'm not trying to be weird, I'm just being serious."

"She is right, it solves a LOT," Zed bobbed a nod and glanced to Tessa, "Physically, emotionally, mentally, everything. Don't underestimate it."

"Welp... Guess we'll, uh... Go home and..." Berri trailed off and heaved a soft, bashful laugh as Turbo lulled his eyes closed and scrunched his face in hot embarrassment.

"GAH-we don't want your to-do list, just... Git," Zed waggled his hand in hard irritation and began to urgently walk away, "Love you guys, I'm heading to bed, for User's sake."

"Night," Libby called with a giggle as Tessa sent her teasing, grinning expression after Zed's disappearing figure. Libby cocked an eyebrow and bobbed a nod, "But for real. That's your homework for the week."

"Yeah, especially being brand new swap mates, y'gotta establish that solid foundation," Tessa rubbed her face in sleepiness and was due to following Zed, for the night as well. She heaved a long, hard yawn and continued through the trails of her sighing yawn, "You two get... Studying, then, us seasoned folks are gunna go to sleep."

"Is it weird being more seasoned, in life, than all of us combined and simultaneously NOT being a 'seasoned folk'?" Libby cheekily pressed to Turbo, who bugged his eyes in humble, dewy nervousness and bobbed a nod amidst a wary smile.

"Deer in headlights, here," Turbo mumbled cutely.


End file.
